Basil and Butterscotch

Focus for 2012

2012-01-19T10:44:00.003-05:00

The focus of this blog for 2012 will be self-reliance. I'm going to concentrate on becoming less dependent on the grocery store with their dubious produce and meat sources and more reliant on my own efforts to grow fruits and vegetables, and doing more toward producing my own meat and eggs. And as I learn, I'll share my successes and failures with you so that you can do it, too, if you've a mind to.

As you may remember, we have a small flock of chickens for producing eggs. They are now beyond their peak laying age and we'll be repacing them with a mixed flock of peeps in the spring. And we'll butcher the hens and the rooster for stewing meat. When the weather moderates, we'll be adding rabbits to the meat mix.

The blueberries should begin to produce this year, and the strawberries will be plentiful now that the deer can't eat them. We'll have more grapes, and we'll add more raspberry bushes. Come along for the ride... Oh, the places we will go!

Planning on Canning?

2011-02-10T18:41:00.002-05:00

Here is a neat Facebook page about canning and preserving that might give you some helpful ideas.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day January 2011

2011-01-15T19:53:00.005-05:00

There is a reason they call it "the dead of winter."

There are some Garden Bloggers Bloom Days when I have to decide what to show you and what to leave out. Today, however, there are two things in bloom indoors and nothing, of course, outside. (The outside is basically white-- covered in snow-- in Ohio.)

Indoors we have my poinsettia, still hanging on from Christmas. I have actually remembered so far to water it each week and it is doing well but for a few leaves that have browned, curled and fallen from the base of the plant. Still, not to shabby.

And, as usual for this time of the year, my salmon amaryllis (variety unknown-- a pass-along plant from one of my favorite families) has begun to bloom just when I need something to cheer me up against the long winter ahead. The plant itself looks stressed, but the blooms have begun and more are coming.

Other than that, I'm getting along by reading seed catalogs and dreaming of the sun on my back and the dirt underneath my nails. I can make it, I can!

Food Porn

2010-12-01T19:32:00.004-05:00

The Huffington Post Food Section has an interesting discussion today about Food Porn-- those luscious, almost-too-good-to-be-real photos you seen in some magazines and a lot of food blogs. There were a lot of very strong opinions expressed by the participants, and a lot of very... um...sensual comparisons of food porn with other porn.

What do you think? Do you like these images? Or do you think they are unrealistic and discouraging to those of us who are lucky if we get the food to taste as good as the recipe suggests, let alone look as good?

Me? I think that as long as you aren't anorexic and using the images as a substitute for really eating, food porn can't be bad. I like to look at photos of unblemished flowers and garden vegetables, too, but I don't actually expect my gardens to look like that. They just give me a goal to aspire to.

Daring Bakers October Challenge-- Doughnuts!

2010-10-27T17:06:00.003-04:00

I'm baaack!

I wasn't taking part in the Daring Bakers Challenges for a while. There were lots of reasons, mostly centering on my expanding waistline, and the hot, hot summer. But now that it is cooling down, I'm back in the mood to bake. (The waistline will just have to fend for itself!)

The October Challenge was Doughnuts! The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

The doughnuts could be cake style or yeast raised, but they had to be deep fried. I did the yeast-raised ones, of course. Check out the recipe here. (A word of warning... the recipe makes 24 doughnuts and as many doughnut holes, so, unless you have an army of company coming or a family of teenage boys, cut the recipe in half!)

The instructions said to wait until the doughnuts were completely cool before glazing. Hello! Like I was going to miss out on warm doughnuts with oozy-goozy glaze dripping between my fingers! Not in this girl's kitchen! And it was a good thing I didn't listen, because, while the warm doughnuts were to die for, the cool ones were merely OK. I took some warm ones to work and the rest are getting fed to the chickens, who love them!

I made a simple glaze with powdered sugar and heavy cream, flavored with a little vanilla.

Red Celery?

2010-10-17T09:21:00.004-04:00

A produce farm in Oviedo, Florida, has successfully developed a red celery-- well, red at the base anyway. They plan to test market it beginning in December in the west, northwest and southwest-- not in our area, in other words-- but we'll get it eventually. Will the red color get you to eat more celery? How about your kids?

Duda Farm Fresh Foods says the celery has the same great flavor and crunch, with a more interesting color. We eat with our eyes first, of course, but will our eyes tell us that this color just doesn't belong to celery? What happened to purple carrots? That was a development recently, but the carrots in my market (and on my table) are still orange.

Is the Ohio Valley ready for red celery? What do you think?

Cooking as Community

2010-10-06T20:51:00.004-04:00

"...once upon a time, before every home had its own kitchen in which Mom labored more or less alone, cooking was itself a social activity, one that fostered community and conversation around the chopping board or cook fire long before the meal was served." Michael Pollan, in the Sunday New York Times Magazine.

A few months ago a few friends, my husband, and I got together and cooked a meal, intending to do it on a more or less regular basis. Predictably, most of the cooking was done by the women, with most of the men deciding the high road was to stay out of the way. The menu was ambitious for a group who were not accustomed to chopping, simmering and working in cooperation with one another. But the results were delicious and everyone enjoyed the meal and the experience.

When we tried to schedule another one, it never worked out. Life just got in the way.

Kitchens these days are being designed with huge islands where guests and family could, if they chose to, have a glass of wine and help with (or at least watch) the food preparation. In many cases, they remain empty as we call out for pizza or eat fast food more evenings than not.

What would it take to bring back that community, that shared food experience that used to be so common? And would life be more fulfilling if we did?

Why not plan to gather some friends and some ingredients and make and share a meal? And let me know if you like it. It's a beginning...

Flour Heaven

2010-09-10T20:09:00.002-04:00

I got a box today filled with flour. 17 pounds of flour. I was in Heaven!

My local grocery stores carry all purpose flour, bread flour, and whole wheat flour. End of sentence. If I want to do a recipe with white whole wheat or semolina or buckwheat, well, too bad! So I bit the bullet and ordered flour from King Arthur. My mind immediately began to formulate my plan of attack. Homemade pasta, dessert bars with whole wheat pastry flour, semolina bread...

I think I'm not alone in my turning to breads, soups, and stews as the weather turns cooler. There is something about waking up to a day which calls for a long-sleeved shirt that says, "make some bread today." So I am armed with ingredients for the cool days ahead. Tomorrow, raisin bread.

Money Buys You Things

2010-09-10T19:31:00.003-04:00

To paraphrase playwright David Mamet, "Money is nice to have, because it buys you things." (Or, I would add, experiences.) Unless you are actually operating at a subsistence level, where you really have no options, you get to choose on what, and where, you spend your money. If, like some folks I know, you think that Wally World is the next best thing to sliced bread (an apt analogy, if ever I heard one) then the choice to spend the lion's share of your money there is the right one for you. If you like to have choices, though, then some more thoughtful choices need to be made.

I HATE Wally World! And I shop there twice a year, if not more, for the best prices on commodity items (like strands of 100-light Christmas lights.) But if I (as I do) like to have the option of going there for my stuff or elsewhere where the service is better and the quality is better and the choices certainly are better, then I had better think twice about choosing them as my go-to store for non-commodity items, like groceries or clothing, ...or plants.

Yes, I agree that we're sometimes brought to a standstill by the bewildering number of choices in things like petunias. But do you really want to only have the option of red or white or pink? Because if you spend most of your money at Wally World (and other big boxes), and the small businesses go out of business, then Wally World gets to choose what you will buy. And what you will not buy. Because they choose not to sell it to you.

Especially in this economy, you have enormous power. You have the "thumbs up or thumbs down" vote in the acropolis. Who survives, who dies? Do you want choices, or just low, low prices? The next time you are in your favorite "mom-and-pop" small business, ask yourself what you would miss if they weren't there any more. If this bothers you, then think long and hard before you drive by your local bakery/hardware store/garden center to drop a chunk of change at Wally World. The future is what you choose it to be.

5 Steps to Happiness

2010-08-31T21:36:00.003-04:00

What do we need to do to be happy?*

1. Connect. Form or foster relationships with friends and relatives.
2. Be active. Get outside and play or walk or move in some way.
3. Take notice. Of the seasons, of the world around us.
4. Keep learning. Study, or just be curious.
5. Give. Share what we have with those who need.

*Thanks to statistician Nic Marks and the folks at TED.

Sunday Supper of Buckwheat Pancakes

2010-08-29T18:34:00.004-04:00

I bought buckwheat flour a while back for a recipe I was making, so I thought I'd try making buckwheat pancakes for our Sunday supper. I had always imagined that buckwheat pancakes would be heavy and somewhat bitter. But I was quite surprised! These were much better than regular pancakes, with a pleasant complexity of flavor, and not heavy at all, but rather light and fluffy. The recipe is quick and easy, and makes about eight 6-inch pancakes.

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup buckwheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Whisk the egg, buttermilk and melted butter together in a medium bowl. Whisk the flours, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until blended. Pour 1/3 cup batter onto a hot griddle sprayed with cooking oil spray, flip when the edges are dry and cook on the other side until done. Repeat until all the batter is used. Serve with butter and syrup.

Facebook Knows Where You Are. Oh, Nooo...

2010-08-23T20:53:00.003-04:00

Some of my Facebook friends are sending messages back and forth, warning each other that Facebook Places will know where you are if you don't block them. Oh, nooo! That's terrible! Why would Facebook do that?

