Really great list of local growers...from the Modesto Bee

I checked out the website...there's some pretty neat places in my valley. I've lived here all of my life and haven't seen many of them.

Posted on Tue, Dec. 08, 2009

Where to find ag gifts in Modesto area

last updated: December 08, 2009 01:38:35 AM

Some producers selling holiday gifts:

• Beekman & Beekman: Honey and lavender products; 5236 Geer Road, Hughson•; 669-6323;www.beekmanandbeekman.com

50 mashed potatoes from Food Network

Clever...I had never thought of mashed potatoes so creatively...here's the link :) I love variations on a basic recipe!

1. Classic 
Cover 2 pounds whole russet or Yukon gold potatoes with cold salted water; simmer 45 minutes. Drain, peel and mash with 1/2 to 1 stick butter. Add 1 cup hot milk, and salt and pepper; mash until smooth and fluffy.

2. Chunky Red 
Cover 2 pounds whole red potatoes with cold salted water; simmer 40 minutes. Drain; do not peel. Smash with 1/2 to 1 stick butter, 3/4 cup hot milk, and salt and pepper.

3. Tangy
Make Classic Mash (No. 1) or Chunky Red Mash (No. 2). Use 1 cup sour cream instead of milk; top with fresh dill.
Get the recipe

4. Pepper-Swirl 
Saute 2 chopped red bell peppers and 1 teaspoon thyme leaves in olive oil, covered, until tender. Puree; swirl into Classic Mash (No. 1).

Corn Chowder and bacon

Yummy, savory, and hearty for a nearly meatless dish. A lot of good stuff in one dish (remember to drain the extra bacon fat to keep a lot of the bad stuff out)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, diced
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine or sherry
• 1 cups milk
• 2 small potatoes, cubed
• 1 carrots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Fry bacon in pan until almost done. Remove and drain on paper towels. Drain all but a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease. Add onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, and flour. Saute until lightly browned.
2. Deglaze pot with wine or sherry. Add cream-style corn, kernel corn, butter, and broth. Add carrots and potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes.
3. Mix together flour and a little water to form a paste.
4. Add milk. Simmer until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Hot Pepper Jelly Recipes

Here's a collected list by bvdrangs I may try the blue ribbon jelly

101 Salad Ideas

This list of salad ideas is from Mark Bittman's New York Times column. Some sound great, some seem odd, but all are creative uses of the fresh ingredients I grow in my garden and see at our plentiful fruit stands.

101 Simple Salads for the Season

By MARK BITTMAN

SUMMER may not be the best time to cook, but it’s certainly among the best times to eat. Toss watermelon and peaches with some ingredients you have lying around already, and you can produce a salad that’s delicious, unusual, fast and perfectly seasonal.

That’s the idea behind the 101 ideas found in this section. In theory, each salad takes 20 minutes or less. Honestly, some may take you a little longer. But most minimize work at the stove and capitalize on the season, when tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, fruit, greens and more are plentiful and excellent.

This last point is important. Not everything needs to be farmers’ market quality, but it’s not too much to expect ripe fruit, fragrant herbs and juicy greens.

Salt, to taste, is a given in all of these recipes. Pepper, too (if I want you to use a lot of pepper, I say so).

Herein, then, are enough salad ideas to tide you over until the weather cools down.

MOSTLY VEGAN SALADS

1. Cube watermelon and combine with tomato chunks, basil and basic vinaigrette. You can substitute peach for the watermelon or the tomato (but not both, O.K.?). You can also add bacon or feta, but there goes the vegan-ness.

2. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.

3. A nice cucumber salad: Slice cucumbers thin (if they’re fat and old, peel and seed them first), toss with red onions and salt, then let sit for 20 to 60 minutes. Rinse, dry, dress with cider vinegar mixed with Dijon mustard; no oil necessary.

50 Easy Soups

This list of soup recipes is another collection of ideas from the Food Network and  I am reposting it here because I don't want to lose it in the future...

1. Basic Chicken Chop 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 2 carrots and 1 tablespoon thyme; sauté in butter until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add 6 cups chicken broth; simmer 20 minutes. Add 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, 1/3 cup mixed chopped dill and parsley, and some lemon juice.

