I mentioned to my sister in law Julie that we had local wild watercress.  She sent me this recipe.  As she doesn’t have watercress available locally she subs asparagus, another great spring offering.  I particularly love the well used recipe card.  It shows a recipe that was frequently made.
 
12 oz Pasta
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Salt
½ cup Greek (Kalamata) Olives
½ cup sundried tomatoes
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup watercress

Note:   I added Feta and subbed asparagus

Mix lemon juice, oil, mustard and salt. Toss with pasta and remaining ingredients. Serve at room temperature.

This recipe came to mind recently when a friend asked me if I remembered drinking gluhwein with her many years ago at Chicago’s annual December Christchild Market.  Indeed, I do remember.  I also remember enjoying salty warm pretzels and bratwurst.  For several years, I made gluhwein at home and drank it out of the souvenir mug in which I first enjoyed its warmth at the frosty outdoor market, the largest in the world outside of Germany.  Then one year, I dropped the mug, breaking it.  Oh well, I can still enjoy the glowing warmth of gluhwein.  Now in 2020, the Year of Covid-19, this wondrous fairytale market that has enchanted adults as well as children has gone virtual, like so many of the things we have perhaps taken for granted.
​
Literally meaning ‘glowing wine,’ this German drink will give you a glow of warmth during the lengthening days leading to the Winter Solstice.  Traditionally served at every outdoor Kriskindlmarkt (Christchild Market) that springs up during Advent in German and Austrian cities and towns, it also hits the spot indoors, especially in front of a roaring or glowing fire.

Recipe Courtesy Of Restorative Cuisine

This dairy-free velvety Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Soup will keep you warm on a cold day. The hints of apple and sage turn it into a delectable soup that the whole family will love!

IS THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP VEGAN?
Yes, you can make this soup vegan just sub out the bone broth with vegetable broth. There is absolutely no dairy in this soup. Make sure to use full-fat coconut milk though so that your soup is nice and creamy.

HOW TO ROAST BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Roasting butternut squash will give it a sweet caramelized taste which will add a nice depth to the soup. It’s also super simple to roast butternut squash, way easier than cutting it up in cubes! All you have to do is cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet, sprinkle with some salt, drizzle some olive oil on top and bake at 400F for about 40 minutes. 

Insert a fork into the squash to see if it’s done. If it’s easy to pierce through the squash, it’s done! Let it cool a bit as to not burn your fingers. Scoop out the flesh with a large spoon and discard the skin. 

CAN I COOK THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH IN THE INSTANT POT?
You sure can! Add 1 cup of water to your instant pot and place the butternut squash on top. If your squash is small enough you can even put the entire squash in without cutting it. Cook it at high pressure for 25 minutes and then quickly release the pressure.

If you want to speed up the process, cut the squash into smaller pieces and scoop out the seeds. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes and then quickly release the pressure.

WHY SHOULD I EAT BUTTERNUT SQUASH?
Butternut squash is high in fiber which promotes a healthy digestive tract. Studies have shown that fiber may decrease inflammation which is great for those that have autoimmune conditions.

Squash also contains a moderate amount of almost every dietary mineral and vitamin which sounds pretty amazing to me!!

They are particularly high in Vitamin C and beta-carotene which can help boost immune function.

From a mom’s perspective, squash seems to be one of the easier vegetables to serve to kids. It has a sweet flavor and velvety texture when pureed or in soups. It’s also great to use in lasagna or mac and cheese!

​EQUIPMENT

• Blender

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 1/2 tbsp ghee
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, cut in half
• 1 apple, cored and cut in half
• 2 tsp chopped fresh sage
• 3 cups bone broth or vegetable broth
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the butternut squash, onion, apple, and garlic on the roasting sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
• Remove the garlic and apple halves after 20 minutes. Cook the squash for an extra 20 minutes.
• Check to see if the squash is cooked by piercing with a fork, if it's easy to insert the fork, it's ready. Scoop out the flesh.
• Heat 1 tablespoon ghee or avocado in a small pan over medium heat. Add sage and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
• Transfer the half of the sage, squash, apple, onion, garlic, broth, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth.
• Pour soup into bowls and top with remaining fried sage. Enjoy!​

​Darkening and chilling November days call for something hot and soothing to eat.
 
This chicken broth fits the bill and can serve as the plain basis for a variety of dishes such as chicken noodle soup and can also provide the foundation to make sauce for a chicken pot pie or for chicken enchiladas.  As it makes a generous quantity, the broth can be frozen, preferably in convenient pint containers, for use in future food prep.
 
I recommend spending two days when making this broth (not counting shopping for its ingredients)—the first day for cooking and the second day for processing, i.e., reheating and re-straining the broth and skinning and boning the chicken after their overnight stay in your refrigerator.  It’s like mixing cookie batter one day and baking it the next, thereby dividing the work.
 
The broth can be enhanced by the addition of noodles or dumplings or simple egg drop.
 
Science has proven it’s true that chicken soup can make us feel better if we catch a cold or flu.  I wish it would work as well on covid.  If we are still staying home most of the time, preparing this broth will give us something worthwhile to do for family and self.

