Lone Cactus Cooking

2009-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Kati Baker

So Long, Farewell, Aufedersein, Goodbye

This cobbler represents the last of my preservation efforts from last year's peaches. I would much rather freeze than bottle peaches because it's much quicker but I like the flavor better too. Peach cobbler can be heavenly or it can be so so depending on the type of peach you use. Only use a good variety of free stone peach. Cling stone peaches look good in the store but if you want a juicy flavorful peach you can wait until hell freezes over with a cling stone variety. They never develop that slight give to the flesh and fragrant aroma and flavor when they are ripe that a free stone peach gets so don't waste your time or money on them.

This is a biscuit style cobbler. Cobblers come in many forms: some with a cake topping, some with more a crumble type crust. This is my favorite because whether you serve it with ice cream or cream the biscuit soaks up some of the juice from the fruit and some of the liquid from the ice cream and melts in your mouth in a symphony of flavors. MMMMMMM! Make the cobbler and then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or heavy cream (my favorite). Pure Heaven!

Peach Cobbler

5 cups of sliced fresh or frozen peaches

1/2 cup to 1 cup of sugar depending on your preference

2 T. minute tapioca ground fine

1 T. lemon juice

pinch of salt

1 cup of flour

2 T. of sugar

1/4 t. salt

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 cup of butter (not margarine, not butter flavored shortening.....BUTTER!)

1/4 cup of cream

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a baking dish. Heat in a microwave on high until hot and bubbling (about 5 minutes). Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl and cut in the butter until the consistency of fine meal. Beat the egg slightly and mix with the cream. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until moist. Drop by teaspoons onto the hot fruit and then sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. If not done, cover lightly with foil and continue baking until done.

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-19T14:16:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of my Dad- he's in the center. I like to think I get half of my cooking talent from my Mom and the other half from my Dad. One of my favorite recipes from my Dad is the one for sourdough hotcakes (or waffles). The best part is that I freeze the extras and pop them in the toaster in the morning for a nearly instant breakfast.

SOURDOUGH PANCAKES

To the sourdough start add: 3 cups of flour and 2 cups of water and hold for 12 hours at 80°. Remove one cup and place in the refrigerator (this is your start and you have just fed it!)

To the remaining start add:
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
¼ dry milk
2 T. melted butter

Mix and let stand for 20 minutes before cooking. Pour by ¼ cups onto a hot griddle. You may have to adjust flour to get the right consistency.

2009-06-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

CHOW TIME!

I just spent a great week in northern Utah and southern Idaho with my family. I got to meet the cutie in the picture above. Navy was born just a few weeks ago and now has a best friend........my uncle's Black Angus bull. Go figure. But the two are inseperable and the bull likes to give Navy a spit shine once a day.

One of the great pleasures of visiting my sister is the endless supply of fresh eggs. I brought home 2 dozen with me and with all those lucious eggs to use decided to make some chicken enchiladas. I love this recipe because it makes some to eat, some to give away and some to freeze for later.

So, here it is.......

Chicken Enchiladas

4 large chicken breasts

2 cups chicken broth

8 oz pepper jack cheese

8 oz cheddar cheese

1 medium onion chopped

2 cups of salsa verde or tomatillo salsa

2 eggs

1/4 cup cream

36 corn tortillas

1 can cream of chicken soup

Pour the chicken broth in a deep skillet and poach the chicken breasts. Remove and cool, reserving the broth for later. Shred the chicken breasts and mix with half of the cheddar and pepper jack cheese, onions and if desired roasted poblano or jalapeno chilis.

Heat the chicken broth to a simmer. Dip each tortilla in the chicken broth and remove immediately. Fill with the chicken mixture and roll, placing in a greased 9x13 pan. Repeat until all chicken mixture has been used. Mix the eggs, cream, salsa and cream of chicken soup and pour over the rolled enchiladas. Top with the remaining cheese and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

2009-05-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Margaritaville...........Not!

As you can see from my pics on South Mountain last week, the green season in the Valley of the Sun is over except for a few feeble brushes of color from the ocotillo and saguaro cacti. My outdoor adventures are going to have to move north shortly as we are now facing triple digit temps this week.

So.........a cool dessert to help fight off the heat. Strawberry Margarita Shortcake. No, it doesn't have any tequila in it for two reasons. One, I don't drink anymore and two, just the smell of tequila makes me heave due to an unfortunate incident involving a margarita, a fried calamari sandwich and a drive up Waimea Canyon with a driver who had no freakin' clue how to drive curves. But, that's another story.

Here's the recipe............

