lemon shortbread cookies

Inspired by the first wildflowers of spring, I headed to the kitchen to make these intensely lemony , flaky shortbread cookies.  I know most people crave chocolate, but lemon is my very favorite flavor of all .  I never use lemon extract, because it doesn't have the same tang that freshly squeezed lemon juice has, though I do add vanilla to balance these cookies.  A little sweet, a little puckery.

You make the dough ahead of time and stick in the fridge or freezer.  It thaws fairly quickly if you freeze it, thanks to the unsalted butter, then just roll it out fairly thickly, cut out the cookies and bake.  I tend to use my round fluted cookie cutters  - perfect for a sturdy cookie that shows just the tiniest amount of toasty edges.  Yummers!

This made about 40 cookies for me today - I forgot to count!

Lemon Shortbread cookies

2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar (plus more for sprinkling on top, if you'd like)

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 and 3/4's cups King Arthur flour

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

Cream the butter in the mixer bowl, add the sugar and mix.

Add the lemon zest and juice and mix.
Add the flour and mix.

Add the vanilla and pinch of salt and mix.

Gather the dough into a ball, pat it down into an oval, and wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer.  I left it in the freezer for two days before I was ready to make the cookies.

Later:  take the dough out of the freezer to thaw a bit.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

As soon as the dough is pliable, mold into an oval with your hands, roll, and proceed to cut out your cookies.  If you'd like, sprinkle a little granulated sugar on top of the cookies.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 20 minutes .  I like a little toasty browning on the edge, but that's up to you.  Remove cookies to a cooling rack and continue rolling and cutting out cookies - but make sure the cookie sheet has cooled in between batches.

That's it!

Happy Easter to you all!

vichyssoise with fresh chives and thyme

What a wonderful way to celebrate my blog getting fixed (thank you, Kelci) - four distressing days I never want to go through again, when my account was suspended due to a questionable email I had gotten.  I was out for a walk two days ago, worrying and hyperventilating, when I saw my neighbor's two enormous chive plants and admired them.  She handed me some scissors and a plastic bag and told me to help myself, which I did -  then promptly celebrated with a pot of delicious vichyssoise.

This is the classic vichyssoise that you can also find in Julia's books:  when it's cold, it's vichyssoise, when it's served warm, it's potage parmentier - a smooth, creamy soup (though it only has 3 tablespoons of cream) that I sprinkle with fresh chives and thyme leaves - thyme being my favorite herb of all.  Served with a fresh green salad, it's a fine welcome to Spring.


To make:

3 cups sliced leeks (white only)
3 cups diced potatoes (I used small yellow potatoes)
3 cups light chicken broth
1 teaspoon or more kosher salt
a few thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons heavy cream


Simmer the leeks, potatoes, broth, salt and thyme sprigs in a large pot for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.
Remove thyme twigs from pot and toss.
Puree soup in blender or Cuisinart and return to cooking pot.
Swirl in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 4 tablespoons heavy cream and stir well.
Serve cold in mugs or bowls, sprinkled with minced chives and a few thyme leaves picked from their stems.

Happy Spring to you all!

juicy melon balls with fresh berries - and blooming lilacs

Oh, how the moving continues!  The house is full of boxes - one corner is books, lots and lots of books, that no longer seem important.  But another corner holds boxes of books so dear to my heart - and the photo albums of family through the years.  Much harder than I realized, all those memories.

BUT.

The air is balmy, the grass is green, and it was once again time for my favorite warm weather snackaroo - juicy melon (watermelon and cantaloupe, but honeydew is great as well, if you can find a ripe one), mixed with fresh raspberries and mint.  Blackberries and tiny wild strawberries work as well - or currants, if you have them, and blueberries, which, of course, come later in the season.

Our local farmer's markets here in New Hampshire now have the most amazing fruits - I bought some fresh organic peaches last year that were the best I'd tasted in years:  and grown right here in Hancock, which is zone 3-4.  Amazing.

The lilacs are blooming, and we have both the dark purple ones, that last a very long time and spread throughout our town via cuttings from one avenue of them - and the powdery light lilacs that quickly rust, but are heavenly, very briefly.  We have had no rain at all for weeks and weeks, but some finally is supposed to come tomorrow.

You will need to buy a melon baller from your local kitchen store or supermarket - a handy, low tech tool that makes this so pretty.  Mine has a large ball at one end, and a smaller one at the other.  I find the smaller baller to work best if you're making a tray of these melon balls for a party - with a few large balls mixed in . 

You can assemble them in clear, squat glasses, or plastic ones for a large group.  How perfect is this for parties and early summer celebrations?  Just make sure you make them at the most a few hours before, so they are juicy and moist, and keep them briefly in the fridge if the weather is hot.  The mint is best snipped just before serving - and check for bugs before serving!

