No Dye Red Velvet Cake? Can it be true?

I get my CSA box on Thursday. Really a perfect day to get it. Yes, I know that I seem to have a love/hate thing going on with my box…

This weeks box had some really beautiful looking beets in it. One of them was huge, about the size of my youngest daughters head! It also came with my weekly newsletter. For their newsletter they always feature 2 recipes, come ingredients and a bit of farm news. One of the recipes caught my eye. It was for a Chocolate Beet Cake and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to make it.

See how moist and delicious it looks? Ummm, nope (see after recipe)!

Chocolate Beet Cake (from About.com)

Ingredients:

• 3 large beets
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
2. Trim stems off beets, and wash off dirt. Drizzle olive oil over beets. Wrap loosely in foil and place on a sturdy baking sheet. Roast 45-55 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
3. Remove from oven and let beets cool 10-15 minutes. Peel and cut into chunks.
4. Place beet chunks and applesauce in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until smooth.
5. Beat sugar, oil and eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Add cocoa powder and beet mixture. Mix well.
6. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually mix into batter until no clumps of flour show. Do not over mix.
7. Stir in half of the chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan.
8. Bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake another 2-10 minutes until cake is done. (I skipped this as the cake was domed and the chips would have been everywhere so I just sprinkled it with powdered sugar!)

Results: I am so, so very sad. I just did not like this cake! It didn't have the beautiful color that I thought it would have once cooked. Before it was baked the color of it was just gorgeous. A beautiful, deep, rich red but once it was baked it looks like chocolate cake.

I also think that the flavor of it is a little “irony” or “earthy”. That may have been my fault. The recipe does not have a measurement for the beet and apple sauce mixture and that could add up to a big fail right there. The beets I had were very large. I even removed some of the chunks but I guess not enough. I probably had about 2 cups of pureed beets. I expected something like carrot cake or zucchini cake and this was too strong for me.

I am very picky though…my girlfriend Shellie liked it, as did the girls. I think if I used less beet puree it would be perfect but I still would not have the color I was looking for.

Would icing instead of the chocolate chips or powdered sugar help? I don’t think so. I may just save the icing for another really good banana cake!

Will I make this again? I am not sure. Roasting the beets and pureeing them is a pain in the butt and took a while. I was also disappointed by the color so maybe not but I would love to get the flavor right so you never can tell! It will not be my go to cake for sure!

Maybe we should just try these…Double Dark Chocolate Beet Muffins by Pinch My Salt

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Potato and Leek Soup

I get a weekly CSA box from Worden Farms. I kind of have a love/hate sort of thing going on with it. I thought I would really love it. Supporting the local, organic and sustainable farmer and all. Well turns out it’s really not the best thing for me. I am not very satisfied with what is being sent to me. Not that I am being ripped off or the produce isn’t great but I am so uninspired by a box full of veggies. I want to be at the market or the farm and be able to touch, see, smell and feel the vegetables. This past week I went so far as to go to their weekly farmers’ market to see what I was missing I walked out of there with about $30 worth of stuff but also totally inspired again!!! Sadly I think next year will be a Farmer’s Market year and no more CSA box for me!

Onto the Potato and Leek soup and how it fits into my CSA box story…

I have been getting a bunch of potatoes in my box lately and I had been wanting to make soup out of them but I have been waiting to get some leeks to make Potato and Leek Soup so when I went the other day I picked up a beautiful bundle of leeks.

I really like simple soups where the true flavors come shining through. T. is of the mindset that everything is better with bacon and could not even fathom the idea that I wanted to make a potato soup without bacon in it. Turns out it was a great recipe and he really loved it. Thanks Alana!!! Took it for lunch today if that means anything!

