Honest to goodness BEST hamburger buns ever. So easy you won't believe it.

Thirty-minute hamburger buns

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/8 cups warm water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
3 -3 1/2 cups flour


Directions:

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Do not let rise.

Divide into 12 pieces and shape each into a ball. Place 3" apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire rack to cool.

I couldn't find a pic of the buns. But, it this lobster dinner doesn't sell you on these 30-minute buns, nothing will!

Stuff It!

We can almost make the claim that we have as many giant zucchini as there are recipes for "giant zucchini" on line! However, there was one that inspired me as soon as I saw it.

It was a simple stuffed zucchini wherein the author used various leftovers from her fridge. Seemed like a pretty good idea and as I reached for the refrigerator I thought only of three things - bacon, butter and brown sugar. 

The butter and brown sugar inspiration comes from from favorite preparation for acorn squash. The bacon, well, because it's bacon!

Technically, those three ingredients are not leftovers, but it sure does open up a big door! If this one works well, the next one will be bacon and maple syrup. Then there's honey and prosciutto and maple and smoked ham with caramelized sweet red onion...

Here's what did:
Cut a large zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seedy pulp. Place the squash halves on a cookie sheet with the scooped out side up.

Brown 6 or 7 slices of bacon until they are nice and crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of water and add 3 tablespoons of butter and about a half-cup of brown sugar. Stir well, remove from heat and whisk mixture briskly in a bowl until slightly foamy. Divide the bacon between the two squash halves and split the liquid between them. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven with a pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven and the zucchini above it on the next shelf for 40 - 45 minutes. The time could be longer if you use a squash larger than the one I have used here.

Garnish with some fresh parsley sprigs and serve. Boy Howdy! It is some kind of good!

How we make our Ginseng Tea

     Our ginseng tea is something we are pretty proud of. It is made from locally collected wild ginseng leaves, our own lemon balm and Numi organic gunpowder green full-leaf smooth green tea pearls. The health benefits of ginseng tea include a reduced risk of developing cancer, relief from menstrual problems, reduction in obesity, improvement of digestive disorders, and a boosted immune system, as well as improving signs of mental distress, asthma, arthritis, and sexual problems. Ginseng tea is quite popular as a digestive aid and it boosts the immunity levels as well.

     Also, ginseng tea reduces physical and mental distress, and has a relaxing and soothing effect on the body.

     Additional health benefits of ginseng tea include a number of curative and healing properties and are due to the naturally occurring chemicals called  ‘ginsenosides’ that are present in the root, leaves and stems. Our tea is made from only hand-picked leaves.

All ingredients assembled and ready for the mixing bowl

Green Tea Pearls added to the ginseng and lemon balm

Final mix ready for going into jars for airtight storage

     Once the ingredients have been mixed together well, the tea goes into jars for airtight storage and eventually into tea bags we put together here. Each bag makes one pot of tea. Simply let the bag steep in the pot for 6 or 7 minutes and you're ready to cash in all the benefits of this delicious brew.

     One dozen bags of this tea sells for $5.00. We also sell loose tea in bulk if you prefer.

     This tea is not recommended if you are pregnant. It is always a good idea to start slowly as, although very rare, there can be allergic reactions. Start with one cup and if you don't notice any discomfort, then go for it! You'll love what it does for you!

     Call us at 563-568-3829 or email jabbas54@gmail.com if you'd like to improve your health and outlook on life in general by drinking our own Kitchen Table wild ginseng leaf tea for yourself and your family.

     There is another blog post here on the benefits of ginseng and green tea together that goes into much more detail.

     

Lemon Bread

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This is a very good lemon bread that doesn’t take a lot of work. I like to serve it with fresh sliced strawberries or fresh-frozen strawberries spooned over the slice. We have a couple of bags of fresh-frozen raspberries left in the freezer. I believe tonight’s lemon bread will have them spooned over it!

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Ingredients
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1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, rind of
Glaze
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1 lemon, juice of
1⁄4 cup sugar
Directions
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In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until creamy. Blend in milk.
In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon rind. Pour into batter. Stir to moisten.
Scrape into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Bake in 350f degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes.
Remove to rack and while still hot, with a toothpick poke holes all over the top of the loaf, and spoon glaze evenly over. Cool.
Glaze:
Combine lemon juice and sugar in saucepan. Stir and heat till sugar is dissolved. Spoon evenly over top of hot loaf.

