Author Archives: eatwithana

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About eatwithana

After owning and running a restaurant for 8 years, I've sold it to stay home with my two girls. I think most of you are great cooks and maybe I'll spark a new idea. Occasionally I'll post a whole recipe, but if you ever want a more detailed recipe for something I post, just ask! Happy Eating, Ana

Melnea Cass Spiced Apple Butter

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Along Melnea Cass Boulevard here in Roxbury MA, stand a handful of Heirloom Apple trees, the Roxbury Russet. Crisp, sweet and tart, they make great baking apples and yesterday I did a big batch of Spiced Apple Butter. It’s a great activity for a cold rainy day.
A couple of years ago I picked up some legit canning tools; just a jar funnel and jar grabber, but it makes it so much easier.
My amounts are again to taste because I’m doing about a bushel of apples, you could do a decent home batch with a dozen.
To do :
Wash, core and peel apples.
Roughly chop into about 1/8 pieces.
Put on stove at medium heat in double walled, or at least double bottomed pot.
Cover, stirring frequently until liquid starts to come up. Turn down to simmer uncovered for about an hour.
Use stick blender to purée and then add your ground spice. I used:
Mace, Clove, Vietnamese Cinnamon, Ginger.
Turn heat down to lowest possible and keep stirring frequently with stick blender, adding some sugar to taste. I only added about 2 cups for this bushel batch. Using the stick blender repeatedly gives the butter a velvety texture.
You know your butter is reduced enough when it mounds on a spoon and holds it’s shape. At least another hour.
I ended up with about 28 jars.

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Oatmeal Cookie Kinda Night

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Soft oatmeal drop cookies you can feel good about giving your kids, and they still taste like cookies. We are making them while we have a They Might be Giant dance party.
Ingredients: Organic is best.
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped unsulphured apricots
1 tablespoon Bourbon Vanilla ( or regular)
1 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups oats
To Do:
In small bowl combine eggs, dried fruit and vanilla. Cover and chill 1 hour to plump fruit.
Oven to 350.
In medium bowl cream butter, sugar, cinnamon.
Separate bowl for mixing flour and baking soda. Add dry to wet and mix well. Next stir in egg/fruit mix and then oats. Will be stiff, use your muscles.
Drop with teaspoon onto parchment lined pan.
10-14 minutes until slightly golden.
Just finished my fourth while writing this. Tomorrow it’s all about salad. 😉
Update: this recipe makes such a large batch, I’ve taken to rolling 2/3 of it in sheets of parchment and freezing it.

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Here they are cut from the frozen log.

The Last Peppers

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I just harvested the last of my garden, which included assorted hot peppers. To save for later use I halved and seeded, then tossed generously in olive oil and sea salt. On parchment, in the oven for one and a half hours at 200, they curled up and mellowed out their heat. I packed them in a recycled jar, topped off with more olive oil. They’ll be great tossed in pasta or sliced on a flatbread. I love having the taste of my garden to enjoy all winter long.

Red Anjou and Cardamom Butter

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I just can’t stand seeing food go to waste. It must be somewhat leftover (ha ha) from owning a restaurant; I’m also a manic recycler. When I noticed a neighbor was not picking the pears in their front yard, I had to step in. After asking of course, I foraged almost a bushel of beautiful Red Anjou pears.
I love pear and cardamom together and I though this would be a great way to marry those flavors and have a variety of uses. The finished product is a deep maroon and beautiful on a cheese plate or with lamb or pork. My kids will be eating it on toast and waffles. I swirled it in some Greek yogurt.
To do:
Wash, de-stem and cut out any bad parts of really any kind of pear. Quarter them and start cooking on medium, I added juice of 2 lemons for my huge batch.
Keep stirring and when you start to see a lot of liquid, put on low, uncovered until pears are clearly breaking down.
Let cool some and then process through your food mill. If you don’t have food mill you’ll peel and seed them. Cooking with the red peels gave it the lovely color though.
You now have awesome unsweetened pear sauce and you could stop here! I almost did because I’m arms ached so much from the food mill.
Making the butter can be 6-12 hours on very low heat, or you could use a crock pot. You want to reduce it until it mounds on a spoon. I added some cinnamon and a lot of cardamom at the beginning and then more cardamom towards the end. I added some cane sugar since I was also going so heavy on the spice, but you needn’t .
Then get your canning supplies ready.
I’ll be taking some to my first visit to the Boston Food Swap.

Hello September Dinner

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A whole chicken and kolanche squash is roasting in the oven. Cider vinegar braised greens on the stove with super sweet late season, corn on the cob. A lobster pot full of foraged pears is boiling next to them. Tomorrow I’ll make pear cardamon butter. Something about Gigi’s first day of kindergarten today made me want to smell all these things. Autumn is in the air.

Where the Buffalo Roam

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The buffalo do roam in Warner, NH. The Yankee Farmer’s Market at Brian and Keira Farmer’s ( yes really) buffalo ranch is one of our favorite stops to make up here. Stocking up for this holiday week we decided to do some slow BBQ back ribs. The buffalo ribs are huge, making us feel a but like cave folks.
2.5 hours on a low charcoal with a water pan in the coals was perfect for this leaner meat. I did a dry rub in the morning of hot Hungarian paprika, cumin, black pepper, brown sugar, sea salt .
Then made a “mop” to put on the last 30 minutes of cooking and serve on the side.
Simmered on low for about an hour:
1/2 cup Jameson Whiskey
1/4 cup brown mustard
Splash cider vinegar
Two spoons of brown sugar
Splash if canola oil
A few shakes of Worcester
A few shakes Tabasco

Peaches in the Night

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The annual Peaches in the Night Preserved, batch starts now. To be unsealed at the Holidays for parties and hostess gifts. I do it the old fashion way, no pectin and a long slow simmer. I was wishing for a cooler August day, but oh well. I like what I read online about making jam and preserves is an art, not a science. The pectin and sugar content vary year to year, tree to tree. I use about half the sugar most recipes call for and add some lemon juice. I blanch, peel, pit and slice and then simmer for a couple hours after bringing to a boil. I’m making about 2 gallons of jam/ preserves. Maybe you’ll get to try some.

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The BLT

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I try not to let my family eat cured or processed meats very often, the BLT is the exception. Here is one of many variations we enjoy.
Toasted pepper brioche from Iggy’s Bread- Reduced Sodium Natural Bacon from Whole Foods- Julienne collards and onions, braised in seasoned rice wine vinegar- sliced tomatoes from the garden- My “secret sauce” = Grilled hot Hungarian and green bell peppers( peeled and diced), garlic powder , cumin, touch of Sriracha , mayo and some beef juice that got in with grilled peppers.