Provence Bean Stew

Posted on September 15, 2011 by okieranchwife

Okay. So Provence, France isn’t exactly Oklahoma cooking, but country French cooking is so rustic, filling, hearty, a meal in a soup bowl. It is my kind of non-fussy cooking. And cook in a cast iron Dutch Oven.  Just add some crusty bread with butter and you are good to go.

  • 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 10 small link Sausages of your choice (Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Soy, etc)
  • 1 large Onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 2 medium Carrots, shredded
  • 4 ribs Celery, diced
  • 1 cup Vegetable Broth
  • 4 cups Navy Beans or other White Beans, drained out of the can
  • 1 can (15 ozs) diced Tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 teaspoons Marjoram
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh Rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried Sage
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped

In a large cast iron Dutch Oven, heat the EVOO over medium high heat. Let the cast iron get hot. Brown the sausage all on sides. Be sure they are cooked through and through.  Place them in a dish and set aside. Add onion and garlic to the same Dutch Oven and saute for about 8 minutes. Add carrots, celery and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to get a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in beans, tomatoes and herbs. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, adding extra water if needed to keep a stew consistency.  Cut sausage links into 1 inch pieces and add to the stew. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and let stand for 1 hour. Heat throughly but don’t boil before serving. Serve in parsley before serving. 

People have asked me if they can just add everything at once. You can certainly do that but cooking the vegetables in the order listed in the directions will allow the flavors to layer and build on each other.  Sauting the onion and garlic in the EVOO allows the flavors to bloom before you add the broth and the rest of the veggies.

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Herb Roasted Vegetables

Posted on September 15, 2011 by okieranchwife

This is a wonderful veggie dish for the cool Fall nights. And the heat from the oven will warm your kitchen. I love a dual purpose dish! 🙂 

  • 1 pound small Carrots, peeled and cut in 3 inch pieces
  • 1 small Caulifower cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 1 bunch Brocolli, broken into small flowerettes
  • 1 large Sweet Onion, thin sliced
  • 2 cloves Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 1 teaspoon dried Basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried Dill Weed
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried ground Sage
  • Sea Salt and Black or Red Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place all the vegetables in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix the EVOO, basil, garlic, dill, sage, salt and pepper. Drizzle over the veggies and toss well to coat. Place the coated veggies in a 13×9 baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes until veggies are nicely browned.

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Oklahoma Cornbread

Posted on September 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

mmmm. Cornbread and chili! Now that’s good eatin’.

  • 1 1/2 cup Cornmeal
  • 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1 tablespoon Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Crisco Shortening or Bacon Drippings
  • 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
  • 1 Egg, well beaten

Preheat oven to 475 F. Preheat the baking dish.

Sift together all dry ingredients. Add soft shortening and mix well. Add milk and beaten egg and continue stirring but don’t over mix. Pour into a HOT 10×10 inch square baking dish. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes.

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Chocolate Bread Pudding

Posted on September 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

This is not your traditional bread pudding but I think you’ll like it.

  • 2 squares unsweetened Chocolate
  • 4 cups scaled Milk (If you want a firmer pudding use 2 cups.)
  • 2 cups Bread cubes
  • 1/4 cup Butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup Sugar or Sugar Substitute
  • 2 Eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Put the chocolate squares in the scaled milk and heat until melted. Beat throughly. Soak bread cubes in the milk mix and set aside. Allow the bread to really soak up the liquid. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the bread cubes. Pour into a 2 quart buttered baking dish and bake for 60 minutes.

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Baked Acorn Squash

Posted on September 14, 2011 by okieranchwife

As I got older I made friends with squash. I have always like yellow and zucchini squashes. But I needed a little encouragement to like the thicker skinned ones. Now I really like to oven roast them as in this recipe. The sweetness that developed from the carmelization on the skin is wonderful.

  • 3 Acorn Squash
  • 3 teaspoons Honey
  • 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Black or Red Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground Ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground Allspice
  • 2 tablespoons Butter

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cut the squash  in half so that it will sit even in the baking dish. Scoop out seeds. (You can save these and roast them as in my Spicy Roasted Pumpkins Seeds.) Arrange the squash cut side down in the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.  MIx the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside. Turn the squash over and spoon the mixture into the hollowed out seed cavities.  Bake for an additional 35 minutes or until it is fork tender. Place the squash in soup bowls and serve hot.

