Shopping List:

• Half dozen medium Organic Russet Potatoes
• Refined Corn Oil or other oil that has a smoke point well above the temperatures contained in the recipe
• Sea Salt

Recipe

• Put Corn Oil in a Sauce pan and place on a high heat. Monitor the temperature using a thermometer (most use a candy thermometer)
• Peel the 6 Russet Potatoes
• Cut the potatoes into fries
• When the oil is up to temperature carefully (VERY CAREFULLY) add the fries I use a wire thing that I can ease them in without splashing. Oil can splatter, burn and injure you. Be Extremely Careful! If you are unsure how to cook with extremely hot oil don’t.
• Cook the fries in the oil until they start to become cooked. About 6 minutes. What you’ll notice is some of the edges begin to brown.
• Remove the fries from the oil and transfer to a bowl. Some people like to use a paper towel. No thanks. The oil seems to fall to the bottom of the bowl pretty nicely.
• Let the fries begin to cool and drain for a few minutes. Then using a fork or wooden spoon scoot them over to a second clean bowl. 
• You can then set these aside for quick finishing later or do it up now. .. Note: do not cut your potatoes and store without the initial cooking. What happens if you do is that the potatoes dewater and this water causes severe spattering once it hits the hot oil.
• The next step is the higher temperature frying to brown and crisp the outside. You need the high temp to really get the water inside the fries steaming out (If the steam is being pushed out of the fry the oil can’t get in. If the oil can’t get in then you have nice non-soggy fries instead of the limp grease sticks that you could have bought at the fast food place).
• Turn the heat back on and get the oil up to about 400F
• When at temp, CAREFULLY add the fries
• Cook until light brown on the outside (or more if that’s how you like them).
• Remove from the oil and place on a serving plate.
• Sprinkle with sea salt, toss and serve immediately.

 These really aren’t that much trouble to make and you can easily time them with your main course. A great combo is to make some fish & chips. Check out the fish recipe below when you’re ready to take that step.

 Most people feel that natural food is tasteless, boring and say they would rather die a few years earlier than have to such things … When they start pontificating, moaning and groaning just make some Almost Organic French Fries. It will be worth the quiet you’ll get while they’re stuffing them in their mouth.

 If you like this recipe then why not share it? Or go to the upper right and subscribe to get the next post automatically. Here’s some related posts:

Related posts:

• Wikipedia Info on Smoke points of Oils
• Fried Fish Recipe
• Buying Fish

Shopping List:

• 3 Pounds of Organic New Potatoes
• 4 Organic Eggs
• Organic Garlic to yield 1 1/2 Teaspoons
• 1 Cup of Organic Mayonnaise
• 1/4 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon of Organic Dijon Mustard
• Organic Lemons to yield 3  Tablespoons
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Organic Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Teaspoons of Organic Hot Sauce
• 3/4 Teaspoons of Organic Worcestershire Sauce
• 3/4 Cup of Shallots (finely chopped)
• 2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons of Fresh Organic Ground Pepper
• Few Dashes of Paprika

Recipe:

• Prepare 4 hard-boiled eggs. When done peel, roughly chop and set aside in the frig 
• Take out a Saucepan with Cover place a couple of inches of spring water & a dash of sea salt into the pan and place on a medium heat
• Clean & Scrub 3 Pounds of New Potatoes 
• Cut into Rough Pieces of about 1/2 inch chunks
• Place the potatoes into the water (be careful not to splash & burn!). Add additional water until the potatoes are covered
• Turn the heat up to high
• Cook for about 8-12 minutes. You want the potatoes to be tender.. firm but not undercooked & definitely not mushy. Just test until you can say “Now that’s a potato salad potato!”. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Place in the frig to cool.
• While the potatoes are cooking/chilling finely chop the shallots to yield 3/4 cup. Set aside
• Finely chop fresh garlic to yield 1 1/2 teaspoons. Set Aside.
• Squeeze Fresh Lemons to yield 3 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice. Set aside.
• Take the cooked potatoes out of the frig
• Add in 2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt
• Add in the 3/4 Cup of Finely Chopped Shallots
• Add in the 4 chopped hard boiled eggs
• Add in the 1 1/2 Teaspoons of finely Chopped Garlic
• Add in 1/4 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard
• Add in the 3 Tablespoons of the Fresh Lemon Juice
• Add in 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
• Add in  3/4 Teaspoons of  Hot Sauce
• Add in 3/4 Teaspoons of Worcester Sauce
• Add in 1 Teaspoon of Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Toss together
• Place back in the frig and cover
• Just before serving add 3/4 – 1 Cup of Chilled Mayonnaise (you be the judge as to whether you like a drier or moister potato salad
• Sprinkle a little bit of Paprika on top and serve

