Caramel Corn

I like popcorn.

I don't like popcorn.

It's a conundrum.

Okay, I like popcorn that I make at home that isn't microwaved or full of fake stuff like the movie theater chemical slurry "butter" or flavoring.

I love caramel corn. (except those little shell casings that always get stuck in my teeth......) *TMI warning* - I'm picking them out right now.

I have said before that my oldest kiddo is very allergic to peanuts.  Try finding a caramel corn that isn't at least "made in a facility that processes peanuts" or has traces.  Really - if you do, please let me know.

So, if we want caramel corn in my house, we make it.  It's pretty easy.  Here's how.  Don't be afraid.

Love my whirly-pop

Caramel Corn

huge bowl of popped plain popcorn - I used 1 cup of unpopped popcorn.  I don't know the equivalent of microwave popcorn (you really shouldn't use that stuff)

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 - 1/3 cup molasses

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon baking soda

In a medium pot, combine the sugar, butter, molasses and water.

Bring to a hard boil, stirring frequently.

Boil the caramel until it reaches the hard crack state, about 320 degrees.  If you don't have a thermometer, don't worry.  Hold up the spoon and let it drip into the pot.  If the drips end with a spider web-like thread, it is done.

Take off heat.

Working quickly and stirring constantly, add the baking soda.  It is going to bubble and lighten in color.  Keep stirring until the baking soda is completely incorporated.  This is a chemical reaction and will keep the caramel from becoming too hard and binding your teeth together (like Hagrid's treacle fudge in the Harry Potter series.)

Pour over the popcorn and start turning, stirring to combine.  

Keep stirring until the kernels are separate and yummy.

Eat it up.

Buy floss.

Three Sisters Harvest Stew - vegetarian or vegan

 

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is 2 weeks and 2 days away.  How did this happen?

A decorated old foundation in Redding, CT

The leaves have fallen.  The summer CSA is over, BUT, The Farm at Woodbury is offering a winter CSA!!http://www.thefarmwoodbury.com/Winter-CSA.html

I know!

We are getting a lot of winter squash along with autumn veggies (turnips, leeks, rutabaga, potatoes, etc.)  We also are getting fruit, honey and their lovely heirloom tomato marinara sauce.

Lovely.

Since I seem to have a great supply of winter squash and it is almost Thanksgiving, I thought I would make up a hearty Harvest Stew.

I used the red Hubbard today

Native Americans did companion planting, the 3 sisters showing up most often in their lore.  The 3 sisters are beans, corn and squash.  The beans climb up the corn and the squash shades the ground to preserve moisture and reduce weeds.  Look it up, it's pretty nifty.

In this stew, I used canned beans and mixed them up.  I also used hard apple cider, but that is not necessary.  Any winter squash will do, too.  Here's what I did.

Three Sisters Harvest Stew

3 cups roasted winter squash (about 1 red Hubbard OR  butternut  OR 2 acorn squash)

2 Tablespoons butter OR olive oil

1 large onion (or enough to make about 2 cups)

2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 (12 ounce) bottle hard apple cider OR beer OR 1 1/2 cups water plus 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 Tablespoon fresh sage, minced

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced

3 cups water

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (optional - if you don't have the real deal, don't do it)

3 cups cooked beans, rinsed (I used pinto and black)

2 cups corn kernels, frozen or fresh

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Roast the squash on a foil lined sheet at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until soft.  Set aside to cool a bit.

If you use the pre-diced squash that you can get at the store, roast it the same way for about 40-45 minutes. (Whoever thought to pre-dice butternut squash deserves a raise.)

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat the butter or olive oil.

Add the onion and the sweet potato and sauté until starting to brown.

Deglaze the pot with the cider, beer, or vinegar and water.  Cook to reduce the liquid by about half.

Add the herbs and salt and pepper.

In a blender or food processor, scoop out the roasted squash and blend with 3 cups of water.

Add to the onion mixture.

Add the beans and corn and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with fresh bread.

How to Make Pumpkin Puree - It's Easy!

It is November 1st.

Featured are spaghetti squash, red hubbard, delicata, turban, acorn, butternut, and pumpkin.  All are waiting to be cooked up and pureed.  The turban squash tasted like a cross between butternut and zucchini - very tasty

Don't throw out that pumpkin!!!!!

