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Tomato Tomato Join Our List 2634 S. 156th Circle Omaha, NE 68130 402-933-0893 Store Hours Monday-Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Closed Sundays
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This Week With Jody Fritz...
Greetings,
I have to say that I absolutely love this time of year. October is such a fun and active month. Fall is in full swing, the leaves are beginning to turn and the landscape looks like it's been copied right from a Kincade painting. The harvest is in full swing, football season is moving along, the kids are involved in all types of school activities and Halloween is just around the corner; and that means...yep...you guessed it...pumpkins.
This week we are featuring pie pumpkins in your bags. There are a number of people that have come in asking how to cook fresh pumpkins. There are three options that I can give you that have worked very well for me.
Option 1:
The Oven:
Cut pumpkin open and scoop out the seeds. Place pumpkin halves facedown in a baking dish. Add 1/2" of water to pan: this helps keep the pumpkin flesh moist. Bake at 450º until you can pierce the skin with a fork (about 45 minutes to an hour). Scoop flesh out of shell with a spoon.
Option 2:
The Microwave:
Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the pumpkin into large chunks (so it will fit in microwave), leaving skin on. Place pumpkin chunks in a shallow, microwave-safe dish with a lid (or cover with plastic wrap). Spray the cut pumpkin surfaces with cooking spray, and cover. Cook on high for 15 minutes, or until tender (feels soft and cooked). Alternately, you can add water to the dish, eliminating the spray, to keep the pumpkin from drying out.
Option 3:
The Stovetop:
Cut pumpkin in half, scooping out the seeds. Then, cut pumpkin into large chunks, but leave the skin on. Place chunks in a large steamer basket (or a colander placed inside a dutch oven, with water on the bottom). Steam for 20 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender.
Hopefully this will assist you in preparing the pumpkin for your table and the wonderful recipes below. Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be happy to assist in any way we can. There is nothing quite like fresh pumpkin...and it's healthy too.
Until next time.....
Jody Fritz
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What's In Your Bag?
Week Nineteen October 4-6
Farm Fresh Eggs or Cheese
White Bread from Great Harvest Bread Co., Omaha, NE
Pie Pumpkins from The Country Pumpkin, Sutton, NE
Potatoes from Johnson's Farm, North Bend, NE
Pepper Variety from Johnson's Farm, North Bend, NE
Onions from Pekarek's Produce, Dwight, NE
Please note that produce is subject to change due to weather or unavoidable events. |
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Scott's Culinary Corner
Anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely love to cook and eat Mexican food. In fact I probably cook at least one Mexican dish per week in my household. This love of "south of the border" food was ingrained in me in my early childhood years, as half the community I grew up in was of Hispanic descent. Mexican food holds a sort of sentimentality for me, as it was the first food that I actually learned to cook and it reminds me of my childhood years.
As a teen I hung around a little restaurant called La Casita. It wasn't much to look at, and you certainly did not want to go into the kitchen, but I can tell you that they served perhaps THE finest Mexican food that I have ever had in my life. I also have to admit that I became quite adept at pestering the owners and the cooks into providing me with any extra tortillas and beans that they had, free of charge of course (I would venture to guess that this is where my career in sales started). Eventually the cooks (very nice ladies all) decided that since I was hanging around eating their extras and more...much, much more, they would have me work off my culinary daliances in the kitchen over the course of a few hot summers and teach this young man how to cook the Mexican way.
I would say that this is where my love of food was born and nurtured by the patience of the cooks and the owners of La Casita who virtually adopted me as the son they never had or wanted. They taught me old school recipes like Mole Sauce, Enchiladas (corn tortillas made from Masa and rolled at home are the only way to go with this), Authentic Refried Beans (bacon fat crisped and included in beans cooked in the bacon grease...mmmmm), El Pastor (a pork and pineapple dish) and, of course...Fajitas (recipe below), of which included two of the most important ingredients in Mexican cooking; onions and peppers.