Potato and Leek Soup (Butter is Love)

Ingredients:

• 2 T butter
• 3 leeks (I used 4 because that’s what I had)
• 4 medium potatoes (I used a bunch of small red skins)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 qt. chicken broth
• I added garlic powder and onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• milk to desired consistency

Directions:

1. Thinly slice leeks to the top of the light green part and put in a bowl of water to soak out any dirt
2. Thinly slice potatoes (I leave the skins on for flavor and potassium)Heat 2 T of butter in a large pot over medium heat
3. Add potatoes to the pot and sautée until they start to brown
4. Add garlic and sautée for one minute, careful not to burn
5. Drain and add leeks, sautée until wilted
6. Add 1 qt chicken broth and simmer for 30 min (check your potatoes for doneness)
7. Immersion blend or blend in a regular blender (Be very careful if using a regular blender, only blend half at a time. Trust me.)
8. Blend in milk until desire consistency is reached
9. Salt and pepper to taste

This was a beautiful and simple recipe that let the wonderful ingredients shine without covering it up in bacon fat (which does have it’s place people! Just not in this soup)

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Fennel and Orange Salad

Fennel and Orange Salad

Anyone who follows me on twitter (follow me here) knows that this is my region of the country's growing season and I am getting a wonderful box of produce from my local farm co-op (CSA Box). My only problem seems to be my plethora of fennel.

I really don't like fennel all that much. I find that the flavor when cooked is a little strong and tends to over power anything it is going with! I decided I had better try it raw and see how that goes. At this point I had 4 large bulbs of the stuff. Thank goodness my sister is here and she was able to help out with eating all of this!

I looked around for a couple of ideas and came up with a Fennel and Orange Salad...Big yummm. I had some arugula going wild in my garden so this went into the salad! This one is really a winner!!!


I am entering this into GYO because I grew the arugula from seeds that we planted in October. Grow Your Own is a twice-a-month blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. This months event is hosted by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes. Go on over and check out the round up tomorrow!

Fennel and Orange Salad

3 or 4 bulbs of fennel , tops removed and bulb thinly sliced
large bunch of arugula, cleaned and torn to bites sized pieces
2 oranges, supremed or thinly sliced
1 Tbs olive oil
juice from the remaining orange scraps
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all salad ingredients. Whisk together the oil, orange juice, salt and pepper. Toss together and serve chilled!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Dinner from Sunday.

Corn on the Cob and Baby Bok Choy ready for dinner!

I haven't been talking much about my CSA box this year and I am not sure why. I guess the main reason is that by the time I get home after picking it up it is pretty much dark and I don't have a whole bunch of light left. I did get one picture I took of this weeks delivery but it was kinda small. I did complain about it and they have promised to rectify it. Still the quality, variety and the flavor of the produce is beyond belief.

Cilantro, avocado, scallion, green pepper, carrots, baby bok choy, corn, lettuce, cabbage and Asian Spinach!

This brings me to Sunday night's dinner. I haven't been very organized about planning meals and it's been too hot to eat soup very much but I did take a couple of steaks out to thaw. I knew I wanted corn and I had seen a post of Jaden's site The Steamy Kitchen that had stir fried baby bok choy and had book marked that. Dinner came together nicely despite a football game and my husband blaring in the background!

We take grass fed Chuck Roast (Whole Foods) and cut them into steaks and freeze them individually. Almost looks like a New York Strip doesn't it?

I didn't get any pictures of the Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy but you can find the recipe here and I highly recommend it. It was delicious!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Cilantro Pesto

Look at that beautiful, vibrant green color! Can't you just imagine it on a big plate of black beans and rice???

It is nearing the end of my CSA box week. Because of the holidays I have been picking up on Tuesdays. I looked in my fridge today and panicked. One of my friends is out of town and has gifted me her box. That means I have double the food coming and with New Years and all coming not too many veggies get eaten. I planned dinner to get rid of the bulk of it. I have salad greens and peppers left but I had some cilantro that I had no idea what to do with.