 So there you go. .. By the way, if you go fresh homemade mayo the dish just jumps to the next level. Happy Memorial Day and don’t forget to remember all those brave men and women who gave their lives for us and our country. Let’s give their memories some well deserved love and respect today by honoring them with a moment of silence this afternoon wherever you are.

Share the joy with a friend if you like this post. Some related posts are:

• Are Your Vegetables Firm?
• Organic Potato Primer

Shopping List:

• 2 lbs of Organic Carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon of Unrefined Sea Salt
• 2 cups of Spring Water
• 3 Tablespoons of Organic Unsalted Butter
• 1 1/4 Tablespoon Of Unrefined Organic Sugar
• Enough Fresh Organic Parsley to yield 3 Tablespoons when chopped

Recipe:

• Place 2 cups of Spring Water into a Saucepan, set aside.
• Peel 2 lbs. of Carrots, slice and place into the Saucepan with the water.
• Add 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt to the Saucepan.
• Measure and place 2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter into the Saucepan.
• Measure and place 1 1/4 Tablespoons of Sugar into the Saucepan.
• Cover the Saucepan and turn on the heat to bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat so that it remains at a low boil. Cook for approximately 30 minutes but keep an eye on things to make sure all the liquid doesn’t boiled away. Or said another way… cook until the carrots are cooked.
• While the carrots are cooking finely chop the parsley to give you 3 Tablespoons worth. Set aside.
• Measure 1 Tablespoon of Unsalted Butter. Let it set out to warm and soften.
• When the carrots are done remove and place into a bowl. Add the parsley and butter and toss around until all the butter has melted and the parsley gets evenly distributed.
• Taste and add more seasoning as you see fit.

 There you have it. Hey, if you can take an extra step to dress up your carrots then why not? Share this post with your friends who are still in the canned carrots stage as part of their personal awakening into the world of good food.

Related Posts:

• Are Your Veggies Firm?
• French Gourmet Organic Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 Well I just had a large cereal bowl of veggies and I’m telling the truth that it was absolutely delicious. Seriously. .. Anyway here’s what I did and you should seriously consider trying this at least once. They just taste so much better than the ugly stepchild of a side dish with a little butter rubbed on top that you usually experience.

 Here’s the deal. Start out with this combo and modify as your taste buds dictate.

Recipe:

• Take out a large saucepan with cover
• Peel & Cut into Pieces the following veggies
• 1/2 Organic Turnip
• 3 Organic Carrots
• 4 Medium Organic Potatoes
• 3 Medium Onions
• Some Cabbage (after you slice from the head and chop a bit separate into the individual leaves before adding to the sauce pan
• Add water, cover and bring to a boil
• After a boil has been achieved cook for about 14 minutes. You want the veggies cooked but not mushy. Use the carrots and turnips as your gauge. They are the hardest to cook and should be at the bottom of the pan directly in the boiling water. If you use a really big sauce pan they will take longer to cook
• Transfer the Veggies into a large metal mixing bowl. Remove the Veggies but leave as much of the water behind as possible. I like using a Slotted Metal Spoon for this.
• Take out a large cereal bowl and almost full with the veggies
• Add Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil to the top
• Carefully toss so all the Veggies have Oil
• Sprinkle on some Sea Salt
• Toss
• Sprinkle with some more Sea Salt if you want.
• Toss again & Enjoy.

 Now I just came in from the Supermarket (Haddock on Sale). Put the bags aside took out a sauce pan, a large cereal bowl and my slotted metal spoon. Pulled a large mixing bowl with previously cooked veggies out of the frig. Filled the bowl to measure what I needed. Tossed these Veggies into the sauce pan. Added a little water, covered and turned the heat on high. Then the food was put away, boots taken off and slippers put on. By then the veggies were heated up. So I put them in the bowl, tossed in some Olive Oil & Sea Salt and here I sit writing, happy as a clam.

 Maybe you remember Mikey from the old Life Cereals.. “Try it, you’ll like it”. Hey, try it, you’ll like it. Trust me on this one.

 If you like this post why not share with a friend? But even if you don’t like the post I hope you give this a try. It’s cold up here in New England (it will be a balmy 20F tonight). But some Veggies and a heavy quilt will keep me happy. Anyway, some related posts are as follows. Have a good week.

Related Posts:

• Are Your Veggies Firm?
• Organic Potato Primer
• Home Cooked Veggies As A Convenience Food

 This morning I made a pot of vegi’s that I would eat right away and also reheat and feed on later in the day. Cooked them just to my liking and they were not mushed by the additional reheat to follow (just had the second half a few minutes ago and they were terrific). Well, in addition to watching the cooking time I fed in the harder to cook vegi’s first so they’d be in direct contact with the water and let the more yielding  wait for last and sit on the top where they would steam and have that lid right above to help bring down the temp a degree or two.

 So first in were the turnips, carrots and the last in were the onions and the potatoes (couldn’t fit the cabbage, too much of the other stuff). And after the cooking was finished I got the guys right out of there using a slotted metal spoon so they could be drained of the boiling water before being place in the stainless bowl. That way, no additional cooking took place as they were sitting and cooling.

  And I know, .. from this blog entry you might think I just invented a cure for cancer or something. .. But I guess the point is you could take two identical pots of vegi’s and just from cooking a mere 10 minutes longer on one you’d get a decidedly different and mushier outcome. .. The details, that were the magic of cooking a fantastic dish vs an alright one resides.

 Well if you like this share the joy. Tell a friend about us and send them this post. But be careful they may be the sensitive type who’ll think you’re trying to give them a hint or something about their overcooking. .. Thanks & be well.

Shopping List:

• Organic Russet Potatoes
• Organic Butter
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Grated Swiss Cheese

Recipe:

• Bake the potatoes until done
• Split and remove the flesh. Place in a medium mixing bowl
• Add Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Black Pepper, Butter and a small amount of Heavy Cream.
• Break up the potatoes and mix all ingredients together (I generally use a wooden spoon to do this)
• Place your oven rack to the next notch higher than the middle position
• Turn on the oven broiler
• Melt some butter in a medium frying pan. Remove from heat and transfer to a container that can withstand heat.
• Add some Heavy Cream to the container and mix together.
• Return the medium frying pan to the burner and add additional butter. When melted add the potato mixture.
• Fry until the bottom is browned
• Remove from the pan using a spatula and transfer to a baking dish (uncooked side up)
• Add the butter/cream mixture previously prepared to the top of the potatoes
• Top off with the grated Swiss Cheese
• Place the baking dish in the oven under the broiler
• Watch closely and remove when browned

 This is sort of evil but good.

Related Link:

• Organic Potato Primer (Types of Potatoes and Their Uses)

Mushrooms:

   “Take mushrooms, pare wash and drain. Put some butter in saucepan and steam mushrooms in it. Then add pepper and salt. Serve on hot toast.” Submitted by Mrs Gustave Brown

Eggs in Potatoes:

   “Bake medium size potatoes, scoop out the center, leaving potato skins whole, mash, season with butter, milk, salt and pepper and beat until light. Fill skins leaving room in the center for raw egg. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in moderate oven until eggs are set.” Submitted by Mrs. A.E.Wilzin

Note You Must Properly Cook Eggs Or They May Cause Extreme Health Problems Even Possibly Death. Seniors, our youngsters and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk. Please refer to this link for the FDA’s Suggestions Regarding Egg Safety:

FDA Food Safety Facts “Playing It Safe With Eggs”

 Classic vintage recipes made for organic.   

  From there we did some experimenting with smaller batches with only enough to last a day… and then only enough for a single setting. The one pot for a single day seems to work really well in terms of quality & taste. But it does take somewhat of a time commitment to peel, cut etc .. and you have to reheat for subsequent meals several times during the day.

 However, what was a nice surprise was the making vegi’s for a single meal. At first glance this sounds a bit nuts since we all have the impression that vegi’s have these massive cooking times. But they don’t so long as you cut small. For instance, yesterday I was slammed with work but needed something quick so took out the sauce pan, put a small amount of water in, turned the heat up, then peeled and cut a few potatoes, an onion and a couple of mushrooms. Nothing fancy. Put the cover on, turned down the heat (at this the water was already at a rapid boil). Set a timer for 10 minutes and went back to work to check email. After 10 drained the water, put the vegi’s in a good size bowl, added some extra virgin olive oil, sea salt & pepper. Set this aside and quickly cleaned the pan (this was easy since it only had water and vegi’s in it).

 The results.. very nice, warm, fresh, 6 minutes peeling and cutting and 10 minutes on the boil. And there was no rushing while peeling (btw I us a paring knife for peeling and not one of those potato peelers..Loose a bit more but it’s quicker). In addition, I used only a small amount of olive oil so the dish was low cal. Also, it had zero cholesterol, zero gluten, and zero dairy. Nice and this is as fresh as it gets…

  We’ll try to put together some quickie vegi dishes.. this is a great way to eat fresh, stay healthy and loose weight.

Related Links:

• Home Cooked Vegi’s as a Convenience Food (Real Fast Real Food)
• Mr. Safety Almost chops His Thumb Off While Gabbing

 And something really nice happened .. these beans, in addition to being healthier to than their cholesterol laden cousins, actually tasted better. A very nice win-win situation. Anyways, here goes:

Shopping List:

• 1/2 Cup of Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Medium Organic Onions
• 2 Tablespoons of Full Flavored Prepared Organic Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon of Organic Grade A Amber Maple Syrup
• 1 Teaspoon of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar 
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Organic Black Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Organic Molasses
• Up to 9 Cups of Spring Water (we found that we actually needed 7 Cups .. but your results may vary if your evaporation rates/oven temperatures are different)
• 2 1/2 Cups of Dried Organic Navy Beans

Recipe:

• Place your oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 290F.
• Wash and sort 2 1/2 Cups of Navy Beans. Carefully seek out and remove all stones and funky looking beans. Be careful in doing this since you can be hurt by eating rocks.
• Add 1/2 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a Metallic Dutch Oven.
• Place the Metallic Dutch Oven with the Olive Oil on Medium Heat.
• Dice 2 Medium Onions & place into the Metallic Dutch Oven.
• Cook the onions and stir occasionally. Cook until they are just starting to turn brown in spots. We want the onions cooked this way to give a little extra umph to the flavor.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Prepared Mustard to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1 Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1 1/2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1/4 Teaspoon of Black Pepper to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1/2 Cup of Molasses to the Dutch Oven.
• Stir together to combine.
• Add the 2 1/2 Cups of Washed and Sorted Beans to the Metallic Dutch Oven.
• Add enough spring water to cover the beans but also leave enough room so that you can transfer the beans without the water sloshing out of the Dutch Oven (when you are transferring to the Pre-heated Oven).
• Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Place the lid on the Dutch Oven and carefully transfer the Dutch Oven to the Pre-heated Oven. If you cannot safely do this DON’T… you can get severely burned by the boiling water. Also make sure that there are no pets or children around to interfere or get close to you. You do not want to severely burn you or them….(it only takes a millisecond to get severely burned don’t do this if you cannot do this with complete safety).
• Bake for approximately 6 hours until the beans are tender. During the baking process try to keep about 1/2 – 1″ of water above the beans. You’ll need to check the beans periodically while baking and add additional water as necessary. Needless to say you can get burned while doing this so wear protective gloves and be very careful.
• Once the 6 hours are done remove the beans from the oven and set on the stove (on a back burner where they are out of reach of small children is best).
• Just let the beans sit on the unheated burner until sufficiently cooled for eating or for transfer into the refrigerator.
•  Add any additional salt and pepper to taste when serving. 

