chunky oats and fresh apples for breakfast

It is apple picking time again here in New Hampshire, and the first thing I made with those fresh, juicy Macs was my very favorite breakfast this time of year.  Rolled oats with chunks of apples, cinnamon sugar, and a good drizzle of honey, heaven on these first chilly mornings when the temperature is 40 degrees, but no hard frost quite yet.

I take a quick hike up the hill first thing in the morning, delighting in the flash of sunrise, and come back to a lovely hot breakfast steeping on the stove, and remembering so many autumns in the past, when I was a very busy Mom.  Enjoy!

"This cool, clear morning brings back a lot of memories of this time of year with my children. Taking my daughter to the 7 o 'clock bus, still barely light. Hauling buckets of water down the hill to the horse in the fresh autumn air. Soccer games after school, when the weather could be anything from summerlike to sleet; picking apples at our local orchard. The mad search for mittens and hats, sweaters and parkas.

This time of year I often made this hearty oatmeal for my children, hoping to fill them up and keep them warm and healthy, and this morning I made it for myself, for all the same reasons. Finding the nuggets of slightly soft, warm apples in the buttered and sugared oats somehow makes the morning memorable. I measure a large (very large!) dollop of local honey into my spoon, and tip it on top of the oats, licking the spoon clean. Enjoy the season!"

(from October, 2010)

To make:

2 medium apples, peeled and cored, cut into chunks

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)

2 T. cinnamon sugar (a little cinnamon stirred into sugar)

2 t. butter

1/8 t. kosher salt

Place the water, salt, cinnamon sugar, butter, and apples in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the oats, turn down the heat, and cook on medium low, for about ten minutes. Take off the heat and cover until ready to serve.

Serve with maple syrup , honey, or more cinnamon sugar.

roasted chicken with green garden sauce: the end of summer

Tonight the chill at 5 o'clock was obvious - summer is over, and fall is creeping in.  The last few nights have been brisk enough to start a fire in the woodstove . Instead of vibrant ( and what I call "transcendental") brilliant orange and red leaves, we have seen only the slow yellow fading of the summer greening.   The brisk weather inspired me to roast a little chicken, but instead of the tarragon chicken I usually make, I thought of my friend from Red Maple Farm, who makes a glorious adieu to her garden with a zesty, green sauce of everything from tomatillos to pinched leaves of chard and the last cucumbers.  Though lacking tomatillos, the sauce I made from bits of this, and leaves of that, I was able to come up with something that shouted a last goodbye to the garden.

First, you need a small chicken. Preheat oven to 400F. Rinse the chicken, pat it dry, then smear with unsalted butter and drizzle a little olive oil over, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  Squeeze a lemon all over the chicken, including the inside cavity, then put the squeezed lemon inside the chicken.  Roast for an 1/2 hour, then turn heat down to 350F.  Roast for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the legs move easily when jiggled - it depends on the size of the chicken and the temperature when it was put in the oven.

For the green sauce:

Take a stroll through your garden or herb garden ( or your fridge!) gathering mild greens in a basket.  Avoid strong-tasting herbs, as this is a mild, fresh-tasting sauce.  Avoid basil, sage, more than a pinch of oregano, garlic.

I used:

 1 cucumber, washed and partly peeled, cut up

a handful of arugula

a handful of green tomatoes

a small handful of onion/scallion tops

a handful of parsley, both Italian and frilly

a few stems and leaves of green chard

a few chives, snipped

a small handful of nasturtium leaves

sea salt and pepper

a few drizzles of olive oil

Oh how I wish I had bought some tomatillos!  They are amazing !  Tangy, spicy, delicious.  And sorry to to have forgotten to bring home some radish leaves, which are amazingly tasty in sauces, like this, or green smoothies.

Place in food processor and coarsely puree.  Taste, and correct seasonings- it usually needs more salt.  Serve on top of sliced roasted chicken, along with the last tomatoes and some fingerling potatoes.

Enjoy!

the bisonburger

You might remember that photo I took last June when I suddenly came upon a herd of buffalo fenced beside the very rural road in town.  To say I was astonished isn't even close.  I always saw pictures of them thundering across a Western plain;  to come across them in a vibrantly green field of grass in New Hampshire was worth several double-takes.

Saturday, the very kind farmer/rancher of Summit Meadow Farm threw a huge party for the townspeople, with free tastings of his bison (bison and buffalo are used interchangeably) - there were bison sausages with fennel, bison steak tips, bisonburgers, bison chili.  I tried them all, and they were all delicious, though a little heavy on the barbecue spice rub for my tastebuds, and I was eager to try to find some fresh bison to cook at home.    

Just as I was leaving, passing the most adorable black pigs I've ever laid eyes on, I overheard him say some bison burger would be available at our local market.  This morning I was pleased to be the first customer of a very limited amount of bison burger - and when it was gone, it would be 8 months before any more was available.

I was told bison is best very fresh, cooked quickly on high heat, and removed from the heat while it was still rare.  Let sit, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bite in.   A very bright taste, and while there was some fat in the grind, it's a small amount compared to beef.  Love at first taste.

What's to like about it besides the taste?  Knowing it spent the summer not two miles away in a beautiful pasture, and really, that's what buying local is all about.


I made slider size burgers, just a handful of bison burger, salt and pepper, seared on both sides quickly in a saute pan with a little unsalted butter and olive oil, and removed off heat to sit briefly before plating.  Rare is good with these burgers.

