Plumpest Peach

Holiday Heaven & Hell

2011-12-16T12:56:00.017-05:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, as it is often said. And last year at this time, my husband and I were in Switzerland. We were walking around Lausanne, eating lots of good food and soaking up the atmosphere. I think we were actually eating cheese fondue on the 16th; I can almost smell it. Like I can almost smell the stale air on the coach we shared with 70 other people on an 11 hour bus ride that should have taken 1.5 hours. Oh, this is an epic tale. Get yourself something to drink before you dig in.

The excitement of the season started with a bang when my dear friend J. had her second daughter. They had just moved a bit closer to us and were looking for a back up plan should baby decide to get her move-on in the wee hours of the morning. My husband and I were psyched to help out. Sure enough the move-on began around 1am. We were dead asleep when the phone rang, J. said in a very calm voice: "yeah, it's happening, how fast can you get here?" We were off and thanks to our studded tires the heavy snowfall seemed like nothing. The plan was to spend the night at their place while the soon-to-be-eldest sister was sleeping. We were going to be there when she woke up and continue the morning routine until further notice of the baby-birthing status. My husband and I hardly slept due to excitement and sheer fear that when B. was going to wake up, it was going to be us in her parents bed. I know I would freak the frack out if I went to sleep with the status quo and woke up with: who the hell are you? We were no strangers to B. but with all the excitement we were preparing for a freak out. We heard a rustle from the next room, we both looked at each other, took a breath and little B. walked sleepily in with her stuffed animal, nose dripping. "Hey, B, it's Auntie Jess and Uncle Josh, Goodmorning," I said quietly and as gently as I could. She opened her eyes a bit more to the unfamiliar voice and stopped in her tracks. Her bottom lip pouted out, and a look in her eye of confusion and imminent wailing surfaced. I looked at my husband, I looked back at B. "Guess why we are here? It's a super special day for you! You're going to be a big sister!" She took it like a trooper. She ran off to her room and came back (phew) with a bright pink shirt that read in silvery-sparkly writing, "Big Sister." Mid afternoon CC was delivered all healthy and happy, as were my friends J. and W.

Two days later we were to leave for Switzerland and the snow was relentless. It was our first winter in our new house and there were plenty of things to learn and make sure were taken care of while we were gone. I had written up a long list of things for a friend who was going to watch the house. Once I had finally pulled everything together, I decided to remedy my frazzled brain with the one thing that would make everything right again, a bath. I hadn't taken a bath in our new house yet because it's a small tub/shower thing. I mention its size because it's not really the shower/bath unit you'd really use for a bath you know? It's shallow. But I thought I'd just keep filling it up, the excess water would slowly flow out the overflow and I'd just make do. I put in the bath oils, put on a face mask, sunk into the water and breathed a big sigh of relief. I started to think about how great this trip was going to be. We were going to be in Switzerland for Christmas, how cool is that! Josh yells up the stairs from the living room in a very concerned and loud voice: "Jess, we have a huge problem you have to get down here right now!" I rolled my eyes and thought; there are no problems, I took care of every potential problem, this is ridiculous. I wipe off my mask, put on a towel, still dripping I walk down the stairs to see a long, strong stream of water coming from the ceiling which smelled really nice, like my bath oils. F.

Stream of conciousness: our house is leaking one day before we leave for Switzerland. We have no idea what this means. Is this an emergency? Do we call the plumber's emergency after hours number? That sounds like an expensive choice. The water stops and we stare at the ballooned sack of water being held by a thin layer of paint. We wonder where it is going. F. Lucky for us, we chose to wait until morning, call the plumber and ask for advice. Thanks Falcon Plumbing, we want to hug you and never let go. We get permission to leave the country with 99% assurance our house won't fall down. Turns out there is no pipe connecting the overflow drain to anything. The water just spilled out all over the floor/ceiling. Nice. The previous owners must have only rocked the shower. Merry Christmas.

The next day we got our asses on a plane and made it through all our flights on time, if I recall correctly. As the Swiss folk are quite timely and organized, getting around is efficient and a pleasure. I had read about David Lebovitz's post about Lausanne, cheese fondue and Café Du Grutli right before our trip, so it felt rather serendipitous to check that place out. Which we did, but unfortunately unable to dine at due to other social obligations. But as the photo depicts, I was able to stand, and gawk at the men outside the establishment. Happy Holidays.

We walked around all the holiday shops, I had chestnuts roasting on an open fire for the first time. So delicious. The fun continued in Switzerland with a dinner in Zurich with a group of friends. It was something we felt we just had to do, but practically our choices began to take their toll since the train ride was 6 hours round trip from Lausanne. We have since learned less is more. This whole less is more concept may sound obvious, but in our experience, balancing the things you want to do, with the things you can actually handle and enjoy is a delicate balance indeed. When we flew to Switzerland we landed first in Geneva. We took a short train ride to Lausanne. We spent a few days in Lausanne. One of those evenings taking the train to Zurich and back again to Lausanne, to depart that afternoon to Geneva again. This is where the red flags starting popping up. It was an incredibly romantic idea of my husband to suggest we spend a few days in London before heading to Toronto where we would meet up with the whole family for actual Christmas. We would be flying through Heathrow anyway, why not? There was no reason why not, until there was. Europe can't handle that much snow. Remember the Heathrow disaster last year? Yeah, we were there.

Side note: I am totally enjoying these photos with a smirk whilst I replay that time of which to I refer: "I have no idea how we did that." We're in the Geneva airport waiting for our quick hop to Heathrow. We get to the gate and one after another like a stack of dominoes, nearly all flights to Heathrow are cancelled on the departure monitors. Mother. Except ours was not cancelled. This is something you never know how to feel about. You're either totally psyched you lucked out, or you're in for a really fucked up ride. We were in for the latter. Mid-flight we are notified by the captain that Heathrow has been shut down, we can't land there. We are re-routed to the East Midlands Airport. Nearly all other international flights also mid-flight, destination: Heathrow were re-routed there as well. And so, there we were, in a tiny airport entirely swamped in every way with at least 12 international flights. Thousands of people basically bottlenecked 1.5 hours away from Heathrow airport. It was a friggin' free-for-all to get on a coach bound for Heathrow. Shoving, elbowing, and sheep herding mentalities abound. I have never experienced anything like it. I'm a country girl after all.

11 HOURS LATER. That's right, a 1.5 hour trip took 11 hours to arrive at Heathrow. Arrival at what looked like a refugee camp. At 3:30am we were so happy to get off the bus, but we couldn't get anywhere until the Underground opened, which wasn't going to be until 6am. So we did the only thing we could do, sleep in the Underground. Even with every sweater we packed and used as a barrier from the cement, full winter gear apparel and spooning together, we couldn't sleep. It is such an odd memory to reflect on today, my husband and I "slept" in the London Underground. Once the Underground opened, it took at least an hour to get to our hotel, which we had pre-payed thank god. Everyone in the country was using the Underground because it was the only mode of transportation that was somewhat reliable. We got to our hotel and immediately passed out. I remember being so angry, because we lost a day and a half in London. London at Christmas! We shook it off and embraced the fact that we made it, sort of. And thankfully several moments of heaven ensued. Harrod's food halls and oyster nirvana. Yes my eyes are closed with a big smile on my face. Cream toffees. Walks through Fortnum & Mason, a pint at The Lamb & Flag. Picking up some macarons for my mom at Ladurée.

We only had a day and a half in London before we got on another plane to Toronto. We were concerned we might be stuck in London for Christmas due to the mass back-log of flights at Heathrow. Again, I have no idea how this happened, but our flight was one of the 20% of the flights leaving the entire airport. In preparation for everything to go horridly wrong again we had taken up airport yoga. Smart. Surprisingly, everything about our flight was on time as if there was no snow storm at all. We got to Toronto on time albeit a long flight. It felt so good to know we had completed the last leg of our travels, at least until after Christmas. However, I caught a cold on the flight to Toronto and spent the rest of the holiday and into the new year feeling like a worn our motor.

Epic.

I am proud my husband and I made it through that trip, period. I am thankful that it actually turned out as well as it did, for I am sure some fared far worse. We learned a lot as a couple for future trips together and have put those lessons to damn good use.

All I have to say for myself this holiday season is that I'm very happy to be at home with our first Christmas tree here in our living room. It's wonderful to watch our cat cozied up in a cardboard box (that is a bit too small for her) baking by the fire, while we sip our rum-spiked nog. The best part being, this year, a refill is only a few steps away.

Wishing everyone peace and love this Holiday Season! Cheers!

Radishes & Butter

2011-08-10T06:00:00.001-04:00

I planted, spoke to, watered, and harvested these French breakfast radishes. It was the first real harvest I have had other than the odd tomato and herbs out of containers. I grew these radishes from honest to goodness raised beds that my husband and I installed together in an afternoon. It was so damn cool to finally be able to do the things I have known all too well about for years. My background is in plant and soil science, I worked at a nursery for 6 years and I was all about landscape design. I have given so much advice and know-how to so many people, and it felt great to be on the other side of it this year, especially after being in our home for a full year. I had no idea how to choose what I wanted to grow or how much of it. So I just picked stuff I like and grew a few rows of each. It takes years to figure out what you like, how much you need, and if you're good at growing it. I am ridiculously happy to know I'll be "struggling" to make these choices every year.

Radishes and butter are a big deal. A big deal because they taste really good together. If you don't know what the big deal is, you better dredge a radish through some butter, dust a smidge of salt on it and experience the moment. When I saw this recipe a year ago, I new I had to make it because it has a tiny twist that makes it quite unique, and that kind of stuff is always up my alley.

Herb salt...why not use this on practically everything? And manipulating butter into shapes is just plain brilliant, any shape like butter balls, triangles, knobs, whole cow sculptures even, and long logs like chevre. When I saw butter piped into little spirals down the length of a breakfast radish, I knew I had to make it on this account alone. And I nearly ate the entire plate of them.

Radishes & Butter with Herb Salt

adapted from Gourmet Traveller

vegetable oil for shallow frying

1/2 Tbsp each of fresh thyme, sage, basil and rosemary (all roughly chopped)

2 Tbsp sea salt flakes

1/4 cup softened unsalted butter (more or less)

1 bunch French breakfast radishes, (normal round ones are cute too!)

Heat the vegetable oil over medium/high heat. Add the herbs and fry until crisp (1-2 minutes). They retain their green color, it's very cool. Strain through a sieve and discard the oil. Put salt and herbs into mortar and pestle and pound until coarsely ground. Place in a little bowl.

Beat the butter with a hand-held mixer until light and fluffy. You want it to be very soft, almost like icing. Use a piping bag and pipe the butter onto the radishes. The butter will stick to the radishes best if they are room temperature and not wet. Use a paper towel to dab each radish before piping the butter, you'll be happy you did:) Serve with the herb salt.

Salmon & Coconut Milk

2011-08-08T12:51:00.001-04:00

I made this for my dinner. I think this might have been one out of a handful (embarrassing) of times I have elected to make myself a real meal instead of cheese and crackers when I'm flying solo for the night. Or chips and salsa, cereal, or pretzels for that matter. When you find yourself totally exhausted physically or mentally, bring on the cereal, seriously. But when it's laziness with a thread of "its just me" well, I think that's a whole plate of bullshit with a side of crap, not to mention a drizzle of malarkey to finish it off. I say, "don't do that," and instead, sit down to something like this dreamboat dinner. Despite its high maintenance look, you can pretty much have the coconut dressing and that little green salad all finished up while the salmon is cooking. And if you, like me, is guilty of eating ants on a log for dinner, you may need to especially amp this up with a glass of wine for that extra bit of self-enriching goodness.

Getting down to brass tacks here: buy some wild-caught sockeye salmon sourced from British Columbia if you can find it. They are having a huge resurgence of fish unlike the US where certain regions are touch and go being listed under the Endangered Species Act. It's also safe to buy wild-caught from Alaska or from the upper Columbia River or Puget Sound region of Washington State. Check out this seafood watch guide.

The recipe came from delicious.au magazine. It's a few years old, I can't remember what issue it was from as I save mass quantities of recipes in an ever expanding accordion file. The recipe serves 8-10 people, and would be a gorgeous meal for a party by the way, however with minimal fussing it's simple enough to play around with the quantity down to serving only one. So here it is adapted for one, yet taste as you go with the coconut dressing and make it as strong or as mild as you wish.

Salmon & Coconut milk dressing

adapted from delicious.au magazine

serves 1

1/2 cup coconut milk (you'll have extra)

1 tsp (ish) of inner core bruised lemongrass (the recipe serving 8-10 called for 1/2 a lemongrass stem here, I'm sure the flavor would have been lovely, but I couldn't find lemongrass that day, so I skipped it.)

1 tsp ginger, peeled and grated

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/2 long red chile, seeds removed, thinly sliced, plus extra to garnish

1 kaffir lime leaf (using only the lime zest below is fine here if you don't have the lime leaf)

1 tsp grated lime zest, and about 1 tsp lime juice

couple dashes of fish sauce, or to taste

8-ounce (ish) sockeye fillet

2 spring onions finely sliced

handful microgreens

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Place coconut milk, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, chile, lime leaves and zest in a small/medium pan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and let it stand 30 minutes to infuse. I think 15 minutes is sufficient with less ingredients, taste and see for yourself at 15 minutes if you think it needs more time. Strain the sauce into a little cup or bowl. Add lime and fish sauce to taste.

Place the salmon in a lightly oiled small baking tray. Season with a little pinch of salt. Bake the salmon for about 8 minutes. Keep an eye on it and when white specks start to form you'll want to take it out. It will still cook a bit once you've taken it out and you want it to be bit underdone so it stays pink and moist. Let it cool for about 5 minutes.

Place the salmon on your plate. Pour half of the dressing over the salmon. On your work surface just toss the spring onion, extra chile, and microgreens together and place on top of your salmon. Looking at my photo there I think I had a few cilantro leaves in there too. Pour a glass of wine and sit down at a table. Listen to some music and eat slowly, adding a bit more coconut dressing if you like.

Watermelon & Ginger Gazpacho

2011-07-26T17:39:00.003-04:00

I'm still psyched about lunch and I imagine you can see why. This recipe is from Raw Food Real World. I am kind of on a raw kick because of its beauty, flavor and at least according to this particular recipe, incredible ease in preparing. Although the weather has given us some relief around here, it is still summer, so I'm rocking my lunches with this spicy and refreshing soup.

Summer Lunch

2011-06-16T13:15:00.005-04:00

It occurred to me to share what I've been eating for lunch lately, because I've been so thrilled with how beautiful and delicious they are turning out to be. Rather then stating the oh-so-boring statement of: "I don't always eat the way I should" and touting my "new found ways" with this gorgeous lunch, I would rather just simply say: I've been excited to each lunch lately. I've always been pretty bad about eating regularly. Because I am a foodie and think, read, and live all around the topic of food, it often surprises me that the one thing I can't get my mind off of, is the one thing I most often forget to do, for myself. Life tends to get complicated quickly, so I decided to put a resounding halt to all my complicated reasons as to why I don't make the time for myself to eat well, and make the time.

I've made the time to plan out my breakfasts, lunches and most dinners. I try to eat around the same time every day no matter what I'm doing. Eating without any interruptions or distractions has been by far the most beneficial effect on my day-to-day productivity and mood. And because I'm making this tiny, albeit very profound change, in my priorities of eating, my meals seem to be more and more beautiful and healthful. So, here's to me, to you, and to getting psyched about lunch.

My Family Cow

2010-12-14T12:54:00.003-05:00

Plumpest Peach visits Family Cow

Butter.

Every time I think about freshly churned butter, I think back to elementary school when our teacher showed us how we could make it. She held out a glass mason jar with heavy cream in it and just started shaking it. We all sat in a circle on the classroom floor and took turns shaking the jar of cream. Of course everyone wanted it to turn to butter while they were shaking it, and after a lot of shaking, it finally did. I remember thinking how cool that was.

Up until I made that butter you're staring at, ("churned" in a food processor) I don't think I've thought about making my own butter since elementary school. I love all forms of butter, cultured, sea salted, French style, Irish brands, I mean really, what's not to love here? It wasn't until I was on a quest to make my own clotted cream, that I started thinking about how incredible it is that millions of value added dairy products are made from simple milk.

Tiki (cow)

Owned by Lindsay and Evan, Family Cow Farmstand is a micro-dairy farm located in Hinesburg Vermont. They own a small number of the most beautiful, happy, and healthy cows I've ever met. I found them while searching the web for raw (unpasteurized) milk in my quest to make clotted cream. My first Cream Tea experience was in Oxford at The Rose Tea Room. I fell hard for it. If you've had it, you know what I'm talking about: Devon clotted cream; so thick, rich and very yellow, there is no substitute. However, I was determined to make my own. And I figured I had a good chance of making something quite comparable if I could find some raw milk/cream. I thought finding a dairy farm would be the easy part considering I live in Vermont- but it had to be a business I could build a relationship with because I was pretty sure I would be seeing them often if this recipe was a success. Turns out I found exactly what I was hoping for.

Jemima

Let me guess, you have concerns regarding raw milk. Well I'm here to tell you to get over it, in a really polite and respectful way. I too had some concerns and turns out, surprise! my concerns were fueled with false information. So I'm here to set the record straight, super straight, on the basis of my experience with the Family Cow.

False statement: Raw milk has bacteria in it that makes you sick. As a matter of fact, it has good bacteria just like yogurt. This good bacteria is destroyed during pasteurization. The only thing that can make you sick from milk are pathogens. A pathogen being transferred from grass-fed cows to their milk is extremely rare especially when they are healthy. And healthy means they are living off of healthy pasture and organic grains, as opposed to corn and growth hormones and as a result, treated with antibiotics.

As I was taking photos of Lindsay's morning routine, naturally we got to chatting. While she was filling the milk jars she mentioned something I was completely unaware of. A simple fact that makes this whole "is raw milk safe?" question udderly clear. The cow's rumen in its natural state is not as acidic as a human's stomach. The natural state that I am referring to here is a cow that is grass-fed and not given any antibiotics or growth hormones. Since their stomach is naturally more basic in pH compared to ours, if the cow had any bacteria that could cause another cow to be sick, it wouldn't cause us to be sick because our stomach acid is stronger and would kill it off. This is a natural balance that exists in our favor. However, when we feed cows with corn, the cow's rumen becomes more acidic and this acidity can cause all sorts of health problems for the cow, and furthermore, for us. Once the cow's rumen is as acidic as ours, there is a danger of pathogens being passed to us. Enter pasteurization. It really saddens me to think how horrible this cycle has become because we have to produce large quantities of milk. We've made our worst nightmares come true in the large scale farms. The Family Cow's small dairy operation is able to facilitate the natural balance and reaps the benefits of it.

Still don't believe it? Need proof that they have the cleanest milk around? The VT State Agency of Agriculture Lab tests their milk twice a month and they have had a long track record of superb results. Their website has all the information you would ever need to understand what raw milk is and make and educated decision for what is right for you.

It is my opinion that pasteurization has a place and is necessary in large scale dairies. But I also think that through all that we have learned from the time before pasteurization existed until now, there are great benefits for a product like this. Predominantly because the flavor of raw milk can't be beat. I think if you have the opportunity to support a business such as this one, you should. If you don't have a small dairy around that you can trust to produce this type of incredible product, then raw milk isn't worth it.

I support Lindsay and Evan's business because I believe good things come in small packages. Lindsay and Evan are the salt of the earth and they treat their animals as such. They are passionate individuals that care about making a difference, and it shows with how little they meddle with the natural balance of things. Truly a lost art. It is simply a beautiful thing and I feel honored to be a part of The Family... Cow.

Fig Ice Cream

2010-10-26T08:49:00.001-04:00

Fig ice cream, man. Real happy I made it. Happy because I have now recognized fresh figs need to be on the menu way, way more often. How they haven't been on my plate leaves me with a monotone response of: "uuuuuhh." Snap out of it, seriously fig ice cream is the shiz. Below is a picture of the figs once chopped and cooked down with water, lemon zest and sugar to this jammy concoction:

That's right, jammy thick and smelling like, oh I don't know, like hot figs and sugar with a waft of lemon. All the seeds seep out of the flesh and speckle the slurry of hot fruit and those seeds have a distinct texture with a great pop in the mouth.

Mm hm.

After the cream (preferably unpasteurized heavy cream) has been added to the cooled jammy mixture above along with fresh lemon juice, I threw it in the ice cream machine and let it turn for a half hour. Then I spread it evenly in a small ceramic dish, sliced off a few thin disks of fresh fig, and pressed them into the surface of the ice cream and popped it into the freezer. When I pulled it out the next day it looked, well like that. Calm deep purple waves.

After letting it sit out at room temperature for 5-10 minutes, the consistency yielded to the perfect creamy scoop. To me, the flavor was lovely. It wasn't too sweet and the fig flavor was not cloyed by the cream or sugar. The lemon juice really let the fig sing, so pay attention to the amount you decide to add because it made quite the difference between a "whatever, yeah it's good" ice cream to "wow, perfection" ice cream. Throw a few pistachios on top and you're set.

Fig Ice Cream

adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

makes around 3 cups

2 lbs 'Black Mission' fresh figs (about 20)

1/2 cup of water

1 lemon

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup preferably unpasteurized heavy cream

1 Tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (or to taste, definitely make it to your taste)

Cut all the woody stems from the figs and then quarter each half of a fig for a total of eight pieces per fig. Place all the figs in a small saucepan and add the water and zest of the lemon. Cover the pan and let it cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until the figs are tender. You will want to stir it occasionally. Once the figs become tender, add the sugar and continue to cook at the same temperature and stir frequently until the figs reach a thicker jammy consistency. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Once it is cool, pour the mixture into a food processor or blender, add the cream and lemon juice and purée until smooth. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired. Chill this mixture in the fridge thoroughly. Then you can throw it in your ice cream maker for 30 minutes or so if you have a Cuisinart machine.

The Raw Chocolate Shake

2010-10-18T12:11:00.004-04:00

I think the raw food movement is damn cool. While I honestly can't imagine going strictly raw, I am absolutely intrigued by the amount of energy raw foods provide. Ever since I received Raw Food Real World three years ago I have kept my eyes open for new ways to incorporate this wicked cuisine into my routine.

