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Cooking with Mother Goose: Ramp and Asparagus Straciatella

Cooking with Mother Goose: A series of occasional posts inspired by children's stories and rhymes.

Jack Sprat

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean.
So betwixt them both, you see,
they licked the platter clean.

My eating mood this spring has matched the weather. On any given day, I'm not really sure whether I want to eat something hot or cold, something wintery or something springy. The only thing I am sure of is that I want to take advantage of all the great spring produce that is beginning to pop up.



Last week, I bought some of those harbingers of spring -- ramps -- and some asparagus at the same time. And I got it stuck in my head that I wanted to serve them together. If you haven't tried ramps, they grow wild in these mid-Atlantic states and have a fresh, garlicky flavor. They can go into pesto, an omelette, or sprinkled over a salad.

Thinking about pairing them with eggs brought to mind a spring soup that we made years ago. It was an asparagus straciatella, an Italian soup with egg and parmesan whipped in. For years, it was the only way that Olivia would eat asparagus, but we hadn't made it in a long time. My ramps were a bit banged up, too, so throwing them into a soup seemed like a good solution.

The ramps added great flavor to the soup which suited my mood this cool spring: a hot soup with spring flavors. Olivia was happy to see the soup, but the other two kiddies, not so much.

Oscar didn't want to eat the asparagus, but poked around it with his spoon to get to the eggy broth. Chloe didn't like the broth, but picked all of the asparagus out with a fork. Neither of them finished an entire bowl of soup, but between the two of them... Well, you get the idea.

Next time they'll only get one bowl. No doubt, the writer of "Jack Sprat" had children.

2009: Asparagus with Shallot Champagne Vinaigrette
2010: Asparagus and Goat Cheese Frittata
2011: Ramp Pesto
2012: Avocado and Radish Quinoa Salad

Ramp and Asparagus Straciatella

Serves 6

15 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

If you can't find ramps, substitute spring onions or garlic scapes for a similar flavor.

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds fresh asparagus, cleaned, ends snapped off, and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 large bunch ramps, rinsed, ends trimmed, and diced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 large eggs
1 cup shredded parmesan, plus more for serving

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the asparagus and ramps and cook just until the asparagus begins to soften about 3 minutes. Scrape the vegetables out of the pot onto a plate.

Add 10 cups of water to the pot and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits of ramps or asparagus that are stuck to the pot. Bring the water to a boil.

While waiting for the water to boil, whisk the eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add the parmesan and stir again. When the water has begun to boil, whisk the egg mixture in. Add the asparagus and ramps back to the pot and cook until the egg has cooked and the vegetables have heated through, about 3 minutes.

To serve, ladle into bowls and top with a bit more parmesan.

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Watercress and Hot Shiitake Mushroom Salad

I always get a little thrill when I see a new vendor at the farmers' market. Last week at the Silver Spring market, I zeroed right in on the new mushroom stand, North Cove Mushrooms. I zipped over there faster than Buddy runs when he hears food drop off the dining room table.

There were two types of mushrooms, dried oyster mushrooms and fresh shiitakes. I went for the shiitakes with the thought that Gabe and I could add them to a kid-friendly meal to dress it up a little.

Gabe had bought a beautiful bunch of watercress, though, and I started to think that the peppery crunch of the watercress would make a nice contrast to those earthy, tender mushrooms. To add another contrast to the salad, I decided to make a hot dressing and pour it over the watercress to wilt it just slightly (I had that amazing shiitake and spinach salad from Sushi Ko in mind).

When I first served this, the mushrooms and dressing had cooled by the time we ate. It was better the next time, when we ate it while the mushrooms and the dressing were still hot.

We skipped back over to the mushroom vendor again this week and bought even more mushrooms this time. They're still in their brown paper bag in the refrigerator. What should we make next?

2009: Pea Shoot Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
2010: Artichokes with Quick Hollandaise Sauce
2011: Simple Crusty Peasant Wheat Bread
2012: Avocado and Radish Quinoa Salad

Watercress and Hot Shiitake Mushroom Salad

Serves 4 as a side salad
15 minutes preparation time
15 minutes cooking time

1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, and sliced (about 3 cups)
1 large bunch watercress, rinsed (about 6 heaping cups)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, sliced into a few big pieces
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons puffed rice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and spread them as evenly as possible across the pan. Let them sit for a minute or two until the mushrooms sear slightly. Keep cooking, stirring only occasionally so that the mushrooms become golden brown, until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 more minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside.

Just before you are ready to serve the salad, snip the watercress with scissors into bite-sized pieces and arrange it on a platter. (I prefer using scissors rather than a knife because it better keeps the shape of the cress).

If the mushrooms are no longer hot, heat them again in the pan over medium heat just long enough to get them piping hot. Scrape them out of the pan onto the watercress.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any bits of mushroom. When the oil is hot, remove the pan from the heat. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper, and whisk. Drizzle the dressing over the mushrooms and watercress. Sprinkle the puffed rice over the top and serve immediately.

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Dark Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Now that you've read the title to this recipe, is there any way that I convince you that these would make a semi-healthy after school snack?

