Posts Tagged ‘ recipe ’

Homemade Grainy Mustard – Yes, Really

Mm. Mustard. I love mustard. But those fancy pants Dijon mustards give me a headache. I can get organic Dijon that comes in plastic. Or non-organic Dijon in glass. (Go figure, right?) Then it occurred to me that this is yet another product we’ve become accustomed to buying ready to use, when there’s a perfectly good way to make it at home. Never mind that I didn’t know the perfectly good way to make it at home; surely I could figure it out. Score one for me and the internet. I found a number of recipes with a variety of methods – including cooking the ingredients – but when I distilled all of this information, I decided to go with the simplest method. And my, how simple it is. Homemade Grainy Mustard 1 cup yellow mustard seeds (and yes, I bought mine in bulk and put them in my mini bags!) 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup water Place all ingredients in a covered jar and allow to sit for a couple of days so that the seeds soften. Don’t get too persnickety about the time frame. I can tell you with absolute certainty that if your week...

Homemade Chicken Stock

By Kris Bordessa

My mother would no sooner toss out a roasted chicken carcass than she would rob a bank. Consequently, neither would I. But I’m shocked at the number of roast chicken remains I’ve seen go in the trash over the years (mind you, I’ve rescued some, too). Is it because the cooks don’t know how to make chicken stock? Or because they think it is too much work? People, listen. Even if it’s a store bought roasted chicken that came home with you in one of those end-of-the-day-what-will-I-feed-my-family moments of panic, you can use it to make chicken stock. And I promise it’s easy. Making your own stock means that you will eliminate the cans that store-bought stock comes in along with questionable ingredients and the environmental issues that come with purchasing a product that may have been shipped halfway around the world. You could follow a specific recipe, but you know how I feel about measuring. My method probably wouldn’t be approved by Julia Child, but it works and it’s easy. Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe 1-2 chicken carcasses 2-4 handfuls of vegetables, roughly chopped (This is where you clean out your refrigerator crisper. Pull out the limp veggies you...

Homemade Spicy Italian Sausage

By Kris Bordessa

Making homemade sausage is really easy to do and the results are so much better than the stuff from the grocery store. It takes me about 15 minutes to make a batch of this sausage. All you need is ground pork, some spices, and red wine. I admit that this time I used ground pork from the local meat shop, but in the future I’d like to find a hunter who will sell us wild pork in bulk. I encourage you to try this, especially if you’ve got access to locally raised pork. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Ingredients 5 pounds ground pork 1 cup red wine 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 5 teaspoons salt 8-10 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoons fresh ground pepper 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes 5 tablespoons smoked paprika Process Measure all ingredients into a large bowl. Mix with your hands until ingredients are well blended. We store ours in the freezer in roughly one-pound parcels and use it crumbled for pizza topping or made into patties for breakfast. Have you ever tried making your own sausage? I shared this post on Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFLINS and at the Homestead Barn Hop at the...

Five Ways to use Beet Greens

By Kris Bordessa

I pulled the first beets out of the garden the other day. I’m not a beet grower and have only just added beets to our dinner repertoire, so this is new to me. I cut off the greens and headed to the compost pile when it occurred to me that hey, these are edible too! I’m not big on cooked greens, so I did a little playing around. Add them to a smoothie. Make your favorite smoothie, but sneak in four or five beet leaves. They disappear beautifully, making this a perfect way to incorporate more veggies into the diet. I made a banana-blueberry-pineapple smoothie with beet greens tossed in and my 15-yer-old said, “Ooh, that’s a good one.” Success! If your people are super sensitive, start with just one or two leaves. Make chips. I figured, if it can be done with kale, why not beet greens? Clean the leaves and tear them into large pieces, removing the ribs. Dry thoroughly and toss with a tiny bit of olive oil. I used about a teaspoon of olive oil on greens from four beets. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with coarsely ground salt....

Dilly Green Beans

By Kris Bordessa

I’ve been harvesting green beans from the garden for a month or so. On one of those days when my harvest didn’t quite match up with my dinner plans, I found myself with more beans than I’d be able to use fresh, so I decided to preserve some. I’ve not had much luck in the past with crispy cucumber pickles, but I like dill green beans. They maintain a nice snap. These don’t need to be processed – just keep them in the refrigerator. It took me about half an hour to put these up – faster, even, than a trip to the grocery store! Dilly Green Beans 3 pounds of green beans 2 tablespoons dried dill weed (or 1 cup chopped fresh dill if you have it) 4 cloves garlic, sliced 2 cups water 2 cups white vinegar 2 tablespoons salt 4 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes Wash and trim the ends from beans. Cook the beans in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until crisp but tender. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process. Pack beans into glass jars, snug but not too snug (you’ll fill 2-3 pint...