Peach upside-down Muffins

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Start by making up this basic muffin recipe. Keep in mind, you can not use paper liners for this particular recipe! Spray or grease your muffin tin for best results.
Basic Muffins
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla (or flavored extract to match your muffin creation)
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line your muffin tin(s). Mix dry ingredients together well in a mixing bowl. Mix egg and milk together well. Add melted butter. (When I make my muffins, I like to mix the wet ingredients together in a quart jar with a tight-fitting lid. Just shake the heck out of everything for a good mix!)

(If you are adding fruit or raisins to your muffins, do it at this point. Mix together well with the dry ingredients.)

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid. Stir together with broad, sweeping strokes until just blended. (Over-mixed batter makes tough  muffins) Evenly distribute batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tin(s). Bake at 400 degrees 16 - 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Makes 12 muffins.

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Now for the upside-down part. Put a generous teaspoon of butter for each muffin in the greased tin. Add a generous teaspoon of brown sugar for each muffin. Then put one or two peach slices (home-canned or fresh are best!) into the bottom of each one of the muffins. Fill each one of them with the batter you just made. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow them to rest on a wire rack for about ten minutes, then give each muffin a gentle twist to loosen it from the tin. If they won’t twist, run a paring knife around the edge of the tin, all the way to the bottom. Invert the entire pan onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet, leaving them upside-down on the pan. They’re ready eat as soon as they are cool enough to pick up…try to make the dozen last for at least an hour if you can!

Pancakes on a Winter Morning

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We’ve been enjoying pancakes for breakfast on these cold winter mornings. If you’re going to be working outside when it’s zero or colder, it’s a darn good idea to have some food in your belly that’s a good fuel. And a pancake breakfast is just such a thing!
The first one is our favorite sourdough pancake recipe. It’s a great way to use a little of your sourdough starter so you can keep it fresh and lively. (I have a killer sourdough chocolate cake recipe for this purpose, too. That will be posted here soon!)
Sourdough pancakes tend to be a bit on the thin side (at least mine are) but they are very light. They’re superb with fresh fruit and real maple syrup, fresh fruit and honey or fresh fruit with a little brown sugar/butter sauce. We had some of our frozen strawberries from last spring and a little of the brown sugar/butter sauce and another batch with maple syrup (from the Yellow River Valley down by Luana) and some of the peaches we canned up last summer. Dream up your own toppings…you won’t go wrong!

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Sourdough Pancakes
Ingredients:
2 cups sourdough starter, room temperature
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon warm water
Preparation:
In a large bowl, add sourdough starter, sugar, egg, olive oil, and salt; mix well; set aside.
In a small bowl, dilute 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 tablespoon of warm water; set aside until ready to bake your pancakes.
Important: Only add the baking soda/water mixture to the pancake batter just before you are ready to cook the pancakes. Make certain everything is ready to go, the griddle hot, so the sourdough can be cooked while the air is still working in the batter. This will produce light sourdough pancakes that melt in your mouth.
When ready to cook your sourdough pancakes, fold the baking soda/water mixture gently into the prepared pancake batter (do not beat). This will cause a gentle foaming and rising action in the batter. Let the mixture bubble and foam a minute or two before using.

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Never-fail Fluffy Pancakes
This recipe is one of those easy ones that really exaggerate your culinary skills. Some folks have trouble making light and fluffy pancakes. If they start using this recipe, they’ll be opening up their own pancake house in no time! They are easy and they will amaze family and friends alike!
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray
Directions
Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Lemon Squares

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When life hands you lemons…
That’s exactly what happened today. A box from a friend in Phoenix arrived with some local boutique olive oils and nine fresh-picked lemons! What an excellent midwinter treat and pick-me-up!
This recipe is from the “Belles of Bethel” cookbook from the ladies (submitted by Thelma Schuck) of Bethel Lutheran Church near Parkersburg, Iowa. The book itself dates from 1980, but I have no idea how old the recipe is. I can tell you this much – they are delicious and simple to make.