Well, let's see. Facebook spends lots of money to create a venue where we can all talk to each other and play games and have fun, right? And they just do that because they like us, right? Ummm, no.

Actually they want to know who you are and what things you like. And who your friends are and what they like. And where you all are. So that maybe if you are in the midwest and like football and drink Coke, they can tell the Pepsi Cola Company that maybe they should advertise on a midwest football game or something.

If you don't want Facebook to know stuff about you, don't use Facebook, Folks. You don't have to use it, life as we know it will still go on if you don't. If you use it, then deal with the fact that they will know stuff about you, probably much more than you realize that they know. That's the way it is.

July

2010-07-14T20:25:00.002-04:00

Well, the Holiday weekend is behind us. (You did have a safe 4th, didn't you?) And vacation season is here. What are you doing that is fun this summer? If you can't afford to go anywhere (join the club) at least get your mind-set in vacation mode. Turn off your cell-phone, unplug from Facebook, and just hang out. Do whatever is relaxing for you-- whether digging in the dirt, watching movies, or hanging out at your pool. It is more important how you decompress, than where.

Dang Deer and the Daylilies

2010-06-22T21:36:00.004-04:00

Just when I began to think this would be the best year ever for my daylilies (when will I ever learn to not think things like that?) the dang deer ate the flowers from the tops of many of them. DH sprayed them yesterday with Liquid Fence... which brings to mind the adage of the horse and the barn door... so maybe they will still have some flowers.

They have eaten brussels sprouts, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, and carrots (maybe that was a rabbit.) I am beginning to get discouraged.

Where Did May Go?

2010-06-16T21:36:00.002-04:00

June already? Where did May go? I apologize for not posting in all that time. I'll try to do better, Folks!

We've been eating out. A Lot. Busy, busy, busy, and tired when we get home, it just seems like the better choice to go somewhere and have someone else cook something for us. That's got to change. I have vegetables in my garden going bad because I'm not eating them. And more eggs than we could ever eat-- thank goodness some of the family help us out with that.

So, once more... a fresh start.

Grow Your Own

2010-04-29T21:25:00.003-04:00

If you are thinking about growing your own fresh veggies this year, and you are in zone 5/6, it's time to plant the cold season crops-- broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, kale-- so you have an early crop of veggies coming. Till the soil until it is loose and friable, plant with a little starter fertilizer, grab the wok and stand by. (My DH always accuses me of doing that.)

You can also seed down lettuces, radishes, carrots, beets-- short of having a share in a CSA or a direct line to a local farmer's market, it doesn't get much fresher than that.

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and such (the "warm season" crops) will need to wait until all danger of frost is past.

Do yourself and your family's health a favor this year and grow your own, even if you only have a couple of big pots on a patio or deck to grow in.

First Batch of Pesto

2010-04-17T19:17:00.003-04:00

I made my first batch of pesto of the season today from the cuttings we took from the basil plants growing on for sale in the greenhouse. When they begin to get tall and lush, we cut them back so they become shorter and more branched and lush. And that means someone (this time me) gets the cuttings to make pesto. Yummy green-ness now resides in my refrigerator and freezer.

I wash the basil leaves in cool water and spin them dry in my salad spinner. Then I put four packed cups of basil, 4 Tbsp of pine nuts, 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) in my food processor. (You could use a blender, but you'll have to scrape the sides of the blender more often.) I process until it looks pretty well chopped, scraping the sides down as needed. Then I add more EVOO a little at a time until it is a little thinner than I want the final result.

If I'm going to use it right away, I add a cup of freshly-grated parmesan cheese and stir in by hand until blended. If I'm not going to use it right away, I put it into a plastic or glass container and cover it with a thin layer of EVOO to keep the surface from darkening, and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Then I add the grated cheese right before I'm ready to serve it.

The Great Houseplant Census of 2010

2010-02-07T15:11:00.006-05:00

I am having garden withdrawal symptoms today. I am reading garden blogs to help me get over it, since my garden is covered with 18+ inches of snow. I decide to take part in the Great Houseplant Census of 2010, suggested by Mr. McGregor's Daughter.

I don't do well with houseplants, or with any plants not installed in the ground, really. If I take a potted plant home with the intention of planting it in the near future, it has a 50-50 chance of actually surviving until I get it planted. We call the landing spot for these poor devils "The Patio of Death."

As far as indoor plants, so far this year I have killed (or neglected to the point that my DH took the poor thing and put it out of its misery) a rosemary plant and a poinsettia. This is a story of the Survivors.

I have a pot of amaryllis-- a neat small-scale bloomer in a soft orange color-- that was passed along to us by a friend, who is an old-fashioned gardener with the experience to prove it. It just quit blooming this past week and my DH cut it back and watered it. Not much to look at right now, but a knock-out when it blooms!

I have a Thanksgiving cactus that I keep in the guest room (a room where we keep the heat and light off when nobody is visiting) and water when I think of it. It actually has a few buds on it right now, but they usually fall off before they amount to anything at this time of the year. It is my oldest houseplant-- probably 10 years old at this point.

Two pothos hanging baskets flank the bay window in the living room. This window faces north and is quite cool, and provides a home for most of my indoor plants in the winter. (The rosemary died here.) The pothos are losing a lot of leaves right now, and I'm beginning to worry about them, but for now they are alive.

I have a bay plant that spent the summer on the patio and is still looking good in the bay window. (Oh! Bay plant in a bay window!)

I have a navel orange plant that I hope will become a patio specimen plant at some point is doing pretty well in the bay window. It survived a hail storm on the patio this past year, and deserves to make it! Some of the leaves are a little chopped up, but until I put it back outside I am reluctant to cut off the damaged parts.

And, finally, I have two actual "houseplants" that I bought in a moment of weakness at a garden center owned by some friends. They are a sanseveria cylindrica, an unusual style of "mother-in-law's tongue" that looked like I couldn't kill it, and an unnamed succulent I just liked.

So that makes a grand total of 8 plants that are living indoors with me right now.

Nanaimo Bars: Daring Bakers Challenge for January

2010-02-06T10:51:00.007-05:00

Yes, I know I am way late for a January Challenge. DH and I are trying to eat less sweets, you see, and our business is closed, you see, and there is no hungry group of staffers to help us eat them. So I waited to make them until I had a hungry group of friends that I could share them with, at a get-together that happens the first Friday of each month. Foiled again! It snowed 8 inches by the time I was supposed to leave to go to the meeting (and an additional 10 inches since then) and I didn't get to go after all. So now I have 12 more yummy nanaimo bars calling to me from my refrigerator. (Sigh...)

Anyway, to get to the Challenge...

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and http://www.nanaimo.ca/.

The nanaimo bar (pronounced nuh-ny-moh) is a traditional Canadian cookie. (The Daring Bakers chose this bar in honor of the Winter Olympics slated to begin soon in Vancouver.) It is a 3-layer bar cookie built on the first layer which is a combination of butter, sugar, cocoa, egg, graham cracker crumbs, almonds and coconut. But the Daring Bakers never do anything the "easy" way, so the first step is to make the graham crackers. You can find the recipe for the graham crackers here. The recipe called for making gluten free graham crackers, but gave us the option of making them with wheat flour if we wanted. Since unusual flours are hard to come by in my area, I chose to do them with wheat.

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers

Ingredients

1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)

3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour

1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour

1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed

1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda

3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt

7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)

1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.

5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk

2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

If making the graham crackers with wheat, replace the gluten-free flours (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and sorghum flour) with 2 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp of all-purpose wheat flour, or wheat pastry flour. Watch the wheat-based graham wafers very closely in the oven, as they bake faster than the gluten-free ones, sometimes only 12 minutes.

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.

2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.

4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.

7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.

8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.

9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

I put them a little close together on the baking sheet, and ended up with one giant graham cracker, but I was able to cut them apart where they were "scored" and since I was going to use the crumbs anyway, the shape wasn't really that critical. If you decide to make the graham crackers to eat as cookies, though, you need to put them an inch or so apart on the baking sheets.

After they cooled, I put them in my food processor and ground them into crumbs. Then I proceeded with the nanaimo bar recipe, which you can find here.

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer

1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter

1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar

5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa

1 Large Egg, Beaten

1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)

1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)

1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer

1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter

2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream

2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)

2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Confectioners Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer

4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate

2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:

1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.

2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.

3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

They turned out to be really good, sweet and rich, as much like a candy as a cookie. Make them as a Winter Olympics Party treat. (You can start with store-bought graham crackers to make it simpler, of course, but where's the "challenge" in that?)

Barefoot Bloggers Creme Brulee- A Little Late

2009-12-12T19:43:00.007-05:00

The Early November Challenge from the Barefoot Bloggers was Ina's Creme Brulee from Barefoot In Paris. I was all ready for making it last month, right on schedule, then I found out that my torch (to caramelize the topping) didn't come with any butane. So out we went on a search for butane, finally finding it at a kitchen shop outlet store miles from our house. Then Thanksgiving came, and with it all the cooking craziness, and it got pushed back again.

Today I finally made it. It was a success from the get-go, easy and as good, if not better, than any I've had in any restaurant. You can find the recipe here. Buy the torch (and some butane) and have at it! It is really a great special dessert for a nice dinner, and not that hard. Just leave some time for the cooling and chilling.

It's not a low calorie dessert, though. I figure it at about 900 calories a portion! So save it for a special occasion, or enjoy it on an otherwise low-calorie day.

