Helena Civic TV

an exercise program brought to you by Cyndi Forbes for Seniors airs every Friday morning at 11 am.  Tune in, she has some great low-impact tips for all of us!

Judy Kline and Michelle Steele host this talk show–they bring all kinds of people from different walks of life to HCTV so we can listen in as they share their stories!  Tune in every Monday at 5:30 pm

She brought us another “Cooking Show”!  Here are her newest recipes! 

Cookin With Susan Slow Food Montana Style

December 2010 – Great food gifts come in small packages

With Christmas and New Year’s fast on our heels you always have need for a simple gift to give to your neighbors or friends. These recipes are great for any occasion where you want to have a quick but nice gift to give!

 Whip up these great recipes:

Spiced Peaches

Homemade Cranberry Relish

Ginger Mustard Glaze

Paneer (Indian cheese) with Jalapeno Jelly

Holiday Pantonne (Italian Holiday Yeast Bread)

Susan’s White Christmas – A great holiday drink

Spiced Peaches

Recipe by Nigella Lawson (my favorite domestic goddess!)

1 or 2 cans of peach halves in syrup

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar

2 cinnamon sticks – broken into smaller lengths

1 to 2 slices of fresh ginger

½ teaspoon crushed dried chili flakes

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

3 whole cloves

Open cans and empty into saucepan with the syrup. Add vinegar, cinnamon, ginger, pepper flakes, salt and peppercorns and cloves.  Bring to a boil and let boil for a minute and then turn off heat and let sit in pan to keep warm. Place peaches in jars or sterilize jars to keep for long time.  Can also serve peaches with ham.

Cranberry Relish

1 bag fresh cranberries

½ cup sugar

1 cup orange juice/prepared juice or fresh juice

Zest of one orange

In saucepan put cup of orange juice and bag of fresh cranberries. Cook until cranberries start to pop. Then add ½ cup sugar and cook until mixture thickens. Once mixture is thick then add in orange zest and if you like add in ¼ cup grand mariner.

Spoon in sterile jars – process in water bath for 30 minutes or by pressure cooker.                     

Ginger Mustard Glaze

1 cup Ginger preserves

½ cup Ginger ale

2 tablespoons stone ground prepared mustard

½ cup light brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cloves

 I made my own ginger preserves by peeling and slicing one pound of fresh ginger. Place sliced ginger in bowl of cold water and let sit for one hour. Drain water and add enough water to cover ginger to saucepan. Cook fresh ginger until tender. Once ginger is fork tender then drain off water. Add in 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups water to saucepan and cooked ginger. Cook until sugar boils and starts to turn a light golden color. Remove from heat and put in sterile jars. Can by hot water bath method or keep in refrigerator.  Once you have your own ginger preserves or buy them in a store. Mix all ingredients together and spoon into containers.  Keep in refrigerator until ready to use. Make a wonderful glaze for chicken breasts or ham. Ginger and sugar will become nice candied nuggets on your chicken or ham. Watch and make sure that it does not burn. If you have to, cover lightly with foil.

Paneer – Indian Cheese

4 cups of whole milk

1 container of plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ to 1 teaspoon salt

Cheese cloth and colander

Add milk to saucepan and heat to boiling. Remove from heat and gently add in salt, yogurt. Stir lightly. Then add in lemon juice. Milk solids will separate. Pour into cheese cloth lined sieve. Let set and drain for about 30 minutes. After draining then squeeze out liquid. Fold cheese cloth over cheese and weight down with plate and cans. Refrigerate and unwrap and cover. Place cheese on decorative plate. Serve with jalapeno jelly warmed up – red and green make it ready for Christmas and crackers.

Holiday Panettone

One store bought Panettone

2 – 8oz. packages of softened cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

Chopped pistachios, hazelnuts and almonds

Chopped maraschino cherries

1 to 1 ½ cups of mini-chocolate chips

1 teaspoon almond extract

Cut top off top of bread and hollow bread out. Mix up cream cheese, sugar, nuts, cherries, chips and extract together. Place in hollowed out bread – seal with top of bread. Wrap in foil and refrigerate. When ready to give – unwrap and place on plate with clear wrap. Tie pretty knife to ribbon. To serve, slice like a cake to showcase yummy filling.

