La Casa Grande Colectiva

Category: recipes

  • La Casa Real Food Olympics: Mayonnaise!

    For a while now I’ve imagined a sort of La Casa Real Food Olympics:  a series of foods that we in “this” “culture” usually buy already made, but which could be made from scratch, that every green La Casan would go through the experience of making from scratch just for the fun of it.

    I just brainstormed 10 things that I have personally known people ’round here to make, excluding alcoholic fermentations:

    1. Mayonnaise
    2. Komboucha
    3. Yogurt
    4. Bread
    5. Granola
    6. Ginger ale
    7. Pesto
    8. Ice Cream
    9. Seitan
    10. Kimchi

    I don’t know if this is the optimal order of execution, but it’s clear that making these all from scratch at least once would be a substantial accomplishment of (s)elf-reliance.  Of these, I have only made mayonnaise and bread.  Tonight, I teamed up with Kim (La Casa ’08 welcome back to town Kim!) to make both mayonnaise and bread again, but the bread didn’t turn out perfect, so let’s talk about the mayonnaise!

    Like Kristina before me,  I used the basic mayonnaise recipe from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything: mix an egg, some lemon juice, some mustard, maybe some salt and pepper to taste in a food processor. Pour in a cup of olive oil in a slow stream—if you pour too fast you’ll get runny mayo! This time I used half olive, half canola oil, but it still tasted too too extra virgin for me. Still, one of the better batches I’ve made.

    NOT a photogenic food

    I used the mayonnaise in Deviled Eggs, which of course involve more eggs and more mustard.  They turned out great:

     

    Delicious!

  • La Casauerkraut

    I think it was this article http://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/413/countertop_culture in The Sun magazine that first caught my interest in wild fermentation. Certainly, the pallid, soggy sauerkraut of my middle American world had never once lured me.  Still, my interest in home food preservation and the health benefits of raw, fermented foods made trying this irresistible, and so in I leapt. I can only say that homemade, wild fermented sauerkraut is one the most unexpected pleasures of my life now. Each batch is unique and that is part of the fun. I like to add a little garlic, a bit of carraway seed (against flatulence) and any root veggies that might be available like beets, carrots or radishes. I use the least amount of salt I can get away with which has been a bit less than the recipe and it has worked out well. Beets and purple cabbage both give the kraut a lovely pink hue. I don’t even like pink, but I have loved the colors of my kraut batches.

    Anyway, Sandor Katz is the wild fermentation maven. Here’s his website, starting right off at the recipe for kraut: http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut

    This is the batch I made just a few days ago, dedicated to Dan Schreiber:

     

    Cabbagecarrotconfetti
    A bit of sauerkraut spirituality fun
    Julio giving the kraut crock some L-O-V-E

    I hope you make some of your own and you love it!

  • Pan-Fried Jerusalem Artichokes in Sage (vegan) Butter

    The species in the la casa permaculture garden were chosen for their niche in the whole system. Helianthus tuberosus, aka jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes, produce tasty tubers jerusalem artichokes flowersunderground and beautiful clusters of yellow sunflowers above ground. The plants grow to almost 10 feet and the tubers can grow as thick as your wrist. Although most of the ones I harvested today were about as thick as your thumb.

    You may be confused.  They’re not artichokes, and they’re definitely not from Jerusalem, so what are they?  Well, they are more like potatoes that shoot off the roots of a native sunflower.  They grow vigorously and can compete with most weeds, however they don’t store as easily as potatoes and so are less commercially viable.  They are a popular permaculture plant.

    I had a craving for something fried so I found a recipe for Pan-Fried Jerusalem Artichokes in Sage Butter on epicurious.  I went out just before dark and dug up a bunch of tubers.
    tubers, scrubbed and washed

    They were very aromatic as I was digging them out and washing them.  It took awhile to scrub and clean all the dirt off. From then I followed the recipe, doubling it and subbing vegan butter for regular butter.
    chopped jerusalem artichoke fried in sage butter

    Ingredients

    • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 pound Jerusalem artichokes,* scrubbed, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
    • 3 tablespoons coarsely torn fresh sage leaves, divided
    • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

    Preparation

    Melt 1 tablespoon butter with olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add Jerusalem artichokes and half of sage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown and just beginning to soften, turning frequently, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer Jerusalem artichokes to shallow serving bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and sage to skillet; fry until sage darkens and begins to crisp, about 30 seconds. Add lemon juice; simmer 1 minute. Pour lemon-sage butter over Jerusalem artichokes in bowl, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley.

    The result: well it was my first time cooking with them and I used the wrong type of pan. Some slices were cooked thoroughly til mush, others were still crunchy and undercooked. The flavor I thought was quite good and a few housemates agreed.
    maria tastey, likey

    WIN!

    Here’s some research about jerusalem artichokes I found online, zipped up.

  • roasted eggplants, baba ganoush, lunch

    eggplants looking delicious

    Oh, those deep purple beauties ripening, ripening.

    Roasting eggplants by the bonfire

    A little campfire, a lot of fire-roasted eggplant.

    tastiest lunch

    Delectable end product.

    _MG_0972.JPG

    Andrew eating the hell out of a baba ganouj sandwich.

    When you’re really lucky you plant some plants in just the right spot at just the right time and they say, “Man, I feel so good, I’m going to grow like mad and make lots of whatever it is I make.” We were sooo lucky here at La Casa. The eggplant plants went in the ground considerably past the prime time AND as you all know, summer was unusually cool. Eggplants like time to grow and some heat, you know, so what the hell? Not that I’m complaining. No. I am not. I’m rejoicing and not just about the mysteriously extraordinarily huge and productive plants that are our eggplant plants, but about wonderful new La Casan, Erin, who knew that you can put your eggplants by a fire to give them that extra flavor edge for better baba ganouj. But that’s not all! There’s extra flavor and then there’s someone who really knows how to work it. We at La Casa are fortunate enough to have in Erin, not just someone who can fire-roast an eggplant, but who can push that extra flavor to it’s most excellent extreme. It was so much fun today watching one after another of my fellows take their first bite and say, almost invariably, “Oh, my god!” You know, pure astonished delight.

