Category: columns-food

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Soup For The Soul

By Fran Hill

As I sit to type this, the sun is streaming in the window near my desk and nearly blinding me. My computer tells me it is 52 degrees outside, and my puppies are charging out of the house and rolling in grass that is still green. It feels like spring. However, the calendar says it is February. Here in South Dakota, there is supposed to be more snow than just the little bit remaining in the shaded and sheltered spot on the north side of my house. It is supposed to be cold. I am supposed to want comfort foods.

I am going to let the calendar win. I am going to make soup. Thick. Hearty. Warm-your-bones soup. And then, I might go sit on the patio in the sun and eat it.

Vegetable, Lentil, and Barley Soup
adapted from Cooking Light


2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 bottle beer (I used Amber Ale)
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped parsnip
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4-6 sprigs thyme, tied into a bundle
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup dried lentils
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat oil in a large, heavy pot. Add onion to the pan and sautÈ until golden. Add broth, water, and beer; bring to a boil. Add chopped carrot, celery, parsnip, parsley, thyme bundle, pearl barley, black pepper, and bay leaves. Return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in lentils; cover and cook 30 minutes more. Discard bay leaves and remains of thyme bundle. With an immersion blender, puree about half of the soup. (Alternatively, remove about 2 cups of soup from pot and process in blender until smooth. Return to the pot with remaining soup.) Season with salt and additional pepper, to taste. Return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 10 additional minutes until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Serves 4-6.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and two dogs reside near Colome.

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Spread the Love

By Laura Johnson

Lately I’ve gotten a startling number of requests for dating advice from people who know me, and should therefore know better. They are surely aware that the closest I’ve come to a date in the last three years was the time I told a lonely ex-Hutterite that my ideal Sunday dinner was chicken and dumplings. Never mention dumplings to a single Hutterite male — he’ll get the wrong idea about you for sure.

Even though my friends have mistaken my jaded air for worldly wisdom, I feel compelled to oblige them as best I can. Here’s some of the questionable dating advice I’ve been handing out lately. Feel free to add your own advice in the comments, so I can steal it and look smarter next time I’m asked for guidance.

  1. Wear clean clothes. This is probably always a good idea when you’re going out in public. If you’re in an emergency date situation and cannot be clean, be prepared to be extra charming to compensate.
  2. Be yourself — but not too much yourself, or your date will get scared. On the other hand, maybe you should unleash the full force of your personality on them. Weeding out the timid right away saves time in the long run.
  3. A lady does not arm wrestle on the first date.
  4. I’ve never forgotten what my kindergarten teacher told me: red and green clash. Dating people of different races, religions, political beliefs and sports affiliations is fine, but never get serious with someone of a different tractor faith.

With brilliant advice like that, is it any wonder no one’s had much luck? Ah, but since store-bought romance is in the air, my single female friends are feeling twitchy. How will they cope with being alone on Valentine’s Day? I say we take a tip from the late Tub Rath, mentioned in our last e-newsletter, who faithfully delivered holiday goodies to the women of Wasta for many years. Perhaps instead of waiting for someone to show up with boxed treats, sappy cards and out-of-season flowers, we should take some initiative and spread a little love around town ourselves. I’ll be doing it with cookies.

Oatmeal Valentine Cookies

2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup soft butter or oleo
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup oatmeal (quick or old-fashioned)

Powdered Sugar Icing

Confectioner’s sugar
Vanilla
Milk
Red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add butter, sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla. Beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Stir in oatmeal. Roll dough out on lightly floured board to 1/4 inch thickness. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Add confectioner’s sugar to a bowl with a dash of vanilla, a few drops of food coloring (if desired) and a bit of milk. Stir thoroughly, adding milk as needed until icing is thick enough to spread but still runny enough to ooze a little. Spread onto cooled cookies, and let dry.

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If Football Is Your Thing

By Fran Hill

I am not athletic. Back in gym class, I was the girl with the carefully forged note trying to escape the endless volleyball competitions. A few years ago when I challenged myself to attempt biking the Mickelson Trail Trek, I cried when I actually completed the three-day, 109-mile ride. I had never thought I would or could do something like that, and was seriously amazed that I had.

