Angel Star Homestead
• Fri 2 Jan 2009 - Homemade Beef Bouillon Recipe
Homemade Beef Bouillon Recipe
Cook Time: 8 hours,
Ingredients:
4 pounds lean beef from shank, diced
2 pounds beef bones
4 whole cloves garlic
2 quarts cold water
Kosher salt to taste
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced turnips
1/2 cup diced onions
Preparation:
Place beef, bones, and whole cloves garlic in a large stockpot. Cover with the cold water. Slowly bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, lower heat, and simmer for 5 to 6 hours. Taste the broth and season with salt.
Add celery, carrots, turnips, and onions to the stockpot. Simmer 1 hour. Strain broth through cheesecloth into another stockpot. Discard solids. Simmer uncovered until broth has reduced to 6 cups or to desired strength. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Skim off fat and discard.
The bouillon may be used as is for a clear soup course or as traditional beef stock in other recipes.
Yield: about 6 cups
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• Fri 2 Jan 2009 - Cauliflower Gratin Recipe
Cauliflower Gratin Recipe
Three cheeses and ham give a rich depth of flavor to bland cauliflower. The meat may be omitted, if necessary. Cauliflower gratin makes a great side dish, but consider it also for breakfast or brunch. Great for low-carb diets.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hours,
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (discard core and large stems)
1 (14 ounces) can chicken or vegetable broth (or homemade - about 1-3/4 cups)
2 Tbsp butter
2 ounces cream cheese
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
1/4 cup sliced green onions, white and green parts
2 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped ham, smoked turkey breast, or cooked bacon pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Sweet Hungarian paprika
Vegetable spray
Preparation:
Place cauliflower florets in a large saucepan. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain thoroughly through a fine sieve and return to the pot over low heat. Cook about 2 more minutes to dry out excess moisture, stirring constantly. (It's okay that it breaks apart.)
Pour cauliflower into food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add butter, cream cheese, sour cream, half of the cheddar cheese, green onion, salt, pepper, and eggs. Pulse to combine. Fold in ham, turkey or bacon pieces.
Spray an oven-proof casserole with vegetable oil. Pour cauliflower mixture into casserole dish and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese. Dust lightly with paprika. Bake in a preheated 375 F. oven for about 45 minutes.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
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• Fri 2 Jan 2009 - In Touch Daily Devotional........... Effective Prayer
Jan 2, 2009
Effective Prayer
Mark 11:24-25
John 14:14 reads, "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." People sometimes interpret this to mean that any request ending with the words "in Jesus' name, amen" will automatically be fulfilled.
Yet basing our entire concept of prayer on one isolated verse would lead to a skewed perspective. It is also important to consider . . .
Our Fellowship With God. For God to hear and answer prayers, we must first be saved from our sin through the redeeming blood of Jesus. Once we have trusted Christ as Savior, God will hear us only when we walk in righteousness before Him. Of course, He understands our weakness and doesn't expect perfection. But if we knowingly continue in sin and fail to repent, He will not listen.
Our Request. For some people, ending prayers with "In Jesus' name, amen" can seem like a magic charm, but nothing can force God's hand. This saying did originate from a good motive, though: the desire to ask only for what is consistent with Jesus' character. When we ask, we should pray with faith, believing that God is able and will do whatever is in His will. And we should willingly submit our desires to Him.
Our Motive. The Lord won't say yes to prayer that will hurt us or His purpose. When we bring supplications before Him, it is important to check our motive. Is our goal to glorify God and let others see Him in us? Or is our motive selfish, greedy, or impure?
Our heavenly Father tells us to pray. And He will answer when our hearts are pure. |
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• Fri 2 Jan 2009 - Preserved Lemons
This came in my inbox. Something very different! 
Preserved Lemons
Paula Wolfert
Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco
Makes 5 preserved lemons
Preserved lemons, sold loose in the souks, or markets, are one of the
indispensable ingredients of Moroccan cooking, used in fragrant lamb
and vegetables tagines, recipes for chicken with lemons and olives,
and salads.
Their unique pickled taste and special silken texture cannot be
duplicated with fresh lemon or lime juice, despite what some food
writers have said.
In Morocco, they are made with a mixture of fragrant-skinned doqq and
tart boussera lemons, but I have had excellent luck with American
lemons from Florida and California.
