Tis the Season

If you ask a gardener in this zone 5/6 area when the growing season starts, they will probably answer Memorial Day Weekend. This is generally considered to be the time of year that is safe from frost.
If you ask a die-hard gardener, they might answer March. That is the earliest you can plant snow peas around here; that is if your garden isn’t covered in the white stuff. (I probably shouldn’t admit this, but there was a time I would shovel the snow off an area large enough to plant the snow peas. I have since recovered from that urge.)
If you ask a gardening addict when the season starts, they will answer November. This is the time of year that seed catalogs begin to arrive. Oh, the excitement of opening your mailbox and finding the first of the season, much like eating your first homegrown tomato each summer. Some days I get as many as three!
I love looking at seed catalogs. Some are beautifully illustrated. All offer the biggest, best, and most abundant. I especially look forward to the new hybrids of the season. Bizarre and beautiful are the pictures of these vegetables, enticing me to try something new.
Look out stomach…this year I’m planting Burning Bush ™ Hybrid Peppers!

King Crab Bisque

Here is another Cafe Wrold menu item that my husband has been making for years. This was one of the favorites at our restaurant, and so easy even I can cook it.
Ingredients:
3 (6 oz.) cans Chicken of the Sea crabmeat
1 slice bacon (I prefer Hatfield)
3 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups diced potatoes
1 quart cream
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp. Thyme
salt & pepper to taste

Saute bacon in butter slowly over low heat in a soup pot, about 10 minutes. Add onion, potatoes, bay leaf, Old Bay and thyme. Continue sauteing for 20 minutes. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. Cook over low heat an additional 15 minutes. Add the crab and cream. Slowly bring the temperature up to just below a simmer and cook for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. You now have a delicous crab soup and can stop right here.
To make a bisque, let the soup cool and run through your blender or food processor till smooth. Reheat. Enjoy!
Serves 10
Here is the YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I8Vwx9Ynkk

Triple Berry Cheescake

Ever since I saw the Triple Berry Cheesecake on Cafe' World I've been wanting some. This is an easy recipe and the result is to die for.

1 Keebler Brand Ready Made Crust, Chocolate
2 pkg.(8 oz. each) reduced fat Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 egg beaters (or 2 eggs)

Heat oven to 325°F
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add egg substitute, (if using real eggs, beat in one at a time) mixing until blended. Pour into crust.
Bake 25min. (ovens vary) or until the top is just about dry. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until chilled.
Topping:
1 cup each blueberries, strawberries (sliced) and raspberries
1/4 cup Maple Grove Farms Strawberry Syrup
I used frozen berries, thawed. Simply mix together.
Drizzle with Hershey's Double Chocolate Sundae Syrup.
Serves 8 (or 2 women 4 times)
To view the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnP9Yk6VjTE

Baked French Onion Soup

3 oz. butter
5 large onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 cups beef broth*
3 cups chicken broth
1 Tbs. white wine
Peel onions, cut in half and thinly slice into semi-circles. Sauté onions and garlic in butter over medium-low heat. The onions need to cook slowly, as they turn brownish their sugars will naturally be released and add a vast amount of flavor. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a slow boil.
Ladle carefully into oven safe crocks. Top with croutons, Swiss cheese and parmesan cheese. Bake in 350F/177C degree oven for 10 minutes. Nice served with toasted French bread.
Makes about 8 serving depending on the capacity of the crocks.
*Vegetarian substitute 6 cups vegetable broth
*You can also use all beef broth, substitute port wine

Digging Holes

A WWII Vet I know grows great vegetables. Really really great vegetables. His wife told me their secret: in the fall he digs holes around the vegetable bed. Then, instead of using a fancy-schmancy composter, they simply put their kitchen scraps etc. into the holes. Until the ground freezes they cover them up with dirt. Come Spring they lightly till in the compost.
Now I know this goes against the recommended method of composting: layering the right balance of brown and green materials and turning regularly to aid the breakdown. I'm not saying I'm not going to continue to do this method over the winter.
But for today, I'm also digging holes.

Planting Garlic

I know, I'm late. Garlic is supposed to be planted by Columbus Day in this area. I have put it in as late as December and still harvested a good crop. So it's better late than never again! This year I am also planting some in containers to see how that compares to in-ground grown. I know enough to keep the planters close to the house so they get sufficient water during the growing season. I think I'll also make another garden at the front of the house...yeah, why not? Maybe it will end up as a huge garlic bed! After all, you can never have too much garlic, right? Then again, I use to think the same thing about chocolate.

Vegetable Pot Pie

A homemade pot pie is nothing like the ones you buy in the grocer’s freezer section. Fresh from the oven they are really delicious. This is an easy and tasty meal. You can adapt it by adding your favorite cooked meat, and use regular gravy (making it even easier).

For Vegetarian Gravy

1 stick butter

Flour

(1) 14 1/2 oz can Vegetable Broth

Make roux: Melt butter in saucepan. Add enough flower to make it pull from the sides of the pan. Remove from pan, set aside.

Pour broth into saucepan. Slowly whisk in enough roux until you have the consistency of cream. You will have some leftover, just refrigerate it, it holds a long time. Simmer to thicken.

For filling:

2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

Olive oil

Your favorite veggies, fresh or frozen

In a skillet, saute’ the garlic in a little olive oil.

For fresh veggies I added chopped onions (1 large), chopped carrots (3), Chopped celery (3 stalks), rutabaga (1 small), kohlrabi (1). Add a little water and simmer until tender.

I then added 1/2 bag of mixed silician style veggies and 1/2 bag of broccoli. Simmer until thawed. Mix with gravy.

Shell:

You can use premade pie dough or make your own*. I used 2 packages (4 ct. total) to make 4 small double crusted pies.

I varied the pies by adding to different shells: chopped seasoned tofu, rinsed black beans, chopped buffalo “chicken” (morning star) and chopped “beef” (morning star)

Top with remaing pie dough, crimp. Bake at 350 degrees F. until shell is lightly brown. For the small pies this took 18 minutes.

Enjoy!

*My husband and I used to own a restaurant and I did a lot of baking. One week I made a total of 80 pies! I haven’t made one pie crust from scratch since we got out of the business 13 years ago!