In 2006, Carol created a Family Cookbook for our extended families.  Each recipe was accompanied by a story or a picture of the family member that created it.   Teriyaki Salmon is a favorite made by Brian and enjoyed by all, accompanied by rice and usually a cucumber salad on the side.   The picture goes back to the days when Brian fished in Canada with his dad and uncle.

Brian Bondy
 
Ingredients
Salmon
½ c. Soy
¼ c. Good Seasons Zesty Italian salad dressing
¼ c. sugar
Fresh ginger
Some mirin, why not…..maybe another ¼ c.
 
Marinate the salmon and brush the fish frequently.  Cook on the grill if you can, not so messy.    I add fresh ginger whenever possible.  If you like ginger, add a lot. 

Recipe courtesy of Jan Bachman

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 T Milk
2 t orange zest
2 t orange extract
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups chopped dried cranberries
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and brown sugar in large bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the milk, zest, and the extracts.  Mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift the salt and baking soda into the flour, then add that to the butter and egg mixture.  Add the oats and mix well.  Fold in the cranberries and nuts.

Using a teaspoon, place dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until the edges brown.  Let cookies cool on the sheet for four minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

​This dough freezes well and can be stored in the freezer in teaspoon sized balls.

Note from author:  ​The project which became Raven Fair Fare began after we purchased our home. We would have put Julie Wagner's Ravens on our fenceposts, but they were already placed there by the previous residents, Sharon Burkhard and Mickey Simmons. Thus, the name Raven Fair. We had a desire to put all our favorite or often-used recipes in one place. We also wanted to incorporate recipes from the local areas. So, the book was born from many scraps of paper, jotted notes, and new or old recipe cards. We've discarded and added many more over the years, as the books fell apart from use and we printed new ones. Sequestering gave us the opportunity to reformat and revise once again and now we have a new version with a Wire-O binding that will better suit a cookbook.

​Raven Fair Fare is available at Devenish Press and Abiquiu Inn Gift Shop

​Recipe courtesy of Restorative Cuisine

This will probably be one of the easiest appetizers you will ever make. All you have to do is mix a few things together and under 5 minutes you have a fancy smoked trout dip!I don’t know about you guys but Covid has really left me negative time to get anything done. You would think being home all day, every day would free up some time. It’s been the exact opposite. Between homeschooling, work, and life it’s been hard to find time to even cook.
This smoked trout dip will make you feel like you went out for a fancy meal. Pair it with some bubbles, kick your feet up and take some time for yourself!
This dip taste great on simple crackers. My all time favorites are these almond crackers from Simple Mills. If you’re looking for some other ideas check these out:

• spread the trout on crackers or homemade bagels and top with cucumbers and endives
• make some vegetable latkes, top with a poached egg, and some smoked trout dip
• make a salad with arugula, pickled red onions, apple slices or grapes, topped with some smoked trout dip

INGREDIENTS  

• 6 oz smoked trout
• 4 oz kitehill cream cheese )or other dairy-free cream cheese)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1 tbsp chopped capers

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Put the smoked trout in a bowl and break up with a fork.
• Add cream cheese, chives, dill, capers, and lemon juice and mix together. That's it!

Farmers markets still feature beautiful red onions, although yellow or white onions will work in this recipe as far as taste goes but will lack the pretty pink color that develops with the quick pickling of red onions.  This easy-to-make condiment enhances any dish.

When a friend gifted me with a bag of red onions, I made a few jars of quick-pickled red onions.  This recipe fills one pint jar.  I do not have any pickling jars on hand, but I do have a collection of pickle jars because I love one particular brand of bread-and-butter pickles and always have some in the fridge.  When a jar is empty, I boil it in water to cover to remove the wrap-around label and its glue.  My pantry shelves are filled with these jars in which I store dried items such as split peas and lentils and a supply of different grains.

During the hot days of August—especially during these Covid-19 times—a cooling summer drink may shorten these long days, especially when accompanied by a morsel as tasty as Chile Peanuts, either Red or Green.  This recipe has been in my file for a long time, that is, the recipe for Red Chile Peanuts.  As I remade it, I thought “Why not Green?” and suggested, in my first draft, that my EnJoy readers experiment with this and let me know the results.  Daughter Lisa, visiting with me, suggested I experiment with Green, and so I did.  Here is my result along with the tried-and-true Red version.
Food Styling and Photography by Lisa M. Joy

Our very American Fourth of July culinary celebration can be enhanced by reaching across our Southern border to our Mexican neighbors and borrowing one of their well-known street foods, Eliote, but adapting it to please several people.  After all, we corn-consuming Americans owe Mexico thanks for its agricultural gift of maize.  The word ‘Eliote’ derives from ‘Elote,’ a Nahuatl word meaning ‘corn on the cob’ or ‘tender cob.’
 
Having grown up in Chicago with its large Mexican population, I learned to appreciate Mexican food at an early age.  The first Mexican food I ate as a child was a tamale sold by a street vendor in our neighborhood.  This inauthentic treat, wrapped in paper rather than in a corn husk, acquainted me with masa and a spicy filling and gave me a life-long taste for Mexican food.  I did not know about Eliote until much later in life when I was strolling along one of Chicago’s beautiful Lake Michigan beachfronts and getting hungry.  I bought a cob of Eliote and fell in love with it and am still smitten by it.
 