If available, use Meyer lemons.
The important thing in preserving lemons is to be certain they are
completely covered with salted lemon juice. With my recipe, you can
use the lemon juice over and over again.
(As a matter of fact, I keep a jar of used pickling juice in the
kitchen, and when I make Bloody Marys or salad dressings and have a
half lemon left over, I toss it into the jar and let it marinate with
the rest.)
Sometimes you will see a sort of lacy, white substance clinging to
preserved lemons in their jar; it is perfectly harmless, but should be
rinsed off for aesthetic reasons just before the lemons are used.
Preserved lemons are rinsed, in any case, to rid them of their salty
taste. Cook with the thick peels; marinate with the pulp, if desired.
Thin-skinned lemon peels are best as a garnish.
If using lemons with a thick peel, soften it by soaking in lukewarm
water for 3 days, changing the water daily.
5 lemons
1/4 cup salt, more if desired
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, if necessary
Quarter the lemons starting at the top to within 1/2-inch of the
bottom, sprinkle salt on the exposed flesh, and then reshape the fruit.
Place 1 tablespoon salt on the bottom of a sterilized one-pint mason jar.
Pack in the lemons and push them down, adding more salt, and lemon
juice, if needed.
Press down the lemons to release their juices and to make room for the
remaining lemons. (If the juice released from the squashed fruit does
not cover them, add freshly squeezed lemon juice—not chemically
produced lemon juice or water.)
Leave some air space at the top of the jar before sealing.
Let the lemons ripen for 30 days in a warm place, shaking the jar
often to distribute the salt and juice.
To use, rinse the lemons as needed under running water, removing and
discarding the pulp, if desired.
NOTES:
There is no need to refrigerate after opening. Preserved lemons will
keep up to a year, and the pickling juice can be used two or three
times over the course of a year.
One caveat:
Do not put your fingers into the brine. Use a wooden spoon to remove
lemons as needed
These cannot be "canned" per se. They MUST be refrigerated and only
have a shelf life of six months.
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• Fri 2 Jan 2009 - Daryoles (Fruit Custard Pie)
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Daryoles (dah*ree*YOH*lees) is named after the yellow color of the saffron custard and reliably dates back to early Tudor times.
Butter Pie Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold water
Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender. Sprinkle in the water taking care to only use as much as you need to form pliable dough. Flour your hands, a pastry cloth, and a rolling pin thoroughly. Pat the dough into a circle and place in the center of the cloth. Roll the dough from the center outward in even strokes, taking care not to roll the edges thin, turning as you go to form a 14" circle. Fold in half once, then twice, and transfer to your deep dish pie pan. Place the point in the center of the pie pan and then unfold. Cut the ragged edges off and flute the edge of the pie crust (or press with a fork). Prick to prevent puffing, and pre-bake the pie crust using pie weights (or beans) in a hot oven (400º) for 8 minutes or until hard but not browned. Remove pie weights and cool the pie shell while preparing the filling.
Filling
½ cup dried apricots, plums, raisins, or other dried fruit.
4 whole eggs
½ cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup milk, sweet wine, or fruit juice
¼ tsp almond extract (or vanilla if you don't have almond)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried mint, crushed
pinch of saffron, crushed in a mortar (or a few drops of yellow food coloring)
1 29-oz can pears, drained.
Soak the dried fruit in warm water for 30 minutes. Beat eggs and sugar together; then the other liquids and spices, and flavoring to make custard. Drain the canned pears and the rehydrated dried fruit. Line the pie shell with the pears and rehydrated fruit. Pour custard over fruit and bake for 30 minutes at 350º or until it is all puffed up and browned. Cool completely before cutting. Each pie makes 8 full-sized portions, but can be cut into smaller slices. For dietary purposes each pie provides 4 servings grain, 4 servings meat, 1 serving dairy, 8 servings fruit, 8 servings fat, and 8 servings sugar.
Variations: Instead of canned fruit you can use fresh washed and drained berries flavored with a pinch of ground cloves, cinnamon, ginger, mace, or nutmeg, etc. You can also use peaches, clementines, prunes, quince paste, dates, nuts, and herbs like chopped candied ginger, angelica, anise, basil, or anything else that pleases you. |
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