Bourbon & Roasted Walnut Vanilla Ice Cream, before the roasted walnuts are added.
Can you spare five minutes to be silly? In these somber times we still need to step outside our life box of concerns and shake it up. You have lots of happy breaths stored beside those worried and stressful ones. Just dig deeper and gulp.
Raw Vegetable Slaw with Creamy Garlic Dressing
It’s CooktheBookFriday, time to share the exceptionally-talented David Leibovitz’s recipes with you. From his My Paris Kitchen cookbook, Raw Vegetable Slaw with Creamy Garlic Dressing and Galettes Complètes (Buckwheat Crêpes with Ham, Cheese and Egg). Because it’s homemade ice cream time, I pulled out his popular The Perfect Scoop cookbook and made vanilla bean ice cream embellished with booze. Why not? Bourbon and Roasted Walnut Ice Cream is so adult.
Galettes Complètes (in process)
Before the yummy food, let’s do silly. Recently, while on my 7,500-mile junket, I was Ms. Michelin, spending considerable time planning and researching my itinerary. Remember Michelin’s three-star system for recommending sights:Worth a trip; Worth a detour; and Interesting? Doing that certainly enhanced my experiences this past winter and challenged my limits.
Three baby Great Blue Herons are searching for Mom who is supposed to be bringing them food. Northstar Preserve 2016
This summer it occurred to me I should check out my own back yard. Although I’ve lived in Aspen since 1988, were there activities I’d missed or sites unseen? If not now, when? While most of you do not live in my Valley, these suggestions might trigger local adventures of your own. Wiggle out of your comfort zone. It’s healthy.
Mule Deer in Velvet Northstar Preserve, 2016
Here are five To-Dos-This-Summer from my List:
1. Music Appreciation, MUS-120. Dr. Thomas Buesch, Colorado Mountain College – Since moving to Aspen I’ve taken liberal arts courses from Dr. Buesch, the best of college professors. His summer 10-week music course, given in conjunction with the Aspen Music Festival, is always oversubscribed. This year I jumped in early, committed to the task and I’m all ’bout that bass. (IN PROCESS)
2. The contemporary Powers Art Center, designed by architect Hiroshi Nanamori of Japan in 2014, is located in a cow pasture in nearby Carbondale. The art center showcases Jasper Johns’ works on paper and is a memorial to the life of art collector John G. Powers, a longtime Valley resident. Worth a visit. (TO DO)
Marci Krivonen photo
3. Independence, Colorado. In the late 19th century about 300 people lived in this ghost town. Located 12 miles from Aspen, at 10,900’, Aspen Historical Society guides give engaging daily tours at this National Register Historic Site. (TO DO)
4. PokémonGo, an outdoor, free smart-phone game. Load it. Play it. (IN PROCESS)
5. First Aid/CPR Class. Whether you’re almost 15-years old (I’m talking to you, Ms. Emma) or a Baby Boomer, take an American Red Cross-sanctioned First Aid/CPR/AED day-long class. I took a course, sponsored by the USFS, in June and was surprised to learn new methods and utilize life-saving equipment. It’s a responsible thing to do for yourself and others. (DONE)
Before you start making your own summer list, here’s the lowdown on this week’s recipes.
RAW VEGETABLE SLAW with CREAMY GARLIC DRESSING by David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen
Why this works: Slice or chop up a 6 cup combo of veggies you already have in the fridge. Cabbage, endive, kohlrabi and fennel are a nice touch. I use the leftover dressing for dip.
Two main course servings/4 side salads
INGREDIENTS:
DRESSING:
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
SLAW INGREDIENTS:
6 cups sliced, chopped or shredded raw vegetables, any mix of:
cabbage, red or green
radicchio or Belgium endive
carrots
beets
apples
broccoli or cauliflower florets
radishes
fennel
kohlrabi
avocados
hard-cooked eggs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoon chopped chives, plus more for garnish
DIRECTIONS:
1. To make the dressing mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic, mustard and pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Cover and chill. May be made 2 days ahead.
