All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013
Oh, the pink of Spring! Right now the pale pink magnolia trees are blooming, the hot pink azaleas, the rainbows of tulips, and the rhubarb plants range from pale green stalks to rich, ruby red under the umbrellas of dark green leaves.
For a long time, I didn't eat rhubarb. When I went to an organic farm school in Lake Placid as a boarder in 7th and 8th grades, rhubarb was on the menu endlessly. When you grow your own food in a cold climate, you make use of what thrives, and that meant rhubarb. Just cooked with a little honey, it was tart and tasty - for a while. But it appeared as dessert and breakfast over and over. And over.
So I avoided rhubarb for a long time, until recently. The first fresh fruit in May is hard to not take advantage of! But I no longer make it only rhubarb, but temper it with the sweetness of strawberries, no yet ready here, so I buy them from the store.
Barely simmered with a little water, delicious local honey, and a spoonful of minced fresh ginger, it makes a wonderful topping for my Greek yogurt in the morning. Roasted chicken with a dipping side of sauce for lunch. Goat cheese on thick bread with a spoonful of this jam is a treat in the afternoon. And rhubarb sauce on ice cream rounds out dessert.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce
First, wash the rhubarb and cut off the large leaves. The leaves are toxic, so I usually toss them in the trash. Slice into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Trim and slice the strawberries into quarters. Peel the ginger and mince.
2 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries
1/4 to 1/3 cup water
3 heaping tablespoons local honey or more to taste
2 teaspoons minced, peeled fresh ginger
pinch of sea salt
Place all into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir until the rhubarb falls apart , usually about 7-10 minutes. Take care not to scorch the fruit - some fruits are juicier than others. If it looks dry, just add a little more water. Set aside to cool. Store in fridge. This makes about 3+ cups of Springalicious sauce.
A year ago: chilled chive and parsnip soup
With a new grandbaby , a two year old, and a seven year old, I thought it was a good time to make
Mother's Day brunch for my daughter and daughter-in-law for them, heaven knows they have more than enough on their hands.
A simple meal preparation (as usual) stretched into several hours, in part because a new recipe caught my eye and we know how that goes:) pleased to say this tzatziki recipe was fabulous first time out. Boneless chicken breasts marinated in a yogurt-garlic-cumin sauce overnight, then baked and sliced, a fresh, zesty celebration of veggies: cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onion and black olives, garlic, dill and parsley. So good! I served it with chunks of goat cheese - as we all know, goat cheese makes everything even better. Marinating the chicken in a yogurt sauce overnight made the chicken breasts incredibly tender and juicy and I plan to use that recipe often. The whole dish was colorful and tasty, though I was temped to add more cumin and oregano, everyone else thought it was perfect as is. A little side dish of sliced avocado and some warm pita pockets was all I added to the table - the kids love fresh, healthy food and ate everything.
For dessert, I made a platter of strawberries with confectioner's sugar, and Julia's strawberry clafouti with vanilla and cinnamon, and some simple shortbread cookies , some chocolates from my son -definitely a Spring celebration! And then? They took us all out for ice cream sundaes at our local farmstand. Somehow we made room....
Hope your Mother's Day was a treat as well!
I was so excited when I went to the swap shop at our dump on Saturday - I found these dear little tart pans tied up with green twine, and a pretty saucer. You had a feeling the person who lovingly dropped them off had cherished them. But, we all are decluttering, and I would imagine tart pans might be one of those unused kitchen things that go reluctantly into the Swap Shop box for the dump.
Sunday night I made a nut crust from a Martha Stewart book, but halved it, as I only wanted a few. Stuck it in the fridge, and yesterday prepared the tartlet pans. Into the oven, let cool, and....disaster. They would not unmold. I took a tiny sharp knife to the edges and they shattered into buttery crumbs. I had one out of nine that remained more or less whole. Mostly less.
Today I tried again, with the last half of the dough, but this time I greased every ridge carefully, and did the bottom twice. Chilled, then baked and....again. Disaster. Again, one survived. All I can think is that somehow in making half a recipe, I made a mistake, because Martha's recipes are usually pretty foolproof.
This dessert was based on one I used to make with cream puffs. I used the cranberry and dark cherry jelly I made a few weeks ago to glaze the berries, heating just until the jelly melted, then using a teaspoon to drizzle on the fresh strawberries. With the cream puffs, I dolloped whipped cream on top, but this dessert was to be a little plainer, because of the rich nut crust. The surviving tarts were delicious, but clearly something went wrong when you lose 80% of your desserts.