The Latest Adventures of Chicken Mama!

2009-12-08T19:59:00.003-05:00

I have 13 hens in my chicken coop, and on Sunday I got a Grand Slam-- 13 eggs! Organic eggs from happy chickens. Doesn't get much better than that!

Then on Monday I think an alien chicken invaded my coop. In addition to 8 regular sized eggs, I got a mini egg, a little larger than a robin's egg. I don't know how I'll cook it yet, sunny side up? If I scramble it, it would fill a thimble-- maybe. (Grin.)

Daring Bakers French Macaroons

2009-10-26T21:44:00.003-04:00

The October Daring Bakers Challenge was French Macarons or Macaroons. French macaroons are very different from what Americans think of as macaroons-- a chewy, mostly coconut cookie. These are a combination of ground almonds, egg whites, sugar and flavorings, sandwiched with a filling of our choice. They are light, like angel kisses.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

I ground the almonds in my food processor, then added the confectioners sugar and ground them again, to get the "almond flour" as fine as I could. The cookies are baked in two stages-- once at a low temperature for just a few minutes to dry the bottom of the cookie, then at a higher temperature for the remaining time. This results in a "foot" that doesn't rise as much as the rest of the cookie, which creates the distinctive macaroon shape.

I made the cookie recipe with no added flavors (flavors or zests were optional) and filled them with a chocolate almond ganache. The cookies at first were a contrast in textures-- a crispy cookie and a creamy chocolate filling. But as they sat, the cookie softened to a texture that just dissolved in my mouth. Yum!

You can find the recipe and directions for the cookies here.

Ingredients

Confectioners’ sugar: 2 ¼ cups

Almond flour: 2 cups

Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons

Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F.

Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl.

If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip. You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.

5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).

6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F. Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

7. Cool on a rack before filling.

The ganache recipe follows:

5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 Cup heavy cream, scalded

1/4 tsp almond extract

Put the chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the hot scalded cream over the chocolate and mix until blended. Add the almond extract, and mix to blend. Chill until the ganache is thick enough to spread, then put a liberal amount between each pair of macaroons.

The recipe made about 2 dozen filled cookies for me-- I must have made them larger than the directions called for. But they were delicious nonetheless!

Beatty's Cake, Redux

2009-10-24T18:32:00.003-04:00

I was telling a friend about Beatty's cake (that I made for Barefoot Bloggers in September) and she requested that I bring it to our Dirty Dozen Garden Club covered dish get-together tomorrow. So I made it again, and of course it turned out not quite as pretty as the last time. (Things only turn out pretty when I basically just make it for us to eat, not when I'm bringing it somewhere.)

I hope it tastes as good as the last time, since I've been raving about it being the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted. (I find most chocolate cakes to be dry and one-dimensional as far as the flavor is concerned.)

Wish me luck!

Beatty's Chocolate Cake, Barefoot Bloggers September

2009-09-24T22:06:00.003-04:00

When we taste most things we try, we say, " this is a keeper" or "not so good." After this cake, we said, "Oooh! This is really good!"

The Barefooot Bloggers late September recipe was Beatty's Chocolate Cake, from Barefoot Contessa At Home. Go here for the recipe.

This was a pretty straightforward recipe for a dark chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. The thing that makes it different, that makes it "over the top," is the undertone of coffee. This is moist, sweet and delicious! And complex-- lots going on there. This is definitely a keeper.

Jan's Corn Muffins

2009-09-21T18:54:00.004-04:00

The cornbread I usually make for the Harvestfest, while good, is very labor-intensive. So I'm determined to find an alternative that I can add/substitute next year to make the Saturday before the Harvestfest a little less stressful. I liked these, but they probably won't be a general favorite. (I like breads with a little more complexity to them than the typical white-bread lover does.) They are from The Dairy Hollow House Cookbook, by Crescent Dragonwagon.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Blend:

1 egg

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)

Combine

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

Pour the buttermilk/vinegar mixture into the egg/honey/oil mixture.

Mix

1/2 tsp salt

1Tbsp baking powder

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

Add dry ingredients to moist ones, stir just enough to combine. Fill 12 Pam-ed muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes.

Cornbread

2009-09-19T20:45:00.003-04:00

I spent the day making 10 pounds of bean soup and 8 loaves of cornbread. The cornbread is from Crescent Dragonwagon and the Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Cookbook. I've been making it for years, and it is my go-to cornbread for our Harvestfest and any soup suppers that include bean soup.

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola or other mild vegetable oil

3 T sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1/4 tsp baking soda in the buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Measure out the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, and stir to combine.

In a second, smaller bowl, mix the oil, sugar and egg until blended.

In a third bowl, add the baking soda to the buttermilk, and mix to combine.

In an 8- or 9-inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter over med high heat. While the butter melts, pour the buttermilk mixture into the oil mixture until blended, then add the liquids to the dry ingredients, mixing with a whisk just until blended. (Don't overmix!)

With a spatula, scrape the cornbread batter into the the sizzling melted butter in the skillet, and immediately put into the oven. Bake at 375 degress for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand for 3 minutes, then cover the skillet with a large plate and turn the cornbread out onto the plate. Let cool and serve, or overwrap with foil while still slightly warm.

Daring Cooks September Challenge

2009-09-16T18:08:00.003-04:00

The Daring Cooks Challenge this month was to make a vegan, gluten free main dish (or appetizer, depending on the size we made) of Indian dolmas with a chickpea filling and coconut curry sauce. Check out the recipe and directions here.

I made the dish in reverse, starting with the sauce. I combined the garlic and onions with the spices and cooked tham until they were soft and fragrant. I added the flour (I used buckwheat in place of the spelt, since I knew I would never use the rest of the bag of spelt and I would use buckwheat flour for buckwheat pancakes-- the idea was to be gluten free and buckwheat flour fills this requirement) and cooked it with the vegetables and spices to make a roux, then added the vegetable broth and coconut milk and stirred to make a smooth sauce. I added the tomatoes and simmered for 30 minutes. The resulting sauce was fragrant and looked just like the picture in the directions from Debyi who chose the recipe. Woo-hoo! One down and two to go!

Next I tackled the filling. I cooked the chopped vegetables with the garlic and spices until it had cooked down into a thick filling. (I substituted jalapeno peppers for the Hungarian mediums hot ones called for, since that is what I had in my garden.) I added the mashed chickpeas (I mashed them by hand so that some texture of the chickpeas would remain) and the tomato paste and cooked it all until thick.

Then I made the dosas, which are like buckwheat crepes. (I used soy milk.) Some of the Daring Bakers had trouble with these, but mine came out beautifully whole and perfectly cooked. Three for three! High five!

I put them all together and plated them, and took their glamour shot, and then we dug in. The resulting dish was... filling.

Beautiful, but bland.

Fragrant, but disappointing.

The sauce, which had 2 cups of coconut milk in it, had no flavor at all. The filling, which had minced jalapeno peppers in it, had no heat at all. It tasted good, but really was not the spicy dish we were expecting from the wonderful smells coming from my kitchen all afternoon.

Maybe it would have improved over night, as many tomato-based dishes do, but I dumped the rest without taking up the space in the fridge to find out. Not one of my better results.

Barefoot Bloggers September

2009-09-12T13:37:00.003-04:00

Well, this month marks my first foray into another online cooking group: The Barefoot Bloggers. (I know, I know, like I need another excuse to cook more goodies!) This group makes dishes from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and you all should know by now that she is in contention for my favorite Food Network cook, along with Giada and Tyler. So, without further ado we have her Birthday Sheet Cake from Barefoot Contessa Family Style.

This recipe made me aware for the first time that the pan I have always assumed was a sheet cake pan, probably isn't, as the batter went up, up, up and over the sides of the pan into the bottom of my oven, where it began to smoke. It didn't set off the smoke alarm, thank Goodness.

The recipe was pretty straightforward and easy. The resulting combination of flavors of the lemony cake and the deep chocolate frosting will never be my favorite, but I have to admit, the combination is growing on me. The frosting is a chocolate lover's dream, though, and I think I'll try it on a chocolate cake next time, because it is so easy and good.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2009-09-07T13:48:00.006-04:00

...or, in this case, mealy textured peaches, make Peach Blueberry Crumbles!

We were out and about in the Amish Country last week and stopped at a roadside market for some fresh peaches. The ones they had for sale were marked "Jersey Peaches." The sad fact is that the peach crop in Eastern Ohio was wiped out by the late cold snaps we had, and Jersey peaches were all that they were carrying for sale. But my husband loves a good fresh peach, so we gave them a try. Disappointed doesn't even touch the feeling he had when he took the first bite. So, what to do with the peaches so they didn't have to be thrown away...

I went to Google and typed in "peach recipe" and up popped Peach & Blueberry Crumbles, from Barefoot Contessa at Home. Bingo! Peaches, blueberries and Ina Garten, my favorite TV cook. It doesn't get much better than that.

RECIPE:

For the fruit

6-8 fresh peaches
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the Crumble

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First I plunged the peaches into boiling water in my blancher for 30 seconds, then into ice water to loosen the skins, which peeled away easily. I sliced them into thick wedges and placed them in a bowl with the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar and flour, and tossed them well. Then I gently mixed in the blueberries, and let the fruit mixture sit for 5 minutes before dividing it up evenly among 6 ramekins. (mine were 7 ounce size-- 8 ounce would have been better.)