Make Your Own Vanilla

By Kris Bordessa

I’ve been meaning to make my own vanilla for ages, but I keep forgetting. My husband (the baker in the family) sees that we’re low and picks up a big bottle at Costco, perpetuating a vicious vanilla cycle. Every bottle we get from the store is one more piece of plastic that we have to figure out what to do with, so making my own in a reusable glass bottle makes sense from a waste perspective. But here in Hawaii, it makes sense from a locavore perspective, too: we have a vanilla farm right down the road. How ridiculous to buy imported vanilla in plastic! Even if you don’t have access to locally grown vanilla, it makes sense to make it yourself simply because it eliminates waste and a single batch of homemade vanilla can last indefinitely, since you can keep topping off the jar as you use the vanilla. Inspired to try? Split two vanilla beans down the center with a knife or scissors and slip the beans into a recycled glass jar (one that holds roughly 2 cups of liquid) or a pint-sized canning jar. Fill the jar with vodka and allow it to sit for three...

And the PlanetBox Winner is…

By Kris Bordessa

Amanda with no last name! Now, there were a couple of entries with the name Amanda but the winner wrote this: Love this lunch box! I “liked” your Facebook page a while ago I just subscribed via RSS and email, shared the post on Facebook and mentioned it on Twitter (5 entries)! My fingers are crossed! Amanda, I’ll contact you directly via email. As per the contest rules, if I don’t hear from you within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. Thanks to everyone who played. I hope you’ll continue to find value in being a part of the Attainable Sustainable bunch!

Homemade Refried Beans to Rival Rosarita

By Kris Bordessa

Over the years I’ve tried repeatedly to make refried beans from scratch, but my family has been only lukewarm about my attempts, preferring their old standby Rosarita brand refried beans. Rosarita beans are sold in cans that have bpa in the lining. Not cool. But my kids love refried beans, so I found myself torn every time I shopped. Buy the beans they love and subject them to endocrine disruption or suffer the consequences of grumbling, hungry teens at home? Poison them or starve them do death? (Okay, I jest.) My friend Jane and I had discussed our inability to replicate Rosarita beans at home, so when she told me she’d found a great recipe that her family liked, I had to try it. I changed it up a tiny bit, and increased the recipe so that I’d have plenty left over. I prefer pinto beans, but Jane uses black beans, kidney beans, and small red beans, too. Mix or match, as you like. Ingredients 6 cups dry pinto beans 3 small onions, quartered 4 cloves garlic 6 Tablespoons red wine vinegar (or lemon juice) 1 Tablespoon salt 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 1 Tablespoon chili powder Put dry beans...

No Measure Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

By Kris Bordessa

I’ve been making my own yogurt for several years now* and I’m here to tell you: it’s easy. Homemade yogurt is tasty, MUCH cheaper than store bought, and it doesn’t come with any packaging. I make vanilla yogurt and top it with homemade jam or jelly for a variety of flavors. Ingredients: Half-gallon milk. (I’ve used whole raw milk and low-fat local milk with success. Use milk that has not been ultra-pasteurized, if possible.) 6 oz container of yogurt with active, live cultures Honey (about 1/4 cup) Vanilla (a splash) Pour the entire carton of milk into a large pot. Heat to 180 degrees (F) over medium-high heat stirring occasionally. Once you’ve achieved that temperature, remove the milk from the heat and allow to cool for about half an hour, depending on your household temperature. (I set my kitchen timer in ten minute increments otherwise I will forget about it) While your milk is cooling: Fill a container with hot water and place it inside a cooler. Close the cooler, allowing the hot water to warm the inside so it’s all ready to incubate your milk. I use an Icee Kool oversized lunchbox cooler and it is fabulous. Seriously,...

Guest Post: Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

By Kris Bordessa

When I posted about switching from boxed and canned goods to homemade alternatives, Heather Anderson, who blogs at A Mother’s Calling, commented: …The one thing I had a hard time replacing in casseroles and soups was cream of mushroom soup. But I found a great recipe that works great for me, so no more cream of mushroom cans from the store. Well, you know I had to ask Heather about her substitute. She kindly agreed to share her recipe here as a guest post. Thanks, Heather! I have been on a real food journey for over twenty years now, and I am always looking for ways to make inexpensive, healthy versions of things that sit on many people’s pantry shelves. In the last couple of years I have become even more concerned with where my food comes from. Is it sustainably grown? Is my money benefitting the farmer that produced the food or a bunch of middlemen and marketers? By making my own versions of products, not only do I cut down on packaging, I know exactly what my family and I are eating. One of my favorite and most versatile substitutes is for Cream of Mushroom Soup. This...

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Reader Favorites

Posts Tagged ‘ recipe ’

Homemade Grainy Mustard – Yes, Really

Homemade Chicken Stock

Homemade Spicy Italian Sausage

Five Ways to use Beet Greens

Dilly Green Beans

Make Your Own Vanilla

And the PlanetBox Winner is…

Homemade Refried Beans to Rival Rosarita

No Measure Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

Guest Post: Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

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