Recipe Review from 8/30/21 and Wild Ricing 2021

I think I'm caught up on my recipe review posts now.  The week of 8/23 was a scrounge and take-out week so nothing new to comment on. I got back on track this past week with two new recipes that both use zucchini and/or summer squash.

My friend and I attempted to go wild ricing, but without success this year. As in, our worst outing yet. A handful of circumstances were working against us: drought had the lake levels low and I think that impacted how warm the water became (not good for rice), a canoe near us overturned so we rendered assistance for an hour, then had lunch, and after an hour of trying to rice, we were chased off the lake by a severe storm. I think that was a sign this was not our year. So it goes. We had a good time anyway.

Kansas City at Sunset, 2016

The Meal Plan:
Sat (out) wild ricing (S) I don't remember...
Sun (L) salad (S) Zucchini soup
Mon (yoga/bkgrp) leftovers
Tues - mac-n-cheese with zucchini
Wed (yoga) soup
Thurs - mac-n-cheese
Fri - (D out) soup

Lunches - sandwiches

Zucchini Soup (Milk Street Tuesday Nights Mediterranean) vegetarian
I'm always on the lookout for a new zucchini soup. This one was different in that it incorportated toasted pumpkin seeds, flour as a thickener and lemon. I'm not entirely wild about flour as a thickener when I could add more zucchini. The pumpkin seeds were quite yummy and I found myself eating them on the side. The lemon was definitely present - not an "in your face" flavor, but there. I would make this again, it's a lovely summer soup.






Skillet Mac & Cheese with Zucchini & Pimiento (Eating Well, Sept 2021) vegetarian
This was good and could have been better if I hadn't overcooked my pasta. My "test" noodle must have been the one slightly undercooked noodle in the pot when I sampled. So a small "argh!". I like my food spicy, but the 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper was too much for this dish. A tich of heat is nice, and this was more "whoo! spicy!". Recommend 1/8 tsp. I did use summer squash as that's what was ripe in the garden. And if I were to make this again, I'd skip the panko or perhaps toast separately and put on before serving. With leftovers, it becomes lost in the reheating.

Recommended with some modifications.

Served 4-6 (I got 6-8 servings out of this, it's filling)

8 ounces whole-wheat elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups diced zucchini and/or summer squash
½ teaspoon salt, divided
½ teaspoon ground pepper, divided
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups low-fat milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1 4-ounce jar diced pimientos (see Tip), rinsed
½ cup panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.

Cook macaroni 1 minute less than the package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Add zucchini (and/or summer squash) and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until starting to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and melt butter in the skillet. Sprinkle with flour and whisk until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk milk, dry mustard, cayenne and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the skillet, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese and pimientos. Using a slotted spoon, add the reserved vegetables to the skillet along with the pasta. Stir to coat.

Mix panko, garlic powder and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the casserole. Transfer to the oven and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the topping is golden, about 15 minutes.

Recipe Review from 9/14/20

Two hard frosts have done in the garden this past week. The Husband picked the last of the zucchini - of which there was a surprising amount - and the squash. The squash we got was not what we thought we planted, plus we got some strange cross-hybrids. But the big question is, did they get enough time on the vine to ripen? The cherry tomatoes are finished - no saving those. The Swiss chard and kale we can baby along a bit longer. So, basically gardening is done for the year and we can start to take things down for winter.

The other exciting news for the week is my friend and I did get out wild ricing! We were about a week late, so "knocking" was a bit slim. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water so I have no complaints.

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) sandwiches (S) zucchini soup
Sun (L) sandwiches (S) zucchini soup
Mon - Maque choux
Tues (Ricing) Maque choux
Wed - Lamb Ragu
Thurs - Lamb Ragu
Fri - Maque choux


Lamb Ragu over Pasta (Cooks Country)
This was a simple dish that came together very quickly and had enough for leftovers for a couple meals.  I did do one mistake - I misread the fennel and bought a fennel bulb.  Since I don't have ground fennel on hand, I thinly sliced the bulb and sauted it with the rest.  Worked just fine.  My main objection with this dish is it was a tich on the bland side - if I were to make this again (and I would), I would add some red pepper flakes for a bit more background heat. 

Serves 4-6 (6 if you serve with a salad and some crusty bread)

1 pound ground lamb 1 onion, chopped fine
2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 ½ teaspoons ground fennel
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
½ teaspoon pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 pound pappardelle
½ cup torn fresh basil

Combine lamb, onion, carrots, garlic, fennel, oregano, salt, and pepper in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until meat is cooked through and carrots are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, until sauce has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot.

Add sauce and ¼ cup reserved cooking water to pasta and toss to combine. Adjust consistency with remaining reserved cooking water as needed. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Maque Choux (Milk Street Tuesday Nights)
This was fast, especially if using frozen corn, and tasty. I did do two substitutions: I used some chorizo I had in the freezer instead of andoullie sausage, and I used a poblano instead of an Anaheim as the store was out of Anaheim's. I think this was on the table in about 45 minutes from opening the fridge door to plating, plus I had time to tidy. Flavors are bright, this is a great way to use some summer produce, and honestly, I think you could use just about any kind of meat here: andoullie, chorizo, kielbasa, shrimp, or even chicken. I will be making this again.