You might not find an Elitero from whom you can buy a single cob on the street, but you can easily grill this dish in a quantity to feed your family and/or friends.
 
EnJOY 

Alkie Mugrage via Mary Helen Bondy

I've always put myself in the creamy potato salad group.  Don't spare the mayonnaise but last week when we were visiting Brian's Mom she made a German  Potato Salad - delicious served warm or cold. This recipe is her sister Alkie's recipe

​

Ingredients
2 Cups cold boiled potatoes (about four or five potatoes)
2 Tbsp bacon grease
1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
3/4 Cup Water
1 Tbsp Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Onion chopped
salt to taste

Cook onion in grease until tender.  Add flour and stir well.  Add sugar, vinegar and water and cook until thick.  Stir in sliced potatoes and bake in moderate oven until cooked through.

​The recipe we had last week was similar but included bacon bits.  Four slices of bacon crumbled is a great addition.

​PASTA PAVAROTTI
Luciano Pavarotti is my favorite opera singer.  I was fortunate to hear and see him perform in several productions at Lyric Opera in Chicago, and I often listen to his CDs.  His over-the-top tenor voice was matched by his flamboyant over-the top-lifestyle—lived out globally but most enjoyed at his home in Modena, Italy, where he often served this dish to friends.  As it is rich, serve it as a first course rather than as an entreé; crisp Italian bread will wipe the plate clean.  The measurements given here result in two small, but satisfying, portions.  Cooking for a crowd is easy as long as the amount of pasta is adjusted and the two-to-one ratio of butter and blue cheese is maintained.  High-quality blue cheese results in a truly tasty dish.

Intro – May 2020 – Quick Focaccia
 
Need to take something to a potluck?  Want to surprise the family with something special for dinner, a TV-watching party, for the first barbeque of the year?  Then do try this recipe.  Even if you are not a regular bread baker, you may soon become one because of the ease of producing this show-stopper.
 
EnJOY
​

Recipe courtesy of Sonia Nikolic
and Restorative Cuisine

Is it Friday, Monday, Wednesday, I dunno… either way seems like a good day to make some paleo bagels. I’ve tried to put jeans on a few times a week but who am I kidding, why do I even bother?!
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These bagels will make you feel like you actually went to the bagel shop, put on real pants, and stood in a long line RIGHT NEXT to other people. I miss those days SO MUCH. Looking for cinnamon and raisin bagels? Everything? You can turn these into anything.
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These bagels are gluten-free and dairy-free with the option to make them nut-free. Hope you’re all doing well!
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I consider bagels to be the equivalent to pizza but for breakfast. They’re addictive and you can never get sick of it. The added bonus is that you can have them savory or sweet! Going paleo I though these were one of the foods I’d never eat again. Boy was I wrong, I eat them way more frequently now than ever before.

These bagels are so awesome to have on hand on a busy week day morning. It’s the perfect grab and go breakfast. Whip these up on Sunday and you’re set for the whole week. Double the batch if you’re feeding a few people. 

My favorite part about these is that you don’t have to boil them and then bake which adds a whole extra step. I need things that are simple to make and these are it!

NUT-FREE OPTION You can make these nut-free by swapping out the almond flour with 1/2 cup arrowroot flour. This is a great option if you send your kids with these to school in a nut-free environment.

TOPPINGS Everything bagels are my all time favorite. Trader Joe’s sells a mix called Everything but the Bagel and it’s killer on these. Whatever you choose to top these with, add it to the bagel before putting them in the oven. It will stick to the bagel and get super crunchy. Here are some other options:

• Poppy Seeds
• Sesame Seeds
• Black Sesame Seeds
• Minced Dried Garlic
• Minced Dried Onion
• Flaked Sea Salt

Easy Gluten-Free Bagels (Paleo)Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Resting Time: 1 hr
Servings: 6
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
• 2 tbsp finely ground golden flax seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 3/4 cup arrowroot flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp himalayan pink sea salt

Instructions

• Grind the flax seeds with a coffee grinder like this one.
• Warm the coconut milk to 110 F.
• With a hand mixer on low speed mix the coconut milk, flax seeds, honey, and yeast in a bowl. Let sit 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs, apple cider vinegar, and coconut oil to the bowl and mix until blended.
• Add the coconut flour, arrowroot flour, tapioca flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix everything until fully incorporated. Cover bowl with a towel and let sit one hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 F. Once the dough has risen fill 7 of doughnut holes in this silicone pan. If desired sprinkle with dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Once golden let cool and store in airtight container in the fridge.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS Savory:

• avocado, sea salt, and garlic powder
• lox, capers, Kitehill dairy-free everything cream cheese
• scrambled eggs, sausage and dairy-free cheese
• Kitehill dairy-free cream cheese and cucumber slices with a dash of salt

Sweet:

• ghee and sliced strawberries 
• your favorite nut seed butter and fresh fruit, strawberries and bananas are definite winners
• ghee and honey
• coconut butter and fresh fruit