RECIPE: macaroni and cheese

MS. BOWEN’S MACARONI and CHEESE
(from the kitchen of:: Chad Jones)

12 oz. elbow, corkscrew macaroni
3 Tbsp olive oil, separated (or butter) + some for greasing pan
1 small onion
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp flour
10-12 oz assorted cheeses, shredded or chopped (cheddar, gouda, blue cheese, muenster, parmesan)
4 oz cheddar, separated
1/8 tsp rosemary
cayenne pepper or Franks’ red hot, to taste
salt, pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS – (preheat oven)
1) Boil macaroni in large pot, beyond al dente but not mushy. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Drain well. Set aside.
2) Melt 3 Tbsp oil in saucepan on low heat. Add chopped onion, cooking approximately 5 minutes. Add flour slowly, stirring constantly; do so for 3-4 minutes. Add milk slowly, allowing sauce to thicken before more is added.
3) Simmer sauce for 20 minutes. Turn off heat.
Season with salt, pepper, rosemary to taste. Cayenne, too. Stir in assorted cheeses. WHEN NEARLY MELTED, add macaroni.
4) Grease casserole dish with oil/butter. Pour mac and cheese into dish. Sprinkle remaining cheddar (4 oz) ontop.
5) BAKE for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Peach Cobbler (works for berries, too)

BERRY COBBLER
(from kitchen of cjones)

1/4  cup butter
1/2  cup sugar
one  cup flour, sifted
2    tsp baking powder
1/8  tsp salt
1/2  cup milk
2 1/2 cup stewed berries, with juice (or other fruit)
1/2  cup more sugar

PREHEAT over to 375.
Need: two quart casserole dish.

1. To make batter, cream butter & sugar.

2. Sift flour w/ baking powder and salt.  Add to butter mixture by
alternating with milk.

3. Add batter to greased casserole dish.

4. To prepare fruit, add 1/2 cup water to about 3 cups of fresh/frozen
berries.  Bring to a boil and simmer gently for two minutes.  Fruit will
reduce to 2 1/2 cups.  Strain out fruit, and preserve juice.

5. Spread stewed fruit into sasserole dish, on top of batter.  Measure 
 1 1/2 cups of preserved juice and pour over batter/fruit.
6. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar on top of juice.
7. Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes.

Batter will rise through fruit and turn golden.
Serve in bowls with cream, ice cream, sour cream of whipped cream.
(can slowly be reheated COVERED in oven, while you eat supper.  DO NOT FREEZE)

Recipe: Black beans

1 lb.          black beans
1          whole onion
1          green pepper, sliced
2          bay leafs
1 Tbsp          Salt
1 pinch          pepper/oregano/cumin
1 Tbsp          olive oil
1/4 cup          balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp          butter
3/4 cup           chopped onion
Pinch                   pepper/oregano/cumin
2 tsp                  garlic
2 tsp                   sugar
1 Tbsp          Olive oil
1 tsp                   balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup          wine (white or red)

1) Soak 1 pound of beans in water (I do it overnight) – use enough water so it is about 2 inches from top of pressure cooker
Add: 1 whole onion // 1 sliced green pepper // 2 Bayleafs // 1 Tablespoon Salt // 1 pinch pepper/oregano/cumin // 1 Tablespoon olive oil // 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Cook 45 minutes (or until thicker).

 2) Remove Pressure Cooker from heat and remove pepper and onion.

 3) Saute sauce in a skillet. 
         2 Tablespoon butter
         3/4 cup chopped onion
         Pinch of pepper/oregano/cumin
       2 teaspoon garlic

 4) Add sauté sauce to beans

Add: 2 teaspoon sugar
       1 Tablespoon Olive oil
       1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
       1/4 cup wine (white or red)

Recipe: Collard Greens (wit onion, bacon)

(Note: though the CommCeremony version didn’t have bacon in it, i highly recommend using it … if you indulge in the swine)
Makes 8 servings 

1/2 lb. bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. dried red hot pepper flakes
4 lbs. collard greens, coarse stems and ribs removed, coarsely chopped

In a deep heavy kettle cook bacon in 2 batches over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towel.s Pour off all but about 3 Tbsp. drippings. Add onions to drippings and cook, stirring occassionally, until browned slightly and softened. Trasfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Add broth, vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and half of bacon to kettle stirring until sugar dissolves. Add half of collards, stirring until wilted; add remaining collards and do the same. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir in onions and simmer, covered, 30-45 minutes more (or till collards are tender). Serve collards topped with remaining bacon.

Recipe: Kale Salad

2/3 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos or tamari soy sauce
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup flax seed oil or extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium red onion
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 pound fresh kale
1/2 cup sunflower sprouts
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 avocado, cut into 1/2inch cubes (optional)
1 cup thinly sliced shiitake or crimini mushrooms (optional)

1) Combine Braggs and lemon juice in a blender or whisk in bowl. Slowly dribble in the oil as the blender truns or as you vigorously whisk.
2) Slice onion into half-moons and marinate in dressing as you prepare the rest of salad.
3) Toast seeds in heavy-bottomed pan (cast iron is best) over medium heat until seeds are just golden and fragrant. Toast each seed type separately as size requires differing times. Cool to room temp.
4) Destem the kale. Stack kale leaves and slice into 1/4 inch ribbons. This is most important step so take your time. The success of this recipe lies in cutting the kale into small ribbons and in completely massaging the kale with the dressing.
5) Toss the seeds, sprouts, and kale together with the marinated onions and as much dressing as necessary to lightly but completely dress the kale. Massage the dressing into kale with your hands. Add the avocado and mushrooms, and toss again by hand.

