Parsnip and Carrot Fries: Sweet or Savory

For a second serving of the root flavor of the month, LHF brings you a healthier alternative to those deep fried potatoes at your local fast food stop: sweet or savory parsnip and carrot fries.

Here what you'll need:
Parsnips (I only used one for myself, so the number depends on how much you want to eat)
Carrots (Again, I only used one)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
Garlic
Brown sugar
Cane sugar

I couldn't decide whether to make the fries sweet or savory, so I opted for both in two separate batches.

Begin by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Once the parsnips and carrots are cut into long, medium-thin slices, you can coat them in olive oil. Then, lay them out on a baking sheet (you may want to cover it in tin foil to help with the clean up, since the brown sugar sticks), and sprinkle the savory fries with sea salt, pepper, and garlic. On the sweeter side, sprinkle the remaining fries with brown sugar and lightly with cane sugar (I sprinkled some extra brown sugar on the fries once they were done baking as well).

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, and enjoy your sweet and savory root delights.

-Ianna

Homemade Apple Butter

Iiiiiiiiiitttts apple season! One of my favorite times of year. When apples are in season, I think I could honestly eat two a day. They are beautiful colors with anything from a sweet to sour flavor. This last week when my roommate and I both had a night to relax together and make something, we decided to make apple butter. The day before she had gone apple picking with her family and brought back a big bag of Gravenstein apples and some half pint mason jars.

Here's what you can do at home to get the same chunky spicy spread:

You Will Need:

At least 4-5 lbs fresh apples

2 C. water

2 C. apple cider vinegar

4 C. sugar

4 Tsp. cinnamon

1 Tsp. allspice

1/2 Tsp. ground cloves

Sterilized glass jars with lids

A friend to help you

PROCESS

-Wash and quarter apples

-Add to a large pot and bring to a boil, along water and apple cider vinegar

-Reduce heat and simmer for about 40-45 minutes

-Remove from heat and pass through a food mill or some sort of strainer to separate out the seeds and stems :)

-Add sugar and spices

-Simmer on low heat for about 2 hours, stirring constantly. You will want to have a friend around to help you for this part.

-In the mean time as you and your partner are taking turns stirring, prepare the jars for sterilization. There are two general methods, wet and dry sterilization. You can boil your jars to sterilize them, but I find this is too much hassle in my small kitchen. Instead, we washed our jars with soap and warm water and allowed them to dry. Then we put them in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and allowed the jars to sterilize in the oven for about 30 minutes on 425F.

-As the apple butter mixture thickens, make sure to keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot so that nothing sticks and no layer of burned butter at the bottom forms. What you end up with is a very fragrant chunky syrup mix that can be ladled carefully into the jars. It will be mostly a matter of preference, but you will want to get a thick consistency. To test, spoon a small amount on a plate that has been sitting in your freezer. The apple butter should set up and not be too runny or think on a cold plate if it has cooked and reduced down enough.

-H.BOMB

A Healthy Stuffed Sweet Potato?!

Photo courtesy of Ianna Angelo

Upon making dinner with my friend Jennifer recently, her one request was that it be healthy. Normally, suggesting a stuffed baked potato would not fulfill her request, but we decided to prove that there is always a healthier way. What is so great, is that this meal was equally as delicious as the traditional baked potato that is slathered with butter, sour cream, chili, and cheese. Here's what you will need:

INGREDIENTS:
1 sweet potato
1-2 cups kale, chopped (remove the thickest spines because they do not get tender easily)
2 shallots, chopped
2-3 button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup brown cooked rice (you also can use quinoa, couscous, etc.)
1 carrot, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped thick
Non-fat Greek yogurt (amount really depends on your preferences)
paprika
sea salt
garlic powder (just because there is no such thing as too much garlic)
1/2 lime
fresh ground pepper
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme

Bake or microwave the sweet potato until soft. While the potato is cooking, you can prepare the stuffing ingredients, such as the rice. Using a shallow pan, cook the sliced carrots on a medium heat in a thin layer of water until they are soft. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat a small amount of olive oil and saute the kale, garlic, shallots, and mushrooms over a medium heat. I had to add small amounts of water to the pan while the stuffing mix cooked to allow the kale to get tender, and to prevent the ingredients from burning. According to your taste preferences, season the mix with paprika, ground pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, fresh rosemary and thyme, and freshly squeezed lime juice. Once the kale is tender, the mixture is done cooking.