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Horseradish Sauce for Meat

Posted on September 13, 2011 by okieranchwife

This sauce is very good when paired with any type of meat. It is especially good when teamed with a rich cut of meat because it balances the richness. You can even try it with the previous post of Venision Burgers.  I can hardly wait until I can dig up my horseradish. If you want to plant your own horseradish roots, be warned they are invasive in the garden. I planted mine in big tubs right by our front porch.

  • 1 small onion, fine chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 1 tablespoon All Purpose Flour or Wondra
  • 1 cup Vegetable Broth
  • 1/2 cup fresh Horseradish, peeled and grated
  • 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground Clove
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons Sugar or Sugar Substitute

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until brown. Add flour and a dash of the broth. Stir to make a roux. When nicely browned add the remaining broth and the rest of the ingredients.  Stir until thickened. Drizzle over your choice of meat and enjoy.

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Okra Soup #1

Posted on September 13, 2011 by okieranchwife

Why, yes, I do have several versions of okra soup. All my versions freeze really well. Even though I grew up in the Northeast, I ate okra because my mom loved it. This recipe is a mild vegetarian version. Try to use small tender pods or medium ones. The larger the pods, the tougher and more woody they get. There is a type of okra that is supposed to stay tender no matter how big. I had some planted but the heat and drought annihilated them. I’ll have to try again next summer.

  • 1 large Onion, large chopped
  • 1 medium Carrot, peeled and shredded
  • 2 ribs Celery, chopped
  • 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
  • 8 cups of Vegetable Broth (My recipe for home made is in the broth category)
  • 4 cup Water
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon dried Italian Blend Herbs
  • 3 cups sliced Okra
  • 1 can (15 ozs) Diced Tomatoes

Heat the EVOO over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and saute until tender about 5 minutes. Add broth, water, salt, pepper and herbs. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Add okra and tomatoes. Simmer until vegetables are tender about 45 minutes.

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Vension Burgers

Posted on September 13, 2011 by okieranchwife

Here in Oklahoma, the first day of buck season is a state holiday….. Oh! Huh. Well it should be!

  • 2 1/2 pounds ground venison
  • 1/2 pound ground Beef
  • 1/2 cup Onion, minced
  • 1 clove Garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped Parsley
  • 1 whole Egg, beaten
  • 2/3 cup dry Red Wine
  • 2 tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Hamburger Buns

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Form into thick patties. Grill to your preferred level of doness. We like our medium rare. So on our Weber charcoal grill it means about 4 to 5 minutes per side. If we use our George Foreman Kitchen Grill, it is about 5 minutes total cook time to keep the burgers moist and juicy. Oh and don’t forget to grill and brown the hamburger buns.

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Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

Posted on September 13, 2011 by okieranchwife

I like to make this bread with our own black walnuts. I pair this with softened creamy butter. And when I find it or make it from raw milk, Devonshire style Clotted Cream. Hello Fall!

  • 3 cups Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour
  • 3/4 cup Sugar or Sugar Substitute
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground Allspice
  • 1 cup Orange Juice
  • 1/2 cup Butter, melted
  • 2 Eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh Cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped Nuts, your choice

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease a 9×5 baking loaf pan.  Mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix juice, butter and eggs and stir into the dry ingredients. Don’t over mix. Fold in cranberries and nuts. PLace into the greased baking pan and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes.

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Creamy Zucchini Soup

Posted on September 12, 2011 by okieranchwife

Have an amazing amount of zucchini from the garden? Tired of zucchini bread, zucchini cupcakes, steamed zucchini, fresh zucchini? Try this creamy soup.

  • 1 medium Onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted Butter
  • 3 pounds Zucchini, sliced
  • 3 medium Carrots, peeled and shredded
  • 6 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Home Made
  • 12 ozs Neufchatel Cheese, softened and cubed
  • 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon Red Cayenne Powder
  • 1 tablespoon fresh Basil, sliced
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt butter in a stockpot over medium high heat. Add onions and saute until tender, about 4 minutes. Add zucchini, carrots and chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are just tender, not mushy about 15 minutes.  Working in batches, puree soup in a blender or food processor with a blade. Return all pureed soup to the stockpot. Add Neufchatel Cheese, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste.  Heat over low heat until the cheese is melted. Serve warm with additional nutmeg or cayenne.

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