Chicken Orzo with Salsa Mediterranee

This one is certainly a family favorite.

3-4 tomatoes, chopped
12 olives (green or black - kalamata are best)
2 TBs capers, rinsed and drained
2 TBs Balsamico wine vinegar
2 TBs olive oil (extra-virgin)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cooked black beans (optional)
dried basil
salt, pepper
2-3 ounces of blue (or feta) cheese
1/2 lb or more diced chicken meat (I used cooked leftover chicken ;)
1 package of orzo
2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Mix all ingredients up to the meat and set aside. Heat skillet on medium-high and cook chicken meat in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add orzo and broth to the skillet. Lower heat, cover and let simmer for 12 - 15 minutes until the orzo is soft. Check a couple of times to make sure the orzo doesn't stick and add water if needed. Serve orzo with salsa mediterranee on top and sprinkle with blue cheese. A green salad with oranges and carrots is great as a side.

Pizza - Preliminary Perfect

We are on the quest for the perfect, chewy, homemade pizza. We are trying some slight variations of the theme every Saturday. Last week we thought we were very close to perfect. Here how we did it:

1 cup bread flour
1 cup spelt or white wheat flour
1/2 cup semolina flour or stone ground corn meal
5 1/2 TBs sourdough starter
1 TB salt
1 ts yeast
2 cups filtered water
Olive oil
2 - 3 garlic cloves
1 can tuna
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
basil leaves
Using a Kitchenaid I mixed all ingredients. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Let rise for 2 hours or until dough has tripled. Preheat pizza stone in an oven at 450 degrees. Pat dough into pizza shape on parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Slice garlic into fine pieces and distributed on dough. Top with tomato, tuna, onion. Carefully place the pizza on the hot pizza stone. That's the tricky part! Bake for 10 min. or until pizza is lightly brown. Top with mozzarella cheese and basil and bake until cheese has melted and the pizza looks done - about 15 min.

Update:
Placing the dough on the hot pizza stone is probably better, but too tricky. I now just drop the dough on the cold pizza stone (sprinkled with corn flour) and pat it into shape. Tastes pretty much the same!

Special Spelt Gnocchis - with Chicken

2 LBs russet/Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups spelt flour
salt
2 large eggs
pepper
nutmeg
cooked chicken pieces (or other meat)
4 TBs butter
Sage

Cook potatoes - unpeeled - until very soft (about 25 minutes). Drain and let them cool a bit. Peel and mash them. Add flour and eggs, salt, pepper and a little bit of nutmeg. Mix with a fork until well combined. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Knead dough on floured surface until soft and smooth. Divide dough into smaller pieces (5 - 6-). Roll each piece into a long rope about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 1-inch gnocchis. Press fork on top of gnocchis to leave ridges. Bring water and salt to a boil in a big pot. Add half the gnocchis and simmer gently until they rise to the top. Give them about 30 seconds longer and remove them with a slotted spoon. Add the other half of gnocchis.
Melt butter in a sauce pan until slightly browned. Add sage and fry until crispy. Add chicken. Pour sage butter and meat over the gnocchis. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with a green salad.
Either tomato or gorgonzola sauce with spinach are also great with these gnocchis.

Black Bean Tacos

Soak 1 cup of organic black beans with 2 TBs of whey and 1 ts salt overnight.
The next morning drain the beans, cover with water and boil. Skim off the foam and season with 1-2 smashed garlic cloves. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours. Add water when necessary.
Mix chopped tomatoes, 1 small chopped onion, cilantro, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, chopped jalapeno peppers, pepper, salt and keep in the refridgerator for at least one hour.
When ready to server fry corn tortillas in oil, fold and keep warm in oven. Fill with beans, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, avocado slices. We found that plain yogurt also works well, in case you're out of sour cream :)

Pasta Spinach Alfredo - Creamy

Carlotta made this last night - it's one of her favorites

1 cup heavy cream, not homogenized
¼- ½ cup butter, ideally from pastured cow milk
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (ideally made from raw milk)
1 ts salt
¼ ts ground black pepper
1/4 ts nutmeg
1 package frozen organic spinach
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic

You will need to:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes (or as pasta package directs) or until al dente; drain.
Sautee onion and 1 clove of garlic for about 10 min. Add spinach and cook on low-medium heat until defrosted. Season with salt, nutmeg, pepper a little bit of rapadura.
Combine heavy cream and butter in a Dutch oven or large, heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally; be careful not bring mixture to a boil. Stir in Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and 1 crushed clove of garlic. Toss with cooked pasta and serve immediately on plates and top with spinach and additional grated cheese.

Greek Style Grass-fed Beef Burger with Zaziki

1 lb grass-fed beef hamburger
1 small onion, minced
1 clove of garlic
3 oz Feta cheese, diced or crumbled
4 TB cooked spinach
1 egg
salt, pepper, 1/2 ts cumin
Mix hamburger with onion, crushed garlic, egg, spices, spinach and feta cheese. Add seasoning and form hamburger patties as you like them.
Fry in cast-iron pan until brown on both sides. Don't overcook these burgers - they should be at least medium! Serve with Zaziki and tomatoes, lettuce and your favorite hamburger buns.

