Lushous Lemons

Living in Southern California has it's perks.  I miss the seasons, but it's an easy trade for fresh food all year round.  Moving into this rental house and starting our own garden has been amazing.  We keep wanting to do more and to have more land to grow more.  Fruit, citrus, and avocado trees would be an amazing addition.  However, we've managed to find friends and neighbors we can barter with or who are just so generous that they give it away.  I've been fortunate with many who have lemon trees and seem to have a continuous supply.

So, recently with a big box full of lemons I went a bit crazy and made quite a few "lemony" things.  I apologize for my terrible and improper way of sharing recipes, but I hope the main idea comes through.

I started with preserved lemons.  I mostly went by memory of what my mom and friend did.  There are lots of recipes out there and it seems like I mostly did what they all say too.

Cut lemons into quarters but not all the way.  Pack in with coarse salt.  I buy mine from the Asian stores and this one was particularly larger.  I put some on the bottom and sprinkled some on the top as well.  Within hours I noticed the juices come out. 

I did "zest" some of them, and by zest I used a julianne cutter on some of them.

A week later it looked like this.  I did end up adding another two into the jar.

I also used the zest to make two other items.

Candied lemons which I just cooked down in sugar and a tablespoon of water.  Unfortunately, I cooked it too long and the sugar solidified after it cooled.  So, it was perfect to use in recipes.  I used it when I made bread pudding

Current and Candied Lemon bread pudding.
Left over baguette
handful of currents
candied lemon peel
honey or sugar (as you like)
milk
eggs (I used 3)

Mix the wet ingredients (you can warm the milk and temper the eggs if you'd like), then add the broken bits of bread and let soak 10 min.  I added the lemon and currents and let soak another 20 min mixing occasionally.

Bake 350 till tops turn golden and liquid is mostly absorbed.  (It will puff up so leave some space. I did mine in the toaster oven which is why the tops got a bit burned!)

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The other thing I made with the zest was lemon salt.
I mixed the zest with a handful of salt and put in a shallow cookie sheet (toaster for me).  I put in on the lowest setting for about 20 min and then left it out for 1-2 days to dry out.  There is also a good recipe on Sunset 

The left is my salt and on the right is Hawaiian pink salt.

I used this salt as a garnish when I made lemon risotto in the pressure cooker.

Lemon Risotto with Lemon Salt and Truffle Oil
2 cups Arborio rice
5 generous cups of chicken stock or water
 salt (if your stock is homemade and has no salt)
Juice of a lemon or two (depending on the size)  About 1/4 cup
Zest of a lemon

Add all in pressure cooker and heat and stir without lid till bubbling.

Mix well and close.  Once the pressure cooker starts time it for 6 min.  Turn off and let it sit till all the steam is gone (about 15 min for my old one).  Wait a bit longer, and then mix it quickly a few times.  This really helps the starch come out and thicken like risotto should be.

Mix in 1 tsp olive oil or butter and lemon salt.  Taste and add salt (regular or lemon) as needed.

Serve with a drizzle of truffle oil on top and a garnish of salted lemon zest.  I also served it with the two salts on the side.

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Pressure Cooker Roast

I love my mom's Roast Beef!  It is like none other, except my grandmother's.  I've always avoided even wanting to know how to do it, until recently.  Now that my kids are able to chew up some meat, it is the best road trip sandwich.   I have such fond memories of my mom's roast beef and home made mustard sandwiches while driving in the back seat of some friend's van, truck, or bus.  The combination of the peppery beef and pungent and slightly sweet mustard is an art she has perfected. 

Last year, I tried it a few times and it turned out really well.  It just takes a long- LONG time.  You have to cook the roast in a pot half filled with water, salt, pepper and vinegar, then once it's soft, you separate the liquid and then brown some garlic in a good few spoons of olive oil.  This is where the roasting begins.  You put back the roast and then you keep basting it with the liquid and oil.  It is delicious!

This time, with my new (to me) pressure cooker, I decided to ask my mom how to do it in there.  Well, the cooking time was reduced to 20 min, which for the size of roast I used, I think was about 5 min too long.  I had also salted it a tad too much.  It was unbelievably fast, and since it turned out so soft, it was perfect for the kids.  When you get a grass fed center cut rib roast under $10, you grab it.  Grass feed tends to be a tad on the tougher side, so this method was perfect for it.

We enjoyed it with some turnip, chard, and cauliflower greens cooked in the brown bits of the pressure cooker pan.  Mashed turnips and potatoes, and what turned out to be a crazy creation of mashed sweet potato, carrot mix added to the turnip potato and then made into a pancake by adding egg, flax meal, almond meal, and some gluten free bread crumbs.  This was an experiment at it's best.  It took many versions to get it to form decently, but the kids did love them.