Serves 3-4 (I got three servings).

1 tbsp grapeseed or neutral oil
12 oz andoullie sausage (Chorizo or Kielbasa would also work well)
halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 tbsp salted butter
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 Anaheim chili, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
salt and pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dreid thyme
3 cups fresh corn OR 1 lb bag frozen corn (do not thaw)
1 tbsp cider vinegar

In a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a papertowel lined plate and discard any fat in the skillet.

Return the skillet to medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onions, bell pepper, Anaheim chili and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, scraping up any browned bits and stirring occastionally, until the vegetables are softened, 5-7 minutes. Increase to medium high and add the corn, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring, until the corn is crisp-tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Return sausage to skillit, stir and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Wild Ricing 2015

After a two year hiatus from ricing - one year the rice was poor and the other year I suspect I was busy - my friend Tom and I were out on the water again.  We riced for two days, in nearly perfect weather: overcast and on the cooler side, but not too cool.

We are combining our efforts with several other people; individually (ie, pairs - it's a two person job) we don't harvest enough for the processing places to want to deal with.  Collectively, though, we can get 200lbs and then the processing places will handle the rice.

After two days and two different lakes, Tom and I harvested 67 lbs.   After processing it should yield just over 30 lbs, which will be 15 lbs each.  Nice!

So what does ricing involve exactly?  As I mentioned above, it's a two person job.  One person slowly poles the canoe around and the other person knocks the rice into the boat.  There are all sorts of regulations on the size and weight of the knocking sticks, the length and type of duck foot and pole, when you can start (9a) and end (3p), and more.

This is also assuming you don't mind sitting in a canoe full of spiders (I counted 7 different kinds), rice worms, ladybugs, grass fleas, and flies.  

On a really good  year, a experienced pair can easily harvest 80-100lbs of rice.  We...are not quite so experienced.  And it wasn't a really good year.  Rice conditions are very dependent upon the weather, water depth, temperature, and lake conditions.

Still, it's a boat load of FUN when we can go!  I absolutely love ricing! 

What a wild rice lake looks like in Northern MN.  Grass out there is about 5' tall.

This was 47 lbs of rice.

View from the bottom of the canoe. 

Minnesota State Fair and Wild Ricing 2010!

or Weekend Rewind! 

This was a whirlwind of a weekend!  It began on a very blustery Friday when the Husband and I decided at 8 in the morning to head down to the Minnesota State Fair.  Of course, I neglected to bring the camera so I don't have any pic's of the Masses of people (155,185 to be exact) or the food booths (we shared a corn dog, a pulled pork sandwich, a thing of cheese curds, a monstrous hunk of Irish soda bread glazed with cinnamon, and a bucket of Martha Sweet's Chocolate Chip Cookies).  We bought that last and it was heaped so high I had to carefully carry it all the way back to the park-n-ride lot.

And, being the sort of people we are, we didn't actually take the park-n-ride bus.  Noooo, not us!  We walked both ways figuring a mile and a half would be better than waiting.  The cookies made it intact! 

But the fun didn't end there!  Saturday I was up bright and early to meet my friend for a day of wild ricing.  And again...I left the camera in the car.  Darn it!  It was a glorious day out on the water, a far cry from the pack streets of the fair ground.  The little sora birds would occasionally flush, the wind didn't pick up until about noon and it was sunny but cool. 

My two little bags of rice at the end of the day.

The downside was the rice harvest is not very good this year.  I was only able to harvest 35lbs (not processed weight), as compared to 50lbs my first year and 80lbs my second.  High water levels combined with days of significant wind have taken their toll on the wild rice harvest for 2010.  I am waiting to see what my freind and his wife were able to harvest, and all of us are waiting to hear from a third couple - we are pooling our rice together so we can get it processed.  Hopefully we'll have enough. 

Wild Ricing, 2008

I again had the good fortune to be asked to go wild ricing, and having immensely enjoyed myself in 2006 (after all, it did involve food,) I again happily accepted. As my ricing companion and his wife have done this for several years, he had all the equipment at hand. I only had to provide myself with beverages, lunch, and one ricing permit.

The last time I went was about Sept 12, 2006, and it was very chilly. I was bundled up in my rain suit with long sleeves under that. At least with it being chilly the spiders and worms aren't nearly so active.



This year was a bit different. We were out earlier (Labor Day weekend) and it was hot! hot! hot! Luckily there was a beautiful wind blowing which kept my friend (who was in charge of poleing us around) cool. Not so good for me as it would blow the grass over and I couldn't get the stalks into the canoe.

We had a great time - the sun was shining, the wind was blowing, the ducks were moving around (saw a beautiful blue winged teal) and there was NOBODY else out there! Don't know why. I did better this year too: I harvested about 80lbs unfinished rice. This should make about 35lbs of processed rice.



I won't go next year, but in two years my goal is to try and harvest 100lbs in one day. I did 50lbs in 2006, and 80lbs in 2008, so I should be able to improve my technique and reach 100lbs for 2010. Stay tuned!