Here's my pitch. Chocolate has become practically a health food. It has been touted as having all kinds of health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and helping prevent heart disease. It also reportedly improves cognitive functioning and reduces the incidence of stroke. Some reports claim that it reduces blood sugar and staves off cancer. Here's WebMd's article on the subject, and one from the Cleveland Clinic.




Almost enough to make you want to put down the kale and reach for a piece of chocolate, isn't it?

The recipe also has very little added sugar or butter. Sure, there is some, but if we stick to that adage our mothers taught us, "everything in moderation," it's not too bad.

Still not convinced? Well, then, just go for it. New Years' resolutions were so long ago I can't even remember mine. Besides, if your resolution wasn't "eat more chocolate," it's not too late to change it.

2009: Candied Ginger Scones
2010: Coeur à la Crème
2011: Green Rhubarb Galette
2012: Rhubarb Shortcakes

Dark Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Adapted from Alice Medrich's Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies
20 minutes preparation time
30 minutes baking time

8 ounces dark chocolate (with 60% or greater cacao), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Bring a medium-sized stock pot of water to a simmer. Place a heatproof bowl over it and add the chocolate and butter. Stir the chocolate and butter occasionally until they have melted together. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. When the chocolate mixture is cool to the touch, add it to the egg and sugar mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the flour mixture. Add the nuts and mix again until they are evenly distributed.

Scoop out generous tablespoons of dough and arrange them on the cookie sheets about an inch apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the outside of the cookies is dry and begins to crack. Remove from the oven and let cool.

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Kale and Clementine Salad

Raw kale salads are everywhere now and I'm jumping onto the bandwagon. In experimenting with this recipe, I tried a few different approaches to preparing the kale. First I tried just adding the dressing to the kale. This wasn't bad, but the dressing didn't incorporate very well into the salad and didn't do much to soften the kale.

One recipe I found calls for pouring boiling over the kale to soften it. I liked this approach because it was straightforward. The salad tasted good and the kale was a bit softer, but, again, the dressing mostly ended up in the bottom of the bowl.

The last approach I tried was massaging the dressing into the kale. I resisted this approach because, well, kale just didn't seem like something I wanted to massage. I barely have time to massage the people that I love and only rarely -- and usually as the result of a gift -- have I had a massage myself. So, kale? Who has time for that?

But when my other approaches didn't work, I resigned to give it a try. The good news/bad news is that it worked very well. The dressing incorporated well into the kale and along the way, it softened the kale just a touch. The kale was still good and chewy, but the massaging took the edge off. The even better news is that it really didn't take that long. Just a few minutes of working the kale with my fingers was enough to get the job done.

This salad has been perfect for this time of year, when I'm craving the taste of spring, but the spring vegetables aren't yet available at the farmers' market. There is still a lot of kale available, but, instead of cooking it into a heavier dish, eating it raw freshens it up. The citrus and sweetness of the clementines is a bright foil for the kale, too, giving the salad a lighter touch that has seemed just right to us as the days get longer and warmer.

And when I say "us," no, I do not mean the kiddies. Although Olivia and Chloe do like kale, they haven't been wild about this salad. But Gabe and I have been happily munching through it, feeling it do its work as the antidote to the excesses of many birthday celebrations and vacation eating.
2009: Kale Chips
2010: Greens and Basil Risotto
2011: Green Lasagne
2012: Green Apple Fizz

Kale and Clementine Salad
15-20 minutes preparation time

Unlike lettuce salads, this salad can be made in advance. The salad keeps well after the dressing has been added, even for a day or two.

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch kale (about 8 cups after it is sliced)
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 clementines, peeled and broken into sections

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and soy sauce. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously.

Remove the spines from the kale. Lay the pieces flat on a cutting board and slice the kale across into very, very thin strips. Toss the kale strips in a salad bowl with the dressing, rubbing the leaves between your fingertips until all of the dressing is incorporated.

Add the scallions and clementine sections, and toss gently. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a day or so.

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Weekend Snapshots: Bottling at Black Ankle Vineyards

It had been a long time since we went up to see the farm at Black Ankle, but we have a French student intern, Charlotte, staying with us and having visitors always motivates us to do less work and have more fun.

Sarah has been practically living up at the farm for the last several days, and a visit there was also a good way to get to see my sister. Saturday was the last of three days of bottling, which is an expecially exciting time to visit.

Because the amount of wine Black Ankle produces is relatively small and the cost of a bottling operation is very high, Sarah and Ed hire a mobile bottling company, Landwirt Bottling, to come every year to bottle their wines. The entire operation is housed inside the bed of an 18-wheeler. They pull into the vineyard, set up their assembly line and bottle until the job is done. Then they close the doors and move on to the next small vineyard.

Watching the bottles move through the assembly line is like watching a kinetic scuplture. Parts are moving constantly. The empty bottles come out of the boxes and are loaded onto the conveyor belt. The contraption then flips the bottles upside down, washes them, and fills them with carbon dioxide to flush out the oxygen. The bottles get filled, and the level of each bottle is measured to make sure they are all the same. Any extra gets siphoned off.

The wine is then topped off with carbon dioxide, the corks go in, and the capsuls are dropped on and stamped on tight.

Towards the end of the line, the labels get put on. One mechanism affixes them and a roller then pushes them on firmly, front labels first and back labels second.

