Posted in Recipes on October 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »
2 eggs
2 c sugar
½ c veg oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
4 c diced apples
1 c walnuts
Beat egg well, add sugar, oil, vanilla and salt. Add dry ingredients. Add apples and nuts. (Mixture gets softer after apple addition)
Bake at 350° in greased pan.
9×13 pan for 45 min.
Bundt cake pan for 45 min.
2 bread pans for 40 min.
Posted in Community Projects, Events, FotoFriday, Garden Showcase, MC Demonstration Garden, Recipes, Uncategorized on November 7, 2011| 7 Comments »
Where has the year gone? In less than a week we will be having our annual recognition banquet, which unfortunately I am unable to attend. Therefore, I would like to make a few recognitions of my own, based on what I have observed this year. Lot of people have worked hard, and these are my personal picks. I hope I am not embarrassing or offending anyone – but the following members I am sure you will agree are particularly deserving of our recognition and thanks for their efforts and valuable contribution to the club.
Posted in Events, Herbs, Recipes, Uncategorized on November 2, 2011| 1 Comment »
As a grand finale to our association meeting October 15th, fellow member Georgeann Brown (MG class of 1992) educated, entertained, and fed us during her excellent food demonstration, “Savory and Sweet Herbal Cooking.” Assisted by her sous chef, Frank Deutsch (MG class of 2009), Georgeann prepared three dishes prepared with herbs easily grown in any SE Michigan herb garden, Sundried Tomato Tapenade; Polenta Rounds with Pesto, and Sundried Tomatoes and Parmesan (she substituted kalamata olives for the tomatoes for variety), and Lavender Infused Mascarpone in Chocolate Cups.
Georgeann has been an active member of Maumee Valley Herb Society for over 15 years and works in the herb garden at Toledo Botanical Gardens. She maintains an extensive culinary herb garden of her own, which is an essential part of her company, un coup de main. Georgeann teaches the art of cooking in small classes in her home, where students learn how to choose and use the freshest seasonal ingredients. She obviously is an expert in the culinary arts – the recipes she prepared were outstanding!
Georgeann was as entertaining as she was informative, with frequent bursts of laughter from the audience punctuating her demonstration. The demonstration was fast paced – Frank was quick on his toes to make sure everything went in and out of the oven and was beautifully presented in quick succession. The results were absolutely delectable!
I tried to take notes, but by the end of the session I came away with a few “words to live by” rather than a bunch of isolated rules and instructions.
1. Use what’s fresh, locally-grown and in season whenever possible.
2. Don’t fret when you need to use prepared food items or substitute another ingredient when no fresh, in season ingredient is available. (example – store-bought pesto when your basil is finished for the year).
3. The answer to the question, “Can I substitute Kraft cream cheese for Mascarpone?” is an emphatic, “NO!”.
Georgeann, and her company un coup de main, teaches classes and has a hugely successful catering business in influential homes because of her innovative food and stunning presentations. Look for her at www.georgeannbrown.com .
Here are the recipes Georgeann made and was gracious to give us –
Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables on October 15, 2011| 1 Comment »
It was my turn to bring refreshments for today’s meeting. Since Georgeann was doing a presentation on herbs,
I thought I’d include my favorite: Cilantro
This also is an incentive to use our website’s Blog to get the recipe.
It’s easy and refreshing.
Chop 6 Roma tomatoes, 1 medium red onion, 2 avocadoes and cilantro into a bowl.
Squeeze the juice of two limes over the mixture, add salt to taste. Mix it up and serve
with Scoops, over chicken or as a salsa for a great Mexican dish. Enjoy.
Posted in Events, Herbs, Recipes, Uncategorized on October 12, 2011| 2 Comments »
If you need another reason to attend this Saturday’s general meeting, it’s Georgeann’s taste tempting class on Savory & Sweet Herbal Cooking. Learn quick and simple ways to incorporate the herbs from your garden into elegant, but easy to prepare dishes that are guaranteed to please.
