Irish Lamb Stew

First of all, I must apologize for these and all future pictures. I only have an old iPhone for most of them, and the pictures are not very pretty. But this stew was quite tasty, so here goes.

You will need:

2 lbs. boneless shoulder of lamb (I'm not sure I used shoulder, but it was mutton and it turned out fine).
2 tbsp. butter
2 c. boiling water
1-2 c. sliced carrots
1-2 c. cubed turnips
1-2 c. cubed potatoes (I used my little purple ones, so I only had to slice them in half of throw them in whole)
1 onion, sliced
salt & pepper as desired


Instructions:
Melt butter in hot skillet
Add lamb and brown on all sides
Stand back some as you add boiling water
Cover and simmer 1 hr.
Add vegetables and simmer 30 minutes more.
Add salt & pepper to taste and serve.

I wasn't sure I'd like this, since it doesn't have much seasoning and I'm not a huge fan of lamb. But it was actually really tasty and everyone liked it. 
 

Corn Chowder

My husband loves corn, so I planted two good rows this year. Then I waited, and waited...and waited. Finally I thought, this stuff has to be ready! But the ears were all scrawny and pointy. An online resource told me to wait until they were rounded at both ends. I opened one up, just to make sure, and found that it hadn't pollinated correctly, and just about every ear was a dud. I ended up with about 2 cups of corn kernels from all the ears combined. Big bummer.

So, I had just enough from my whole crop to make one batch of corn chowder. Luckily, it was a big hit and everyone loved it, even Mr. Picky-Pants (that's my son, btw). He even ate it as leftovers (...twice!) despite his strict no-leftovers policy. So, it was a big hit. Too bad I don't have more corn to make it again! Oh, well, I'll bookmark it for next summer.

Here's what I used:
4 tbsp. butter, divided
1 medium onion, chopped fine
4 medium potatoes (or 8 small) diced
2 c. corn kernels
3 c. water
3 c. milk
salt & pepper

Heat 2 tbsp butter in large soup pot. Add onions and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

I used 8 small potatoes, and they are purple, so be prepared for weird soup colors!

Chop potatoes. I used food processor, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it as it tended to stick.

Add potatoes and water and cook until potatoes are soft.

Add milk, butter, salt & pepper and corn. Cook 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Lentils with Pork or Sausage

This is another of those recipes that I found in Fannie and then ended up adapting so much that I'm not sure it's even based on her recipe anymore. Her recipe was for Lentils and Sausage, and I didn't have sausage, so I used some pork bones for flavor (and boy did they make the whole thing taste like I was eating pork instead of lentils!) and tried to follow the rest of the recipe. It didn't work out that well, as it was WAY dry and I had to double the water. By the time I was done, it had very few aspects of the Fannie Recipe. If I have sausage again, I might make this, but I found it a bit lacking of vegetables and overall a disappointment. It was way too bland for me. I love my lentil soup (I don't have a recipe, but I've made it many times and it always turns out full of flavor) and this was just eh. The next time I make a lentil dish, I will probably not repeat this one.

For this, I used:
1 1/4 c. dried lentils
2.5 c. water
2 small onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 potatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
pork bones OR 1/2 lb. italian sausage, cut in 2 inch pieces

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, combine lentils and water. 
2. Add onions, garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer.
3. Add potatoes and sausage or soup bones.
4. Simmer 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft.
5. I had to add about 2 c. more water because not everything was covered by the water. It all boiled away, so this is not a soup, but a drier lentil dish.

I ended up putting soy sauce and sour cream and cilantro on this just to make it have some kind of flavor besides overwhelming pork-ness. Seriously, it was like I was eating a pork chop. Couldn't taste anything else!

Shepherd's Pie

I've only had this once, though my husband says he's eaten it at lots of restaurants. Maybe I just don't like the sound of it, so I've never noticed it on a menu. Anyway, my brother in law made this last year and I liked it. It's kind of like pot pie with mashed potatoes for a crust, which is perfect for anyone who doesn't want to or can't eat gluten.

For this I used:
1 lb. ground lamb
3 c. mashed potatoes (about 4 large, but depends a lot on size of potatoes...doesn't have to be exact, so just guessing is fine)
1 onion, chopped fine
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground lamb (beef works fine, too)
1 tsp. rosemary
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp. flour
3/4 c beef broth
salt & pepper

Add-ins: 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 small zucchini, all chopped fine in food processor.

Steam or Boil potatoes. I used purple potatoes, so my pie was a bit purple. Mash them (about 3 c.) and set aside.

Cook lamb in skillet until pink is gone. Add onions, garlic and rosemary.