The bottles then wind their way back to the beginning where their boxes are waiting for them. The boxes get loaded with filled bottles and then sent out of the truck on a conveyor belt. At the other end of the belt, the boxes are loaded onto pallets and, when each pallet is full, it gets taken into storage on a forklift.

We got in on the action, "helping" during the end stages, boxing up the filled bottles, sending them down the conveyor belt into the winery for storage, and labeling the boxes. It was just like "I Love Lucy" with the chocolates, making sure that the bottles got into the boxes as fast as they came down the assembly line.

The drawback of the assembly line is that if one falls, the rest go down like dominos. We did lose one bottle that way. One tipped over and I tried to stop the rest from falling, but my reactions weren't fast enough. It was miserable to see all that hard work spilling onto the conveyor belt and floor.

But at least we didn't have to stuff any into our mouths to keep up.

Chloe's Cinnamon Apples

We've had a few bad apple years here. Not that the apples have been bad, but it has been hard for all of us to enjoy them. Loose teeth, missing teeth, and braces all have inhibited  that glorious seasonal tradition of biting into a crisp apple.

I began slicing the apples for the children's snacks, but they didn't have the same appeal for lunch. The kids pack their lunches in the evening and by the next day at lunch, the apples are brown with that just-over-the-edge-of-ripeness smell.

When I was packing a snack for a hike recently, I wanted to bring along some apples but faced the same problem. I thought of tossing the apple slices with a bit of lemon juice, but knew Chloe would object if they were too tart. My compromise was to add a sprinkle of brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon for good measure.




The result tasted like apple pie filling before being cooked, and it was a big hit.

Chloe has been the biggest fan and has gotten very good at making them herself. She slices them right into a storage container, adds the lemon jiuce, sugar, and cinnamon, puts on the top and gives the whole thing a shake. Presto! They're done and she pops them in the fridge to be enjoyed over the next couple of days.





Now the only bad apples in our house are of the human variety.

2009: Butter Crackers
2010: Crêpes
2011: Clementine Sorbet
2012: Lemon Cake Squared (Have the leftovers from Olivia's birthday party in the fridge!)

Chloe's Cinnamon Apples

Serves 4 for lunch or snack
15 minutes preparation time

2 whole apples, washed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon

Slice the apples into quarters and remove the cores. Slice each quarter into 2 or 3 more pieces. If making these for later, put the slices in a storage container, add the lemon, sugar, and cinnamon, and put the top on. Shake gently until the apples are uniformly coated.

Alternatively, slice the apples into a bowl, and the remaining ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon until the apples are completely coated with the cinnamon sugar.

The apples will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

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Happy Birthday, Olivia

Happy birthday, Olivia!

You are creative, smart, funny, talented, and courageous. You have a never-ending supply of great ideas and do not hesitate to grab life by the horns and dive right in.

Now that you are a teenager (!), I can't wait to watch as you move these exciting next years.

I am so lucky to be your mother and to have a front row seat to watch as you become an ever-more-fabulous person.

Happy Birthday, Oscar

There he was with those chubby cheeks and beautiful smile. Blink, blink, and now he's 11.

Happy birthday, Oscar. You are smart, funny, curious, full of interesting facts, a shrewd card player, an enterprising cook, and all-around excellent company. It has been such a gift to know you and I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

And even though your cheeks are less chubby, you still have that smile.

Weekend Snapshots: New York, New York

Lavender Truffles

Sometimes, you plan to volunteer on a committee at school or in the community, help out a bit, give a few hours of time to a cause.

It starts slowly and you are curious so you ask lots of questions. Everything is new to you and the more you learn, the more there is to learn. You ask more questions and dig deeper, but things still don't fit together. You do research, talk to others, and analyze data. Suddenly, you begin to understand, but you do not like what you have learned. The explanations don't make sense. You analyze, and ask, and brainstorm, and try to find ways to solve the problem, to get the fairest outcome for the most people.

But it doesn't seem to be going your way. There are too many hidden agendas, too many others, advocating for their own interests behind the scenes. You don't know who is making the decisions and aren't sure how to best press your case.

It does not seem fair, and you go from learning to advocating. You write e-mails and letters along with others who feel the same way. You attend evening meetings, go to bed discouraged or optimistic, and wake up again, ready to do more.

It is energizing and hopeful one day, and you enjoy collaborating with others, making new friends and allies. The next day, you are exhausted and defeated, frustrated that so much effort has gotten nowhere.

You think, "in a few days, this will be resolved," but in a few days, it has not ended. You think again, "by next week, it will be over."

And it will be. But it's not over yet, and now you are obsessed.

You are in up to your eyeballs. In for a penny, in for a pound. Giving it your all. Going whole hog.

Which is my way of saying that my plan was to get you this recipe for Valentine's Day, but things have gotten in the way.

It's never too late for chocolate, though. And it is an excellent boost of energy to get you through that meeting, to prop you up for one more e-mail, or to inspire one more brainstorm.

2009: Vanilla Bean Pudding
2010: Chocoalte Shortcake with Blood Orange Sauce
2011: Flourless Chocolate Cake
2012: Chocolate Shortbread Ganache Bars

Lavender Truffles
Adapted from Gourmet

 

Truffles are incredibly easy to make and the result is a delightful little nibble that you can serve at a party, take to a meeting, or package up for a gift.

