What to do with Leftover Goose

Today's adventure is using up leftover goose. Since I managed to get some beautiful stock made, I  decided to make soup. I looked for recipes, but couldn't find one that was quite what I was looking for, so improvise it is!

Leftover Goose Soup

•  about 5 cups leftover goose meat, *shredded
• 6 cups goose stock *
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 head white cabbage, *shredded
• 1 large sweet potato, * diced
• about 3 cups leftover stock vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions) *
• 2 apples roasted in goose *
• 1 pkg dried wide egg noodles *

Bring stock and water to boil in a large Dutch oven. Add cabbage and sweet potatoes. Returns to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are cooked. Add goose meat, cooked vegetables and apples to soup. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and cook 9 minutes. Makes about 12 (1-1/2 cup) servings.

* CSA ingredients

Goose

Today is a cooking adventure for me. I purchased a goose through Fresh Fork this year. I have never cooked a goose before (no pun intended). Since we have a pretty busy  day today, I decided to cook it in our slow-cooker. I found an interesting blog entry and used that as a basis.

Crockpot Goose with Apples
Based on:http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Crockpot%20goose%20or%20duck%20with%20apples

• 1(10-pound) free-range goose*
• 3 apples*
•  1 bottle chardonnay
• 2 cups chicken stock

Remove any pin feathers remaining on the goose. Cut fat on either side of chest cavity. Remove neck and giblets. Rinse and completely dry chest cavity. Core and dice apples. Place diced apples in chest cavity. Truss goose and place in crock. Pour in chardonnay. Add chicken stock until liquid covers 3/4 of the goose Cover and cook until meat is tender and falls from the bone. Remove goose and slice meat. Make applesauce from the apples. Serve meat with broth as an jus. Cooking liquid maybe cooled, fat skimmed and saved for use as stock.

While goose is cooking, place giblets and neck in water with herbs and spices (as desired) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until giblets are cooked. Remove giblets , add carrots, potatoes and onion; cook until vegetables are cooked. Remove vegetables and continue cooking until reduced by half; cool, skim fat and store as concentrated stock.

* CSA Ingredients

Squash Soup

Now that my music obligations are complete, its time for me to get back to some cooking. I received butternut and buttercup squash in the last share. I had located a recipe for slow-cooker squash and broccoli soup I thought I'd try. I cut up the squash and an onion and put them in the cooker, but when I opened the bag of broccoli florets, they were clearly spoiled. While this was disappointing to me, I moved onto plan B.

Curried Butternut Squash Apple Soup

• 2 small butternut squash*, peeled and cubed
• 2 large granny smith apples*, peeled and cubed
•  1 large onion*, diced
• 3 cloves garlic*, minced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup apple cider*
• 4 cups water
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• salt and pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients into crock of slow-cooker. Cover and cook 4-5 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW, or until vegetables are soft. Cool slightly then blend with an immersion blender or countertop blender until smooth. If you like, add a little cream or plain yogurt before serving. Garnish with diced apples or pears.

*CSA ingredients

Christmas Cookies!

 Last weekend, I baked Christmas cookies to sell at our Christmas concert and to share with family and friends. Since many of the ingredients were from my CSA shares, I promised to post the recipes.

Chocolate Crinkles

• 1/2 cup light olive oil
• 4 oz pre-melted bittersweet chocolate
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs*
• 2 cups white-wheat flour*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

 1. In a large bowl, mix oil, chocolate granulated sugar, and vanilla. Stir in eggs none at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.

2. Heat oven to 35O°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.

3. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in the center. Immediately remove to cooling racks.

Note: This recipe produces a cakey cookie. It was suggested that of you substitute cocoa and oil (per back of cocoa container) for the chocolate, they would be more brownie-like.


Russian Tea Cakes (Mexican Wedding Cakes)

• 1 cup butter*, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-1/4 cup white wheat flour*
• 3/4 cup ground pecans
• 1/4 tsp salt.
• powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 400°F.