Strawberry Margarita Shortcake

Shortcake
2 cups of flour
1 T. baking powder
¼ cup of sugar
½ t. salt
½ t. baking soda
½ cup of buttermilk
½ cup of cream
6 T. of cold butter
Zest of 1 orange

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and soda in a mixing bowl. Cut in ½ of the butter with a pastry blender and then using your hands rub the butter into the flour mixture until it’s the texture of fine meal. Add the remaining butter and cut in with the pastry blender but leave it in larger pea size pieces. Toss in the orange zest and add the liquid. Blend just until everything is moist. You want the dough to be of a consistency that will drop from a spoon onto the baking sheet, so depending on the humidity you might have to add a little more cream. Drop onto a buttered baking sheet and sprinkle the top of the shortcakes with turbinado sugar. Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown on top and bottom.

Strawberry Topping

2 pints of strawberries sliced
Juice of one lime
Sugar to taste
Pinch of salt

Mix the sliced strawberries with the lime juice, sugar and salt and let macerate for at least 30 minutes.

Slice the shortcake in half and spoon the strawberries on the bottom half. Top with crème fraiche sweetened with some sugar.

2009-05-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Furnace.....I mean Phoenix.

We are rapidly approaching that dreaded time of the year in the Valley of the Sun........that's right - Summer! When temperatures are in triple digits and eventually the temperature of your pool is closer to bathwater than a swimming pool.

I am frantically trying to cram in as much time outdoors before it becomes unbearable and I spend my days dreaming of the cabin at Bear Lake where my Dad spends the summer.

I left Saturday morning for South Mountain and caught this photo as the sun was coming up. I took my Dobie Roxi with me and we hiked for about 2 hours before heading home to get ready for a Cinco De Mayo dinner with friends.

This is the aftermath of our hike......we needed a little R & R before we started cleaning and cooking.

I didn't want to do traditional Mexican fare but I did stick to homemade salsas with chips to start. I then did an iceberg and avocado salad with cilantro vinaigrette, the main course was Picadillo Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Pecan Crema Sauce, Black Beans with Queso Fresco, and a sweet corn bread. Dessert was Strawberry Margarita Shortcake. I will be posting all these recipes over the next couple of weeks but for now here are my recipes for Salsa Roja and Salsa Verde........

Salsa Verde

16 tomatillos
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
6 large cloves garlic, peeled
3 jalapeños
Olive oil
1 bunch cilantro
4 limes
Honey
Kosher salt

Take the husks off the tomatillos and rinse with warm water to remove the sticky sap. Dry and cut in half. Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of a disposable 9x13 pan. Toss the tomatillos, onions and garlic with the olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Put the tray on the grill and the jalapeños next to it. Close the lid and roast the vegetables, turning the jalapeños after 5 minutes. When the peppers are black and blistered on all sides remove them and seal them in a plastic bag and set aside. Stir the vegetables after 10 minutes and roast for a total of 20 minutes. Remove from the grill and cool to room temperature.
Working in batches, blend the roasted vegetable in your food processor and then place in a large bowl. Peel 2 jalapeños and remove the seeds. Place in the food processor with the leaves of the cilantro, the honey and the juice from the limes. Process and mix with the other vegetables. Adjust the seasoning of the salsa with the salt and honey as needed. Adjust the hotness of the salsa by adding the other jalapeño if desired.

Salsa Roja

1 15oz can dices tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
½ medium onion
1 jalapeño chili – remove seeds to decrease heat
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup rough chopped cilantro

Put all ingredients in food processor. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and sugar as needed.

2009-04-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Kati Baker

DANISH

I got this recipe from my neighbor Charles. More than forty years seperate us in age but he is my cooking soulmate. We can and do talk about food for hours. He says that his taste buds have gone the way of the rest of his body-------down hill, but I keep bringing offerings from my kitchen because if he's eating it, I'm not! And my butt tells me that is a good thing. He says getting old sucks (he also says he not exactly sure what that means but the grandkids say it and it's bad) but I'm glad he's got a few years on him because I love listening to the great stories about his time in the airforce (he was a navigator on a B-52 during WWII), from his years in academia in Michigan and Arizona and his missions for his church.

The basic dough can be used to make danish or cinnamon rolls or fruit tarts. I will try to have pictures of all of these at some point.

Basic Danish Dough

1/2 lb of butter (plus an additional 1/2 lb butter)

2 cups warm milk

1 cup sugar

2 T. yeast

1/2 warm water

1 T. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. salt

6+ cups of pastry flour

1 large t. vanilla**

Cut the butter in approx. 2 T. size pieces and place in a large bowl, add the 1 cup of sugar and the salt. Warm the milk in the microwave on high for 2 minutes and pour over the butter and let cool slightly. Mix the yeast with the warm water and 1 T. of sugar and let proof. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and add to the milk mixture. Add the yeast mixture and the vanilla and mix until just blended. Add 2-3 cups of pastry flour and beat until smooth. Add the remaining flour using a spoon until the dough is firm but still sticky. Cover and let rise until double.