Makes 2-3 dozen truffles
1 1/2 hours preparation time, plus 1 hour chilling time

6 ounces high quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon lavender
3-4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small stockpot or in the microwave until it is hot, but not simmering. Add the lavender and let it steep in the cream for 10 or more minutes.

Heat the cream again so that it is hot but not to the point of boiling, and pour it through a strainer over the chocolate. Mash the chocolate into the cream with a wooden spoon until it is fully incorporated.

If the chocolate doesn't melt in completely, put a pan of water on the stove top and bring it to a simmer. Set the bowl with the chocolate and cream over the pan of water and stir until the chocolate has all melted. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy. It will not look like a huge amount of the chocolate mixture, but the truffles are small, and they are intense, so there will be plenty.

Put the bowl in the freezer and let it chill for at least half an hour. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. When the chocolate mixture has hardened, scoop out teaspoon-sized portions of the mixture and roll each portion between your hands to form a ball. Don't worry if the ball isn't perfect.

Continue scooping and rolling until you have rolled out all of the truffles and place them on the cookie sheet. If the mixture begins to get so soft that it is melting all over your hands as you roll, return it to the freezer.

When you have finished rolling out all the truffles, put the cookie sheet in the freezer again for 20 to 30 minutes.

Put 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder in a small shallow bowl. Remove the truffles from the freezer. Put three or so truffles in the bowl at a time and swirl the truffles around in the bowl until they are completely coated in cocoa powder. Repeat until all of the truffles are coated, adding additional cocoa powder as needed, one tablespoon at a time.

If you have small paper cups, put one truffle in each; otherwise, layer the truffles in a storage container between sheets of wax or parchment paper. The truffles will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

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Delicata Squash and Stilton Pizza

While we're on the subject of foods that my children won't eat, here's another one that I have been loving.

On Friday night pizza night, my dilemma is that if I make the pizza to please everyone, we will end up with tomato and mozzarella pizza. Always. And Only.

There's a reason that that classic combination has endured, and I am a fan. But it's the lowest common denominator of pizzas, really. The pizza that appeals to everyone. No matter how good it is, something about its universal appeal tempts me to get in there and mix it up.

I usually just see what is languishing in the vegetable bin or the cheese drawer, or what leftovers are hiding in the back of the refrigerator. Pizza is a great way to use up the odds and ends. Sometimes the combinations work and sometimes they don't, but it is always fun to play.

One night I had a bit of delicata squash left over and I decided to try slicing it thinly to see whether it would cook sufficiently in the 10 minutes or so that it takes to cook the pizza. Delicata squash is great to cook with because it doesn't have to be peeled; the rind is tender enough to eat. I had a bit of Stilton on hand and some sage wintering over in the yard. Thrown together, they were quite tasty: the sweetness of the squash was a great foil for the earthy sage and tangy Stilton.

Because squash and Stilton will send Chloe and -- depending on the day, Oscar -- in the opposite direction there was plenty left for those of us that wanted more adventure on the plate.

2009: Sage Risotto with Wild Mushrooms
2010: Cauliflower Soup with Stilton
2011: Caramelized Onion Dip
2012: Curried Apple Slaw

Delicata Squash and Stilton Pizza

We prefer a light touch on the toppings and the measurements for the toppings on this pizza reflect that. If you prefer a cheesier pizza, add some mozzarella, too.

1 batch pizza dough (this is our favorite)
one medium delicata squash, scrubbed
olive oil for drizzling
4-5 ounces Stilton, crumbled
4-5 ounces mozzarella (optional)
handful of sage leaves, torn
pinch of sea salt

Make the dough ahead and when you are ready to cook the pizza, place a pizza stone or baking tiles in the oven and heat the oven to as high as your oven will go (usually about 450 to 500 degrees).

Lay a piece of parchment paper on a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Roll out the dough and transfer it onto the parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil over the dough and spread it evenly with a rubber spatula.

Cut the delicata squash in half and set half aside for another use. Scoop the seeds out of the middle of the squash with a spoon. Slice the delicata thinly into rings. Arrange the rings on top of the dough and sprinkle with salt. Flip the rings over. This is my cheaters way of coating both sides of the rings with a bit of olive oil.

Sprinkle on the Stilton and the sage leaves and the mozzarella, if you are using it. Transfer the pizza on the parchment paper onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust is lightly brown and the cheese has melted, 8-12 minutes.

 Print Recipe

Shiitake Mushroom Soup with Parsley Pesto

Our children have staged a soup mutiny.

Gabe and I have been coasting along, doing our usual winter thing of working through the rotation of our favorite soups. We recently have made caldo verde, minestrone, creamy tomato soup, and of course, that timeless classic, potato-leek soup. And more.

But when I said this weekend that I planned to make a butternut squash soup this week, there was a revolt. A revolt of the tween variety, with eye rolling, deep sighs, and dramatic pleas."Please, please, PLEASE, not another soup!" Accompanied by head flopping onto the table forehead first.

Apparently they are tired of soup.

In that case, we may as well make something that they won't eat anyway. Mushrooms were the obvious choice.

