From Scratch Cream of Mushroom Soup

I am a big believer in buying locally and this last year my family and I joined our first CSA. It is one of the best moves we have ever made. Food grown locally and in season is so much better and more diverse than what you normally find at the grocery store. We also got rid of most of the highly processed canned goods we used to have. That worked really well until the kids wanted Grandma Peggy's Famous tuna casserole, which uses canned cream of mushroom soup. I have since found a recipe that I make and freeze to use that I think you all will like as well.

Ingredients:

5 cups of white mushrooms sliced
1-3 dried morels (optional)
1 onion chopped
1 pressed garlic clove
1 tbs butter or olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (also optional)
5 cups chicken broth or stock
1 cup half and half (or milk)
salt and pepper

Directions:

Place morels in water to soften. Melt butter or olive oil in large sauce pan. Saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add sliced mushrooms, morels, and wine and saute until mushrooms release their juices.

Remove from heat and place into food processor or blender. Careful it's HOT! Blend until smooth.

Pour back into large sauce pan. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, add cream, stir, and then salt and pepper to taste.

Once the mixture is cooled I will separate into freezer containers and freeze until I need it for a recipe.

Kale Salad

This is a great recipe that I got from the Organic Farm around here.
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 yellow onion diced
2 cloves garlic
3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 celery stalks
1 bunch fresh kale
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Optional:
2 half-breasts of chicken
or walnuts
or low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese
or fresh grated Parmesan cheese
or pine nuts

Boil chicken for a good 20-25 minutes, until you can easily shred it with a fork. Shred and set aside in a bowl.
Add olive oil, onion and garlic to a medium skillet or wok. Saute until onions are transparent.

Add to skillet:
1/2 cup red wine (I used pomegranate vinegar)
3 fresh carrot sticks, thinly sliced
3 stalks of cleaned celery thinly sliced
add salt and pepper to taste

Let simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally

While above is simmering, clean and slice kale into 1"x1 1/2" pieces and place in large salad bowl

At this point you can stir in the, shredded chicken or walnuts to the vegetable mixture.
Let stand for about 2 minutes on low heat

Pour entire mixture over kale and toss until well mixed.

Add 1 cup of cottage cheese or Parmesan cheese and toss.

Serve with artisan bread. Serves 5 salad-loving individuals

Sesame Seared Ahi

Tonight I tried a new Ahi recipe. No, its not part of my particular heritage but it was very good, and SO EASY. Oh and since this is just a family site, You should know, I didn't take these photos. Next time I try something new I promise to use my OWN pictures.

Sesame Seared Ahi
From the Owner of Bend Fish Market

Serves 4-6

1-2 sushi grade Ahi steaks
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup soy
2 Tbs white sesame seed
2 Tbs black sesame seeds
Kosher salt
Sesame oil

Marinade fish in red wine and vinegar for one hour. Mix sesame seeds and kosher salt. Pack onto both sides of fish. Heat sesame oil in skillet until almost smoking. Sear fish till one 1/8 of and inch is white then flip and sear again. Take fish off of skillet and let rest on plate for 5 minutes
Slice thin and serve over rice, with wasabi and soy sauce. EASY!

A Recipe from "The Old Country" (Sweden)

Kroppkakor

Funny Name but a very good snowy day sort of soul food.


From Stora Kokboken and Annes Food

Ingredients:

8-10 large potatoes
1 egg yolk
3/4- 1 cup flour
salt

For the filling:
3/4 cup bacon pancetta
3/4 cup smoked ham
1-2 tbsp minced yellow onion
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2-1 tsp allspice

Directions

Peel the potatoes Boil until soft, drain the water and let the potatoes dry. Mash and wait till cold

Cut the bacon and the ham into small dice. Fry the onion and the meat in the butter until lightly browned. Season with allspice, and let cool completely.

Mix together the mashed potatoes, flour, egg yolk, and a bit of salt. The dough should be well mixed and easy to handle. Roll into a sausage-shape, and cut into even pieces. Each dumpling should be between a golf ball and a tennis ball in size - fairly large. This recipe makes about 12.

Roll each piece into a round, and make a hole with your thumb. Fill with plenty of filing, and close the hole. Roll again so you get a nice, even dumpling, and flatten it slightly.



Boil the dumplings in plenty of boiling, salted water, a few at a time. They need about five minutes on each side. Do not boil too long or they will turn into glue (ick) Serve with melted butter, lingonberries or sauce béchamel with allspice. (I prefer the sauce)



Bechamel Sauce with Allspice

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated allspice

Directions

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the flour until smooth. Continue stirring as the flour cooks to a light, golden, sandy color, about 7 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in milk until thickened by the roux. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering until the flour has softened and not longer tastes gritty, 10 to 20 minutes, then season with salt and allspice.

Välkommen Family!

This year I have been working on a family history project that has made me think a lot about family traditions, culture, and the foods of the countries of our family heritage. As a result I have been trying new recipes from Sweden, Slovakia, Germany, Scotland. I have found some great ones that I would like to share as well as some non related recipes that are just plain yummy. I have gotten many of these recipes from other people, so can not claim them as my own, but still want to share anyways.