Sausage

I am still trying to get settled with my move and wanted to start with something from where I am....but that is not ready yet so lets do sausage.  You love it or hate it I think - seems most people I know anyway.  In Wisconsin the sausage of choice has been bratwurst.  Many are made here because there is an abundance of German heritage.  Sausage can differ dramatically depending on the ingredients, additives, curing techniques, shape and whether it is fresh or cooked.

Sausage when you are gluten and soy free can be a problem.  If you read your ingredients you will find most have one or the other as a filler.  If you really search you can find pure sausage with no fillers or artificial anything.  Whole Foods Market is one place that makes their own.  Some are gluten free and some are both soy and gluten free.  They also carry some brands from old time sausage makers that are also pretty pure.  I  have found local farmers getting into the act and having more pure types made.  So if you really look around they are out there.

One thing I have discovered on this gluten free adventure is the bread is a work in progress.  Hamburger and hot dog buns don't really appeal to me, especially the gluten free kind.  So I have adopted a different approach to sausage.  I serve it over gluten free pasta.  We have been having it this way some time now and prefer it.

This isn't so much a recipe as a suggestion for a different way to serve sausage.  This picture features Yak sausage.  Actually they called it a Yak bratwurst.  Yes Yak.  We have a local farmer raising these animals and they made sausage with it.  Very interesting for something different.  An extremely lean meat and grass fed.

In my new location I have already found an apple bratwurst.  So start searching and you might discover a new sausage.

Sausage

We just cook all our sausage on the grill according to the type we are making.  Some take longer than others.  Just follow the package or ask the sausage maker.  Some are precooked and only need heating.  Make sure you know if it's fresh or cooked.

For the pasta I just make any combination of what I have from my gluten free pantry which is always Tinkyada rice pasta.  Just cook according to the package directions.  I add olive oil and fresh herbs once cooked.

I always  feature some vegetable with the combination.  In this dish I used asparagus and onions that I just sauteed in olive oil.

That's it.  Explore sausage it's a big adventure.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Fall Food.  You know when it's a little cooler and the leaves are changing and you want more than a salad.  This recipe is a family favorite from my husband.  His family got this recipe from an Italian friend.

Family recipes are part of that food connection I like to talk about.  When  you make it you remember all the other times you had it.  That is so misunderstood today, I think.  Seems people are in a hurry and the food gets in the way of all the stuff.  To me food is important everyday all the time.  Even as busy as I am trying to pack for my next move.....

Everyone has some food from the past they like to make every now and then.  This is one of those recipes.  The only part of the original recipe that was affected by the gluten free life is the bread crumbs and the spaghetti.  So not really a big deal I just switched those to gluten free brands.  The original recipe had 2 eggs in the meatballs which I omitted.  Use them if you can.

Yes it does take 3 hours to prepare and I know a lot of people think they don't have that much time - but it is so worth it.  Good food does take time.  So some rainy day when you find 3 hours to spend on food - try this I think you will enjoy it and who knows maybe you will create a memory.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2 - 28oz cans whole tomatoes (I use Bella Terra whole peeled San Marzano from Whole Foods Market)

Cook tomatoes slowly over low heat for 1 1/2 hours.  Use emulsion blender or potato masher to make smooth.  Add 2- 6oz cans tomato paste (I use Contadina) and 6oz of water.  Season with salt and pepper.

Make meatballs with the next ingredients

1# ground beef organic
3/4# ground pork organic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup bread crumbs (I use Hol-Grain brown rice bread crumbs)
Handful of parsley chopped
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 green bell pepper chopped fine
salt and pepper

Blend well with hands then form meatballs.  Brown meatballs in 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 garlic clove sliced.  Add browned meatballs to tomato sauce.  Add some dripping from the meatball pan about 1 tbsp.  Cook for an additional 1-1/2 hours on low heat.

Cook spaghetti according to package. (I use Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti)  Serve meatballs and sauce with spaghetti.

Generally I make the meatballs while the tomato sauce is cooking.