2. In a large salad bowl, mix together the raw vegetables. Add the parsley and chives. Toss with the dressing and mix well. Garnish with parsley and chives.
3. Serve immediately.
This adult Cooper’s Hawk, maybe Dad, maybe Mom (cannot tell) is waiting for me to leave. Not happy I am near the babies, I only stayed 5 minutes.
BOURBON & ROASTED WALNUT VANILLA ICE CREAM adapted from The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz
Why this works: Leibovitz’s vanilla ice cream recipe is my choice…always. To add this grown-up touch is fun.
About 1 quart
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 TBS Bourbon (or, Licor 43 or, your choice)
2 cups of walnuts, roasted and chopped coarsely
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Using a paring knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warmed milk. Then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for 30 minutes.
2. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the heavy cream into the bowl.
3. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice.
4.. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Gradually pour some of the infused warmed milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks and milk back into the same saucepan.
5. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.
6. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Add the vanilla extract and stir over the ice until cool.
7. Stir in the bourbon. Refrigerate to chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.
8. Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
9. After the ice cream is churned, stir in the roasted, chopped walnuts. If not serving immediately, put back in the freezer to harden more.
Making buckwheat galettes
GALETTES COMPLÈTES (Buckwheat Crêpes with Ham, Cheese, and Egg) by David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen
Why this works: There are some gems I want to leave to the Pros and that’s how I feel about crêpes. Still, making this recipe, Galettes Complètes (Buckwheat crêpes with ham, cheese, and egg) was a worthwhile cooking experience. Try experimenting with buckwheat flour using this recipe or Dorie Greenspan’s Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Crème Fraîche or from the multitude of buckwheat flour recipes on Pinterest. To be correct, a crêpe is made with white flour and a galette with buckwheat flour.
The galette, made with prosciutto, grated cheese, and an egg, is quite rich in taste.
CooktheBookFridays is a virtual international group making its way through David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen cookbook.To see what others have mixed up this week or to join, go here.
Thankfully I’ve always been able to grow where I’m planted. Iowa. Florida. Georgia. Nevada. California. Stick me in soil and I’ll sprout. What is true, however, is that I seem to grow best in Colorado’s High Country.
The Great Blue Herons’ rookery at Rock Bottom Ranch near Carbondale is thriving.
There is something profoundly solid about mountains. While that may seem a silly thing to say, these are the Rockies after all, it’s my truth. The mountains have healed me. Even now, when I need to dig deeper, solve a problem or just pull myself together, they offer a path.
This Great Blue, nesting at the tippy-top, enjoys a 360-degree view of our Valley.
Although the mountains offer the solace, these food posts have become my most effective tool. This blog has been the surprising vehicle (I choose a Tesla) around which I recreated a lifestyle worth living.
I’m celebrating the relevance of that because today, May 20th, is FOOD REVOLUTION DAY. For the fourth year in a row, our virtual cooking group is joining the phenomenal chef Jamie Oliver in the revolt. Armed with whisks and spatulas this is a day of global action to engage and inspire people of all ages, especially kids, to learn about food and how to cook it.
My good friend, Judy, (L,) celebrated an important birthday while I was gone. Maybe I was late to the party but it was still a darn good one. Please note the fantastic flowers welcoming me home to The Gant. A lovely surprise.
My young FRD partner in cooking has always been Cav O’Leary, our young Aspen neighbor. He is now a student at Cal Poly. It’s Finals Week. His mother says he can’t play. So I’ll leave the kids’ duty to my colleagues, Mardi Michels, Eat.Live.Travel.Write., and Andrea Mohr, TheKitchenLioness, who are Food Revolution Ambassadors in Canada and Germany.
It’s a quiche. Ham. Blue Cheese. Pears. And, it’s delicious.