After all this, I forgot to eat it with the mustard! Rats. 

 The roast still in liquid before being roasted.  I guess I forgot to take an after pic, sorry.

 The greens with a good dusting of orange zest.

The experimental root vegetable-mash pancake.

Shared in: small footprint family, Food Renegade 
Simple Lives Thursdays 

Under the weather foods

As much as I love the cooler weather and the longer nights (mostly because the kids go to bed earlier), I don't like all the viruses that tend to make it's way into our home.  I'm still figuring out lots of the "preventative" remedies and how to boost our immunity, but when anyone in this house gets sick there are 2 things that get made.  1. Soup 2. Tea.  Both these vary each time, but there is something so comforting in soups and teas when you're not feeling well.

Soup

We tend to make either a chicken soup or an ox tail soup.  This time we made a chicken soup with lots of stuff to increase immunity and give us some comfort food.  Once again, the pressure cooker came in handy for this one.  The little one eve tried to chop up carrots and celery.  I like to brown my chicken in some olive oil and garlic before I add the onion, celery and water. I use lots of garlic (about 8-10 cloves, or more).  I also add peppercorns and salt before closing it up for about 30 min.  After the pressure is released, I add the carrots and potatoes.  This time we did a mix of Asian sweet potatoes and Yukon.  I also added a pinch of saffron this time.  After a second round for 15 min, I added zucchini and corn.  I wish I had a can of white beans to have added but since we've switched to dried beans, I wasn't ready for it at the last min.

Other wonderful things to add/ substitute are:
Rosemary (or any herb)
Ginger
Beans
Squash (winter or summer)
Tomatoes
Turnips
Spinach
Rice
etc..

 I added a few tortilla chips to my bowl of soup

Tea

Tea is a staple in this house.  We drink mostly black tea with milk and sugar.  When we get sick we make "herbal" teas with lots and LOTS of honey.  We get our honey in bulk from the farmer's market.  Honey is really used for everything here from waffles and pancakes to oatmeal and just a spoonful (as medicine).

Each time I make a "sick" tea it's different, but in general it consists of either honey and lemon, or honey and ginger; sometimes it's all 3.  This time, I added a few extras to boost immunity and circulation.  This morning's tea consisted of: fresh ginger pressed through a garlic press, orange peel and some orange pieces, cinnamon, clove, and honey.  I pour hot water and let it steep for 5 min at least before drinking.  I think it's best sitting and steeping all day and I top off with hot water as it goes down.  When I run out of fresh ginger we also use candied ginger.  I let the kids have a piece of it now and then also even when we're all healthy

Other things to add/ substitute are:
Candied ginger
Cranberries
Lemon peel/juice
Pomegranate
Coriander seed or leaf
Chamomile flowers (fresh or tea bag)
Cardamon

If you're daring you can try a pinch of chili powder or a slice or two of jalapenos.

Please feel free to share your "sick" foods and teas.  It's always nice to hear other home remedies for feeling better.

shared on Small Footprint family, Fresh Eggs Daily,  gnowfglins

Ox tail soup

One of my favorite soups my mom makes is Ox tail soup.  When I started to make this 10 years ago.  It was a 2 day soup.  It took forever to cook the meat down till it was soft, then I would cool it, skim the fat, then heat it up and add the veggies.

Now, it all takes me under 2 hours.  Why?  Pressure cooking.  My mom has been insisting I use one for years, but this past summer she bought me one for $15 at an estate sale.  It truly is an old fashioned one.  I am learning to love it.  We fixed it up, got a new gasket and, voila, soup, beans, etc, cooked in no time.

Well, my fears of pressure cooking are slowly going away, but in the meantime, I'm able to whip up some of our favorite soup fast even while the meat is bought from the frozen isle.


How to:

Put Ox tail in pressure cooker with water 3/4 way.
Add onion chopped up
peppercorns
large tomato chopped up
salt

Cook for about an hour reducing the fire after the steam comes out.  Turn off fire and wait till pressure has escaped.  (PLEASE, follow the instructions for your pressure cooker).

Add potatoes, carrots, and anything else you might like, and taste for salt.

Cook another 30 min till meat is tender.  Once the steam is released open and add cabbage.  cover and let sit in hot soup for 10-15 min.  No need to cook it.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate and skim off fat. 

My kids love the soup over rice or with buttery toast.  I like small teaspoon of Vegemite or Marmite with my soup.

MMmmmm.. delicious!

shared on Small Footprint Family, Farm Girl Blog Fest