Then I made the topping by combining the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and butter and working it into a sandy crumble with my fingers, and sprinkled it evenly over the fruit in the ramekins.

I put the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and baked them for 40 minutes until the tops were brown and crisp and the juices were bubbly. I cooled them slightly and served them with a generous scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Daring Bakers Challenge Dobos Torte

2009-08-30T22:18:00.004-04:00

Well, this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was less than a success for this Daring Baker.

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

I began this challenge by making a yummy chocolate buttercream frosting, which turned out great! I put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Then I made 6 thin layers of sponge cake and let them cool. Here is where the trouble began. I got a little bit of egg yolk in the egg whites and they didn't get light and fluffy when I whipped them. So instead of 6 layers of spong cake, I got, well, 6 layers of sponge. Very chewy, not at all light. It made the cake more like 6 crepes with buttercream in between the layers-- not that there is anything wrong with that. I happen to like crepes. But I don't think that's the result the recipe creator had in mind.

The third part was a caramel topping to add to the top layer of sponge cake. I really don't know what happened to that. I followed the directions exactly, but I ended up with a hard caramel, like a hard candy. Why anyone would put that on top of a cake, I don't know. I tried it, but there was no way it could be chewed. So I removed it and added more buttercream and chopped hazelnuts to the top. It was definitely tasty, though chewy.

Here is the recipe:

Sponge cake layers

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
pinch of salt

Chocolate Buttercream

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping

1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

Finishing touches

a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)
4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

Bread Pudding (Made with Challah)

2009-07-05T11:41:00.010-04:00

At the Main Street Farmers' Market in Washington, PA, held every Thursday from 3-6 PM, The Wood Street Bread Company sells the most wonderful challah. It is a huge glossy braided loaf that the two of us cannot eat all of before it gets moldy-- it's made with no preservatives added. I usually take half of the loaf to work, where it gets eaten with no problem. This week I decided to freeze some cubes of challah to make bread pudding, and I am really glad I did. Yum-O! as one famous cook would say.

Here's the recipe:

1 # challah, cubed

8 lg eggs

3 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups sugar (white, brown or a combination of the two)

1 Tbsp good vanilla extract

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup raisins (or dried cherries)

Butter a 9x13 baking dish or spray with cooking spray.

Combine everything but the bread and raisins and mix well.

Add the bread and mix in, then the raisins.

Pour into the buttered dish and refrigerate 2 hours, or overnight.

When ready to bake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes. (A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.)

Serve warm or cold, with whipped cream if you want it really over the top.

My Snap Pea Harvest

2009-06-28T10:38:00.003-04:00

On June 17th, somewhere between 8 and 9 PM, an 8-minute hailstorm preceeded by torrential rains destroyed my vegetable gardens, hosta collector's garden, and perennial borders. (Not to mention the roof of my house, garden shed, and chicken coop and the screens on the back side of my house, the security light and fascia above my garage.) We are still working on the clean up and negotiating with insurance adjusters, but yesterday I harvested my 2009 snap pea crop. This is the entire crop, pictured here.

"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!"

Daring Bakers Challenge for June: Bakewell Tart

2009-06-27T23:55:00.003-04:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

I followed the directions all the way on this one, and my tart was less than successful. The flavor was wonderful, but the tart, while browned almost too much on the outside, was still runny on the inside.

I used peach/blueberry jam from a vendor at my local Farmers Market instead of making an entire batch of jam just to have a cup to use for this recipe.

I'll try the recipe again, to see if I can detect any mistakes I made on this one, but I just don't think it worked for me as it should have. I've checked out other Daring Bakers' posts (just enter "daring bakers bakewell tart" into your search engine of choice) and the ones most of the bakers made came out baked through and cookie-like. (Check out this beautiful one and get the recipe and directions there while you are at it.)

Daring Cooks Challenge: Pot Stickers

2009-06-14T19:21:00.003-04:00

This month's Daring Cooks Challenge was to make pot stickers. My husband was really happy with this challenge, since he loves pot stickers. (The gnocchi last month, not so much.) They took a little longer to make than I thought. I started at 2:30 figuring I could serve them for dinner at 5:30-- well dinner was about an hour late, but they were worth the wait. Everything was easy, but rolling out and pleating 36 little dumplings was a time-consuming process. I cooked half for dinner and I'm going to try to freeze the rest for another meal.

The filling included ground pork, chopped shrimp, minced green onions, minced gingerroot, sesame oil, cornstarch and salt. Luckily I rechecked the recipe right before I began to fill the dumplings and realized I had forgotten the chopped water chestnuts (you'll notice they are not in the ingredient photo.)

The dough was a basic flour and water mixture, formed into little disks and rolled out into thin rounds about 3-4 inches across. The filling is spooned onto the middle of the dough round, and then the edges are brought together and pleated into little pockets.

After the dumplings were formed they were cooked. The options for cooking included steaming (I did mine in a bamboo steamer) and pan frying. I did some both ways, being certain that I would prefer the pan-fried ones, since this is the way I had always had them cooked in the past. It turns out that I liked the steamed ones better! The flavors seemed fresher and brighter and they didn't seem quite as heavy as the pan fried version.I made a simple dipping sauce from soy sauce, red wine vinegar and sesame oil, and we managed to eat all 17 of the ones I cooked. And they were good! This recipe is definitely a keeper!Here is the recipe:

shrimp filling:
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

dough:
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough:
Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water

Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes.

Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side .Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

Cream Colored Ponies and Crisp Apple Streudels

2009-05-27T08:52:00.006-04:00

The May Daring Bakers Challenge is apple streudel! This was a tasty challenge, and not as complicated as the recipe/directions made it seem like it would be. It actually went together quite smoothly for me.

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

The dough was a simple mixture of flour, salt, water, oil and a touch of cider vinegar. I mixed it in my Kitchenaid mixer and then kneaded it for a while by hand. The directions say to knead it on an unfloured surface, but I needed a little flour to keep it from sticking. (Otherwise the only way to knead it on the second stroke was to scrape it off the counter with my dough scraper. )

After the dough rested, covered, for 90 minutes, I rolled it out on a floured tablecloth until it was very large and thin. The dough was soft and elastic, and rolled pretty well without tearing. I couldn't get it to be quite as large as the directions called for, so my strudle was a little shorter and fatter than it should have been. I covered it first with melted butter, then a layer of toasted bread crumbs. These act as a separator to keep the layers of dough from sticking together, allowing air to get between them to make them flaky.
I covered the crumb layer with a layer of walnuts, then the mixture of apples, rum-soaked raisins, cinnamon and sugar. The filling isn't heavily sweetened, and this results in a lighter, fresher taste than a pie would have.

The dough stretched over the filling easily without tearing. Then I used the tablecloth to roll the streudel over itself, maying layers of pastry as it rolled. I rolled it right onto the parchment-lined baking pan. No muss, no fuss.
I brushed melted butter on the outside of the roll and popped it into the oven.

It came out crusty and golden. I brushed it with a glaze of confectioners sugar, water and vanilla to make it shiny.

When it was still warm, I had a bite. Very good, light and flaky.

The recipe says it is best eaten right away, and that is my only complaint about the resulting streudel. It was very good immediately after I took it from the oven and it cooled to just warm. Later that night when we actually ate some for dessert, it had begun to get soggy, and the next day it was very soggy! But the flavor was still wonderful! So if you are making it for guests, don't make this one ahead. An hour or two before you serve it would be my suggestion.

Here is the recipe:

Apple strudel from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum

3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided

1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs

strudel dough (recipe below)

1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts

2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking-- I used Granny Smiths)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel doughfrom “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Chicken Mama

2009-05-19T18:47:00.004-04:00

I am now a chicken mama. 26 balls of fluff arrived on Monday at my Post Office. God bless small town post offices, the postmaster lady had covered the box up with her coat to keep them warm.

They are happily eating, drinking and pooping in their temporary quarters (a shallow stock trough borrowed from a friend.) This weather has been a challenge-- they are supposed to be kept at 95 degrees for the first week, but with the weather varying from 70's during the day to 30's at night, it's hard to get it to stay at that temperature. It gets to be 70 at night and 110 during the day. Probably not good, but what do I know? I'm new at this. Luckily, so are they.

I have 25 (female, I hope) Buff Orpingtons and one freebie, which is probably a Polish. It is gray with a yellow pom pom on its head-- a strange looking one, to be sure. I am raising them for the eggs, mostly. I may cull some out this fall if it looks like I have too many to overwinter, but that's really not the purpose at this point. I'll keep you posted on the continuing saga of "Chicken Mama."

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day May 2009

2009-05-15T19:23:00.010-04:00

Have I got the "blues"? Well, this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, that's a good thing. Check out the veronica (left photo) and centaurea (AKA mountain bluet) on the right. Don't they just knock your socks off?

My garden seems to be between flushes of flowers at the moment. The early spring is a blaze of daffodils of many colors, sizes and shapes. Then the late spring is a mixture of peonies and irises. Right now, the herbaceous peonies are just budded, waiting for the sun to open them, and just a few iris are blooming, with more waiting in the wings. Tree peonies are beginning to put on a show now, along with veronica, centaurea, the early geraniums, and a giant allium or two.

Buttercups, though they can be a nuisance, are bright and cheery right now. Chives are blooming, and lily of the valley puts out fragrant bells in the dry shade in front of my house.

