"Gremolata" Balls for the Freezer

To stash the last of my fresh parsley from my garden I made this. It's only sort of gremolata because I added lemon juice and olive oil in an attempt to have it last better in the freezer.  I tried it out on top of roasted beef marrow bones and it was fantastic!  The verdant and piquant flavor cut through the richness of the marrow.  I plan on using the rest of my stash to garnish stewed meat or soup, similar to the uses for gremolata on osso bucco or like pistou in soup.

"Gremolata" Balls for the Freezer
Take a couple of cups of fresh parsley and pulse in a food processor with a couple cloves of garlic.  Add the zest from one lemon and the juice from 1/2 lemon with enough olive oil to moisten.  Salt and pepper to taste and add more garlic or oil until you like the flavor.  Scoop tablespoons onto a cookie sheet, freeze until solid, then store in an airtight container (zip bag, etc).  Serve on top of stewed meat or as a last minute addition to perk up a bowl of winter soup.  To serve: place a still frozen ball in soup or allow one to defrost slightly and then spread on top of stewed meat.  Also very good in place of parsley salad with roasted marrow bones.

Mint and Melon

This month's Spice Rack Challenge is mint.  I have my vegetable garden planted and school done for the summer so I should be able to find a few moments to blog here and there.  I have my two favorite mint combinations blogged already, mint/chocolate and mint/lamb so I had to think of what else I like to do with mint.   I think mint is wonderful in any fruit salad and mint and melon are especially good together. Here is my non-recipe for fruit and mint, of course it's simple but I need a baby step right now.

Mint and Melon

1. Seed, peel and cube melon
2. Chiffonade fresh mint leaves
3. Toss with citrus juice and a little zest (I like orange or lime for this)
4. Eat

My other mint recipes:
Mint Coconut Milk Ice Cream with Gluten-free Chocolate Cones
Quinoa and Blood Orange Salad
Candy Cane Cocoa
Winter Mint Cookies
DB Lavash Crackers w/ Moroccan Carrot Dip
Heartnut and Wild Rice Salad
Cherry Tomato and Mint Salad on Lamb Steaks

Lemon-Dilly Cashew "Sour Cream" Dip

I've been experimenting with cashew sour cream since Christmas.  It started with a few holiday batches of french onion dip.  This was trouble with a capital T and as you know T rhymes with P and the french onion dip was best enjoyed with Potato chips.  In the new year, I experimented with milkless ranch dressing but none of the recipes I tried wowed me or met with Alex's approval.  I gave up for awhile but then picked up the soaked cashews again in honor of this month's Spice Rack Challenge, dill.  Here is dill in a tasty dip made with cashew "sour cream".

*Note the Easter Egg radishes in the top photo, they are from my 9 Bean Rows CSA box from this week.

Lemon-Dilly Cashew "Sour Cream" Dip
Makes about 2 cups

1/2 cup raw cashews + water for soaking
2/3 cup cold water
juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

-Cover your cashews in water and soak on the counter for a few hours, then change the water and soak in the refrigerator overnight.
-Drain the cashews and add to a blender with all the other ingredients.
-Blend until perfectly smooth and creamy.  Adjust seasonings to your taste, adding more lemon or salt and pepper as desired.
-Serve with fresh vegetables or crackers.  Also works well as a salad dressing, thin as needed.

Variation:
Add some grated and drained cucumber along with a small clove of garlic and a little olive oil for a tzatziki style sauce.  This cucumber version is very good on salmon burgers.

And now for the obligatory kid pictures..

Penny being cute talking to her giraffe

Both kids being cute

Alex being a lunatic

I am SO looking forward to next week's Easter vacation!

In anticipation of spring-- and Ramps!

Michigan's Spring has just barely poked her toe out from under the blanket of winter.  So when Shayne of fruitcake or nuts asked us to post about our favorite spring food it all had to come from memory.  As much as I'm enjoying tapping our maple trees what I really long for is the first green things sprouting up and one of the first is ramps!

In past years ramps have become something of a foodie cliche because of their rabid fans, but I think most of the adoration is well deserved.  Fresh and green with that pungent combined garlic/onion flavor, who could hate this gift that pops up from under the leaf litter.  My favorite part is the leafy greens.  Like garlic scapes, they have a verdent flavor that I love.  Here is my favorite quick meal to make with them.

Ramps and Beans 

Rinse and spin or pat dry a bunch of ramps.  Chop your ramp stems and bulbs separately from your greens.  Add the chopped bulbs and stems to a pan with a couple of glugs of good olive oil and salt and pepper.  Cook until softened.  Add in about two cups of cooked white beans (navy or cannelini) and cook to warm up the beans.  Add in the ramp greens and cook just until they are tender.  Add a splash of lemon juice, more olive oil and more salt and pepper to taste.  Great served with a fried egg on top or spooned onto crusty bread.

*See the other favorite spring foods on the group blog for Michigan Lady Food Bloggers at the end of this month.
**I'll also be remaking these Buckwheat Crepes with Ramps this year, but this time around I'm going to hunt down a wheat-free all buckwheat crepe recipe. 