Melt butter in skillet or sauce pan. Add flour and cook a few mins. Add beef broth and cook 5 more mins.

Fannie doesn't call for any veggies in this, but I can't in good conscience make a veggie-less dish this time of year. So I added the peppers and zucchini at this point.

Add meat mixture and level it in a baking dish.

Top with mashed potatoes, make checkered pattern on top with fork. Cook in 375 oven for 30-40 minutes.

 This turned out really well. You could easily use ground beef in the absence of lamb. I love this dish, since I don't like pie crust so I usually only eat the inside of pot pie anyway. I would have liked the gravy on this to be a little creamier, so I may use milk next time. But it is still a great dinner, very filling and hearty, and, if you use pastured meat and veggies, very healthy as well. Will definitely be making this one again and again.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Georgian Style

 

This is an adapted recipe for mashed sweet potatoes that's in my mom's older version of Fannie Farmer. It was pretty good, but in the end, I think I'd rather just eat regular baked sweet potatoes with butter and salt, or even plain mashed sweet potatoes.

For this recipe, you'll need:
1 lb sweet potatoes
butter, salt for mashing
milk or orange juice for mashing
for topping:
1 tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. butter

Slice sweet potatoes and steam or boil until soft.

Remove skins and mash sweet potatoes with butter, salt & orange juice or milk, if desired.

Cook 1 tbsp. molasses and 1 tsp. butter in separate pan for five minutes.

FF says to 'pour' it over uneven surface of mashed potatoes, but it was basically crispy string at this point, so pouring wasn't so much of an option. Maybe thread it across, or arrange it. The softer spoonfuls can be drizzled, perhaps.

Bake at 400 until top is browning slightly. I'm not sure if mine was browning, but the molasses mixture had melted in, so I took it out.

This recipe was okay, it just wasn't as good as it sounded. I'd never had sweet potatoes with molasses, and in my head, I imagined something much more delicious than this was. It wasn't bad or anything, just not as good as I'd anticipated. Maybe it makes up for the revoltillos, which sounded sort of gross but turned out well. My son ate these, so I can't say they're a total failure, but I doubt I'll ever make them again.

Country Style Ham Casserole with Tomatoes

I can't believe it! I made it through an entire month of recipes. I've cooked more than usual, experimented with some new recipes, revisited some old ones, and found some good stuff. My favorite so far is definitely baked peaches.

As you have no doubt noticed, I tend to make recipes according to what I have--whatever vegetables are ready in the garden (hello, cabbage), or a basic food I bought and possibly cooked and now need to find ways to use it up (rice, ham).

Potatoes and onions from my mom's garden.

Speaking of ham, I have one more recipe using the ham I made the other day. I'm telling you, never make a ham for a family of three. Not that anyone else would ever make that mistake!

Anyway, this is a recipe for a casserole, which I wouldn't have made if it hadn't cooled off this week, especially after the baked ham debacle. But since it was cool, I figured it wouldn't be so bad to light the oven.

When it came out of the oven....Not a very pretty dish, but oh so good.

See my hand? Didn't think so.

I cut the recipe some, since I had used some of the ham already. But here's what Fannie says:

Put in a casserole dish 1 slice ham, about 2 lbs/2 inches thick
Cover with 1 1/2 c. sliced potatoes
1 sliced onion
Thyme
2 c. milk

Cover and bake 1 1/2 hrs at 350.

I had some tomatoes, so I threw in a gigantic chopped tomato from our garden and omitted the milk. But otherwise, I stuck close to the recipe, altering the amounts so we wouldn't have too many leftovers, since I'm the only person in my family that eats leftovers. I did cook the potatoes and onions in a steamer for about 5 minutes first, so I didn't have to cook it quite so long. I used fresh thyme and cooked the whole thing for about an hour, uncovered, in a 350 oven.

It looked kind of weird when I took it out of the oven, and not very appealing, to be honest. And since I'd barely put anything in it, I thought it would be plain. But it was actually really good. The tomatoes helped keep the leftover ham moist, and all the flavors blended together perfectly. I ground some black pepper on top, but otherwise, the thyme did the work as far as seasonings, and the ham was salty enough to flavor the whole thing. I would definitely make this again. It was excellent.

Colcannon

Guess what I have today? Surprise! Another cabbage recipe!

With the fridge overflowing cabbage, I had to do something. So I went back to Fannie Farmer for more cabbage recipes. I found this one, an Irish recipe that I would describe as "mashed potatoes and cabbage."

