Grandpa's Home Cooking

Slow Roasted Vegetables

What do you do when you open your refrigerator vegetable bin and find an odd lot of vegetables that you'll lose if you don't do something with them soon. Don't wait. Gather them up, wash them, trim roots, peel, and arrange them in a roasting pan to make a nice looking presentation.

Last nights roast included cabbage, potatoes, sweet onions, beet greens, and beets. When I have beets, I try to separate them from other vegetables so they don't color the other vegetables. Some people cut off beet greens and throw them away. What a shame. They are so sweet and delicious.

Last week's roast included potatoes, small white turnips, Vidalia onions, and about two dozen cloves of garlic. I tucked the garlic in between the vegetables throughout the pan. Goodness how delicious. When you eat one of the roasted garlic cloves it's like biting into a piece of candy! 

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Arrange the vegetables in the roasting pan. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil. Salt and pepper the vegetables to suit your taste. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Then pop the roasting pan in the oven and roast the vegetables for about two to two and a half hours. Goodness how delicious!

Some vegetables roast better than others. For example, cabbage is sometimes still a bit firm (but still good to eat). There is nothing quite so good as root vegetables such as potatoes, turnips, carrots, leeks, onions. And if you have it, don't forget the garlic cloves!

Here's a good story. When George Whitman, owner of the Paris English language  bookshop, Shakespeare & Company, met customers and learned they were travelers, he nearly always said, "You can sleep here in the bookshop if you like. There are sofas and chairs throughout." Some folks took him up on the offer. I didn't. I was forewarned that the sofas were full of bedbugs. Some guests of the house reportedly slept at the shop for weeks. One guest, Jeremy Mercer, author of Books, Bedbugs, and Baguettes, writes that George often fed his guests a soup made of vegetables he gathered from the throw away bins of street market vendors. Reportedly, George just cut out the bad spots, washed them up, and cooked them in water. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. 

Country Sausage & Rice Casserole

This is a great one dish hearty supper. And it is easy to fix. Use any ground sausage you wish, but if you can find bulk country sausage it is wonderful in this dish. Around here the place to buy it is Cliff's Meat Market. But you can find packages of country sausage at the supermarket too.

I haven't had sausage this good in years! There is nothing to compare with fresh farm prepared country sausage. 

Ingredients:

• 2pound of bulk country sausage, browned 
• 6 cups of cooked rice (2 cups of uncooked rice cooked will yield 6 cups)
• 4-5 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 large sweet onion chopped
• 1 Green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup (or more) of chicken broth
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley

Note 1: My daughter, Stephanie, makes this dish and she adds a can of the Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles (mild).  This sounds very good to me!

Note 2: I love white basmati rice. You can buy it in bulk at Whole Foods. Try it. The aroma and taste is wonderful.

Instructions:

1. Chop the vegetables and set them aside.

2. Cook the rice. Rinse the rice with water in a strainer several times. Then pour the rice in a saucepan. Add water to be one index finger knuckle above the rice. Boil until the water is level with the rice. Put a lid on the pan and turn the heat to low. Do not take the lid off of the rice until you're instructed to do it:-) Cook the rice on low for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, set the pan off the burner for an additional 15 minutes to allow the rice to steam. Then take the lid off the pan and use a fork to fluff the rice. Pout the cooked rice in a casserole bowl and set the dish aside.  

3. Brown the sausage in a frying pan over medium heat. Drain the excess oil. Use a spatula to move the sausage into the casserole with the rice. Stir the sausage and rice together. Set the casserole aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

5.  Sauté the celery, onions and bell pepper in butter in a frying pan over a low medium hot burner. Add salt and pepper as desired. When the vegetables are cooked through, use the spatula to transfer the vegetables into the casserole dish with the rice and sausage and stir the ingredients together.

6. Pour a cup of chicken broth over the rice, sausage, and vegetables and stir. 

7. Put a lid on the casserole dish and put the casserole in the oven and heat for 30 - 40 minutes. If you need to keep the casserole warm for more time than is needed to reheat the dish, add a little more chicken broth if it is needed and reduce the temperature of the oven to 225 degrees.

8. Sprinkle fresh chopped parsley over the top of the ingredients in the casserole and serve. 

Serves 4-6. Multiply the ingredients as is required to serve a crowd. Make this dish for a church pot luck dinner, covered dish dinner, or bake an extra large casserole in an aluminum pan to take to the community shelter.