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Ingredients
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Fresh-squeezed Lemon Juice

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Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Measure flour, blend with butter and powdered sugar and mix well using your hands or a pastry cutter (it will look like shortbread dough). Press evenly into 8 x 8 pan. Bake 20 minutes. Beat remaining ingredients together well. Pour mixture over crust and bake 20 – 25 minutes more, until lightly browned on top. Filling puffs while baking, but settles down as it cools. Sprinkle with powdered sugar after you remove it from the oven. Cool and cut into small squares.

Farmer Cookies

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Some years back I inherited my Grandma Abbas’ personal recipe book. It’s an old Car-Ferry notebook in which she hand wrote all of her best/favorite recipes. Each one contains notes as to where she got it, variations, who likes it, etc. This particular recipe has the following notations: “These are great cookies if you are in a hurry. They are also about the best cookie recipe for the wood stove. They hold up well in a medium or hot oven. You can use a variety of ingredients above and beyond what I have listed here. They keep well and are good dunkers. Jeffrey likes them a lot. Eats more than any three-year-old I have ever seen!”
Obviously, I don’t remember eating a lot of them as a three-year-old but I do remember the cookies. Grandma would often make them with M&M’s instead of chocolate chips. When Christmas rolled around, she made them with crushed candy canes and chocolate chips. It is an amazingly customizable recipe, so have some fun with it.
It does say to “drop by tablespoon” onto a cookie sheet. I found the batter to be too dry for that so I simply made golf ball sized balls and baked them that way. Worked like a charm!

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Farmer Cookies
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups oatmeal (uncooked)
2 cups corn flakes or 2 cups crisp rice cereal (either one works nicely)
1 cup flaked or shredded coconut (optional, but very good with the chocolate chips!)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Directions
1  Melt shortening, pour over sugars. Mix well.
2  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
3  Stir dry ingredients together and add to sugar mixture. Mix lightly.
4  Add oatmeal, cereal, coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts and mix well.
5  Drop by tablespoon on greased cookie sheet.
6  Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes.
Makes 4 dozen cookies

The Unadulterated Joy of Home Fermentation

     2014  was a banner year for Mary and me. It was the year we discovered the joy of fermenting your own foods. With that discovery, came an added benefit unsurpassed in its nutritional benefits. Fermented foods are absolutely chock-full of probiotics; these are jars of living food, nourishment for our bodies and souls. There is no greater satisfaction at mealtime then eating food you have grown, processed and put away. And, when you do those things together, it becomes soul food.
     2014 was a banner year for our gardens as well, especially the cabbages. Bumper crops were the norm for red cabbage, Napa cabbage and the regular old green cabbage we planted. With all these cabbages and only so many CSA customers, we needed to come up with a way of preserving the cabbage bounty we had on hand. I have never been a big fan of sauerkraut (until we made our own – another story for later) and one can only make so much freezer coleslaw (an old family recipe of Mary’s), so the natural inclination was to make some kimchi.
     Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish with origins dating back to the 12th century. It is basically a mixture of cabbage and an assortment of other vegetables like carrots, radishes, turnips and other root vegetables, fermented and all spiced up to give it a little (or a lot) of zing. Kimchi is a time-honored tradition in Korea with regional and family variations in infinite varieties. It can be fermented for a matter of days, weeks or months, depending on the vegetables used and the season in which it is to be consumed. Winter kimchi was meant to be consumed over the course of the long Korean winter so it was made to ferment slowly over a period of months. The kimchi made during the winter months was used as an addition to main course dishes like soups and stews. Spring and summer kimchi is a much lighter and a quicker ferment, so it is used as a side dish or in salads.
     Our first kimchi was pretty simple. Napa cabbage, Daikon radish, chili powder, fish sauce, salt and Sriacha. We fermented the first batch in an old Red Wing 2-gallon crock with a weighted plate on top to keep out the bad bugs. The end result of that first batch was flat-out delicious! We allowed it to work about two weeks and put it into jars. We kept the jars loosely sealed in the basement so they could continue to work and age. It didn’t last long. We gave away a lot of it and ate even more. It became a side dish staple here at our house. Take my word for it, there few things better in life than a little dish of your own kimchi and a dark, malty beer to go with it! Since that time we have refined the recipe and have begun using authentic Korean hot red chili powder, salted fish sauce as well as more traditional Korean equipment.
     As you will see over the next few days, this not a difficult process. You do not have to bury the pot in the back yard, nor does it stink up the house. It is simple, not a lot of work and anyone can do it. Just because we have chosen to use some specialized ingredients and equipment, it doesn’t mean you will need to do that. If you don’t have any crocks, you can use a food-grade plastic bucket with a fermentation lock and achieve the same results. We did a batch of sauerkraut in one of those buckets we obtained from one of our CSA clients in Decorah, IA – “From Grain to Glass”. I’m sure Brad and Amber would be happy to set you up and send you the equipment if you contact them with your needs.
     Today is January 14th, 2015 and I sitting by the kitchen window watching and waiting for the UPS driver. He is bringing our 10 liter stoneware fermentation pot to us. I have been tracking the shipment ever since I ordered it. This morning at 6:07 AM it left Decorah for our house. Sure wish he delivered in alphabetical order – we’d have had it 2 hours ago! The recipe I will be using for this incredibly informative and entertaining series of blog posts is a basic recipe we found online. As we go through the processes on this batch, we will explain and illustrate each step along the way in an individual post for each step. If you would like to know more about home fermentation in general, I have posted several links and resources at the bottom of this first post.