For a fancier version, I cut a round of bread ( lacking slider buns), drizzled a little homemade ranch dressing on top of the bread, added lettuce and a little chopped sweet red pepper.  

    

chopped romaine salad with homemade ranch dressing

When it comes to salads, I have a strong fondness for one that crunches.  I used to eat iceberg lettuce as you might eat quarters of apples - and usually unadorned with dressing.  Those baby lettuces, so pretty but so limp, do not ring my bells.  So you're not surprised to know how much I love romaine lettuce, especially the paler, lower leaves.

Bouncing back from a few weeks of drinking a lot of peppermint tea and eating buttered toast fingers, I had a sudden craving for a good crunchy salad and a dressing other than my usual red wine vinegar with olive oil.  Once upon a time, I loved ranch dressing, but I've gotten picky about ingredients and tried my hand at a homemade version.  About the fifth try I got lucky  - though my fridge is now filled with bowls of all the rejects.  Still crunchy, still good, though.

For the lettuce:

One head of crispy green romaine lettuce

Trim off the bottom of the lettuce, then use a large knife to slice off inch-width ribbons of lettuce.  If the pieces are too large and floppy, slice through the pieces once or twice until the pieces are a manageable bite size.


For the dressing:

In a clean jar mix:
1/2 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 t. kosher salt
4 T. mayonaise (I use Hellmann's olive oil mayo)
2 T. sour cream
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. dried dill ( I dry my own)
1/8 t. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup buttermilk ( if you want it thick) OR
2/3 cup buttermilk (if you want it thin)
1 T. minced fresh chives

I like to spoon or pour some dressing in the bottom of the bowl before I add the lettuce, then add a little more once the bowl is filled.  I like a LOT of dressing!

Enjoy the Fall colors!  The dry summer has muted the leaf colors so far, but the air is crisp and walking and hiking is a pleasure.

rosemary & wild grape focaccia

A few weeks ago, I was visiting my daughter and daughter-in-law when (happily) Anni pulled out a hot, gorgeous - what IS that?  Bread?  Pizza? Cake?- out of the oven.  She cut off a chunk and I tasted the most remarkable whatever-it-was.  Salty and sweet, juicy and toasty.  It turned out to be an amazing soft focaccia made with rosemary, sea salt, sugar, and wild grapes that Anni and just-now 2 year old Frankie had just picked from grapevines beside the road.   She generously packed up half a yogurt container with those fragrant fruits , which I took home - and forgot about in my pneumonia haze.

I found them today .  And guess what I made?

Yup, and you can find the recipe here, which Anni got from her blogger best friend at Ben and Birdy.

Remarkable, amazing, and delicious.

lemon muffins and the last of the tomatoes

What an odd two weeks I've had - laid low with pneumonia, of all things, and quite wobbly. I was very happy to have the new Julia book to read  - have you read it?  It's called "Dearie, the Remarkable Life of Julia Child" by Bob Spitz and although he goes over familiar ground, there is much about her older years and her connections with younger chefs and her commitment to classical French culinary training that I've found fascinating.  

After a good two weeks off, I was seized with a desire for something more than peppermint tea and oatmeal.  Lemon poppyseed muffins popped into my mind, but a quick search of the fridge turned up pistachios , but no poppyseeds.  That was an easy substitute, and I loved the crunch of the pistachios.

This recipe made several Texas-size muffins (2 scoops of batter per muffin) and a dozen regular sized muffins (1 scoop of batter per muffin) so I'm guessing this would make around

2 dozen small muffins.  They freeze well, IF you have any left over.  I always end up dropping off extras to several friends who are passionate about these particular muffins.

Glazed Lemon Muffins with pistachios

Preheat oven to 330F.

Grease your chosen sized muffin tins with vegetable shortening.

zest of two lemons, grated

3 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more for the glaze

2 t. baking powder

6 extra large eggs

1 T. vanilla extract

6 T. milk

3 sticks (24 T.) unsalted butter, softened

Grate the lemon zest into mixer bowl.

Add the flour, sugar and baking powder and mix.

With mixer on low, add the eggs, vanilla, and milk.  With mixer still going, cut in the soft butter and beat until batter is smooth and creamy.

Using a regular sized ice cream scoop ( I use a spring-loaded one, well worth the investment)  scoop batter into muffin tins - one scoop for regular sized ones, two scoops for Texas sized ones.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes, but I start checking the smaller muffins at 30 minutes. The muffins should be firm to the touch when you press the centers gently.

Remove muffins to a cooling rack and make the glaze:

Lemon glaze:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup white sugar

several tablespoons finely chopped pistachio nuts

Place the lemon juice and sugar into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat .

Gently remove muffins from muffin pans and set on cooling racks set onto baking sheets.  Brushing the muffins with the glaze is sticky business, so this will contain the mess.

Brush the muffins several times with the warm glaze and sprinkle with the nuts .

As you see, I did pick some of the last of the cherry tomatoes from my very neglected in-town garden.  I discovered after planting that there was no water supply, so I let it languish in the hot, dry summer weather - and the tomatoes suffered.  

september twilight

I love these days and evenings after the steaminess of summer - especially this summer, which was hot and dry, day after day.  The owls are cooing in the twilight, the mums on the step glow as you step through the front door, and the little yellow house settles in for the night.  

May you have a lovely evening!