2. Chicken Rice Make Basic Chicken Soup (No. 1); omit dill and add chives, chervil and tarragon. Stir in 1/3 cup cooked basmati rice.

3. Italian Wedding Make Basic Chicken Soup (No. 1) with a rind of parmesan in the broth. Add 1 pound mini meatballs, 1 cup orzo and 3 cups torn escarole; simmer until the orzo is tender.

4. Chicken Dumpling Mix 2 tablespoons softened butter, 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup farina cereal and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Drop half-teaspoonfuls into simmering chicken broth; cook for 3 minutes after the dumplings float.

50 Toast Toppers

I'm always on the lookout for collections of simple but clever ideas for food. I pulled this article for 50 toast toppings directly off of the Food Network website. I think a little toppings bar where people can mix and match their own toast toppers at a party would be a fun idea for a roomful of food loving people. Pair the topping bar with a variety of wines to choose from...even more fun!

Recipes courtesy Food Network Magazine

• Step 1: Slice 1 to 2 loaves of French bread into ¼-inch-thick rounds.


• Step 2: Brush each slice with olive oil or melted butter.


• Step 3: Place the rounds on baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees until crisp throughout and lightly golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Top This...

1. Spread with goat cheese; top with finely chopped canned beets, an orange segment and fresh mint.

2. Spread with fig jam; top with gorgonzola cheese and prosciutto.

3. Spread with fig jam; top with goat cheese and chopped walnuts.

4. Spread with butter; top with thinly sliced bread-and-butter pickles.

5. Spread with hummus; top with olive tapenade.

Linguine with Bacon and Onions

This recipe is a super easy take on Pasta Carbonara from Every Day with Rachael Ray. Since I always have the ingredients on hand, I can make it anytime. I usually add a few handfuls of peas during the last two minutes of cooking time for the pasta--for color...and because I just love peas.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound linguine pasta
• 3/4 pound bacon, chopped
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 large egg yolks
• parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

1. 
   
   
   In boiling, salted water, cook the linguine until al dente; reserve 1-1/2 cups pasta cooking water. In a large,deep skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Discard all but 3 tablespoons bacon fat, then add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until softened. Add the pasta cooking water and bring to a boil. Stir in the linguine and remove from the heat. Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the bacon, season with pepper and sprinkle with parmesan.
   
   
   
   

Creamy Caramel Apple Dip

To me, this dip is the sweetest excuse to eat an apple a day!

1-8 oz, package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup  firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sliced green and red apples.

Beat cream cheese with sugars and vanilla in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy and well blended. Serve with apples.

Pumpkin Bread

I got this recipe off of Allrecipes.com. I leave out the cinnamon because I'm allergic to it and add a little extra of the other spices to compensate. I've also added walnuts and I think I may add craisins, and/or chocolate chips in the future.

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree 4 eggs 1 cup canola oil 2/3 cup water 3 cups white sugar 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3.	Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Healthier version: substitute white whole wheat flour for the regular flour and substitute 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce for 1/2 cup of the oil. Notes: For 2 9x5 pans bake for 65-70 minutes. Muffins bake for 40 minutes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

This is my new favorite shortcut dessert recipe. They are delicious and they taste like I took a lot longer to make them than I did.

One prepared batch of Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix (or your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe)

One bag semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies

Heat Oven to 350 Degrees F. Spray Bottom Only of 13X9-Inch Pan With Cooking Spray. Make Cookie Dough As Directed. Press In Pan. Bake 12 to 15 Minutes Or Until Edges Are Light Golden Brown. Cool 5 Minutes. In Small Microwavable Bowl, Microwave 2 Cups Chocolate Chip On High 1 to 1 1/2 Minutes Or Until Chips Can Be Stirred Smooth. Spread Over Bars Refrigerate About 30 Minutes Or Until Chocolate Is Set. Cut Into Bars. 24 Bars.

Chicken Cacciatore

My husband and I went on the Atkins diet for about a week and a half before one holiday season and we found this recipe in one of the Atkins cookbooks and loved it. We left the low carb lifestyle behind us forever but we did keep the Chicken Cacciatore recipe!