In the meantime, Spring has sprung ! I have a sweet little mourning dove pair that hang around, sometimes both, but often just one. The daffodils have wilted in the hot (HOT!) afternoons, but the violets are sprinkling the lawn with their beautiful color. Hard to believe two weeks ago I was still filling the woodstove at night. Enjoy these beautiful days!
Forgive me for my absence - I have been obsessed with focaccia lately. Well, that and the fact that Spring has sprung. And that I have a new grand-baby. And the joy that today is the start of the month of May.
Living in New Hampshire means long, cold winters, and by March and April we are so done with cold, and snow, and ice, and sleet - not to mention fuel bills, that by the first glimpse of bare ground and signs of the earth thawing, we go a little bananas. We want more. We cheer the daffodils poking through the dirt. We cheer sugaring season. We cheer the first night we don't wear two layers outside.
I have packed away my fleece sweatpants, worn nightly since December. I cheer the slow progress of the thermometer rising slowly, from -15 to a tropical 60 degrees. And I get inventive with supper, first making a strongly flavored anchovy focaccia sprinkled with rosemary, then sliding toward a more acceptable (to those who didn't grow up with fish of any sort, from cod to smoked salmon and pickled herring , shad roe to sardines, which we had growing up on the Cape) kale, potato, and linguica ( a Portuguese sausage that is delectable) focaccia that was an instant hit.
I use a recipe from Nick Malgieri's cookbook, The Modern Baker. He has a distinctive way of making the dough (seen here) that makes a tender crust that is simply delicious. I cut the recipe in half for a small focaccia for two or three.
The focaccia dough:
2 cups King Arthur flour, all purpose
1 t. kosher salt
1 heaping teaspoon dried rapid-rise yeast
3/4 cup warm water plus a few tablespoons warm water if needed
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine the flour and salt in a heat proof ceramic bowl.
Whisk the yeast into the warm water, then add the olive oil.
Using a rubber spatula, make a well in the flour and pour in the liquid.
Stir the liquid into the flour from the center in a circular motion, from inside to outside.
If the dough is too dry, add another tablespoon or two of water to the dough until it forms a soft ball.
Add a bit of olive oil to the bowl and roll the dough gently around , then cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Briefly ( about three minutes) preheat oven to 250F, turn off heat, and place bowl in oven until doubled in bulk - about an hour.
Grease a cookie sheet/jellyroll pan with olive oil and scrape dough into pan. Gently pat and spread the dough with your fingers and palms, shaping a free form oblong shape. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and set back into the barely warm oven, letting it rise until doubled.
Remove the dough from the oven, turn heat to 400F. Dimple the dough with your fingertips and drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil.
Toppings:
Braised Onion and Anchovy topping:
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 T. olive oil
1/2 tin anchovy fillets in olive oil
rosemary or oregano to taste
1 t. kosher salt
1/2-1 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese
On slow heat in a skillet, braise the onions in the olive oil until very soft. Stir in the anchovies and herbs. Spread onto the focaccia dough and top with the parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes, remove to cool. Cut into squares and serve.
For the kale, potato, and linguica topping:
2 cups kale, torn off the stem
2 red potatoes, medium dice
4 tablespoons salsa ( I use Green Mountain Gringo)
1/2 package linguica, sliced or diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
Hefty drizzle of olive oil
1-2 t. kosher salt
In large saucepan, simmer the potato in just enough water to cover until it is just tender. Add the linguica and cook 10 minutes, then add the kale, cover, and cook until just wilted. Using a spoon, spread the salsa sparingly on the dough. Strain the potatoes, kale, and linguica, and arrange on the dough then drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in preheated 400F oven for 20 minutes, remove, cool, serve.
Happy Spring!
It's still cold here, and windy for days. Patiently waiting for the weather to warm up, but Spring is definitely on the way because the daffodils are blooming. This morning I woke up early with a passionate desire for a hot scone..... but which one? I wanted a not-too-sweet scone, or maybe, hmmm, apple cobbler? So I took a little from one recipe (the juicy cobbler) and combined it with my favorite scone dough. Just before it went into the oven I drizzled them with the beautiful local honey I'd bought a few weeks ago. The honey baked into the dough, so they weren't sticky, but had that delicious warm honey taste and scent.
So, so good. So good that I drizzled a little more honey on my plate and dipped the warm scone into it, feeling much like a hungry Winnie the Pooh.
Honey drizzled apple scones
This makes 8 scones.
Preheat oven to 360F.
Line a jellyroll/cookie sheet with clean foil or parchment.
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped, about 1 heaping cup
1 T. cinnamon sugar (I mix my own to taste) sprinkled on the apples
Toss the apples a little and set aside.
2 cups King Arthur flour
1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4ths cup buttermilk plus more as needed
(you don't want the dough to be too wet, so add more
buttermilk tablespoon by tablespoon if needed)
Put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and butter pieces in mixer bowl. Mix well, making sure the butter is incorporated, though a few bits and flakes of butter are fine.