I am not even a spectator of sports. Force me to attend an area high school event, and I will probably be able to tell you more about people watching than the game. If the television is tuned to a sporting channel, chances are I am hiding out in another area of the house with a book or my laptop (or both).

However, media influences are telling me that some big football game will soon be the center of a lot of people’s attention. Thankfully, this game seems to be just as much about the food as it is about pigskin. I do like food (surprise, surprise).

The Super Bowl will be welcomed here with a Pepperoni Pull-Apart Bread. A round loaf of sourdough bread is crisscrossed with cuts, stuffed with cheese and pepperoni, and then basted with herbed garlic butter before being toasted until melty and gooey. Perfect food for watching football, if that is your thing.

Pepperoni Pull-Apart Bread
(adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything)

1 unsliced round loaf sourdough bread
8-12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (cheesier is better)
1 (3.5 ounce) package sliced pepperoni, halved
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or grated with a microplane)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon paprika
2-4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
pizza/marinara sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully cut the bread in a crisscross fashion, lengthwise and widthwise, without cutting through the bottom crust. Place bread on a foil-lined baking sheet and stuff cheese and pepperoni between cuts. Combine butter, garlic, and seasonings. Drizzle over bread, coating the crust and any exposed cut edges of the bread. Sprinkle bread with Parmesan cheese. Wrap loaf completely in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted and pepperoni is a little crispy. Heat pizza sauce and serve on the side for dipping.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and two dogs reside near Colome.

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On The Side

By Fran Hill


I have stumbled upon a perfect side dish that magically matches up with almost any meal. I have paired it with grilled steaks and chicken breasts, steamed fish, roasted shrimp, lamb kabobs, and even just gobbled it all by itself on a few nights that I was home alone. It is as simple as sautÈing some onions and garlic, bringing some broth to a boil (substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock, if you lean that way), and tossing in a few other standard ingredients.

Side dishes can sometimes be a chore when menu planning, but Spinach and Parmesan Couscous works so well with so many meals, I bet it becomes something you always keep on the side.


Spinach Parmesan Couscous

(Serves 4)

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup couscous
3/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons lemon juice (if desired)
Kosher salt (to taste)
Fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

In a saucepan, sautÈ onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the chopped spinach and cook just until wilted. Add couscous; stir to combine. Cover, remove pan from heat, and let stand 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Add Parmesan cheese; stir to combine. Add lemon juice (if desired), salt and pepper to taste.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and two dogs reside near Colome.

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Cake Vacation

By Laura Johnson

Photo by Katie Hunhoff.


One by one, my friends are all heading south to enjoy weather even more pleasant than our own. They come back with tales of bikini-clad frolics in the sand, 10 a.m. nacho deliveries by the pool and long lists of new fruity drink sensations. It sounds like fun, but I have no plans to follow suit. After the two years I spent in the Fargo/Moorhead area, EVERY winter seems like a tropical vacation to me. So I skip the longings for sun, surf and sand and opt for this cake flavored with pineapple, coconut and rum instead.


Pina Colada Cake

From the Smitten Kitchen

Cake:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c light brown sugar
1 tbsp dark rum
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 c cream of coconut (look for it in the drink mixer section of your grocery store)
1/2 c finely chopped fresh pineapple (or pineapple from a can, strained, juice reserved)

To brush over the cake (optional):
1 to 2 tbsp rum or 2 tbsp pineapple juice

Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
Pinch of table or fine sea salt
1 1/2 to 3 tbsp pineapple juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment, then butter the parchment, or use a cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in eggs, one at a time, and rum. Add cream of coconut and mix. Add dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing and scraping down bowl between additions. Mix only until flour is just incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, fold in bits of pineapple.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in a pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment. For extra flavor, brush cake with rum or pineapple juice while still hot.

Cool cake completely at room temperature. Once completely cool, place powdered sugar, salt and 1 Ω tablespoons pineapple juice and whisk until a thick glaze forms. Thin glaze only as needed, adding additional pineapple juice a teaspoon at a time until glaze is just thick enough to pour. Pour glaze into middle of cake and if it’s too thick to crawl to the edges itself, nudge it with a spatula until the top is covered.