Happy Spring, feels like Summer!

asparagus with lemon emulsion sauce on a rainy day

Rain, rain, rain.  Days and days of rain tend toward gloom.  The roses rust and droop, and the newly planted vegetable starts refuse to grow beyond their 2 inch plugs.  One day, the sun came out, and as I checked on my pots of herbs, a tiny slender baby snake slithered away.  Of course I screeched, I always do:)

I ended up grabbing a bundle of fresh asparagus at the last minute one day at the market - it was crispy and green and reminded me, yes - it really is Spring.  I usually cook asparagus quickly, then dip in melted butter with a squeeze of fresh lemon.  And I always end up with a stubborn stain on my shirt.  I suddenly remembered a sauce I used to make - ( aioli) - but it was rather heavily scented with raw garlic, so I experimented with a milder version, sans the garlic.  Sweet!

I sliced the asparagus on the diagonal, then quickly blanched it in boiling water, then drained it.    As it was cooling, I made the lemon emulsion, and drizzled it on the asparagus, then served, to some very appreciative and hungry guests:  my family!  Even Frankie the two year old ate it, and that's saying something!  I served vermicelli on the side, along with some parmesan, with fresh blueberries and strawberries I marinated in orange juice.

For the asparagus:

Trim the ends off the asparagus spears.
Cut on the slant in 2 inch pieces, set aside.
Bring water to boil in a pot, when boiling, toss in the asparagus until just barely tender, strain, and set aside to cool.

For the lemon emulsion sauce:

1 large egg yolk from a fresh farm egg
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of sea salt or to taste
a pea sized bit of dijon mustard (more would overpower the sauce)
1/2 cup mild olive oil ( not virgin or extra virgin)

Whisk the egg yolk, then add the lemon juice.
Add the salt and scrape into a food processor.
Drop in the dijon, and whiz.
Add the olive oil, a teaspoon at a time, with the machine going.  
As you add the oil, the sauce will come together in a glossy, creamy emulsion.  Do not be tempted to add the oil all at once, or the sauce will fail.

Drizzle on the asparagus and serve.

baby greens soup with spinach, rosemary, and thyme

I was overjoyed to find my friends Robyn and Susan at the farmers market once again.  I have missed their baskets of beautiful greens much more than I ever realized.  Both had bountiful offerings:  one with fresh mature arugula, the other with bags of  spring greens - everything from baby chard (yellow and red), turnip greens, and baby kales.  I positively floated home to make this rich green soup, vibrating with healthiness and freshness.  I added some mature spinach I had on hand, and a tasty bowl of new chicken stock, a few sprigs of rosemary and voila!  Perfection.

Makes about 3-4 cups of the most delicious soup:

To make:

2 T. red or white onion or leek whites, chopped
2 T. raw rice (I had Uncle Ben's on hand, so I used that)
2 to 2 1/2 cups fresh chicken or vegetable stock

Simmer the stock, rice, and onion or leek for about ten minutes, covered.

Add:

2 cups of packed mature spinach
2 cups packed baby greens
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 T. rosemary leaves, stripped from stem
salt and pepper to taste

Cover the pot and simmer for about 7 minutes, turn off heat, set aside for ten minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender, taste, and adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a nice crusty bread and butter, if you wish. 

Chive blossom vinegar on a sneezy Thursday

Pollen season is here.  I am sneezing my way through the days and nights, but also admiring the slow growth of my chive plant.  Once upon a time, I had a very small chive plant.  I have babied it like you wouldn't believe, but it never grew those stupendous blossoms other people had.  This year, a little better, but only enough for a fat handful or two of those pretty little purple blossoms.  I was eating my lunch on the terrace, looking at the blossoms, when I suddenly realized this was the day!  The blossoms were full, the sun was out, so I grabbed my scissors and snipped away.  And I made, as I always do, Chive Blossom vinegar.

I used to steep the blossoms in the sun in a jarful of white and apple cider vinegar, but too many times we had stormy weather - rain and clouds, gloom and fog.  I hit on a method that is quick and pleasing, and guarantees at least one bottle of that rosy, onion-flavored condiment that is fresh and ever so slightly onion-y from your little garden.  It works wonderfully in salad dressing, or marinades for the grill, but make sure you keep it in a corked bottle in the fridge, since it is basically a puree from a juicy, fresh plant.

To make:

1 or 2 cups chive blossoms, pulled off  or snipped from a blooming chive plant

Place the chive blossoms in a blender, then cover with half apple cider vinegar, and half white vinegar.  Blend on Liquify.

Pour the liquid, blossoms and all, into a glass jar and screw on the lid, making sure the vinegar does not touch the metal of the lid.

Place the jar in the sun for a day or two, or until it turns a lovely, gentle pinky-purple.

Using a plastic funnel lined with a coffee filter,  strain the vinegar into a bottle or jar and store in fridge.