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Books -
Sandor Ellix Katz - “The Art of Fermentation” – An in-depth exploration of essential concepts and processes from around the world. Practical information on fermenting vegetables, fruits, grains, milk, beans, meats and more.
Kirsten K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey – “Fermented Vegetables” – Creative recipes for fermenting 64 vegetables and herbs in krauts, kimchis, brined pickles, chutneys, relishes and pastes. (A well-thought and greatly appreciated Christmas gift from our kids)
Lauryn Chun - “The Kimchi Cookbook – 60 Traditional and Modern Ways to Make Kimchi”

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Blogs/websites
Phickle – Cultured Food Life – Cultures for Health

Mana Mia Bars

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It almost feels pointless to say this, but a big part of sustainability is making your own food. For one thing, by making your own meals and dishes, you remove the corporate influence from your kitchen. You know where your food comes from, you know it’s healthy and you give a great big raspberry to Monsanto at the same time!

I love to cook. I love taking traditional farm and family recipes and adding my own touches. A lot of my inspiration comes from old church and club cookbooks and have dozens and dozens of them! They are chock full of great old recipes, unintentional humor and family tradition. They are, if you will, right from someone else’s kitchen table!

The first one I’d like to share is from the “Favorite Recipes” cookbook of the Queen Esther Circle, 1st Christian Reformed Church of Wellsburg, Iowa - ca. 1960's. Notice the title, Mana Mia Bars. I suspect that is a misprint. It was probably supposed to be Mama Mia Bars. But after all, that’s the charm of these old cookbooks isn’t it? They shall be forever known as Mana Mia Bars!

Mana Mia Bars

1st layer:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

2nd layer:
1/4 cup butter (softened)
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp instant vanilla pudding

Mix together ingredients for the first layer and place over hot water in a double boiler and cook until it reaches a custard-like consistency (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat and add 1 cup shredded coconut and (optionally) 1/2 cup nuts. Mix well and pack it into the bottom of a 9x9x2 pan that has been lightly buttered.

Mix the second layer ingredients together and spread evenly over the second layer. Refrigerate for an hour or two.

For the final layer, in your double boiler melt 6 oz chocolate chips with 1 Tbsp. butter and 2 Tbsp. water and spread it over the top of the refrigerated bars. Place back in refrigerator and let the top layer harden before cutting.

These are very rich, very simple and one of those recipes that makes it look like you went to a lot more trouble than you really did!

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After making these for the first time a couple of days ago, I can say that toasting the coconut before adding it to the first layer improves the flavor and texture of the bottom layer immensely!

If you make these, please come back and let us know how you adapted them for your tastes, how your family enjoyed them or anything else you’d like to add.