Often when trying out a new way of eating, some people seem to get so disappointed when these new raw 'milkshakes' that don't have dairy don't taste like milkshakes with dairy. Insert over the top eye roll here. I think it's brilliant to be surprised by any type of food that looks like one thing and turns out to be made from ingredients you can't quite put your finger on. That is exactly why I become enamored by recipes like this. Now I'm sure I'm not alone in this: a pro to all this raw action: not a whole lot of clean up. There of course are raw dishes that require a lot of work and there are others that only involve throwing a bunch of stuff laying around the house into a blender and voila.

One of my new favorite blogs is My New Roots. She just celebrated her third year of blogging and has a large following. I love to learn as much as I can about the foods I eat, that's why I tend to lean towards blogs and books that pay attention to the healthful or medicinal properties food can bring, it always adds to the number one experience of eating: the taste. What really floored me was seeing ordinary ingredients take on new roles. The creaminess comes from the frozen banana and avocado, and the soaked almonds although blended until very smooth add a bit of texture. The raw cacao brings the chocolate decadence which is offset perfectly with that dash of salt. Needing a tad extra sweetness, raw agave nectar brings it's not too sweet quality to perfect use. The flavor profile is a creamy, rich chocolate-almond-banana shake. So here's to empty glasses of raw chocolate 'milkshakes', because this one is damn fine.

Raw Chocolate 'Milkshake'

adapted from My New Roots

makes around 16 ounces

1/3 cup soaked raw organic almonds

2 Tbsp raw cacao powder

1 ripe avocado

1 large frozen banana

2 Tbsp agave nectar

dash of sea salt

3/4- 1 cup water

4 ice cubes

Method

Soak your raw almonds for at least a couple of hours. Combine all of the ingredients except for the water in a blender or food processor. Add the water until you've reached your desired consistency; it's pretty thick so I ended up adding the entire cup of water. The ice cubes add that milkshake mouthfeel. I didn't finish the entire shake and saved half in the fridge. When I pulled it out of the fridge the next day the ice flecks of course had melted and then I realized, this would make a great pudding! Put in a little less water, no ice cubes and chill in dessert glasses or bowls. Garnish with chopped almonds or do the whipped cream thing if you're not raw.

Dark & Snarky

2010-10-09T17:15:00.003-04:00

After seeing the movie 'The Social Network' I was initially inspired. I thought it was a great story, and although the actual events will only be known to those truly involved, one of the oldest stories was clearly told: you have to sacrifice something great to achieve something great.

When I'm feeling a lack of creativity and motivation, I find there is little else that gets my brain cranking out great ideas other than watching a dramatic story of conviction and intellect. After watching 'The Social Network' my brain was humming and positively consumed by trying to connect all the different possible pathways with the question: "can we have it all? Always a loaded question because sacrifice is best friends with ambition. And these questions inevitably bring me down a dark road. It's only a matter of time until I gradually climb back to the middle ground of where I started, yet feeling slightly lighter for having figured out something new about myself.

This talk I went to last night couldn't have come at a better time. Really couldn't. Thank you Jonathan Harris. I've been struggling to find a new balance in my life--which I will find in my mid-thirties, or so the "Life Sentence", an actual sentence compiled of feelings (so effing smart), tells me. This balance is something we all look for, I know. We all start looking for it for different reasons, from different places and come to it in all different fashions. But to the same end we all need it. Mine, in a much abbreviated nutshell, is to find balance with my right and left brained self. This has involved a lot of back and forth with thinking I need to pick or settle for one or the other to be fulfilled. I discovered it's having to pick one that's left me unbalanced. Hilariously enough (insert snarkiness here) I think of it as a seesaw. I use my left brain to synthesize all the logical information as to why seesaws work, then I go and sit on one side and think if I push hard enough I can make it work. I need my right brain to carry as much weight as my left brain to move freely. My struggle has been putting too much weight on one side of “my” seesaw.

"We Feel Fine" is one of the projects Jonathan Harris spoke about during his talk. If you are reading this and live in Vermont, you are in luck: he is the Artist in Residence at UVM right now and has a show currently at The Fire House Gallery in Burlington. Human emotion and the Interwebs, it affects us all and his mission is fascinating.

I felt this drink was quite appropriate in regards to my feelings and emotions as of late. Although it is traditionally called A Dark and Stormy, I am not a traditional gal, so it is more of a Dark and Extra Stormy (extra ginger), and because when I am feeling dark, I don't get extra stormy, I get extra snarky. After having one of these when feeling this way I tend to balance out to a Warm and Smiley.

VT Cheesemakers Festival

2010-09-01T13:50:00.004-04:00

I finally bought tickets for the VT Cheesemakers Festival this year. I am a huge fan of cheese, any kind of cheese, and when I bought my tickets all I could think of was how I haven't made it to any in the past 14 years. The first festival was in 1996. I am a Vermonter, it is my duty to attend these things. Once I perused the website I realized there was going to be a large number of attendees and over 40 cheesemakers from Vermont. I knew there were a lot of cheesemakers in this state, but I had no idea how many, and from the website's info, seems we've got the highest number of cheesemakers per capita. No wonder I have a desire for owning goats and making cheese, it's my birthright.

I met the Editor-in-Chief of Culture Magazine, Elaine Khosrova. She had a table set up amongst the other tables overflowing with cheese. It was great to talk with one of the amazing women who is responsible for this incredible publication. Because there are only four issues a year, I anticipate each release date as if I'm experiencing a month of Sundays. It has a cheese centerfold, seriously.

Although there were a great deal of fine food purveyors with 30 artisan food folks and an additional 20 beer and wine folks, I stayed on message with the cheese.

I sampled several varieties and I wanted to bring home just as many, yet I settled on three that I planned on eating entirely in one sitting. I've learned it's best if you're going to buy only three cheeses, buy ones with very different flavor profiles. I chose to not pay attention to that at all and just picked up three cheeses I really liked. Two were goat cheeses, one soft with a white bloomy rind from Sage Farm Goat Dairy called 'Madonna' and one hard from Lazy Lady with arind the color of asphalt spotted with white blooms. The other was similar to a comté made from cow's milk, super nutty and delish called 'Rupert' made by Consider Bardwell Farm.

Each cheese was excellent in a very different way and between my husband and I, we did in fact eat the majority of that cheese in one sitting along with a few grapes and wine. I enjoyed this event because it was busting at the seams with samples of all sorts and because it was a great feeling to find new flavors and to be re-introduced to incredible artisanal products made right here in Vermont.

Greek Cucumber Salad

2010-08-06T15:45:00.005-04:00

Those cucumbers were harvested two days ago, along with the garlic, cipollini onions, mint, and oregano flowers. This whole summer I've been enjoying weekly shares from Half Pint Farm. I haven't mentioned them in the past couple of posts, so I figured it's time to remind everyone for the hundredth time how much I love them. I love that we are given a few recipe cards every week with our share. They prove to be very helpful suggestions when you are faced with a mountain of gorgeous produce.

All of the ingredients in this simple salad are things I love, but what really sold me was the small garnish of oregano flowers and their incorporation in the dressing. It's these small details that will pull me into any recipe. I love how the densely budded flowers are studded throughout the salad and how they bring only the essence of oregano to the dish. It wasn't until after I read an article in the latest issue of Saveur about the holy trinity of Greek flavorings being: olive oil, oregano and lemon juice that I wondered if perhaps fresh oregano really ought to be in this salad. But the more I thought about what the flowers brought to the table, the more I realized oregano, fresh or dried will always have a comfy and prominent place with its spicy and pungent aromatics. For the flavor profile of the flowers to really shine they require a salad such as this with fresh ingredients and minimal fussing. It is always very exciting for me to discover the uses of ingredients I've never used before!

Greek Cucumber Salad

Half Pint Farm Recipe

serves 4

2-3 medium cucumbers

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

small sprig of oregano flowers

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small yellow cipollini onion, finely diced

8 ounces feta cheese, cubed or crumbled depending on type

1-2 tablespoons fresh mint or more to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the cucumbers, no need to peel if they have a thin skin. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise, and then again so that when you chop them, each piece looks like a 1/4 pie piece. Dice onion, chop mint and dice or crumble feta cheese. Toss with cucumbers in a bowl. Whisk the vinegar, oil, half of the oregano flowers, garlic and salt and pepper together. Pour the dressing over the rest of the ingredients and toss gently, garnish with a few more flowers.

Salmon Arm, British Columbia

2010-08-03T15:00:00.002-04:00

In the beginning of July we took our annual trip out west to the Southern Interior of British Columbia. We stay in a city (which feels more like a town) by the name of Salmon Arm and it is on the shores of the Shuswap Lake. The town's name is derived from the Salmon River that empties into the Salmon Arm reach of the lake. That region is filled with extreme mountainous heights with equally impressive valleys and lakes; its big country out there.

Margaret Falls is one the of the many waterfalls around that area, and it is a perfect place for a walk on a hot day. It is at least 10 degrees cooler on the dirt path under the dense canopy of old trees on the way to the waterfall.

We also made a trip to Larch Hill Winery. It was a steep climb to the vineyard and thus quite a striking view. A fantastic place to relax and enjoy a refreshing glass of wine.

And of course a visit wouldn't be complete with out me finding the location of goats (at least) and making friends with them. These kids were brand new and were happy to show off their frolicking skills, with subsequent slurps of water and then making a beeline for a shady spot.

There must have been about 40 of them that now live on the property behind the "Twisted Bagel Ranch." Every day we could hear the bleats of the goats and peer around a line of trees next to the unoccupied emu shed and watch them. I was so happy to be able to meet them.

Since we normally make our visit to Salmon Arm in May, it is still a bit on the chilly side and we miss the seasonal fruits, yet this year we were right in time for cherry season.

Full-on summer and insane amounts of cherries, I've never seen so many. There were cherries right out our front door and we spent a whole morning picking, eating and lounging under them. I'd forgotten how delicious they are straight from the tree and warm from the sun. It was the epitome of summer: laying on a blanket with my husband under the trees with a good book, a bowl of cherries and this sweet fuzzy face! Her name is Hava and she is a wonderful companion. Those ears get me every time.

Happy summer and happy travels!

Shallot Soup with Watercress Purée

2010-06-08T15:16:00.003-04:00

Shallot Soup with Watercress Purée

adapted from Olive Magazine

serves 4

10 large banana shallots, peeled and sliced very fine

3 cloves of garlic

thyme, a few sprigs

50g butter

2 potatoes peeled and diced

1 litre chicken stock, or vegetable stock

3 bay leaves

200ml double cream

Watercress Purée

1 small onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic

25g butter

150ml double cream

3 bunches of watercress, washed

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Greek Bubble & Squeak

2010-06-07T18:27:00.001-04:00

This plate of delightful goodness made me extremely happy when I was deep in packing mode. And I think it will do the same for you whilst packing, unpacking, or preferably not packing at all.

Now that we are comfortable in our new place with about half of our stuff unpacked, I feel I can sit down and think about food in the normal way I think about it. From the time I packed up all of my foodie things; kitchen wares to cookbooks, I had to pack my thoughts into my mind grapes (yes I love 30 Rock) and save them for later. It felt good not to think about all that stuff for awhile. Because between the last few days of packing, closing on the new place, and finally moving (not renting a large enough truck and having to make two trips, whoops) and unpacking, I didn't have time to think about making those long breakfast radishes with herb salt and butter. Until now. Now that the kitchen is functional with Half Pint Farm goodies in the fridge and all of my cookbooks are on a shelf where I can see them, my mind grapes are fully functional.

I wanted to be sure to post about this because it's been awhile since a meal made me laugh because it was so good and I mean, Bubble and Squeak, need I say more? Traditionally there is no sausage in this dish, but I wanted one so that is why it's there. Sauteed red onion, garlic, wilted baby spinach, sheep's milk feta, kalamata olives, and baby red potatoes, seriously. Oh and a generous confetti of parsley on top. I'm a very big fan of Al Fresco's chicken sausages, and I thought the feta and spinach flavor paired particularly well here.

Greek Bubble and Squeak

serves 2 as a main course

adapted from Delicious UK Magazine, April '10

500g small baby red potatoes, halved if large

125ml light olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red onion finely sliced

100g pitted kalamata olives

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

30g fresh flatleaf parsley roughly chopped

75g feta, roughly crumbled

*I added a handful of baby spinach and a chicken sausage as well.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the potatoes for 10-15 minutes until tender, but not too soft. Drain and set aside on a towel to dry.

Return the potatoes to the saucepan and lightly crush them using a fork or small potato masher. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat, add the potatoes and carefully stir to coat. Cook for 8-10 minutes without stirring to get a golden crust. (This is when the squeaking starts:)) Shake the pan to remove any bits of potato stuck on the bottom of the pan.

Turn the potatoes using tongs, then add the garlic and onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Stir in the olives.

Remove from the heat, stir through the lemon juice (the bubble) and parsley. Add that handful of baby spinach at this point so it is lightly wilted if you so choose. Plate and scatter the crumbled feta on at the last minute.

Tropical Banana Split

2010-05-05T15:43:00.001-04:00

This banana split accurately depicts the events of my life over the past month or so. It's not until all is said and done that it looks so perfectly simple, effortless, and easy even. It is truly the rare occasion when you find the result to be as easy to achieve as the steps convey. More often than not however, the result of everything looking so devilishly simple is often due to a convergence of sweat, swears and tears. Yes, I'm totally talking about something more difficult then this banana split but to the same end, it's not as easy as it looks.

We bought our first home.

As my cat sits peacefully on the windowsill smelling the sunny spring air, gazing at the new leaves blowing in the wind I realize how happy I am that we've rented for the past few years. As with all debates about the "right thing to do" we grappled with buying for years. You've all heard or said it yourself: "why waste your rent money, get a mortgage." Any of you who know me well, know all too well I always want to do the right thing at the right time but it has to be the right time for me. I will find my own path, in the jungle, in the dark, without a machete if you see what I'm saying.

And of course there will be many people around you wanting to give you advice on the whole process, some of it helpful, some of it not. Cutting to the chase on that one; you have to find what is right for you. Which is an infuriating thing, really. In fact, all the planning in the world may make you feel better, but for me, in retrospect, all of the important decisions/choices/questions came out in the moment. I think the real trick of it all, ironically, is to not fall for the reasons why other people think this house or that house will work for you. You have to know in your bones it's right for you, period.

Enter tropical banana split. I remember finding this recipe in my favorite magazine (delicious, Australian) and thinking to myself how perfect it was. The classic banana split gets a vacation and comes back all refreshed and exotic! Something I think we all hope for on vacation. We are our classic selves on a daily basis, but after awhile, if we keep looking at ourselves in the same way it's easy to start taking things for granted, we look/feel bored, used, blah. Going on vacation makes us see and feel new things, which reminds us that we don't need to change who we are, just how we see things.

So this split reminds me of a lot of things. Be happy with who you are, trust you know what works for you, nothing is as simple as it looks, and anything in your life worth having ought to be something you've worked hard for, or else it sort of just sits there. Once we made the choice to buy a house, we were sucked up into the real estate vacuum and spit back out once we found it. Being on the other side of it now, makes me feel deep in my bones, I do know what I want and I'm game to do what it takes to get it.

The proof is in the pudding.

Bananas with Coconut Butterscotch sauce and Macadamia Praline

delicious. Magazine Jan 2010

serves 6

100g unsalted macadamias, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups sugar

100ml coconut cream

6 ripe bananas

400ml heavy cream, whipped

chocolate sauce (favorite jarred or scratch recipe follows)

Scatter the macadamia nuts on a lined tray, such as a silpat. Heat the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a pan over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and cook without stirring for 10 minutes, brushing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystals from forming. When the caramel is golden, quickly pour half over the nuts. Don't worry about it looking nice, you'll be smashing it up anyway. (Making the praline was difficult for me, it took me three tries to get it right because I don't have a lot of experience working with sugar like this. So this was what I was referring to above when I said it wasn't as easy as it looked.) Return the remaining caramel to low heat and quickly add the coconut cream. It will seize, so continue to stir until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cool.

When toffeed nuts are hard place in a bag and bash with a rolling pin (if you've had a rough day) or pulse in a food processor until chopped.

To serve, slice the bananas through the center lengthways. Sandwich with the whipped cream and place on serving plates. Drizzle with chocolate and butterscotch sauce and sprinkle with praline. *I also tried this recipe using a little coconut cream to flavor the whipped cream and not as much coconut cream to the caramel. I enjoyed that switch a bit more.

If you're interested...

Chocolate sauce

delicious magazine

makes 1 1/2 cups

200ml thin cream

50ml reduced fat milk

200g dark chocolate, chopped

20g good-quality cocoa powder

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to just below boiling point, then remove from heat and gently whisk in chocolate and cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool. Extra sauce will keep in fridge up to 5 days.

Chickpea Spread/Dip

2010-03-25T16:21:00.001-04:00

I have my waves of eating hummus. I hardly, if ever, purchase it because it is so easy to make. My favorite recipe for the "classic" hummus is from Ina Garten. Hers is loaded with lots of fresh lemon and also includes tahini, garlic and a dash of cayenne. I'm a huge fan because I love lemon in hummus.

I was having people over for dinner and I was thumbing through a bunch of apps and came upon this Indian chickpea spread. I noticed the ingredient list was pretty different from what I was used to making. It is more of a spread/dip with a base of chickpeas because it doesn't include the main ingredient technically found in hummus: tahini. Instead it includes garam masala, coriander, cumin, diced tomatoes, minced onions, lime juice, and fresh cilantro.

I have to say, I wasn't totally thrilled with it. As you can see, I was eating this with some whole wheat pita bread--dip-style. I ate it when it was still warm and the flavors seemed to have not made friends with each other yet. Like most dips, they usually taste way better with at least a few hours in the fridge, or better yet, the next day. So I ate some warm. Meh. I then ate some the next day straight out of the fridge with more pita bread. Better. But still not a major fan. I think I might enjoy this as a spread for a sandwich with greens and some crunchy veg. I know I am not done with this dip, I know that, I'm just not sure how I like to eat it.

How about you?

Indian Chickpea Spread

Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Fav's

makes 2 cups

1/2 cup minced onions

1 tsp veg oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (16 oz can)

2 tsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

salt to taste

In a skillet saute the onions in oil on low heat for about 10 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic, coriander, cumin, garam masala, and cayenne and saute for a couple of minutes and stir constantly to prevent sticking. Add the tomatoes, and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Drain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid. Throw them in a food processor and grind until smooth adding the reserved liquid a little at a time. Stir the puree into the tomato mixture and add the lime juice and cilantro. Cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add salt to taste. When using organic, low sodium chickpeas, as I did, note that you may need to double the measures of spices and salt. I usually amp-up the spices in any dish, but that's just me.

Red Lentil Soup

2010-03-04T13:35:00.007-05:00

I know, it's not red.

I was expecting a crazy vibrant red soup, but really, red lentils aren't that red. And they're in there to create body among the large quantity of onions. But seriously I don't care what color the soup turned out to be, I made my own chicken stock from scratch and this lentil soup was the lucky receiver. And lucky me all around I'm telling you.

I totally understand the difference between homemade stock that I let simmer for four hours, oh yes, four hours, and the stuff from the store in a can or carton. I didn't realize soup could taste so damn fine with so little ingredients. I suppose I've always known that simple flavor profiles almost always prove to be the best, but I guess I never truly knew that first hand. At least not with homemade chicken stock. Now I know better.

This recipe is adapted from a book I just finished reading. I'm in a foodie book club and this book was chosen by one of our fellow foodies and I loved it. The book is Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran. It's about three Iranian sisters who move to Ireland and open a cafe. The recipes in the book were very inspiring to me and as soon as I finished the book I decided the red lentil soup was the first dish to make. I scaled the recipe in half because the quantities were rather large for me, and I ended up adding two other varieties of lentils and a few crumbles of feta cheese for garnish. I am in love with this soup. I love how it fills you up, but doesn't weigh you down. The flavors are complex with few ingredients and with some good crusty bread you will be a very happy individual...if you aren't already.

Red Lentil Soup

recipe adapted from Pomegranate Soup

1 cup dried red lentils

3 1/2 white onions, chopped

3 1/2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp ground cumin

3 1/2 cups chicken stock (or broth) But I highly recommend really good stock.

1 1/2 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

crumbled feta cheese for garnish

Place the lentils in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook them uncovered for 9 minutes. Drain them and set aside. It a large pot, saute 3 of the onions, garlic, turmeric and cumin in 1-2 tbsp of olive oil until golden. Add the lentils, stock or broth, and water to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste and allow the soup to come to a boil. Reduce to a low heat, cover, and let simmer for 40 minutes. *At this point I decided to add a handful each of green lentils and Puy lentils. For additional color and texture. I added a tad more water at the end. Fry the remaining half of the onion in olive oil until crisp but not blackened. Add as a garnish over the soup. Add crumbled feta if desired.

Kona, Hawai'i

2010-01-25T21:48:00.005-05:00

I'm not entirely sure any words will do this post justice. In fact, the time it took for me to figure out this kind of artful layout deserves a moment of silence. I promise to return in a timely fashion to chat more about this trip and report on the one I'm about about to take.

Late Autumn Salad

2009-12-16T21:35:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting at my kitchen table admiring the cleanliness that surrounds me. This past Sunday I threw a dinner party with a total of 8 adults and 4 children. It was a trip. Usually I'm up to my ears in preparation right up until, and while the guests arrive. I know it's not fun running around and doing all this crap while people are coming in the door, not fun for me or for my guests. So, I decided to set a new goal for myself when it comes to having guests over: get everything done before they arrive, leaving enough time to chill and have a cocktail. I accomplished that goal and it really made a huge difference. I still get lost in the chaos that is a party; the million conversations going on at once while the children are running around trying to find my terrified cat who is huddled inside the box-spring of the bed hiding for dear life. I have these clear-headed moments when I can follow along like a normal person, participating in a dialogue. Yet more often than not I find myself solely paying attention to my food or to the little four-year-old girl walking by in my 3" pointy toed black patent leather stilletos. When I look up from my current distraction I find someone is looking at me wondering what I think if what they just said. My reply is usually: "Hey in the what now?" So poised I know. I'm telling you, preparing all the food ahead of time and keeping it warm in the oven until needed reduced my "hey in the what now" moments by at least half. And that's a good thing, because you need your wits about you with party shenanigans, or else you too will find a raw onion in your watering can the next morning.

