Oktoberfest: Beer-Braised Vegetables

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cabbage, carrots, celery, food, foodie, Oktoberfest, onion, potatoes, recipe, side dish, vegetables

I made these veggies to go with the Hänchen Schnitzel last night. The sun sets earlier, so I couldn’t get a very good pic for my daylight was gone! At least Oktoberfest helps ease the transition into longer nights and shorter days.

Oktoberfest: Beer-Braised Vegetables

Beer-Braised Vegetables Ingredients:

4 potatoes, 2 handfuls baby carrots, 4 celery stalks, 1 sweet white onion, 12 oz. to 24 oz. of beer (I use Franziskaner hefeweiss), fresh dill weed, fresh cracked-black pepper, fresh-ground sea salt

Beer-Braised Vegetables Directions:
Heat pan over medium heat. Cube, cut, slice veggies and put into hot pan. Stir constantly, as vegetables brown. Add in beer, dill, salt and pepper and stir. Cover and allow to simmer until vegetable are tender. Remove from heat and serve hot!

Any medley of vegetables could work for this dish, have fun with variations… I sometimes add cabbage and a golden apple.

*Drain juices and reserve to make a hefeweiss pan gravy.

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Cannellini & Spinach Soup

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beans, cannellini, cannellini beans, carrots, food, foodie, postaday2011, recipe, soup, spinach, vegan, vegetarian, white kidney beans

Normally this time of year, my grill gets used daily and soup is an after thought of winter. This year, the sunny warm days of April have been sparse… the beginning of May is looking the same. Tonight is my night to grab a bowl of hot soup and curl up on the couch with a blanket, book and Rory (my kitty).

Cannellini & Spinach Soup

Ingredients:
3 c. cooked cannellini beans, 1 minced shallot, 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, 1 c. of shredded carrots, extra virgin olive oil, homemade vegetable stock, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Warm EVOO in bottom of stock pot, brown shallots. Add spinach until wilted, then toss in carrots and beans. Pour enough vegetable stock to cover vegetables and bring to a boil. Salt & pepper to taste.

Hubster’s Variations:
I serve Hubster’s over orzo with very little broth. I add turkey sausage and turkey bacon (crumbled) to Hubster’s. And garnish with freshly grated pecorino romano.

Do you eat soup through the spring? What about summer?

Hubster’s Beef Stew

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beef, beef stew, carrots, celery, crock pot, dinner, food, hearty meal, lunch, meat & potatoes, meat and potatoes, postaday2011, potatoes, recipe, shallots, slow cooker, supper

Monday… does anyone really love Monday? I don’t and especially after DST Spring ahead… Tonight, I needed to whip Hubster up something hearty, simple and easy. Once again, something I could just prep and forget… This is personally my busiest month at work.

Hubster's Beef Stew

 

Ingredients:
cubed steak, 2 shallots, 2 Tbsp. butter, 4 cubed potatoes, 5 sliced carrots, 1 bunch celery (chopped), 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. celery seed, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 2 c. white wine, water, fresh cracked black pepper, fresh ground sea salt.

Directions:
Melt butter in stock pot, add shallots and meat and brown. Add wine, bay leaves, celery seed and mustard seed, bring to a boil. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, salt pepper and cover with water. Place lid on pot and simmer for a few hours. Discard bay leaves. Serve hot.

Hubster doesn’t like gravy in his stew, but you can take the broth and thicken it with cornstarch or flour.

Tonight, my meat & potatoes man had his meat & potatoes and ate it too…
Serve over alone, over rice, with biscuits or bread. Hubster had his stew with a big chunk of Irish Soda Bread. I used a semi-sweet whit table wine for this recipe.

What are Mondays like for you?

Minestrone

Tags

carrots, celery, Garbanzo beans, minestrone, recipe, red kidney beans, shell pasta, soup, tomatoes, vegetable soup, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian soup, zucchini

Hubster asks how can I eat hot soup in the summer? With fresh vegetables at fingertips length, how can you not make a minestrone?

The zucchini was fresh from my neighbor’s garden.

Minestrone

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, 4 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 3 tomatoes, 2 c. dark red kidney beans, 2 c. garbanzo beans, 1 bag fresh spinach, 2, Tbsp., butter, 3 Tbsp. minced onions, 1 tsp. dried sage, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. thyme, pepper, salt, 1/2 lb. small shells, 6 c. water

Directions:
Dice the tomatoes, chop celery and slice carrots. Sauteé vegetables with butter. Add minced onions, herbs, bay leaves, salt, pepper and water and bring to a boil. Cut zucchini into half moons. Remove bay leaves and add zucchini and spinach to soup and continue to slowly boil until zucchini is tender. Add beans and pasta and boil for 10 minutes.

Top with fresh grated pecorino romano cheese and serve hot.

Serve with homemade crackers or bread. Mmm…

What hot dishes do you still like to enjoy during the summer?

St. Patrick’s Day – Boiled Cabbage, Neeps & Tatties

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boiled cabbage, carrots, dinner, ethnic cuisine, Ethnic Food, neeps and tatties, potatoes, recipe, Scottish recipe, stemmed vegetables, supper, tradition, turnips

St. Patrick’s day is the one day when I’m continually asked if I’m Irish; acquaintances, co-workers, even strangers. This must be the one day a year everyone notices my fair skin, freckles, green eyes and the reddish tint in my hair. I smile and inform them my family is Scottish… The most common responses I get? “Same thing,” “Close enough,” or “Oh…” followed by a blank stare. So even though it’s an Irish holiday, I’m making a Scottish dinner. Afterall, same thing? Close enough? Who can tell the difference?

St. Patrick's Day

Tonight’s Dinner:
Boiled cabbage
Stemmed neeps, tatties and carrots
Baked ham (I couldn’t find a turkey ham, so I baked a regular ham for Hubster)

Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage, 6 red potatoes, 3 turnips, 4 carrots, 1 small onion, 2 Tbs. mustard seeds, butter, fresh chopped parsley, water, salt, ham

Directions:
Cut cabbage into 6 wedges, cube potatoes and turnips, slice carrots and mince onion. Bring 1 qt. of water, mustard seeds and onion to a boil. Add cabbage. Place steamer right above cabbage parsnips, potatoes and carrots. Boil and stem veggies until tender. Drain cabbage from the water. Toss neeps, tatties and carrots with a dab of butter and fresh parsley. Serve veggies with a hot baked ham (just kept it simple, rubbed it with salt and baked it).

*Try adding two slices of bacon or a small chuck of the ham to the water while boiling the cabbage. I sometimes will add a strip of turkey bacon, if there are no vegetarians partaking in the feast.

*Vegetarians should add a tsp. smoke flavoring to the water.

What’s your favorite St. Patrick’s Day tradition?