Green Shopping in Your Area

Top of the morning to all of you! We had a great Brunch In The Ozarks this past week and it was truly like a bit of 'heaven on earth' with that scrumptious baked brie! This ooey, gooey delicacy was to die for along with the savory squash, chutney grilled chicken, and the classic Caesar salad. Surely one of these great specialties is a high Fork Five on your list. Check out what I mean about a High Fork 5 at http://grouprecipes.com/.

This week end we will turn in a slightly different direction...don't you just love zigzagging down the road of life? Just try to stay 'left of center' if you know what I mean! And if you don't know what I mean, I hope you never do. Anyway, how about an Ox tail Soup for brunch this week? As I have said, shop green whenever you are able, so I'm going to my neighborhood super store where I am always able to find ox tails. These little bony tails of beef may be hard to find in your region, however, we have a large Latino base in the Ozark area and are fortunate to have access to the foods this ethnic group loves to cook and eat! Ox tails have such a distinct and flavorful taste that you will surely want to take the extra time to make this special stew. Remember to print this page and use for your midweek shopping list...happy trails to you, until we meet again!

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Menu

Oxtail Stew

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
salt
freshly-ground black pepper
5 lbs oxtails
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped parsnips

1 cup sliced squash

2 cups sliced cabbage

1 sliced and seeded bell pepper
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
2 quarts beef stock

Directions:

Season flour with salt and pepper and dredge oxtails in the flour.

Heat oil in large Dutch oven, over medium heat.

Add the oxtails in batches, and brown for approx. 3 minutes on all sides

Remove oxtails from the pan and set aside.

Add onions, celery, carrots, parsnips, squash, cabbage, bell pepper.

Season with salt and pepper.

Saute vegetables about 6 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, bay leaves and stock, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan to loosen the browned particles.

Return the oxtails to the pot and cook, covered, until the sauce is stew-like and the meat starts to fall of the bone (about 2 hours)

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Ozark Golden Silver Dollars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk OR soured milk (to sour milk, add about 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk and stir until it is lumpy)
Oil and skillet for frying

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl, batter will be thick
Drop by tablespoonfuls into oil at medium heat on stove top
Fry until puffy and golden brown, turning only once...Scrumptious!
Serve hot

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Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

3 medium green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick, not too thin!
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying
Ranch dip

Directions:
Slice tomatoes to 1/2 inch thick, don't peel the tomatoes
Mix egg and water
Soak sliced green tomatoes in egg and water while mixing cornmeal and flour
Pour small amount of oil into skillet
Heat oil to medium temperature
Dip tomatoes in meal and flour until fully covered
Fry in the oil until just brown
Drain on paper towels
Salt, pepper, and serve with classic ranch dip!

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Fresh Fruit Salad Recipe from Noola at grouprecipes.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cut watermelon
7 big strawberries
3/4 cup cut grapes
4 kiwi
1 mango
2 peach
1 Apple
1 orange
1 banana
3/4 cup cut melon
4 tbsp dry mint
½ cup maple syrup

Directions:

Cut the ingredients to cubes or balls as desired, put them in a bowl then add the maple syrup and the dry mint to the ingredients and mix, finally put in the serving plate and sprinkle some dry mint in top.

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Dump Cake straight from the Southern cooks of America and taken from Shai at grouprecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 box yellow or white cake mix
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can (15 oz.) pineapple in heavy syrup
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/4 cup coconut (optional)

Directions:

Grease a 9x13 baking dish-do not flour
DUMP canned fruit into baking dish in layers
DUMP cake mix (powder-DO NOT PREP) evenly over fruit
Drizzle melted butter over cake mix
Top with nuts if desired
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until golden brown.
Don't worry if topping appears dry, fruit will bubble up and make it nice.

Serve warm or cold with or without ice cream or whipped cream.

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Coffee, Tea, or Wine or Whatever your Beverage of Choice is for this week!