Add the cinnamon sugar-apple mixture to the flour mix and mix briefly.
Add the buttermilk and mix quickly. If it's too dry, add a tablespoon or two more buttermilk until it forms a ball.
Remove dough to a floured surface and pat into a circle.
Cut the circle into 8 pieces and place triangles on baking sheet.
Drizzle honey generously on the tops of the scones.
Bake for 25 minutes, cool briefly, then remove and cool further on a rack.
They tend to stick because of the honey so remove carefully.
Enjoy!
What I've been reading:
The Ruth Galloway mysteries by Elly Griffiths
Help Thanks Wow by Anne Lamott
Oh, what a week! On the 13th, we welcomed Noah to this world, born at 1:10 in the morning. I woke up at 3 am and nibbled my fingers, not knowing what was going on, and made muffins, unable to sleep. A few hours later, we got the news, and gathered at the hospital to greet a tired Mom and a squeaky little boy. Izzie bounced into the room, arms out, to hold her little brother, glowing with excitement, while I, as Grandma, was relieved . Who remembered how wee those newborns are? Not me.
Back and forth to the hospital, until they were released on Monday. Monday, Patriots Day in Boston, IRS day, and the Marathon, and then the shock and sorrow of the bombings. Visits to a settling in baby, sleepy parents, and several glasses of green smoothies while I tried to remember what families with little ones like to eat. I've forgotten all that, to my surprise. But I managed to make my favorite stuffed pitas with crunchy cabbage and spinach, thinly sliced scallions and parsley, and tiny, wee grape tomatoes, a kale and lentil soup with cumin , and I've forgotten what else. Honestly. Clearly I have to get up to speed here. But not just yet, not while the flag is at half staff, not when I think about that little 8 year old that died on a beautiful day in Boston.
Veggie Salad Sandwiches:
You can use a very sharp knife or a Kitchenaid shredder cone to slice the cabbage.
2 cups shredded fresh green cabbage
1 1/2 cups finely sliced de-stemmed spinach
1 container very small grape tomatoes, whole or halved
5 scallions (green onions) trimmed and sliced by hand
1/2 cup minced Italian parsley
Toss together in a large bowl.
Dressing:
4 T. mild olive oil
4 T. red wine vinegar or herb vinegar
1 t. dried oregano
cracked pepper and kosher salt to taste.
Optional: 1 cup cottage cheese, mixed in well
Eat as is, or stuff into pita halves.
A year ago: carrotcake cupcakes - and a surprise! Eeek!
I made up a jelly last night thinking to use up the frozen cranberries I'd stashed in the freezer last fall. I added a handful of frozen, unsweetened dark cherries, and a few sprigs of basil. Instead of reviewing my 20 minute jam recipe, I plunged ahead and added equal parts water and sugar, plus lemon juice. I simmered for maybe 20 minutes, took a quick reading with the candy thermometer, and took it off heat before it reached 240 degrees.
While the jelly was tasty and tangy it was a little softer than usual - fine for poached chicken sandwiches, but not quite as firm as I expected. It made a little over one jar of jelly, which I think I might try on roasted chicken, brushed on halfway between raw and sizzling. And now I see what went wrong - adding water, though cranberries tend to the dry side. Next time I'll try half cranberries, half cherries, with half the water and a little more sugar, and making sure the temperature reaches 240 degrees. Here is the recipe I used, made up spur of the moment:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups frozen cranberries
1/2 cup frozen dark unsweetened cherries
3 T. fresh lemon juice
8 or so fresh basil leaves
Bring water, lemon juice, and sugar to a boil. Stir in the cranberries and cherries and basil leaves. Make sure you have a candy thermometer on hand and simmer/slow boil until it reaches 240 degrees. Remove basil leaves if desired, strain into a pitcher (discard the solids) then pour immediately into a clean jar, let cool, then cap and keep in the fridge for instant appetizers (on Breton crackers), or as a glaze. Equally good on chicken sandwiches or sweet butter and jelly sandwiches, or served up with goat cheese toasts - such a pretty color!
Yesterday as I drove into the driveway, I caught a glimpse of a young deer just across the road, not 25 feet from me. It didn't seem alarmed by the car, but I think I would have scared it off had I opened the door - so I sat in the car and watched it grazing on greenery. The little yellow kindergarten bus went by, not ten feet away, and it didn't even blink. Even though I now know who's been munching my little garden the last few years, I couldn't be cross with this reminder of wildness. I only wish I could've gotten a picture of the deer, but it would've been long gone as I opened my door, but here is where it was grazing!