Don't do it!

Okay, if it is moldy and sunken in, go ahead and throw it away, but if it is not carved and whole and firm, cook it up!

It's easy.

Really.

Trust me.

The smaller, rounder pumpkins are the sweetest, in my opinion, but all of them can be cooked.  You can cook ANY winter squash this way.  

Here is what you need to do.

Take your gourd and cut it in half.

One pumpkin and one turban squash.

Scoop out all of the seeds.  You can wash the seeds and roast them, too, if you want.  I give mine to the chickens.  Actually, they got a whole pumpkin because I have a lot of them.

Half the halves of pumpkin (or any winter squash) if it is really big.  Small ones, half is fine.

Place them on a foil lined large baking sheet.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until a fork can easily pierce the pumpkin.

Remove from the oven and cool it until you can easily handle it.

Scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. 

 If you cooked a spaghetti squash, don't puree it, eat it for dinner with your favorite sauce. You can also leave it chunky if you want.

Put it in freezer bags.  I pre-measure 2 cups per bag, it makes it easier to cook with later.

Freeze it.

That's it.

Yep.

Easy.

Now you have pumpkin puree to use in so many recipes.  Here are some of my favorites.  Go ahead, try them.  http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2014/01/pumpkin-bread.html
http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/11/pumpkin-creme-brulee.html
http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/10/pumpkin-bread-pudding.html

On the Farm - Quiet Book

I made another quiet book.

No, I don't have little kiddos.

No, I am not a grannie.

No, I don't have a lot of free time.

*sigh*

I just like creating things and I like to sew.  This one was inspired by The Farm at Woodbury (where I have my CSA share).  The farmer has a little girl named Madelyn.  She just turned one.  I think I'll give her this book.

Hope she likes it.

The wheels of the tractor button.

                                     
                                     

                     

I got one of those light-up balls at the dollar store and took out the light. 

I put plastic over the plate and put the velcro on top of the plastic.  Velcro tears up felt.  Everything comes off the page except for the plate.

All of the jack-o-lantern stuff snaps on and off.

Lift the flap (trees) and build a snowman.  It is a farm in CT, after all.  I know, penguins are not farm animals.  Don't judge.

Baked Ham with a honey-mustard glaze

It is definitely feeling like fall here in Connecticut.  The leaves are colorful and are falling.  The air is crisp.  Lovely.

This is my humble home.

In the fall, I usually start to clean out my freezer.  While doing so, lo and behold, I came across a 10 pound ham.

Happy day.

I know that many people reserve baking a large ham for a special occasion.  No need, my friends!

I decided to bake it.  It will serve my family for a few meals and provide some lovely ham sandwiches for lunches. 

This is my favorite glaze for the ham.  Try to find a ham with a bone in it and that has not been pre-sliced.  The bone adds flavor and pre-sliceing tends to make for a very dry ham.  

Baked Ham with Honey-mustard Glaze

1 (10 pound or so) ham, bone in, smoked, and not sliced

1 cup honey

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup whole grain mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Remove any plastic packaging or netting from the ham. Don't forget that little plastic thing they put over the bone.  Weird.

 Trim away any excess fat, leaving about a 1/4-inch layer all over. 

Set the ham aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with several sheets of aluminum foil.  Trust me. 

Place the ham, cut side down, on the baking sheet and cover it with a piece of parchment paper. Tightly cover the ham and parchment paper with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and the brown sugar has completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool to lukewarm (the glaze should be the consistency of room-temperature honey).

When the ham is ready, remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425°F. 

Discard the foil and parchment paper and, using a sharp knife, score a 1-inch-wide diamond pattern (don’t cut more than 1/4 inch deep) over the entire ham.Spoon or brush the ham with the glaze, return it to the oven, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, baste the ham with the glaze, and repeat every 15 minutes until a dark golden-brown crust has formed, about 55 to 60 minutes total. 

Let the ham rest 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.

We had ours with funeral potatoes.  It's tradition.  If you are not from the Green Jello belt of the USofA, (I'm not, but come from the "culture"), you might have to google funeral potatoes.  We won't judge.