I am embarrassed that is has been well over two months since my last post, and I apologize for not keeping up with bringing you new recipes and helpful kitchen tips. The good news is that December, January and February have been busy months for me. Amidst the flurry of activity I’ve been experiencing over the last few months, I have been filing away ideas to share with you in the coming weeks. Today I will share with you a recipe that is simple, tasty, healthy and seasonal (even if you live in the Midwest). First a little bit on eating seasonally.

One of the many objections I hear to eating seasonally is that it is difficult to impossible to do during the winter unless you live in certain parts of the country where farmers markets are available year round. I agree that it does take a bit more effort and creativity, but with a little knowledge eating seasonally is something everyone can aspire to do on a more frequent basis.

After participating in a CSA program for the first time during the spring/summer/fall of 2008, I had a hard time imagining not getting a weekly box of farm fresh produce throughout the winter months. As such, I began researching my options for consuming local produce over the winter. My first stop was to the Local Harvest website. After plugging in my zip code, I was provided with a list of farms near Columbus, Ohio that have CSA programs, sell directly to the public or participate at local farmers’ markets. Naturally the list of winter markets and winter CSA programs was thin compared to those that operate from April through October, but to my relief there were options! I ended up buying a share from Green Edge Gardens.

We are now coming up on 10 weeks into the winter program, and I have been spoiled once again. Of course the variety of produce in winter is not as great but what we have received from Green Edge has been plentiful, of high quality and tastes amazing. We’ve been enthusiastic recipients of winter squash, potatoes, oyster mushrooms, micro green mix, sweet potatoes, spinach, garlic, Swiss chard, arugula, sunflower sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, pac choi and even quart jars of canned tomatoes!

If you’ve been unaware of how to find local produce to grace your table, I encourage you to visit www.localharvest.org or send me a message. I’m always happy to help others get plugged-in to their local farming community.

Finally, I leave you with the recipe for a meal we’ve been enjoying frequently during these cold winter days.

Asian Greens and Shiitake Stir Fry

note: all quantities are approximate and need not be exact

• 1 bunch baby bok choy, spinach, swiss chard or any other relatively sweet green
• 1 quart Shiitake or oyster mushrooms
• 1 pound cubed firm tofu, optional
• 1″ piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 -2 T. soy sauce or salt to taste
• up to 1/3 c. water, vegetable stock or chicken stock
• 1 t. arrowroot powder or cornstarch

Wash greens and cut or tear into pieces if very large and set aside. The greens will shrink quite a bit so there is no need to be laborious about this step.

If using shiitakes, trim stems. If using oyster mushrooms, cut to medium-sized pieces. Set aside.

Heat a large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. If using tofu, add a small amount of oil to the bottom of the pan and brown on all sides if desired. Otherwise it can simply go into the pan at the end of cooking just long enough to heat it up.

Add mushrooms and soy sauce to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly just until mushrooms begin to soften. If the pan begins to get too dry and the mushrooms and tofu stick, add a bit of water or stock.

When the mushrooms have softened, add the greens, minced ginger and sliced garlic. If you have opted to not brown the tofu, add it at this time. Allow the greens to wilt. While the greens are wilting, combine arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) and remaining stock. Pour the mixture over the mushrooms and greens and thoroughly stir in. Cook until the sauce begins to bubble.

Serve hot over steamed rice.

Yield: 2 servings

Click here for a printable version of the recipe.

This week’s grocery savings find in Columbus, Ohio is for Spectrum Shortening.

I discovered Spectrum Shortening a couple of years ago and since haven’t gone back to any brands I used previously. Not only did I notice an improved difference in the baked goods I made with Spectrum shortening, I think it’s great that it is organic and non-hydrogenated. Non-hydrogenated means it is free of evil trans fat. And I’m a firm believer in buying organic high fat items (oil, nuts, dairy) when possible since pesticides accumulate in fats.

Admittedly, this organic shortening can be quite a bit more expensive than its non-organic counterparts. While on a price comparison run over the weekend, I found Spectrum on sale at Kroger for $4.49. That is quite a bargain compared to the $6.00 - $6.49 it costs at various other stores around Columbus when it’s not on sale. According to the shelf tag, the sale price at Kroger will be in effect until September, 14, 2008.

With the fall harvest coming in and holidays lurking around the corner I bet a lot of you will be baking a bit more and find yourself in need of some better than average vegetable shortening. 