Now its time to stuff the sweet potato. First, spread a layer of the non-fat Greek yogurt. Next, add some brown rice, and cover this with the veggie mix. Top this veggie mix with the sliced, cooked carrots, and then add a dollop of the non-fat Greek yogurt. Garnish the potato with more fresh rosemary and thyme.

If you want to make the side salad, simply combine spinach and thickly cut tomatoes. Sprinkle the salad with flax seeds for added fiber, and lightly toss with balsamic vinaigrette and extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy eating your guilt-free loaded baked potato!

-Ianna

Berry Cheesy Crescent Rolls

A seemingly fancy snack can be surprisingly simple.

A few days ago, my friend, Nikki, came over to throw back some beers, hang out, and make some food. I wanted to contribute something that was a more savory take on berries for the flavor of the month. Knowing that berry and cheese can at times compliment one another very nicely, I opted to make Berry Cheesey Crescent Rolls. 

Since I was feeling indecisive on which cheese or which types of berries to use, I decided to cook up a variety of stuffed crescent rolls comprised of strawberries, cranberries, brie, goat cheese, and some fresh herbs from my garden. It is still debatable which berry cheese combo was the best. My favorite was the strarberry, goat cheese, and thyme roll, while Nikki preferred the brie cheese and cranberry combination. I'll let you be the one to decide once you try it for yourself.

INGREDIENTS:
Pillsbury crescent roll dough
Brie cheese
Goat cheese
Strawberries (sliced, diced, or however you like 'em)
Dried cranberries
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme

All you have to do, is roll up each roll with a berry-cheese-herb mix of your choice, and get baking. They're quick, easy, and scrumptious.

-Ianna

Rosemary Veggie Quiche

Join us for our final recipe this month featuring rosemary as our special ingredient. This past Sunday night, we made a quiche using freshly harvested rosemary and kale from our garden, along with peppers, mushrooms, and onions, in addition to a side spinach salad with sour grass from our back yard, and red peppers. Making a quiche had always been an intimidating endeavor- its so delicious, how could it be easy to make? But much to our pleasant surprise (and because we used a prepared pie crust), the entire meal was pretty simple and ready in about an hour.

INGREDIENTS                                                       ALSO

1 store bought pie crust                                           1 small mixing bowl

4 eggs                                                                          1 baking sheet

1 c. heavy cream

1 baby portabella mushroom, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/3 white onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced, save half for side salad

3-4 c. kale, roughly chopped

1 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped

2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F. Heat olive oil in a large pan, and sauté garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Add chopped kale to wilt it, seasoning with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs and add cream. Stir in chopped rosemary. In the pie crust, layer cooked veggies with cheese and 1/2 cup of raw red peppers. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the pie, allowing it to settle a moment.

Place pie on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until egg is fully cooked and the top just begins to brown. Allow this to cool for 5-10 minutes.

While the quiche cooled, we prepared an easy side salad. We used the remaining 1/2 cup of the red pepper, some chopped sour grass found in our backyard (it's also growing all over Santa Cruz!), and some fresh spinach. We tossed these together with a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to make a simple but tasty addition to our quiche. 


Enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!


-Love Handling Food

Jalapeño Corn Bread

This recipe is a take on spicy corn muffins my Aunt Sue always makes for us when she comes to visit. I also include the way I prepare honey butter to cut the spice of the bread. I have only made this in a 7x11 glass cake pan, but my suspicion is that it will work just as beautifully if you put it in muffin tins, just try cooking for only 15-20 minutes or so if you do that. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1-14 3/4 oz. can sweet creamed corn
1 fresh Jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup corn flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease and flour a 7x11 baking pan.

In one medium bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs well. Once this is mixed together, add your milk, creamed corn, and jalapeno.

In another bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients gradually- I recommend doing it in thirds. After everything is mixed well pour it into your prepared baking pan and bake for about 50 minutes to an hour depending on your oven.

While the corn bread is in the oven, take however much butter you want to prepare and allow it to soften to room temperature. Once your butter has softened, just add honey. The ratio I use is about three parts butter to one part honey. So if you use about three tablespoons of butter, use about one tablespoon of honey. Whip the butter up until it is smooth and looks kind of like yellow frosting.

When your corn bread is out of the oven and slightly cooled enjoy it with a generous portion of soft honey butter. Trust me, its awesome. 

 -H!