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in two batches, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate. Add onion, garlic and rosemary to pan; cook 4 minutes, until onion is softened. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring to loosen any browned bits. Add salt and pepper flakes.Return chicken, skin side up, and accumulated juices to skillet. Cook until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Boil sauce 2 minutes to thicken; spoon over chicken.

Baked Artichoke Dip

I got this recipe from my Aunt Rita who go the recipe from a Southern Living cookbook, I think. Whatever its origins--it's a crowd pleaser!

1 (14oz) can Artichocke hearts or hearts of palm, drained and chopped.

1 cup Grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup Mayonnaise

1 clove Garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon Hot sauce

Combine all ingredients, stirring well: spoon into a lightly greased 1 quart casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

I serve this dip with Wheat Thins, Triscuits, toasted baguette slices, and/or celery.

Honey Garlic Chicken

This is my mom's adaptation of a recipe from Taste of Home. It is sweet and garlicky and buttery and oh-so-good! I usually add some chicken broth and decrease the butter to make it stick to the arteries a little less...

Ingredients

6 med chicken drumsticks

6 med chicken thighs

6 potatoes, chopped

12 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 cup butter

salt and pepper

1/4 cup honey

Parsley and paprika

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange chicken and potatoes in a large roasting pan. Pour butter over and sprinkle with chopped garlic, salt, and papper. Bake 40 minutes basting frequently. Drizzle honey and bake another 20 minutes.

PASTA IN A CREAMY ARTICHOKE AND SAFFRON SAUCE

I got this recipe online here but it's also a recipe from Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals. I added some chicken and served it with a green salad. My husband loved it but my four-year-old said it "wasn't his favorite recipe" but he ate up the chicken that was simmered in the saffron sauce and left the noodles--he hasn't been a big pasta fan lately.

PASTA IN A CREAMY ARTICHOKE AND SAFFRON SAUCE

Writes Ray: "The saffron does all the work for you in this dish -- you'll freak out when you take your first bite and actually taste how easy this was to make."

• Water
• Salt, to taste
• 1 pound long-cut or short-cut pasta
• 2 tablespoons E-V-O-O (extra-virgin olive oil), plus extra for drizzling
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
• Generous pinch of saffron
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup white wine (eyeball it)
• 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
• About 1/3 cup heavy cream or half-and-half (eyeball it)
• 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts in water, drained and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, a couple of generous handfuls, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, plus extra to pass at the table

Fill a large pot with water, cover tightly and place it over high heat. Bring it to a boil to cook the pasta. Once it comes to a boil, add some salt and the pasta. Cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well.

While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil, swirled twice to coat the pan. Add the onion, garlic, saffron, salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes, or until the onion starts to look tender. The onion will turn an outrageous yellow color, because of the saffron.

Add the white wine; continue to cook until the wine has almost evaporated, for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and cream, then bring the sauce up to a bubble and simmer for about 4 minutes. Add the artichokes and cook until heated through, for about 1 minute more. The sauce will be a beautiful yellow and will seem a little thin.

Add the parsley and drained pasta and stir to combine with the sauce. The pasta will start soaking up the sauce right away. Turn the heat off, add 1/2 cup grated cheese and stir to distribute. Taste and season the pasta with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve with a little extra grated cheese.

My Mom's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are two secrets to this recipe--1. Don't forget the nuts 2. Freeze whatever cookies you don't eat right away, otherwise they dry out quickly. Since this recipe freezes so well, double, triple, or quadruple the recipe.

Step 1: Cream the following ingredients--

1/2 cup shortening (Crisco please)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Step 2: Add the following ingredients--

1 cup flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup broken walnuts

Drop dough onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Getting rid of the clutter

Today I decided to start a recipe blog for a few very uncomplicated reasons...

I love to cook.

I cannot keep a recipe book or recipe box of my recipes organized and my current collection of recipes is a mess.

I am very good at organizing on the computer.

What I publish online is safe from fire, water damage, etc... (same reason my photos are on both Snapfish and Facebook...)

These are simply the recipes that...

I have used.

I have liked.

I want to keep.

If my sense of taste is good enough for you, please bookmark this site--I'll be updating sporadically.