Jalapeño Corn Casserole

  
You've all seen a dish of corn, so I decided to give you a different picture. When I think of corn, I think of my visits to corn fields near San Juan Ostuncalco in Guatemala. Here women pat out their staple corn food, tortillas. The Mam Indians I've visited in the Western Highlands of Guatemala actually grow their corn right up the side of a mountain. It's true. You should see it for yourself. It's back breaking work from sunup until sundown. Plowing is done by hand with a tool that is similar to a hoe, but larger. It's primitive out there, but not so primitive that you can't find a bottle of Pepsi, as seen in the picture. The Pepsi will not be cold. I could tell you more stories than you want to hear, but hopefully I've put you in the mood for a taste a Jalapeño corn casserole.

Ingredients:

• 2, 15 1/2  oz cans Green Giant Sweet corn, drained of juice
• 1, 8 oz container of onion & chive cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2-4 Jalapeño peppers, deseeded and chopped into small pieces

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients and mix as well as possible with heavy wooden spoon. Pour the mix into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Stir the corn and serve the dish hot.

I got this recipe from my Sister-in-law, Maryanne, and it is delicious!

Here is a picture of corn growing near San Juan Ostuncalco, Guatemala:

Kohlrabi & Red Chard Lasagne

You ever heard of Kohlrabi? We're about to make a Kohlrabi and Swiss Chard Lasagne.Oh my, this Lasagne is absolutely delicious! I got the recipe from a reference book called The Vegetable Bible. The front part of the book is a very useful encyclopedia of vegetables. In the back of the book, you'll find some recipes. The recipe for this dish in the book is not without a few errors of omission, but hey ... it's an old addition ... so maybe the updated version has been fixed. But not to worry, for I'm about to give you the recipe I fixed and the result is awesome (if I don't say so myself, and I believe I will:-)

When I saw the vegetable and learned how to speak the name, my immediate instinct was that it must be an African tuber. Not so. Now you might be as surprised as I was to learn of its origin from Wikipedia.

 

 "Kohlrabi (German Turnip) (Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group) is a low, stout cultivar of the cabbage that will grow almost anywhere. It has been selected for its swollen, nearly spherical shape. The name comes from the German Kohl ("cabbage") plus Rübe ~ Rabi (Swiss German variant) ("turnip"), because the swollen stem resembles the latter. The same roots are also found in the German word "Kohlrübe", which refers to the rutabaga. Kohlrabi has been created by artificial selection for lateral meristem growth; its origin in nature is the same as that of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, and brussels sprouts: They are all bred from, and are the same species as, the wild cabbage plant (Brassica oleracea). The taste and texture of kohlrabi are similar to those of a broccoli stem or cabbage heart, but milder and sweeter, with a higher ratio of flesh to skin."

Where can you buy Kohlrabi? My instinct was to try Whole Foods. I learned "We don't have it today." The answer suggests they have it now and then. My next stop was the new and big Harris Teeter located at Garrett Road and NC 54 in Durham, North Carolina. They had a beautiful display of fresh Kohlrabi in their organic section. Bingo! I was so excited and ready to begin my quest for a fabulous new dish. It is! Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

 

• 4 Kohlrabi (This may look a little like another vegetable; make sure it is labeled Kohlrabi!)
• 2-3 Medium size fresh tomatoes
• 1 Large bunch Swiss red chard (about 1and 1/4th pound)
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 2 1/4 Cups milk
• 1 Cup heavy cream
• 4 Tablespoons sour cream
• 12 Lasagne sheets
• 2-3 Packages shredded Swiss cheese (I'd go for 3 :-)
• 2 shallots
• Olive oil spray (or cooking spray)
• Salt
• Ground white pepper
• 1 Egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
• Nutmeg
• Ovenproof Lasagne pan or dish

This recipe will make 12-14 servings. You may wish to cut the recipe in half for a small family or make the whole recipe, serve it for 2 nights and/or freeze leftovers in serving sides your family can eat. This dish reheats beautifully. I do the later. This takes enough work to do the work for more than one meal.

Instructions:

This will take some work but it is not hard to do. Good things often require work. If this old boy can do it, so can you!

1. Cut the stems, leaves, and roots off of the Kohlrabi; keep the leaves.

2. Slice the Kohlrabi vegetable into thin rounds as you would a potato and set them aside.

3. Cut the tomatoes into strips and set them aside (If you, like, peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds - I don't).