Our recipe this week is Tarte Salée au Jambon (ham), au Bleu (blue cheese), et aux Poires pears). It’s quiche. It’s delicious. Real men will eat it. This is something that should be in everyone’s repertoire because you can change it up and utilize various fillings. As David Lebovitz writes, “It’s infinitely adaptable to all sorts of vegetables and herbs,” and, I will add, rich, creamy and cheesy.
An American Beaver, busy, heading for his home in the Roaring Fork River.
Since returning to Aspen two weeks ago I’ve relied on this food thing to catch up with friends, celebrate birthdays and reward helpers.The Bad News: I’ve already used up all the recipes I tested in Cambria to dazzle my guests this summer. I’ve got nothing left to pull out of my back pocket. The Good News: My revolving entertaining door encouraged me to unpack, organize and restock my pantry in record time. Readers, there’s always a silver lining.
The most exciting event locally this Spring is the birth of a Great Horned Owl. The family is “in residence,” living in a tall conifer in the middle of town. Dad, pictured here, usually hangs out on a nearby snag to patrol and watch for the annoying crows who often bother the baby.
When I took this photo, I hoped to get a shot of Mama Owl “at rest.” She’s sleeping. What I didn’t realize is that the male owl is behind her, guarding her and the baby in the nest to the left.
Besides this very tasty quiche recipe, I’m also sharing photos of nature’s largesse in our Valley now. The bears are back. The rivers, overwhelmed with snow melt, are running high. Birds are pairing up, staking out territory and building nests. Flowers are popping up. Trees are leafing out. The beavers are busy but no moose sightings yet. It’s Springtime in the Rockies. It’s gorgeous. Come see us.
The Great Horned owlet. Note that everything but the face is covered with white fluff.
The Great Horned owlet, a bundle of white fluff, all snuggled up in the nest and taking a nap.
Cook-the-Book Fridays is a virtual international group making their way through David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen cookbook. This week we’re all saluting Chef Jamie Oliver and his worldwide FOOD REVOLUTION DAY. To see what others have dished up this week or to join our group (it’s fun), go here.
TARTE SALÉE au JAMBON, au BLEU et aux POIRES (Ham, Blue Cheese and Pear Quiche) by David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen.
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS for CRUST
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
1 large egg, room temperature
Note that the springform pan is wrapped with tinfoil to prevent leakage.
INGREDIENTS for FILLING
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large, firm, ripe pear, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (Use a firm pear, such as Bosc or Anjou.)
1 cup diced cooked (boiled) ham (TIP: I used common sandwich meat.)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
Freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese or Roquefort
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Filled and ready to bake.
DIRECTIONS
1. THE CRUST: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl, by hand with a pastry blender), combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Add the butter and beat on low speed until the butter is broken up and the mixture is sandy. Add the egg and mix until the dough begins to clump and come together.
2. Use your hands to gather the dough and shape it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. (The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance.)
3. Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s 14 inches across. Wrap aluminum foil around the outside of a 9- to 10-inch springform pan to catch any leaks, and then transfer the dough to the pan.
4. Press the dough against the side, allowing it to come a bit more than halfway up the sides of the pan. If there are any cracks, patch them with a bit of dough from the edges—you don’t want the filling to leak out during baking.
5. While making the filling, chill the dough in the springform in the fridge and preheat the oven to 375°F.
6. THE FILLING: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the shallots with some salt and pepper until soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the diced pear and ham.
7. In a large bowl, blend together the cream, cream cheese, a few gratings of nutmeg, the eggs, and the yolks until smooth. (TIP: I used a stand mixer with whisk attachment for this.) Stir in the blue cheese, the pear and ham mixture, and the parsley.
8. Set the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet and pour in the filling, using a spoon to make sure the ingredients in the filling are evenly distributed.
9. Bake the tart for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is lightly browned, the filling still jiggles, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. NOTE: You may need at least 60 minutes to bake this quiche. After 60 minutes,check quiche frequently.
10. Let cool until firm enough to slice, then serve warm or at room temperature.
Serve with a green leafy salad.
