Tag Archives | carrots

Save Green- Make Your Own Stock!

By on April 5, 2013 in Greenling DFW, Soups, Staff Picks

stock

Here at Greenling, we’re constantly on a mission to use as much of the vegetable as possible. Beet greens? Sauteed and delicious! Skins? We eat ‘em on almost everything! But sometimes there are parts of the vegetable you just don’t want to eat (the bottoms of onions, tough ends of celery), or maybe you simply have too much to use before the vegetable goes bad. Don’t worry, there’s a tasty solution for that- homemade chicken or vegetable stock! Homemade stock is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to add flavor and depth to your meals all while reducing kitchen waste.

Preparation
You probably won’t have to buy veggies to make your stock- simply scraps alone will suffice! A good plan of action is to simply keep an airtight container or gallon ziplock bag in your freezer that you can toss scraps/unused veggies in as you cook. You can do the same thing with herbs- if you’re not going to use them before they go bad, add them to the bag. It is important to make sure you scrub and wash your vegetables! Use common sense- cut and discard moldy or slimy parts. You’ll want to use each stock bag within a few weeks.

Similarly, if you’d like to make chicken (or beef) stock, buy a whole chicken and keep the neck, back, and wings, and any bones. Store in a separate bag or container in your freezer.

What to use
Onions, green onions, leeks, shallots (skins, peels, cores, trimmings)
carrots (vegetable and green)
celery (stalk and leaves)
mushrooms (and stems)
potatoes
squash
root veggies (and their leaves)
peppers
peas
corn (and cobs)
spinach, kale
apples
pears
herbs
(note: Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, fennel, and cabbage impart strong flavors, and beet skins have a tendency to make broth bitter. Avoid these, or add towards the end of cooking time.)

Cooking
The key to a great tasting stock is to cook slowly, and use a variety of vegetables, herbs, and spices. Balance the strong (onions, celery) with the sweet (carrots, sweet potatoes.) Deb (from Smitten Kitchen, recipe below) simmers her stock uncovered for 3 hours. Similarly, a crockpot is a great solution for strong, delicious stock. You could set your crockpot on the lowest setting before you go to sleep and leave it for 10 hours or more. Taste as you go, the flavor will develop over time. After your stock is finished, you’ll want to strain it through a sieve or fine strainer. Discard or compost the solids. Store stock in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or frozen (in jars or ice cube trays!) for a few months.

Chicken Stock Recipe
Recipe and photo (above) from SmittenKitchen.com

Makes approximately 3.5 quarts

3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds chicken necks, backs and wings (omit if making vegetable stock)
Contents of your stock bag, cut into chunks (classic combination: onions, celery, turnips, carrots, sweet potatoes)
1 head garlic, cut horizontally in half
1-2 California bay leaf
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon Kosher salt (optional)
a few bunches of herbs, like parsley or thyme (whatever is in your stock bag)
4 quarts cold water

Bring all ingredients to a boil in an 8- to 10-quart heavy pot. Skim froth. Reduce heat and gently simmer, uncovered for 3 hours. (Or use crock pot method described above.) Pour stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl and discard solids. If using stock right away, skim off and discard any fat. If not, cool stock completely, uncovered, before skimming fat, then chill, covered.

 

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Crock Pot Roast

By on August 19, 2012 in Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Recipes

It is still too hot to have the oven on for hours at a time.  So when I got my beautiful roast from Bastrop Cattle Company in my Greenling basket, I got out the crock pot and dug out some root veggies for a down home Sunday dinner.  The secret to any great roast is the browning of the meat and veg prior to roasting.  You aren’t looking to cook them through but the brown bits equal flavor.

3-4 Pound Chuck Roast

10-12 Baby Carrots

4-5 Potatoes, cut in 2 inch pieces

1-2 Onions, peeled and cut in 8 pieces

1-2 Leeks, sliced and soaked to clean, then cut in 2 inch pieces

1-2 Tablespoons oil

1 Can Beef Broth

Salt and Pepper to taste.

 

Thoroughly dry roast and then season generously with salt and pepper.  Set aside while you prep vegetables. Add potatoes to crock pot. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium high heat in large saute pan.  Brown the onions and leeks then add to crock pot.  Brown carrots then add to crock pot. Add more oil to saute pan if needed and brown roast thoroughly on all sides.  Position roast on top of vegetables in crock pot.  Pour a couple of Tablespoons of beef broth in saute pan to deglaze, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Pour over roast with remaining beef broth.  Add water if necessary for liquid to come halfway up roast.  Cook covered on high for 4-5 hours or low for 5-6 hours.

