After last week’s simple hash, we went back to something a little heartier for this week’s Dark Days meal. We enjoy a good risotto around here, and I’ve had some spelt berries from Stutzman Farms in Millersburg floating around for a couple months, so I figured I could probably throw together something similar using the spelt (a relative of wheat – similar flavor and texture, but it’s also gluten-free for those on a GF diet, and has more protein). I found a few recipes online more or less replicating what I was trying to do, so I went ahead and tried it.

I don’t have any homemade broth available, so I put in a bottle of GLB beer for some added depth. It worked well with the nuttiness of the spelt, but left just a hint of a bitter aftertaste (either the beer was a little past its prime, or too dark for this use). As a warning, the spelt did take a while to cook; it was even longer than a normal risotto. Maybe next time I’ll pre-soak for a bit.

Butternut Spelt Risotto

1/2 of a medium-large butternut (or other winter variety) squash, cubed (about 2-3 cups?)
Oil
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 – 1 cup spelt berries
12 oz. bottle of beer
Water (or broth, if you have it)
Couple teaspoons maple syrup
Dried thyme and sage
Salt & pepper

In a medium skillet, throw a generous swirl of oil (I used my homemade sage oil!), then add the garlic and onions, and cook until the onions start to get translucent, just a few minutes. Add the spelt berries and continue to cook, stirring, for a few minutes more. Add the bottle of beer, and simmer, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add water or broth, until the spelt is chewy, not crunchy. When it’s not done, the grain has a lighter center, so when that light center has shrunk down to just a speck, you should be good to go.

While the spelt is cooking, add another swirl of oil to a different skillet, add the squash, and saute until fork-tender, maybe 10 minutes. Alternately, you can roast or steam the squash. When tender, mash lightly with a fork, depending on how chunky you want it.

Add the mashed squash to the cooked spelt, along with thyme, sage, salt, and pepper, to taste. When I tasted mine and noticed it was a little bitter, I added a few teaspoons of maple syrup to sweeten it up just slightly. You don’t have to, but maple always goes nicely with winter squash.

This won’t be as creamy as a normal risotto, and the spelt is a lot chewier and a little earthier than arborio rice, so I’d definitely make it with something that has enough flavor of its own, like the squash, or mushrooms – anything too delicate will get overpowered by the spelt. Really, it’s more of a grain salad.

Whatever you call it, it’s still quite good.

Since we’ve been living on chocolate, cookies, and ham for the past week, instead of an extravagant meal, I decided to go with something lighter (“light” in this case still contains bacon… love it) for our Dark Days meal this week. I just used a slice of bacon, and diced up some red potatoes and sweet potatoes, and mixed it all together. Quick, simple, and something that doesn’t contain added sugar, frosting, or cream.

Red and Sweet Potato Hash

3-4 medium red potatoes, small dice (1/2″)
1-2 sweet potatoes, small dice (you should end up with roughly the same ratio of sweet to red potatoes)
1 slice bacon (more if you really want it)
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Dried rosemary (pinch)
Dried marjoram (pinch)
Salt & pepper

In a skillet over medium-low heat, cook the bacon until crispy-soft, and most of the fat has rendered (liquified). Remove the bacon and set aside. Add the potatoes to the bacon fat and cook until soft and the edges start to brown, 10-15 minutes. Chop the bacon and add back to the potatoes. Add a little salt, pepper, rosemary, and marjoram (thyme would also be a fine substitute), and throw in a couple spoonfuls of maple syrup. You don’t want to drown it, just enough to give it a light maply sweetness. Mix it all up for a minute or two, then serve and enjoy!

So, we’re a little late getting this posted again this week, but I’m cutting myself some slack due to the holidays. For our Dark Days meal last week, we made a hearty shepherd’s pie  (though it’s made with beef, not lamb, so technically maybe it’s not actually shepherd’s pie; oh well).

I used fresh, local ground beef and bacon, and the carrots, potatoes, and peas (about half of the small amount of shelling peas I got this year) are from the garden. I skipped out on the sour cream and cheddar cheese that the original recipe calls for since we don’t have a local supplier. The beer is from the Great Lakes Brewing Company, a well-known hometown brewery in Cleveland. This is a very rich, filling meal, good for eating with a fire in the background.

