It's Fall When...

    You know it is fall when the menu calls for
Onions ~ fresh from the yard ~ sauteed til tender ~ remove from pan and brown
Pork Chops ~ fresh from the farmer (ok, frozen) ~ add
Apple Cider ~ from Isom's Orchard at Greene Street Farmer's Market ~ and simmer til tender and chops are done.
A side dish?
Butternut squash ~ from the yard, canned last fall and making room for this year's crop ~ with a bit of butter and pumpkin pie spices warmed so the scent can fill the house
A few rolls from the freezer ~ warmed in foil over the chops to save a bit of energy ~ always make extra!
And dessert?
Pears ~ a gift from CASA garden volunteer from their tree at home ~ simmered in water and honey from Glory Gardens

Now that's a friends and family meal!

New blog added!

I've enjoyed wandering over to Our Southern Table and have now added them to the sidebar.  Maybe someday we can visit!

GentleVoice

Yummy greens!

What is spring without lots of greens?  Spinach up front, beets to the left and way in the back by the fence is the mustard that needed thinning.  The turnip greens in the back yard are on their last cutting, so I cleaned and chopped them up with the mustard.  Seasoning as follows (for each 3 pounds of fresh greens)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic (I had elephant garlic we'd grown for experiment and used a bit more as it is mild)
2 tbls cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tsp cumin
salt
1 tsp black pepper.... Red pepper flakes to taste
    Toss it all in a pot and start with 'some' water, bringing to a boil and adding greens as they wilt.  You don't want too much water.  Boil for 10 minutes, simmer about an hour.

Son the Nurse would be proud, vegetarian greens!  No pork fat and lots of  flavor~ Enjoy!

Versatile Recipies...Gotta Love 'em

We are blessed with lots of fish around the M.U.S.H.  So I'm always looking for new recipies for it.  Here's a good starter http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Fish-Fillets-With-Spinach/Detail.aspx  Essentially three ingredients:  Fish, greens and cheese sauce.

I've fiddled with it endlessly and you can't go wrong.  I've used white bass, catfish, crappie and 'mystery' fish.  I've started with spinach, BABY turnip greens, small kale, baby collards, and mustard greens.  I've used the recipe's cheese sauce with cheddar (I rarely have swiss around), a light mozzarella/monterey jack sauce, and even Velveeta (both cheddar and jalepeno) thinned a bit with milk.

This is just one of those recipies that really works.  See what you can find around your house and give it a try!

GentleVoice

Recipe time!

Yep, now that it's too late for Thanksgiving, here's a quick and easy recipe featuring my favorite of the moment- Butternut squash

These keep really well and grow nearly unmolested by bugs and such. 
Ingredients for a simple sweet side dish:
Butternut squash - peeled and cubed into bite size pieces (seeds and skin bits to the compost).  Maple Syrup.

Bake the squash at 350 degrees until beginning to be tender.  Drizzle with syrup and continue baking about 10 minutes until tender.  Serve warm.

Simple enough?   And quick too!    Use a bar type peeler if you have it.  If the peeling is really frustrating... cut squash in half, remove seeds with spoon and place face down in baking pan.  Pour in a little water and bake at 300 degrees until tender.  Scoop out flesh and put the shell and seeds into the compost pile.  Put the squash in a pan and mash with the maple syrup.