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Roast Chicken

By on May 4, 2012 in Fall, Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Recipes, Spring, Winter

As the Texas summer starts creeping up on us, my thoughts turn to ways to avoid the heat of the oven.  I have long been a fan of the crock pot to stew a chicken in for soups but did you know you could roast a chicken in the crock pot?  OK, technically it is probably a braise but by just leaving the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, the skin gets closer to a crispy roast than a flabby stew.  By placing the chicken on top of a bed of vegetables, the juices are used to add flavor to the veggies without submerging the bird in too much liquid.  It is ok if it comes part way up the bird but you want it mostly out of the broth for the crispiest skin.

3-4 potatoes cut into bite size pieces

4-5 carrots cut into bite size pieces

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive oil

3-4 pound whole chicken

Combine the spices to make a dry rub for the chicken.  Rub the chicken inside and out with the olive oil and thoroughly sprinkle with the rub.  You can let this rest covered in the refrigerator for an hour up to overnight if you have time.  Layer the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot and position the bird on top.  You should still be able to close the lid on the crock pot.  Cook on high for 30 minutes, then switch to low for 6-7 hours.  For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid.

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Homemade Veggie Bouillon

By on March 9, 2012 in Soups, Uncategorized, Vegan

As a rare cold winter day hits Austin, my craving for a warm bowl of comforting soup heats up.  But who has time to spend all day chopping and simmering?  Fortunately, I have a secret weapon in my freezer I can reach for in times like these.  My homemade veggie bouillon has no msg or unpronounceable preservatives.  Just farm fresh veggies and salt.

Before you ask, yes, you really do need all the salt to preserve the vegetables.  You only use about 1 teaspoon of the bouillon per cup of water, so the overall salt content in the final soup is rather low.

Use the bouillon as the base for a homemade soup, to punch up a sauce, or mix with sour cream for a veggie dip.

 

Vegetable Bouillon

3 carrots,  scrubbed and peeled, cut in 1 inch pieces

3 celery ribs, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 leek, white part only, sliced

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

12 sun dried tomato halves

8 ounces mushrooms (crimini, white button, portabla, whatever you like)

2 cloves garlic

1 bunch parsley, leaves and stems

7 ounces of salt

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon pimenton or smoked paprika (optional)

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms a smooth paste.  Will store in fridge for about a week, store in freezer after that.  Use approximately 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water.

Hints-  I have a smaller food processor, so I have to do this in 2 batches.  You can add as much as you can fit in the bowl and pulse it down to add more if you need to also.  This recipe is very versatile and you can use almost any vegetable you want.  Don’t like mushrooms?  Substitute parsnips.  Want a Mexican style soup? Use cilantro instead of parsley.  The sun dried tomatoes are pretty important to rounding out the flavor for me and fresh tomatoes would add too much liquid so I would not sub those out but experiment with your local box to find what works for you.

 

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Have some fun with Back to School

By on August 13, 2011 in Appetizers & Snacks

Here are some fun recipes the kiddos can help you with for their lunches!

Easy Cheese Crackers
From Parenting.com

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
  • 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp course salt
  • dash of cayenne pepper
  • 1 Tbsp milk

Instructions:

An easy recipe for homemade cheese crackers. Kids will love helping by making their own shapes!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a pastry cutter combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and cayenne pepper until the mixture looks like pea-size crumbs. Add the milk and use your hands to form the dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough about 1/8-inch thick. Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the dough into your desired shapes or use some mini cookie cutters.

Gently transfer the crackers to an ungreased cookie sheet leaving 1/4-inch between them. Try to make the crackers roughly about the same size so everything will cook evenly. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the crackers are golden. Cool on baking sheet set on a wire rack. These taste great warm but are also very good at room temperature. Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.

Carrots with Peanut Dipping Sauce
From Parenting.com

Ingredients:

Carrots with Peanut Dipping Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • A splash of soy sauce
  • A few drops of sesame oil
  • Water to smooth
  • Carrot sticks

Instructions:

Trying to break the peanut butter and jelly habit in the under-12 set is no easy task, but this mellowed peanut-sesame dip just might do the trick. It’s equally good with carrots or tossed with cold noodles.

Mix everything but the carrot sticks together with a fork or whisk in a bowl. Add water as needed to thin mixture to a dipping consistency (all-natural peanut butter needs more; everyday brands need less).

Kids can help: Scrape carrots, stir ingredients

Extras: Torn up cilantro, basil, a squeeze of lime juice or sliced green onion tops. Try apple slices instead of carrots

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