***And since I have no pictures of the food, here's a little video of Penny pushing around her toy shopping cart.  (Please ignore the voice over at the end contributed by her annoying older brother.)

Rutabaga Mash with Crispy Garlic

Rutabagas should not be relegated to the job of unidentifiable cube in soups and pasties, though the latter is not the same without them.  This excellent storage root, also known by the name Swede, is delicious roasted or mashed.  Penny is a big fan of them cooked in beef broth but I wanted something different for myself so I made this.  The rutabagas and thyme both came from my winter 9 Bean Rows CSA.

Rutabaga Mash with Crispy Garlic
Makes 4 side dish servings

4-6 small to medium rutabaga roots*
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil
a few sprigs of thyme
flaky salt and freshly ground pepper

*regular grocery rutabagas are usually huge and you might only need one or two, aim for ~3 cups of chopped root

-Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Peel and chop your rutabagas.  Salt your water like you were cooking pasta in it and add the rutabagas when it comes to a boil.
-Bring the water and rutabagas back to boil and cook until tender throughout.
-While the rutabagas are cooking, peel and thinly slice your garlic.  Add the garlic and olive oil to a cold pan and warm over medium-low heat.  Cook until fragrant and just beginning to get golden brown on the edges.  Pull the leaves off of the thyme and stir it into the hot oil.
-Drain and roughly mash your rutabagas.  Spoon the warm oil and garlic over the top and add flaky salt and pepper to finish.  Serve immediately to enjoy the crunch of the garlic.

Extra: For those of you who partake in dairy try this recipe for rutabaga souffle, Consider the Rutabaga

Dog Hill update: Penny is a full-time walker now

Flamey, Alex's bearded dragon is getting bigger.  I love his thoughtful expressions.

And Perfect is REALLY growing like a weed.
She doesn't sit still for pictures, you have to sneak up on her.

Carob Fruit and Nut Bark

Though I'm still full of my typical end of winter griping about dark days and slippery roads, I am noticing that February has been flying by. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I'm still trying to lay off sugar and wheat and grains in general. But that's a topic for another post, which I'm too scatterbrained to write at the moment, so here's a recipe I've been working on.

John and I have been upping the ante with our chocolate lately. I've long been a fan of the dark stuff and look for at least 70% cocoa (the bare minimum) but with my current dietary changes I'm even finding things like these brownies too sweet. So we search for darker chocolate for snacking and that results in eventually even liking unsweetened chocolate, if combined with fruit and nuts. The trouble is that chocolate has caffeine and though my tolerance is way higher than John's a little too much snacking ends with me up all night.

So John suggested carob (yes honey, I'm actually giving you credit) and at first I scoffed. Have you ever had those carob covered nuts from the bulk section? Or a carob bar? They are so insipid and gross with a weird chewy quality but John likes them anyway. I remembered seeing carob powder, also called carob flour, at the co-op so I agreed to give that a try. I had some cocoa butter around to try and make homemade dairy-free white chocolate and thought, "Hey I could make carob chocolate and it wouldn't be an oxymoron!"

For my first attempt I went completely sugar free and it was wonderful! Of course you have to be used to eating very low sugar/high cocoa chocolate but if you are the kind of person who can snack on cocoa nibs than you might really love this and it won't keep you up at night. Plus, carob may have other health benefits and it's much less bitter and therefore requires less sweetness to be delicious. I've played with the recipe further, added a little dried fruit for a smidgen more sweetness and a little coconut oil so that I don't have to worry about tempering the cocoa butter. The variations are endless but I like this Chunky bar homage with raisins and almonds.

Carob Fruit and Nut Bark
This is for super low sugar chocolate lovers. If you can't handle nibbling on cocoa nibs or 90% chocolate then either use a higher percentage of dried fruit or try adding a little stevia. 
Makes about a pound

3 oz (~3/4 cup) cacao butter*
2 oz (7 tablespoons) roasted carob powder*
8 oz (2 cups) almonds, ideally soaked/dehydrated*
3 oz (3/4 cup) raisins*
1/4 ounce (~1 1/2 teaspoons) coconut oil
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

-Melt the cacao butter in a double boiler add the carob powder and coconut oil and whisk until smooth.  You could also melt the cacao butter in the microwave but it seems to take forever so I prefer a double boiler for this.  Of course a double boiler does not have to mean anything more than a heat proof bowl that fits on a saucepan with a little water in the saucepan.
-Add the almonds and raisins and stir to coat.  Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.
-Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes and then remove and break apart.

*Ingredient notes:  Cacao butter is the same thing as cocoa butter but be sure not to skimp on this. I've found cheaper stuff that has off flavors and tastes like soap and it's awful!  Carob powder is also called carob flour.  Of course any combination of nuts with/without any combination of dried fruit would be good. 

**Other notes:  I think a variation with some spice would be excellent and there is an interesting Cinnamon Spiced Coconut Bark on Diet, Dessert and Dogs.  Also, I'd love to try some filled chocolates with this carob chocolate mixture and plan on using this recipe for Double Chocolate Hazelnut Candies as inspiration.