This is not the salad I served at my party. I served a totally awesome spread of Caribbean dishes which were vegetarian with vegan options. I've always got a vegan, vegetarian, and plethora of omnivores at a single party and unlike most people I find it a (positive) challenge to cater to all. It always forces me to find new ways of looking at recipes. I will be posting the recipes of that meal here sooner or later, no worries. The salad here is from the November menu at Plumpest Peach the biz. I am in awe of its color and texture. I love finding salads like this, salads without greens that are entirely crunchy, raw, and delicious. It would impress anyone I think. The more colorful options you can get in there such as different colored beets, multi-colored carrots etc, the more gorgeous it becomes. A mandoline is another must here because you don't want any of these raw and crunchy veggies to be sliced on the thick side because you'll already be chewing assertively as it is. Plus, there's something about having wafer-thin vegetables piled high on the plate, it is a work of art no?

Another recipe adapted from Skye Gyngell's A Year in My Kitchen. This woman is incredible!

Late Autumn Salad

serves 4

1 pomegranate

1/4 red cabbage, cored

1 fennel bulb

4 raw beets, washed

3 carrots, peeled

2 apples

small bunch of fresh tarragon, leaves only

salt and pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Dressing

2 organic free-range egg yolks

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp cream

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp pomegranate molasses

200ml mild vegetable oil

Extract the seeds from the pomegranate, avoiding the bitter membrane. A good way to separate the little pieces of membrane from the seeds is to collect the seeds and bowl, fill with cold water and the membrane bits should float to the top.

Using a mandoline slice the red cabbage into thin ribbons. Cut off the base of the fennel bulb and remove any tough layers and slice finely again with the mandoline. The same goes for the beets slicing into very thin rounds. Using a vegetable peeler this time, shave the carrots into long ribbons. Quarter and core the apples and (I think using a knife here would be fine) thinly slice with the skin on.

Place the cabbage, fennel, beets, carrots, apples and tarragon in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice over the veggies. Toss gently together with your hands and set aside while you make the dressing.

Put the egg yolks into a bowl. Add the honey, mustard, cream, cider vinegar and pomegranate molasses and whisk together to combine. Season with a little salt and pepper. Pour in the oil in a slow stream, whisking as you do so to emulsify. It should have the consistency of a very loose mayonnaise.

Divide the salads among individual plates and pile it high! Drizzle over the dressing and scatter the pomegranate seeds around the plate and serve. A little extra tarragon for garnish looks great too!

Pear Cocktail

2009-11-04T13:12:00.004-05:00

An incredible autumn cocktail that promises to warm you up. Pear brandy packs a whollop.

Pear Cocktail

makes one drink

2 oz pear brandy

2 oz pear nectar

3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

1 pear slice

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all of the ingredients except for the pear slice. Shake well and strain into a martini glass and garnish with pear slice. *Seckel pears are perfect for this garnish because they are tiny, use a mandoline to get a paper thin slice.

Apricot Bars

2009-10-05T06:00:00.003-04:00

I've always been an eater of dried apricots. I have eaten them mostly by the handful, randomly over my life. I'm sure they have been in lots of stuff like chewy granola bar things and holiday specific desserts with apricot preserves, but I am at a complete loss as to when I have ever eaten apricots, dried or fresh as some form of side to a meat dish or anything featuring: the apricot. Hmpf.

I do however have this bar I can talk about, which is great because I have to talk about how damn tasty and frikin' good apricots are! The flavor, oh geez the flavor of these bars really gets me going because who knew apricots could be so complex? I'm sure you knew. I love the fact that they are still tart, yet have a texture which is velvety soft and a sweetness that is bold but not tooth-decaying.

This recipe is what has made me re-think the apricot. The bar has both fresh and dried apricots which I think is just insanely good, because it gets the apricot to shine in a few ways. The crust is hard and crunchy which is necessary to hold in all that top heavy, thick, juicy/jammy filling. The walnuts on top add the extra crunch and mellow nuttiness the apricots seem to cry out for on their own. Of course now that they are long gone I'm feeling the need to make them again, and so this is where I will stop myself...and hope you will inform me of new ways to eat apricots. Please hurry!

Apricot Bars

makes 16 bars

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

6 Tbsp unsalted cold butter

Mix together until butter and flour mixture in a food processor until it resembles a coarse meal. Press into a 8x8 pan and bake for 15 minutes. While this is baking, prepare the filling.

1 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped fresh apricots

1 cup water

zest of 1 lemon

1/3 cup sugar

3 tsp cornstarch

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a saucepan add the dried apricots and water and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Add sugar, lemon zest, cornstarch and cook until bubbly. Turn off the heat and add the fresh apricots, stir and let sit until cool. Spread apricot mixture over the cooked crust and sprinkle with the walnuts, pressing the walnuts gently over the apricot mixture. Bake for another 20 minutes. Cut into bars when cooled.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

What a puddin'.

Chickpea & Sweet Potato Koftas

2009-09-28T06:00:00.003-04:00

I've been looking forward to posting about this dish right here. Oh man. It's a winner. I have a soft spot for stuff like this. I know kotfas are traditionally fried crispy balls and are equally if not more tasty than these pan fried cakes, but I'm not crazy about frying things. There is a time and place for it with donuts, fritters, and fries of course, but I usually forgo the frying option if possible. I know, what kind of foodie am I? I did make a small batch into balls by pan frying them and it was more labor intensive, but I have to admit they almost tasted better because of the shape. There is something about balls isn't there. Don't answer that.

Anyway the koftas are a delicious blend of sweet potatoes and chickpeas along with garlic, ginger, scallions, cumin and lemon juice which gives a great brightness of flavor to the cake. I chose this lemon tahini dressing from Moosewood Restaurant to go with the koftas because it highlights the lemon juice in the mix of ingredients yet adds another dimension of nutty flavor with a creamy texture to the overall dish. I wasn't sure what else to pair with the meal, but turns out a few slices of cucumber and a bed of fresh greens really did the trick. It's a comforting meal regarding the warm koftas, but still light and fresh with the greens and healthy dressing. And really, you couldn't ask for more with the color of the meal, just look at it, who wouldn't want to eat that?

Oh, and the best part of this is, you would never know this entire dish is dairy-free and gluten-free. Next time you may be put off for having to make dinner for folks with these diet restrictions, know it will be equally enjoyed by everyone.

Chickpea & Sweet Potato Koftas

adapted from Vegetable Heaven, Mollie Katzen

makes 16 2 1/2 inch patties (4 main-dish servings)

1 medium-sized sweet potato or garnet yam

one 15 oz can chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 large clove garlic

2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoons lightly toasted cumin seeds

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper to taste

6 tbsp chickpea flour

vegetable oil or olive oil for sauteing

Peel and dice the sweet potato and cook it in boiling water until soft--about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Drain well. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of cooked sweet potato and transfer to a food processor.

Add all the other ingredients, except the flour and oil. Puree until fairly smooth. The mixture might be very thick, depending on the sweet potato or yam. Transfer to a bowl.

Stir in the flour until it is thoroughly incorporated, then gently stir in the peas. Form into a large or small patties. To make them uniform and, use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop up the mixture, then pat each one down until it is about 1/2 inch thick and 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

Place a skillet over medium heat and add a little bit of oil. When the oils is very hot, add the patties, and saute for about 8-10 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned and heated through. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. I like to serve them over some mesclun greens and sliced cucumber.

Lemon Tahini Dressing

adapted from Moosewood Restaurant

makes about 2 cups

1 cup tahini

3/4 cup cool water

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1-2 garlic cloves

1/2 to 1 tsp ground cumin

1 pinch cayenne pepper

salt to taste

Pour the tahini into a large mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in the water and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients and salt to taste. Add additional water if necessary to achieve the consistency of heavy cream. Keeps for several weeks in an airtight container.

Chilled Almond Soup

2009-09-23T13:00:00.001-04:00

I was going to post this as a Wordless Wednesday shot, but I found it difficult to click the publish button with out any words, at least on this one. So here's a tiny little blurb about it, and I'll try to keep the keys quiet next week and pick a more appropriate photo that I am able to actually keep quiet about!

This soup is very unique and I've had nothing like it before. It's very thick and luxurious with rich nutty flavor. And, with such a short ingredient list it's very simple to make and creates a flavorful start to a summer or early fall dinner. Due to the richness, I would suggest a light main course and really try and use the ripe fig and rose syrup. Those two ingredients really set the soup on a level all it's own.

Chilled Almond Soup

adapted from A Year in My Kitchen, Skye Gyngell

serves 4

1 cup really good quality day-old bread

1 1/2 cups shelled almonds (in skins)

3 small garlic cloves, peeled

1 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar

7 oz extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 oz ice-cold water (approximately)

To serve:

1 perfectly ripe fig

1 tbsp rose syrup, or extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (optional)

finely chopped toasted almonds (as seen in above picture)

Remove the crust from the bread, then cut into cubes and place in a bowl. Add cold water to cover and allow to soak for 2-3 minutes, then squeeze out excess water and set aside.

Drop the almonds into a pan of boiling water and leave for a minute or two, then remove. When cool enough to handle, slip the nuts out of their skins.

Put the garlic, almonds, bread, sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Then, with the motor running, slowly pour in the ice-cold water until the soup is the thickness of double cream. The consistency is very important--too thick and it would feel cloying, too thin and it would be unsubstantial. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for and hour or longer, until really well chilled.

Ladle the soup into soup plates. Cut the fig into thin wedges and lay two of these in the center of each bowl. Drizzle with a tiny amount of rose hip syrup, or extra virgin olive oil if you prefer.

Spiced Yogurt Muffins

2009-09-21T12:37:00.004-04:00

These muffins and I have had a love/hate relationship since Saturday morning when I made them until just a few moments ago. I've had this recipe on my desk for weeks and weeks, and everything about them sounded so wonderful I'm not sure why I didn't make them sooner. Finally Saturday morning, oddly enough, I felt energized and in great need to make them. The ingredients all adhering to a strict healthy code of goodness was enough for me to believe they would be everything they claimed to be. Who doesn't love yogurt in baked goods? And applesauce instead of oil, who couldn't be psyched about that? Oh, and not to mention the spiced part, being: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice...dude.

So I'm mixing the ingredients together and the aroma of the wet and dry ingredients colliding is nothing short of amazing. Once they are popped in the oven, the kitchen and part of the living room is now smelling amazing. I whip them out of the oven after the suggested 18 minutes and watch patiently for them to cool. They are feeling really springy, the sugar on top is sparkling and I'm sure the stars in my eyes are sparkling as much as the sugar. I peel the paper liner off and the stars in my eyes totally fade out. I can feel the top of my lip start to twitch and raise in the direction of my nose. "What is going on with this muffin!?" I start muttering to myself while I poke at the spongy muffin whose base is mostly stuck to the liner. I poke at it some more like a monkey and snif at it a few times. "Why is this muffin so weird and airy? I don't know if I like this!" I put the entire thing in my mouth and expect it to be difficult to handle all at once and it's gone down my gullet faster than I don't know what. It's a damned fluffy muffin and at that time I was really confused with whether or not this was a good thing. Granted it has been a really long time since I last had a muffin, so I might have genuinely forgotten what a good muffin tastes like.

I have been eating them, and liking them ever since Saturday morning so I really must like them. But I'm not entirely sure why. They taste good and they don't sit in your stomach like a brick, which I know is a good thing. They're chock full of good healthy stuff and that makes me happy so I guess all in all I am suggesting you make these for yourself. Just make sure you have some extra butter handy. I'm just sayin'.

Spiced Yogurt Muffins

Food & Wine Magazine Nov 2008

Makes 18 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups plain low-fat yogurt

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Line 18 muffin cups with paper or foil liners. Lightly spray the liners with vegetable oil spray.

In a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and 1/2 tsp of the nutmeg and pulse to blend; transfer to a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter, applesauce and vanilla. Fold the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients until just blended.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the granulated sugar and remaining 1/4 tsp nutmeg over the muffins. Bake for 18 minutes, until the muffins are springy; let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies

2009-09-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

Oh you freakin' tasty cookies you will be the end of me.

When your Mom makes fantastic jam (all types, but strawberry in this case) and decides to put that freshly made jam into a thumbprint cookie, and not the typical thumbprint cookie (one's with roasted Brazil nuts, in this case) it's time to use both hands to push decency and rationality as far away as possible...and just eat as many as you can stand.

Yes my Mom is an incredible pastry chef and no she is not for hire. But I hope she won't mind (I'm sure she'll secretly love it) that I puff her up here a bit. She does more than help me with my dessert selection for Plumpest Peach. The reason it is a consistently stellar selection is because I have a mighty brain of seasoned skills, patience, common sense, originality and sheer love of sweets behind me. I wouldn't be able to bake very well with out her guidance and explanation of the methods supporting the recipe. She has a certain knowing of how things feel when they are ready and she speaks a language I understand. So when it comes time for me to do it myself, I can recall exactly how that dough should feel, whether it needs two or three tablespoons of water to get there. That's when I know I have truly learned; a lesson worth learning and one I could only learn from her.

I am so happy to be able to offer such damn fine sweets, and happier still that you can make them yourself and enjoy them as much as I do. I'm sure I can't thank my Mom enough for making my life as sweet at it is, but here's to another one, just for shit's and giggles!

Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies

adapted from Stonewall Kitchen

makes 24-30 cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup roasted and very finely chopped Brazil nuts

1/3 cup freshly made strawberry jam, or favorite brand

Preheat oven to 350 F, and lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Cream butter in a large bowl until light and creamy. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Sift into butter mixture and blend. Stir in Brazil nuts and chill dough about 1 hour until firm enough to form 1" balls.

Roll dough into balls and put on cookie sheet leaving about 2" of space between them. Make and indentation in the center of each ball with your thumb or the handle of a wooden spoon. Fill each cookie with a generous 1/4 tsp of jam. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 14 to 15 minutes. Remove pan, allow cookies to rest for a minute before transferring to a rack to cool.

*As a side note, the dough does better on a cooler day, and be sure the balls are on the smaller side, as they spread out to a 3" cookie when the ball is rolled into the 1" ball.

Middle Eastern Chickpeas

2009-09-10T14:30:00.000-04:00

I went to the Champlain Valley fair this past weekend. I fell in love with a certain sheep and her name was Cinnamon. She had the sweetest face and seemed to fully enjoy getting attention from my husband and I. We stroked her little face and pet the top of her fuzzy head and her eyes would close and I swear I saw the corners of her mouth turn upwards. As soon as we stood up to walk away she put her head back through the wood fence and give us this look. And of course we would turn around and go back to stroking her little face and petting the top of her fuzzy head. Oh Cinnamon you melt my heart.

Of course the fair is full of serious snacking opportunities. Bratwurst was consumed from Mr. Sausage, fries from Al's, a dozen mixed donuts from Dizzy Donuts, lemonade and copious amounts of maple products. The fair also includes rides, of which I cannot handle, at least not more than the ferris wheel due to certain types of motion sickness. However, I was feeling particularly optimistic on the ferris wheel thinking perhaps over the years I had somehow gotten "over it" and promptly jumped on The Orbiter with my husband. It didn't go upside down or anything so I thought it would be fine. Uh huh. No, it wasn't fine, it was barely, sorta, if it had lasted two-seconds longer totally not fine. Thank goodness I didn't embarrass myself or my husband by losing my lunch, but I did need a good amount time sitting to convince my body and mind to agree that I was standing on solid ground.

Speaking of solid ground, this dish reminds me of just that. It's one of those comfort foods for me. It tastes great cold, room temp or piping hot. Anything with chickpeas, cumin, and veggies topped with a dollop of herb flecked yogurt makes me feel all is right with the world. It's a recipe which can be whipped up in a flash especially if you have canned chickpeas on hand. And I think it can solve the problem of these in between season nights when you're not sure what you feel like eating because it's a little too chilly for salads and not quite cold enough for the hearty stew.

Middle Eastern Chickpeas with Spinach

adapted from Low-Fat Favorites Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook

serves 4

Sauce

2/3 cup Greek style low-fat yogurt

1 small garlic clove, minced for pressed

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

dash of salt

Beans

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cubed

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

pinch of saffron

1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas

10 ounces baby spinach

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Pasta

1 cup cooked orzo

Combine the yogurt, garlic, mint and salt in a bowl and set aside to blend the flavors.

In a skillet, saute the onions in the oil on medium heat until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, coriander, cumin, and saffron and continue to saute for another 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chickpeas and 1/4 cup of water and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are just tender, adding more water if necessary. Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is bright green and wilted. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper.

Serve immediately on orzo topped with a dollop of yogurt sauce.

Watermelon & Arugula Salad

2009-09-08T14:30:00.000-04:00

It seems I have taken an extremely long hiatus from my blog. The last post, which I am sure most everyone is tired of looking at by now, was supposed to be the one where I was going to get a head start and hit the ground running right into fall. As most plans don't quite work as planned, I got lost in the mystery of things and instead of hitting the ground running I apparently just hit the ground and fell off my blog wagon. I have dusted my proverbial dirt off and am now starting again. I left off with the recipes from my July menu over at PP. You can find all of my previous menus under the archive tab.

Now of course we are technically headed for autumn, but as long as the weather is warm and sunny, which it still is up here in Vermont, I am going to pretend it's still summer. The nights are getting a bit on the chilly side which makes for great sleeping, but it is still hot enough during the day to enjoy a salad such as this one and savor the last bits of needing a refreshing snack. I loved the idea of this salad when I first saw the picture of it a few years back. I typically stashed it away in that folder (that we all have) of millions of recipes. But I had no idea how good it would taste until I made it a few months ago. The aroma of the citrus juices and raspberry vinegar alone were truly eye-opening. I could only imagine how incredible those flavors would be when absorbed by the watermelon. The peppery arugula and subtle ricotta salata were certainly new additions to a fruit-based salad for me, but once I took a bite I couldn't imagine why I hadn't stumbled upon stuff like this sooner. Roasted walnuts to throw on top of it all put "the cherry on the sundae" and seriously if you haven't tried something like this yet, you must!

Watermelon & Arugula Salad with Walnuts

Food & Wine Sept 2007 Issue

serves 4

3 pound watermelon, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups arugula

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp raspberry vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup shredded ricotta salata

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, toss the watermelon with the red onion. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Add the arugula to the watermelon. In a small bowl, combine the orange and lime juices and vinegar. Pour the dressing over the salad and season with salt and pepper. Top with the ricotta salata and walnuts; drizzle with the olive oil and serve.

Beet Carpaccio

2009-08-04T11:54:00.004-04:00

I've not attended to this blog in a while, sorry for the lapse, but I've been traveling, summering and not really thinking too much about the interwebs for the last few weeks and boy has it felt good! But I'm back and I have a serious load of stories, pictures and recipes to share and I hope you're up for it.

Of course all of my veggies in every picture have been sourced from Half Pint Farm which I have mentioned, and made links to several million times so I won't do it again here, just go back a couple posts and you'll find plenty. These beets were just out of this world. The texture is like silk and the flavor is sweet and earthy. I'm telling you when I sliced these bad boys on my mandoline and started placing them on that platter, I was taken aback by how beautiful they were. The recipe was given to me by Mara and Spencer of Half Pint and I've been using them often for guidance and new ideas with my veggies. I was excited to put all of the ingredients together but I ended up omitting a few things. I'm sure as a salad (as what the recipe is for) it would be equally scrumptious but once the beets were on the plate, I only wanted to add a bit of microgreens off to the side, a little s&p, drizzle of olive oil and tiny dribble of red wine vinegar. So please try with the onions and goat cheese and let me know how it goes. I used all my beets up for this and haven't been replenished as of yet. I'm greatly looking forward to more.

Colorful Beet Carpaccio Salad

serves 4

1 bunch colorful beets

1 onion, sliced thinly

microgreens for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

favorite vinegar

favorite olive oil

favorite chevre cheese

Cut beets from greens. Reserve greens for another use, or blanch as well and use as a bed for the salad. Blanch colorful beets in boiling water until fork-tender. Soak in ice water to stop the cooking. Slip skins from the beets, or rub them off if necessary. Using a vegetable slicer or mandoline, slice each beet wafer thin. Arrange beets on a plate, arrange onion slices, microgreens and dollops of chevre cheese on top of beets. Drizzle some vinegar, olive oil, and sprinkle some sea salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies

2009-07-13T14:45:00.000-04:00

Whenever traveling I find it endlessly fascinating to people-watch. Being from a small town, and still living in a small town it feels liberating to be out and about to see the people I live with in this country and world. For now I am enjoying the atmosphere in Denver Colorado. Granted this isn't the true atmosphere of Denver, it's airport atmosphere which is entirely different. Although all airports include the same cast of characters; newborns, tired parents, running excited children, business travelers, vacationers, generally pissed-off people and airport staff the overall vibe of each port is different. I think it is amusing to watch how different people from different regions react to the same problems such as security checks, delayed flights, and getting coffee at Starbucks. I know it has taken practice for me to become seasoned in traveling all over the world on planes, trains, buses, trams, subways (be it the T, Tube, Underground, Metro) because it's not easy to relinquish most of your control over getting to your destination. But that is what it takes to remain calm and not look at airports or stations as versions of Satan's steamy pit of hell.

The Denver airport is bright, clean, roomy and comfortable. It feels very much like summer with people in flip-flops and kids eating ice cream and a general feeling of happiness. It's relatively quiet and a nice place to work for the next couple of hours, so nice I'm feeling inclined to share this recipe with you. Lemon-cornmeal cookies are full of summer flavor and I could really go for one right about now. This was another item I offered last month at Plumpest Peach of which I always share here. The crunchy cornmeal is a bit sweet and the lemon zest is what really makes the cookies in my opinion. I will usually put in more zest than the recipe calls for. These are perfect will some iced tea on a hot afternoon.

Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies

makes 3 dozen

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal (fine texture)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp butter, softened

1 large egg

1 tbsp lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients and stir with a whisk. Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Scrape sides of the bowl occasionally. Add egg and beat well. Beat in grated lemon rind. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat at medium-low speed just until blended.

Spoon about 1 1/2 tsp batter 2 inches apart onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned and almost firm. Remove from oven and cool on pans for 2 minutes or until firm. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Colorful Carrot Refrigerator Pickles

2009-07-09T14:58:00.003-04:00

These carrots are beautiful and they taste good too. They are from my CSA and lucky for me my CSA rocks because they give out recipes with each share for you to enjoy your veg. I thought I would post this recipe because not only is it really easy, but it's also unique, healthy and perfect on a hot day. Now that we have been experiencing more summer-like weather, I'm glad I have these on hand for a refreshing snack.