• 2 lbs. potatoes, chopped and peeled (I didn't peel mine, and estimated the amount since I don't have a kitchen scale).
• 1 1/2 lbs. cabbage, cored and quartered (this is later supposed to be sliced, so I just sliced it first, before cooking)
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 c. whole milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• Ground pepper
• 6 scallions, sliced (I didn't have these, so I used half a regular onion, cooked with the cabbage and potatoes)

Directions:
Boil potatoes until 15-20 mins, until tender
Halfway through the cooking, add the cabbage to the pot.
When done, drain and remove cabbage, slice into thin strips (like I said, I did this before cooking, as it seemed easier than trying to slice cooked cabbage)
Take drained pot (with potatoes still in it) and add butter, 1/2 c. milk, salt & pepper and mash until smooth.
Add other 1/2 c. milk and stir.
Add cabbage and mix until blended.
Garnish with scallions (or cook onion in with veggies if you don't have green onions).

The mashed potatoes, sans cabbage.

 This turned out really well. In fact, I may just throw cabbage in all my mashed potatoes from now on. It was really tasty. My son didn't want the cabbage, but once I told him he had to try it, he ate it all up without complaining much. Even my picky sister, who said it sounded gross, liked it. Even more shockingly, my dad came in and asked about it and, after looking up 'colcannon' in the dictionary (they had it), he tried it and said it was really good. If you knew my dad, you'd know how shocking it is for him to try a random dish.

So, I'm calling this a success all around. I barely tasted the cabbage--it's pretty much a rich, creamy mashed potato with a hidden veggie. If your kids are very veggie resistant, you could probably chop the cabbage more finely and sneak it in there.

Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

This recipe is a staple in our house. Growing up, potato pancakes were a treat to look forward to, usually slathered in apple sauce and a dash of cinnamon.

The recipe:

The 'batter'

Grate and drain 3 medium raw potatoes
Add:
 1 tbsp. flour (we left this out and went gluten free)
1 tbsp. cream or sour cream (we also left this out)
1 egg (we used 3)
1 tsp. salt
Grated onion (we used one small chopped onion)

(We also added some ground black pepper)

Crispy edges...oh yes.

Cooking in the cast iron.

Cook in a hot skillet (cast iron always preferable) over medium/low heat. You can use any kind of cooking oil--I always use coconut, which can withstand high temperatures. Cook until edges are getting firm (check to see if it's getting brown under the edge with a metal spatula if unsure), then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown and edges are crispy (see above).

Top with applesauce, cranberry sauce, or sour cream.

These are a winter staple in our house. They are always delicious, though I don't love them without applesauce. My son didn't want to eat them more than once in a summer. Usually I wouldn't call that a success, but since I love them so much and they turned out perfect, I'm going to say they are winners. Make this recipe if you've never had latkes. If you want to go gluten-free, use the notes I put on the recipe.

Bubble and Squeak (cabbage and sausage or ground beef)

This dish is one I've been eating since I was a little kid, and the one that made me finally decide to make this blog, which I had considered before. I'd decided it was too large an undertaking, and I'd gone back to looking up recipes on Pinterest.

One of my childhood favorites.

When my garden started bearing, I was as excited as any first-year gardener. Bursting with excitement to cook my very first head of homegrown cabbage, I headed to Pinterest and looked up bubble and squeak, only to find many recipes that said to cook this in a frying pan, and not one called for cream sauce. I didn't want to make their recipe, though. I wanted to make the one my dad used to make us as kids. So I went to my trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and there it was.



Bubble-and-Squeak
Put in layers in a casserole:
1 lb. cooked sausage meat (*if using ground beef, see seasoning note below)
2 cups chopped cabbage (I used raw, but will try cooking it first next time)
Pour over the top 2 cups cream sauce (this recipe makes one cup, so double it)
Optional: Top with bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Edges browning in the cast iron dutch oven.

My sister adds potatoes to hers, and it does add some substance, so if you're not paleo, you might try a layer of cooked potatoes at the bottom of the dish. I cooked mine a little too long, so they were more like mashed potatoes, but you could cook them until they are just getting soft, since they will cook some in the casserole. My oldest sister suggested steaming the potatoes along with the cabbage for a few minutes before putting it all together. I might try that next time, as the cabbage was a bit crunchy (or squeaky) when ours finished cooking.

After coming out of oven.

*I did not have sausage, so I used ground beef, which I fried along with 1/2 onion, adding a bit of italian seasoning and a pinch of fennel seeds to give it the sausage flavor, and I thought it turned out fine (although my mother, the purist, was horrified at the thought of using ground beef OR potatoes, and said that wasn't real bubble and squeak). Still, if you've never made this before and you don't have sausage, ground beef is just fine, and I don't think it made much difference TBH.