Directions for VARIATIONS
For bacon-lovers, substitute 1 cup cooked diced bacon for the ham. For a vegetarian version, leave out the ham. You can also add to taste whatever fresh herbs appeal to you, such as chervil, thyme, tarragon, dill, or marjoram.
Gotta be honest. I’ve not a smidgen of blood – red cells, white cells, platelets, or plasma – that runs Irish. I’m pretty sure David Lebovitz, an American living in Paris and author of My Paris Kitchen, is not Irish either. This week, however, CookTheBookFridays, our international crew cooking its way through his new cookbook, salutes our Emerald Isle brethren with his Carbonade Flamande, a hearty Belgian Beef Stew with Beer and Spice Bread.
BELGIAN BEEF STEW with BEER and SPICE BREAD
Although it may border on blasphemy to tout a Belgian stew today, David’s recipe is unique and worthy of this holiday. His Pain d’Épices, a delicious addition, is addictive. Following a LightsonBright tradition, I’m sharing my 2016 version of Irish Soda Bread. No crumbs remain.
PAIN d’ÉPICES, Honey-Spice Bread
I’m a woman of few words today. My post is simply a photo flurry. Go green, be joyous, everybody’s Irish today. Can’t we all agree on that? Let’s have some fun. You deserve it.
A FOGGY DAY on the CENTRAL COAST of CALIFORNIA
David describes Carbonade Flamande (his Belgian Beef Stew with Beer and Spice Bread) as a ‘well-seasoned beef dish’ with its main ingredients being ‘beer, beef, spice and bacon.’ This stew is unlike any I’ve ever tasted due to the addition of beer, of course, but alsoPain d’Épices slathered with Dijon mustard.
Every great stew needs onions in abundance. Peel. Slice. Dice.
After first browning the beef chunks, followed by adding onions and bacon to soften and cook, transfer the mixture to a bowl.
After adding beer, water and spices, the meat mixture is returned to the Dutch oven, spices are added and it’s left to simmer for an hour.
After a meal of Carbonade Flamande served with mashed potatoes. rice or pasta, it may be naptime.
Mr. California Sea Otter
The headliner of this stew, for me, is the classic Pain d’Épices, a chewy, dense honey-spice bread (or, cake). For taste purposes, it’s a cousin to gingerbread. This recipe, at the end of the post, earned the #1 berth on my new hostess gift list. One batter batch makes two 8” x 3 3/4” loaves.
Get to know this exquisite Pain d’Epices. Try toast, making croutons, using spreads like cream cheese or jams or serving with ice cream. The French serve it with Foie Gras. An acquired taste, perhaps.
It’s a joy to spot the threatened Snowy Plover during breeding season. Although their numbers are depleted (These pictures demonstrate Why.), the state of Cali ropes off beach nesting areas to protect these little guys. (We bird lovers thank you, California.)
The Snowy Plover sits on her nest.
Even though I was quite a distance from the plovers, they did not like me and left their nests. I quickly left and they returned to duty.
Every year I choose a different Irish Soda bread recipe to bake for SPDay. This March I revisited a decade-old recipe of the Barefoot Contessa’s. Don’t forget to slash an X into the dough to either 1) ward off the devil; 2) bless the bread; or 3) let heat penetrate into the thickest part of the bread. Your choice.
Irish Soda Bread dough
Last year I borrowed Sweet Paul’s recipe, totally different from Ina’s but delectable as well. You’ll find his recipe here.
Sweet Paul’s Irish Soda Bread (2015 photo)
RECIPES
Shamrocks (thank you, Trader Joe’s) and Seaglass, Shells and Moonstones collected from the public beaches.
PAIN d’EPICES (Honey-Spice Bread) from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon whole or ground anise seed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Heat the honey, brown sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan until it begins to boil. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, anise, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and egg yolk.
5. Stir half the honey mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, then the rest of the honey mixture, stirring until smooth. (If any bits of flour remain, whisk the batter briefly to break them up and incorporate them.)
