Its been awhile since my last post- but as you those of you who take foods directly from the earth to the pantry know - this is the time of reaping.
When I am in the middle of piles of peppers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, basil, eggplants and squash of all types with a frosty night just waiting to jump out at me, I shold be focusing on the task at hand but it seems these are the times when urges for creating new concoctions using canning jars, heat and fresh produce just have to be acted upon.
Yesterday we made what we call "hot juice" aka on stores shelves, V8, vegetable juice or fusion something or other. Like most things, hot juice or more accurately spicy vegetable tomato juice came about 3 or 4 years ago when I was still faced with lots of peppers, tomatoes and onions to use up. We use an electric roaster, fill it about 3/4 full of tomatoes and then the rest of the way to the top (and then some) with sweet red and green peppers, onion, hot peppers, carrots, celery, a head of garlic, beets when I have them (not this year) and a healthy shot of lemon juice and a tablespoon of salt. After all is nice and mushy-soft, we run the concoction through a food mill to get out all the juice which we heat, hot-pack and can. But this year I look at the leftover mound of vegetable gunk - a pile of many color bits and stands of dejuiced vegetables and
thought this is all the good veggie fiber we just toss to the chickens. Surely there must be something I can use it for I thought as I started to put together a loaf of bread in the bread machine. An aha moment turned into a really moist, tasty loaf of wheat bread.
Recipe - I followed my basic whole wheat bread recipe and added 1/2 cup of the vegetable leavings to the machine and 1/4 cup of toasted onion flakes and as it kneaded I checked the dough and decided it was a little too moist and added maybe another 1/4 cup of flour. The bread tastes good and looks nice with its little flecks of color.
Note: Toasted onion flakes are the onion that is used to make French onion dip. I buy these flakes by the pound from frontiercoop.com (for full disclosure I should say I work there, but I also know the cool bulk products). I have never seen these anywhere else. Anyway I like to had a quarter up to a half cup (for a really oniony flavor) with an egg to my favorite whole wheat bread recipe. Make a good sandwich bread and fabulous toast.
When I am in the middle of piles of peppers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, basil, eggplants and squash of all types with a frosty night just waiting to jump out at me, I shold be focusing on the task at hand but it seems these are the times when urges for creating new concoctions using canning jars, heat and fresh produce just have to be acted upon.
Yesterday we made what we call "hot juice" aka on stores shelves, V8, vegetable juice or fusion something or other. Like most things, hot juice or more accurately spicy vegetable tomato juice came about 3 or 4 years ago when I was still faced with lots of peppers, tomatoes and onions to use up. We use an electric roaster, fill it about 3/4 full of tomatoes and then the rest of the way to the top (and then some) with sweet red and green peppers, onion, hot peppers, carrots, celery, a head of garlic, beets when I have them (not this year) and a healthy shot of lemon juice and a tablespoon of salt. After all is nice and mushy-soft, we run the concoction through a food mill to get out all the juice which we heat, hot-pack and can. But this year I look at the leftover mound of vegetable gunk - a pile of many color bits and stands of dejuiced vegetables and
thought this is all the good veggie fiber we just toss to the chickens. Surely there must be something I can use it for I thought as I started to put together a loaf of bread in the bread machine. An aha moment turned into a really moist, tasty loaf of wheat bread.Recipe - I followed my basic whole wheat bread recipe and added 1/2 cup of the vegetable leavings to the machine and 1/4 cup of toasted onion flakes and as it kneaded I checked the dough and decided it was a little too moist and added maybe another 1/4 cup of flour. The bread tastes good and looks nice with its little flecks of color.
Note: Toasted onion flakes are the onion that is used to make French onion dip. I buy these flakes by the pound from frontiercoop.com (for full disclosure I should say I work there, but I also know the cool bulk products). I have never seen these anywhere else. Anyway I like to had a quarter up to a half cup (for a really oniony flavor) with an egg to my favorite whole wheat bread recipe. Make a good sandwich bread and fabulous toast.
This sounds fantastic. Bet it smells great too. mmmmmm
ReplyDeleteks I took in samples to work today and got a thumbs up from everyone who tasted.
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