***Note to mom: Hey, check out the Russell Stovers Elvis box, that thing has really gotten a lot of reuse!

Kale Snackers

Here's my take on Cheezy Earth Chips.  The orginal is great but I knew they could be easy to make and I thought it could use a little less coating and less intense yeast flavor.  I playing with the ingredient list, tweaked and found the flavor I liked best.

I used Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos to make them soy free but soy sauce or wheat-free tamari would work as well.  You may have to adjust the amount because I find the coconut aminos are less salty than even low sodium soy sauce.  Really I suggest tasting the coating before you dress your kale and adjusting to your taste.  This is a guideline recipe nothing hard and fast.  I just wish I had these back in college when I did awful things to industrial sized containers of goldfish crackers.  *shudder*

Kale Snackers
Makes 2-4 servings

2 bunches kale (lacinato/dinosaur works best)
4 tablespoons raw cashew butter
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons coconut aminos (or slightly less soy sauce or tamari)
1/4 teaspoon dehydrated garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or a good pinch of cayenne pepper)
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt

-Remove the thick part of the stems from the kale and tear into large pieces.  Rinse well and spin or pat as dry as possible.
-In a large mixing bowl stir together the cashew butter, yeast, aminos, garlic, tumeric and pepper.
-Add the dried kale leaves and scrunch around with your hands to get them evenly coated.  Don't worry about crushing the kale too much.  It'll smash down some but dehydrate fine.
-Spread the coated kale on your dehydrator sheets in a fairly thin layer.  If you let it double up it will be fine but produce a thicker chip and take longer to dry.  Sprinkle over the flaky sea salt. 
-Dehydrate at 112 degrees F for 7 hours or 125 degrees F for 2-3 hours.  I haven't yet tried these in the oven, let me know if you do. 

I'm going to try a honey mustard version next.  Or maybe since I have the dehydrator out I'll whip up some BBQ Flax Crackers.

Maple-Rosemary Fried Apples

The jar of dried rosemary was still next to cutting board when I went to fry up some apples for dessert that came in my 9 Bean Rows CSA share today.  Then a miracle happened and Penny fell asleep early, let's pray that she stays down for the night.  So here's another entry for this month's Spice Rack Challenge from Mother's Kitchen.

Maple-Rosemary Fried Apples
Makes ~ 1 1/2 cups

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter)
2 large apples, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks (my apples were Ida Reds)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon maple syrup
pinch salt

-Heat a cast iron skillet and after it is good and hot melt the coconut oil (or butter) in it.  Add the apples and toss to coat with the oil.  Cook, tossing occasionally, until they start to get golden brown.
-Add the cinnamon, crumbled dried rosemary, maple syrup and a tiny pinch of salt.  Toss to coat and continue heating until you get the fragrance of the cinnamon and rosemary and the apples are done to your likeness.
-Good served alone but could be better sprinkled with almonds or as a side with pork or chicken.  Obviously ice cream would be a perfect accompaniment. 

Laughing Penny with a Rice Krispy on her nose

Creamless Celery Soup with Rosemary

I usually kill rosemary plants when I try to overwinter them and have in past few years chosen not to fight it and treat the plant in the garden like an annual.  I do try and remember to dry a big bunch so that it doesn't go to waste so I was all ready for this month's Spice Rack Challenge from Mother's Kitchen.

The weather combined with going lower carb and wheat free has me craving soup.  In addition, the local chickens at our co-op Oryana are HUGE, +7lbs!! and I have been butchering the whole birds I buy myself to make them stretch into at least three meals.  This creates a lot of chicken carcasses that are helping me replenish my freezer stash of stock.

Celery soup with rosemary seemed a great pair since celery is a vegetable that has an assertive enough flavor to stand up to the resinous quality of rosemary.  No real cow's milk cream in our house right now so I "creamed" my soup with celeriac, the tasty root version of celery.  I thought it was fantastic and John (a noted celery hater) liked it a lot, which must be due to the Mediterranean influence of the rosemary.  Penny liked it as well but Alex was on the fence.  He's getting to be quite the picky one lately.

Creamless Celery Soup with Rosemary
Makes 4-6 servings

1 large leek
1 large celery root (celeriac)
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons crumbled dried rosemary, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
6-8 cups good stock (chicken or vegetable)
6 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
salt and pepper (white pepper preferably) 

-Remove the greens from the leeks and save for stock making.  Dice the leeks and rinse and drain.  If the leek is especially sandy then repeat the rinsing a few times.  Peel and slice the garlic.  Peel and dice the celeriac into 1/2 inch cubes.
-Cook the leek, garlic and celeriac in the olive oil along with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the rosemary over medium heat in a medium soup pot.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the leeks are limp.
-Add 6 cups of the stock to the vegetables and bring to a strong simmer.  Simmer for around 20 minutes until the celery root is cooked through.
-Transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth.  Use caution when pureeing hot liquids, this will probably need to be done in at least two batches.  If you own a immersion blender, you can puree the soup in the pot. 
-Return the soup to the pot and add the chopped celery and celery leaves.   Add more stock if needed to get your desired thickness.   Bring to a simmer and cook for around 10 minutes until the celery is tender. 
-Crumble the final 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary into the soup and check for seasoning, add more salt and pepper as needed.  Serve hot.

