Month: September 2024

Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew

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Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew

  • Servings: 9 Servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
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This makes a great fall stew. If you grow your own kale, this is a hearty vegetable that grows well into late fall. We found this recipe to be hearty, filling and cozy.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried cannellini beans (about 2 cups), rinsed and picked over
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 6 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (we used thick cut bacon)
  • 1 large onion, chopped medium (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 medium celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
  • 8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 bunch kale (about 1 lb), stems trimmed and leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups loosely packed)
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In nonstick pan, heat oil and cook bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon but keep the fat and oil in the pan.
  2. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook on medium high heat until onion is translucent. Usually about 5 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and cook until it starts to brown.
  4. Place all the ingredients into a slow cooker.
  5. Cook on high for 6 hours or slow for 8 hours.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 468
  • Fat 18 g
  • Sugar 6 g
  • Carbohydrates 6.25 g
  • Protein 19.25 g
  • Fibre 4.65 g

This was a fun experiment for me. I was trying to find a way to use up the kale. There were three people at the table, who are not the biggest fans of kale and they liked this. I used a mixture of green and purple kale. You could use collard greens, or even swiss chard. This is where you can have fun and make it your own.

Hot Pepper Jelly

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Hot Pepper Jelly

  • Servings: 9 Cups
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Anyone who has a garden will relate. Everything is ready to be harvested at the same time. This was my first time trying to make this. I had bought some jelly at the farmers market and loved the flavour. I then looked online and found so many recipes that I was a little overwhelmed. This is an amalgamation of many. It’s more like a jam this time but flavour wise was good.

Ingredients

  • sweet bell peppers
  • 8 jalapeños
  • 2 chili peppers
  • ½ cup of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 3 ½ cups of water
  • 2 unflavored unsweetened gelatin packs

Directions

  1. Chop all peppers together. I used a food processor and pulsed it until it was very small chunks.
  2. Put the peppers in a pot with the vinegar, sugar and 3 cups of the water. Include the juices from the peppers. Heat at medium high heat.
  3. In a small bowl, use the remaining ½ cup of water and dissolve the 2 gelatin packs.
    4. 4 Add to the peppers and bring to a boil. 5 Boil for about 10 minutes.
  4. Put in sterile jars. I used 1 cup glass jars.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 8
  • Fat 0.3 g
  • Sugar 1.6 g
  • Carbohydrates 1.86 g
  • Protein 0.1 g
  • Fibre 0.2 g

As I mentioned it turned out more like a jam than a jelly. I was also nervous that it would be consistent enough. Patience, it will set. This recipe has a little kick but you can make it hotter if you like by your choice of peppers. Mine was quite green but if you use red peppers it will be redder.

The heat is up to you and the color is up to you. Next time I will put a few less sweet bell peppers or more hot peppers. This is where you can have fun and make it your own.