Menu
Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade with Crostini
Polenta rounds with Pesto, Kalmata olives and Parmesan
Lavender infused Mascarpone in Dessert cups
*****
Long time Master Gardener Georgeann Brown is the owner of un coup de main Cooking School in Dundee and past president of the Maumee Valley Herbal Society.
Posted in Events, Herbs, Recipes, Uncategorized on October 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I knew something was up as soon as I turned into the parking lot last Monday night. The air was filled with the aromas of freshly baked herbal bread right out of the oven. The closer I got to the front door, the stronger the aromas of drying lavender, thyme, bergamot, mint and rosemary were competing with one another to draw me in. I stopped and noticed something was odd about the potted bayleaf…somebody had given it a rather severe haircut and about one quarter of its leaves had been harvested to serve a higher purpose.
Sharon and Winnie with their herb garden
What I am talking about is the Herbs, Senses workshop Winnie Webb, Sharon Diefenthaler and Karen Morris were hosting in the conference room. With myself on the door, this session drew 24 people which is a very impressive turnout when you consider the original MEN advertisement listed a local pizza parlor as the reservations phone number!
Aroma therapy 101
These ladies really outdid themselves with the vast array of plants and props they set up to transform our rather bland conference room into a haven of tranquility and some of the most deliciously soothing aromas I have ever experienced. Each table had a fragrant herbal arrangement, the front presenters tables were groaning under pots of freshly dug rosemary, lavender, geraniums, mints, oreganos, chives, parsley and cilantro. The side tables were strewn with sachets, soaps, candles and an entire section from Franks arts and crafts. The show stopper was one of Linda Welch’s vertical garden pieces planted with herbs…what a novel, space saving idea!
Vertical herb garden
Herb drying rack
The kitchen counter displayed the herbal breads, gooey lavender brownies, herbed hot buttered popcorn and a rather interesting Vernors punch with bergamot, honey, bruised mint and wafer thin dried lemon slices.
Assorted herb breads
Sharon and Winnie shared with everyone their experiences with herbs and how pleasantly mood altering and uplifting the aromas can be to our weary psyches. Karen was spritzing the arms of the unsuspecting with a lavender oil based concoction that smelled terrific, while Sharon was showing how the woody stems of rosemary could be used for kebabs and Winnie demonstrated some basic herb drying methods with a homemade wooden rack. Karen and Sharon explained how to make spice bags, bouquet garnis and a tasty herb mix called “herbes de Provence”
Herbes de Provence
Rolling basil for freezer storage
Frozen herbsicles
Sharon told the group of her experiences visiting a special greenhouse that grows herbs and flowers organically as part of a patient rehabilitation program. I am also reminded of her own program with the ISD at Matthis’ greenhouse and how the kids all “fight” to work in the herb house when we are taking cuttings and transplanting. This is positive effect of aroma therapy!!
The herbal products and ideas table
The presentation ended with Sharon and Winnie talking about how easy and inexpensive it is to incorporate herbs and their aromas into just about any household use. As a guy, even I found that part interesting!
Good work ladies…your efforts were much appreciated. Everyone left full of herb bread and with an assortment of dried herbs, bags of bayleaves and sachets…and a greater appreciation of the benefits herbs can have on our senses.
This workshop is actually an excellent lead in to Georgann’s upcoming Culinary Herbs presentation on October 15, after the general meeting. Be sure to read the blog for details and some of the recipes that were covered in the workshop.
Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables on September 11, 2011| 4 Comments »
Since tomato canning time is upon us, (well, getting late now) I wanted to share a story about canning tomato catsup (not ketchup! For some reason this is important to the story!) Over 40 years ago my former mother-in-law toured a Heinz factory with her Farm Bureau group, where they were shown the process for making catsup. There, a Heinz employee gave her a recipe for making catsup at home. Doris was never sure if the recipe was just one the woman knew, a “contraband” recipe she shouldn’t have given out, or a recipe Heinz gave to staff. At any rate, it was never a “public” recipe. She was very proud of that recipe, but I would never taste it because it “didn’t look right” to me. In other words, if it wasn’t the homogenous, syrupy stuff I grew up with, I didn’t want any part of it. After several years, I finally gave it a try. OH MY GOODNESS! It was fantastic!
After I grew older and began understanding the value in learning about cooking traditions, I yearned to try that recipe. I was worried – my former mother-in-law has dementia and I was afraid I’d lost the opportunity to get the recipe, if for nothing else but to pass on to my daughters. After searching awhile, my girls’ dad found the recipe. Doris was able to give me detailed instructions – and this year for the first time I made home-made catsup! I got my tomatoes from Charter Farm Produce on Ida Center Road. Here’s the recipe in Doris Ryan’s own words:
Doris Ryan’s Ketchup Recipe
Makes 5 quarts:
Day 1:
Cook .5 “heaped over” bushel of PEELED very ripe tomatoes (Doris advises no Roma tomatoes), 4 large sweet onions (Doris uses Spanish sweet or Vidalia), 4 large green bell peppers, and 6-8 banana peppers, until soft. You will know veggies are soft enough when the tomato “rinds” start coming out. Cook so as to have a nice steady boil.
Once soft, run mixture through a food mill for juice. Doris advises that your arm will get VERY tired but “you can’t hurry”. Let stand overnight.
Day 2:
Overnight the water and pulp will separate – take time to ladle out all the water you can get from the top. The more water you get out the better and easier it will be. Then, put juice and pulp in a large kettle and cook down to consistency you want. Doris advises 4-ish hours. Keep stirring often “because it will scorch or run over”. While it’s cooking add:
4 cups white sugar
1 quart apple vinegar
6 Tablespoons Barrel salt – * NOT Iodized
While waiting for the juice to reach consistency, put the following in a cheese cloth sack:
2 Tablespoons black pepper
2 Tablespoons dry mustard
2/3 teaspoons cloves (ground or whole)
2/3 teaspoons allspice
After about 4 hours or whenever the consistency is right, add the sack of ingredients to the juice in the kettle. Cook down until juice thickens, stirring often (Doris says at least 4 hours more). Stir the sack around often. Doris says you know its time to take the sack out “when it’s thick and it tastes good”.
Ladle into quart jars and can by cold pack method for 20 minutes.
Posted in Community Projects, Events, Recipes on September 5, 2011| 3 Comments »
Photo Credit Sean McClellan The Independent Newspaper (734) 529-2688
Deb (fellow MG) and Mark Chapman of Chapman Sheep Farm, along with Georgeann Brown (MG class ’92) grilled lamb kebabs/kabobs for all to sample at the Dundee Farmers’ Market on 8/27. Many were surprised by the delicious flavor of the marinated lean boneless leg of lamb chunks. A few market samplers were hesitant because of their remembrances of mutton (yikes!) but young American lamb is a tasty alternative to beef. The Chapman’s sell all cuts of lamb (frozen) at numerous farmers’ markets in our area. Their kebabs are already cut into cubes. If you need something special, call Chapman Sheep Farm, Deb’s e-mail address is in our membership list.
A quick marinade for kebabs (great for chops as well)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch of cayenne
¼ t freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¾ teaspoon orange zest
Olive oil for the grill
In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic. Whisk in the spices, lemon juice and orange zest.
Toss the lamb cubes in the bowl with the marinade and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. Turn the meat several hours.
Heat the gas grill to medium-high. Lightly oil grill.
Skewer the lamb cubes, leaving about half-inch of space between each cube so they’ll cook all around. Grill turning the skewers to brown on all sides for a slight charring, until medium-rare, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the grill, let rest for a few minutes and serve.
Serves 4
Monroe County Master Gardener Association 