Photos, Round 1 (courtesy Dave Negron)

Hey Yall,

84 photos in the ‘Best of Mebane in May’ set are some of the more than 700 that Dave Negron took in some 2.5 days in North Carolina

enjoy!

Recipe: Chicken Pipian

This was the bangin main course for the Friday Family Meal. We had under-counted months prior estimating that there would be 60 folks at dinner. But low and behold, Telesh and Lizzie made enough to serve all 79 hungry appetites.

CHICKEN PIPIAN
Serves approx. 5 people.

Serve with rice, and tortillas.
VEGETARIAN version: substitute tempeh for the chicken.

1 whole chicken
5 tomatoes roasted
5 small green tomatoes/tomatillos
1 cinnamon stick roasted
3 cloves
2 handfuls raw pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
2 handfuls sesame seed, lightly toasted
3 California (for color, red, long dry)

1) Slow roast on the comal or cast iron skillet: tomatoes, tomatillos, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin and sesame seeds.
Separately boil [California] chiles.

2) Sautee the chicken with a little salt, while roasting the ingredients.

3) Once everything has been toasted then you put it all in the blender. Be careful because since things are hot the blender has a lot of pressure. YOu will need to slowly add water while the all the stuff is in the blender. Depending on how thick you want the sauce. I think you will use 1 cup of water in total.

4) Once you have the right consistency you pour it over the chicken and let it simmer to a boil for approximately 20 min.

Hotels + Accomodations

Here are three hotels within or near Mebane. The first two are just down the road; while the last (the Marriott) is further away. You can always look for more options at www.hotels.com.

The Hampton Inn — 8 miles away, in Mebane
105 Spring Forest Dr
Mebane, NC 27302
(919) 563-5400

The Holiday Inn Express — 8 miles away, in Mebane
149 SPRING FOREST DRIVE
Mebane, NC 27302
(919) 304-9900

The Downtown Marriott — 28 miles away, in central Durham
201 Foster St
Durham, NC 27701
(919) 682-7212

Where are you registered????

Hi everyone! Well we have been asked several times about where we are registered and what to give us for gifts and all that. First of all the best gift of all would be having you come to Mebane for the ceremony. We want you there to share with us and enjoy the weekend more than we could ever want anything else. Many of our friends are artists and we would welcome creative gifts as well. And of course in lieu of a gift to us you could donate some money to the Stone House!!! That said, after much reluctance, we decided to try to give folks a variety of options and places where they could purchase us gifts and have included some registry options and a mini-wish list.

We are registered at:

• Williams Sonoma (for cooking/baking)
• Macy’s (linens)
• Surlatable.com (for cooking)
• 3-R Living (for eco-friendly housewares)
  718-832-0951

Some of these places are small stores located in Brooklyn but if you call them or look on their web-site or give them a call and give them either of our names the registry should pop-up.

As for our Wish List…

• CASH contributions — towards a mortgage or an extended trip.
• We would love a gift certificate to:

1. Opal Massage and Allied Therapies in Brooklyn, for some much needed massages
   718-857-6183
2. the Institute for Culinary Education in New York, for a class for both of us
   800-522-4610
3. the New York Book Arts Center for a
   212-481-0295

Local Pork, Beer, Veggies and Flowers

The fabulous vendors include:

Cane Creek Farm: Eliza blew us away with the beautiful lands (some 500 acres) that she has been running only since July. Each of the 30 sows has two litters per year, resulting in some 400-500 pigs per year. There are also chickens, goats, cows, sheep and ducks. We’re gonna go back for another tour in May!

Coon Rock Farm: More than 20 types of lettuce planted?!? Lettuce, kale, collard greens, onions, garlic and leeks. We gonna U-pick the produce that we need from Coon Rock and bring it back for all of our cooking, baking and eatin needs.

Carolina Brewery: we’re going with the Chapel Hill location, just down the road from UNC.

Custom Light and Sound: this is where we’ll get our speakers, soundboard and turn tables for mixing. Thanks to Jonathan for the references.

Carolina Farm Stewardship Asssocation: It’s a good think that the Farm Stewards Assocation has written the 2007-2008 Carolina Guide to Local and Organic Food. Without it, we would not have known where to get the bluberries for pies, greens for salads or veggies for roasted veggies. Carolina has systems of support for small, sustainable farms and town-country inter-connectedness unlike any other state I’ve been to in all my years. Many of the small farms are formerly tobacco plantations.

Local Harvest (in 27302): a listing of all sorts of produce, farms and farmers. There are farmers markets throughout the week during the growing seasons (typically April thru October or Thanksgiving weekend):
Wednesdays

• Carrboro Farmers Market (3:30-6:30pm)
  
• Hillsborough Farmers Market (4-7pm)

Saturdays

• Durham Farmers Market (8am-noon)
• Hillsborough Farmers Market (8am-noon)
• Saxapahaw Farmers Market (5-8pm)