Colorful Carrot Refrigerator Pickles

makes 1 quart

1 lb colorful carrots

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 cup kosher salt

1 tsp dill seeds

Blanch carrots in boiling water for 2-4 minutes, then dunk in ice water to stop the cooking. Set aside. In a one quart saucepan, combine water, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil. Drain carrots. Prepare one quart jar for filling. Place the dill seeds and cayenne in the bottom of the jar. Pack the jar with blanched carrots. Pour the boiling brine over the carrots in the jar. Screw the lid and let cool on the counter. Once room temperature, place jar in fridge and eat when ice cold on a hot day!

Lentil Salad with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

2009-07-08T16:55:00.002-04:00

I read somewhere recently that the average person has 60,000 thoughts a day. First I wonder how a thought is measured. And if you actually can measure a thought, I wonder how much that number must have increased over hundreds of years? Or even how that number may change over a lifetime. Have I always had 60,000 thoughts a day, because I'm pretty sure I wasn't thinking that much when I was a teenager and I'm pretty sure I have more than 60,000 a day now. Most of these thoughts don't amount to much, mostly drivel. You know, "when will I do this, how will I do that, I wonder if so and so would like this." Of course when I make an effort to push most thoughts out the window and focus on doing anything rather than thinking so much about it, things seem much more peaceful in my brain.

Sometimes the process of making food seems wildly difficult. The list seems too long, the ingredients too hard to find, and the time it takes to pull it all together is entirely too long. It's a total downer when making a meal turns into a chore. As much as I enjoy cooking as a rule, I can easily sink into that place of having to cook something and forgetting that I might actually want to because it usually is fun. Getting lost in stirring, chopping, and straining can feel very Zen-like and meditative. When you only pay attention to the act of what you're doing and push away the drivel, the world simply becomes a beautiful place.

This dish was the main course I offered last month at Plumpest Peach the biz. It was another dish from A Year in my Kitchen by Skye Gyngell. I particularly enjoy how intense flavors are coaxed and pulled from each ingredient to be expressed only as itself. And each individual ingredient complements another and they don't override each other. Skye has a way with her cooking that amazes me and I hope cooking from her book will teach me to look more simply and carefully at what makes a dish sing.

It's nice to know that sometimes the longer it takes to make a meal, the happier you can become because you've given yourself a chance to enjoy what you're doing and the sense of accomplishment feels incredibly rewarding. So rewarding, it feels invaluable rather than something you've checked off your list to do.

Lentil Salad with Slow Roasted Tomatoes

*this dish is very time consuming, read recipe through entirely to make some things ahead*

serves 4

1 cup braised lentils*

2 ripe avocados

juice of 1/2 lemon

12 slow roasted tomato halves*

200g tangy fresh goat's cheese

100g roasted red onions*

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp basil oil*

extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

Divide the lentils among serving plates. Halve, stone, peel and slice the avocados, then toss in the lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Layer the roasted tomatoes, goat's cheese, avocado slices and red onions on top of the lentils, alternating them and seasoning here and there with a little salt and pepper as you build. Spoon over the basil oil and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

*Braised lentils

500g Puy lentils

1 red or yellow onion, peeled and quartered

1 carrot, peeled and cut into three chunks

1 red chilli

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2-3cm fresh ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped

5 thyme or parsley springs

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp chopped coriander root

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame or walnut oil

Rinse the lentils and place them in a deep saucepan along with the onion, carrot, chilli, garlic cloves, thyme or parsley, by leaves and coriander root. Add enough water to cover the lentils completely and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are cooked but still have a bite, about 20 minutes.

Immediately remove from the heat and drain in a colander, then tip the lentils into a bowl. While they are still warm, dress with the sherry vinegar, tamari and your chosen oil.

You can keep these lentils in the fridge for up to 5 days, but take them out at least an hour before serving, to bring them back to room temperature.

*Roasted red onions

5 medium red onions, peeled

100g sugar (about 1/2 cup)

sea salt and black pepper

200ml balsamic vinegar (about 3/4 cup)

50ml extra virgin olive oil (3 1/2 tbsp)

Preheat the oven to 325F. Slice the onions into pinwheels, about 3mm thick and spread out on a baking tray. Sprinkle with the sugar and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Pour over the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and mix together lightly with your hands. Roast in the over for 30 minutes or so, turning them with tongs and basting halfway through cooking. When the onions are ready, they should be deep purple in color and glistening, tasting sweet and sharp at the same time.

*Slow-roasted tomatoes

6 plum tomatoes

10g sugar

10g sea salt

10g freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to a low setting of 200F. Half the tomatoes lengthwise and lay them, cut side up, in a single layer on a large baking tray. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, salt and pepper, then sprinkle all over the cut surface of the tomatoes. Roast, undisturbed in the oven for 3-4 hours until they shrivel up. Remove and set aside until ready to use.

*Basil oil

3 large bunches of basil

1 garlic clove, peeled

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

200ml extra virgin olive oil

Pull the basil leaves from their stalks and put them into a food processor with the garlic and a good pinch each of salt and pepper. Process until the basil is finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly trickle in the olive oil through the funnel and continue to blend until you have a beautiful moss green puree. Leave to stand a few minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

Pour into a jar, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. This basil oil will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

I thought so.

2009-07-02T16:24:00.001-04:00

Last week when I picked up my load of veggies I got pretty excited when Mara told me there were squash blossoms, fresh fava beans, rainbow chard, colorful carrots and then some, that I actually did a little dance. I asked her if anyone else had expressed their excitement with a dance and she said no, I was the first. But, someone had said every Wednesday felt like Christmas in summer. At least others are pleased and aren't afraid of saying or doing something about it. Perhaps we should all do a little hop, skip and a jump around our farmers, goodness knows they would enjoy it and deserve it.

Let's see what else can I brag about here; last weeks bundle of joy in addition to the above mentioned, we received a huge bag of fresh basil, baby beets, spring onions, more garlic scapes, more micro greens and a head of red lettuce larger than my head. I still have yet to use it all because it was truly a mother lode. I can't wait to stuff the squash blossoms with some chevre and fry them up because I've never tried that and have always thought it was the coolest thing, not to mention I'm sure it tastes pretty damn good. Grilling fava beans will also be a first and that will be happening soon too. I have to say, even though I received all these veggies last week, they are all still pretty fresh. I am amazed at the longevity in the fridge when stored correctly. It's a reminder that sometimes what is at the grocery store has been there for quite a long time. I had become jaded about this aspect of freshness, and I feel a bit upset that it took me of all people to be reminded by the real deal. I couldn't be happier for it however.

Anyway, to make sure all of this sweet summer produce gets eaten and made up in a proper way, I will be having a 4th of July celebration with a substantial spread. Pictures will be taken and notes will be written. Stay tuned!

Summer Parsley Soup

2009-07-01T19:35:00.001-04:00

Oh summer, you make me lazy and crazy especially when it's hazy; especially hazy now up here in the North East. Thunderstorms looming and threatening and mostly busting out all over the place with warnings of flash floods. I don't remember the last summer with so many of them. It's kind of cool and exciting, but also a little freaky and weird due to the Excited States of America state of mind thinking it's a really bad thing. There could be some truth to that, but it is summer and the season for it.

So what to do with the frizzy hair, sticky skin and damp everything? I'm not such a fan of humidity because unless it's really hot, I feel damp which makes me feel cold when I'm not necessarily cold. Go figure, I am a walking dichotomy and will not get into that further, you'll pick that up if you're a regular reader if you haven't already. Anyway, due to this feeling of cold when not really cold, soup usually does the trick. But summer soup is a tricky topic in general if you ask me. I'm the gal who can not eat hot food when it's hot out. I'm talking hot though, sitting outside eating a burger or chili when it's during the day and above 85F. Uncomfortable. When the sun goes down it's a different story but still rough to eat anything warm. Ah, but if there's a breeze with this damp air, I can be very interested in soup as long as it's light and fresh. I know you are probably making a face at the screen and asking: "hasn't she ever heard of chilled soup, gawd!" Well, yes thank you I have. Yet other than the chilled melon soup that tastes like a smoothie or the gazpacho scene, what else have we got to choose from? Well lots, and this would be one of them.

Parsley soup is fresh tasting and hits the spot warm or cold. I actually prefer it warm even when it's a tad warm out...again go figure. It's a great recipe you can find in Skye Gyngell's book A Year In My Kitchen. I can't seem to get enough of cookbooks designed by season. It couldn't be more useful when learning what is in season in your area and how to make the best of it. Between the CSA I'm apart of and this cookbook alone (even though I have others designed this way) I am making many recipes I will continue to make through the years to come. They are timeless.

Summer Parsley Soup

adapted from A Year In My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell

serves 6

2 generous bunches of curly parsley

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g unsalted butter

2 leeks (white part only), well washed and chopped

1 medium-large potato, peeled and chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 liter chicken stock

150ml double cream

Wash the bunches of parsley well because they can retain a lot of dirt. Put a large pan of well salted water to boil and set aside one bunch for blanching. Chop the other bunch roughly.

Melt the butter in another saucepan over a low heat, add the chopped leeks and sweat for 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften. Add the chopped parsley, along with the potato and garlic and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, drop the other bunch of parsley into the pan of boiling water and blanch for 15 seconds only. Remove and immediately refresh in a bowl of iced water (to retain its intensity and give the soup a beautiful color).

When the potatoes are really tender, remove the pan from the heat. In batches, puree the soup in a blender (an immersion blender works beautifully here) adding some of the blanched parsley in with each batch. Blend for a good minute or two, you want the soup to be very smooth. A food processor will not give a smooth enough texture.

Finally, return the soup to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir in the cream, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary, then serve. If you have any leftover, it will last for a day or so in the fridge.

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Goat Cheese

2009-06-24T11:15:00.000-04:00

It was Father's Day and I wasn't sure what to make for my Dad for dinner. It was quite humid and warm, the air was still and we all know that kind of weather makes it difficult to put something together in a proper way. Instead, it's the kind of weather that makes it easy to push a spoon into a bunch of leftovers in the fridge and call it quits after ten minutes and lay back down on the floor in front of the fan. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. But needless to say, this meal had to be light and simple and very low maintenance.

The first thing to think about (in my mind) when it's hot is how to design the meal around the cocktails. It's the first thing people will be consuming upon arrival and quite frankly sets the tone for the type of meal they will be having. I'm all for pairing different wines with different courses and setting a theme to the meal entirely, but this was not one of those occasions. I find the best way to make things simple and not feel overwhelmed is to back up out of the details and look at a larger picture. Casual cocktails, casual meal, wicked casual dessert. Yes.

I wasn't into making cocktails in a shaker one at a time, so I went for the pitcher. A big ass pitcher of Pimms. I made enough for the four of us to have two plus drinks, and that was that. I didn't take a picture of the pitcher, so sorry. Ice cold cocktails perfect for watching Polo, punting, or sitting around in the living room.

Next up was this starter of zucchini rolls. I tried to make this once before with out a mandoline. Unless you have a fine steady hand and quality knife skills, I suggest you find yourself a mandoline. It makes all the difference when rolling up these grilled slices afterwards. I love this recipe and it couldn't be better for the summer. I think everyone eats too many appetizers, and often they are too filling to begin with. I would know, I am one of them. Too much bread, crackers, cheese, dip or whatnot, but these are light with lots of flavor and do not sit in you stomach like a brick.

We had a lovely light pasta dish for the main course. It sounds heavy, but surprisingly light with a touch of elegance. Spaghetti with peas and bacon with a ricotta and cream sauce. There was just enough sauce to coat the noodles and stick so there wasn't a soup of cream underneath. Finally for dessert which my Mom brought, thanks Mom, was a wonderful strawberry and rhubarb galette. It was so jammy and the crust was flaky and perfect. With a dollop of vanilla ice cream, we polished that off no problem.

I think getting together for a homemade meal is one of the best gifts we all can give or receive. Especially when it is inspired by what is in season in your neck of the woods. As I mentioned before I will be posting a wee bit about my weekly share from Half Pint Farm. Above is a picture of most of last weeks bundle of goodness. Mara and Spencer throw in recipe cards to help you make sure you use all of the veggies harvested. It's a great way to learn all sorts of ways to prepare different meals with the same ingredients and I think it's wonderful. We ate a Chicory Salad several times last week that tasted so damn good we couldn't get enough. It's Wednesday today, so I will be picking up another share at the farmers market. I love Wednesdays. Make the zucchini rolls!

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Goat Cheese

adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

serves 4

3 small zucchini about 1/2 pound each, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices (use a mandoline)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp salt, plus more to taste

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 ounces fresh goat cheese

1 tbsp minced fresh parsley

1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 ounces baby spinach leaves (I used microgreens because I had them and didn't have spinach)

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium heat.

Discard the outermost slices of zucchini and brush the rest with the oil on both sides. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Grill until tender, about 4 minutes per side. You can make the grilled zucchini a day ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, parsley, and lemon juice, mashing them together with a fork.

Put 1/2 tsp of the cheese mixture about 1/2 inch from the end of the zucchini slice. Top with a few spinach leaves (or micro greens) and one small or half of a large basil leaf. Roll up and place seam side down on a platter. Repeat with the rest of the zucchini slices. You can make these up to a day before you are read to serve and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Half Pint Farm

2009-06-16T12:14:00.005-04:00

I couldn't be happier, truly couldn't. Last week I had to eat all of this impeccable produce from Half Pint Farm in a hurry because I was heading off to a four day conference hosted by Boston University. It was a food photography and food styling conference and I don't think I will be able to say enough about it. I will however keep my "jammering" to a minimum today because I fell far too behind with my posts here and need to get crackin'. But today's post although minimal in words and lacking in recipe, had to be posted to honor Half Pint Farm as soon as possible.

I was so excited to see that Half Pint was offering a CSA I lost myself to an uncontrollable fit of giggles, weird jumps and expressive hand movements that I'm sure scared my husband and my cat. Perhaps my husband is used to this but my cat definitely turned sideways, got really puffy and ran away. Sorry Roxy.

Besides the bunches of radishes, onions and baby carrots you see here, I received an enormous head of Romaine lettuce, two heads of Boston lettuce, a bag of the most incredible peppery arugula the size of my head and a small bag each of incredibly delicate micro greens and a mix of herbs. Everything is harvested the morning of the day you pick up your share. I couldn't believe how fresh everything was and had no problem eating most all of it before I left. I am so elated by this farm I will be bragging about what I get every week and how I use it. I'm just letting you know. I hope that makes you excited and want to buy a share from Half Pint and or just be a part of a CSA where ever you are. It's one of the most important things you can do if you are unable (for any reason) to grow your own food.

Cheers!

Pistachio & Fennel Thins

2009-06-05T10:40:00.000-04:00

The other night I saw Terminator Salvation. As usual I see all of these movies out of order. I'm not sure why this happens but it is the case with all the epic trilogies and whatnot. Like with most sequential movies I can't just watch one and let it be, I have to watch all the others immediately especially because I've watched them out of order. So yesterday I had to watch the Terminator (the first one) while I ate lunch. Yes, it was a looong lunch. And now that the story is falling into place I feel a bit relieved and not so desperate to see Judgement Day and whatever the third one is. In watching the first one I forgot how fun the 80's were and how it seems action movies these days have lost the story telling aspect that makes them worth watching. The special effects of Salvation was ridiculous and incredibly cool, but the story was here and there. I get it, they all can't be like the first, but there's nothing like a good story.

Everything after Terminator, like writing about these pistachio fennel cookies seems totally uneventful. I feel like I have to convince you that these are resilient cookies, half snack half machine. When you take a bite, it repairs itself and constructs more of its tasty goodness with its algorithmic recipe. You wonder; "didn't I just take a bite of this cookie?" Oh, it seems all rainbows and butterflies now, the perfect never-ending cookie! But when it doesn't want to replicate itself for your silly sweet indulgences, it exposes its mechanical interior with glowing red eyes and explodes!

So maybe I don't have to convince you of anything, except that cookies made from the ingredients in your kitchen are just fine and dandy minus any algorithmic "charm." No really, they are just plain ol' cookies...the way it's supposed to be.

Pistachio & Fennel Thins

not sure where this recipe came from

makes 3 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp almond extract

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cups pistachio nuts chopped, plus extra for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar; mix, Add egg; beat. Add almond extract, lemon zest and fennel seeds and mix. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture and beat. Stir in pistachios. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place them two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly and sprinkle with additional chopped pistachios. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly and remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Spicy Potato Cakes

2009-06-03T16:20:00.000-04:00

Indian cuisine is something I never get tired of. Whenever I'm feeling ambivalent about what to eat I know something along these lines will surely satisfy me. I know I can only partially recreate authentic Indian dishes mainly because the ingredients here can only come so close, but I do like trying.

As I was perusing through magazines and books for some sort of fritter recipe, I found this lovely simple dish. Please don't be shocked here, but for some reason I have never made potato cakes. Why? I honestly don't know, because after one bite of these bad boys I slapped myself in the face with excitement. I have done weird things in the kitchen before for sure yet slapping myself is uncommon.

You know, these potato cakes are good and all, but I'm not sure they are self-smacking good - at least not in the larger sense. I think my personal preference for food is askew from time to time. Not that these aren't tasty, because they are, but my excitement is derived more from the fact that I didn't know about them rather than; they are so good there are no words. I know this is what keeps my husband entertained and often mystified as to what really makes me happy. I will often mystify myself. An example of my type of humor that no one seems to share with me is something that leaves me laughing so I hard I make no noise, cry and almost pee myself. I hope this doesn't deter your future visits here.

Back to the cakes.

They are traditionally served with a mango chutney, yet I decided to add a bit more spice and figured greek yogurt would be my heat reducer. Knowing I would want a little roughage to accompany the cakes I decided on some lightly steamed lacinato kale. The best part of all is that you can make up the cakes and leave them in the fridge for a couple days and throw them in the pan for browning whenever. This makes them a serious contender for company, especially because they are easier to work with when chilled in the fridge for awhile. You really ought to try them, and be wary of a smack.

Spicy Potato Cakes

adapted from Delicious Magazine (Australia)

makes 18 small cakes

500g potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks

1 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup sunflower oil

2 long green chillis, seeds removed, chopped

1/2 onion, coarsely grated

2 cm piece ginger, grated

1 tsp each ground turmeric, cumin and coriander

1/2 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp chickpea flour

1 tbsp lemon juice

Place the potatoes in a saucepan of cold salted water, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well.

Meanwhile, cook the peas in a separate pan of boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Drain well.

Mash the potatoes or pass through a potato ricer into a bowl, then stir in the peas.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add chilli, onion, ginger and spices, then cook, stirring for one minute or until fragrant. Add to the potato mixture with the flour and lemon juice. Season and stir well to combine. Using damp hands, form 18 x 4 cm patties. Transfer to a plate and chill for 30 minutes to firm up.

Heat the remaining 1/4 cup oil in a non-stick fry pan over medium-high heat. Cook patties, in 2 batches, for 1-2 minutes each side until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towel. Serve pancakes immediately.

Radish Salad

2009-05-29T12:53:00.003-04:00

The freshness of this salad is striking. Not only does it look ridiculously cool, crisp and juicy, it tastes that way too. I usually forget about radishes, and shame on me for that. My initial thought of them is the traditional picture perfect snack of Parisian children who smear butter on a slice of baguette, place the radishes on top and sprinkle with salt. If you've never had said snack, go out to the store and try it immediately. It's wonderfully fresh and satisfying. But we can't have the same snack all the time can we? Well yes we can, and for a foodie I repeat my meals, snacks, whatever, way too often I'm sure but who cares really.

What I truly care about is this salad. And true to form, being of simple and few ingredients (albeit good quality ones) are always the best. I was surprised by this salad because I often look past the ones seemingly less substantial. Again shame on me for that. Of course as you might have noticed there is more than radishes in this salad, but not much more. Along with lightly steamed snow peas and scallions the salad is dressed with an emulsion of walnut oil and rice vinegar. The dressing is a perfect touch and subtle so as not to take away from the flavor of the veggies. It makes a great side dish for picnic season or as a quick snack with a chunk of crusty bread and butter. Oh la la.

Radish Salad

adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Kreiger

serves 4

2 cups snow peas, trimmed

1 tbsp water

2 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced on a diagonal

6-8 radishes trimmed and cut into thin strips

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp walnut oil

Put the snow peas in a microwave-safe bowl with the water. Cover tightly and microwave for 1 minute. Drain and let cool. Cut the snow peas on the diagonal into 1/2 inch diamond shapes.

In a medium serving bowl, combine the snow peas, scallions, and radishes. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar and oil until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the salad and serve.

Maple Bars

2009-05-20T16:00:00.002-04:00

I fear there are a great many out there unaware of Sugar on Snow. It is truly a sad thing. But even more sad I fear are those who don't like it. I know a few (one being my husband) and I wonder to myself what is wrong with them! (Sorry honey.)

I understand that Sugar on Snow is a New England thing, and possibly a Canadian thing, but there are still folks from around these parts that don't know what I'm talking about when I ask them if they've had it. I talked about this last year when I went to the Maple Festival. I go every year and I won't repeat what I ate even though I really want to. There was more sugar on snow, and these fantastic maple donuts.

There was a great deal more that I will keep to myself. April is the month of Sugaring Season and as a born and raised Vermonter, a proud one at that, all reason is left behind when celebrating maple syrup. Obviously I eat way too much for my own good and you would think that would 'nourish' me for another year but it doesn't. So except for the occasional glug straight from the jar it's imperative to whip out these mega-sweet Maple Bars. I offered them last month at Plumpest Peach and true to form, am now posting the recipe here for your enjoyment.

Vermont Maple Bars

makes 16 bars

Crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, process until it resembles a course meal. Press into a greased 9 x 9 square pan. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes, until edges start to golden.

Filling:

2 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup VT maple syrup

2 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp melted butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup roasted walnuts

Combine ingredients in a bowl and beat well until mixture is well incorporated. Add nuts. Pour filling over hot crust, return to oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until firm. Let cool and cut into squares.