4. Separate the red stalks of the Swiss chard from the leaves and separate and then cut out and discard the major rib or vein from the leaves (but keep those stalks!). 

5. Cut the leaves of the Swiss chard and the Kohlrabi into long strips, and set them aside. 

6. Starting at the top of the Chard stems, use the sharp edge of your knife to remove the strings (as you would with celery) and discard the strings. Cut the stems into 3/4 inch chunks and set the chunks aside. You haven't done this before? Okay. It's easy. Stand a stalk up with the skin facing you. Put the sharp edge of the knife at the very edge of the top of the stalk and carefully pull down with your knife. You should only be removing strings from the skin.

7. Peel the shallots, discard the peels and chop the shallots, and set aside.

8. Bring a pan of salted water to a bowl and boil the Lasagne pasta for 5 minutes. Pour the water and pasta into a colander to drain off the hot water and pour the pasta into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.

9. Saute the Kohlrabi slices in  a skillet with 3 Tablespoons of melted butter. Season with salt, ground white pepper, and a dash or two of nutmeg. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour in the milk and cream and simmer for 10 minutes.Set the Kohlrabi slices aside in a bowl to cool.

10. Use the skillet to saute the diced chard stalks and shallots in 3 tablespoons of butter. Put them in a small bowl and set them aside.

NOW let's bring all of this work together and I guarantee you your work will be worth the result, extraordinary flavor of this dish, and the sensational compliments that will be paid to you ... the chef!

11. Spray the oven proof pan/dish with olive or cooking oil and preheat your oven to 350 degrees!

12. Put 3 strips of Lasagne pasta side by side in the bottom of the pan/dish

13. Build the first layer of the ingredients starting with the Kohlrabi rounds; strips of Swiss chard/Kohlrabi leaves; distribute chunks of the sauteed shallots/Kohlrabi stalks; strips of tomatoes, and sprinkle with grated swiss cheese. ARE YOU BEGINNING TO FEEL THE FLAVOR IN YOUR TASTE BUDS?

 14. Lay three strips of Lasagne side by side on top of the first layer

15. Put a second layer of all of the ingredient goodies on top of the pasta. YES ... GET EXCITED!

16. Put 3 more strips of Pasta side by side on top of the second layer.

17. Hold'er Newt! Add 1 egg yolk to the 4 Tablespoons of sour cream and whisk together. Now brush the mix of sour cream and egg yolk on top of the final layer of pasta.

18. Sprinkle at least one package of shredded Swiss cheese all over the top!

AND NOW PUT THIS MASTERPIECE in a pre-heated 350 degree oven  for 40-45 minutes. After all of this preparation, pour a glass of red wine, sit down, and rest while this wonderful dish is baking.

Serve the meal with a loaf of Artisan bread and butter and wine. You're going to love this meal! 

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

  
What are you fixin’ for supper tonight? Take a look at this baked spaghetti casserole and you might decide to put one together for your family. It’s full of flavor and dee-licious. It is also easy and economical. Cook a mess a greens or fix a garden salad to go with. Set the food on the table with a loaf of artisan Tuscan bread and a pitcher of sweet tea and wait for the “yums” from your family!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz spaghetti
• 1 lb ground chuck ( 2 T olive oil for frying)
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese divided into ½ and ¼ cup portions
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4^th cup barbecue sauce (Thomas Sauce is nice)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• ¾ cup beef stock (or broth)
• 3/4^th teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4^th teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4^th teaspoon red chili flakes
• 12” x 8” x 2” baking dish (or whatever you got that will hold all of these goodies)
• Dish of chopped basil for the table. Sprinkle some on your spaghetti, it's great!

Instructions:

Okay, let’s get goin’ on making this dish!

Put a pot of water on a hot burner to boil for cooking the spaghetti. Toss a little salt in that pot.

Get your skillet on a medium hot burner and toss in a couple o’ shots of olive oil. When the oil is hot, break up that pound of ground chuck in the skillet and start fryin’ it. Use a spatula to crumble that beef down to small pieces. When the beef starts to brown add the onion and green peppers. While the meat is onions and green peppers are cooking …

Take a half (8 oz) out of a 16 oz box of spaghetti. Break the spaghetti in half and toss the pasta into the boiling water. Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the box … which is likely 10-12 minutes. Heck, do it for 11 minutes and toss the spaghetti in a colander to drain off the water. Move the spaghetti to a big mixing bowl. Leave it be ‘til you’re ready for it.