Anyone else notice that there have been way too many dog pictures here lately?
Abbie is on house arrest after disappearing for 10 days before Thanksgiving.  We were sure she had been gobbled up by a coyote!  So far she hasn't protested too much but will probably give us trouble when the snow is gone.

Shovel-cut Mashed Potatoes

Instructions:

1. In the spring, gather your newborn daughter in a baby carrier and dig a trench.
2. Have your older son toss the leftover, sprouting potatoes from your farm share and the seed potatoes you saved from last year haphazardly into said trench.
3. Shovel over dirt hastily because your newborn daughter now wants to go inside and eat.
4. Allow weeds to take over the garden as you spend your summer lazing on the beach...
5. Get a bonus sunny day in November and remember that you still haven't dug up the potatoes.
6. Throw the now 7 month-old daughter in the baby carrier and grab a shovel.
7. Have a ton of fun with your older son seeing who can find the biggest potatoes and the biggest earthworms.
8. Get your kitchen sink full of dirt washing the potatoes off.
9. Have your son peel all the shovel-cut potatoes while you nurse the baby.
10. Take time out to bandage the peeler cuts.
11. Place the peeled potatoes into a pot of cold salted water.  Bring to a boil and cook until you "think" they are all tender.  
12. Realize only after draining and smashing half that some are still underdone.  Kick yourself for not thinking about how the different varieties you grew are going to cook at different times.  
13. Throw everything into a glass dish and microwave for 4 minutes. Mutter curse words to yourself in your head.  Retrieve exploring baby from the bathroom.
14. Remove the potatoes from the microwave and toss them back into the pan along with unsweetened plain almond milk and Earth Balance margarine.  Smash the heck out of them.
15. Serve with salt and pepper praying that no one will not notice the minuscule amount of still crunchy potatoes.
16. While eating make grand plans with your son for next year's garden. 

Alex contemplating the meaning of life, or the meaning of potatoes?

Spiced Autumn Berry Jam and Vegan Lemon Yogurt Scones

The wild autumn berries on our land have been ripe for a few weeks now.  Autumn berry is a more attractive common name I found for autumn olive berries, scientifically known as Elaeagnus umbellata.  We have a ton of these invasive shrubs on our property and while they make for tasty snacking on hikes they shine the most in jam and fruit leather.

My son Alex and I picked a big load and I decided to spice up, literally, one batch of this year's jam.  Since I find the berry's flavor similar to cranberries, I chose to flavor them like my favorite cranberry relish.  This relish, which I typically make for Thanksgiving, includes oranges, cinnamon and ginger.  I also was craving fruit and black pepper together so I gave the jam a little extra heat with freshly ground black pepper.  To try out some of the jam I made lemon scones with coconut milk yogurt.  The scones were a special request from Alex and a great match for the jam.

For pictures of autumn berry bushes and more information see my first post on autumnberries, Autumn Olive Jam and Fruit Leather or read more about autumn berries and their controversal status.  Don't have access to autumn berries?  Buy some Michigan made jam from Food for Thought.

Spiced Autumn Berry Jam
Makes ~9 cups

5 cups seedless autumn berry pulp*
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
7 cups sugar
1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

*To make the berry pulp:  Pull the berries from their stems, wash and drain them.  Add them to a pan with 1/2 cup of water for every 4 cups of berries and cook over medium high heat until the seeds are separating from the fruit flesh.  Use a food mill to remove the seeds.  Cool and store the prepared pulp in the fridge until needed.  Note that the pulp will separate into a milky liquid with red particles when cooled in the fridge. You will probably need at least 8 cups of berries to get the required 5 cups of pulp.

-Follow the standard SURE.JELL Directions for Berry Jam but add the ginger, zest, cinnamon and pepper along with the pectin at the start of the recipe.

Lemon Coconut Milk Yogurt Scones
Based on this Orange Yogurt Scone recipe from Taste of Home 
Makes 8-10 mini scones

1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
6 tablespoons plain So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt
1-2 tablespoons pearl or coarse sugar, optional

-Preheat your oven to 400 degress F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-Sift or whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Then after that is whisked or sifted well add in the zest and stir or whisk to evenly distribute.
-Cut in the solid coconut oil with a fork or pastry cutter until there are no pieces of solid oil larger than a pea.
-Add the yogurt and stir in just until the dough comes together.
-Scoop with a medium disher (mini ice cream scoop) onto the lined baking sheet and press down the mounds slightly.  Or you can gather the dough into a flattened circle and cut into wedges.
-Sprinkle over the pearl or coarse sugar.
-Bake for ~12 minutes until light golden brown.

Penny came along for the berry picking.

Later that evening I found a bunch of berries that had fallen in her hood and gotten smashed, eww!

She and Fritz love to look out the doors and windows together.

P.S. Thanks to all those who are rooting for me in the Iron Foodie challenge. I got in! The box of mystery ingredients should be arriving early next week. Alex and I can't wait to see what's inside!

Gingery Turnips

My fall CSA shares from 9 Bean Rows started the same week I scored some locally grown fresh young ginger.  So I did a quicker take on this Food and Wine recipe.   I quickly blanched the halved roots and then fried them in olive oil with shallots, finely julienned ginger, the turnip tops and finished with a splash of umeboshi vinegar.  Yum!  