Marinated Feta

2009-05-13T14:05:00.003-04:00

I've been reading a lot of food blogs looking for inspiration. Considering the ones that make me run to my kitchen and try something new aren't making me feel much of anything, lends me to think I have reached a bit of a stand still. It seems I am not alone in this, many food bloggers seem to be in similar weird place. How can a foodie/food blogger not feel like doing what they like best? I know it happens to all of us, but each time it does it trips me up and feels like the first. And for me it brings to mind the same feeling when the seasons change. If you live in a four season climate you may know what I'm getting at here. Take spring for example; after a long winter the warm weather is very welcome, yet it isn't until the trees leaf out and the pollen blows in the breeze that you look around and realize how you almost forgot what spring really felt, looked, and smelled like. For me, when I feel the seasons change, a great deal of thought and reflection are tied along with it. I often get lost in memories of the past season, or rewind to last spring and feel the sense of time passed since spring '08. It's not until I get used to the change and move on to the next season that I feel grounded.

I've always been greatly affected by the weather.

Now that I have been home for two days after spending a week in British Columbia, I am off again to travel nearly as far as I did just a couple days ago. The International Food Bloggers Conference is taking place in Seattle Washington and it is the first of its kind. I am greatly looking forward to meeting many of the bloggers I read daily and ones I have been introduced to through the blogroll of the conference. Not to mention I will be able to hear Molly Weizenberg speak about her experiences with her newly published book: A Homemade Life along with the amazing Ruth Reichl. The first book I ever read of Reichl's was Comfort Me With Apples. Her style of writing and the stories of her life are what lit the first spark in me for what I wanted to do. Of course I didn't know exactly at the time of reading it that I would start and business and a blog, but I knew something had changed inside me. It will be a real treat to hear her speak and hopefully shake her hand.

What does any of this have to do with marinated feta? Absolutely nothing. I made this a few weeks ago. I love it on its own as a little nosh, but I ended up tossing most of it into the Sausage, Pea & Feta Salad I made a while back. The salad on its own has a lot of flavor and texture so I imagine plain feta would be just lovely however, the marinated feta gives your tastebuds an extra ride around the block.

Marinated Feta

adapted from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger

2 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp finely grated orange zest (I used lemon because that's all I had on hand)

3 tbsp orange juice (I used the lemon juice here)

1 tsp cracked black peppercorns

4 ounces feta cheese, cut into what ever size chunks you like

In a medium bowl, combine the fennel seeds, orange zest and juice, and pepper. Gently stir in the feta and marinate for 1 hour at room temperature, or up to 3 hours in the refrigerator. Allow the feta to come to room temp before serving.

Ginger Saketini

2009-05-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

My good friend Molly and I have our weekly dinner date of Sushi. It's an event I look forward to every week. She is the best kind of friend a girl could ever ask for. We do all of our catching up during this few hour period and inevitably drive the waiters mad with how long it takes for us to order. Both of us having been waitresses we know all about how enraging it can be to wait on the indecisive customers so of course we make up for it by befriending the same waiters each time, and now they find us humorous. (And we eat super early when business is slow so we aren't a real problem.)

The beverages we chose with our sushi were rather boring; water, diet coke, tea until I came upon this Ginger Saketini. Boring beverages out the window! I love cocktails. But I am not a fan of mixed drinks. I don't like the drinks that are made of a shit load of ingredients, and moreover full of sweetened fruit, sugar and heavy spirits. I like clean classics that play off a good thing. Sake is a fantastic alcohol in cocktails. It's light and subtle and provides a chill happy buzz. I understand most cocktails in America are designed to get you as drunk as possible as quickly as possible. I'm not a fan, or rather only on very rare occasions.

As soon as Molly and I finished dinner, I went home to find some recipes for ginger infused vodka. Being a bartender for a couple of years, I easily tinkered with the amounts on the rest of the ingredients and bingo!

Ginger Saketini

makes 2 cocktails

Please don't mind the tbsp measurements, I didn't have a jigger at home, so...there.

5 Tbsp chilled ginger infused vodka*

1-1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp simple syrup

Chilled Organic sake

A couple cubes of crystallized ginger

With a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker add all of the above ingredients except for the sake. Shake vigorously and pour into frozen martini glasses. Drop in a cube of crystallized ginger. Top glass up with sake. Enjoy!

*To make the ginger infused vodka, I used a small bottle of Absolut 375ml. I peeled and finely chopped a 1/4 cup of fresh ginger and threw it into a blue tinted bottle with an air tight stopper. I put it in a cool dark place and shook the bottle every once and awhile. I let it sit for three days and then placed it in the fridge. It will keep for a good month in the fridge or freezer. I would let it sit longer the next time I make it...a week or so.

Chorizo & Roasted Vegetable Medley with Green Chilli Dressing

2009-05-06T11:00:00.001-04:00

I am in love with this dish.

So much so, all four servings were devoured between only two of us in one sitting. It has the perfect balance of taste due to the sweet and rich flavor of the roasted sweet potato, spice from the chorizo and chilli dressing, and the lemon really comes through with that acidic freshness and tang. Of course the asparagus, baby arugula, parsley and scallions scream: Spring!

Normally when I'm in awe of a dish I am not lacking in the description department. However that is exactly where I find myself today. Could it be that I am out of words? Or is it that this dish doesn't need any more validation. Just as a room of friends and family suddenly quiets when eating commences, you know when it remains quiet the food is worth shutting up for. I think this is one of those dishes.

Chorizo & Roasted Vegetable Medley with Green Chilli Dressing

adapted from Delicious Magazine

serves 4

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks

2 tbsp olive oil

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 2 inch lengths

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 chorizo sausages, halved lengthways, sliced on an angle

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 cup arugula, roughly chopped

Green Chilli Dressing

2 green chillies, seeded, finely chopped

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/4 tsp pure cane sugar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Mix the sweet potato and 1 tablespoon olive oil with salt and pepper in a bowl. Spread in a roasting pan and bake for 35-40 minutes until soft and caramelized , stirring 2-3 times so it browns evenly.

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes until light golden in parts. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, then place in a large bowl.

Add the chorizo to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until browned and crisp. Drain on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, whisk all the dressing ingredients with salt and pepper in a bowl.

Add the chorizo to the asparagus bowl with the sweet potato, spring onion, parsley and arugula. Add the dressing to the salad, toss to combine, then serve immediately.

Sausage, Pea & Feta Salad

2009-05-01T10:21:00.006-04:00

I really enjoyed making this dish for the first time a few days back. Each month I go through a boat-load of books and magazines searching for new recipes to try. I think it is one of the perks in choosing my monthly menu for Plumpest Peach, but it also can be a pisser. I'm still learning the ins and outs of time management and menu planning with my biz. It is mostly fun and games, don't get me wrong here, however, as for knowing what foods hold up well in the fridge overnight, or are best served immediately, it's still a work in progress. I usually find what I want to make quickly and easily, but as for the practicality of it, that takes a little doing. Of course, all the recipes that aren't up to standard for holding there "essence" of why I like them, I highly enjoy consuming and sharing here, if they are worthy. There are recipes that don't turn out well, but quite frankly, I don't remember the last time I made something truly inedible.

While I was taking shots of this dish in various lights and positions, I found that my furry friend had woken up from one of her many naps, and I'm sure was enticed by the aroma of some of her fav's: cheese and chicken.

Like most animals, she likes to be a part of everything. But usually she hangs around and watches and likes to sit in the window accidentally on purpose blocking my light. Or she'll sit on my white canvas I use for bouncing light off of for the picture. Anyway to get attention of course.

But this time she hopped up and went straight for the chicken sausage, snagged a piece and obviously enjoyed it. Now I've sent mixed messages, and she believes it's okay all of a sudden to snag whatever is around. A few potatoes and chunks of cheese had found their way out of the bowl and onto the table when I left the room for a moment. I can't blame her...it was a great salad.

Considering I am such a mush of goo when she goes after what she wants and happens to be adorable while she does it, I guess I deserve it when she puts her paw on the rim of my cereal bowl and yanks it down to try and get me to spill my milk. She's a smarty. Oh Roxy.

Sausage, Pea & Feta Salad

Adapted from the Delicious Cookbook, 5 Nights a Week

serves 4

250g new potatoes (about 2 cups)

4 good quality chicken sausages like Al Fresco's Spinach Feta

400g frozen peas, or fresh ones this time of year (about 2 cups)

1 small red onion, sliced

60g mint leaves (about a dozen depending on size)

2 heaped tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

80ml olive oil (about 5 tbsp)

40ml lemon juice (about 2.5 tbsp)

200g marinated feta, drained (8 oz)

This recipe is very adaptable to taste. Metric can be a pain, but with this I guesstimate and for salads it's easy to decide on ratios depending on what you like. So leave out the oil, add more oil, don't use mint at all if you don't like it. I happened to enjoy the dish as written.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, then drain. Meanwhile, preheat a grill, BBQ or pan to medium heat and cook the sausages for 5-6 minutes, until golden and cooked. Some of the Al Fresco sausages are fully cooked, some are not so follow the package instructions. Thickly slice the sausages and halve the potatoes.

Cook the peas in boiling salted water for 3 minutes (or steam) then drain and refresh in cold water. Place in a large bowl or platter with sausages, potato and remaining ingredients. Season, toss and serve.

Spicy Chickpea Soup

2009-04-27T12:16:00.000-04:00

This recipe is one that I ripped out from an old Food and Wine issue. I'm glad I started shuffling through my mound of tear-outs to see what new inspiration I could find. It's a great way for me to see how my tastes have changed. I usually have great fits of interest in new recipes and end up tearing out a plethora of recipes in one sitting. I can usually see very clearly once I am finished what I'm in the mood for making. A few days ago I had a fit for fritters. Apparently fritters of all shapes, sizes and components is what I'm in the mood for, so you should be warned there will be fritters in the future.

This soup grabbed my attention mainly for the term "spicy" and ingredient "chickpea." I have a propensity for chickpeas if you haven't already noticed. I thought I might offer this soup for my May Menu at Plumpest Peach, but it doesn't have the presentation I'm looking for. The color unfortunately reminds me of vomit (sorry). Of course not every dish that is beautiful is as delicious as it looks and vice versa. The latter is the case with this soup. Reading through the list of ingredients: light coconut milk, tomatoes, apple juice, cilantro, garam masala, ground ginger, chicken stock and yogurt, I expected something exotic, rich and creamy with a good dose of heat. I was pleasantly surprised with the texture and freshness being reminiscent of gazpacho yet carrying an entirely different flavor profile. The heat I expected was something I didn't end up missing, and found the flavors were subtle but perfectly complementary. One of those perfect in between season soups. Another pleasant surprise was how quickly the soup came together. Most of the ingredients are from cans and are most likely in your pantry. I couldn't have been happier when I realized it took me under 30 minutes to make and I had plenty left over to toss in my freezer.

Spicy Chickpea Soup

adapted from Food and Wine Magazine - March 2008

serves 6

Two 19-ounce cans chickpeas drained

One 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk

One 14.4-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup naturally sweetened apple juice

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup plain low fat yogurt

2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced

In a blender (or batches in a food processor) combine the drained chickpeas with the coconut milk, chopped tomatoes, apple juice, cilantro leaves, garam masala, and ground ginger and puree the mixture until smooth.

Transfer the puree to a medium saucepan. Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with yogurt and scallion greens and serve.

Cornish Hen & Roasted Veg

2009-04-20T14:45:00.008-04:00

I've always loved small things, or perhaps I should rephrase that. I've always loved little things. Ever since I was a little girl my obsession with all things of small stature made me really happy. I could make a few guesses as to where that quality came from genetically, but overall my happiness with little things such as the Martinelli apple juice jar that is the size of, and looks like a real apple, is all my own. Of course I know I am not the only one who loves these types of things. Upon a Google search of the Martinelli jar, I realize I am not alone in feeling admiration towards the plumpness of the jar and it's incredible cuteness.

From tiny plastic bears I played with from Ben Franklin's to those tiny cars called Micro Machines, I could be satisfied for hours. So it will not come as a surprise that small things still bring me happiness. My husband is aware of this and to that end he returns from trips with tiny gifts.

Yes, it is in fact a single serving of ketchup and mustard along with the tiniest bottle of tabasco sauce I have ever seen. Of course these items are the opposite of green, and are the most ridiculous use of packaging ever seen, but nonetheless, stupidly cute.

I brought up the topic of small things because the dinner I made the other night was small and perfect for two. Dinner consisted of a small Cornish Hen stuffed with lemon and garlic roasted with a mix of onion, carrots, fingerling and baby red potatoes. I rubbed the hen with olive oil, salt, pepper, turmeric, coriander and cumin. I haven't had a hen that juicy in a really long time. We barely needed a knife to cut the meat off the bone. It was nice to be able to put together something so simple. I didn't need a recipe, I made it up as I went along. I used what I had on hand and it worked splendidly. I would say it serves three hungry people, with the addition of a small green salad and a few slices of bread to mop up the juices.

Cornish Hen & Roasted Veg

serves 3-4

small Cornish Hen

handful of baby red potatoes

handful of fingerling potatoes

2 carrots, peeled and chopped on a diagonal

1 small onion cut into quarters

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1/2 lemon, cut into segments with peel on

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp salt

pepper to taste

1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Remove the package of organs from inside the hen and save for another use or discard. Rinse the hen with water inside and out and place on a paper towel and pat dry. Use 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and massage the hen with it making sure to get every inch. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Rub the seasoning in well and then set aside. Wash hands.

In a 9x12 pan toss in the baby red potatoes, fingerling potatoes, carrots, onion and 3 of the garlic cloves. If some veggies are larger than others, cut into pieces of relative size in order for the veggies to cook evenly. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the veggies and toss them around with a pinch of salt and a couple grinds of pepper until evenly coated. Make a space for the hen in the middle of the pan. Take the lemon wedges and other 3 garlic cloves and stuff the cavity of the hen. Place the hen in the middle of the veggies. Pour 1/4 cup of water into the pan over the veggies. This will keep them and the hen moist by creating steam and flavorful juice to baste with during the roasting process.

Roast for a total of 1 hr and 15 minutes or until internal temp of bird is 180 F. Set the timer for 30 minutes and baste the hen and the veggies, set the timer for another 30 minutes and repeat. If the hen gets too brown, place some aluminum foil over the pan for the remainder of the roasting process. Let the hen sit for 10 minutes before digging in.

The Sweet Stuff

2009-04-17T09:14:00.000-04:00

To me, the sweet stuff is when (even though it's hard) I can finally slow down and be in the moment long enough to truly be proud of what I am accomplishing in that very moment.

To me, the sweet stuff is when I see the first tiny sprouts of my seedlings begin to rise out of the germinating mix in my propamatic foam seed starter. It's a wonder that plants can create themselves from thin air, and it's a reminder to me that anything is possible.

To me, the sweet stuff is when I look back to this day last year. I had just started a seed of my own with this blog and I have struggled in finding my place through every day since. How far I've come with trusting myself, my vision, my ideas, my creativity and having a greater understanding of the saying: "know thyself."

Today I wish myself a happy one year anniversary of my blog. My blog of food, wine, my cat, travel, gardening, the extension of my business Plumpest Peach and all sorts of what-have-yous.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

2009-04-15T16:43:00.005-04:00

Perhaps I jumped the gun with such a refreshing and cooling dessert during early spring. But with the temperature on my deck right now you could almost swear it was summer...if you stay out of the wind.

I didn't have a hankering for blueberry frozen yogurt, in fact I have never made blueberry frozen yogurt before, other flavors yes, but not blueberry. A few months back, I was in the frozen foods section of the grocery store picking up my usual frozen wild blueberries I like in smoothies. It wasn't until I arrived home that I realized I had somehow picked up the sweetened blueberries, which are in a completely different package. How I do this some times really amazes me. I really make and effort to never buy sweetened fruit because it seems ridiculous. Fruit is sweet, if you buy good fruit in season, it really shouldn't take anymore sugar than it already has, unless of course you are making a dessert. But even then, the line you choose to draw is very fine in my book. So basically I was pissed thinking how the hell I would use these blueberries when I hate the pre-sweetened stuff, I like to have the choice and do what I want with my ingredients.

I hadn't made any frozen yogurt or ice cream in awhile and so I immediately turned to one of my favorite books, The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. If you don't know about his book, you are crazy and must educate yourself immediately. For those of you who know about this book, I am sure you are smiling, sighing and thinking: oh, David I love you!

Turns out with the sweetened blueberries I reduced the sugar by half in the recipe and it was still a little on the sweet side, but of course more than edible.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 1/2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt (I strained my yogurt first making it extra thick)

3/4 cup sugar

3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1 tsp kirsch

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a blender or food processor, blend the yogurt, sugar, and blueberries together. Press the mixture through a strainer to remove the seeds if that kind of thing bothers you, I didn't do that and I don't notice the seeds, but do look out for the state of your teeth afterwards. Stir in the kirsch and lemon juice and chill for an hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, or for about 30 minutes.

Gingerlicious

2009-04-03T12:00:00.002-04:00

These cookies are ridiculous and manipulative. They are so many things in fact. I made three consecutive batches with each batch producing four dozen cookies. This was all for personal consumption and I have to say it should have taken us a great deal longer than it did to eat such a large volume of cookies. I did share, I did, and that put a minor dent in the large cookie holding receptacle, but these cookies have three types of ginger and they made me feel really good in the belly. Aren't all cookies responsible for making us feel good in the belly? Um, I really think they try but it's more about the way they taste because I've known few cookies that make my belly feel noticeably better after having eaten them.

I was looking for a ginger cookie and found this one on 101 cookbooks. Heidi knows what she is talking about and I'm not sure where she found it, but my god it is the most delicious cookie I have ever had. Crystallized ginger, ground ginger and freshly grated ginger are packed into this whole wheat flour, anise, molasses, butter, and egg mess of incredible goodness. Looking at the ingredients, I swear it must be obvious to everyone that they actually may be good for you. If any of you don't know about 101 cookbooks you really must take a spin on her site. She has an incredible volume of healthy recipes that are wicked tasty. Everything I have ever made from her site has turned out very well, and she always has great suggestions for variations on each recipe.

Make these cookies.

Triple Ginger Cookies

from 101 cookbooks

makes about 4 dozen

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp star anise, finely ground

4 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp fine grain salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/4 cup unsulphured molasses

2/3 cup fine grain natural cane sugar

1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 large egg, well beaten

1 cup crystallized ginger, then finely minced

2 lemons, zest only (oranges work too!)

Preheat the oven to 350F and place racks in the top and bottom 1/3 of the over. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use a Silpat. If you have the baking sheets that are double layered, you don't need either paper or Silpat, the cookies come off fine. Fill a small bowl with 1/2 cup turbinado sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, star anise, ground ginger, and salt.

Heat the butter in a skillet until it is barely melted on low heat. Stir in the molasses, natural cane sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm; not hot, if it is too hot to touch let it cool down. Whisk in the egg. Pour the entire wet mixture over the flour mixture and add the crystallized ginger and lemon zest. Stir until combined.

In Heidi's recipe she made the cookies very small and bite-sized. I liked to make them in two sizes. Using a tbsp, scoop out an exact measure and roll into a ball and place the ball in the bowl of turbinado sugar and coat heavily, place on the baking sheet about a couple inches apart.. Break the tbsp scoop in half and make two bite-sized versions as well if you like. It was nice to have both. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until they puff up, get fragrant and crack. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes and place on a cooling rack. They are soft and chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. So so lovely.

Peanut Noodles with Tofu & Greens

2009-04-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

When I discovered spicy peanut noodles for the first time, which I think was in college, I fell deeply in love. It seemed so exotic and amazing to essentially (in my mind) have peanut butter mixed with spices over...noodles. Obviously I had been taken by the hand and walked directly into the light and asked: "Do you see it now?" I don't remember who walked me there because I became so blinded, I simply lost sight of everything around me. It's all I craved for weeks. I'm pretty sure an obsession with curried chicken salad was what followed the peanut noodle haze. Oh college.

To this day I have a real love of anything spicy. As I have grown in years so has my tolerance for heat. Call me crazy but I like to break into a sweat when I eat. Not the I-just-got-off-the-treadmill kind of sweat, but a nice glisten, or perhaps I should say dewy glow because it sounds sexy. Those who write about food are glamorous and sexy, you know. Anyway it's the reaction our bodies have to our food I find fascinating. The whole new awareness our society is reaching about where our food comes from, and the many choices we have to make about what we put in our mouths is nothing short of exhausting and exhilarating. I grew up with a very healthy diet. My parents made a great effort to make sure I had healthy meals for as long as they could. Luckily for them and myself, I learned a lot about what is healthy and can make good choices about food, but of course following up with that regularly isn't always easy. So when I started trying different styles and flavors from around the world, I started to expect something different and became bored with the standard fare. Turns out (unsurprisingly) most cuisines outside of the US are healthier in general. They are more exciting and pair flavors and textures much more enticing to eat. This is what I feel makes a huge difference in the act of eating; it's not always about quick refueling, it's about enjoying the experience and noticing what has gone into the meal from the ingredients to the time taken to prepare it. It's nice to have a reaction to what you're eating. Of course we would all prefer to have positive reactions to our food but whether it makes you feel energized, tired, sick, hot, or cold, happy or sad even, I think we should all pay attention and make a note of it. We are what we eat.

This meal makes me feel energized and not weighed down. The broccoli, sugar snap peas, and snow peas are steamed lightly so they gain that beautiful glowing green color and retain a good crunch. The noodles are whole wheat and surprisingly tasty and might I add better than regular noodles? The nuttiness really works with the peanut sauce and the tofu is totally optional but adds more protein which I think is nice. Even though this recipe isn't entirely authentic in it's origins, and has been Americanized and refashioned with a healthier ingredient list, I think it is a fantastic meal. I'm a huge fan of Ellie Krieger and her healthy takes on popular dishes, and this dish is one of them.

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Tofu (optional) & Greens

adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

serves 4-6

3/4 box (12 oz) spinach linguine or whole-wheat spaghetti

2 cups (9 oz) broccoli florets

2 cups (6 oz) snow peas

2 cups (6 oz) sugar snap peas

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts (I like to lightly toast these)

1/2 creamy natural peanut butter

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 scallion (white and green parts) cut on a diagonal

one 3/4 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, plus more to taste

Cook the pasta for about 12 minutes or according to the package directions. Drain and rinse under cold running water.

While the pasta is cooking, put the broccoli in a steamer basket over a large pot of boiling water and steam for 3 minutes. Add the snow peas and sugar snap peas and steam for 2 minutes more, until all the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Toast the peanuts in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside and cool.

Make the sauce by pureeing the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in food processor or blender until smooth.

Right before serving, toss the pasta with 3/4 cup of the peanut sauce. Divide between 4-6 serving bowls and top each serving with the vegetables. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the vegetables. Coarsely chop the peanuts, sprinkle over the top and serve.

*If you want to add tofu, choose an extra firm variety. I cut the tofu into strips and sauteed until golden brown in a little peanut oil and sesame oil. Place in the bowl with noodles and coat with peanut sauce.

Spiced Carrot Soup & Coconut Cream

2009-04-01T11:30:00.005-04:00

I went through a lot of this soup last month. I love a soup that ends up being something completely different than expected. This is one of them. I practically danced around my kitchen island with spoon in mouth moving and shaking to the "mmm-mmm" song I was singing, stopping in mid-jig to taste again and make sure it was still as good as I thought it was. Of course I had to point at it with an outstretched finger and exclaim remarks of disbelief like: "NO WAY!" Once I got enough of "the believing" I quickly shut up and ate my soup like most normal people.

I'm telling you I love Aussies. This recipe comes from the Delicious Cookbook, again. I seriously can't get enough of it and when I'm looking for something different I can't put my finger on, I can always find it there. According to my google analytics reports, and twitter followers I have some Australian readers, so please readers comment away on how wonderful you are with flavor pairings. Let me know your favorites.

This soup rocks my world and I hope it rocks yours too. Make it for yourself and when you do, know now that you won't be the only one who ate most of the coconut cream on it's own. So what, just make sure some of it gets in the soup.

Spiced Carrot Soup & Coconut Cream

serves 6-8

20ml light olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small red chilli, seeds removed, minced

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

500g carrots, chopped

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

2 kaffir lime leaves

1 liter chicken stock

juice of 1/2 lime

2 heaped tbsp palm sugar

40ml Thai fish sauce

200ml coconut cream

150ml thick cream

grated nutmeg (optional) to serve

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, chilli, ginger, carrot, sweet potato, lime leaves and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly, then puree in a blender or food processor. Pass the puree through a sieve and then season. Return the puree to the pan with the lime juice, sugar, and fish sauce and gently reheat. Whip the creams until thick. Pour the soup into bowls and top with the coconut cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg if desired.

Beets, Bears, Battlestar Galactica

2009-03-26T15:18:00.011-04:00

What beet is best? I hope all those fans of the American Office sitcom got my reference there. If you don't get it, I'm not going to explain it because it won't be funny. Regardless, I won't be talking about bears or Battlestar Galactica, even though I do enjoy both of them in different ways of course. But getting back to it, I personally don't think there is one beet that is better than another. Gold, red, purple, white and the ever cool Chioggia beet are just a few of the many gorgeous colors and flavors out there. Of course we have a lot of experimentation over thousands of years to thank for the varieties we have today. I mean, we didn't even really eat the root to start with. The Anglo-Saxons used the root for medicinal purposes eating only the greens. The druggists during that time pounded the root into a mush and used it as a bone salve. What the hell is a bone salve? And how would beet root be the selective food product for that? Of course I had to look it up and among dozens of ailments over many centuries, beets have been used for all sorts of health benefits. Beets are big on boosting the immune system, cleansing the liver, as a laxative, and white beets were specifically used by the Romans as healing balms on burns, bites, blisters, wounds and all sorts of not so lovely things. Upon further reading it sounds as though our race (meaning human) was still (and continues to be, I'm sure) in a rather ignorant stage when in the 16th century beets were wiped with fresh dung prior to cooking...hmm. Oh that silly Elizabethan time.

Personally I'm thrilled to be in a time and place to enjoy beets for what they are today. Borscht is fantastic and I enjoy it very much but not often enough. And while flipping through my accordion file of recipes I have collected over the past year, I see this beautiful bright beet soup, smooth and creamy as can be. So of course I make it. I'm pretty sure the main reason for not making beets, in any form, more often is the "bleeding factor," It is a total mess, and if you aren't paying a good deal of attention at what your doing, a horrific total mess. It's why I usually wear a purple shirt on beet processing day. That totally makes me a dork, I know. But damn is it ever gorgeous, and my eyes widen and I become entranced with the glowing color long enough to forget why I don't do this more often. Anyway, I can see why this root was used for rouge in the 19th century.

This soup is fantastic with its sweet and earthy flavor and incredibly smooth texture. The potato in there adds a nice bit of thickness and everything (except for Lemon Yogurt Cake) is better with Creme Fraiche, which this soup has a nice dollop of. The recipe called for croutons and I would have added some if I had some on hand, along with fresh chives, as I only had parsley. I also roasted my beets instead of using canned beets which takes a great deal longer, but it is worth it in my opinion. I will post the recipe as it was in the magazine and feel free to use my changes or not.

Beet Soup with Creme Fraiche and Chives

Delicious Magazine (Australian)

serves 4-6

40g unsalted butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

1L (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock

450g can baby beets, drained and roughly chopped

Creme fraiche, or sour cream, croutons and finely snipped chives to serve

extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and carrot and cook, stirring for 3 minutes or until slightly softened. Add the chopped potato and cook, stirring for another 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf, stock and 1 cup of water. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, then cook for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender. Add the chopped beets and simmer for about 3 minutes.

Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then discard the bay leaf. Using a stick blender or food processor blend soup until smooth. Season soup to taste, add a little extra water if it's too thick, and warm through over low heat if necessary.

To serve divide soup among bowls and top each with a dollop of creme fraiche. Scatter with croutons and chives, then drizzle with olive oil.

Seed Splendor

2009-03-24T16:46:00.004-04:00

In my earlier posts when I started this blog, which is rounding to about year ago, I mentioned more about myself such as my background. Plants have always been a passion and a true love of mine. I have always been very sensitive towards and felt a meaningful connection to the earth and the ability to grow and take care of what can come of her.

Each year I have made an effort of some sort, either small or large to at least have herbs and some flowers under my care. The year I graduated from college was also the year when I left my home town to live in Ithaca, NY and when I realized for the first time how important it was to me to bring my plants along. In retrospect, over the six years, many apartments and situations I lived in since, I never had a lot of outdoor space to garden fully. And for me being a Plant and Soil girl, it was very strange, weird and a bit frustrating to be giving advice and information to others on how to care for any kind of plant, when in fact I had yet to be in a situation to take care of my own. Houseplants are lovely but it's just not the same. Container gardens are definitely a step up and are a bit closer to at least being outside and getting dirty. But I still itch; nervously itch for the time when I can sink my own shovel into my own earth and create my own sustainable system integrating as much of my college education as possible.

It hasn't been until just a couple days ago that I realized how terribly I have missed having my hands in the soil and being a part of such a remarkable cycle of life. It's been easy for me to get lost in new endeavors and trying new things, but I feel the lack of growing has literally left me less grounded in my own shoes. Ironic isn't it?

So here I am making a change to remember a large part of who I am, and incorporating it into the new skills and endeavors I hope to achieve. I have started about 50 plants comprised of a dozen different herbs. All of the seeds are organic and I plan on growing and feeding these seedlings accordingly. I will be growing as much on my deck as it can handle in containers and making the most of my space, until that dreamy euphoric day comes when I have some land of my own. I am very excited to share the growing process and my experience with starting my herbs, flowers and vegetables from seed. All of the beautiful abundance will be ending up on my plate, or yours if you order from Plumpest Peach I hope this will be inspirational to those who have never grown their own, because it certainly will be for me. Be the change you seek.

Cheers!

From Lemons into Loaves

2009-03-20T13:39:00.006-04:00

Meyer lemons are something else. I can't believe how soft and supple they are. Juicing them is like melting butter, it's so easy. The amount of juice that flows from these tiny lemons is nothing short of amazing, and you don't have to grind, crank, and twist the hell out of them to release the juice. Oh and the juice itself is incredibly aromatic and less acidic than regular lemons. I'm quite in awe of them, I totally thought they were (Meyer's that is) just another food snob choice, because how could you improve a lemon? Lemons are fantastic as they are, and they are what they are you know?

I wanted to make a lemon tart, but when the time came to do it, I was not interested in making the tart crust. There are days for feeling that optimistic and fully delving into the baking scene, and yesterday was not one of those days. But I really had to use these lemons and I really wanted to use these lemons before they went bad. So I made a lemon yogurt cake/loaf thing.

Making cakes isn't my thing. In fact I've never really liked cakes, especially in birthday form. Yes, I do realize this makes me a bit of a freak, what kind of foodie doesn't like cakes? It's like being an orange juice lover who hates oranges. It doesn't make any sense. But ever since I was old enough to choose my birthday cake, I always chose something different. Apple crisp, a pineapple with fruit skewers and pina colada dip, raspberry pie and egg custard.

I've always been different. I'll eat cake if someone gives it to me, don't get me wrong here, but it's not something I seek out.

So I decided on a nice moist lemon loaf. I have never made one so I picked a recipe that looked simple and straight forward. Deb at Smitten Kitchen had posted one from Ina Garten and it is one of the universal recipes where you can swap, sub and pick whatever flavors you want. So I stuck with just lemon, no combos, just plain lemon.

I forgot to put in the oil.

Ten minutes into the baking process I look over the recipe again...I forgot the frikin' oil! Shit.

I distinctly remember having the same bad habit when I made Carrot Walnut Bread. I have to remember to re-read the recipe over a final time before I make the next step. So I pulled out the loaf and stirred in the oil even though I couldn't fully incorporate it due the edges of the loaf starting to firm up. I knew that I was messing around with the nice grease and flour coating I had made in the pan and there would be some trouble removing it from that pan once fully cooked. There was a little sticking in one of the corners, but overall not so bad.

Despite the fact that parts of the loaf are substantially more dense than others, it's quite tasty. The yogurt makes it very moist and the lemon syrup poured over the top whilst the cake is still warm is quite tart and lovely. I served it with the some creme fraiche. I wouldn't recommend that. It takes away from the soft suppleness of the loaf and overpowers it. Maybe some fresh berries or whipped cream would be better suited.

Lemon Yogurt Loaf
adapted from Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
3 extra large eggs
zest from two lemons
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil---don't forget this
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 50 minutes. Cake will be done when a knife inserted pulls out clean.

Cook 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 tbsp sugar in small saucepan until sugar dissolves and mixture is clear. Set aside to cool.

When the cake is done, let cool for 10 minutes before flipping onto a cooling rack. Place the rack over a sheet pan and while cake is still warm, pour the lemon syrup over it. Allow it to soak in by making tiny holes with a toothpick in the top of the loaf. Using a pastry brush will help the syrup soak in on the sides.

This guacamole is my one and only...

2009-03-13T11:21:00.004-04:00

We have all tried so many different recipes of guacamole. I'm pretty sure I have never come across one I didn't like. Really, anything with avocados is grade A in my book. Guac made with chili sauce leaving it with a brown color almost making you want to stick the chip in the salsa instead...yet it tastes sooo good you forget about the salsa. Guac with beans, cottage cheese, corn, or lots of hot green chile's are just a few riffs on the ever fantastic dip/condiment/snack, whatever.

I have found my soul mate however with this variation. Why? I will tell you why. It's so green and chunky, and the aroma is to die for. We're talking about two whole Hass avocados, cucumber; that's right cucumber, garlic, fresh lime juice, red onion, good pinch of salt and a mound of fresh cilantro. I enjoy making it every time and quite frankly, I like that it is still lush, rich and creamy, yet that diced cucumber adds a lightness and freshness that usually isn't found in guacamole. Which means of course you can eat a lot of it.

This is another one of those great healthy versions of recipes we all love because they are notoriously unhealthy. I know avocados have good fat, but as usual most of think that equals having no fat so we can eat doubly and triply and and and...until we realize a calorie is a calorie. Anyway I love this recipe and I am happy to share it.

I guess this is technically called a Cucumber-Avocado Salsa by Ellie Kreiger: The Food You Crave. The steak tacos listed in this ever-so-loved cookbook of mine are incredibly tasty as well. The pages have loads of avocado and spice stains all over showing just how much I use the recipe.

1 medium English cucumber, seeded and diced: around 2 cups

2 medium medium-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 garlic clove, finely minced

Juice of 2 limes: about 1/4 cup

salt to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or more if you are like me)

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste (I love all things hot, but I leave these out in this recipe)

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and toss gently to combine. Letting it sit in the fridge for an half hour or so before digging in makes it even better.

Fennel & Citrus Salad

2009-03-05T14:37:00.000-05:00

I think fennel is a vegetable that always ends up getting a pause followed by a weird face as a reaction to an ingredient in an upcoming meal. It seems to fall in that category along with it's friends; radicchio, endive, frisee, parsnips and turnips. I can see the concern, and I can understand the opinion behind it, but quite frankly I think it's crazy.

I certainly have my food hang-ups, and I'm sure we all do. We are all allowed to have different tastes and to down right hate the way some things taste. I thought fennel was uninteresting, and the idea of a vegetable having a flavor like anise/licorice seemed almost wrong. But really why did I have this idea? It's because I didn't know anything about it, how to prepare it, and I hadn't ever eaten it. We can easily be afraid of things we are unfamiliar with, and of course this is a very naughty characteristic to have in more serious circumstances. Yet it still can be an awful way to miss out on new foods that will most likely become a new friend you had no idea how you lived with out.

Raw fennel, who knew? I'm sure lots of you have known and are thinking I'm crazy for not knowing myself. But now I do, I'm in the fennel loop. This salad is excellent and quite a refreshing and uplifting dish to have when citrus is in season. I was psyched to have a summery-type salad in the middle of winter, and after all that citrus segmenting I had done, the kitchen smelled like a citrus juicing facility. Not to mention I had plenty of peels to put down my garbage disposal, which is always a good thing (and beside the point). The dressing is made from all the remaining citrus juice, basil, olive oil and a little salt. The toasted walnuts thrown on the top are an unexpected complement and add a bit more sustenance. For all of you out there who haven't had this, do try.

Fennel & Citrus Salad

Giada De Laurentiis

serves 4-6

1 large orange, peeled and ends trimmed

1 large grapefruit, peeled and ends trimmed

1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Place a sieve over a medium bowl. H old and orange over the bowl, and using a pairing knife, cut along the membrane of both sides of each segment. Let the segments sit in the sieve. Repeat with the grapefruit. Squeeze the membranes over the bowl to extract as much juice as possible, reserving the juices in the bottom of the bowl. Place the fruit segments and fennel in a salad bowl.

In a blender or food processor, blend the oil, basil and 3 tablespoons of the reserved juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the fruit and fennel. Add the chopped walnuts and toss until all the ingredients are coated.

Lentil Sambar

2009-03-04T12:45:00.001-05:00

I absolutely adore this dish. Of course I adore almost every dish that is unique in some way or another. But really aside from the Feijoada, these two dishes were my favorite when working at Moosewood Restaurant. Of course nearly all the recipes have found their way into the cookbooks, so if you have a favorite from when you ate there, undoubtedly you will find it in the plethora of volumes they have written for your convenience.

This is a typical Northern Indian dish and you can google 'Lentil Sambar' and find pretty much the same exact ingredients in all of the recipes. I know this sounds silly, but the best part of Lentil Sambar are the ingredients. Well of course it is, I know that's what you're thinking. But cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onions, red peppers and lentils. It's one of those meals you think will be a lot of chopping and generally a pain in the ass but worth it by the time it gets to your mouth. The work involved is rather painless. There are so many spices, which you will most likely have in your cupboard, with an exception of a few. Be sure to pick up some tamarind paste because I have made this dish with and with out it, and it will still be fine and dandy with out it, but a real overall sweet/tangy element is surely missed. Get the paste! It lasts in the fridge forever, so no worries. Yet there is always good reason to buy and new ingredient and find new recipes to use it in, that's the only we find cool recipes and branch out anyway.

Ramble, ramble, ramble. This dish is hot and spicy, full of flavor and texture. The yogurt is a must to put out the fire in your mouth, and the mango peach chutney aids in that too combating with the sweetness of the fruit. Make sure you find yourself some good light beer to go with it like Kingfisher, most popular beer in India.

Lentil Sambar

Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

serves 4-6

1 cup dried lentils (I used a mix of green and Puy)

3 cups water

1 onion

1 small head cauliflower

2 sweet potatoes

1 red bell pepper

2 tsp canola oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 fresh green chile, minced, seeds removed

1 tbsp tamarind concentrate, dissolved in 1 cup hot water

1 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

cooked brown basmati rice

Mango Peach Chutney

strained greek yogurt

Rinse the lentils, put them in a small saucepan with the 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Stir occasionally and add more water if needed (which is usually needed).

While the lentils are cooking chop the onion, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Warm the oil in a pot and saute the mustard, fenugreek, and cumin seeds on medium heat, covering the pot and shaking it occasionally to prevent burning. When the mustard seeds begin to pop ( which is cool) stir in the turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and chopped chile and saute for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Try and abstain from inhaling the spices too deeply, you will cough heavily with the strength of the cayenne and combination of all the spices at high heat. I say this from experience. Wait till you get some veggies in there.

Stir in the tamarind liquid, add the onions, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and salt and combine. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the bell peppers, cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until everything is tender.

Drain the cooked lentils and stir them in the vegetable mixture. Reheat if necessary, and stir in the cilantro. Ladle over basmati rice and serve with the chutney and a large dollop of thick yogurt.

Mango Peach Chutney

serves 4 to 6

1 large mango, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 cups fresh or frozen peaches, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice (if you don't have it, or don't want to buy it, sub water)

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp grated fresh ginger root

1 small fresh green chile, seeded and minced

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered (your house will smell great) for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and translucent. Cool or chill before serving.

A Smokin' Grill

2009-03-02T16:19:00.002-05:00

Can't tell you how long it took me to upload this picture. I just made the switch from a PC to a Mac and it certainly is taking some getting used to. I'm still unsure of where this is stored in correlation to the rest of my photos.

On this snowy day, I thought a nice shot of BBQ chicken smokin' on a grill on Venice Beach might warm me up in some way or another. I hope it does the same for you.

I will be posting some more recipes shortly from February's Menu so that you can make them yourself if you so choose.

Fly away...to Malibu

2009-02-25T13:53:00.008-05:00

There's nothing like a vacation far, far away to get the spirit going again. Lucky for me, I have a husband who travels all over the globe because he gets invited to give talks on his research. Especially lucky for us these talks sometimes end up in places like Malibu. Yessss!

In the middle of February we both couldn't have been happier to get the hell out of dodge. Malibu was sunny and 72. The vitamin D I was lacking was absorbed so quickly and soon I was overflowing with a California state of mind. The beaches such as Point Dume (above) and the famous Zuma beach were very accessible. You can literally walk for miles up and down the coast with out leaving that fantastic sand.

The breakfasts we ate were fantastic and we went back twice to the same place: Plate Restaurant. You could see the ocean from the dining room and the baked granola french toast I had was dreamy. Light and fluffy, with a nutty crunch from the granola. This place is so damn healthy you really don't have to try to be healthy. That's one of the fantastic things about California/Malibu.

But of course, it wouldn't be a true Los Angeles trip with out some celebrity sitings would it? Being who my husband and I are, we didn't realize the Oscars were taking place the day we left. The town was full of hustle and bustle and we couldn't drive down the walk of fame because they were setting up for the Oscars. Anyway, we took a walk down the Santa Monica beach and Venice beach and on our way back what did we see? The Film Independent Spirit Awards. We were standing with a bunch of onlookers and wondering what it was. Soon we heard some names and then started to see some celebs from afar. Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, Mickey Rourke just to name a few. It was surprising and exciting. Most of my pictures were far enough back I didn't get any fantastic shots, but here is one of Alec Baldwin.

Talk about la-la land! Just the thing we needed to truly get away from it all. Anyway, I will get back to the things I know more about with the next post, like food. Cheers!

Mushroom & Leek Frittata

2009-02-18T10:35:00.000-05:00

This mushroom and leek frittata included fontina cheese, basil and some seriously farm fresh eggs. It was so light and fluffy with a rich and full flavor. It really stood on it's own quite well. You certainly could have a side of wilted greens, or homefries, but I served it with a few thinly sliced vine-ripened tomatoes. Frittatas, as I'm sure most of you know, are so versatile you really can add or subtract any ingredient you like. I particularly like the fact that you don't have to stand at the stove and watch it like omlettes or any other egg dish for that matter. Eggs need watching and that's part of their charm and why they taste so damn good. In this case you let all of the ingredients do their magic in the oven while you enjoy your company or anything else you want to do for 30 minutes. Once it cools a bit, you are good to go, and you don't have to worry about keeping it hot, they taste great at room temperature. I would definately make this again.

Mushroom & Leek Frittata
Delicious Cookbook-5 Nights a Week, by Valli Little
serves 4

20g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
20ml olive oil
1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
400g button or mixed mushrooms, washed and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 eggs
150ml double cream
handful of cubed fontina cheese
40g grated Parmesan
3 heaped tbsp torn basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 20cm-square cake pan with the extra butter.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the leek and cook for 5 minutes, until soft, but not browned. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cream and Parmesan in a jug. Season with salt and pepper. Fill the prepared pan with the leek mixture, sprinkle with basil and pour over the egg mixture. Sprinkle cubed fontina on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned and set. Cool slightly, then turn out onto a board. Cut into squares.

Oranges & Ginger Cream

2009-02-17T09:56:00.005-05:00

What an excellent dessert option. I have never had anything quite like this. I selected this dessert for a birthday breakfast my family had for my Mom. I wanted to make some sort of a dessert, but of course having a traditional cake or tart might have been too much for breakfast. If it were able to be more on the brunch side, I'm sure we could have 'forced' down a rich cake. My mom is not big on chocolate, so it is always nice to come up with an alternative, but sometimes those options seem repetitive. Lemon tart, bars, a fruity mousse. Nothing wrong with these whatsoever, but all those ideas blew right out the window when I found this recipe. It of course is in the cookbook I fell in love with all over again, Delicious.

After a rich and fluffy frittata, which I will be posted as well, this dessert didn't push us over the edge. You know the feeling, we've all been there. You are so hungry and get so excited about the fact that 1) you didn't have to cook, 2) these are food items you normally don't make and 3) it's a special occasion so you can eat as much as you want. So when you are rounding up on your second and maybe third helpings, you feel overwhelmed with the fact that you forgot there was dessert. You know in order to eat it you'll have to wait for way longer until it's served. You know you'll have to release your belt a notch (when no one is looking). Enter this fantastic and fresh dessert.

Not only does it cleanse the palate, it gives you that sweet fix, and not the sweet fix you wish you got from fruit when you know it will take a hunk of chocolate to fix. It also has a very comfortable amount of ginger in the syrup it marinates in, and in the cream. The digestive qualities of ginger most certainly help with whatever damage you may have accumulated by this point. The Grand Marnier and white wine doesn't hurt either.