Also in bloom are the Stewartsonian azalea and the spirea (just past their prime). The Exbury azalea, in a sherbet yellow color, is in full glory.

First Ever! Daring Cooks Challenge. Ricotta Gnocchi

2009-05-13T23:25:00.005-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you... drum roll, please... the first ever Daring Cooks Challenge!

You know about the Daring Bakers. I've blogged about all the yummy sweet and savory things I've baked with them for the past year or so.

But now there's a new wrinkle. The Daring Bakers have become part of the Daring Kitchen, and the other part is The Daring Cooks. And, since I had nothing better to do with the spare 15 minutes a week I have, I decided to do that, too. (Am I crazy, or what?)

The first ever challenge is Ricotta Gnocchi. (The recipe is from Judy Rogers and the Zuni Cafe Cookbook.) I never even made potato gnocchi, so this was all new to me. The ricotta was supposed to be fresh, rather than the kind from the grocery in the plastic tub. But, as you know, I don't live near a grocery store that has ever heard of fresh ricotta, and I really am too strapped for time this month to make my own. (I will try that some time soon, though.) So, I used the tub of ricotta, and hoped for the best.

The first step was to drain the ricotta overnight to get as much of the liquid out as possible. The next day I added two lightly beaten cold eggs to the ricotta mixture, and a tablespoon of melted butter (not margarine--eww!) Then I added some freshly grated nutmeg (just a pinch or two) and 1/2 ounce of Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated. The batter was soft, like grainy egg custard. I must not have got as much of the moisture out of the ricotta as I was supposed to. About now I was beginning to have my doubts about my chances of success with gnocchi.

I tried to take a small spoonful of it and roll it in flour as directed. Imagine dropping a spoonful of custard into a pile of flour and rolling it into a dumpling shape. It came out as a shapeless lumpy pile of mush, but I cooked a trial one, thinking maybe it would magically get solid as it cooked. Ha! It dissolved into the water, which now looked as though I had poached some eggs and removed them from the pan, and had the little squiggles of egg white still floating in the water. I dug out the cooked mush and tasted it-- it was really good! But the texture and shape needed a lot of work.

I tried adding egg white, as the recipe suggested, and that just made everything wetter. I chilled the mixture, but then I just had cold grainy egg custard. Thank Heaven for the Daring Baker blog-- some other folks had ended up with a wet dough, and had added some flour. I added 1/2 cup of sifted all purpose flour and Bingo! The dumplings rolled out of the flour looking like gnocchi. I cooked a test gnocchi, and found that it held together beautifully and still tasted wonderful, but was a little more dense-- which suited me just fine, since I like pasta to be a little more al dente than mushy.

I chilled them for an hour or so (more like three hours actually) and then cooked half of them, and served them with a garlic butter sauce. Yum! The rest I froze, and I'll have them with pesto sauce at another meal.

Here is the recipe:

For the gnocchi:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi

Daring Bakers April Challenge: Cheesecake!

2009-04-27T21:01:00.008-04:00

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I love cheesecake! I've made it before, but always the baked in a pie pan shortcut version. I love that cheesecake, too. But the Daring Bakers never do anything the short-cut way. This was the bake-in-a-springform pan with a water bath, honest-to-god cheesecake. We had to follow the recipe for the cake, but we could add our own touch with the flavorings in the cake and with the topping.

I wanted to take it as a dessert for my friends in my garden club this past weekend, and I wanted the dessert to have a fresh spring flavor, so I made a blueberry/orange sauce and added orange liqueur to the cake as a flavoring. The result was yummy and light for a cheesecake. My friends said I would have won the prize for best dessert-- if there was a prize.

Here is the recipe:

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:

2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs

1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted

2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake (I used Triple Sec)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Blueberry/Orange Sauce

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups water

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2T Triple Sec (or Grand Marnier)

1 Tbsp orange zest

2 cups blueberries, washed and checked for stems

1 1/2 Tbsp butter (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, water, orange juice, liqueur and zest. Cook, stirring often, until thickened (about 5 minutes).

2. Stir in the blueberries and cook mixture until the berries burst, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and add the butter if using. Let cool, then spread over the cheesecake, or serve as a sauce on the side.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day April

2009-04-15T20:14:00.002-04:00

Well, it's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Unfortunately, it rained cats and dogs all day at my place. So no photos of beautiful flowers today. Maybe I'll do Garden Bloggers Bloom Day Plus One, or Two.

We bought all the equipment today that we'll need for the little chickies next month. A waterer, feeder, light and bulb, thermometer, wood shavings, and chick mash. They had some day-old chicks at the farm store-- cute, cute, cute! Little yellow balls of fluff, tumbling all over each other, eating and drinking and pooping-- basically doing the things that chicks do. Made me look forward to the day when I'll have my own little gals.

Daring Bakers March Challenge: Lasagna

2009-03-28T20:06:00.006-04:00

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was a little different. Instead of a bread or a dessert, we baked lasagna. Find the complete recipe below. We made the noodles with fresh spinach, flour and eggs, the bechamel sauce and ragu from scratch. This lasagna was a change from what I am used to, which is a saucy oozy cheesy lasagna, more sauce than noodles. This lasagna is a less-is-more blend of thin layers of bechamel, noodles and ragu.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

The noodles were a challenge all by themselves. Fresh spinach was washed and chopped. Flour was measured into a pile, a well was made in the center, and three eggs and the chopped spinach were mixed together, gradually pulling in the flour into the mixture. The dough was kneaded together into a smooth ball and allowed to rest, covered, for two hours while the bechamel and ragu were made.

Then the noodles were rolled out as thinly as possible and sliced. The coarse fresh spinach made the dough very difficult for me to roll out. My noodles came out much thicker than they were supposed to be. The noodles were allowed to dry overnight, then cooked the next day. I had doubts about them being too chewy in the resulting lasagna, since I had to cook them for nearly 12 minutes and they were still not to al dente stage, but they came out just fine.

The lasagna went together easily, and turned out quite nicely. I probably won't ever do this again, but I'm glad I did it once.

RECIPE and Directions:

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)

(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

MethodWorking Ahead:

The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:

Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand.
Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove.
Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:

Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender.

Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:

Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese.

Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:

Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes
Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment
A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.
A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.
A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.

Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.
A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.
Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:

Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:

With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:

If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm).

Note:

Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)

Preparation Time:

Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours
Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Working Ahead:
The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base:

Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering:

Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

White House Kitchen Garden

2009-03-22T11:54:00.004-04:00

Well, it's official! There will be a (substantial) kitchen garden on the White House Lawn. Michelle Obama helped break the ground on Friday, making the dream of many people (Alice Waters, Michael Pollan among them) a reality. With this time of financial uncertainty, concerns about food safety, and an epidemic of obesity, the day was long overdue.

The vegetables, fruits and herbs will be used in meals served to the first family and their guests in the White House, and any excess will be donated to a local food pantry. This has the potential to get the "eat local" movement some additional momentum-- and that is a great news for sellers of garden seeds and plants. It will help farmers markets as well, as folks begin to shop for those veggies and fruits thay haven't been able to grow for themselves.

I'm sure there will be critics of the plan springing up like dandelions, but I say, "Good job!"

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day March 15, 2009

2009-03-15T13:11:00.007-04:00

Hey, hey, hey! It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day again and I finally have something blooming outside (and a pot of blooming cheerfulness inside!) Yellow crocus are popping up all over in the patio garden and the long perennial borders. I used to have white and purple, too, but the deer eat them and leave the yellow ones alone, for the most part. (Anyone know why?)

Daffodils and day lilies are poking up already, but they are a long way from blooming. The daffodils will be pictured here next month, I'll bet.

And inside, on my table, a big bowl of yellow violas. Aren't their little blossoms cheerful?

Chocolate Valentino-- The Daring Bakers Challenge for February

2009-03-01T11:59:00.007-05:00

The Daring Bakers came up with a fairly easy challenge for us this month. It is called a Chocolate Valentino-- a dessert unlike any I've ever made before. It looks like a cake. It feels like a brownie when you touch the top and sides. It has the texture of a chocolate souffle. And the flavor? Heaven! The recipe comes from Chef Wan's Sweet Treats. (I don't think the book is available in the US-- sorry!)

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Along with the Valentino, I made Wendy's Philadelphia Style Vanilla homemade ice cream to serve with it. I followed a recipe that was a lot easier than the vanilla ice cream recipe I usually use. Find the recipe at the end of the post.

Chocolate Valentino

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter

5 large eggs separated

The Valentino was quick to make. I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bars (the kind of chocolate we used was up to us.) The cake basically tastes like whatever chocolate you use, so the better the quality of the chocolate, the better the cake. Ghirardelli was the best I could find. (I live in an area where there are no good food stores like Whole Foods.) Next time I'll order Scharffen Berger on line.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

First you coarsely chop the chocolate and combine it with the unsalted butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. (Don't let the water boil or touch the bottom of the bowl.) Mix the butter and chocolate together as they melt, and when they are all melted and blended, remove the bowl from the pan of water and let cool.

Next I buttered a deep 8 inch cake pan, lined it with a round of parchment and buttered that.

I separated the 5 room temperature eggs, and beat the whites in an oil-free bowl until stiff peaks formed. (Don't let them get dry, or your cake will be dry.)

Next I beat the yolks until smooth and creamy and blended them into the cooled butter/chocolate mixture. Then I folded in 1/3 of the egg whites gently, then the remainder, folding only until no white remained. (Don't overmix or you'll deflate the whites-- the egg whites are what makes the cake light and airy.)

