Fresh Mint Ice Cream

(6 servings)

2  cups milk (I used Twin Brook Creamery)
1  cup whipping cream (I used Twin Brook Creamery)
8 to 10 fresh mint sprigs
3/4  cup  sugar
Dash of salt
2  large egg yolks (I used Stokesberry Sustainable Farms)
Small fresh mint leaves (optional)

Combine milk, whipping cream, and mint sprigs in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat milk mixture to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Pour milk mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl, pressing slightly with a wooden spoon; discard solids. Return liquid to pan.

Place sugar, salt, and egg yolks in a bowl; stir with a whisk until pale. Gradually add half of hot milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Pour egg yolk mixture into pan with remaining milk mixture; cook over medium-low heat until a thermometer registers 160° (about 2 minutes), stirring constantly. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl until custard cools completely, stirring occasionally.

Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Drain ice water from freezer bucket; repack with salt and ice. Cover with kitchen towels, and let stand 1 hour or until firm. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired.

Optional: Try a sprinkle of chocolate shavings on the top.

Credit: Cooking Light

I perused the web for a good recipe and landed on a Spiced Autumn Pot Roast from SouthernFood.About.com.

I woke up early on Tuesday morning, sliced onions and celery, and layered them on the bottom of my slow cooker. Then I peeled and cubed the sweet potatoes before adding to the dish. I roped my husband into the meal and made him sear the roast while I prepared the veggies. The roast fit snuggly atop the produce in the slow cooker and I poured in a concoction of beef stock, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.

We set the slow cooker on low and ran out the door for the day. The sweet smell of sweet potatoes, cinnamon, and roasted beef greeted us when we got home. We couldn’t wait to dig in.

Spiced Autumn Pot Roast

3 to 4 pounds boneless beef chuck pot roast
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
3 to 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2/3 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cold water

Trim fat from roast; brown in skillet on all sides in hot oil. Drain well. In 4 to 5-quart slow cooker place sliced onion, celery, then sweet potatoes. Place roast in top of vegetables, cut if necessary to fit. Combine beef broth, celery salt, salt, and cinnamon. Pour over all. Cover. Cook on low 10 to 12 hours or high 4-5 hours. To serve, transfer roast and vegetables to platter. Reserve juices. Measure 1 cup; make gravy by stirring cornstarch in cold water; add juices. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, until thickened and bubbly. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Credit: SouthernFood.About.com

I made it through the market with a ten-dollar bill and a crisp twenty, picking up an acorn squash and sweet carrots from Stoney Plains Organic Farm and a round of Seastack cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery.

I found sweet potatoes and Braeburn apples.

The big splurge was a 3-pound grass-fed chuck roast from Stokesberry Sustainable Farm.  The vendor gave me a bit of a deal of the beef so long as I promised to cook it slowly.

My meal plan for the week? With items in my pantry and freezer, this is what I hope to create in my kitchen this week:

•    Roasted chicken thighs with carrots, apples, and red onion
•    Pot roast with sweet potatoes and onion (seasoned with cinnamon)
•    Pot roast, round two, with roasted acorn squash
•    Fruit and cheese plate featuring Seastack

I can’t wait to share with you the results.

The aunts and uncles politely let us impatient kids start the buffet line. There were plates, and then forks, followed by a slow cooker of Grandpa’s beans, which often prompted a rendition of “beans, beans, the more you eat, the more you…” As a shy seven-year-old, the lyrics tinted my face red.

I started as usual with the carved turkey, white meat only, and mashed potatoes with gravy made from the turkey drippings. Some of the side dishes changed with the distinct seasons of Northwestern Minnesota, like Aunt Kari’s scalloped corn and Uncle Dave’s smoked walleye. He was a fishing guide and often brought the local star of our 10,000 lakes back to the family table. The staples were my mom’s bok choy salad and Keith and Connie’s wild rice hotdish, a Minnesota-style casserole in which the rules of ingredients are endless.

The most comfortable component on my plate was my grandma’s homemade bread. There was love in those loaves and I felt it with every bite.

Our church closed its doors when I reached high school and our Sunday dinners slipped further and further apart. I went off to college, and then replanted myself on the West Coast. The comfort and familiarity of a meal with my oversized family became a memory and a rare occasion.

Although I return to the Midwest often, I long to recreate the feeling and traditions of my family’s weekly feast in my West Seattle home.

The opportunity presented itself just a few weeks ago when my grandma and parents came to visit my husband, Charlie and me. On Sunday, we invited my husband’s family and my aunt and uncle who live nearby, scrounging up enough bodies to constitute a dinner party. My husband’s eyes were wide when I told him we were going to feed eleven people; I just smiled and started putting together the menu.

I roasted a chicken from Stokesberry Sustainable Farms, mashed potatoes, made gravy from the chicken drippings, and glazed medallion-sized carrots. We ate mixed greens with goat cheese and pecans and corn bread muffins, a quick bread substitute for my grandma’s loaves. I baked an apple raspberry crisp for dessert. As I looked around the table, I saw forks moving from plate to mouth, then wide smiles. I heard conversation echo. The sensation of Sunday supper filled the room.