Remove the dough from the bowl and add just enough flour until you can work with it but do not knead! The dough should be very soft. Divide the dough in half and roll into a rectangle. Spread butter (about 1/3 of a stick) over 2/3 of the dough. Fold the uncovered third over 1/2 the covered portion and then fold the remaining portion down. Roll into a rectangle again and repeat above procedure. Repeat a third time but after folding do not roll out. Cover the dough and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Do the same with the remaining dough.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into a rectangle. Starting on the short side, cut 1 inch strips. Using both hands start in the center of the strip and roll both hands in opposite directions to twist the strips and form a rope and then coil in a circle tucking the end under. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double in size. At this point you can use the bottom of a glass to create a depression in which to put fruit or cheese before baking. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven as soon as they begin to brown.

Plain danish can be dipped in icing and then nuts or just drizzled with icing. I usually drizzle the filled pastry with icing.

Cheese Filling

8 oz of cream cheese

1 egg

Powdered sugar

Cream the cream cheese with the egg and add sugar to taste.

Icing

3 cups of powdered sugar

2 T. butter melted butter

Milk

Almond flavoring or vanilla depending on your filling

Mix the sugar and melted butter and 1-2 t. of almond flavoring. Add just enough milk to make icing of a consistency that will drizzle off the end of a spoon.

*Pastry Flour

Mix 1/4 measure of cake flour with 3/4 measure regular flour.

**This is what was written on the original recipe that Charlie gave me. I was a little confused because what is a large teaspoon? Is it large compared to the miniscule ones from the Ukraine? They just didn't know the symbol for tablespoon? What????? I just add a tablespoon to my dough and it works well. You can do what you want.

Lumpy Dick

2009-04-16T11:32:00.001-07:00

No, contrary to what the title may lead you to believe this is a family friendly site. I am currently working on the arrangements for my family reunion this summer at Mack's Inn at Island Park, ID. This will just be my immediate family but when I was small I remember huge family reunions every summer......one for each side of my family.

I was fortunate to know my great grandparents on my mothers side and most of my great aunts and uncles on both sides. They were all farmers and ranchers and had that no nonsense attitude that comes with that life.

The Hubbard side of the family would often meet at Downata Hot Springs for the Charles and Elsie Hubbard family reunion (just to show you how dim I sometimes am.....it took years before I broke down the name to Down At A Hot Springs). The reunions would progress with everyone showing up at around 9:00 am. The parents would immediately organize the mass march to the changing rooms to get us suited up for our prolonged immersion in the pool. We would then play in the pool until threatened with dire consequences if we didn't get out and come to lunch. The adults in the meantime had spent the time catching up on gossip, discussing the weather (the men) and its probable effect on crop yield, and preparing a HUGE lunch. We would then eat until we groaned. We then had to spend one hour "resting" before we were allowed back into the pool.....cramps you know. And there was always someone who knew someone who knew someone who drowned from cramps because they went swimming too soon after eating. Oi!

The interim time was usually filled with stories from Great Grandma Elsie. She was a born story teller and a published poet who loved to entertain and be the center of attention. I don't remember the context but one year she told us about the early years when her family first moved to Gem Valley. There were twelve of them living in a one room cabin with a dirt floor.....she said she never could get it clean no matter how much she swept. She told us about how they each received an orange for Christmas and what a treat that was....all of the children decided to make them last as long as they could by sharing their orange with everyone else. They had one orange a week for 10 weeks this way.

Dessert was pretty much unheard of and when they did get something for dessert often it was Lumpy Dick. Grandma went on to explain that Lumpy Dick was made by mixing flour and sugar and then cooking it with milk until it thickened. You didn't worry about lumps because it was supposed to have them.
Seriously, though, thinking about the kind of life that renders one grateful to have a dessert made from flour, sugar and milk boiled together makes me so thankful for the sacrifices that my great grandparents made when they helped settle Gem Valley and make it the beautiful place it is today.

And, just in case the children are misbehaving and you want to show them how hard they could really have it...........here's the recipe:

Lumpy Dick
Pour some milk in a saucepan and heat to just under a boil. Sprinkle flour over the milk and poke it with a spoon to get it wet. Dont' stir it.....it's supposed to be lumpy. Add enough flour to make it the consistency of hot cereal. Sweeten with sugar to taste. YUM! YUM!

2009-04-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

I love to cook and many of the recipes that I make are recipes passed down through my family. Most of them have memories associated with them and I want to share those memories and the recipes with my family and friends. Welcome and please leave a comment to let me know what you think.