And Penny is tasting solid foods, here she is with some baked apple.

Red Currant-Cornmeal Tart

Around this time last year I found myself in in one of the big box stores, Home Depot or Lowe's.  As their garden centers get picked over and beaten down by the reflected heat of the asphalt you can sometimes come across good bargains.  That day I scored a pair of viburnums, four lilacs and three red currant bushes.  All of them were in sad shape: pot-bound, only a few leaves left, and looking ragged without any deadheading or trimming.

I'm happy to say that all of those plants are doing quite well this year.  The viburnums are almost double in size and the lilacs are growing nicely--despite the fact that the spotted knapweed plants are crowding them terribly.  And I find myself fighting with my son Alex to get my share of the red currants.

The currants are tart, slightly tannic with crunchy seeds inside.  John thought they were a lot like pomegranate seeds but I think that was their bursting quality and seeds more than their flavor.  They don't seem to have a very distinctive taste but they do have a striking red color and look lovely on their stems.  Unfortunately the stems are bitter and you have to be careful removing the berries because they are thin-skinned and delicate.

I thought a cornmeal crust would be good because the seeds are less noticeable against a crunchy dough.  Instead of using a pastry recipe, I decided to adapt a cornmeal cookie recipe I had bookmarked so that I would have a sweeter, sturdier crust.  Here is what I made:

Red Currant-Cornmeal Tart
Crunchy cornmeal shortbread crust with hints of anise and orange filled with tart red currants.  I'd also like to try this dough with an egg added to make thumbprint cookies.
Makes (1) 7 3/4 inch tart

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
7 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon ground anise seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, solid
2-3 tablespoons ice water
7 oz (~1 1/3 cups) red currants, washed and stems removed
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

-Mix together the flour, cornmeal, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, zest, anise seed and salt.
-Spoon the coconut oil on top of the flour mixture and then place the whole bowl in the freezer for 2-3 minutes.
-Cut in the chilled coconut oil with a pastry cutter or a fork until there are no pieces of oil larger than a pea.
-Add the water one tablespoon at a time and mix to make a cohesive dough. 
-Press the dough into a tart pan and then cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
-When you are ready to bake preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray your tart pan with oil or grease with more coconut oil.
-In a small bowl carefully mix the currants with the cornstarch and remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar.
-Spoon in the currant mixture into the prepared tart shell.
-Bake for ~35 minutes until the center of the currants bubble and the crust is golden brown.
-Allow the tart to cool for at least 5 minutes before attempting to slice and/or remove the outer ring.

Inspirational help:
Feeding Maybelle: Red Currant Mini-Cheesecakes
Simmer Down!: mushroom tart for a bordeaux wine tasting
Martha Stewart's Cornmeal-Cherry Cookies
Maybe next year Alex will share enough to let me make some currant jam.

Red currants on the bush

Lines on the berries show the currant's relation to gooseberries

The whole tart

With the Cherry Festival in town my usual downtown farmers market was occupied by cotton candy stands and tilt-a-whirls, so I went to the Sutton's Bay farmers market instead.  I was excited to find a pastured pork producer near us to try as well as these other goodies. Garlic and potatoes from Bare Knuckle Farm, arugula and eggs from Second Spring Farm, tomatoes and cucumbers from Leelanau Produce, two types of bacon from Jonali Farm and a baguette from 9 Bean Rows.

Fire and Ice Sour Cherry Oatmeal

This weekend they started harvesting the cherries in the orchard next door and I'm busy eating frozen local ones from last year.  Doing my part to clean out the old I say.

I've been eating oatmeal a lot lately since I seem to notice it's lactogenic effect.  My new favorite oatmeal is Bob's Red Mill Scottish oatmeal.  It's creamy even when made water (since I'm off dairy and avoiding soy milk) and cooks quickly, unlike that Irish stuff that you have to remember to start the night before.  At first I was making it with dried cherries, raisins, nuts and cinnamon, then I moved on to frozen blueberries but now I'm in love with this combination. 

Fire and Ice Sour Cherry Oatmeal
Makes 1 serving

2 oz (~1/3 cup) Scottish oatmeal
1 cup water
a large pinch of salt *very important
5 oz (~1 cup) frozen sour cherries, no sugar added
1 tablespoon raw honey, I often buy from Sleeping Bear Farms
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin coconut oil

-Cook the oatmeal with the water and salt.  Two minutes in a microwave or use a stovetop or when I'm feeling more ambitious I follow this Soaked Oatmeal recipe.
-Top the steaming hot oatmeal with the frozen cherries and then drizzle over the honey and coconut oil.  The cold from the cherries will make the honey taffy-like and the coconut oil hard like Magic Shell.
-Eat right away to enjoy the textural and temperature contrasts. 

**As soon as I get some sweet cherries I'm making a batch of these Rum Soaked Preserved Cherries.

Double Dark Chocolate Cookies (vegan)

Don't all diets need a little chocolate?  I'm busy working to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans but just can't live without a little chocolate now and then...or rather nearly every day.  The question that remains is how to administer said chocolate.  Some of my chocolate cravings are satisfied by very good chocolate from TCHO, a new favorite, but I'm also itching to get back into my baking groove and had cookies in mind.

