What are you growing and cooking?

[DeniseM]

COOKING: It's finally fall here in Hades, CA, and by fall I mean 88º instead of 108º! I made a fall-ish recipe tonight, and it was a hit, although it didn't photograph very well.

Country Hash with Cornbread Crust

1 lb. ground meat (I used turkey so I added a T. of olive oil to the pan)
1 sweet yellow onion, diced
2 t. seasoning salt (I used salt free vegetable seasoning)
2 t. minced garlic
2 t. Worchestershire sauce
4 potatoes, cubed small (I had 6 to use up so I used 6)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, including the juice
1 cup vegetable of your choice (I used crushed, frozen spinach)
1 C. broth of your choice

1. In a large skillet, saute the ground meat and onion until meat is brown, then stir in the garlic and cook for one more minute.
2. Stir in the Worchestershire sauce, potatoes, diced tomatoes. 1 C. Veg, 1 C. Broth & seasoning salt.
3. Cover and simmer for 20 min. until potatoes are soft and most of the broth is absorbed.
(preheat the oven to 400º)
4. While the hash cooks, stir together your favorite cornbread and set the batter aside (I used Jiffy mix.)
5. When the hash is done, immediately spread the hot hash in a greased 8x10 pan.
5. Quickly spread the cornbread batter over the hot hash (you want the hash to stay hot, so the cornbread cooks evenly.)
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min, or until lightly browned.

*I've used this cornbread crust over chili beans, stew, and leftover burrito filling - it's all purpose.

 

[DeniseM]

Now I'm debating whether to keep it and try the peppers when they are young and green, or to pull it out.

We ended up taking the hot pepper out - we have plenty of peppers, and I'd rather have a little more space between the peppers plants than I currently have.

 

[DeniseM]

GROWING: We just got home from 3 weeks in Kauai about 11 pm last night. We expected to pull out the rest of our garden, but due to the cooler fall weather here in Hades, CA, our garden has a new lease on life. Fall weather here in Hades is 40-72 degrees (at least right now.) So I am going to leave the tomatoes and peppers in, because they are still blooming and bearing fruit. The crazy strawberries think it's spring again!

 

[amycurl]

Growing: I am still harvesting three types of basil (Genovese, Thai, and lemon,) and a few shishito peppers. My banana peppers gave up the ghost a few weeks ago.

Cooking: I put a ham in the crockpot for pot-luck dinner last week, and yesterday I made a 16 bean soup with the ham bone. There was little to no ham left after the pot luck--just a lot of yummy sauce-- so I added about a pound of smoked sausage to up the protein. Also used local peppers and onions from my CSA, and a can of tomatoes. Turned out very tasty!

 

[DeniseM]

GROWING & COOKING: I used up some of the bell peppers and tomatoes from my garden to make stuffed peppers for dinner tonight. We had a hard, cold rain today, so I don't know how much longer the plants will last. Here in Hades, CA, we were THRILLED to have rain!!! They are getting some snow in the high Sierras too, which is where our water comes from, so that's great! Plus, I know the skiers are praying for snow for Thanksgiving.

 

[DeniseM]

COOKING: I made a Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake yesterday. (My son is on the keto diet.) It was a little hard to get out of the springform pan - next time I will grease the sides. We will try it tonight - if it tastes good I will post the recipe:

 

[DeniseM]

The cheesecake turned out well - this is a chiffon pie type consistency, instead of the dense cheesecake consistency.

One note - this made too much filling for an 8 in. springform pan - I will use a 9 in. pan next time.

Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients
For the crust
• 1 1/2 c. almond flour
• 1/4 c. coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp. granulated Swerve- I used the Truvia brand of brown sugar substitute - it is a Stevia product.
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 7 Tbsp. butter, melted
•
For the filling
• 4 (8-oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. brown sugar Swerve - I used the Truvia brand of brown sugar substitute - it is a Stevia product.
• 1 c. pumpkin purée
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger - too much ginger for me. Next time I will use 1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice.
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Directions
1 Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, Swerve, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and mix until well combined. Press crust into an 8” springform pan in an even layer a little up the sides. Bake until lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. - Use a 9 in. pan

2 Step 2 Reduce oven to 325°. In a large bowl beat cream cheese and swerve together until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin purée and beat until no lumps remain. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well combined. Add vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Pour batter on top of crust and smooth top with an offset spatula.

3 Step 3 Wrap bottom of pan in aluminum foil and place in a large roasting pan. Pour in enough boiling water to come up halfway in the baking pan.

4 Step 4 Bake until center of cheesecake only slightly jiggles, about 1 hour. Turn off heat, prop open oven door, and let cheesecake cool in oven, 1 hour.

5 Step 5 Remove foil and refrigerate cheesecake until completely chilled, at least 5 hours and up to overnight. My crust
stuck to the pan a bit - next time I will spray the sides with cooking spray.

 

[DeniseM]

COOKING: Instant Pot "Baked beans" and homemade cornbread - warm and filling on a cold evening! I like to use dried beans and cook them in my instant pot: 1) cheaper, 2) healthier, 3) faster, 4) the high pressure cooks the farts out! Whenever I make any kind of beans I cook twice as many as I need (plain), freeze half of them for future use, and use the other half for whatever I'm making.

 

[DeniseM]

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[amycurl]

Growing: Even though we've had lows in the upper 30s for quite a few days now, I *still* was able to harvest a handful of shishito peppers from my porch plant yesterday, and there are even still a few blooms, so I just hate to pull it up quite year!

Cooking: I snagged a few Granny Smith apples to add to a few Staymens I kept after making homemade applesauce a few weeks ago and made my first apple pie of the season. I also made from-scratch pecan pie. Both are frozen and will be transported via cooler in the car for the 12-13 hour trip to the outskirts of Chicago tomorrow to be served on Thursday.

 

[DeniseM]

COOKING: We had our Thanksgiving dinner a few days ago, and I'm a bit under the weather today, so a big pot of homemade turkey and rice soup hit the spot!