It's so easy, no crust, no fuss, and served cold. Really this will make the end of any meal a special one!

Oranges & Ginger Cream
Delicious Cookbook-5 Nights a Week by Valli Little
serves 6

6 oranges
375ml white wine
300g sugar
2 heaped tbsp finely sliced ginger
60ml Grand Marnier or curacao

ginger cream
300ml double cream
2 heaped tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

Zest the oranges, reserving the zest, and use a small, sharp knife to remove the peel and pith, then halve each orange horizontally and place in a serving dish and set aside.

Place the wine, sugar and 600ml water in a saucepan over a medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the orange zest and ginger and continue to boil, stirring, for about 5-6 minutes, until the syrup has reduced by half. Remove from the heat and pour in the liqueur. Stir to combine. Pour the hot syrup over the oranges and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to chill.

Meanwhile, to make the ginger cream, place the cream, ginger and icing sugar in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to chill, then serve with the oranges and syrup.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes With Roasted Pepper Salsa

2009-02-12T19:58:00.003-05:00

It has been difficult to figure out how to balance recipe testing with what's for dinner, what I will offer on my menu and what I want to try for fun. I will often get stuck with 'recipe block' which can be compared to writer's block. I usually have a handful of ideas for the week that will easily fill personal dinners, yet I can't be making crazy amounts of food because there aren't enough people in this household to eat it all. I love freezing things, but it really can get out of hand if the meals aren't planned with doubled or tripled functions. Sitting down and writing out the dinner ideas, menu ideas and things for fun is the fastest way to strip most of the excitement and inspiration away. But once you get past those lists, and a grocery list to match, you're looking at the world through rose colored glasses.

It's most important to plan your meals as much as possible. Less waste, more money saved, and we are super happy. It's really important for me because this way I can see how to make all my lists work with one another. I can try out menu ideas, eat the trials immediately or freeze them for later and still have a little wiggle room for the fun stuff.

I love having a load of cookbooks. It's easy to get wrapped up into one and forget about the others. And in a way, that is the best part. When I opened up my delicious cookbook, I fell in love all over again, and with different recipes compared to the last time I opened it. It's just like finding money in your pant pocket you forgot you had! Well that's what it's like for me, anyway.

I have never had cottage cheese pancakes before. When I saw this recipe I flipped and wanted to make it immediately along with the list of five other things at the same time. The inspirational swells come all at once so I just had to pick one and go for it. I tasted the pancake on it's own and it was okay. I finished off the roasted pepper salsa and topped the pancakes with it. I added a dollop of cottage cheese on the side, piled my fork with a bit of everything and took a bite. I was pleasantly surprised with everything going on in my mouth. The texture and flavor of every component balanced so well, and it was incredibly simple. The pancakes are light and fluffy with a crisp outer layer. The salsa is velvety from the roasted red peppers and a bit crunchy from the red peppers. The balsamic vinegar pulls the veggies together and really enhances the pancakes. You really must try these. Such a light and filling lunch, or dinner for that matter.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Roasted Pepper Salsa
delicious cookbook, 5 nights a week, by Valli Little
makes 12

120g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
200g low-fat cottage cheese, plus extra to serve
2 egg whites

Roasted Pepper Salsa
40ml olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 roasted red peppers, diced
40ml balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp basil leaves, chopped, plus extra to garnish

For the salsa, heat half the oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the balsamic vinegar and basil, and season. Warm through for 1-2 minutes, then set aside.

For the pancakes, sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a bowl. Stir in the cottage cheese and season.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then carefully fold into the cottage cheese mixture. Heat the remaining olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Place tablespoons of batter into the pan and cook for 1 minute each side until golden, then remove and keep warm. Continue with remaining mixture. Serve with salsa and extra cottage cheese. Garnish with basil.

*I roasted my own red peppers, but to make it much faster, you can buy them in a jar. Buy the ones packed in water.

Tuscan Beans with Sage

2009-02-10T10:19:00.007-05:00

To my surprise my Sage has been flowering sporadically over the past several weeks. It has been a very welcome sight considering the time of year. I am ridiculously happy that some of my herbs are alive. I don't own a piece of land as of yet, so all of my gardening occurs in containers on my deck. Each year I plant a medley of herbs and a few flowers. My deck is south facing, and my Basil ends up growing into a woody bush. Try as I might only a few of these monster herbs make it through the winter in the house to the warmer months where I can at least let them spend the day outside. The lack of direct light, and hot rays usually call for a long slow death with the Mediterranean herbs such as Rosemary, Thyme, and Basil. They get very leggy, and somehow aphids and white flies find them. Where the hell are they hiding? With a few spritzes of insecticidal soap I try and keep the bugs at bay, but sometimes the herbs have just had it.

This year I am barely keeping an Oregano alive, but seem to be fostering some sweet, sweet love with my Rosemary, Lemon Thyme, and Sage. The sage in particular is so damn happy. The earthy and pungent aroma reminds me of warmer days to come. There is nothing better than growing your own herbs. I feel a certain relationship all my own with them in a maternal kind of way and in a culinary way. So, in the middle of winter I snipped off about a dozen soft, fuzzy leaves, chopped them up and added them to this Tuscan Bean dish.

Tuscan Beans with Sage
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Recipes
serves 4

2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
6 garlic cloves pressed
1 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped canned tomatoes (28 oz can)
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 cups cooked cannellini beans (two 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
4 leaves of lacinato kale, rinsed and cut into thin strips
3-4 slices of bacon (cooked until crispy, and chopped up)
salt and pepper to taste
fresh grating of Parmesan cheese on top to finish

This is a vegetarian dish but I wanted to add some bacon. Like most recipes, they are just a guideline. I like to add or change ingredients and try new things. This recipe as it is shown in the cookbook is fantastic, yet I wanted more sustenance so I added bacon, kale, and parmesan cheese. I've made this recipe with canned cannellini beans and dried yellow-eyed beans from Rancho Gordo. When in a hurry, the canned beans are perfectly tasty, but even more so are the yellow-eyed beans. It does take longer to cook them, but I think it makes a big difference. About 1 1/3 cups of dried beans equals the 3 cup volume of cooked beans.

Method
Combine sage, garlic and oil in a saucepan and saute on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes until the garlic has turned golden. Add the tomatoes, lemon juice and cannellini beans and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes until everything is hot. Add the kale strips and let them wilt slowly in the heat. Stir the bean dish a few times and add the bacon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into big bowls and finish with finely grated Parmesan. Warm crusty bread is a must with this dish, so make sure you have some to mop all every last bit.

The Whole Pie

2009-02-02T10:33:00.006-05:00

I have read many blog posts about making home-made pizza. I never made it past the part where the pizza dough has to rise for 1-1.5 hours. I can't say how many times I have subsequently printed out that recipe, re-read it, and hoped the dough-rising time had changed.

It's really not all that bad folks, we are allowed to do other things while the dough rises. Dough is becoming more intriguing the more I work with it. Recently my idea: "making dough is so specific, and what if it doesn't come out right?" has now become a silly notion. Somehow feelings of excitement and anticipation of not knowing how it will come out has become far more rewarding and fulfilling than knowing how it will. In the past, having planned the whole ordeal tediously in a way for it to turn out correct exuded a more negative response of: "it better come out correct now that I've put so much into it!" Variety is the the spice of life, as they say.

I think everyone can benefit from trying new things, especially things they are quite nervous or unsure of. The only way we can feel the confidence bust out and break our nervous hardened shells is to just try to get past the scary part enough to see, it's not as bad as we think. Case in point: I was up at Smuggler's Notch this weekend experiencing my second day snowboarding. I grew up an Alpine skier since the age of 3, moved on to Nordic skiing in high school, and now I am trying another sport involving mountains and snow. The first day, a few weekends back, was spent on the bunny trail watching and learning. I fell enough to better understand the "feel" of the board and my balance on it. I had made it down the bunny trail with a couple good solid turns and felt amazed I had gotten so far. The second day it was time to take the lift and go down a trail. It was extremely frightening for me because here I was on a snowboard scared shit-less of getting on the chair lift. I had wanted to get on the chair lift the first day I laid eyes on it when I was 3. But here I was with my left leg twisted in front of me in a strange manner and my other leg trying to push myself in a specific direction. It all felt so odd. I was very uncomfortable with how vulnerable I felt in a place I usually felt extremely comfortable. We get to the mid station and I have no idea how I'm going to make it down this TINY ramp with out falling. I was right, and I fell. I look up and there is a small group of "Mighty Mites" all hanging out with an instructor getting strapped into their boards. I'm standing there on my board, looking at my husband, looking at all the other beginners, and the slope. I couldn't make myself go. I was too scared. Then I heard the most important words from the instructor who was responding to one of the kids' fears. She said: "The only way we can get over that fear is to keep trying the things that scare us. The more we practice, the better we get." I looked at my husband who then looked at me, I shook my head, smiled, took a deep breath and went down the trail. I took a few mild diggers, but all in all had a great time and had learned to make several continuous turns down the entire trail.

After the fact, I felt so lucky to have found myself in an uncomfortable situation. We don't get to these places on our own very easily. Why would we want to? I can't fully express to you how it felt to face a fear I didn't anticipate having. You'll have to feel your own for yourself. Yet I faced it, got through it, and completely impressed myself! We all have weaknesses, some we know about and others we don't. But don't forget that we all have strengths, some we know about and others we don't. Whether it is trying a new sport or getting past an irrational reason for not making pizza dough, I implore you to learn something new about yourself.

Jess's Empowering Pie
makes one 14-15" pie

Basic pizza dough (a food network recipe)
1 cup warm water (at least 110 F)
1 1/4 oz envelope active dry yeast
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I used half whole-wheat, half all purpose)
1 tsp salt
yellow cornmeal for sprinkling on baking sheet or pizza stone

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and 1 tbsp olive oil. Stir to combine and let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is foamy.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour in 1/4 cup increments, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth and a little tacky. You might not need all the flour. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth but still a little tacky.
Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat it in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set warm place for 1- 1.5 hours, until doubled in size.

Pizza toppings
With a floured working space, roll out the dough to desired thickness, I like it pretty thin. Remember to sprinkle the baking sheet or pizza stone with cornmeal. Place the dough on the baking sheet. Brush the surface of the dough with a bit more olive oil, leaving an inch or so for the crust. You are now ready to top this pie with whatever you choose. My choices were:

1/2 cup simple red sauce
10 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
3 leaves of kale, chiffonade and lightly steamed
3 slices prosciutto, torn up
9 small mozzarella balls
good shaving of Parmesan cheese over whole pie

Bake in the oven at 475 F for 15-18 minutes.

Pear, Prosciutto & Blue Cheese Salad

2009-01-28T21:09:00.007-05:00

As I sit here typing this post, I have a heavily aromatic peach and mango chutney gently simmering on the hob. I wish I had a real hob. I do have a stove, I just wish it were a hob. Anyway, every inch of air around me is perfumed by this sweet and savory condiment. Cardamom and cinnamon are the standouts along with the mellowing brown sugar and soft fruits and that Serrano pepper certainly got its foot in the door as well. The snow continues to fall and it seems most everyone around the neighborhood has turned off their lights and called it an early night. The cat has decided the kitchen is way more comfy in aroma and warmth to come and hang out with me while I type. Usually she has to be apart of the typing process, but she has claimed my down jacket and snuggled up in it like a bug in a rug. This warm feeling gets me thinking about the salad I had for lunch. It wasn't a temperature warm salad, but it warmed me up anyway.

I thought I would put this salad to the test. I found it in my nearest and dearest Olive magazine. I used prosciutto instead of pancetta, and I used a Danish blue cheese instead of Roquefort because I couldn't find any Roquefort. With a silky walnut and sherry vinegar emulsion pulling all of the contrasting flavors together, I was in heaven. It is a rich salad but perfect for yet another wintry day. I think this salad may make a repeat appearance for tomorrow's lunch. It's easy to pass on cold salads during the cold months and understandably so. But this is one I will not pass on and suggest you do the same.

Pear, Prosciutto & Blue Cheese Salad
adapted from Olive magazine
makes heafty salad for one

3 slices prosciutto
1-2 handfuls mixed greens
2-3 slices of crumbled blue cheese (any kind you like)
half of a red d'Anjou pear thinly sliced
3 tbsp walnut oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar

Method
Line a baking sheet with foil and place three slices of prosciutto on the baking sheet making sure to not overlap them. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350F until nice and crispy. Blot off excess oil with a paper towl and let cool. Place greens in a large bowl and add the pear slices and cheese. Whisk the oils and vinegar together and drizzle over salad. Break up the prosciutto slices into bits and scatter across the salad and toss to incorporate dressing. Plate and serve.

Risotto al Salto

2009-01-28T09:02:00.001-05:00

When the weather forecasts call for big ass storms such as the one about to consume Vermont and many other states, I know how important it is to make some of your own sunshine. I think it is that time of year when the winter weather starts to tickle your funny bone. The kind of nervous tickle where the laugh isn't completely derived from silliness, but rather the kind of loud excretion of noise illustrated perfectly in the movie The Money Pit with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. Remember that movie? The scene when things start to turn to hell with remodeling the house and Hanks' character, I think named Banks? brings up the water in a pail for his wife's bath. He pours the water in and the tub falls through the floor and crashes into a million pieces on the floor below. His laugh in reaction to this occurrence makes me pee my pants every time I hear it. I don't have to tell anyone around here how important it is to keep the laugh on the happy side of the spectrum as opposed to the nervous side.

Enter the mega-warming, ultra-happy lunch. I had made some red wine risotto with peas a few nights back. I never, ever have risotto leftovers. I made extra this time so that I could finally make risotto as salto with the leftovers. Giada De Laurentiis has fantastic recipes and I use them often. I have three of her books in my possession and I am always happy with the results.
It takes a wee bit of patience for the risotto cakes to crisp up, but it is well worth the wait. I had a handful of baby spinach and a few slices worth of a cucumber left in my crisper. It was just enough to make this a sweet lunch. The risotto cakes gently wilted the baby spinach beneath them making a nice contrast to the crispy cool cucumber with a few cold leaves of spinach on the outside. I placed everything on a sunny yellow plate and plunked myself down in a sunbeam to eat my lunch. My cat had the right idea and had not left the sunbeam as soon as it showed up and remained there far after I left. This lunch kept me going right through the 3pm lull. I'm telling you, there's nothing a good hard workout, a little bit of sun and nice lunch won't fix.

Risotto al Salto
adapted from Everyday Italian

2 cups red wine risotto with peas (or any other flavored risotto), cold
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Method
In a bowl stir the risotto and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese to blend. In a medium to large skillet melt the butter and oil over medium-low heat. Add the risotto to the skillet and press into a 6-7 inch diameter disc. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese over the risotto cake. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until the cake is golden brown on the bottom and set around the edges, about another 5 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, loosen the cake from the pan and slide onto the plate.

I like to flip it and brown the other side a bit too, but if you don't have the time it is equally good with one side browned.

Carrot Walnut Bread with Yogurt

2009-01-27T16:38:00.001-05:00

Ever had the feeling you created a monster?

After I made my standard white loaf of bread a couple weeks back, I decided to try and tackle the bread baking challenge more often. I have acquired a couple hand fulls of bread and bread product recipes over time and these recipes are ones I wistfully thought would be above and beyond the coolness factor for me. For some reason making flat bread or Naan seemed unattainable. The things we convince ourselves of...

Getting back to creating a monster, I didn't have any preconceived notion of 'monsterness' in the beginning of this recipe. Turns out this Carrot Walnut bread is quite attainable. So attainable in fact it's downright silly. I read the recipe and I converted the metric measurements. I looked at the picture in the recipe and decided I wanted a "higher" loaf. I placed it in the oven and became very excited. Now, this is a habit I would like to change: I read the recipe through again after the dough had been in the oven. I was supposed to make a FLAT BALL out of the dough. Yeah, I made a real nice TALL BALL. I pulled the loaf out after the required 30 minutes and decided it needed at least 5 minutes more to get the hollow tap. I looked at it and wondered what may be looming inside. The crust was nice and brown but looked kind of funny with the flour dusting. I started to get a bit nervous and wondered what I had created.

Turns out, not so monsterly. I'm coming up with all sorts of new words in this post. The bread is quite lovely. Really moist from the yogurt and a hint of sweetness and mild crunch from the carrot. The walnuts add their usual nutty flavor, all in all, a great quick bread. Just please follow the recipe and make a flat ball instead of a high one so that you can enjoy the whole loaf.

Quick carrot and walnut bread
Olive magazine February issue
40 minutes

350g plain flour
150 whole meal flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
150g grated carrots
handful of walnuts toasted
300ml low-fat Greek yogurt
125ml skim milk

Method
Heat oven to 455 F. Mix the flours, salt and baking soda, then stir in the carrot, walnuts and yogurt, followed by enough milk to make a soft, quite sticky dough. Tip onto a floured surface and form a flat ball, put on a baking sheet, slash the top and bake for 30 minutes until risen and cooked. It'll sound hollow when you tap it.

Roast Chicken

2009-01-26T16:31:00.006-05:00

"What do you want for dinner tonight?"
"Roast chicken!"

"I'm not sure what to make for dinner, what do you feel like?"
"Uh, roast chicken."

"I'm not really in the mood to make dinner, want to go out?"
"Let's pick up a roast chicken."

"What time should we set the alarm for tomorrow morning?"
"Roast chicken."

It mostly has to do with the fact that the chicken is whole. The headless bird, browned and glistening with fatty juices screams to them: "Dismember me rapidly and tear apart my succulent meat and gnaw the rest off the bone like the Klingon warrior you know you are!" It brings out the carnal side of the cat too, she will often be referred to as the baby Targ, aggressively swatting at the smaller pieces the dominant male has lost track of in his massive refueling tangent.

I usually step back and watch in amusement. I think to myself: "I've got my piece of the chicken and it's really good, nice and juicy this time. Yeah, tastes good." I look over to my counterpart, "how's your dinner?" "Mmhmm, oh god..." followed by an undetermined dialect reminiscent of happy animal eating noises and finally, " aaah, roast chicken."

This one happened to be quite tasty and served with a mix of vegetables and cheesy grits. Food and Wine magazine had a lovely recipe in the February issue. A nice three pound organic bird from right here in VT was a fantastic buy. Of course you can roast a chicken with any sort of medley of vegetables you choose and any genre of spices. It is a blank canvas that I know will be loved anyway it comes out.

I've got my loaf to keep me warm

2009-01-16T14:09:00.003-05:00

My first job was at a bakery. I'm not sure what was appealing about waking up before 5 am on weekends to roller blade to work to knead dough. But none-the-less, that was what I did. I've always been one to choose jobs, patterns of logic, and activities off the beaten path, so looking back, it doesn't surprise me that I found this intriguing. Of course you would not be in your right mind if you didn't find the smell of bread baking intoxicating, so I must have had something right at sixteen. As far as anything beyond that fact, the only thing I had right was listening to my parents when they told me it was time to get a job. Again, off the beaten path...who listens to their parents? I certainly did, to which I am sure they are proud.

And speaking of proud, I was proud of the need I had yesterday to bake a loaf of bread. A pile of time passed since dough, in this form, has passed through my hands. But I was compelled to see what I had remembered from twelve years ago. I have vivid memories of only some techniques, but as soon as I started kneading, the feel of it was all coming back. If only I had a better recipe, hotter water, a warmer rising place. It's a good thing I can give it another try, because that it what I really need.

There will be no recipe sharing this time. I will get back to you with a winner. In the mean time, I will toast the slices of this loaf and add spreads and toppings with loads of flavor. Keep warm and stay close your oven!

Some like it hot!

2009-01-09T15:47:00.008-05:00

This happens to be one of the hottest relishes I have ever eaten. The color alone is surely an indicator of what's to come. It's beautiful to look at, and it's aroma will knock you back a few steps. Brazilian Feijoada gone vegetarian is not the same with out the relish mixed in. I took most of my inspiration from Moosewood Restaurants' Low Fat Cookbook. This is a dish I loved dearly when working there. But over the dozen times I've made it, I would change the written recipe due to what I had for ingredients at the time, and out of curiosity. I love that aspect about cooking, it doesn't require the specific measurements baking does. I do love to bake and find it very comforting on those days where if feels good to be told exactly what to do.

Traditional feijoada is based mainly on assorted pork and beef products. I have never had the traditional dish, but it does sounds extremely tasty. I just found the vegetarian version so colorful and chock full of healthy ingredients. Really a feast for the eyes as well as the belly.

Oh and it's pronounced like this.

Yellow Curry Mussels with Lime

2009-01-05T07:59:00.003-05:00

I look forward to this time of year because this is when mussels are in season. Technically September through April or any month with an "R" in the name is considered a good time to eat mussels. Preparing mussels must be just about the easiest and quickest dish to prepare. In under 20 minutes you could have a steaming bowl of mussels with an ocean of highly flavorful broth just waiting to be sopped up with crusty bread. Mussels can take on many flavors and are eaten in many different styles all over the world. Their versatility is endless. I usually stick with the most basic recipe, which is hardly a recipe at all. Steaming mussels in their own juices, with a splash of white wine and a diced garlic clove couldn't be any easier, and happens to be a classic.

For New Years Eve, I had found a recipe for mussels steamed in yellow curry, coconut milk, and lime juice. Topped with fiery chilies and cool cilantro, I was in heaven. The broth was incredibly flavorful with a healthy dose of spice. The mussels were tender and juicy and complimented the texture of the crusty bread. Even with the coconut milk, this dish is very healthy. Mussels are pure protein with a wee bit of fat. Whip up a batch of rice and let the grains absorb the broth instead of the bread. Maybe add a green salad. At about $2.99 - $4.oo for 2 lbs, this dish couldn't be more economical. About two pounds of mussels with rice or bread serves two people as a main course.

Yellow Curry Mussels with Lime
serves 2-4 (two main course, four appetizer)

1 tbsp Thai yellow curry paste
2 cups light coconut milk
3 tbsp brown sugar
juice of two limes
2 lbs mussels, scrubbed and debearded
6 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 long red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
1 cup basmati rice cooked to packet instructions (optional)
nice crusty baguette or crusty bread of choice

Method
Combine curry paste, coconut milk, sugar and lime juice in a wok or pot. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add mussels and lime leaves (if using) then cover. Cook for 5 minutes until the mussels have opened, shake or stir up mussels once during the five minutes. Discard any that have remained closed. Pour mussels into large serving dish, garnish with chilli and cilantro and serve.

