And the color of the week is Red

I find it hard to believe there is only a month of summer left.  Maybe I'm in denial.  Or its just that I keep recalling the memory of this past winter's "polar vortex/frozen hell," of which I am dead certain I can not withstand a repeat.

But I'll behave myself for now and look on the positive side.  It's mid-August and the tomatoes are in full production!  A lot of canning to be done this week...   ~A

 

 

Pressure cookers, snow, and a fat goat

 

"You know who" has still not shown any sign of a due date.  I'm ready to give up on her...

 



 

I'm feeling rather low and beat down with all this cold and snow and snow and cold.  And what do woman tend to do when they're feeling down?  Shop, of course.  And so I did.

I have an aluminum pressure canner/cooker that I absolutely love, but knowing that aluminum is not the best to cook with (only to can with), and knowing how often I use my canner (a lot!), I decided to splurge an buy a smaller, everyday stainless steel cooker for non-canning use. So I bought an 8-Quart Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker this morning on Amazon and now I can't wait for it to arrive!

I hate waiting.  I'm already dreaming of all the recipes I want to try with it. 

Five days or so and it will arrive.  Unless the delivery man cannot get up my snow filled driveway.  Fingers crossed...

Lima Bean Soup

The WWFarmstead purse strings are pulled tighter than a frog's butt lately, due to the Vaquero (mexican for "cowboy")  being without work for the past three months.  We've been getting creative and trying to eat as low cost as we can stand. 

So tonight's dinner is a quick, satisfying, mostly healthy and mostly frugal dinner.  It's my own recipe, and is now a "keeper" in our farm house - Lima Bean Soup. 

Okay, I get it.  Most people hate lima beans.  I adore them.  And, if you don't, use some other bean.  You won't hurt anyone's feelings. It's also nice to have some homemade bread (which we all should be making anyway) to serve along with it. 

Lima Bean Soup  (Pressure Cooker recipe)
Serves 4-6, depending on how hungry your Vaquero is...

1 lb. smoked kielbasa or andouille links, sliced thick
1 tsp hot pepper flakes (or less if you're afraid)
2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1/2 tsp coarse ground, black pepper
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced thick
2-3 celery stalks, sliced thick
1/2 half of a large yellow onion, chopped
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, smashed and chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
14 oz plain tomato sauce
6 cups of water
1 lb of Lima Beans, drained (must first be soaked for 8 hours!)

Do all of your peeling, slicing and chopping.  Drain off the soaking liquid from the Lima Beans.  Throw everything into the pressure cooker, secure the lid.  Pressure cook at 15 lbs pressure for 6 minutes.

Serve in bowls garnished with fresh cilantro or italian parsley, your choice.  Enjoy!

The Pressure Is On!

It's cold, soup is warm.  Let's make soup! Or is it stew? Whatever...
I have been desperately wanting a pressure cooker/canner for some time now.  And guess what? My good Mama gave me one for Christmas! So out of the box it came, and out of the barn came a hen for the pot.  Don't fret the hen's demise. She lived a peaceful, cage-free life here on the farm for the past ten months.

So, here is the first recipe I concocted for my new Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker...

Chicken and Vegetable Stew / Soup

1 whole, small chicken (2-3 lbs.) cut in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. of chicken bouillon powder (or 3 bouillon cubes)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 medium onion, quartered

3 carrots, 1-inch diameter, cut into 2-inch pieces

3 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 medium potatoes, cut into halves

3 tablespoons butter

Add the olive oil to the pressure cooker and heat to medium-high heat without the lid on. Brown your chicken on all sides. Pour water in cooker (make sure cooker has cooled down and is not excessively hot). Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pressure cooker.

Secure the pressure cooker lid in place. Place regulator on vent pipe and cook 20 minutes at 15 lbs pressure. Allow the cooker to cool to zero pressure on its own. Remove meat and separate from the bone and add back to the broth and vegetables. Throw in a little fresh chopped parsley. Test for seasoning, and thicken the broth with a little cornstarch if you’d like.

Delicious. Fast, hot and easy – just like I like my… Wow, where was I going with that one?

But what a great stew though. It can be thrown together in a flash and ready to eat on any of those nasty winter nights. The broth is heavenly. And don’t forget to shamelessly pour yourself some home brew and add a slice of crusty bread.