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Lean and Mean

By Fran Hill

Dieting makes me cranky. Grumpy. Mean. I like food. I like food a lot. And, I eat. I eat a lot. Therefore, sometimes, I think that I need to diet. And, sometimes I am cranky. And grumpy. And mean.

However, dieting should not be about deprivation and cranky meanness. Good food can be lean and healthy. Making a few substitutions for higher fat/calorie choices is all I really need to do, and Turkey Meatloaf is a great option for a lower fat meal.

I know, I know. South Dakota is beef country. We like our steaks and burgers. But, trust me. The sautÈed onions and Worcestershire seasoning really do elevate the flavor of this turkey meatloaf. It isn’t a soggy beef wannabe. It is a hearty, tasty, and filling dinner that you will be happy to have on your plate. Toss a salad, roast some new potatoes, and add a green vegetable to the menu. Turkey Meatloaf can be the perfect center of a lean meal. No cranky. No grumpy. No mean.


Turkey Meatloaf

(adapted from Ina Garten)

1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 325F. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan. SautÈ onions until translucent. Add salt, pepper, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste; mix well. Allow sautÈed onion mixture to cool to room temperature.

Combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on a greased sheet pan. (I really prefer to bake my meatloaves in this manner and not in a loaf pan. No sticking in the corners; no sitting in grease, if it is a less than lean meat choice; perfect browning all around.) Spread the ketchup evenly on top. (I have used chile sauce instead of ketchup for an extra kick; barbeque sauce might work, too.)

Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F and the meatloaf is cooked through.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and two dogs reside near Colome.

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Cheese and Crackers

By Laura Johnson

After the excesses of the past month, it’s hard to know what to eat anymore. I’m all sugared out from holiday baking and holiday snacking. Simplicity is sounding pretty good these days. These rustic-looking crackers are meant as an antidote to the fancy, fussy sweets of Christmas, and the accompanying yogurt cheese is one of the easiest spreads you can make.

Oat Crackers

1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c rolled oats
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cardamom
4 tsp sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 c sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add sour cream & combine until dough comes together in a shaggy mass. Divide dough in two pieces. Roll each ball until dough is 1/8 inch thick, then cut into 2 inch squares. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yogurt Cheese

Place a colander lined with cheesecloth or coffee filters over a bowl. Add one quart of plain yogurt and refrigerate overnight. As the whey drips out, the mixture will thicken into a soft spread. You can add whatever spices you like to liven it up, but it tastes good plain, too.

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Christmas Morning Dreams

By Fran Hill

Early morning whispers of “Santa came.” Bleary eyes and bed head. Twinkly lights on the tree. Squeals of delight over the mountains of gifts. Overflowing stockings. Torn wrapping paper and streamers of ribbon. New pajamas. Hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows.

Sounds delightful, doesn’t it? I dream of Christmas morning rituals, but at our house, the farm always demands attention. Lambs that need to be fed daily force Hubs to get up and do chores rain or shine, Christmas or not. I can hope that he makes it home for lunch on a holiday, but there are no guarantees.

So, I dream of pancakes and waffles and muffins and bacon and sausage and eggs, hot coffee with lots of cream and sugar, fresh squeezed orange juice and big glasses of milk. There isn’t a breakfast food I don’t like, and we often dip into these recipes for supper on cold winter nights.

The holidays are the perfect time to dream of Egg Nog Pancakes. I pick up a quart of egg nog as soon as I see it in the grocery each winter. It makes delicious, tall and fluffy pancakes. Not crumbly pancakes like so many of the mixes and famous restaurants produce; I do not dream of those. Homemade Egg Nog Pancakes are golden and rich with a perfect texture and wonderful, slightly spiced flavor. Top them with a pat of butter and a pour of gorgeous maple syrup and dream of Christmas morning or a warm supper, as the case may be.