I came across a recipe for a creamy mushroom soup in the New York Times and it fit the bill for a parents-only soup. I tweaked it a bit, of course, skipping the step of making separate stock and adding a parsley pesto on top. The soup ended up being just what I wanted for the latest wine club recipe card for Black Ankle's just-released 2010 Leaf Stone Syrah, a big bold wine that complemented the meatiness of the mushrooms.

They can have their plain pasta and baby carrots. We're slurping soup and sipping wine.

2009: Roasted Shallot and Buttercup Squash Soup
2010: Creamy Lettuce Soup
2011: Lemongrass Noodle Soup with Chile-Garlic Paste
2012: Lemony White Bean Soup

Shiitake Mushroom Soup with Parsley Pesto

To accompany Black Ankle's 2010 Leaf Stone Syrah

This mushroom soup is hearty and richly flavored, although it uses milk rather than cream. The parsley pesto is optional, but it adds a pop of freshness to the earthy mushrooms. For a more elegant soup, you can strain the soup through a sieve or run it through a food mill. You will lose some volume, but served in a dainty tea cup it would make the perfect first course for a dinner party. If you have extra parsley pesto, it would is excellent tossed onto a salad or boiled potatoes, tucked into an omelette, or spread on a sandwich.

Adapted liberally from Jeremy Bearman's recipe in The New York Times
Serves 6 as a first course
20 minutes preparation time
40 minutes cooking time

For the soup:
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds shiitake and crimini mushrooms, brushed and sliced
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large leek, white and light green parts, cleaned and chopped
8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
salt and pepper
10 cups vegetable stock
2 cups whole milk

For the parsley pesto:
2 cups fresh parsley leaves and stems, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup olive oil
pinch of salt

To make the soup, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and let them sit for a minute or two before stirring them. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly browned and significantly reduced in size, about 15 minutes. If the pan starts to get too brown as the mushrooms are cooking, add a splash of water and scrape it with a wooden spoon to loosen the caramelized coating.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the celery, onion, leeks, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and sage. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper. Cook until the celery, onion, and leeks have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring the soup to a simmer. Simmer until all the vegetables are meltingly soft, 20 to 30 minutes.

While the soup simmers, make the parsley pesto. Add the parsley, olive oil, and a pinch of salt to a blender and blend until the parsley has all been incorporated into the oil.

Purée the soup with an immersion blender until all of the vegetables are uniformly tiny. (If you would like a more refined soup, strain the soup by placing a mesh sieve over a heat-proof bowl. working in batches, ladle the soup into the sieve and use a spoon to stir and mash the mushroom mixture to release the liquid. Remove the solids and save them to make stock if you like. Repeat until all of the soup has been strained).

Add the milk to the soup and stir. Just before serving, heat the soup over low heat. Try not to boil the soup or the milk will scald. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and top with several small dollops of the parsley pesto.

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Anita's Apple Crisp

There are some days when you just need to wallow in it. There are days when the loss or grief that is lurking right under the surface needs to be let out. Normally, you keep it together, moving through the day, talking, doing, even laughing. But it is there. Always.

Maybe you tell someone. Maybe it's a friend or maybe it's someone you barely know who asks you how you are. And you really tell her. Surprise! But instead of running in the other direction, she nods and tells you that she too is carrying a loss. And you cry, but still, acknowledging the hurt feels better than always trying to forget it.

And you realize how many people are walking around with those holes. They are all out there, people who are missing and hurting and wondering how this could have happened.

Some days, you just need to wallow. You hand the kids off to a spouse, you take them to a neighbor, or you lock yourself in the bathroom for a few minutes. Or, maybe, if they are old enough, you tell them that you are sad and that you need some time to sit still.

Then you let yourself feel that sadness, that loss. You think about her and remember her, the conversations you had, her smile, her laugh.

You remember his voice and how he looked when he talked about something he loved. You remember the first time you met and the first time you had a real conversation. You remember a joke he told and an expression that he loved to use.

You remember what it felt like to be with her, how you felt. You walk through those memories, and even though it hurts, you revel in being with her again.

Then you unlock the door, dry your tears, and walk back to join those who are still here. You make something delicious and sit together to eat. Or you talk. Or walk. Or you play a game or read a book.

And even though that hole is still there, you are okay.

2009: Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes (my first recipe ever!)
2010: Robin's Egg Meringues
2011: Molasses Cookies
2012: Mom's Apple Butter

Anita's Apple Crisp

Serves 8
20 minutes preparation time
40-45 minutes baking time

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into several small pieces
2 pounds apples (6 medium), peeled, cored, and diced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

vanilla ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Measure the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt into a small bowl. Stir them together with a fork. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture looks moist and there are no longer any apparent lumps of butter. Set aside.

Arrange the apples in a 2-quart baking dish. Add the lemon juice and stir. Sprinkle the sugar on top of the apples and stir again. Sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over the apples.

Bake until the the apples are completely soft and the topping is brown and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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Roasted Cauliflower and Turnip Soup with Crispy Turnip Leaves

Driving home from the inauguration yesterday, our three kids were in the back of the car, waving their flags, giggling, cracking jokes. Limbs were sprawled over each other and heads lolled onto shoulders. It was rowdy and raucous. Listening to them, I was heartened by their togetherness and their ability to make each other laugh.

But I was also nervous that someone would go too far and cross that line that had been crossed before and before and before. Those squeals of delight would turn into accusations and the mood would be broken.