Susan’s White Christmas

1 package white chocolate instant pudding mix

2 cups of milk (you may want to add more milk so that pudding is not so thick!)

Malibu rum – to your taste

½ teaspoon of vanilla

Chill and serve in martini or holiday glass – sprinkle with coconut flakes and grated nutmeg and place candy cane in glass as stir stick. Great with coconut white chocolate bar! Place in bottle with extra coconut in small bag and/or attach small whole nutmeg and grater on side of bottle.

Here are some other great recipes for gift giving!

Mulled Pears

Bourbon vanilla

Sugar pecans

 

Mulled Pears

1 to 2 cans of pears halves in syrup

2 cinnamon sticks broken into smaller pieces

½ teaspoon of allspice

½ teaspoon ginger

3 whole cloves

1 bottle of red wine (any kind) cabernet or merlot, do not use expensive wine for this.

Open cans of pear halves with syrup into saucepan. Add enough red wine to cover pears. Add in all spices to saucepan and heat to simmer. Simmer about 5 to 10 minutes until wine and spices are heated through pears.  Remove pears once they take on color of the wine. Be careful not to over-cook the pears. Remove pears from pan and continue to cook the liquid until it is reduced and thickens to syrup consistency. Place pears in sterilized jars and pour syrup on top- keep in refrigerator. Serve warmed with vanilla ice cream.

Bourbon Vanilla

In bottle pour bourbon and split vanilla bean down the middle. Add the vanilla bean to the bottle of bourbon.  Let it sit for at least a week before using. The longer you let it sit the better it will get! As you use you can add more bourbon to the bottle.

Sugar Spiced Pecans

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice

½ cup water

4 cups pecan halves

Combine first six ingredients in casserole. Mix well and microwave for 4 minutes. Stir well and then microwave for another 2 minutes.  Add pecans and mix until pecans are well coated. Be sure to continue to stir until the sugar becomes a thick frosted consistency on the pecans. Once this happens to the sugar then spread pecans on waxed paper.  Separate with fork or leave in clusters. Place in containers or cellophane bags. Keep dry and away from moisture.

Older Recipes:

Garden Harvest

It’s the Garden Harvest and it’s time to try out some vegetarian dishes! What a great time of year when it gets cooler out, fall is in the air and we enjoy the “fruits and vegetables” of our labor!

Embrace the field to table vision that is the essence of the Slow Food movement! Grow your own and champion your local farmers and growers! 

Vegetarian dishes are great ways to celebrate your harvest – cutting out meat altogether or limiting it to experience maybe at least one meal a week that is vegetarian is not only great for you but can add some new life to the old standard fair. 

What does it mean to be vegetarian or vegan???

Hope I got this right!!

Vegetarians: Do not eat meat, fish or poultry but may eat dairy, cheese, eggs, yogurt or milk. And there are a wide variety of types of vegetarians as to whether or not they eat such products. People can do so for a moral or dietary choice.

Vegans:  Same with vegans but most do not eat dairy, eggs etc. as it relates to animals being exploited by man. Vegans have a little stronger take on the ways in which animals are treated and used.

Whether or not you have a take on any of these beliefs, today’s menu offers some great dishes for your table with or without meat!

Today’s dishes feature:

Corn, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and squash – grown by my husband Richard

Fresh apples from the Tarner’s Apple tree

Vegetables, (eggplant and cucumbers) are all from local Helena growers

 

MENU:

Ratatouille (The famous version from the movie/no rats included)

Georgia caviar

Succotash

Easy Onion-Potato Tart

Fresh Apple Cake with Apple Butter Frosting

Cucumber Rosemary Gin and Tonic, (as we try and hang onto the last bits of summer)

Ratatouille (the look of the movie version) – Ratatouille means – stewed

Yellow squash

Zucchini

Tomatoes

Eggplant

One can of tomato sauce

Basil

Oregano

Cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Buttered or well oiled – I used olive oil /casserole dish

Mix the tomato sauce, basil, oregano and cumin in a saucepan to heated through. Pour half the sauce in the bottom of the oiled casserole dish.  Save the remaining sauce on stove top at simmer remaining sauce with reduce down. Serve the remaining sauce on the side or pour on top of casserole.