Tasty Turkey Meatballs

1 Lb ground turkey
1 egg
1 clove garlic
1 small onion, chopped
2 slices of sourdough bread soaked in warm water
1/2 ts each: oregano, thyme, sage, pepper, chile powder
1 ts salt

Mix turkey, egg, minced garlic and onions. Press water out of bread and mix with the meat. Season and form little meat balls. (Wet hands help). Fry on medium heat until done. Serve with Tabouleh, Zaziki, Peanut sauce.

Bountiful Burritos

Sometimes you have leftovers: rice, meat, vegetables. You want to use them for the second meal but make it look like a brand new one. Make burritos!
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Soften spelt-flour tortillas by moistening them and warming them over low heat. Take each one and fill with chopped meat, prepared brown rice, black beans, your left-over vegetables (e.g. tomatoes, corn, bell pepper, onions), salsa, cheddar cheese, sour cream. Roll them up and place in a oven-proof, oiled/buttered dish. Top with sour cream, cheese and a little salsa. Heat in the oven at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese has melted. Serve with a nice green salad.

Spaetzle - spelty German noodles

3 cups spelt flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 egg, well beaten
1 cup milk or water
1/2 ts salt
1/4 ts nutmeg

Sift flour and salt into bowl. Add egg and mix. Add water gradually until batter is stiff but smooth. Press dough flat on a plate or floured board. With a sharp knife, scrape small pieces of dough off and drop into boiling salted water. Boil gently 5 to 8 minutes, or until you try a few and find them done. Remove from water with perforated spoon and drain.

They may also be sautéed in butter until a bright golden color. Toasted bread crumbs, fried onions or grated cheese may also be sprinkled over them. Serve with a green salad for a full meal.

Sauerbraten auf Rheinische Art

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup of red wine
• 2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, additional for seasoning meat
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 whole cloves
• 12 juniper berries
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) tri-top or bottom round
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 100g Spekulatius (or not very sweet gingerbread or a cornstarch slush)
• 1/2 cup seedless raisins, optional

Directions

In a large saucepan over high heat combine the water, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, 1 onion, 1 carrot, salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, juniper, and mustard seeds. Cover and bring this to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.When the marinade has cooled to a point where you can stick your finger in it and not be burned, place the meat in a non-reactive vessel and pour over the marinade. Place into the refrigerator for 3 days. If the meat is not completely submerged in the liquid, turn it over once a day.

After 3 days of marinating, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 Celcius)

Pat the bottom round dry and rub with vegetable oil and salt on all sides. Heat a large saute pan over high heat; add the meat and brown on all sides, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add one fresh chopped carrot, onion, celery each, and brown.

Strain 'old' vegetables from the marinade. Pour marinade over meat. Add tomato paste to the meat and marinade, cover and place on the middle rack of the oven, and cook until tender, approximately 3 hours. Remove the meat from the vessel - keep warm or let cool for the next day. Remove fat from the sauce and reduce over high heat by about half. Blend solids with an emergent blender. Whisk in the crumbled spekulatius (or cornstarch slush) and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally.  Add the raisins if desired. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in raisins. Serve with Spaetzle and Red Cabbage. Or Sauerkraut.

Reibekuchen - the potato kind

(Potato Pancakes)
3 lbs potatoes grated
1 raw medium onion grated (optional)
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper
1 TBs flour
2 TBs oatmeal
1 ts parsley (optional)
2 TBs oil
Peel and grate the potatoes. Drain the liquid. Mix the potatoes with eggs, grated onion, flour, oatmeal,, salt, parsley, and pepper.Heat the oil in a skillet and then put the dough in, 3 tablespoons at a time. Spread the dough out evenly. Bake on both sides until golden brown.
Serves: 4 – Great with apple sauce or sour cream and salmon

Zwiebelkuchen

(Onion cake)
Dough:
4 cups spelt flour
3 egg yolks
¼ cup butter
Pinch of salt
A bit of honey
½ cup lukewarm water
1 oz. Fresh yeast (or 1 pack of dried yeast)

Filling:
4 Slices of bacon (nitrate free), diced
2 lb. diced onion
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt
Caraway seeds to taste
To prepare the dough: leave all ingredients out, letting them reach room temperature. Put the flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Mix the yeast with a pinch of sugar and the water and a bit of the flour. Pour into the well and lightly cover with the flour. Cover and leave to rise. Beat the yolks with a pinch of sugar until thick. Beat into the shortening, add a pinch of salt and pour into the flour. Work to a dough and knead until bubbles form. Roll it out finger-thick and line a baking pan. Press the dough edges up to a height of about ¾ inches. Let the dough rise again.
For the filling: Fry the bacon until crisp, take out 2 tablespoons and put aside. Fry the onions in the bacon fat, let them soften but not brown. Cool slightly then spread them over the dough. Beat the eggs with the sour cream, add a pinch of salt and pour the mixture over the onions, sprinkle with remaining fried bacon and caraway seeds. Bake in a hot oven until the filling is set and the pastry a golden brown, about 30 minutes.