Chicken Thighs with Pomegranate Molasses

2008-12-30T16:13:00.006-05:00

As I was sequentially reading my daily news (food blogs) I came across a recipe from a fellow blogger, who is also an author, and gluten-free extraordinaire. Gluten-free Girl is a blog I frequent and I was looking at her long list of recipes and came upon this one a while back. I was happy to see she made reference to it again today due to the seasonality of pomegranates. As she and her comments from other fellow readers mention, pomegranate molasses is something I've had around forever, and can' t seem to find a whole lot to incorporate it in to. The same goes for the orange flower water that I felt I would use in "everything" due to the sheer excitement of finding it in a store around here.

Awesome! I thought to myself, I've found a way to use this incredible ingredient! I had no idea how awesome it would be. I might venture to say I've never had my nose over the pan for as long as did with any other dish. Tangy and savory aromas were wafting in the steam and traveling up my nostrils with a kind of fascination I know has been a long time since I last felt. All I could think of over and over was, "oh wow, mmhm, I can't believe this smells so good." It certainly makes up for the same repertoire of chicken dishes we normally make.

This dish takes on a wonderful caramel color and the sauce thickens as it cooks. It really only takes about 30 minutes to make, I'm telling you, you've got to try it! How have I not mentioned the cashews and pistachios...there are nuts in here, how great is that? Oh forget it you guys, you'll just have to give it a spin, you won't be sorry.

Chicken Thighs with Pomegranate Molasses
makes what you see above

4 chicken thighs
4 tbsp of olive oil ( I used half)
2 tbsp of butter
1 large white onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, rough chop
1/4 cup cashews, raw and unsalted
1/4 cup pistachios, raw and unsalted
zest of one lemon
juice of that lemon
4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken stock

Slowly heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan or skillet. When the fats are hot, add the chicken thighs and brown lightly, about 3 minutes per side. Set them aside and keep warm.

Add the onion to the remaining oil and butter and cook until soft, scraping up any of the flavorful chicken bits. After a couple of minutes add the garlic. When they are both soft and have a bit of color add the nuts. Stir them continuously until golden, they will burn if left too long.

Add the chicken stock, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and lemon zest. Bring this to a boil, at the sugar and stir in some salt and pepper to taste.

Place the chicken thighs back into the pan. Let them simmer in the broth on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes.

Thank Shauna for a fantastic recipe!

Three Cheers to the New Year!

2008-12-26T19:38:00.007-05:00

Burlington Free Press readers, if you are interested in my catering business, please click here.

If you are interested in reading about cocktails, please read on...

It has been a while since I thought about cocktails. How has something like cocktail hour been forgotten so easily? Maybe it has not been forgotten as easily by others as it has by me, at least on a regular basis. Holidays are easy excuses, it's the one time of year you really want to impress, and through all the work of finding the right one, you become very much in need of one yourself.

I was approached this year by the Burlington Free Press to make some suggestions for how to throw a low cost New Year's Eve party. There are many suggestions offered as to how you can have a great party without breaking the bank. Who wouldn't be interested in that? My thoughts were immediately brought to the alcohol aspect. It is usually the most costly and potentially wasteful part of any party. Aside from using small glasses (I swear I'm not cheap) it really is all about streamlining.

I'm sure there are a bunch of people mentioning the same fact and it's a good one: you don't have to have the most expensive Champagne from the Champagne region of France for celebrations. Of course if you can afford it, great! There are many high quality sparkling wines out there to choose from. Every part of the world has their own version of this, celebrate something new and different this year and why not use it as a theme for your party? If you choose Prosecco or Moscato D'asti, go for the Italian flair. Make a mad dash to Spain and choose a flavorful Cava and use the leftovers for a mimosa the following morning. There are millions of incredible sparkling wines from California, Washington, Oregon, and France, just to name a mere few. The great thing about Prosecco and Cava are the bubbles: due to the fact that the effervescence is larger in size, they last longer in cocktails. Psst... this is where the streamlining comes in. Stick with one kind of bubbly, and offer a few options. Party goers can choose to have a classic flute of sparkling wine, or can make a cocktail with what you have to offer. This may help with not getting too excited with mixing all sorts of concoctions, which as we know can be a mistake later on.

I have a few recipes from a range of cocktail books I have used for years. I chose a favorite and a couple of others that I felt were quite festive and unique to share.

Champagne Cocktail
It's not the traditional concoction. This was from a favorite bar that no longer exists. I drank them regularly and with a bit of pestering and tweaking, I figured it out.
(makes one cocktail)

1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp Chambord
1 tbsp vodka
1 tbsp cranberry or pomegranate juice (will be darker red with pomegranate)
shake these four ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker
pour into chilled martini glass
top off with sparkling wine
garnish with a raspberry

Pom Royal
(makes one drink)
1 tsp Pomegranate molasses
fill flute with sparkling wine

Sgroppino
(makes one drink)
1/2 oz vodka
2 small scoops of lemon sorbet
1 oz fresh lemon juice
stir the three ingredients in a glass until mostly combined
top off with Prosecco
garnish with lemon twist

Simple Red Sauce

2008-12-17T07:00:00.004-05:00

This recipe is so simple and I figured I ought to just throw it on here because I use it all the time. I don't remember the last time I bought a bottled red sauce. There are so many fantastic sauces out there for sure, but I have to say, always having some in the freezer to add to pasta or as a base for a vodka sauce make the possibilities endless anytime. I particularly enjoy throwing in a handful of halved kalamata olives and finishing with the classic freshly grated Parmesan.

Every time I go to the grocery store I usually end up buying a few tins of canned tomatoes. I always use them and they end up in everything. Among a bunch of other things like stocks, beans and grains, I like to keep a tally so my pantry is comfortably stocked. This of course allows a lot more freedom of time and good food when you're just not sure what you can scrounge up from the pantry.

Simple Red Sauce
adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis, Everyday Italian
makes about 2 quarts

1/4 cup or so of olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
two 32 oz cans crushed tomatoes (you can use whole or diced as well)
2 dried bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. Saute until the veggies are soft. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, for about an hour. The house will smell great! Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.

If you only have whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes on hand, no worries. If you like a chunky sauce you are as good as gold, but if you prefer a smooth one, whiz the sauce in batches in your food processor until smooth. You can do this the next day after the sauce has cooled in the fridge, I think it tastes better that way. Don't forget to save some for the freezer.

Duo of Dressings

2008-12-15T18:37:00.007-05:00

Fill 'em up eh? In all directions, any way you look at it, we are all feeling a certain or uncertain as it may be, lacking. Due to the current events, which, don't worry I wont be discussing at length, it's time to use our hands and look inward yes? I'm talking about self enriching activities. Oh blah blah blah, you're feeling the usual holiday horror, and are feeling overwhelmed with not-so-jolly justifications as to why there just isn't enough time or money or whatever to possibly live up to what you think is a perfect holiday season. Does this not come up every year? I know this year in particular is a difficult one, but mind you, I'm sure you all can remember another holiday in which something else other than the current state of affairs made it a difficult holiday. How did you work through that one? I'm finding most of what we think, well, is all in our head. Well of course it is, you're thinking, I know. But if it is that simple, and that obvious, if we are all feeling similar this year, wouldn't it be easier to make a change to our definition of "perfect holiday?" It's something my family has been doing for the past few years and we were thrilled to get it started, it hasn't taken much adjusting.

No presents...and it's way better. We enjoy each other so much more. The holidays are all about the food. We all make or bring something, meet up at the parents house and lounge around. The kids of course get presents from Santa, but, most of them are homemade, or involve making crafts of their own. We do the stocking thing, but they are funny gag-gifts with a cap on spending. Less time spent on shopping separately; more time making memories together that will last a lifetime. I know all schmaltzy, but really, what else is there?

This year my husband and I started to make our first ornaments for our tree. There have been collections over the years from my family and they have been passed down to us now, but we wanted to start our own traditions. Just a couple this year, made out of thick sketching paper I had laying around, foam balls, pipe cleaners, cotton balls and some googly eyes. A little glue, markers, colored pencils, scissors and several candy canes later, we had spent a few hours being all crafty. It was great, and a forgotten way to truly relax and spend time together. It made the tree falling over funny instead of aggravating. Apparently we have one of the cheap-ass tree stands because the metal spike broke off that's right, broke off, the base of the metal tree stand and was lodged only in the tree trunk, thus tipping and scaring the cat, logically.

In the spirit of filling ourselves up with all sorts of thoughtful analogies, I encourage you to fill up your own bottles, plastic tubs and freezer bags and give the gift of food! Be it for the holidays to others, or for yourselves. Make the time to do this as a family, and actually notice what it feels like to give and receive together. Isn't that what we all want and need?

Here's a couple salad dressings I love and keep in the fridge regularly.

Feta Garlic with Dill Dressing or Dip
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks
makes 2 cups (which is a fair amount, halving this recipe works well for me)

1 cup olive or canola oil
2-3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2-3 garlic cloves pressed
1 tsp dried dill, or 1 tbsp fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup milk or buttermilk

Blend all of the ingredients together except for milk or buttermilk. Add slowly until dressing is thick and creamy. Chilling it in the fridge for 30 minutes before using allows all the flavors to marry. *If using fresh dill, the dressing will turn a light green unless the dill is stirred in by hand after the blending. Tastes great either way, just an aesthetic note.

Ginger Miso Dressing or Dip
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks
makes 2 cups (halving works well here too)

3/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup light miso
3 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1/2 cup water

Add all of the ingredients into the blender except for the water. Add the water slowly in a steady stream until dressing is smooth and creamy.

Green Pea Soup

2008-12-15T16:22:00.004-05:00

Split pea soup is certainly comforting and totally called for during these harsh winter days and nights. Although we had quite the balmy day especially for the North Country, as usual, it will not last very long. Soups and stews of varying textures and weight have been experiments of late in my kitchen. Sometimes my stomach just can't take the heavy meals my eyes think it can. I will have to share the Chickpea Chard and Bread Stew I made a few days ago. Perfect on the eyes and belly.

On my mind today was a soup I made a while back. I think it's a great alternative to split pea soup. It offers a lighter and fresher taste, made even more bright by the addition of fresh tarragon. This soup is wicked versatile so don't forget about it when those other times of year come... when it's not like this time of year...when you can serve it the temperature it is outdoors now. Moving on to the recipe which is hardly a recipe because it is comprised of fewer ingredients than the White Bean and Garlic soup I posted about.

Green Pea Soup
Another recipe from Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave.
serves 4

1 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 - 1 tbsp fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
one 10-ounce bag frozen peas (I used a 16 oz bag to make it a bit thicker)
4 tsp plain low-fat yogurt (optional)

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring a few times until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, tarragon, salt and a few turns of black pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the peas and cook just until heated through.
Puree the soup until very smooth in whatever contraption you have, blender, food processor or immersion blender. If serving hot, return the smoothed soup to the pot to a simmer. If serving cold, transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
Swirl a tsp of yogurt into the soup before serving if desired.

I usually make a double batch and throw a few servings into the freezer, after they have spent the night in the fridge. This soup only takes 15-20 minutes to make, so make more at a time and save yourself some time and money down the road!

Spelt Risotto with Mushrooms

2008-11-26T15:42:00.006-05:00

Well I have to say, this dish has been a long time coming. I'm always looking for unique and unusual meals because they make dinner worth eating. I love a routine, they are hard for me to get in, routines that is, and I certainly like the usual suspects when it comes to eating. Not having to think so much about the frikin' recipe and what we'll have for dinner is a welcome thing. Because I like to plan ahead and hardly leave anything to chance, it's easy to get way too tied up in a new dish and let it's newness freak me out. Yet isn't that the fun of it all? How we make out lives difficult for what, spelt? Oh, hardly, I know.

Ha.

Thinly sliced shallots and garlic simmering in a splash of olive oil. What a terrific aroma.

Quite a simple start, then adding most of the key ingredients it starts looking more exciting. Yet, still a little wigged-out by the spelt, pearled spelt, I kind of want to put in arborio rice...just try something new okay?

Of course being a person who adores risotto, I am willing to put up with a lot of stirring...and ever so slowly adding stock ladle by ladle. It takes the usual 40-45 minutes. Warning to those who just can't wrap their brains around that much time. I can't convince you it's worth it if you've already decided it's not worth the time. Maybe you'll change your mind someday.

Here's the first, followed by many!

It certainly turned out to be a delightful new dish. Nutty, chewy and full of mushroom flavor. Of course anything is good with bacon.

Spelt Risotto with Mushrooms
adapted from Olive Magazine (British Magazine I am in love with, measurements are metric)
serves 4

4 shallots
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
a good handful of thyme
200g pearled spelt
150g wild or mix of cultivated mushrooms- I used cremini, shitake, button, and porcini
70g pancetta or bacon cubed
200ml white wine
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, heated to simmering
25g butter
handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
a good lump of Parmesan for grating and shaving
1 lemon, halved

Slice the shallots rather than chopping them. Heat some olive oil in a large pan and add the shallots and garlic and fry gently, stirring every now and then until they get a bit of color.

1. Add the thyme and stir. Unlike an ordinary risotto you don't have to keep the onions translucent. Add some salt and stir in the spelt, keeping the pan moving so it doesn't stick.
2. Now add the mushrooms and fry them well to get a bit of color on them.
3. Next add the pancetta or bacon and fry it until it is well colored. You really have to give everything a good blast of heat, especially the grains as this really opens them up and helps them absorb the stock.
4. Add the white wine and bubble it off. Once it has evaporated, turn the heat down and add a ladleful of hot stock. Let the spelt absorb the stock before adding the next bit or it'll flood and go soggy. Adding it bit by bit keeps the grain firm and concentrates the flavor of the dish.
5. Take the risotto off the heat once the spelt is just al dente and there is still a good amount of sauce around the grains, this should take 40-45 minutes. Now add the butter and stir it in briskly, then add a little chopped parsley and grate in some Parmesan.
6. Add a squeeze of lemon, spoon into shallow bowls, add the remaining parsley and Parmesan shavings.

White Bean and Garlic Soup

2008-11-21T14:35:00.006-05:00

I have never been a huge soup eating person. I'm not sure as to why. I was born, raised, and chose to live in a cold climate. I don't object to soup in any way, I've just always been in a rush to get the main course. I'm not sure what the rush is really, except for the general all-inclusive rush we seem to be in these days. Understandably so, this soup isn't come crazy epiphany of flavor, and or the soup that has changed this aloof soup eater to a die hard soup consumer. It's just a few ingredients which in this case, equals a fast recipe providing a lovely starter or with some crusty bread, a light meal. White beans, garlic and a snip of sage are some very simple ingredients. When I hear simple, I know it will become a staple in our winter routine.

White Bean and Garlic Soup
makes 48oz (3 bowls or 6 cups)

small splash of extra virgin olive oil
small knob of butter
2 shallots chopped
pinch of salt
two 15 oz cans of Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 fresh sage leaves
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
4 cloves of garlic smashed and cut in half
1/2 cup of heavy cream, or milk, or a 2 tbsp light sour cream (all optional)
salt to taste and pepper to finish

1. On low heat add the olive oil and butter to the pan
2. Add chopped shallots to the oil and butter and cook on medium-low heat until soft, 5 minutes
3. Add Cannellini beans to the pot, stir in sage leaf, chicken stock and the garlic cloves.
4. Let all of the ingredients simmer for 10-15 minutes
5. Once cooled down a bit, puree ingredients in batches in a food processor.
6. Pour smoothed soup back into the original pot and add the dairy if desired. Allow the heat from the soup to "melt" the cream into the soup, don't cook it.

Ultimate Sugar Cookie

2008-11-20T09:01:00.003-05:00

NaBloPoMo whoopsie-daisies. Ooo boy. I fell off that wagon hard. I am not the only one, a few of my inspirational bloggers have fallen as well. Better luck next time. But all is not lost, I have posted more this month than any other month already, so hey, something positive has most certainly been gained by the challenge itself. Way to go NaBloPoMo! And cheers to those who are riding that wagon well.

The month is not over, there are posts still yet to be created! On this note, sifting through old photos and walking down memory lane, I came upon this one. It is the ultimate sugar cookie. I know this because I grew up with a mother who has been tweaking this recipe for many, many years. This cookie deserves recognition not only because its been over 30 years in consistent re-evaluation (correct me if I am wrong Mom), but in these years of evaluation, my mother has always had a passion for the sugar cookie and has permeated her knowledge of being an accomplished pastry chef into it. Most sugar cookies are quite boring, plain, dry and in desperate need of a companion beverage to get them down. Oh you have no idea about these cookies. No idea. And you will most certainly continue to have no idea, because this recipe is so completely top secret. Yeah, it's one of those family recipes that really can't be shared.

Or can it?

Nope. Why then do I bring this up? You may be able to have these cookies when I make them available to the public. Plumpest Peach is not just a blog. It is the name of a very small catering business I have been trying to start up forever. If you have read my older posts, I mentioned it way back in the beginning when I was feeling way more ambitious about starting things. I won't be saying much more on the subject so as not to cripple my creative and optimistic flow that I have going again. For those of you who have their own business I'm sure understand how you have to get to a certain place in your head to move forward alone. Quite frankly, I'm finding, the less you analyze, the better it is.

Illustrated above is a preview of one of the simple offerings of Plumpest Peach.

Hmm...

2008-11-13T13:56:00.002-05:00

Why is it that old stinky slippers are loved by everyone? They are in my house. What quality is it do you think makes us love them so? The pure stink? There is something about that which makes me laugh. Maybe the worn out look of them, needing in fact to wear socks with the slippers to feel warm. Knowing they have been there for a long time, always slowly changing with your changes, doing the same job. The fuzziness, or lack-there-of. Of course it can't be any one thing can it? Today, my old stinky slippers remind me of life. There is never one quality in particular that make life seem a certain way. It is the many qualities together that give us a choice to see life the way we choose. Just a thought, on a day.

Jewel Roasted Veg with Pine Nut Pesto

2008-11-10T16:43:00.008-05:00

My friend emailed me recently with a request. She wanted to know what kind of side dish I would bring to Thanksgiving this year. Every year it is easy to fall into the same traditional dishes and I for one am happy to fall into many of them. I greatly look forward to the dishes I know will be there. But I won't neglect the fact some years call for a new take on an old classic. I also won't neglect the fact that I like to be the person who brings the new dish...oh gasp!!

What will I bring this year to Thanksgiving dinner? This one just might be a winner. I was flipping through a bunch of my cookbooks and remembered this recipe from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger. I am a big fan of her book. Roasted vegetables are always a winner, who can pass up the juicy, sweet, and crunchy bits alongside your bird? Since Krieger's book is all about making healthy choices, I thought it would be a great base, but it is Thanksgiving, there needs to be a little something else to make it special.

Hello pine nut pesto. I found this little fantastic addition by way of this months Food and Wine magazine. It is a part of another vegetable dish that is grilled, but I thought to myself this is the kick I need.

I can't tell you how good this smelled. Going the traditional route of making pesto with a mortar and pestle worked very well considering it was a small amount to make. Toasted pine nuts and garlic simmered until golden brown in olive oil and butter...uh huh.

And presto! It turned about better than I expected and will be a serious contender for T-Day. Everything turned out pleasantly seasoned, and that pesto added the perfect amount of nutty warmth to round off the dish. Here you go Molly, I hope this was a bit of help in trying to sift through the million options of side dishes that make Thanksgiving crazy and satisfying.

Jewel Roasted Vegetables with Pine Nut Pesto
serves 6

4 medium beets
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs carrots
1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts
8 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

Preheat over to 375 F
Put the beets into a small baking dish and rub them with 1 tbsp of the oil. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and roast for 30 minutes.
While the beets are roasting, peel and cut the carrots into 1-inch-thick rounds and trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise. Put the carrots, sprouts, and garlic cloves in a large baking dish and toss with the remaining 2 tbsp of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add 1/4 cup pine nuts and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until they are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of butter and one chopped garlic clove and cook, stirring, until the pine nuts are browned and the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Let cool and throw into a mortar and pestle or a mini food processor. Work it into a chunky puree.
After the beets have been cooking for 30 minutes, add the large pan of vegetables to the oven separately, and cook everything for 1 hour more, stirring the vegetable mixture once or twice.
Remove the beets from the oven and transfer them to a cutting board to cool. Stir the thyme into the carrot and Brussels sprout mixture and let it continue to cook for another 10 minutes while the beets are cooled and cut.
When the beets are cool enough to handle, after about 5 minutes, peel, then cut them into 1-inch chunks. Remove the other vegetables from the oven, toss with the beets, pesto, salt and pepper and serve.

Lisbon, Portugal

2008-11-09T17:21:00.002-05:00

As the colder, shorter days approach I figured a bit of day-dreaming couldn't hurt. Just as a reminder to myself that seasons come and go, I thought some warm sunny flash-backs could prove some inspiration into the colder seasons ahead.

So I escort you to Lisbon for at least a few mere moments of your day. The picture above was taken perched high above the city behind the old stone walls of a castle. It is looking down upon the city of Lisbon and the clearing you see towards the bottom of the above picture was a fantastic cafe. You could sit out in the sun or in the shade under these thin gauzy strips of cloth. Cold beer, bossanova-esque music, and a myriad of soft spoken Portuguese. It was a perfect casual atmosphere for a lovely afternoon.

The shot below is basically me moving the camera a bit more to the right. More of Lisbon, inland. Deep breath, moment of Zenny summer, aahhhhh :)

A Wordless Friday

2008-11-07T21:26:00.001-05:00

Speckrosti

2008-11-06T17:09:00.003-05:00

Zurich, Switzerland summer of 2006. Yes, I said summer, hot hot summer. My husband introduces me to Speckrosti, a Swiss specialty. This is most assuredly a winter specialty for good reason, yet no matter when it is THIS good. The Johanniter is where you can find the best Rosti (or so my husband says, and I believe him).

I wonder if anyone out there who reads this has had this dish? Other then a few obvious ingredients does anyone know what it is? If not, I will tell you. But regardless, unless you are a vegetarian, this is a must have with a huge Schneider Weisse Weizenbier!

From the Archives

2008-11-05T18:08:00.002-05:00

Paris in the summer, two summers ago. L'escargot was the place, and the food was just what I needed on such a warm evening. Oh, sigh.