Slice uniformly the vegetables – can use a mandolin /arranging the slices by color in a circular arrangement in the casserole.  Place a layer of parchment paper or foil over the top of the casserole in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve with reduced tomato sauce on the side.

Georgia Caviar

2 cans Black eyed peas – canned easier /dried or fresh cooked- I used dried /follow the package directions.

1 cup Italian style salad dressing

½ cup diced jalapeno pepper (I’m using fresh), be careful handling peppers (around 2 to 3 peppers or to taste)

1 cup onion finely chopped

1 jar drained pimento peppers- chopped or sliced

1 TBS minced garlic

1 or ½ cup diced green bell pepper

Salt and pepper to taste – with canned peas you don’t need as much salt

If you use dried peas – place in saucepan with enough water to cover – bring to boil cooking for 90 minutes until peas are tender. Wait to salt until last 30 minutes of cooking so that you do not stop the cooking process.

In large bowl add drained peas, and cover with Italian dressing. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill for 8 hours of overnight… I never can wait that long!!  Serve with tortilla chips or bread.

Succotash

1 cup butter or use shortening or olive oil

2 cups lima beans (I’m using canned )

½ tsp salt

4 fresh tomatoes – peeled and chopped

2 tsp white sugar

4 ears of fresh corn – kernels cut from cob – using my fresh /now frozen corn

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium high heat – Add tomatoes and cook then add in lima beans and salt cook, add in corn and cook for about 10 minutes. Serve!

Easy Onion-Potato Tart

1 prepared pastry or puff pastry crust

1 medium potato – depending on size, slice thinly.

1 medium onion, sliced thinly

Butter or olive oil

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

Pinch of sugar

Pinch of rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter or oil a baking dish well. Layer slices onions in the dish – Cover with sliced potatoes and sprinkle on seasonings. Cut puff pastry crust to fit baking dish. Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Heat balsamic vinegar and sugar and reduce to a syrup mixture on low to medium heat /watch so does not burn. Remove from oven – invert onto warm plate and drizzle with syrup.

Fresh Apple Cake with Apple Butter frosting (Vegetarian Only for those who eat eggs and animal by-products)

1 ½ cups chopped pecans

½ cup butter melted

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 large apples, peeled cut into chunks – 6 small Tarner Apples

Preheat oven 350 degrees- toast the pecans in small frying pan don’t burn.

Stir together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla

Combine flour, cinnamon, soda and salt – stir in apples and the pecans – flour coats apples so that apples will not all sink to the bottom of your pan! Add in butter mixture and mix. Batter is thick! Spread batter into greased 13 X 9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes – Spread on frosting and sprinkle with pecans. This cake is dense and has a caramel crunch to it.

Apple Butter Frosting

½ cup softened stick of butter

2 cups powdered sugar

¼  cup apple butter (any kind you like) I used my homemade Apple Butter

Mix well – frost cooled cake.

Cucumber Rosemary Gin and Tonic

In a glass of your choice, place two to three cucumber slices at the bottom of the glass. Squeeze in lime juice and slightly muddle the cucumber. Add a sprig of rosemary and fill the glass with ice. Add in 2 oz. of gin (can buy cucumber gin by Hendricks), 5 oz. of tonic water and finish off with a splash of soda water. If you want it less sweet – reduce the tonic water and add more soda water.

Mix and enjoy!

Try new dishes, new ways of eating, new vegetables and fruits! Always support your local growers and establishments in town that support those efforts as well!

Grab a little piece of earth and grow your own! Take care, eat well and be happy!

Susan

has a monthly show here at HCTV. Tune in and take a listen as Brian LaMoure interviews a guest from St. Peter’s Hospital.    You will see this program on Channel 11 at 5 pm every Monday.