I started with a basic recipe from Martha Stewart.  I knew it could be tweaked to make a just as satisfying and yet much more nutritionally valuable cookie.  I did have my diet in mind but there also was the soon-to-be 8!! year-old monster, my son Alex, that needed to be kept happy.  It would be cruel to make batches of cookies that were too "healthy" to appeal to his taste buds.  So I tested and tried combinations until I arrived at this recipe.

This dairy-free, egg-free, low-soy, whole wheat, lower sugar version of the double chocolate cookie really satisfies my chocolate cravings and yet still manages to stay kid friendly.  They exemplify my ideal cookie texture: crispy on the outside, chewy inside with melty chocolate bits throughout.  And if you just so happen to be counting points with Weight Watchers you can have one for 2 points or two for 3 1/2.  They fit in perfectly with my dieting modus operandi: filling up on vegetables seasoned with good quality protein and skipping the bread/pasta/rice so I can indulge in a sweet--that is if I can get to them before Alex does!

Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
My adaptation of the Double Chocolate Cookie recipe  from Martha Stewart
Makes 3 bakers dozen cookies (39 cookies)

Ingredients:
4 oz (~1/2 cup) unrefined coconut oil*
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
8 oz (~1 1/3 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
3 tablespoons golden flax seed meal
6 tablespoons warm water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder**
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredient notes:
*Lately I've been using Tree of Life brand coconut oil which has very mild coconut flavor and is acceptable to Alex's palate.  If you or those you are baking for don't object to coconut then by all means use a more coconutty oil.
**Any baking cocoa you have will work but if you want the darkest cookies use half regular cocoa and half black cocoa (like this one from King Arthur Flour).   You would then be using 1/4 cup of each type of cocoa.

Directions:
-Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.  Line your baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
-If your coconut oil is liquid it's best to chill it until just firm.  Add your solid coconut oil and brown sugar to a stand mixer and beat until well combined.  Note: this will not cream and become fluffy like margarine or butter.
-Melt half of the chocolate (4 oz) in a double boiler or microwave and set aside.  Mix the flax seed meal and water together and allow to gel.
-Add the gelled flax and the vanilla extract to the coconut oil mixture and beat until combined, at least one minute.  Add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated, you will need to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.
-Stir or sift together the flour, cocoa(s), baking soda and salt.  Add to the coconut oil mixture and beat until smooth, scraping the sides several times.
-Add in the remaining chocolate (4oz).  The dough will be thick and gummy at this point and you will have to work to get the chips even throughout.
-Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the lined cookie sheets leaving at least 1 1/2 inches between each cookie.  To make this easier use a 1 tablespoon disher, see link at the end for an example.
-Bake for 11-12 minutes until puffy.  Remove and allow to cool on the baking sheets.
**These freeze very well as baked cookies.  You can bring them to room temperature or gnaw on them frozen.

Trying something new...
I'm an avid fan of Amazon.com so I'm testing the Amazon Associates function in Blogger. For full disclosure these are links that would give me a kick back if you purchased the item through them.  They are however things I actually do use and like a lot.

DB Across the Pond Pudding (vegan)

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

First off, I'd like to say thanks for all the good wishes! Not withstanding the expected lack of sleep we're all doing well. Of course it would be a grand understatement to say this hasn't been my month for cooking. Since Penny's birth I've been eating reheated meals from the freezer supplemented only by eggs fried by my husband. He's quite good at frying but for heaven's sake don't ask him to poach you one--and definitely don't offer him any advice while he's doing it!

Even though I've been trying to take it easy I still wanted to attempt this month's Daring Baker challenge. I've had steamed sponge (steamed cake) puddings before but not the type with suet crust and filling. Since our household is a dairy-free, meat-eating one I did try to procure some suet. But, since I'm tied down to the couch nursing I had to send my husband out--and the suet never happened. So a vegan pudding was to be.

I chose to swap in extra virgin coconut oil for the suet and the recipe I picked was Sussex Pond Pudding. The citrus and caramel filling sounded like a good bet to please my son, whose favorite flavors are lemon and caramel. To make the recipe more my own I used a small bunch of kumquats in place of the lemon. They have been hiding in the bottom of a fruit drawer for long enough without any purpose. I also halved the recipe since I'm already trying to implement a post-baby diet and don't need copious leftovers tempting me.

Well I loved the results!! The coconut oil worked very well, giving a flaky exterior crust with a spongy interior that soaked up just enough of the caramel sauce. The kumquats gave everything a beautiful aroma and I liked the bite of sour and bitter as a contrast to the rich and sweet crust and sauce. The best part was Alex couldn't be kept away once he saw the caramel sauce run out. He gobbled up his serving but left his kumquats on the plate. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this dessert was. I didn't even have to fuss with the steamer! I just set it up and it was fine for the time needed. I can easily see myself playing around with this recipe and making it for dinner parties, when I'm ready for that sort of thing again. You could prep the pudding before guests arrive and have a piping hot dessert without having to run around the kitchen or worrying about anything getting over-baked. And somehow this spring I'll just have to find room in my diet to try the delicious sounding rhubarb version. Thanks Esther for the fun challenge!!