Then I baked the cake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. The cake is ready when an instant-read thermometer reads 140 degrees in the center of the cake. (It will still be wet in the middle.) I let it cool for 10 minutes and then removed it from the pan onto my serving plate. I let it cool completely and then served it with the homemade vanilla ice cream. Gooood!

The ice cream recipe is below. Thanks, Wendy! Check out her blog here.

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe

Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

2 cups (473 ml) of half and half

1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream

2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar

Dash of salt

1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.

Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

Got Eggs?

2009-02-20T21:19:00.004-05:00

Have you ever tasted an egg fresh from the hen that laid it? I'm lucky to have some friends who raise chickens, and now and then I get some fresh eggs, usually in trade for something that I have that they want-- like a bottle of homemade wine, or some venison trail bologna. (Don't knock it if you haven't tried it!)

But this fall I'll begin to have my own eggs from my own chickens. I've ordered a chicken coop to be delivered soon. (My DH is good at building, but short on time and patience, so I thought a ready-made coop was the way to go. Obviously, I'm not raising chickens for the money savings, but rather for the healthy eggs and the sense of independence, in some small way, from the grocery store/factory egg farms.)

I'll be raising Buff Orpingtons, a docile breed that is friendly and lays well in the wintertime.

Plans for the Veggie Garden

2009-02-14T15:03:00.002-05:00

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future. My blog post before this one bemoaned the fact that December was gone, and now January is gone, and half of February. Eek! (Happy Valentines Day, by the way!)

The huge piles of snow are gone here, finally, and despite the snow flurries we had today, I am cautiously optimistic about the coming of spring. My table is getting covered with piles of garden catalogs, and I've circled waaay more items than I have space or energy to plant. So I need to begin to edit. I love choosing-- editing, not so much.

My DH has promised to build me some more raised beds in the Taj-ma-garden (my fenced garden that is quite big, and only partly filled with beds.) My goal is to grow a lot more of our food this year, for lots of reasons. Food safety, food freshness, food variety (my grocery store carries very little in the way of fresh herbs and non-typical fruits and vegetables) fresh air and exercise, and just the satisfaction of growing it myself. Now if I can only afford a way to keep the deer from eating it all before I have a chance to pick it. (Deer fencing, while effective, can get mighty expensive when the area being fenced is as large as mine is.)

We have espaliered pear trees outside the fence along one long side of the garden, an asparagus patch on one short side, and a pair of hardy kiwi vines growing up the archway that marks the entrance to the second long side. This year I'd like to add blueberry bushes and some grapes to finish the outer border. (The second short side faces up to the garden shed and really doesn't have enough space to grow anything outside the fence.) I'll post some pictures as the season progresses.

Where Did December Go?

2009-01-03T16:01:00.005-05:00

Oh, my goodness! I didn't blog at all in December! What is up with that? It's not like I had anything else to do last month! :)

Ah, well... It's resolution time. (Does everyone still make resolutions?) Lose weight, get organized... sounds just like last year's resolutions, doesn't it? Blog more regularly-- there's a new one. Be more creative? Cook more at home? Try new things?

I didn't have time for the Daring Bakers Challenge last month either. They did a delicious-looking yule log with lots of layers, all wrapped in mousse and covered with chocolate ganache. Yum! I think I'm glad I didn't make it-- see resolution number one above.

I put a pail of bread dough in the refrigerator today. Tomorrow I'll make ciabatta bread from some of it. The recipe is a simple one from a book I love called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It allows me to make bread even when I work every day. I think a loaf of fresh-baked bread transforms the simplest meal into an offering of love. Geez, that sounds sappy! (But that's really how I feel.)

Pantry Project, Week 3

2008-11-30T12:18:00.004-05:00

(Scroll down for a recipe for Amish Chicken Casserole.)

The Pantry Project was tabled this week for Thanksgiving. I brought some food to share to my BIL's house, and thought he and the family wouldn't really appreciate the thrown together nature of something from the pantry, so I shopped.

Monday we did eat chicken stir fry on steamed rice. But then Tuesday my hubby was helping to butcher two deer the family killed last weekend, and when they butcher they always fry up pieces of the venison in a skillet as they cut, so that covered him. (I ate ramen noodles from the pantry.) Wednesday we went out to eat as usual. Then Thursday the holiday. Friday I went to the Grand Opening of Black Sheep Vineyards, and Saturday I cooked a turkey here so we'd have leftovers at our own house. Today we'll have those leftovers, of course. And that completes Week 3.

The dish I took to share (in addition to my traditional Dutch Apple pie) was Amish chicken casserole-- a new recipe I tried just for the holiday, but will make again soon!

Amish Chicken Casserole

1/2 cup butter
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
1/3 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth (I used Organic free range)
1 cup whole milk
8 ounces noodles, cooked (I used Kluski)
2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken
salt, pepper, sage and poultry seasoning to taste (not too much-- the flavor sahould be subtle)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in a large skillet or saucepan. Saute the sliced mushrooms in the butter until they begin to brown. Add the flour and stir to combine until the flour and butter form a smooth paste. Add the chicken broth and milk and cook until thick and bubbly (about the consistency of gravy)

Add the chicken and the noodles, and the seasonings. Pour into a large casserole dish and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake uncovered 30 minutes.

Daring Bakers Caramel Cake

2008-11-29T17:57:00.005-05:00

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge is a caramel cake from Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater ( http://eggbeater.typepad.com ). You can find the recipe here http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/ . Hosting this month are Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity (http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/) Alex (Brownie of Blondie and Brownie) (http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/, and Jenny of Foray into Food (http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/).

As you can see from the recipe, before you can begin to make the cake or the frosting, you need to make the caramel syrup. Making caramel syrup is so simple (though a little nerve-wracking with a lot of splattering going on) that I wonder that I've never tried it before. I will definitely make that part of the recipe again.

I made the caramel syrup and let it cool. Then I used a little bit of the caramel syrup (1/3 cup) to make the cake. If you check out the accompanying picture from Shuna's recipe you'll see that she used the cake as one layer and the frosting just on the top. I sliced the cake in half and used the frosting in the middle and all around-- I had just enough to finish it.

The cake was a little dry at first and stuck a little to the baking pan, but once it was frosted and sat overnight covered, it absorbed a little moisture from the frosting and was great!

The frosting was tasty, very sweet but not really smooth-- a little sugary for me. But definitely delicious.

The remaining caramel syrup (1/3 cup was used for the cake and 4 Tbsp for the frosting, leaving 1 cup of syrup for another use) could be used if we wanted to make caramels or caramel topping. Instead, I used it to flavor a batch of homemade caramel pecan ice cream.

Caramel Pecan Ice Cream

2 cups half and half
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup caramel syrup
a pinch of kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Combine the half and half, cream, sugar, caramel syrup and salt. Add the vanilla extract. Chill the mixture 3 hours or overnight. Freeze according to your ice cream freezer directions, adding the toasted pecans about 2 minutes before the machine is done. Makes about 5 cups.

Pantry Project, Week 2

2008-11-24T22:31:00.002-05:00

A quick summary of how the "project" is going:
Monday: Dr Joe's homemade kielbasi, fried cabbage and noodles.
Tuesday: Chicken curry on brown rice.
Wednesday: Out to dinner as usual.
Thursday: Smoked sausage, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.
Friday: Steak, baked potatoes and salad.
Saturday: Chicken chili and bread, with homemade caramel cake for dessert.
Sunday: Out to dinner.
Grocery purchases for the week? A gallon of milk, a box of cereal, a pound of butter, a bunch of romain and a cucumber for salad, and a loaf of bread to go with the soup. (I would have made bread, but making soup and a cake and bread on Saturday would have been a bit too much.)

Meals are still pretty balanced and interesting-- not too much problem yet.

Pantry Project, Day 5

2008-11-16T09:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we enjoyed some homemade vegetable soup from my crock pot and some crunchy oatmeal bread from my bread machine.

We went out to the home of a friend to play cards and I brought some cheese spread to snack on, and had to buy some snack crackers to go with it. And with that, the first week of the project comes to an end. (We're going out to dinner tonight.)

The sum total of my grocery purchases this week? A jar of green olives, some fresh Brussels sprouts, a head of cabbage, a box of breakfast cereal, a box of crackers and a gallon of milk. The goal of this project was never about saving money, but rather to see how long we could eat just from the pantry and freezer, and to use things up that I've been hoarding there. The money saving is a nice side benefit, though!

Oatmeal Bread

3/4 Cup water

2 Cups white bread flour

1 Tbsp dry milk

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp butter, softened

1 Tbsp honey

1/4 Cup oatmeal (old fashioned or quick, not instant)

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

In the bread machine, put the ingredients in the order your machine recommends. (The only important part is that the yeast and the water don't come in contact right away if you are using the "delay" cycle.) Turn the machine to regular (or delay) cycle and medium crust setting. Remove from machine promptly when done. For extra crunch, hold the oatmeal until the add fruit/nuts beep signal is heard.

Pantry Project, Day 4

2008-11-14T19:42:00.004-05:00

Today we enjoyed a meal of baked pork chops, squash seasoned with butter, brown sugar and maple syrup, and a saute of fresh brussels sprouts, onions, and toasted almonds, drizzled with fesh lemon juice. With it, a Beyond 2007 Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa. (I had to buy the fresh brussels sprouts.)