When silicone baking mats made their way into the market over a decade ago, I was a bit skeptical to say the least. Would it really revolutionize my baking experience? It took me a few years, but I finally gave in and bought one. The first time I used it, I made chocolate chip cookies. Was the experience life changing? Hardly. Certainly it lived up to its ability to be non-stick, but that’s hardly a problem when making chocolate chip cookies. In addition to the fact that the silpat cannot be washed in the dishwasher, it made my cookies spread. So far two counts against it in my view.

Some time later, I decided to give it another chance. I paid good money for it after all, and I really did want to like it or find some useful purpose for it. This time I made different types of cookies including tuiles. I baked half of each batch of cookies on parchment and half on the silpat. For the drop cookies, parchment ruled. The slick surface of the silpat seemed to encourage spread. The rolled and shaped cookies came out equally well on both mediums. In the tuile cagetory, the silpat’s superiority finally came to light and it was then I realized I could not live without this amazing invention!

The end result is that I don’t use my silpat for making drop cookies, but in order to cut down on the wastefulness (and expense) of using disposable parchment sheets, I opt for the silpat for all other cookies and it is an absolute must when making tuiles.

Silpats run in the neighborhood of $20.00 for one that fits the size of an average cookie sheet, but over time the cost savings is quickly realized if you’re a regular user of parchment.

More than ever it seems like people are looking for additional ways to bring the food budget back in check. The cost of food has risen almost dramatically in the last several months, and it doesn’t look like we’ve hit a plateau yet.

I would love to hear about ways others are finding to help trim their food budgets without resorting to inexpensive and less nutritious processed foods. Meanwhile, I thought I’d pass on a couple of price comparisons for items that are staples in the typical American pantry.

Ghirardelli chocolate chips - if you typically buy a chocolate chip with a higher cocoa content this is a great bargain. Typically these chips sell for around $3.49 per 11.5 oz bag at the grocery store. Currently, Cost Plus World Market is selling these chips for $6.99 per 36 oz bag; that’s almost an entire bag for free! World Market often carries an item only until it’s sold out. If you make chocolate chip cookies for your family on a fairly regular basis, run out and get these before they’re gone.

Jasmine rice - rice is one of those staples that has a nearly sky rocketing cost right now. Jasmine rice has always been a bit more expensive than regular long grain white rice, but is a less expensive (though slightly sticky by comparison) alternative to Basmati. I was recently shocked to see the price of Jasmine rice at the grocery store. It was $3.29 for a 2 pound bag. At Trader Joe’s you can get 3 pounds of Jasmine rice for $2.49.

With the rising cost of food, I’m going to be more and more vigilant about shopping around when I am able and pass my findings on to you. Do you have any money saving tips or price comparisons you can share with the rest of us?

This pudding is a great way to utilize stale bread and over-ripe bananas, but you don’t have to wait for the bread to stale to make the pudding. I like my bread very dry when starting this recipe. To achieve this, simply cut the bread in cubes, spread on a baking sheet and place in a 350 degree F oven and bake until the bread has completely dried out. This will take approximately 25 minutes. Alternatively, you can cut-up a fresh loaf of bread, place the cubes in a paper bag and allow to dry out over a couple of days.

For the pudding:

• 1 stale French baguette, roughly cut in 1 1/2” pieces
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 cups milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Grease a 9” x 13” baking dish. Arrange stale bread in dish in an even layer and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until evenly combined.

In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork. It’s okay to leave some large chunks of banana. To the bananas, add milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir to thoroughly combine. Add sugar mixture and stir well.

Pour custard (banana and milk mixture) over bread in baking dish pressing down on bread to make sure it is submerged in the custard. Cover with and refrigerate for one hour to allow the bread to soak up the custard.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Keep pudding covered and bake in center of oven for 45 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking an additional 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center come out clean.

For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark rum

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large skillet and add the brown sugar. Stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and grainy.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the rum. Stir to combine and return to medium heat. When the mixture begins to simmer, carefully light the sauce with a long match. Keep the liquid on the heat and allow it to continue to bubble and flame. The flames will go away when the alcohol has been burned off. If you are unable to get the sauce to flame, simply allow the sauce to simmer for about 4 minutes to allow the alcohol to burn away.

Serve warm over warm bread pudding.

Optional addition: After the alcohol of the sauce has burned off, add about 2 tablespoons of milk or heavy cream to make a rum caramel sauce.

Note: Keep the sauce warm by placing it in a pitcher in a pan of simmering water. This is also a great way to gently heat the sauce after it’s been refrigerated.

Click here for a printer friendly version of this recipe.