Across the Pond Pudding
Here are my adaptations to the recipe for Sussex Pond Pudding. The original pudding recipe came from Esther of The Lilac Kitchen as part of the April 2010 Daring Bakers Challenge.
Makes 1 (2 cup) pudding, serves 4

6 oz (~3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 oz coconut oil, solidified
~1/2 cup soy milk or water
2 1/4 oz Earth Balance Margarine
2 1/4 oz Demerara or Turbinado sugar
8 kumquats or half a lemon

-Find an appropriately sized heat proof bowl and prep a pot big enough to hold it for steaming. The steaming pot must be able accommodate the bowl along with a steamer basket or rack and have a fitted lid.
-Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. With a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the coconut oil until it forms large crumbs. Add enough milk or water to form a dough.
-Take three quarters of the dough and roll it out to a circle large enough to line the inside of the steaming bowl, the 2 cup heat proof bowl. Line the inside of the bowl with the dough.
-Mix together the margarine and sugar and place half in the lined bowl. Add the kumquats or lemon half and cover with the remaining sugar mixture.
-Roll out the remaining quarter of dough to form a lid. Pinch the edges of the lid to the lining and prick a vent in the center.
-Cover the steaming bowl with a layer of waxed paper combined with a layer of aluminum foil. Pleat to make a single expansion fold and tie tightly with string.
-Get your steaming pot going and place the covered bowl inside. Steam for 3 1/2 hours, checking the water level occasionally.
-Remove the bowl from the steaming pot carefully and take off the foil and paper. Invert a rimmed plate on top of the bowl and then quickly flip to unmold the pudding.
-Slice and serve.

Links:
-Our host this month is Esther from The Lilac Kitchen. Visit her site for recipes for Sussex Pond Pudding and other suet-type puddings.
-Esther based the recipes for this month from the following sources: Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course, The pudding club (www.puddingclub.com), Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management and the Dairy Book of Home Cooking and her own family’s recipe notes!
-I used Tree of Life coconut oil this month and really liked it. It was a lot milder in coconut flavor compared to some of the other brands I've had.
-Visit the Daring Kitchen and see all the other puds made this month by browsing the Daring Baker Blogroll.

Penny and her very proud big brother AlexWrapped up pudding after steaming
Unwrapped finished puddingUnmolded pudding before cutting

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Green beer is off the menu for me today but I did enjoy a homemade dairy-free shamrock shake with my son Alex today. It's been many, many years since I've had the authentic Mikki D version but these tasted like the ones from my memory. We made them using Temptation home vegan 'Ice Cream' mix (with vanilla extract, peppermint extract and green food color) and Alex had the brilliant idea to add the chocolate chips.
Alex wasn't interested in this but I thought it was the best soda bread I've ever had and it was dairy-free as well. I used the recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches for Irish Soda Bread with Fennel and Cinnamon. Vanilla So Delicious Coconut milk yogurt, soy milk and Earth Balance margarine replaced the dairy ingredients. I then swapped in dried cherries for the raisins and cranberries since I do live in Traverse City now.

We've been soaking up all the sun, chasing Fritz the puppy around and it's 8:30pm and the sun hasn't completely set. Spring is on the way!

*Check out more St Patrick's day food at the parade at The Daily Spud.

Pak Choi and Squash Hot Pot

Ah my beloved DVR, how I love that you allow me to catch the five to ten minutes of valuable information left in the hour long debacle known as the Martha Stewart Show. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to sift through the product plugs and celebrity prattle and I would have missed the segment featuring Japanese hot pot meals from this week.

This gave me a new way to use up the pak choi I've been struggling with from my farm share. Plus, I used up local shiitake mushrooms that I dried this fall and butternut squash left from my garden. Hot, comforting and ridiculously fast and easy to make, this hot pot has me adding yet another cookbook to my Amazon wish list.

Pak Choi and Squash Hot Pot
Serves 3-4
Based on the recipe for Kabocha Pumpkin Hot Pot from "Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals" by Tadashi Ono (Note: these adaptions are made to fit what's in my pantry and what needs to get used up)

8-10 dried shiitake mushrooms
1-2 pieces of kombu*
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari*
1/2 cup mirin*
8 oz (~2 cups) diced, peeled winter squash (butternut, kambocha, etc)
6 oz cubed firm tofu
3-4 cups pak choi, chopped into 1-inch pieces
4-5 green onions, chopped into 1-inch
1 (1.6 oz package) of rice noodles or raman noodles, like these from Thai Kitchen
1 cup boiling water + 4 cups water

*These ingredients are available from the Michigan-based company, Eden Foods, though of course no one is harvesting kombu anywhere near here.

-Cover the mushrooms with a cup of boiling water and let set for 5-10 minutes. You could soak them in all of the cold water overnight but who thinks ahead like that?
-Remove the mushrooms from the hot water, trim the stems and cut any large mushrooms in half. Add the mushroom water to 4 more cups of water, the kombu, soy sauce and mirin in a heavy soup pot, like an enameled cast iron pot. Bring to a boil.
-When the broth is boiling, add the squash and mushrooms and return to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook covered for 5-6 minutes.
-Uncover and add the tofu, pak choi, green onions and noodles. Push the ingredients into the broth, cover and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook for ~3 more minutes or until the noodles are done. Remove the kombu before serving (or see how long your dinner companions will chew on it, LOL!)