6. Scrape the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a knife, then tip the cake out onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely. If possible, wait a day before slicing. Pain d’Epices will keep for at least 1 week at room temperature, if well wrapped. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
David Lebovitz also has an excellent post on Pain d’Epices here.
IRISH SODA BREAD From Barefoot Contessa at Home, by Ina Garten, 2006.
INGREDIENTS
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup dried currants
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.
3. With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.
4. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.
5. Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
TIP: I never use grated orange zest when baking this bread. I sometimes add a teaspoon of caraway seeds. Since I could not find currants, I used raisins but prefer currants.
Our group can only reprint My Paris Kitchen’s recipe if they are already on the Web. If you wish the stew recipe, please e-mail me. Cook The Book Fridays is an international group cooking its way virtually through David Lebovitz’s newest cookbook. To visit our link or join us, go here.
The most often asked question about my Blog is, “With all the food you make, how do you stay so thin, not gain weight?” Now, Readers, when I think about Me, I certainly don’t think thin. In Aspen, where body image is everything, I’m a heavyweight.
YOGURT PARFAIT
The truth is I’ve always waged a bulge battle. As a kid I was chubby and remained about 15 to 20 pounds overweight my entire life. My nickname in junior high was Tank. Not a confidence builder. What I weighed eroded my ego and overshadowed the good things in life. Always. I applaud and envy women who are comfortable in their own skin, content with themselves. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pull that off.
“NOBODY EVER MENTIONED I’D HAVE TO FIND MY OWN FOOD.” This juvenile Great Blue Heron, who flew into this lake, obviously was hungry, unsure of himself. We watched him 30 minutes and he never came close to nabbing anything.
It was not until Michael’s sickness that I lost those unwanted 20. My doctor had cautioned me to rein in my stress, done only by exercise. Since our Henderson housing complex had a gym, most mornings, at 5am, I was in Spinning class or exercising. Every evening I would charge around our 3-mile loop with my best friend. While this didn’t keep stress at bay, it was conducive to weight loss.
ROASTED TORTILLAS AND AVOCADO MASH
Quesadilla & Wrap
To my mind it’s because of my food blog rather than in spite of it that I haven’t regained those pounds. My pantry is loaded, my freezer is full and my cupboards, never bare. For me, it’s about choices, changing it up and menu variety. This week’s recipes, Yogurt Parfaits, a Weekend Apple Pancake and Mashed Avocado Tortillas are an example of that. Nothing earthshaking here but just reminders of what’s easy and possible.
This gorgeous Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) is eating sap from the “sap well” that was drilled by a sapsucker. Ajax Trail, Aspen Mountain
A recent Harvard study suggests that we front-load our eating to the early part of the day, taking in most of our calories before the sun goes down. It’s ludicrous to believe that culturally we could make that shift. However, that’s how I manage my day. Because I live alone and organize my own schedule, I can.
Cook the Weekend Apple Pancake until the filling is set firmly.
Just so you don’t think I’ve gone all sanctimonious on you, here’s my fail. I was determined to lose 5 pounds this Summer. My goal. Summer ended today. Didn’t lose an ounce!
Despite that, having food on hand to make quickly is the secret. My simplistic recipes and their adaptability represent just that.
“TWINS. TWINS. MY OB SAID NOTHING ABOUT TWINS.”
Starved? Famished? Need a quick breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner?
TORTILLA with AVOCADO MASH a favorite of Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, The Canal House
1. Pull out a whole-wheat tortilla and toast, heat or roast it.
2. Choose a filling. Make a wrap or quesadilla. You can’t do better than mashed avocado with lime juice and coarse salt. I even made a tasty wrap from last week’s leftover Roasted Butternut Squash Salad mixture.
Eggs, meat, legumes or veggies pulled together with spices, salt and pepper, make delicious mixtures.
If you always keep a carton of rich, creamy Greek yogurt (WITH the fat) in your fridge, magic can happen. Try Jody Williams’ roasted nuts/honey/yogurt concoction for breakfast or a snack. For a change of pace use fruit (canned or fresh), coconut, granola or syrup as a topping. Because the roasted nuts/honey mixture will keep for weeks toss it on ice cream, pound cake or, even better, cheese.