We made it home, though, and after Gabe and I went into the house, the children stayed shoe-horned into the back of the car, talking together about who-knows-what.

It was a metaphor for the day, that togetherness.

Unity. United States. United We Stand.

When we are at our best in our non-political lives, we rely on that unity in good and bad times. Communities pull together when tragedy falls. Neighbors dig each other out of snowstorms. Families gather together around the table. In happy times, unity is cause for celebration; in difficult ones, it sustains us.

And for a day -- even in Washington -- unity was the theme. I was swept up in it and optimistic that if we pull together in our communities and as a country, we can overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges that we face today.

At least for now, I'm feeling the promise that unity can bring. We are in this together.

Richard Blanco's "One Today" said it so eloquently, ending on a high note.

We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always -- home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country -- all of us --
facing the stars
hope -- a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it -- together

2009: Black Bean and Monterey Jack Casserole
2010: Orange-Soy Tofu
2011: Warm Garlicky Lentil and Potato Salad
2012: Simple Creamy Tomato Soup

Roasted Cauliflower and Turnip Soup with Crispy Turnip Leaves

20 minutes preparation time
approximately 60 minutes cooking time

This soup is made with the vegetables of the season, roasted first to give the soup that rich, earthy flavor. We liked this combination, but feel free to substitute the vegetables that you find at the market on your next visit, carrots, greens, sweet potatoes would all make interesting additions.

There is no need to peel the potatoes or turnips. Just scrub them well and trim off the turnip stem and roots.

1 small cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
6 medium turnips with their greens
4 large potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper
1 head of garlic
1 quart vegetable stock
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the turnip greens off of the turnips. Set aside. Scrub the turnip bulbs and cut them into cubes. Put them in one side of a baking dish. Put the cubed potatoes on the other side. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables, sprinkle on some salt and pepper, and mix.

Cut the top off the head of garlic so that the tops of the individual cloves inside are exposed. Wrap the head tightly in foil and put it in the pan with the vegetables.

In another pan, toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the vegetables, stirring them a few times, until they are browned and tender. The cauliflower will be done first, after 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the florets. The potatoes and turnips will take a bit longer. The garlic will likely be last and will be done when the individual cloves are lightly brown and soft enough to spread.

When the vegetables have finished roasting, remove them from the oven and add them to a soup pot. If necessary, add a few splashes of water to the pan to loosen any caramelized bits. Add that water to the soup pot. Slip the garlic cloves out of their skins and add them to the pot, too. Add the vegetable stock and enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer and until the vegetables are very soft, about 20 minutes.

Taste and add salt and pepper. Purée with an immersion blender.

While the soup is cooking, arrange the turnip greens on a baking sheet and toss them with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Toast them until they are crisp and dark, but not black. Watch them carefully; they should take 7-10 minutes.

Serve the soup in individual bowls and add a turnip leaf or two to the bowl for garnish.

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Galette des Rois

Happy New Year! I hope you all had some great times with family and friends over the past couple of weeks.

Our holidays were fun but hectic. My sister, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, and uncle were all in town and having them all here felt so right, so like the crazy big Christmas of my dreams. We had loads of big family dinners, played a thousand games, drank enough wine to make Bacchus proud, and ate whatever we wanted.

My heart is full, but my body is tired. Getting back into a routine for school and work at the end of this week was a challenge. At least the weekend is here again so we can all get a bit more rest.

My stomach feels the most worn out. Three out of five of us have gotten some type of stomach malady. I'm not sure if it's a virus or a case of too-much-holiday, but either way, there has been a peak in the consumption of crackers, rice, and toast.

But before the 12 days of Christmas are finished, we (at least those of us whose stomachs are up to the task) will squeeze in one more treat: the Galette des Rois for Three Kings Day, the day that marks the official end of the holiday season.

The tradition is to bake a bean inside the cake. When serving the cake, the youngest person in the room goes under the table and dictates who gets each piece. The person who gets the bean becomes king for a day.

This recipe came to me from my friend Andrea and it has now become a family tradition. It was the first thing I cooked on our new stove at the end of our kitchen renovation so it has a special place in our family lore now.

Now that the holidays are officially over for us, we can turn to some healthier eating, at least long enough to counteract the effects of the holiday excess.

2010: Pear and Almond Cake
2011: Spiced Roasted Pears
2012: Mom's Apple Butter

 

Galette des Rois

 

Although this cake is not difficult to make, it requires advance planning because the filling has to freeze overnight before baking. I have given precise measurements for the sizes of the filling and the pastry, but you don't need to be too tied to them. The idea is just that the filling will be small enough to fit inside the pastry and the bottom sheet of pastry should be big enough to pull over the top piece of pastry and crimped.

When you assemble the cake, make sure to mark the spot subtly so that you (and only you) know where the bean is. That way, if you don't serve the entire cake at once, you can be sure that someone will still get to be king.

30 minutes preparation time, plus overnight to freeze the filling and 30 minutes to chill
1 hour baking time
Serves 8-10

6 tablespoons butter, softened
7 ounces almond paste
3 large eggs, divided
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons flour
1 14-ounce package puff pastry
1 bean

Put the butter, almond paste, 2 of the eggs, lemon zest, and flour in the bowl of a mixer. Mix on low speed until the ingredients begin to blend together. Turn the mixer up to medium and mix until the ingredients cream together into a consistent texture, although it will not be completely smooth because there will be small lumps from the almond paste.