Notable variation:
When I made this earlier this week I didn't feel like noodles so I made some sticky rice, IE unseasoned sushi rice. Then I poured the finished soup with the vegetables over a pile of the rice in a large bowl. It was as good or better, depending on your mood.

This week's 9 Bean Rows winter farm share: (clockwise from top middle)
white pak choi, purple pak choi, Leelanau Cheese fromage blanc, wheat boule, potatoes, more potatoes, eggs, lacinato kale, walnuts and Swiss chard

Extra link: You can watch the Martha Stewart Show segments on hot pots, HERE

Gingerbread Caramels (vegan/dairy-free)

At last my Christmas baking and candy making is done! The last batch of cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip) are cooling on the counter as I type. To add something new to this year's line up, I was inspired by an Edible Gifts post on the ultimate vegan sweets blog Bittersweet-- I just had to try my hand at making gingerbread caramels!

After I made the prerequisite batch of my normal vegan caramels for my son Alex, I looked at a few gingerbread variations online and came up with a plan to modify my recipe. I also decided to try adding some toasted walnuts to half the batch, leaving half plain since Alex isn't a walnut fan. This was a halfway good idea...the caramels with walnuts were AWESOME!!! but the plain ones were just good and Alex much prefers his regular caramels. The nut version reminds me of kicked up Wha Guru Chews; which if you've never had are pretty fantastic and highly addictive. I had to add a pack of these to each of my Christmas gift bags to ensure I too many weren't left in the house. Here's the recipe for those interested in giving candy making a try this year.

Gingerbread Caramels (vegan/dairy-free)
A combination of my vegan caramel recipe and the Gingerbread Caramel recipe from Martha Stewart.com.
Makes ~60-75 large pieces of candy

2 cups sugar
2 cups soy milk
1 cup margarine (Earth Balance tub is my choice)
1/2 cup corn syrup (Wholesome Sweeteners brand if you can get it)
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts, optional but highly recommended

*Please double check your ingredients to verify that they suit your dietary needs (IE vegan, dairy-free, etc) or the needs of those you are cooking for.

-Line an 8 inch x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl stir together the spices and salt and set aside. Measure out your nuts to have ready as well.
-Add the sugar, soy milk, margarine, corn syrup and molasses to a large saucepan, 4 quart minimum. You don't want this hot sticky stuff boiling over!
-Bring to a boil stirring often and then continue cooking over medium heat while stirring until the candy reaches 245 degrees F.
-Remove the pan from heat and stir in the spice mixture and vanilla. Stir very well to distribute the spices evenly. Then add the nuts and mix them in.
-Pour into your lined baking pan.
-Allow the caramel to cool completely. With a clean and oiled pair of kitchen scissors, snip the caramel into pieces. Wrap each piece individually with cellophane, waxed or parchment paper.
-Give at least two thirds away or you'll end up eating the whole batch!

Butternut Squash and Brown Rice Porridge (congee-style)

Before diving into making Christmas sweets I needed some detox food to recover from my Thanksgiving indulgences. My mother made a wonderfully simple squash and rice soup for our Black Friday brunch and I couldn't resist playing with the idea when I got home. I used up one of my smaller butternut squash with short grain brown rice. After they cooked together to make a creamy porridge I topped it with green onions, fresh ginger, soy sauce and fried locally-grown shiitake mushrooms. It was savory and comforting and was the perfect stomach healing food I craved. I also tried out a variation with brown sugar and Earth Balance margarine for my son. Alas, he objected to the squash, which is usually a favorite vegetable of him. I thought it was pretty tasty myself but not as appealing as the savory version. Here is what I did:

Butternut Squash and Brown Rice Porridge
Based on this recipe for Yum Yum Brown Rice Congee
Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup short brown rice
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup peeled and diced (1/2 inch dice) butternut squash, other squash or pumpkin
toppings (suggestions listed at the end)

-Add the brown rice, salt and water to a small soup pot. Bring to a boil, stir and then reduce the heat to a strong simmer. Cook covered for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
-Add in the squash and bring back to a strong simmer. Cook covered for another 30-45 minutes until the squash is tender.
-Top with your desired toppings and serve warm.

Optional toppings:
-sliced green onion, fried shiitake mushrooms, freshly grated ginger, soy sauce, chili oil
-brown sugar and butter (or EB)
-if I had some I would have tried some kim chee and a poached egg or maybe

Another variation with brown sugar and Earth Balance margarine
(real butter or a splash of cream would be even better if you can have them)
This week's 9 Bean Rows share: (clockwise from top)
bok choi, parsley and rosemary, rye bread (my favorite), apples, potatoes, salad greens and kale
*note the cat tail and rear, they were eager to be fed
It's been ages since I posted a shot of Abbie.
She likes to annoy me by sitting on the counter, where she isn't supposed to be, and chewing on the squash stems.