When the beef is browned and the onions and peppers are cooked … if there is excess grease in the skillet … set your colander in the sink (or whereverJ) and toss the beef, onions, and peppers in the colander to drain off the excess grease. Gheesh … who needs it! Then pour the beef back into the skillet. Toss in and stir in the salt, pepper, chili powder, chili flakes, ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, Q sauce, and mustard. Whew! Simmer all of this for 5 minutes. Then pour it all into the mixing bowl on top of that spaghetti and commence to mix it all up nice!

Now we’re about at the thrilling climaxJ

Spoon all of the mixture into your baking dish. Spread the ½ cup of the shredded cheddar cheese over the top. Finally, spread the ½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. That’s it!

Put the baking dish into your preheated 350 degree oven and bake the casserole for 30 minutes. Put on your oven mitts and pull the foil off. Push the casserole back in the oven and bake it for 10 more minutes to finish the baking and brown the top up a little.

That’s it. Cook a mess a greens or fix a garden salad to go with while the casserole is baking. When the casserole is done set the food on the table with a loaf of artisan Tuscan bread and a pitcher of sweet tea and ring the dinner bell!

Note: This spaghetti casserole will provide 6 -8 servings for a family. People who only need a single portion can bake the family casserole and then divide it into single serving portions; freeze the portions in individual supermarket freezer containers, and then thaw and rewarm single servings in the microwave. I microwave leftover portions for a delicious lunch. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and eat. Having a crowd? Multiply the recipe times 5 and bake the casserole in a large hotel pan. This should provide up to 40 portions.   

Mac, Cheese, and Tomato Casserole

Grandpa's Macaroni, Tomato, and Cheese offers the family a great one dish supper. Served with rustic artisan bread and ice cold milk, this supper can't be beat!

Set this dish on the table with a loaf of fresh baked artisan bread and the family will come running to the table. My mother, Charlotte Pipes, introduced me to this treasure and I've been baking it since I was a kid. I taught my teenage daughter, Marta, to make the dish and she made this casserole. In fact, she baked two casseroles last night; one for us and one for a friend. Marta loves this dish so much that she heats leftovers for breakfast the morning after. 

Ingredients:

• Cooked elbow macaroni (refer to servings yield/ cooking instructions on box)
• 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
• Cup of chopped fresh sweet basil, plus a sprig of basil for garnish 
• 1 pound or more of cheddar cheese, cut in 1" cubes.
• Aluminum foil
• Your prettiest casserole dish
• Loaf of sliced rustic artisan bread
• Butter or Brummel and Brown yogurt spread
• Milk, ice cold

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Instructions:

Fill your casserole dish with enough cooked elbow macaroni to serve generous portions for your family and allow enough for leftovers. Add the diced tomatoes, basil, and cheese cubes and stir the ingredients together.

Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake the casserole in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour (or until the cheese is all melted and bubbly). Keep the casserole covered to keep the cheese from burning.

Serve the casserole with a nice rustic bread and butter or Brummel and Brown yogurt spread and ice cold milk  (or nice red wine). Make a big casserole. You might get two nights of dinner out of this casserole. It's even better when reheated on the second night. I like to add more cheese before reheating the casserole and you can always add more cooked macaroni if you need it to make enough servings. Reheat at 375 degrees until the cheese is melted and the dish is hot.

Grandpa's rice and beans

You can't beat the taste of this rice and beans casserole. Grandpa came up with this recipe for a good meal that is simple for kids to make. Our teenage daughter, Marta, often fixes this dish for her dinner whenever she has a hankering for it (as she often does when I fix something for dinner that doesn't suit her taste). She also likes to heat up the leftovers for breakfast. Marta sometimes makes a larger casserole for the whole family. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can of dark red kidney beans
• 1 bag of 10 minute boil in bag white rice
• 8 oz mild cheddar cheese, cut in 1/8 inch strips
• 1 regular size jar of salsa
• 1 bag of white corn scoop chips
• Oven-proof dish

Instructions:

Boil a regular size bag of rice in boiling water for 10 minutes. Warm the beans in a sauce pan. Drain off the juice and put the beans in the bottom of the oven-proof dish. Drain the water from the bag of rice and pour the rice over the beans. Spoon a jar of salsa on top of the rice. Lay strips of cheese all over the top. Put the dish in the oven and bake the casserole at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Spoon a big portion onto your plate. Scoop up the hot beans, rice, and salsa with your corn chips and enjoy!