Beef Stew

Yes this is a fall dish and it is still summer, but we are all moving into that fall frame of mind.  With the Labor Day weekend upon us we are shifting gears to school, football and comfort food.  Our bodies naturally shift with the seasons which affects our taste for food.

I have had so many vegetable recipes because of my garden, I thought it was time for something else.  This is a recipe I have been using for some time.  I have changed it to my way.  You should do the same after you try it this way.   It is easy and so good.

Try stew when you start that fall shift of mind, body and soul, when you are seeking one of those comfort foods.  I am shifting gears myself.  Yes we are dusting off the gypsy wagon to get ready for our next adventure.  A new location after 3 years at this one.  I will let you know more on that later......

Beef Stew

2-3 pound organic beef roast cut into stew size pieces
3-4 pieces of bacon cut into pieces
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 onion coarsely chopped
Bouquet garni made with 2 stalks celery cut into 3 inch pieces, 4 sprigs of parsley, 3 sprigs of thyme and 1 bay leaf all tied together
1 Tbsp rice four in separate dish
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
1 bottle red wine 750ML (I use cabernet sauvignon) Only use wine you like to drink

I use a large cast-iron pot.  Add olive oil over med heat.  Add onions and bacon and cook for about 3 minutes.  Salt and pepper the meat and add it to the pot and brown on all sides.  Lower the heat.  Add the bouguet garni and the carrots and simmer covered for 20 minutes.  Remove the meat,onion, bacon mixture with slotted spoon.  Stir a little water into the flour to make a liquid and add to the pot stirring constantly.  Now add the tomato paste and stir.  Add the bottle of wine slowly while continuing to stir.  Add garlic.  Then return the meat mixture back into the pot and salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for about 2-3 hours.  I add potatoes about 1 hour before it is finished and more vegetables if you like.  Remove the bouquet garni and serve.

Ratatouille

My favorite stew to make from my garden vegetables.  Have you tried this.  You will love it.  Eggplant, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, garlic and herbs.  I had to wait for my eggplant to catch up with everything else.  This dish can be served hot, cold or at room temperature.  I have had it as a side dish, as a main dish and even as an appetizer.

You may have heard of the word ratatouille.  It is a movie, a video game and this great dish from France, I believe Provence.  Although I never got to Provence I did manage to squeak in Paris once on a trip to Spain. 

Summer seems to be rapidly coming to an end so this is a good dish to bring all these vegetables together.  It is one of those recipes you can just experiment with.  Add more or less of what you like.  You can't really mess it up.  Use this recipe as a guide then adjust how you like it.  I don't even measure anymore but that is a good place to start.

Ratatouille one of those free spirit gypsy style dishes we love.

Ratatouille

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more if you need it
1 1/2 cups diced onion, I used red this time
1 clove garlic diced
2 cups eggplant, diced with skin on
2 cups diced bell pepper any color
2 cups zucchini diced
2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp fresh basil chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped
1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper

Use a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil.  Add onions and garlic and cook until wilted about 5 minutes.  Add eggplant, cook 5 more minutes.  Add bell pepper, cook 5 more minutes.  Add zucchini, cook 5 more minutes.  Add tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper.  Cook 5 more minutes.  Put cover on, reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 more minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

So explore ratatouille.  The movie, the video game and the dish it's all fun.

Okra

This isn't really much of a recipe just maybe a way to get you to look at a vegetable you probably ignore.  How many times have you seen okra and just walked past it.  These are from my garden.  This year it has been hot and humid so I am getting a bumper crop.  Have to do some research myself to see how to preserve them, I haven't had that problem before.  Okra is popular in the south and tougher to grow in the north.

Look for firm, brightly colored pods about 2-3 inches long.  Larger pods may be tough and fibrous.  Sometimes okra in the stores looks black and wilted, walk past those.  Canned and frozen okra is widely available.  Braise, bake, saute and of course try them raw.  When cooked okra gives off a substance that serves to thicken any liquid in which it is cooked.  It is a favorite ingredient in many dishes, the best known being gumbo.