YOGURT PARFAITS by Jody Williams, Buvette
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup nuts (I used pine nuts, pistachios, almonds and walnuts.)
1/3 cup honey
Pinch of coarse salt
2 Cups (16 ounces) plain Greek Yogurt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Stir together the nuts, honey and salt.
2. Layer the nut-honey mixture with a yogurt mixture, using 1 inch of yogurt to 1/2 inch of the nut-honey mixture.
TIP: This is rich so two layers of each with a dash of nuts on the top is enough. Use wide-mouthed containers, jam jars or brandy snifters, for example.
The Weekend Apple Pancake, always love this. Who can resist its dramatic puff or lament the quick fall.
WEEKEND APPLE PANCAKE adapted from Faith Durand,The Kitchn
INGREDIENTS:
3 apples, use different kinds like Granny Smith, Fugi and Gala
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6 TBS unsalted butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs
Powdered or cinnamon sugar, to serve
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Cut them into medium slices (1/4-inch thick or less). Cut the slices in halves or thirds. You should have about 3 cups of chopped apples.
3.In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon and ginger and set aside.
4. Cut the butter into chunks and place them in a 10” deep cast iron skillet or 8×8-inch baking dish. Put the skillet or baking dish in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the butter is melted. Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the 1/3 cup brown sugar over the melted butter. Carefully spread the apples on top of the brown sugar and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the apples. Put the pan back in the oven to caramelize the apples and sugar.
5. Whisk the flour with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly with a large wire whisk to beat out any lumps. When the flour is smoothly incorporated into the milk, beat in the vanilla and the eggs, one by one. Beat by hand for 2 minutes, or until foamy. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes. By now the sugar should be bubbling around the apples.
6. Take the pan out of the oven and pour the batter over the apples. Bake for about 30 to 40 more minutes, or until center is set and sides are lightly browned. The pancake will puff up dramatically but fall after a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.
If you want, serve with powdered sugar or more cinnamon sugar but it is not necessary.
Insanely tasty Olive Oil & Maple Granola. Since I am eating this for a hiking snack, I added Pomegranate-infused Dark Chocolate Drops.
Admit it. I can read your mind. You don’t need another insanely tasty granola recipe. Because…1) Granola, not a fave food choice; 2) Already have an insanely tasty granola recipe; or, 3) It’s an easy purchase at your market.
I plead guilty to #3. Have you counted the various granola cereals on sale at your market? (My answer, “Yes.”) When you next visit your grocery store, notice the length of your cereal, bread or tomato products aisle. Here’s a statistic. The bread aisle in a Kansas City Walmart Superstore is 45 feet long and 7 shelves high. I know that because Father Jonathan, my Episcopalian priest, mentioned that factoid in last week’s sermon. He was suggesting we may be spoiled by too many choices. Ya think?
How simple is this recipe? Add the ingredients and stir. That’s it.
That’s why I felt honor bound to share this recipe with you. Because…1) This granola is a guaranteed palate-pleaser; 2) This may become your only killer granola recipe; and, 3) Here’s a one-choice, healthier, preservative-free, sweet and savory granola.
Ready for roasting – 45 minutes.
Olive Oil & Maple Granola was created by Nekisia Davis of Early Bird Foods. It’s a chosen recipe from Food52 Genius Recipes, 100 Recipes That Will Change The Way You Cook. Since receiving this fabulous cookbook, I’ve made several thumbs-up, successful recipes. Here’s how the writers describe Davis’ granola. “Olive oil, maple, brown sugar and salt form a rich, shaggy crust on a wholesome mix of oats, pecans, coconut shards, and various seeds. It leans sweet but olive oil gives it a savory backbone and salt keeps it from being cloying.”
This recipe makes 7 cups of Granola so I used it plain for ice cream and yogurt topping and morning cereal.