Egg Nog Pancakes

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
2 cups egg nog
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat wet ingredients until combined. Sift dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring to moisten. Ladle batter 1/4 cup at a time onto hot griddle (may lightly grease, if necessary). Flip when bubbles form in the pancake; cook until second side is golden brown. Makes 4-6 servings.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and two dogs reside near Colome.

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Gobble, Gobble : Turkey and Apple Sandwiches

Today we welcome a new food columnist, Fran Hill, to the South Dakota Magazine site. You may remember her from our Mar/Apr 2010 issue. Fran’s been sharing recipes and stories from her kitchen in Colome on her blog On My Plate since October of 2006. In her first column for us, she shares some of her leftover turkey secrets.


By Fran Hill

With Thanksgiving comes turkey, and with turkey comes leftovers. It is only natural for my food thoughts to turn to turkey sandwiches.

I love a mini turkey “slider” (although, truth be told, I was eating these long before “sliders” became popular and hit every trendy menu from here to eternity). King’s Hawaiian Rolls are purchased just for sandwiches with leftover turkey. Dressing (yes, dressing with giblets, celery, and lots of sage) gets piled on with slices of turkey and big dollops of cranberry sauce. The sandwich gets tossed into the microwave just for a few seconds to heat the dressing, and I am almost in danger of throwing out my jaw in order to open my mouth wide enough for the first bite. It is pure post-Thanksgiving heaven for me.

However, there are several other sandwiches that rank highly for the turkey that makes it past the Thanksgiving table. A Turkey and Apple Sandwich slathered with Cranberry Mayonnaise is awesome, too. I love the crunch that crisp, fall apples provide against the creamy tartness of the cranberry mayonnaise. Spinach is a nice addition, and thinly sliced red onion or even a slice of sharp cheddar are also great.

What is going to be on YOUR turkey sandwich?

Turkey and Apple Sandwich with Cranberry Mayonnaise

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2-4 tablespoons cranberry sauce (homemade or canned; I have used both because who makes cranberry sauce from scratch when you want a turkey sandwich in May?)

Dash of cayenne pepper

Sliced turkey (leftover roasted is the best, but deli turkey works for those non-Thanksgiving cravings)

Baby spinach, thinly sliced red onion, sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever floats your boat on your sandwich)

One tart apple, thinly sliced

Whole grain bread (I used Ciabatta sandwich rolls this time, but any good, hearty bread is suitable.)

Combine the mayonnaise, cranberry sauce and cayenne in a small bowl. Taste. Add a little salt, if you desire, or more cranberry sauce to up the pucker. Spread a portion of the Cranberry Mayonnaise on one slice of bread. Layer sliced turkey and your choice of fixings on the mayo-slathered bread. Top with the thinly sliced apple (and more mayo, if you desire). Crown each sandwich with another slice of bread. Enjoy.


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Peanut “Farming”

By Rebecca Johnson

South Dakota weather is so unpredictable. We’ve had an unseasonably warm fall in Yankton and it made me wish I had kept my garden going longer. A surprise hail storm this summer took out a lot of our plants, but do you know what survived? The peanuts!

I didn’t even know you could grow peanuts in South Dakota until a few months ago. My husband and I spotted starter Spanish peanut plants at a local greenhouse and decided to try it. They already had lush oval leaves when we transplanted the plants to our garden in May, but you may be able to start your own plant indoors with a raw peanut.

You need loose or sandy soil for the peanuts to grow, so we planted them in small mounds like you might a potato plant. Initially I thought the peanuts grow from the roots – well, actually I thought they grew on trees – but the peanuts form from small yellow flowers that bloom near the bottom of the plant. When the flowers lose their petals, a stem that looks a little like a skinny peanut forms and gets pulled into the dirt by gravity. This is where the peanut comes from.

It takes most of the summer or longer for the peanuts to mature. They are ready to harvest when the leaves turn yellow and you can expect 30-60 peanuts per plant. When ready, carefully pull up the entire plant, shake off the dirt, and hang it in a warm, dry place to dry for one to two weeks.

Roasting in the shell is fairly easy:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Spread the peanuts in a single layer in a shallow pan.

3. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently.