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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2020)
2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 HOME & LIVING Butternut squash soup a warm meal made for cold nights Helpful Hints • White or any sweet onion This is comforting, thick, can be used instead of shal- creamy, vegetarian soup that lots. is perfect for this time of year. • If butternut squash cubes It’s also quick to prep and or spirals are not available, cook using butternut squash peel a whole squash and cut already cut into cubes. Cut into 1-inch cubes. They may cubes can be found in the take longer to cook. produce section of the market. • 4 crushed garlic cloves You can, also, use butternut can be used instead of bottled squash spirals if cubes aren’t minced garlic. available. • If using other apples, cut I use shallots for the soup. them just before adding them They are a mild-fl avored to the soup to prevent them member of the onion family. from turning brown. Shallots break down as they Countdown cook, making a smoother • Prepare ingredients. sauce than their onion • Start soup. cousins. Gala or honey crisp apples • While soup simmers, toast pecans. are used. They’re sweet and • Finish soup. do not turn brown when cut. By Linda Gassenheimer Tribune News Service TRADITION Continued from Page 1B While working at the Plimoth Plantation, we were dressed in the traditional, buckskin clothing of Northeastern tribes and demon- strating what life would have been like for Indigenous people in the 1620s. At least once a week, my daily assignment would be to tend to the fi re and cook traditional foods over it, and when it was time to make boiled cornbread, I’d have to pound the corn kernels into fl our by hand. In this modern era, at home, I use an electric grain grinder, coffee grinder or food processor to speed up the process. The fl our can be used to make boiled cornbread or a corn mush porridge, depending on how fi nely or coarsely ground you make it. The second processing method involves boiling the dried corn with hardwood ash to break open the hulls on the corn ker- nels, through a chemical process known as nixtamalization. It is then strained and washed using a traditional corn-washing basket, a Haudenosaunee utility basket GARDENS Shopping List • To buy: 1 pound but- ternut squash cubes, 1 jar minced garlic, 1 small piece fresh ginger or 1 bottle ground ginger, 1 bottle ground nutmeg, 1 carton light cream, 2 shallots, 1 gala or honey crisp apple,1 whole grain baguette, 1 small container pecan pieces and 1 container vegetable broth. • Staples: olive oil and salt. BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger or 2 teaspoons Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer ground ginger 4 cups butternut squash 2 teaspoons olive oil cubes (about 1 pound) 2 shallots sliced 2 cups vegetable broth (about 1/2 cup) 1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces 2 teaspoons minced garlic with small holes in the base that allow water and the hulls to pass through. Once the hulls are removed, the softened corn is used to make corn soup and Three Sisters rice. Before colonization, salt and refi ned sugar would not have been present in the Indigenous diet, so some dishes (such as corn mush) use raw maple sap, maple syrup or locally foraged berries as a natural sweetener. Living in California, I am thousands of miles away from the Kanien’keha:ka territories where my family is from — Akwesasne in Upstate New York and Kahn- awake in Quebec. Though I do not cook traditional dishes as often as I’d like, I try to incorporate the Three Sisters into my daily meals. Preparing and consuming tradi- tional foods like boiled cornbread is one way for me to feel like I am home again, especially as I cel- ebrate Native American Heritage Month in November. Whether it is eaten for ceremo- nial purposes or for brunch on Sunday morning with steak, eggs and gravy, boiled cornbread con- tinues to be an important part of Haudenosaunee culinary culture. White corn can be ordered online as corn fl our or kernels from the Ganondagan State Historic Site’s Iroquois White Corn Project. In a pinch, other fi nely ground corn fl ours can be used in its place. This recipe is a spin on the traditional preparation of boiled cornbread with kidney beans, but serving it with a butternut squash sauce means even those who are vegan or allergic to gluten can enjoy this dish. HAUDENOSAUNEE THREE SISTERS BOILED CORNBREAD Makes 18 dumplings FOR THE CORNBREAD 8 ounces Mohawk white fl int corn fl our (see Ingredient Note) 1/2 cup kidney beans, cooked and cooled if using dried beans, or drained and rinsed if using canned beans 1-2 cups hot water 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (see Seasoning Note) FOR THE SAUCE Continued from Page 1B lives of their own. Life is pre- cious. Rest in peace, Tommy Cat. Our problems and stress can often be reduced by real- izing the wonders of other beings which have been given GARDEN CHORES • Covering garden pools with bird netting will prevent leaves from fouling the water. Oxygen depletion from rotting organic matter can cause winterkill of pond fi sh. • Take steps to prevent gar- den pools from freezing solid. Cover with insulating mate- It was a “Miracle on 34th Street” moment as several clerks at the stores I called re- ferred me to their competitors because they’d heard there were still a few lids on the shelves in their stores. The experience brought to mind the scenes from the 1947 movie when Kris Kringle, who was Santa at the Macy’s department store, referred customers to Gimbels depart- ment store for better prices or selection. Just like in “Miracle on 34th Street,” I gained new respect for the clerks who en- deared themselves to me by going out of their way to try to help in my search to fi nd canning lids this fall. As our Labor Day travel- ers prepared for their trips, orders were given for them to check in their towns for the lids as well. No luck at any stores along the way. My dear sister astutely pointed out: “You should have checked sooner. We have them