So far the meals are not too bad-- good flavor combinations and a pretty good presentation. Let's hope it continues that way for a while. Tomorrow I'm going to stay home and clean, so I'll put soup in the crock pot and make a loaf of homemade bread to go with it. (I had to buy cabbage for the soup.)

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

3/4 pound fresh Brussels sprouts
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Trim the brussels sprouts and cut a shallow X in the stem ends. Boil for about 5 minutes, until crisp tender. The sprout will just give with a little pressure when tested with a fork. Don't overcook-- you'll be cooking them a little more in a minute. (If the sprouts are various sizes, remove the smaller ones as they become done, letting the others cook.) Cool them in a bath of ice water to stop the cooking, then slice each one in half.

Melt the butter in a skillet, and cook the onions until soft, but not browned. Add the sprouts and saute 2-3 minutes. Add half the almonds and the lemon juice and saute another minute to combine the flavors. Remove from heat and add the remaining almonds. Serve.

Serves 4 (or 2 generously.)

Pantry Project, Day 3

2008-11-13T22:59:00.002-05:00

Today is Day 3 of my "Pantry Project." (Yesterday we went out to eat at Carabbas in Canton.) We were both out and about most of the afternoon, so we finished off the Black Forest bacon we bought at Whole Foods in Pittsburgh, with toast and some eggs from my friend, Melanie's chickens. I know that fresh eggs can't really be as much better than grocery eggs as they seem-- I think the idea of them being fresher has a lot to do with our perception of the flavor. But they certainly were good!

I'm not much of a heavy bacon-and-eggs breakfast eater. A bowl of cereal and some fruit is more my speed. But breakfast for dinner? That I like a lot!

Pantry Project, Day 2

2008-11-11T18:46:00.002-05:00

Continuing with the pantry project, today we had tilapia Veracruz (I had to buy green olives), orzo, and broccoli with lemon and butter, with a nice 2007 Mirassou Pinot Grigio.

Tilapia Veracruz

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 T sliced green olives
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tilapia fillets, patted dry
2 tsp olive oil

Mix the tomatoes, olives, lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.

Season the tilapia with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Heat a skillet and add the olive oil. Saute the tilapia in the olive oil for 3 minutes on the first side. Flip the fish over and add the tomato mixture. Cook 4-5 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve over orzo (or brown rice) to absorb all the wonderful flavors of the sauce.

Serves 4 (or two generously.)

The Pantry Project

2008-11-10T19:42:00.003-05:00

I was following links from some of my favorite food blogs when I came across an entry that described a shopping trip the author had taken in which she had spent well over $140 dollars and had very little to show for it. The experience caused her to think that she could live for quite a while from the contents of her pantry, supplemented with fresh fruits and veggies and perishables like milk and eggs.

Her blog entry got me to thinking, and to cleaning, reorganizing and logging the contents of my pantry, as well as my freezer. My own "pantry project" began today. I made a list of all the food I had on hand, and I got my husband on board with the idea. (There is a lot of rice-- brown rice, white rice, basmati rice, arborio rice-- pasta and other grains, and my hubby is really basically a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy.) The combinations may get a little strange as we go, but that's the challenge part of the project, yes?

My pantry held all kinds of surprises, from two cans of artichoke hearts (one marinated, one not) to two cans of water chestnuts. (I also found a third can of artichoke hearts that had seepd out of the bottom of the can and turned black on the pantry shelf. Why can't they just put an understandable date code on the can so we can tell how old something is?)

That said, tonight we feasted on garlic/rosemary chicken legs, parmesan flavored couscous, and steamed peas with mushrooms. Not a bad start...

Meal Time Magic or Just Dumb Luck?

2008-11-10T17:11:00.002-05:00

Eating dinner the other night, my husband said, "Oh, these flavors go really well together." Well, of course they do, I thought. Do you think this is all just luck?

When I am planning a meal, I play a litle sensory tape in my head of the foods hitting my tongue in combination, and decide whether the flavors go together. I've become pretty good at it, over time. Assuming there isn't an untried food or recipe in the mix I can usually know what vegetable to serve with what main dish and so on. I'm trying to get experienced enough with wines that I can pick out a wine the same way. Sometimes I'm right on, other times not so much. But, oh! The fun learning!

In college I majored in Nutrition (it was called "Dietetics" where I went) for two years before making the brilliant choice to change to Sociology. Eek! (Note to all college students who really don't have a clue what they want to be when they grow up: start out with an undergraduate degree in Business, then do graduate study in whatever real major you want.) I did learn a thing or two about food. Most importantly I learned that I didn't want to spend the rest of my working life in a hospital dietary department. I didn't have a clue that there were a few more useful options for a degree in Nutrition even then, and much more so now that the food awareness explosion has taken place.

Pizza!

2008-10-30T17:38:00.010-04:00

OK, now, boys and girls...

Are we ready for the latest Daring Bakers Challenge?

Pizza!

Hand tossed pizza! Or, if you are like me, hand flung/twisted pizza. (I was a little tentative on the tossing part.)

The resulting pizzas, while quite tasty, were a little free-form, kind of like an amoeba. Not pretty. Definitely yummy, though. Not pretty. Yummy.

Here is the recipe and the directions:

Basic Pizza Dough-- Original recipe taken from "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) unbleached high gluten bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled.

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 Tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup (2 ounces/60 g) olive oil or vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) water, ice cold

1 Tbsp sugar

Semolina durum flour or corn meal for dusting pan or stone

Day 1

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.

On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE:

If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.

The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE:

To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE:

If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly roll pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE:

You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE:

If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly roll pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly roll pan or a pizza peel with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE:

Make only one pizza at a time.During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly roll pan or on the pizza peel making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE:

Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly roll pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

NOTE:

After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly roll pan to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly roll pan.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

The choices of fillings were up to us. I baked two out of the 6 pizzas the recipe made (I froze the rest.) I topped one with pepperoni, Italian sausage, sauteed red peppers and mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. The other one, which hubby wasn't too sure about until he had a bite, I covered with homemade pesto, sliced artichoke hearts, sliced cooked chicken breasts, and feta cheese. Both were really good!

The dough was very easy to make. The forming/tossing/flinging though, not so much. Since I made two of the six pizzas and froze the other 4 balls of dough, I'll have another try or two at it. I hope I can get the spin of it. Maybe a glass or two of wine before tossing...?

I am actually a day late in posting this. (I could have sworn it said the 30th!)

Fried Green Tomatoes

2008-10-25T17:52:00.004-04:00

The nights are getting really cold now. Our last tomato plant, a patio tomato in a large nursery pot growing on-- wait for it-- the patio, had some tomatoes left on it that hubby picked. The beams across the pergola top of the patio cover kept it from getting zapped by the frosts we've had lately, but we decided that the tomatoes that hadn't ripened yet were going to become fried green tomatoes.

I sliced them about 1/4 inch thick, sprinkled them with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, lightly dredged them in flour, dipped them in a beaten egg, then in cornmeal and sauteed them in a little canola oil. They were crispy on the outside, tender in the middle. And for some reason I'm not aware of, they had a slight lemony taste, which contrasted nicely with the crispy/salty cornmeal crust. I served them with chicken legs that had been rubbed with a garlic, olive oil, and rosemary mixture and baked. A great combination! Next time I think I'll add a little bit of paprika to the cornmeal and use ranch dressing as a dip.

Home Grown Garlic Is the Best

2008-10-20T10:06:00.004-04:00

Bob planted the rest of the garlic last week. We have mostly our old standby New York White (AKA: Polish White) which makes up our main crop. But this year we expanded the varieties to include German Extra Hardy, which is a hardneck variety from Johnny's, as well as Killarney Red and Lorz that I bought locally from Susan West at the St Clairsville Farmers Market.

The cloves of the German Extra Hardy were very large, which is good from a cooking point of view, but large cloves mean less cloves per head, which produce less plants for next year. So it will be another year before I have really expanded my crop.

I think the German and Killarney Red are rocambole types which produce a garlic scape that can be picked green and sauteed like asparagus spears or made into yummy garlic scape pesto. I'm looking forward to that treat next year.

Daring Bakers Challenge- Chocolate Eclairs

2008-08-31T13:20:00.004-04:00

Whew! Just made this Daring Bakers Challenge! I made the chocolate eclairs yesterday afternoon as a dessert for a cookout we had for some family members. I was going to make them today but there is no way I wanted 24 chocolate eclairs sitting in my refrigerator staring at me all weekend. They must have been good, since we ate 20 of them!

The recipe came from MeetaK at Whats for Lunch, Honey? (You can find the recipe there), and Tony Tahhan at Olive Juice. It's from Meeta's favorite sugar daddy Pierre Herme from the cookbook Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme by Dorie Greenspan.

The process involved making a chocolate sauce, and just using 7 Tbs of it in a chocolate glaze. The remaining sauce will be used for an ice cream topping-- Yum! Then I made a chocolate pastry cream (which is like a rich chocolate pudding) and pate a choux which forms the actual eclair base. Cool the eclairs, cut them open, apply the glaze to the tops, fill the bottoms with the pastry cream, squish them together to keep them from toppling over on the plate-- a very messy job--I kept having to lick and then wash my fingers. It's a tough job, but somebody had to do it! :)

They weren't all as pretty as the one I photographed, but they sure tasted good!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Danish Braid

2008-06-29T11:27:00.010-04:00

Time for the unveiling! This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was to make Danish pastry dough and form it into a braid with an apple filling. The recipe makes enough Danish dough for two recipes, and we were allowed to make any filling or any shape for the remainder of the dough.