Lay a sheet of parchment orwax  paper on a baking sheet. Turn the mixture onto the paper and with a rubber spatula, spread it into an 8-inch round circle. Cover with another sheet of parchment or wax paper and freeze overnight. If the puff pastry is frozen, put it in the refrigerator now so that it can overnight.

When you are ready to bake the cake, remove the pastry from the packaging and unfold it onto a lightly floured counter. Cut it in half. Roll half on the floured counter until all sides measure at least 10 inches.Trim the pastry so that a 9-inch circle remains. Save the scraps. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet with sides or a jelly roll pan.

Remove the filling from the freezer, unwrap it, and lay it on top of the puff pastry. Place a bean on top of the filling.

Roll out the second piece of pastry into a 9-inch circle. Transfer it to the top of the filling. Gently pull the bottom piece of pastry up over the top piece and crimp it tightly together. Make a subtle mark where the bean is so that you know where it is. You want as tight a seal as possible so that the filling doesn't leak out as it cooks. Cut a design, such as a crown, and lay it on top of the cake. Use the decoration to mark the spot where the bean is. I like to point the longest prong of the crown towards the bean.

Mix together the remaining egg and a spoonful of water. Brush the cake lightly with the egg glaze (you won't need it all). Put the cake back into the refrigerator to chill for about half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. After the cake has chilled, bake it at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. If the top starts to get too dark, cover the cake with foil. After 45 minutes, with the cake still in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 15 minutes. The pastry on top should be golden brown and dry to the touch.

When the cake has finished baking, let it cool for a few minutes before cutting into it.

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Merry Christmas 2012

It wouldn't be the wee hours of Christmas morning if my back weren't aching and my eyes bleary. But the finishing touches have been added to the secret projects that I finished, and I'm letting go of those projects that I wasn't able to finish (or am I? There are 12 days, after all...). For now, anyway, the presents are wrapped, our traditional Christmas brioche is waiting for morning in the refrigerator, and the torta rustica is ready for dinner.

Even though I'm beat, I find myself nearly as excited as the children. I can't wait to watch people open their gifts and I am eager to see all our family members who are coming to visit over the next few days. I cherish these holidays when there is time for sitting and chatting and playing. Off to sleep, then, so that I have some energy to take it all in tomorrow.

I wish you all the merriest of Christmases and peace and love in the new year.

2012 Gift Guide

We are scurrying around preparing for our holiday gift giving. Sometimes the best gifts aren't gifts at all. One of our favorite things to prepare and give is the scavenger hunt we have done with the local cousins. We give them a series of clues that takes them around the neighborhood, and at the end there are coupons for each child. A pedicure for our girly-girl, a night out for sushi with that rail thin boy who can eat his weight in California rolls. Very fun.

If you're willing to share, please leave your gift ideas in the comments. I'd love to hear them and I'm sure other readers would too.

When we do shop, we try to support small businesses or shop locally so here are my ideas for this holiday season.

Etsy is the e-version of shopping locally, so that was my first stop. 

~ Cheese-Making Kit

Since we consume our body weight in mozzarella each year, it would be fun to try making our own with a Mozzarella or Ricotta Kit from Urban Cheesecraft.

~ Aprons

My favorite aprons from my waitressing days were bistro-style ones and MBTC has them in styles designed to appeal to both women and men, although I'd be a fan of mixing them up a bit. 

Sometimes I want the coverage of a full apron, though, and I would have a tough time deciding between the classic lines and designs of this pin stripe apron and one of the girly-fun aprons from Handmade Whimzy like the one above. Or maybe one like this retro one from Creative Chics which would make me smile every time I put it on.

~ Tea Towels

We never have enough cotton dish towels and MBTC offers a variety of colors and quotes, but that Miss Piggy quote would be right at home in our vegetarian household. A set of 4 gets you a decent discount.

French Silver's etsy shop also offers simple tea towels, with just enough of a design to make them fun to use. 

~ Cookbooks

For cookbooks, I have my eye on Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem. Ottolenghi's Plenty has become one of my favorite cookbooks so I'm eager to see what he's cooking up now.

I'd also love to get Melissa Clark's Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make. Her weekly column in the New York Times is always tempting, and her approach to cooking is just my style.

Deb Perlman from Smitten Kitchen has a cookbook out, and, when I saw her at Politics and Prose, I was lucky to get a book before they sold out. The place was standing room only, a testament to the popularity of her recipes. Everything that we have made from the book so far has been delish.

The second cookbook from the online site Food52 is also out. I haven't bought it yet, but the site is fast becoming a favorite resource for recipes. Watch out, epicurious.

Of course, any of these cookbooks could be ordered on line, but I have to make a plug for independent bookstores. My favorite in this area is Politics and Prose. If you call them now, you can order any books they don't have in stock and they'll be waiting for you to pick up in a few days. If you have time when you pop in to pick up the books, consult their amazing staff for help with gift ideas. That aunt who likes llamas, cures her own olives, and reads only historical fiction? They'll have just the book for her.