    If you want to fire-roast your eggplants just put them near your fire, almost in it. They will slowly start to shrivel and sag a bit. Keep turning them until the whole things is more or less rather shriveled. They should maintain their skin’s integrity for the most part. If they go up in flames you have gone well beyond fire-roasted.

    Thanks to JP for photos and to Erin for the damned good grub. And La Casans in general for just being so great!

  • fried pumpkin blossoms

    Carly made some tasty fried pumpkin blossoms and I watched and took photos.
    fried pumpkin blossom prep frying up the blossom

    Cut the bottoms off the blossoms so you’re left with only the petals. Dip them in some beaten eggs mixed with milk (or soymilk). Then rub some bread crumbs and flour on them.  Oil up a pan and throw em in. Let them fry until each side is getting a little golden. Then serve ’em to your hungry housemates.
    finished fried pumpkin blossom

    Here’s what the blossoms look like with a bee chilling in there.
    pumpkin blossoms with bee

  • Jajka Faszerowane

    There was a potluck here at the house last week. I made Polish style deviled eggs.
    deviled_eggs1

    1. Hardboil a bunch of eggs. Make sure you cool them down a lot before proceeding. (run them under cold water, then let them sit for a while)
    2. Using a clean sharp serrated knife, cut the eggs in half. This takes practice, so boil some extra eggs to practice on. I’ve found that going in one direction once you’ve cut through the top surface helps.
    3. Gently scoop out the innards of the eggs. Put in a bowl and mash it up.
    4. Add dill (or parsley if you would like), salt, pepper, mayonnaise, butter and stir it all together.
    5. Spoon the mixture into the empty egg shells.
    6. Top with bread crumbs and place down onto a hot skillet. (add butter to skillet)
    7. Use a spoon to eat. Don’t eat the shells! Unless you need extra calcium.

    deviled_eggs2

    Our chicken eggs are perfect for this because they have hard shells, especially the darker ones. Hard shells are easier to cut through and don’t completely fall apart. However, I’ve noticed that the shells aren’t as hard as they were in the winter time when the hens were laying less.

  • Mama Marrrrria’s Salsa

    salsa2
    Ronna got the house on a salsa kick after she made it a couple times. Here is how I make my salsa:

    1. Throw the following into a food processor: 1 can diced tomatoes, an onion, green pepper, some bunches of cilantro, garlic, chives, hot pepper (or substitute with chili powder), cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, fresh black pepper.
    2. Press the button on the food processor several times.
    3. Dump into serving bowl and watch it disappear before your eyes.

    salsa1

  • Jacob, white bread

    Jacob told me yesterday that he was going to bake bread everyday this week.  Pictured below is day 2.
    Jacob baked bread

    Tired of so many a bread machine failure loaf this year, I decided to take failure into my own hands.  Bread, like mayonnaise and kombucha, is something La Casa knows is way way waaaay better when you make it yourself, unquestionably worth the extra effort. This half-whole-wheat loaf was hand-formed with my trademark ineptitude™ and includes sunflower seeds and rosemary.  Maria (my protégé) has assisted greatly with kneading and baking.

  • Dinner recipe: Gruel Salad

    When a house our size has bulk amounts of at least six kinds of bean, I’ve got two hours to make dinner, it is sometimes difficult to justify making food that requires buying fresh ingredients:  “Cauliflower? Plantains? But the lentils and black-eyed peas are right here!”

    (Of course, the tables will turn come harvest season!)

    If a house goes on like this, without taking care to coordinate what is cooked, weeks’ worth of dinners may lack the expected textural and stylistic range as we spoon gruel from a bowl for the umpteenth time.

    Now, I’m mostly a recipe person. I delight in following directions down to the letter for the promise of surprisingly perfect food (provided no one gets hurt).  I think I got this from my mother (Hi Mom!).  Nevertheless, occasionally I indulge in improvisation.  This one began with an oath to make “gruel salad”, a joke that became reality.  It was “one of those evenings.”

    gruel with a twist
    gruel with a twist

    Cut celery, scallions, and asparagus into 3-inch chunks.  Braise in medium saucepan with a little oil and a little more water.  Add sliced mushrooms and broccoli.  Pepper half-heartedly. Add half a cup of wheat flour and enough water to keep everything from sticking to the bottom.  Overcook until gooey.  Serve atop whole leaves of lettuce, carrots, and pear, with a vinaigrette dressing.

  • Black Bean Burgers

    We had a potluck dinner at La Casa tonight, which turned into a little fire in the garden firepit with guitar, conversation, & digestion.  The food theme?  “Americana!”  I tried out a new recipe, which came out very well, so I think I’ll share it.

    It comes from this website & goes like this:

    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
    • 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
    • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tablespoon chili powder
    • 1 tablespoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
    • 1/2 cup bread crumbs

    DIRECTIONS

    1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
    2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
    3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
    4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
    5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
    6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

    I tripled the recipe, cooked black beans instead of messing around with cans, & (of course) used eggs from our chickens. I didn’t like how the burgers came out baking them, so I decided to fry them in sunflower oil. Yum!

    Maria, JP, & Gretchen also cooked amazing food, so maybe they’ll share their recipes, too.  & of course, our guests brought great dishes, so maybe some of them can share in the comments.

    potluck at la casa potluck at la casa