here.” We resorted to purchasing three dozen quart jars, which come with lids — the last three dozen on the shelf. We prefer pint jars, but in our desperation, we could not be particularly particular. (We later returned the quart jars for someone else to use in their canning projects.) We were able to get through a fi rst batch of peaches with the lids we had on hand. But the question remained about how to preserve our prune and apple jam, salsa and pizza sauce we had planned to make without lids to fi t our sauce-size jars. CANNING Continued from Page 1B That’s when those plans went awry. We didn’t need canning jars, but we did need more canning lids, which have a special sealing compound around the rims and are only good for one-time use in preserving food safely. A quick trip to just about any grocery or hardware store in town would easily take care of that problem — in any year except this one. At fi rst it seemed that just our go-to store was sold out of canning lids. But we soon learned that every store in town — a few of which we didn’t even know carried can- ning lids — had none left in stock and did not expect to be getting more this season. Still running unsupported Windows 7? We’ll help you avoid critical issues by installing Windows 10! Linda Gassenheimer/TNS Butternut squash soup. Computer not running as fast as when it was new? Let us install lightning-fast solid state drive! 2 slices toasted whole grain baguette 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg Salt 2 tablespoons light cream 1 cup diced gala or honey crisp apples 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 cup yellow onion, minced 2 garlic cloves, fi nely minced 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon fresh sage, thinly sliced 1 cup butternut squash or pumpkin puree Start boiling a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Mix fl our and salt (if using) together in a bowl, then gently stir in kidney beans. Slowly add in hot water 1/4 cup at a time until the dough can be formed into a fi rm ball, but is not tacky to the touch. Depending on the weather and how fi ne the grain on the corn fl our is, you may have to add more water or more corn fl our. Using a 3 tablespoon-size ice cream scoop, measure and form balls of dough, then gently fl atten against the table to make burger- like patties that are about 3 inches across. Boil cornbread for 20-30 minutes until the patties rise to the top of the pot and are cooked all the way through. Depending on rial or fl oat a stock tank water heater in the pond to lessen the chance of ice damage. • Climbing roses should not be pruned this time of year, but can be mulched well with 6 to 10 inches of mulch over My sister, who says she meant no sarcasm with her earlier comment, came to the rescue. She made a trip to town where she expected to pick up as many lids as she wanted ... only to fi nd her plan also had gone awry. There were no lids in the stores in her town either. She turned to the internet only to fi nd that the price of lids had gone up astronomically. (A recent price check shows internet sales for one dozen lids, which had gone for less than $5 in the past, is now at about $25.) Luckily for me, my gener- ous sister saved her money and shipped me the required regular-size lids from her personal stock. My mom chipped in a collection of rings that are screwed over the lids to hold them in place during the size of the pot, you may have to boil the cornbread dumplings in batches. In a saute pan or cast-iron skil- let, heat olive oil over medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Place onions in the pan, cook for 3 minutes while stirring, then add garlic. Continue to cook and stir the onion-garlic mixture until the onions become golden, then sprinkle black pepper, salt, nutmeg and sage into the pan. Pour the butternut squash or pumpkin puree into the pan, then combine all ingredients and continue stirring over heat about 5 minutes, until the squash mixture is hot. To serve, place boiled cornbread dumplings onto a serving platter, then pour the squash sauce over the top. • Ingredient Note: White corn can be ordered online as corn fl our or kernels from the Ganondagan State Historic Site’s Iroquois White Corn Project. Other fi nely ground corn fl ours or masa harina can also be substituted. • Seasoning Note: It is not tradi- tional to use salt, but many people do today to please modern fl avor preferences. feeders. Provide birds with a source of unfrozen water. • Houseplants in cooler rooms need less water. • Shorter days mean slower growth. Reduce or eliminate the use of fertilizer. If you have garden com- ments or questions, please write to greengardencolumn@ the hot-water bath processing yahoo.com Thanks for reading! that preserves the product inside for months to come. My neighbor, who shared her backyard bounty of peaches with my family this summer, also came to the rescue with her own supply of jars and canning lids. So, as I considered Thanks- giving, I had to admit that the Order Early! change of plans that we’ve We have hams, been hit with this year have not been insurmountable smoked turkeys and thanks to the love and sup- prime rib. port of family and friends who are always willing to help us Baker County work through our struggles together. Including providing can- ning lids which — just like toilet paper — unexpectedly 2390 11th Street fl ew off the shelves this year! CUSTOM MEATS Baker City OR. Chris Collins is a reporter for the Baker City Herald. FEET Ready for Fall? www.GVfoot.com See Soup/Page 3B each rose bush. Prune spåar- ingly only to shorten overly long canes. • Prevent frost heaving and plant damage by mulching fl ower and bulb beds. • Clean, fi ll and set up bird Are your 541-963-0265 888-843-9090 Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger and butternut squash cubes. Saute 5 minutes stirring several times. Owners Del & Jana Woodcock New Name. Same Great Team. Same Exceptional Service. Travis T. Hampton, D.P.M. Foot and Ankle Surgeon La Grande 1408 N Hall Street Enterprise 601 Medical Parkway Baker 3175 Pocahontas Rd.