I could name-drop, mentioning the famous people swearing by Davis’ product or the three Michelin star restaurant that sends every diner home with a jar of this goodness. But since the recipe is posted below, I challenge you to purchase what ingredients are not in your pantry and stir a batch together. If you can stir, you can do Olive Oil & Maple Granola. I’ve also suggested many variations, riffs on this recipe, experiments dependent on your taste and your pantry.
Out of the Woods, A Memoir of Wayfinding by Lynn Darling
Life, yours and mine, is also about choices, isn’t it? Last week I read “Out of the Woods, A Memoir of Wayfinding” by Lynn Darling. This memoir is about a woman, a writer, a widow who’s just sent her only child to college. Although she lived in Manhattan throughout her adult life, she feels lost. So she buys a ramshackle cabin in a remote area in Vermont to find herself. She names her digs Castle Dismal.
Darling is a beautiful writer. She has profound thoughts and observations but, to my mind, she’s a woman who was into suffering. That she chose to do this in an uncomfortable environment devoid of friends and family was a choice I wouldn’t have made. I’m not about piling suffering on top of suffering.
Thank You, Jack Canfield
Life is loss. That’s just a sad fact. How we deal with these losses is the difference between residing in Castle Dismal or Castle Joy. I credit my family for steering me towards Castle Joy. Following Michael’s death, in their many “just checking in” phone calls and messages, the advice from my daughter, Melissa, and my brother and sister-in-law was always the same. “This is your time now, Mary,” my brother’s wife, Janie, would say. “You do exactly what you want to do.”
Seriously, those three were broken records. Always the same. Never, “Do this. Do that. You should. You shouldn’t. Go here. Go there.”
Please understand, like all families, there was a subliminal message in those words. It was “Make good choices.” Nevertheless, their advice was liberating for me. Remember the Marlo Thomas song, Free to Be Me?
A Swallow, being a good parent, in its nest.
Fortunately my choices during the past three years have worked brilliantly. Thoreau ‘went to the woods in order to live deliberately, to pare life down to its essential facts.’ I returned to the mountains not only because it was my home but to follow my passions. Cambria, California, was a fortunate stroke of serendipity. Luckily, a wintertime Castle Joy. Since Henderson, Nevada, where we last lived, lies directly between, I can still hold tightly to those who were so good to Michael and me in the most meaningful eight years of my life.
Fast forward, some weeks later, to this juvenile Swallow who is wondering where Mom and Dad are.
No one is more aware than I that tomorrow this comfortable rug of contentment could be snatched out from under me. Then I will make other choices. As for now, I’m standing in my Castle Joy kitchen and urging you to make this granola!
OLIVE OIL & MAPLE GRANOLA by NEKISIA DAVIS, a FOOD52 GENIUS RECIPE
MAKES ABOUT 7 CUPS
INGREDIENTS
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup hulled raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup hulled raw sunflower seeds
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips or natural coconut flakes
1 1/4 cup raw pecans, left whole or coarsely chopped
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
Coarse salt (Do NOT skip the salt.)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 300° F.
2. Place oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, pecans, syrup, olive oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spread granola mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until granola is toasted, about 45 minutes.
3. Remove granola from oven and season with more salt to taste. Let cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
TIPS: If you prefer your granola to be clumpy, stir in 4 beaten egg whites before placing in the oven. I added pistachios to my granola.
VARIATIONS: Any seeds (flax, sesame, toasted wheat germ) or nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios) or dried fruit (dates, cherries, cranraisins, candied ginger or banana chips) or spice combos can be substituted in this recipe. The olive oil, maple syrup, and salt trio is key.
Portobellos, my fungi choice for Big Baked Mushrooms
A talented, rather shy, German food blogger named Andrea Mohr, aka The Kitchen Lioness, is inspiring an international array of cooks (including this Iowa-born-and-bred woman) to veg-ify their palates. Every month she tosses ten recipes from Hugh Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg on the table and says, make your picks. At the end of that month, we post about our choices on a link, The Cottage Cooking Club. Oh, forgot to mention, she cooks all ten.