The experts in this field of cultural delight taught me the differences between red, white and yellow onions and taught me to love jalepenos, habaneros, serranos and bell peppers. They set the foundations of my life long journey and interest in food and food culture and began building it summer by summer.
I have to say that I truly miss my hometown from time to time. I miss the Cinco De Mayo celebrations and authentic Mexican foods; although South "O" does have a very nice celebration and the food from the food trucks IS amazing. I must admit, however, that I still miss the integration of the cultures that was so prevalent in my hometown and I miss La Casita and the owners and the patient ladies that taught me to cook. The restaurant has been closed going on fifteen years now. But I still like to travel back "home" from time to time and reminisce about peppers and onions and refried beans and freshly squeezed limes (my hands still ache from that task) during the heat of summer (there was no air conditioning in the place). It's a time that I like to share with my wife and can only show her and the rest of the family and my friends through my cooking. It is there on my kitchen table and through the various recipes that I collected from the owners that La Casita still lives on and I can only hope that I do them justice every time I strap on the old apron and roll my own tortillas.
Someone pass the Menudo...and a handkerchief...I think there's something in my eye...
Bon Apetite until next week.
Did You Know...
Pumpkins are believed to have originated in North America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico dating back to 7000 to 5500 B.C.
References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon." "Pepon" was changed by the French into "pompon." The English changed "pompon" to "Pumpion." American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin."
The American colonists used pumpkin in pie crusts, but not in the filling.
The type of pumpkin pie we know today was not made until the 1700s.
The first recorded recipe for "modern" pumpkin pie was published in 1796 in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. It was called 'Pompkin Pudding.' The cookbook was the first one devoted to foods native to the Americas.
In 1929, Libby's canned pumpkin was introduced to America. Libby's is not actually pumpkin but another kind of squash called a Dickinson that also has orange flesh.
Native American Indians used pumpkin as a staple in their diets centuries before the pilgrims landed. They also dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. Indians would also roast long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and eat them. When white settlers arrived, they saw the pumpkins grown by the Indians and pumpkin soon became a staple in their diets. As today, early settlers used them in a wide variety of recipes from desserts to stews and soups. The origin of pumpkin pie is thought to have occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and then filled it with milk, spices and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in the hot ashes of a dying fire.
And from last week...here is the orginal Irish version of the tale of Stingy Jack and the orgination of Jack-O-Lanterns:
People have been making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.
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Related Recipes
Apple Pumpkin Soup (A Thanksgiving favorite and starter at my house...)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cream
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 minced clove garlic
2 quarts chicken bouillon
4 diced slices bacon
4 diced red apples
3 cups blended or processed pumpkin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 peeled, chopped carrot
1 chopped rib of celery
1 chopped onion
¼ cup white wine
½ cup apple cider
Directions:
Sauté the bacon until crispy in a pot, then add the apples, butter, celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook them in the bacon grease until soft. Add the cider, wine, and bouillon, and then stir in the herbs and pumpkin puree. Simmer the pumpkin soup for an hour, and then puree it with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor. Stir in the cream, add salt, and pepper if necessary.
Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits (MMMMM...this is something I borrowed from Ina Garten...one of my all time favorite Food Network Chefs...This is truly a wonderful treat!)
Ingredients:
¼ c dark rum (In my house it's a 1/4 cup for the recipe and one cup for me...this really gets the "holiday cheer" a rollin')
1 packet (2 tsp) unflavored gelatin powder
1 1/2 cup processed pie pumpkin
½ c granulated sugar
½ c light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 large eggs
1 tsp orange zest
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp kosher salt
1 c cold heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream
Chopped ginger cookies
Directions:
Place the rum in a heat proof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Set aside for 10 minutes for the gelatin to soften. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, the sugars, egg yolks, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set the bowl of gelatin over a pan of simmering water and cook until the gelatin is clear. Immediately whisk the hot gelatin mixture into the pumpkin mixture. In a medium bowl, whip the cream and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture. To assemble, spoon some of the pumpkin mixture into parfait glasses. Add a layer of whipped cream, followed by some chopped cookies. Repeat layers, ending with a pumpkin layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours or overnight. To serve, decorate with whipped cream and cookies.
