The beauty of simple food

Since Sunday evening I’ve been staying at PenHouse Retreat Center in Frankfort, Kentucky for some peaceful time to reflect and write. The big, old house with porches on every side offers spacious rooms, generous light and the melody of birds and insects. Those charms do not surpass that of the warm host and hostess—David and Normandi—readily offering their garden meals along with lively conversation.

I’ve often thought I would like to have a place like this to offer to artists, but if I were cooking, I fear there would be little peace for me. I always feel a need to fill a table with options so if my guest doesn’t like one dish, another will suffice. It often means hours of preparation and lots of fussing to make the table look grand.

As I sit at some else’s table, I appreciate the simple goodness of a garden meal in which the natural flavors stand on their own. Cabbage slaw, Goose beans, corn on chicken, garden-fresh spaghetti sauce. Oh yes, I’ve been treated well. Rich flavors intertwine with funny stories and lessons from the journey others are taking in life.

The next time I welcome guests, I hope I can remember that the most enjoyable meal requires more than detailed preparation. It’s the simplest of foods and most genuine of conversations that create the best dining experiences.

A Fall Trifecta

I saw something in the Lexington newspaper about the unusual convergence of so many sporting events in the city at once this weekend. In my household, today’s trifecta has nothing to do with sports and everything to do with food.

This morning my prayer group came here for brunch. This afternoon I’ll be preparing treats for tomorrow morning’s coffee and donuts at church. This evening we’ll be having a guest for supper. It’s a good thing the garden is still handing over its gifts!

The brunch menu looked like this:
Stuffed roasted tomatoes
Corn and basil tart
Fruit salad
Cinnamon pecan rolls

I garnished the tomatoes with fresh parsley and the fruit salad with fresh mint. At this time of year when I’m very aware that a frost could mean the end of my herbs, I seem to more often remember to actually use them than during the rest of the year.

It certainly looked and smelled good when it was all ready. The only problem was with the stuffed tomatoes. At this time of year since we’ve had so little rain, the Roma and San Marzano tomatoes are less than plump. Nonetheless, I followed the recipe by cutting them in half, scooping out the seeds, marinating and roasting before stuffing. When I pulled them out of the oven, I saw that was a mistake. The tomatoes had flattened. I stuffed them, put them under the broiler and tasted. Everyone around the table agreed that even though they didn’t look beautiful, they definitely made the taste buds cheer. I’ll try them again for supper but I won’t roast them in advance.

Everything else was a hit so the group members more or less agreed on their rating. (Deb suggested upping the score simply because cinnamon rolls were on the menu.)

Deb, Martha and Patti’s rating: 9

I’ll take it!

Tortillas and cheese enliven frozen vegetables

I am beginning to see the end of some of my frozen vegetable supply. I think I used my last package of frozen greens this week when I made a burrito bake casserole based on a more protein heavy recipe I found years ago. This is something anyone can easily make to suit their own tastes.

For my version, I laid out the whole wheat tortillas and topped them with unthawed greens and corn, plus a few carrots we had canned. Then I added a mixture of our canned salsa and tomato puree plus the remains of our roasted chicken and some black beans that I whipped with sautéed onions and sour cream. For more bite, add jalapenos or your other favorite peppers. You can also add sour cream and cheese inside or anything else you think you would like.

Next, I folded them like burritos and put them in a casserole dish then covered with salsa and topped with cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Alternately, you can prepare tortilla dishes like an Italian lasagna, alternating layers of tortillas with cheese, meat, vegetables and sauce. Of course, you can also make it meatless.

Either way is a relatively quick meal if the meat is leftover and the vegetables have been preserved, and therefore softened, and don’t need to be cooked. Use your creativity and see what you can come up with to tickle your taste buds.

A hot pie for a cold night

Chicken pot pie is sort of like soup—you can throw in lots of vegetables that you’ve preserved to make a warm meal for a cold night. That’s what I did last night. Using carrots we had canned, peas and corn we had frozen, our sweet potato and the remains of a locally grown chicken that I had roasted earlier in the week, this dish came together in about 30 minutes. You’ll also notice that I didn’t use a canned, creamed soup for the broth, as many recipes call for. You can easily substitute brother and milk and end up with far less sodium.

Although I like to make my own pie dough, I cheated last night and used the puff pastry dough from the grocery freezer section. It did taste good. I didn’t even ask Jim for a rating, but he gave it a totally unsolicited 10.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 C chopped carrots (fresh, home canned or frozen)
1 ½ C corn (fresh or frozen)
1 C sweet potato, diced
¼ C flour
1 C low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups chicken
1 C whole milk
1 ½ C frozen green peas
Sprinkle of oregano and parsley
Salt and pepper
1 TBSP white vinegar
Pie dough or frozen puff pastry, unthawed

Directions:
Melt butter in large, deep skillet. Sauté onion until soft, about five minutes. Add chopped garlic, carrots, corn and sweet potato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then sauté a few more minutes. Sprinkle flour over vegetables, pour in broth and stir until all is well incorporated. Add chicken and milk. Stir and continue cooking until broth slightly thickens. Add peas, oregano and parsley. Stir and taste to determine if you need more salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

Place six ramekins on a cookie sheet. Fill each with the pot pie filling. Cut dough to cover the top of each ramekin and place dough. Cut a slit in each top. Bake approximately 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Feeling Wealthy

It’s uncomfortably cold and wet outside, but I wandered into the garden anyway to rescue the vegetables that are still faithfully growing—greens, a couple of tomatoes, green peppers, ancho peppers, lettuce and arugula. I even found two deep pink zinnias still adding their beauty to the garden, as well as a number of nasturtiums that continue to bloom on the pea trellis.


Our garden is about to go to sleep for the season, so I was surprised when a friend brought us a bucket of corn and a bag of pears this week from his farm. Having so much fresh food makes me feel like a wealthy woman! I immediately searched for recipes to use the corn, which will get starchy if I don’t cook it up. I already have frozen plenty, so I’ll use some of it to make vegetable soup and corn bread for friends tonight. On this chilly October day, the warm soup will be a welcome comfort.