I started searching through my cookbooks and hit the Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and I found exactly what I was looking for. Cilantro Pesto. Let me tell you about this stuff. It is incredible. If you love cilantro like I do there is nothing better except for pico de gallo heavy on the cilantro. It was strong and filled with all the flavor that I love. Green and fresh. The garlic gave it a nice bite and I can just imagine this drizzled on tacos or nachos or topping some black beans and rice!!!

I made a double batch so that I didn't waste any of my cilantro and plan on freezing it. T. came home and tasted it for me and immediately got out the tortilla chips and started eating it by the chip load!

Cilantro Pesto - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro
salt
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed (I used canola and it was great)
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions:

Combine the cilantro with a pinch of salt, the garlic, and the oil in a food processor or blender. Process and scrape down the sides of the container if necessary.

Add the lime juice and blend for a second; add of little water if necessary to thin the mixture, then puree.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve or cover and refrigerate for up to a couple of days or freeze for future use.

To freeze this I place it in a ziploc freezer bag and press flat. Make sure all of the air is out of the bag to prevent freezer burn. Freezing it flat makes it easier for you to break off chunks as you need or want it!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Something a little lighter...

This was my test salad from lunch. For dinner we tossed the salad and added blue cheese and cut up fried chicken!

As anyone who follows my blog regularly knows I have been deep in the heart of cookie baking season! Back to some regular posts for a bit here and maybe some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes that can be used for Christmas Dinner!!!

My local CSA has started up but that sure didn't fit in with the 12 days of cookies now did it? But at least we have been forced to eat really healthy when I wasn't elbow deep in cookie dough!

Near the end of one of the weeks I had a head of baby bok choy, arugula and some mizuna. Now I could have done a stir fry or a salad and something else but I decided to chop them all up together! Am I ever glad that I did. I found the most incredible dressing that went so well with the bitterness from the greens. We chopped up some leftover fried chicken to top it and it was one memorable dinner!!!

Cranberry Vinaigrette (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons water

• Mizuna
• Arugula
• Baby Bok Choy
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts
• Crumbled blue cheese
  

Directions:

Pulse all ingredients but the pine nuts in your food processor and serve over your choice of greens with blue cheese crumbles and the pine nuts.

This was a delicious dinner for us. I also topped my salad with dried cranberries. Any nut can be used. Almonds is what the recipe called for but I couldn't find mine so made do with pine nuts!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Happy Burgers

This is T.'s burger. Sauteed onions, blue cheese, tomato and mayo.
How summery does that look!!!

Yeah, I know I keep going on about it but it's been so long since we have really had any beef that I was willing to feed my family. So once we picked up our all natural, grass fed beef order we tried several different things. We have a lot of ground beef so we made hamburgers the other night. Really nice and easy.

Form the meat into patties by first making a ball in your hand and then pressing flat. We never use any bread, egg or crackers to help them bind. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Usually we grill them but it was raining kind of heavy so I just cooked them up on the griddle!

Everyone here has their own preferences. The oldest daughter likes it with just cheese and mayo. The youngest one likes cheese, mayo and tomato. T. likes it as it is in the pic, and I like mine all different ways-sometimes mustard, relish, pickles and tomatoes, other times just with cheese and tomatoes. However we have them these were delicious!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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I ate some ofal and liked it!!!

Calf's Liver with Little Onions, Sage and Aged Vinegar.

Last weekend I picked up my meat order in our local Taco Bell parking lot. Yeah, kinda ironic when you think about it. When I picked it up though I asked Elisa if she had any extra meat that we could buy. She told me about the rib steaks and them mentioned that she had some liver as well. I was so excited!!! She actually gave me 3 packages of liver for FREE!

I had just picked up the book that I had ordered from Barnes & Noble and was reading it on our way and their seemed to be a really cool recipe for liver! Check out this book,The River Cottage Meat Book For anyone who is interested in meat and the way that it should be, not the way it is. This is the book for you! In the first couple of chapters I was able to learn things that made this book so worth the money!