2. Mix butter , 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and the vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until setout not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire racks.

5. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Rollin powdered sugar again.

Note: I had difficulty rolling the cookies when they were warm. I sifted the powdered sugar over the cookies for the 1st coating. When the cookies were cooled, they were easier-to handle for the second coating.


Bisquick(R) No- Roll Sugar Cookies

• 4 cups original Bisquick (R) mix
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup butter*, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs* 1 cup colored sugars

1. Heat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, stir all ingredients except colored sugar until soft dough forms.

2. Shape dough into balls, about 1 inch in diameter; roll in colored sugar to coat. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls about 2 inches apart. Flatters falls slightly with bottom of glass.

3. Bake 5 to 6 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks to cool.


Peanut Blossoms

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter*, softened
•  1 egg*
• 1-1/2 cups Bisquick (R) mix
• Hershey (R) kisses , milk and dark

1. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 granulated sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and egg. Stir in Bisquick (R). Cover; refrigerate at least I hour or until firm.

2. Heat oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, place remaining granulated sugar. Shape dough into I-inch balls; roll in granulated sugar. On ungreased cookie sheets place balls 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately top each cookie with a candy kiss pressing down firmly so cookie edges crack. Remove to cooling racks.

Note: This dough seems to warm quickly and is best rolled when cold. Consider separating dough into several batches and only remove I batch when rolling. That way the rest of the dough stays cold and saves time.

*CSA Ingredients

A Wam Drink for a Cold Day

 Yesterday, I decided I wanted chi instead of coffee. Unfortunately, I had used up all of my prepackaged chi, so, I embarked on discovering how to make my own. It's always been a mystery exactly what combination of spices made that wonderful warm, spicy flavor. After looking at several interesting recipes, including a chi spiced mango bread pudding recipe I am considering trying, I decided the most common combination included cinnamon, cloves, coriander and ground ginger. I made myself a stock mix and tried it out using a good loose black tea in my coffee-maker.

Chi Tea Spices

1tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger

Combine spices in a small bowl and mix well. To make tea in a Automatic drip coffee-maker, place a filter into the basket. Add 1 Tbsp good loose black tea per cup into filter (I used Teavana Golden Monkey Black Tea) and add 1/4 tsp chi spices. Brew and enjoy!

Note: Although I have not tried it, I am guessing you could add the spices directly to brewed tea (or coffee). Add milk or cream and sweetener (I used honey) as desired.

Greens galore

Our CSA is getting a lot of greenhouse greens this time of year. In this bag alone, I have mixed braising greens (top left), spinach (top right), leaf lettuce (bottom right) and baby bok choy (bottom left). Because I am in the midst of holiday baking and concert season, I will probably blanch most of them and freeze them for later use.  Then there's the broccoli, squash,  onions and carrots as well. Being in a CSA certainly keeps me on my toes!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.1

Cabbage, Cauliflower and Leeks

Today I am making a soup with cabbage, cauliflower and leeks. I actually was a little put off by the contents of the last CSA package because I wasn't sure what I would do with all of those items. As I was searching for ways to use some of them together, I ran across the following recipe on Allrecipes.com. It takes care of not only my vegetables, but also provides me with a soup that is hearty and won't be a problem for my braces-sensitive teeth.

Spanish Garlic and Vegetable Soup
adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spanish-garlic-and-vegetable-soup/detail.aspx

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium head cabbage, chopped*
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped*
• 2 leeks, sliced*
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped*
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 quart water
• 1/4 cup milk or light cream
• 1 tablespoon butter*
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage, cauliflower and leeks. Cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until cabbage wilts. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, and continue to cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning. Stir in 2 cups of water, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Pour in the diced tomatoes and the remaining 2 cups of water, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Reserve 2 cups of the liquid, and puree the remaining soup in a blender or food processor. Return the blended mixture to the reserved liquid, and stir in milk and butter. Return to a boil, and cook for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.               

*CSA ingredients