Packaging Beautiful Gifts From The Garden

If you've been following us at all through this summer you know we've done an awful lot of canning. Much of it we will eat ourselves but we also planned on giving a lot of it away as gifts for the holidays.
(this is just part of what we canned!)

Home canned jams, relishes & salsas make great gifts but we wanted to make them look as good as they tasted so, Matt came up with these beautiful labels.

They were really quite easy to make. The labels were created in Pages (you could use Word as well). First draw a circle that is 2.1" in diameter. Then chose image fill & pick the image of your choice to fill the circles, Matt found the ones we used online. Next create a text box & type information for what is in the jars & center the box in the circles. Matt changed the color of the fonts to match the background. Finally group the circle & text box, then copy & paste it to make multiple copies on a page.

The circles were then printed out on full sheet label paper. We got an extra large circle punch from Fiskars which is the perfect size to cut the circles out. Once punched the labels are just the right size to go on top off the jars. (Getting the back off the labels was the hardest part of this whole project.)

For some items like First Frost Green Tomato Jam & Port Wine Jelly we wanted to give ideas on how to use them so we created little labels to tie on to the jars. We use the same method of designing the circles & printed them on card stock. We punched a small hole in them & then tied them on with this two colored twine from IKEA.

(I put bunnies on the tag because we always have them in our yard.)

Finally, we packed everything in these pretty paper bags we found at Michael's (13 for $6.99, what a deal!) & then put a Merry Christmas sticker made the same way on the bags.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.

© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Pumpkin and Mushroom Pasta with Gorgonzola

This dish was one of Matt's choices for dinner last week. He figured it would be a great use of the roast pumpkin we had in the freezer plus I think he was attracted to the gorgonzola in it.

I had planned on following the recipe exactly as it was written just substituting the pumpkin puree with our roasted pumpkin but ended up having to make some other changes. First we used less pasta than originally called for since we try to stay around 3 ounces per serving. Then we found that the sauce was really dry & needed quite a bit of the pasta water to thin it out, I'm not sure if this was because we didn't use pumpkin puree. We found the dish needed something at the end to brighten the flavors a bit. Matt though perhaps our gorgonzola was a little mild. He added some grated Parmesan to his while I just added a little extra salt. In the end it was really tasty & I thought very pretty with the green of the sage against the yellow sauce.

Pumpkin & Mushroom Pasta with Gorgonzola
(adapted from Closet Cooking)

1/2 T olive oil
1 small onion, sliced thin
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
6 oz orecchiette pasta
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 T fresh sage, chopped
1/4 t red pepper flakes
pinch of nutmeg
1 c roasted pumpkin
2 T heavy cream
2 oz gorgonzola, crumbled
salt & pepper
1 T butter
handful of fresh sage leaves
Parmesan, grated (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions & mushrooms then cook until caramelized, about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Cook the pasta according the the package. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, & set aside.

Add the garlic, chopped sage, red pepper flakes & nutmeg to the onions & mushrooms. Sauté for about a minute.

Put the roast pumpkin & cream in a food processor & purée. Add to the skillet along with the gorgonzola. Add enough cooking water to get a sauce-like consistency (we had to add about 1 cup of water). Add the drained pasta to the skillet & heat through. Salt & pepper to taste.

While the pasta is heating melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the sage leaves & fry until crisp.

Plate the pasta & sprinkle the sage leaves & Parmesan, if using, on top.

2 servings

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Lamb Stew

There is nothing fancy at all about this dish, it's really just a plain good stew.

I like using lamb in stew from time to time for a change from beef. I find its flavor pairs really well with root vegetables & this stew is heavy on the vegetables. I used to be one of those people who insist they don't like turnips & rutabagas but in the last couple years I've really come around to them & its dishes like this one that have done it.

Lamb Stew

1 T olive oil
4 oz onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz lamb stew meat
2 T flour
9 oz russet potato, peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes
7 oz turnip, peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes
12 oz rutabaga, peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 oz carrots, peeled & sliced
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried thyme
1/4 t dried rosemary
1/4 t dried marjoram
2 c chicken stock

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion & garlic & sauté until tender. Add the lamb & cook until cooked through. Sprinkle flour over the meat & cook while stirring for 1 minute. Stir in the potato, turnip, rutabaga, carrots, oregano, thyme, rosemary & marjoram. Add the stock (you can add a little water too if you think it needs it). Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat & simmer until the vegetables are tender about 1 hour. Remove lid & simmer until gravy reaches desired consistency.

2 - 3 servings

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 12/14 - 12/19/09

Scenes from the last week...
We got our Christmas tree. When they are frozen like this you have to just hope the one you picked out is a good shape!
The first "blizzard" of the season snowed us in for a day & left some beautiful art on our windows.
But that gave me plenty of time to work on some new mittens. I think I might just be getting this colorwork thing down.

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Chicken Saagwala - We never got to this last week so it's been pushed to this week.

Hamburgers & Sweet Potato Fries

Brisket & Roast Sunchokes

Thai Basil Chicken

Pizza with Roast Beet, Brisket & Blue Cheese

Swedish Meatballs - I have some IKEA meatballs in the freezer to finish up so I just make a quick gravy & serve them over egg noodles.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski

Gifts to Eat

Who wouldn't want to get something good to eat or cook with this holiday season?
Rancho Gordo Beans - seriously the best beans you'll ever cook with & heirloom varieties you can't find anywhere else. Plus the have hominy, quinoa and Mexican oregano. Their cookbook is on our wish list too.
Howling Wolf Barbecue Sauce - We were given some Howling Wolf barbecue sauce as a gift & were sold right away by their unusual flavor combinations. Plus it's all natural & made in small batches. They also make dry rubs which make great seasoning for dips too.
Cowgirl Chocolates - We were lucky enough last year to get a free sampler of Cowgirl's amazing confections & liked them enough that we bought some to give as gifts right away. We are especially fond of the caramels spiced with chipotle & habanero. (Well, the habaneros were way too hot for me but Matt loved them.)
Boulder Hot Sauce - Matt tried their Harry's Habanero Sauce at Birchwood Cafe & had to find some to have at home. We are really enjoying the Smoky Serrano Sauce in soups & chili.
Gourmet Drinking Chocolate - Caribou Coffee started using real dark, milk & white chocolate in the drinks this winter & now I've been spoiled forever, no other mocha will do. Now I can get some to make my drinks at home too.
Wee Willy's Barbecue Sauce - Yes, barbecue sauce from Minnesota that's good enough for Bon Appetit rated it as one of the best. This is our go-to basic sauce.
Nueske's Bacon - When we say use a good bacon in our recipes this is the bacon we are talking about. This Wisconsin applewood smoked bacon is to die for! And really what says happy holiday like a box of pork?!
Singing Dog Vanilla - There is nothing like the flavor you get from using real vanilla beans. Often the ones we get at the store are dried up & useless so we were thrilled when Singing Dog sent us some of their gourmet vanilla beans. They were soft & plump & full of flavor. What a great stocking stuffer for someone who love to bake or make ice cream. I know my dad wants to try their vanilla coffee.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski