Using up the garden

The one thing I REALLY miss from Wisconsin is having a basement!  Once things were harvested they could easily be stored there.  Here I have to try to use my harvest quickly in order not to lose them.  I have been able to braid the shallots, onions, and garlic and hang them in the back garage that has shade from morning to night, so I will get some additional time to use them.

This process has me thinking about exactly how not to lose to many of my fruits of the harvest.  I know that the weather has been a bit warm so the thought of soups, stews and braised meals doesn't go over very well but once the smells are in the air - oh la la.

I have taken the time in the past week or so to make braised beef shanks, spaghetti and meatballs, tortilla soup, and paella using ONLY the fruits and veggies from the garden.  All of these are EASY but a couple of them take a little bit of time.

So what have I been working with?  Onions, garlic, tomatoes, shallots, carrots, leeks, Fresno, and jalapeno chilies.  The purchased items were chicken and beef stock, the meats (with the exception of the sausage, but I'll get to that in a minute) and some spices and custom blends and of course those were all from our store.

So I'll dissect them one by one and provide the recipes as well.  I make a sauce first and then over a few days use it in several dishes but when I make this I find that we have a few more mouths to feed because it is so good.  When you make the sauce before all of these you can use the sauce in with the shanks, spaghetti, the tortilla soup and the paella! 

I fill a 5 quart pot half or better with tomatoes and start the cooking process.  As it is cooking I add 1 medium onion and a few cloves of garlic diced.  We like garlic so I add a few and taste and add a few more and taste until I get where I want it to be.  But this is just a base, I add more when I need it in the recipes so although we like the garlic, I don’t over do it here either.

So first was the braised beef shanks, this one was very easy, but takes a few hours on the stove top OR once put together you can let it go in the oven at 350⁰F for the same length of time.   

2 beef shanks

1 medium onion

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped leeks

1 cup tomatoes seeded

1 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons "For the Red" seasoning

1 cup good red wine

in food processor chop all the veggies.  Season the meat with half the seasoning.  In a pan large enough for the meat to sit in nicely, over medium high heat add 2 tablespoons oil and all the veggies and sauté to 2 to 3 minutes, set aside.  Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and add in the meat, seasoned side down, cook for 2 minutes until nicely brown season the uncooked side and then flip and cook for 2 minutes more.  Once that time is up, add in the veggies and the wine (carefully), cover and cook over low or simmer for 2 or 3 more hours until the meat falls apart.

Over the next few days I will post the other recipes, just to keep the suspense up.  Happy eating