Shepherd’s Pie (original recipe courtesy FoodNetwork)

Potato Topping:

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (I didn’t have anything large, so I used about 6-7 medium, and I like the peels in my mashed potatoes, so I left them on)
10 whole garlic cloves, peeled (I only used a couple, since we are not currently battling a vampire infestation)
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons butter, softened
salt & pepper

Filling:

4 slices bacon, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
2 to 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped (a cup or so)
3/4 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon  flour
1 (12-ounce) bottle light or dark beer
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Prepare potato topping: In a large saucepan add the potatoes and garlic and cover with water. Bring to a boil  and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and move the potatoes and garlic to a large bowl. Add a little water (or milk), butter, salt and pepper, and beat on low speed with a hand mixer until the potatoes are light and fluffy. If the mixture is too dry, add more liquid. Cover and set aside.

Prepare filling: Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the bacon and cook, until brown and almost crisp, about 7 to 8 minutes. Move the bacon to a plate and set aside.

Add the oil to the drippings in the skillet and put over medium heat. Add the onions and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beef and cook until it begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the carrots, peas, and garlic and cook  until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring, until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the beer, bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes Add the cooked bacon, about 1/4 cup water (or broth), rosemary, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. I always add a little more flour to thicken it up a bit more.

Spoon the meat mixture into a greased 10-inch round baking dish. Spread the potato topping evenly over the beef mixture. Bake until the filling is hot, the topping is lightly browned and the edges are bubbly, about 35-40 minutes.  Let rest out of the oven for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

This one’s so good, it’s always tough for us to not finish the entire thing the night that we make it.

We’re a little late with this post, but here’s our Dark Days meal for the week.

Since we’ve been under time constraints all week, I went with something easy. Easy doesn’t necessarily mean tasteless though, and this was just as good as the rest of our meals. I just cooked up half of a sirloin steak (they’re big cuts!) and a couple of the Delicata squash I grew this summer (I’d never had Delicata before, but I’m glad I grew it – it’s smaller, and one of the few winter squash that don’t need to be peeled to eat, while still having the richness that’s a trademark of the winter squash family). Super simple preparation, and it really lets the flavor of the meat and squash shine through without a lot of accents. So I guess if you have good beef and fresh vegetables, you don’t need a lot of seasoning.

Roasted Delicata Squash

2 Delicata squash
1-2 Tbsp butter
thyme
rosemary
salt & pepper

Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, then cut each half into 1/2 inch slices. Melt the butter in a bowl, then toss the squash and herbs (a hefty pinch) in the butter to coat evenly. Bake in a shallow dish at 425 F for 30 minutes, flipping after the first 15 minutes.

Sirloin Steak

No ingredient list for this one. Melt a little butter in a skillet, and season both sides of the steak with a little salt, pepper, and any additional herbs or spices to taste. Cook the steak for about two minutes per side in the skillet, then move to a baking dish (I used the same one I roasted the squash in) and finish in the oven for about 10 more minutes at 350 F.

Doesn’t get a whole lot easier than this, and it’s a good hearty meal for cold winter nights.

The days are certainly dark, and getting colder. It’s felt much more like winter the past few days – cold, breezy, and gray. When you really think about it, almost half the year is cold, breezy, and gray. Depressing. That’s probably why we just try not to think about it.

To warm things up, for the Dark Days meal this week, we’re doing a couple of the pork chops we bought from New Creation Farm, and using some of the maple syrup I made earlier this spring. Many recipes make a maple glaze, but they also all use cider vinegar and some other liquids, none of which I have locally. So I made more of a maple gravy. A little different feel in your mouth, but the flavor is still good.

Maple Pork Chops

2 bone-in pork chops
1-2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp flour
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp maple syrup
salt & pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Brown the pork chops for a couple minutes per side (I did them one at a time; they both wouldn’t fit into the saucepan), then move to an oven-safe container. Bake pork chops at 350 F for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, add garlic to the butter in the saucepan and cook until just golden. Add the flour and whisk. Still whisking, slowly add the water to desired thickness (I didn’t measure; I probably used a little more than 1/3 cup). Finally, pour in the maple syrup, salt, and pepper, and stir until smooth. My syrup is very dark and almost a little smoky, so if you use a lighter grade, you may want to add more.

Remove the pork chops, and pour gravy over the top of each, making sure to reserve about half. Put the pork chops back into the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes at 350 F. Top with the rest of the gravy before serving.

Collard Greens with Bacon

1 bunch collard greens, cut into rough 2″ x 2″ chunks
3 strips bacon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste

In a skillet, cook the bacon until crispy-soft (does that make sense? Just cook the bacon how you like it). Remove the bacon. Add the garlic and greens to the drippings and saute for several minutes. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add back to the skillet, with salt and pepper. Pour the chicken stock into the skillet (I don’t have any homemade stock, so I just used water here), reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until greens are nice and tender. Serve with the pork chops. The maple flavor goes nicely with the greens too, so don’t be afraid of any overflow!