That's it!  You are now a proud owner of a coveted Spring tradition - fresh chive blossom vinegar.  Enjoy!

Fresh strawberry and rhubarb stir-in sauce

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

chilled chive and parsnip soup

The month of May has been a little bit of everything in the weather department:  chilly enough to use the fireplace, if not reluctantly turning the furnace back on.  And then there were some glorious warm days when the thermometer hit the high 80's and 90's, when I changed my menu midstream from roasted parsnips to this delightful parsnip and thyme chilled soup.

Sweet and earthy (as parsnips are), it has little hints of the first chives and chive flowers, sprigs of thyme, and the freshness of sliced leeks.  It can be served hot or cold - I prefer the chilled version.

To make 3 servings:

1 cup sliced, washed leeks ( whites of leeks only)
1 T. unsalted butter or olive oil
1 1/4 cups peeled parsnips, cut into chunks
1 T. peeled fresh ginger, chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 t. thyme

Place in a saucepan and simmer until vegetables are soft ( about 12 minutes).
Take off heat and add :
1- 2 T. freshly snipped chives and flowers
Cover and let sit 10 minutes for flavors to blend.

Puree and add:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 t. salt

If you are serving this chilled, add about 1/3 cup water as it thickens.
Garnish with thyme sprigs and fresh chives.

Spring spronging

It happens every year, but it still amazes me.  One day the trees are bare, the next you wake up to an astonishing world of GREEN.  This is my view from the front step as I sip my morning coffee.

violets and fresh chive pasta

This is not a usual Spring - the violets, lilacs, and chive plants are a month ahead of schedule. No matter - I still celebrate their coming with a simple pasta dish that is perfumed with their essence. While I wonder if this is the year I finally make candied violets, I take a moment to inhale the scent of fresh chives - just before the buds blossom. Ahhhh. That's Spring for me!

To make:

Two handfulls of pasta ( I use vermicelli or thin spaghetti)

Boiling water

sea salt

olive oil

unsalted butter

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh chive spears

more salt, pepper, olive oil and unsalted butter to taste

fresh Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add a little salt and olive oil.

Add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes, then drain.

Toss in the fresh chives, more salt, pepper, olive oil, and unsalted butter to taste ( not more than a tablespoon of butter or oil) and sprinkle on the parmesan.

Serve with joy!

Happy Spring!

Wordless Wednesday: SPRING!

A little bit of Spring Fever has hit me today, as I walked around the Depot Square area of Peterborough, NH, where the shops are embracing this glorious early Spring with masses of potted flowers. A dandelion tickles my foot as I sit on a granite bench, and as I pass the library, the beauty of their flowering trees makes me stand in wonder and delight. The delicate blossoms of a flowering crabapple tree comes into focus as I open the car door.

This season makes everyone wander somewhat crookedly, intoxicated with the explosion of greens and shoots, buds and tissue-thin petals. SPRING!

Hope you're enjoying the season, wherever you are!

behold the humble egg

It is Easter Monday, and I'm gazing happily on my trove of colorful HB eggs. What to have first? The HB egg and tomato sandwich? The wasabi egg? Or maybe I should go check out Kalyn's post today on a plethora of HB egg recipes?

So while I'm trying to decide, I'll have a cup of coffee and go back to Alice Walker's

wonderous book " The Chicken Chronicles".

"...The other change is that you are molting. Which means you are throwing off all of your old feathers and new ones are coming through. You are not tidy, not neatly into your ordinarily compact and perfect chicken shape. You look a bit mussed. But you don't seen to notice, which is a lovely trait. Did humans ever have this? Did we ever go through our life changes without making a big deal about them? Did we ever, anywhere, have our hair fall out, new hair grow in, and not once try to find a mirror?

I like your lack of vanity. It is refreshing......You seem so clear about who you are. So certain you are just right as you are, that for all your intelligence and maybe in spite of it, you never seem to need a second opinion."

She writes to her beloved flock from India, after a visit with the Dalai Lama, signing off with "Mommy". How endearing is that?

Need more egg recipes? You can find everything from asparagus frittata to spinach quiche, and how to test your eggs for freshness in my index, here.

Hope your day is wonderful!

happy monday!

What a beautiful day! Windy, a little chilly, but sunny enough for the magnolia trees to be blooming, as well as the daffodils and forsythia.

My weekend round up?

Painting one of the bedroom walls this beautiful spring green.

Making what will probably be the last bunch of these muffins until Fall.

Bringing home a six-pack of those lovely violas for transplanting.

Making more fresh cucumber salad.

Admiring the arugula seedlings that have popped up in the garden!

Keeping up with my walking goals via my new pedometer - 60 miles in a little over 3 weeks!

Back into the kitchen, hope you're having as beautiful a day as we are here! And how was YOUR weekend?