Guadalajara Baked Potato Salad (A recipe from a friend of mine who owns a finer dining establishment in Guadalajara...and a wonderful Mexican treat.)
Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes
2 medium sweet potatoes
6 strips crisp bacon crumbled (These can be left out for a vegetarian friendly dish)
3 small spring onions, chopped
Snippets of fresh coriander, parsley and chives, including the chive flowers
3-4 corn tortillas, cut into strips.
1 small avocado
2 tablespoons of soy "mayonnaise" or regular mayonaise
1 tablespoon chipotle adobe sauce
Fresh lime juice
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, to taste
Directions:
Wash the potatoes and cut into chunks. (I left the skin on the potatoes but peeled the sweet potatoes.) Drizzle the potato chunks with a little olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Place them on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes, until fork tender but not mushy. Set the potatoes aside to cool. While the potatoes are cooking, saute the tortilla strips in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet until lightly browned. Drain on a paper towel while you assemble the rest of the salad. Slice the avocado and drizzle some lime juice on it to keep it from browning. Mix the nayo and adobe sauce in a small bowl. In a large bowl, add the cooled potatoes, the crumbled bacon, the spring onions and herbs. Squeeze a generous amount of lime juice on all and toss. Stir in the adobe-nayo sauce and mix well. Taste for seasoning; there should be enough salt and pepper on the potatoes already, but you might want to add a bit more. Arrange the potato salad on a large plate. Circle it with the sauteed tortilla strips and sliced avocado. Give the avocado a lick of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or cold.
Chicken or Beef Fajitas (A quick and easy Mexican treat...A favorite in my family and modified somewhat from the original La Casita version...)
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts or 1 hefty sirloin steak
1 tsp cilantro
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tomato
4 ounces onion
1/2 green and red bell pepper
1 Anaheim pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 package of dry ranch dressing
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup of beer (the rest is for the chef...:) Is it any wonder why I like to cook...)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese
4 flour tortillas
Directions:
Marinate chicken breasts or steak in cilantro, chili powder, garlic, coriander, oregano and lime juice in a zip lock bag for 2 hours or longer. Place marinated chicken/steak on clean lightly oiled grill or grill pan. Cook chicken/steak until it reaches minimum temperature of 165 degrees F. Slice chicken/steak into 32 to 40 pieces. Saute tomato, onion and peppers in olive oil adding lime juice, garlic, ranch and beer. Place tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds. Serve with Melina's, Taco Pepe or If You Dare salsa, sour cream and Monterey Jack cheese. Add a bottle of Corona as a nice side.
French Onion Soup (A fall favorite of mine and it's fairly easy to make...)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 yellow onions, thinly sliced
Sprig of fresh thyme
2 ½ quarts beef broth
½ cup dry white wine
8 slices French baguette bread
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon sugar
2 cups grated gruyere cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a heavy 5-quart pan, and then add the butter. Add the onions to the melted butter and oil and cook them, covered, for 10 minutes over a low heat. Add the salt and sugar. Keep cooking the onions until they are a deep brown color, stirring occasionally.
This will take about 45 minutes, but check them often and do not let them burn. Add the wine and cook for another 5 minutes, keeping the heat low. Add the broth, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toast the baguette slices until they are golden brown. Ladle the French onion soup into 4 ovenproof soup crocks and float a baguette slice on top of each one. Cover the bread with the gruyere and bake for 20 minutes.
For further recipe information to assist you in preparing meals, a couple sites that I highly recommend are the Taste of Home healthy living site and All Recipes. These have always been wonderful standbys for me. See ya next week!
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