This challenge was fun! I had never made puff pastry or Danish pastry, so the layering with butter and folding techniques were new to me. It took a little time, since the dough had to chill for 30 minutes between folds, and had to chill overnight before it could be formed into the braids. But it wasn't active time, so I could get other tasks done while it chilled.

The filling was yummy! The braid didn't take all the filling, and the extra made a good topping for ice cream sundaes.

The braids went together easily. I think I was supposed to make the parallel cuts along the side diagonal, but straight cuts worked well and the resulting braid looked, as one of my tasters said, "like a professional made it." (High praise for this definitely non-professional baker, indeed!)

Both braids were gobbled up quickly by my tasting team (my co-workers and my husband) but the cream cheese/blueberry filling was definitely the favorite.

Many thanks to the hosts of this month's challenge:

Kelly, of Sass and Veracity, and Ben, of What's Cooking.

For the cheese Danish filling I blended:

1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

I spread this on the middle section of the dough and covered it with a layer of fresh blueberries (about 1 cup.) Then I baked it along with the apple Danish braid as the recipe below directs.

Daring Bakers Danish Braid

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)

1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH

Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK

1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.

2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients

4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients

1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash:
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.

3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash

Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking

1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.

2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Daring Bakers' Challenge Opera Cake

2008-05-28T23:45:00.006-04:00

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge was truly a challenge. A thin layer cake (or jaconde) made from ground almonds and a little flour, brushed with a flavored syrup (I used raspberry liqueur as my flavoring), then frosted with lemon flavored buttercream, covered with a white chocolate mousse and a white chocolate glaze. Wow! Talk about over the top flavor and richness!

I used the buttercream from Dorie Greenspan's celebration cake that we made in March rather than the cooked sugar version that was included with this recipe (because I just loved it!). Everything worked out well, with very little frustration. The entire recipe took me about three hours to complete and everyone who tasted it really liked it.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day May 2008

2008-05-15T21:37:00.015-04:00

A pretty pink tree peony is in full flower. (left)

The false Solomon's seal is full of hanging bells (below, center) and the spirea is in full flower. (below, left.)

A group of tiny white flowers comes up every year below the pin oak (left). Does anyone know what this is?

The red-leaf hardy geranium is blooming a little early this year (left)

Poeticus daffodils are always the last ones to bloom in my garden.

The nepeta is loaded with great blue flowers (left).

The fringe tree is limping along. The deer or some other critter munched on it this winter.

The deciduous azalea is a gorgeous peachy yellow!

The clematis has its first open flower today, just in time for GBBD.

The giant alliums are just beginning to bloom.

Buttercups are pretty, but very invasive. Think twice before you add these to a perennial bed or border! (below)

Banana Strawberry Cupcakes/Muffins?

2008-05-13T21:35:00.003-04:00

OK. I had some left-over overripe bananas and some fresh-from-the-market -strawberries, and thought I'd make the strawberry banana cupcakes from Vanilla Garlic. Followedthe recipe exactly, except I substituted 6TBSP olive oil for 6 TBSP of the vegetable oil. They came out more like muffins than cupcakes. (Cupcakes=light and spongy, muffins=thick and dense. ) But I frosted them anyway as the recipe suggested. Good, but not great.

Daring Bakers and Tuesdays with Dorie

2008-05-04T00:40:00.004-04:00

Well, I baked the Tuesdays with Dorie fluted polenta and ricotta cake (yum!) and didn't bake the Daring Bakers cheesecake pops. I did learn that I should have measured my pan to make sure it was the right size-- it went over the top and down the side. What a mess! But it had a wonderful texture-- moist from the ricotta cheese and figs, crunchy from the polenta and the tiny fig seeds. The honey made it just sweet enough. (I used regular clover honey, which is what I had on hand.) My husband (and official dessert taster) said he didn't like the "dates" but he liked the cake. I think it would have been useless to tell him they were figs, not dates.

The cheesecake pops, though, just didn't get done. My other life got a little spastic there for a while, and the time just slipped away. But next month's challenge looks great, and I'll make it earlier in the month. (It's a surprise-- you'll have to wait to find out what it is.)

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day April 2008

2008-04-15T17:38:00.005-04:00

Oh, my gosh! I just looked at the calendar and discovered that, along with income tax day, it's also Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. So I grabbed my trusty Sony DSC-W50 and went in search of what is blooming in my yard and garden today. Some grape hyacinths are naturalized in the grass by the bird garden.

The forsythias are in full bloom!

Blue and white hyacinths are blooming in the gravel under the mailbox. They have been run over so many times by the mailman's SUV that it is amazing that they even survive.

One of the many varieties of daffodils that are blooming now.

A tiny windflower with a definite will to live!

Perfect Party Cake

2008-03-31T21:10:00.002-04:00

The Daring Bakers’ Challenge this month was to make a 4 layer party cake from Baking from My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. The cake and frosting had a hint of lemon in them. Thanks, Morven, for suggesting this challenge! I loved it!

The cake was light and lightly sweet on its own. But when I added the raspberry filling and buttercream frosting between the layers, it became heavenly!

The buttercream was a Swiss meringue buttercream, made by beating the sugar and egg whites over simmering water, and then adding the butter and flavors. The process was new to me, but it turned out great! I’ll definitely make this frosting again!

To finish it, I covered it with coconut. It was pretty and tasty at the same time. You don’t get much better than that!

Julia Child's French Bread

2008-02-29T21:41:00.007-05:00

First of all, my apologies to Julia.

The Daring Bakers Challenge this month was to make French bread using Julia Child’s original recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II. The ingredients were pretty much the same as any other French bread recipe, but the method was the challenge. No sponge, no poolish, no baguette pan. Rising on a cloth, baking on a flat baking sheet. The results? Good, but wow, it certainly was a “challenge” for me!

The risen dough stuck to the couche (the flour encrusted rising cloth) and deflated as it was placed onto the pan to bake. My sharpest knife would not cut neatly through the loaf to make the decorative slashes. It stuck to the dough, further deflating it. And between the mixing, the resting, the kneading, and the rising, it took forever!

The flavor? A little salty, I thought, but my husband disagreed. He asked, “Was it all worth it?” Truthfully, I would have to answer, “No, not really.” I am glad I did it, of course, as I am ever up for a baking challenge, but I’ll probably never do it again. There is definitely an easier way to make good French bread.

Thanks to Breadchick Mary for the recipe and the challenge. You certainly made me push my limits! Visit Breadchick Mary's site for the complete recipe for Julia Child's French bread.

Oops, I Forgot to Give You the Recipe!

2008-01-29T18:40:00.000-05:00

I guess it would help if I posted the recipe for the lemon meringue pie from the Daring Bakers Challenge, wouldn't it? I'll get the hang of this, please be patient with me.

(from "Wanda's Pie in the Sky" by Wanda Beaver)
Daring Bakers Challenge #15: January 2008

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:
3/4 cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
3/4 cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

To Make the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt.Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

To Make the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Daring Bakers Challenge

2008-01-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

Hoo-rah! My first Daring Bakers Challenge Post:

When I heard that my first Daring Bakers Challenge was a pie, I was thrilled! (Tales of the Yule Log Challenge last month had me shaking in my Crocs!) Pies are my thing—they are what I bring to potlucks and family gatherings where a contribution of food is needed. But I had never made lemon filling from scratch, so that, I thought, would be my challenge.

But as I began following the recipe for the crust, I realized it was a lot different from my usual crust. (I use vegetable shortening and just a little more than a cup of flour for a single crust pie.) The butter and 2 cups of flour made it much richer, heavier, and more difficult to work with. The resulting crust was very thick and doughy, not flaky at all, but had a wonderful flavor.

The meringue, with 5 egg whites as a base, was too much for the pie (2 or 3 would have been more like it) but I followed the recipe and used it all. By the time the meringue was golden on the outside, it seemed still almost raw inside.

The filling turned out to be the best of all! It was lemony and light, not at all rubbery as is sometimes the case with a boxed mix. It had a wonderful fresh lemon tang to it which everyone loved. I added grated lemon peel on the meringue, and the pie was very pretty!

I’ll definitely make a pie using this filling recipe again, but I’ll stick to my own recipe for crust and meringue. All in all, I’d grade this one a B-minus.

Cough Remedy

2008-01-25T21:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I have this cough, Doctor, says I. Says he, well get some over-the-counter cough syrup and take 2 teaspoons 4 times a day. And in the evening, he says, take a little honey and add some whiskey. Not much, he says with a grin, just a little. And sip it, slowly.

Ooh... what a great little cough remedy that is! A little local honey, a little Irish whiskey. It doesn't get much better than that.

The Elegant Eggplant

2008-01-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wish I was fluent in another language. For example, take the humble eggplant. Who came up with that name, for heaven's sake? In French it is aubergine. Now there's a word. All soft consonants and vowels, romantic as all get-out. And our translation is "egg plant"?

Slice it up, salt it down to reduce bitterness, and cook it on a grill brushed with a little EVOO, and you have a little taste of the earth that nurtured it. Underused in American cooking, the eggplant may be staging a comeback thanks to a cartoon movie named after a dish made from it: ratatouille.

First Post

2008-01-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

A journey of a million miles begins with a single step, or a single blog post.