I like it sliced in half and sauteed in olive oil with some spice added.  When doing it this way I don't seem to get that thickening effect so much.  What is a northern girl doing with all that okra you ask.  Just like to explore I guess.  Since this is a southern vegetable.....Oh here it comes "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn", they are just good.  Next time stop, look, buy, try.

Okra Sauteed

Okra sliced in half
Olive Oil
Spice

Just slice the pods in half and saute in the olive oil.  Sprinkle your spice and maybe salt and pepper.  The trick is put the cut side down first until brown.  Then turn and saute until desired firmness.  I turn each individual okra piece once.  This might be the secret to not getting that thickening effect people seem to dislike.  I think it is all part of the character of the vegetable.  Just like us humans, vegetables have individual traits.  Enjoy each one for its uniqueness, just like the people in your life.

Gypsy Kale Slaw

I have so many greens coming from the garden I had to do another recipe featuring them.  I recently posted collard wraps this is all about kale.

This slaw is something I created as I went along.  Four different types of kale in this one.  Yes I have collards, four varieties of kale, chard and lettuce in my garden.  When I say I eat greens there is no exaggeration there.  Now that we are in August this food type is almost over in this area.  Greens like cool weather and August around here is hot and humid.  We have been eating greens everyday for almost ten years now.  So many ways to use them.  Soup, juice, steam, stir fry, bake, dehydrate and of course raw.  Breakfast, lunch or dinner works for me.

I notice the grocery stores are now carrying many varieties.  This can only mean some of you are at least experimenting.  If you are uncertain try them slightly steamed or wilted first.  A very nutritional food.  I think life is about change.  Why not change out a white food for a green food.  Mix up that energy in your life.  Do it for fun, do it for the adventure, do it for the color, do it for your health.......anyway just DO IT.

Gypsy Kale Slaw

4 different kale varieties (Just use one that works too) Remove center stalk and rough chop
2 carrots shredded
1/2 red onion shredded
1 red bell pepper chopped
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Dressing

1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove chopped
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
4 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp celery seed

Extras

1 dried chipotle pepper chopped
Sprinkle of S&B Nanami Togarashi (Japanese mixed chili pepper) Or use red pepper flakes

I put the kale, carrots, onion and red bell pepper in a large bowl.  Make the dressing in a blender or I used a mason jar with my emulsion blender.  Blend well.  Pour dressing over kale and stir. Use all or part depending on the amount of kale you have.  Add sesame seeds.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Then add chopped chipotle and sprinkle spice.  I like things spiced up so skip that if you don't.  Easy.

Beet Salad

The beet is a highly versatile vegetable.  They can be boiled, sauteed, roasted, pickled, eaten raw, made into soup or juiced and I have even substituted them for zucchini when making bread.  I like them all these ways.  Today I am featuring beets in the raw.

The most common color is a garnet red.  However, they can range in color from deep red to white.  The one I really think is intriguing is the concentric rings of red and white.  I have all of those and yellow in my salad and of course all are from my garden

The poor beet is so misunderstood.  People have a love or hate relationship with them.  It seems that relationship might have something to do with how you have had them prepared.  The taste is very different when they are raw to let's say boiled.  I think that is the key to a lot of food.  Bad experiences can set some people off of a food for life.  I always say "try it you might like it but how will you know if you don't try."

Be careful beets bleed.  The juice acts like a dye and everything it touches turns red.  Yes that is a unique trait of beets - one we all wish we had.  The ability to be so colorful.  Reminds me of a song I heard at a concert Monday night - You know the song "Colour My World" by the great band Chicago.  Talk about memories.  As airplanes were flying over our heads, Chicago was playing the song at sunset.  I was at EAA in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Wonderful.

Try the beet next time you are in a colorful mood, you might expand your food horizon and add some color to your soul.

Beet Salad

3-4 different colored beets, peeled, stems and root removed, sliced thin on mandoline
1/2 to whole lemon juiced
Handful of cilantro, chopped
12 cherries pitted and chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Just combine all the ingredients and adjust the lemon and olive oil to your taste.  How easy.