Now, just to let you know I grew up with a Mom that was from England during wartime. When we ate meat it was cooked. Dammit was it cooked!!! I remember eating liver as a child boiled up in some tomato type sauce. If I didn't eat it that night guess what was waiting for me at breakfast??? Needless to say I hated liver!!!

My oldest daughter always loved it and as a baby it was probably one of the first foods that she really ate. T. would cook it up for her and the 2 of them would just chow down. Personally the smell of it always made me a little nauseas!

Anyway, tonight T. Actually cooked it up for us and it was delicious! Nothing like I remember it being. The texture was still a little odd (creamy as my oldest one described it) but not entirely bad!

Would I do this again? You bet. I truly liked the flavor of it. I will need to get used to the texture only because it is something different!

Calf's Liver with Little Onions, Sage, and Aged Vinegar (from the The River Cottage Meat Book)

Ingredients:

About 1 pound very fresh calf's liver
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 dozen baby onions, peeled but left whole
about 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled but left whole (we added this, not original to the recipe)
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
Scant 1/2 cup aged vinegar (I used balsamic)
2 dozen sage leaves

Directions:

• Cut the liver into slices 1/3 inch thick and trip out any course tubes, then set aside.
• Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over a low heat.
• Add the onions and sweat gently. They mustn't take color quickly but should brown gradually as they cook, so that after 20 minutes the outside is nicely caramelized to a dark brown color and they are sweet and tender all the way through. Transfer to a warm dish and keep warm.
• Add a touch more oil to the pan and turn up the heat so that it sizzles.
  
• Lightly dust the liver with the seasoned flour and lay them in the pan. For liver nicely pink on the inside, turn after 2 minutes and cook the second side for just 1 minute.
• Transfer to a warm plate while you finish the sauce.
• Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, scraping up any crusty morsels from the base as the vinegar bubbles and reduces.
• When you have about a Tbsp of sauce left, trickle it over the liver.
• Heat up another small bit of oil and fry the sage leaves, turning them as they become crispy (this only takes a few seconds).

Here is something totally off the liver thing...pictures of the dogs!!!

See how much the puppy has grown...he's the 6 month old on the right!!!

This is why we have dogs...kids and their dogs have an incredibly precious bond. This is my youngest one just cuddling with the puppy!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Happy Meat!

Not the prettiest cuts but it sure tasted great!!!

I know you've all probably heard me on my soap box about the tainted meat that we are being forced to eat from the supermarkets. All the meat that is pumped full of atibiotics and hormones to allow the animals to grow at a speed very unatural to them. I think I stopped eating meat from the "big guys" around February. I have found several ways around it...costly, yes, but I think that buy eating less meat but a higher quality meat (happy meat) we are seeing extra benefits from it. Quality or quantity is what we are going for here.

A couple of months ago the CSA that I belong to (Worden Farms) sent out an email about beef shares that you could buy into through Crescent C Ranch. All of their beef is grass fed, no hormones or antibiotics, free range beef. I finally talked T. into after about 3 months with no beef. We decided to just get a small order of about 20 lbs where we would get 30 % steak, 30% roasts and 40% ground beef, just to try it out to see if this was the route we wanted to go.

We picked up our order on Saturday and were we ever excited. We also opted to buy some left over meat that didn't get packaged up. So we bought 5 packs of rib steaks and she asked if we wanted any liver...I jumped at that and she threw in 3 livers for no cost!!! I had just bought a new cookbook and wanted to try out a recipe that was in it so it was very good timing!!!

Saturday night we were having souvlaki. That was already planned but on Sunday it was steak night!!! We wanted the full flavor of the steak so we only salted and peppered it and threw it on the grill. We served it with a simple tomato mozzarella salad and the meal was incredible in it's simplicity!!! They are going to be doing another order come the fall so if anyone in the area wants some info on this just email me for it!

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil with Balsamic Vinegar.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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