 One of the things I love about these beans are that they have none of that gross congealed fat when you take them out of the frig for reheating. The salt pork version has all these little cholesterol pods of fat floating around..no thanks (but if it’s your thing who am I to judge?). Anyway enjoy.

Related Links:

• Organic vs Non-Organic Navy Beans for Boston Baked Beans

 Now these are traditional Boston Baked Beans which mean the use of salt pork. But many people including ourselves would like to enjoy these fantastic beans but in a more healthy fashion. Well, right now we’re working on a vegan version of this recipe that’s not only vegan but tastes great as well. We should have this wrapped in a week or two. But for now here’s the recipe for Traditional Boston Baked Beans. A few notes… we don’t presoak the beans..tried it and got the same results by going directly to the oven. Also, we didn’t use a bean pot but rather a cast iron dutch oven. If you’re using a ceramic bean pot you should skip the boiling step and add the fat/molasses mixture relatively cool. That way you avoid the chance of thermo-shock/cracking the ceramic and getting into a messy and possibly unsafe situation. Increase baking time to compensate. … So the message is that if you don’t have a metallic Dutch Oven go out and pick one up..they have dozens of uses…Anyway here you go:

Shopping List:

• 6 ounces of Organic or Sustainably Raised Salt Pork
• 2 Medium Organic Onions
• 2 Tablespoons of Full Flavored Prepared Organic Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon of Organic Grade A Amber Maple Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon of Organic Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar 
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Organic Black Pepper
• 3/4 Cup Organic Molasses
• Up to 9 Cups of Spring Water
• 2 1/2 Cups of Dried Organic Navy Beans

Recipe:

• Place your oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 300F.
• Wash and sort 2 1/2 Cups of Navy Beans. Remove any stones and funky looking beans. Eating rocks isn’t safe..so don’t miss any stones.
• Cut the Rind off of a 6 ounce piece of Salt Pork & discard.
• Cut the remaining salt pork into small cubes & place into the Metallic Dutch Oven.
• Place the Metallic Dutch Oven on Medium Heat. Stir occasionally but do not overcook. We’re just rendering the fat.
• Once done, chop two medium onions into small pieces & place into the Metallic Dutch Oven and continue cooking moving the pieces around occasionally. We want the onions very lightly browned but not overcooked.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Prepared Mustard to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1 Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar tot he Dutch Oven.
• Add 1 1/2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 1/4 Teaspoon of Black Pepper to the Dutch Oven.
• Add 3/4 Cups of Molasses to the Dutch Oven.
• Stir together to combine.
• Add the 2 1/2 Cups of Washed and Sorted Beans.
• Add enough spring water to cover the beans but also leave enough room so that you can transfer the beans without the water sloshing out of the Dutch Oven (when you are transferring to the Pre-heated Oven).
• Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Place the lid on the Dutch Oven and carefully transfer the Dutch Oven to the Pre-heated Oven. If you can’t safely do this DON’T… you can get severely burned by the boiling water. Also make sure that there are no pets or children around to interfere or get close to you. You do not want to severely burn you or them….(hey, I’m a huge believer in safety what can I say).
• Bake for approximately 5 1/2 hours until the beans are tender. During the baking process try to keep about 1/2 – 1″ of water above the beans. You’ll need to check the beans periodically while baking and add additional water as necessary. Needless to say you can get burned while doing this so wear protective gloves and be very careful.

 Simply add any additional salt and pepper to taste when serving. Hope you enjoy.

Related Links:

• Organic vs Non-Organic Navy Beans for Boston Baked Beans