Dot these big guys with butter, garlic and S&P before cooking them in a 375 degrees oven for 15 minutes,
Of the many food bloggers I admire and aspire to becoming, Andrea rises to the top. Although I’ve never possessed an Envy chromosome, there is much to learn from The Lioness. She not only serves delicious and beautifully plated food to her family of six, but her food staging and photographs are exquisite. After reading her posted results (all ten) and then glancing back at mine (my two, maybe three choices), I’m already thinking, “How did she pull that off?”“Why didn’t I think of that?” and “Back to the cutting board, Mary.”
Then, again, what does Envy feel like?
If you wish to add cheese to the baked mushrooms, just sprinkle on grated cheese and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Today’s Post is more photo album than commentary. You can make Whittingstall’s recipes primarily from these pictures and my short explanations. While I do love cooking from Yotam Ottolenghi’s and Deborah Madison’s vegetarian cookbooks, their recipes are often involved, complicated and require prep, prep, prep. With Whittingstall, you receive get-those-veggies-on-the-table fare.
Obviously, I liked.
You’ll like my choices this month: Big Baked Mushrooms, Artichoke & White Bean Dip and Curried Bubble & Squeak (Heck, I first thought Bubble & Squeak was a dance.). Bonus Time: Hugh showed me the path to poached eggs perfection. I share.
I added the leftover Portobello to last week-end’s pizza.
I used Portobello mushrooms for my BIG BAKED MUSHROOMS entrée although any sized fungi will work. As the saying goes, choose your poison. Oops, perhaps not a good word choice when speaking about mushrooms. This is delicious without the added cheese but scrumptious with it. Your calorie preference. Since I wasn’t serving to guests, I left some stem intact.
I prefer a coarse purée but it’s the cook’s choice.
ARTICHOKE & WHITE BEAN DIP, Hugh explains is ‘a rich, creamy savory dip, wonderful with crudities, dolloped onto warm flat bread and works well served on crisp lettuce as a salad.’ To me this is what you hurriedly make when hummus or store-bought dips aren’t nearby. Serve warm or cold with roasted walnuts scattered on top.
Grab a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and a can of cannellini beans. Drain and coarsely chop the hearts. Drain and rinse the beans. Sauté an onion and garlic in olive oil before adding them and oregano to the pan. Pour these heated ingredients into a processor with lemon juice, chili flakes and enough yogurt for a chunky puree. Do your salt/pepper jig before adding that leftover artichoke marinated oil for any needed texture.
Curried Bubble and Squeak, adding spice to this English classic
BUBBLE & SQUEAK is a classic English dish first created in 1806 by thrift conscious Maria Rundell. It’s perfect for leftover cooked veggies and potatoes and was extremely popular in World War II during rationing and food scarcity. To me, it’s a frittata cloaked in a quirky name. During the cooking process this recipe is supposed to make bubbling and squeaking sounds. Thus the name. Not a peep out of mine.
Whittingstall holds the eggs but later adds a poached topping. He throws a healthy dollop of curry powder into the sautéed onion and garlic before adding the cooked potatoes and leftover vegetables which have now been shredded. After seasoning to taste and, if desired, add a poached egg.
Take a few minutes to admire my poached egg.
Now, Readers, in your Life have you ever seen such a perfectly poached egg? Modestly speaking, that’s an Alice-Waters-eat-your-heart-out poached egg. Here’s the tip. Carefully break an egg into a small bowl. Bring 2” of water to a rolling boil. At that point ‘stir it fast in one direction with a wooden spoon to create a vortex or whirlpool on the center.’ I admit hearing bubbling and squeaking during this process. But, I digress. When you see a distinct vortex, pull the spoon out and slide the egg into the center. Turn off the heat, lid the pan, and leave for exactly 2 1/2 minutes. Then, using a slotted spoon, carefully scoop up the egg, drain any excess drips and serve.