~ Magazines

I just discovered the magazine, Chop Chop, which is designed for familes that cook. How perfect is that? Now, I just have decide who to give it to. If I were picking a magazine for myself, I'd go for Cooks Illustrated. I've become a big fan of their cookbooks, with their wonky, scientific approach to cooking, and it would be fun to get a dose of that every month.

~ Fun, Flora, and Fashion

Stepping out of the kitchen, I have to give a plug to some of my favorite local businesses. For the knitter or crocheter on your list, check out Susquehanna Knitting, which offers a beautiful selection of yarn, and Beth's customer service is top notch.

Mary at The Abundant Backyard offers beautiful seasonal arrangements that would make a fantastic hostess gift or make a lovely decoration for your door or table. You can see some of the designs and contact her through her site. Aren't those skates adorable?

For someone special on your list, there is nothing more fun than a consultation with Rosana at DC Style Factory. She offers a full range of services for men and women from a closet audit to a shopping excursion to find a particular outfit to a complete wardrobe overhaul. She helped me "shop my closet" last week, pulling together an infinite number of outfits from the clothes I already own. And she is very gentle and tactful. She never says, "Why on earth are you still hanging onto that?" although I certainly have given her cause. And when she leaves, you'll have a new spring in your step.

Have fun!

Pumpkin Pie

I love that pumpkin tarte tartin, it's true, but still, there's something about the creamy tradition of pumpkin pie. I've just gotta have it on Thanksgiving.

I've been testing and tweaking my pumpkin pie recipe for years, trying to get it just right. To me, the perfect pumpkin pie is smooth and creamy with a crisp crust. It should have all of those great fall spice flavors, but they shouldn't be so overwhelming that you can't taste the pumpkin. I also like just a hint of brightness to add a bit of pop.

Last year, on Food 52, there was a recipe for pumpkin pie from Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, a book I did not know. The article described the flavor as pumpkin-y, the texture as smooth, and the cooking time as quick. It all sounded good to me. I tried the recipe, but decided it needed a little extra something to bring up the flavors. I added a touch of fresh lemon zest and fresh ginger and it added just that touch of dazzle that I wanted while still keeping the intense pumpkin flavor. Interestingly, that citrus-y flavor receded after a couple of days in the refrigerator so keep that in mind while planning when to make the pie.

I also deviated from the recipe by pre-baking the crust. Although the recipe indicated that the crust did not need to be baked first, I didn't want to end up with a mushy crust, so I did blind bake mine, cutting back the baking time so that the crust didn't get too dark.

Note that this is the same crust as for the sweet potato and cranberry tart, or my un-corny pecan pie, so if you are making more than one pie/tart, you could make both crusts at once.

That's it, my friends. My last pre-Thanksgiving recipe. I hope you find something you like among these recipes and, if you decide to give any of it a go, I'd love to hear any questions or comments you have.

Happy cooking!

Pumpkin Pie

The pumpkin can be roasted up to a week in advance, and the dough for the crust can be made several days ahead. If possible, I would bake the pie on Thanksgiving eve or in the morning so that the crust doesn't lose its crunch.

 Adapted from Food 52 from The Encyclopedia of Cooking by Meta Givens
Serves 8
2 hours and 30 minutes preparation time, which includes 1 hour to prepare and bake the crust
    and 1 hour to roast the pumpkin
20-25 minutes baking time

1 pre-baked tart crust*
1 small sugar pumpkin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of cream
2 eggs

additional cream to whip with a touch of sugar and vanilla, for serving

Preheat oven to 425.

Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, and lay it face down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Roast the pumpkin until it is soft, 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let it cool enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh and mash it with a potato masher. The pumpkin can be stored in an airtight container like this for up to a week.

To finish the pie: *Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and follow the instructions for preparing the pre-baked pie crust, but adjust the cooking times as follows: bake the crust covered for 10 minutes, uncover and bake for 5 minutes. 

Measure 2 cups of the mashed pumpkin into a small sauce pan. Cook it over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until it dries out and becomes fragrant. There is no need to add any water or oil because there is plenty of water in the pumpkin.

Mix the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, ginger, and lemon zest together in a small bowl and add them to the pumpkin. Mix the cream, milk, and eggs together in a measuring cup and add it to the pumpkin mixture. Whisk until smooth. Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until there the only jiggle that is left is in the center. If the crust gets dark too quickly, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

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Pumpkin Tarte Tatin

I'm working up a good obsession for Tarte Tatin. Something about that caramelized flavor with fruit and a delicious flaky crust makes me go weak in the knees.

I posted a recipe a while back for pear Tarte Tatin, but with Thanksgiving on the horizon, I thought I should try pumpkin.

I'm glad I did.

You really can't go wrong with caramel. What's not to love about butter and sugar melted together into a sweet golden puddle? It's even better with the pumpkin, which seems to lend itself to those deep caramel flavors.

I know that some people are a bit intimidated by making caramel or Tarte Tatin, but there really is no reason for that. It's quite straightforward.

There are a two points during this recipe that may seem daunting, namely trying to peel that little pumpkin and flipping the tart onto the serving plate. But that pumpkin is way smaller than you are and once you get going you will have it peeled in just a few minutes. And flipping the tart really just takes more courage than skill. Take a deep breath, flip fast, and you will be fine.





Just clear your  mother and small children out of the kitchen before you start on the off chance that an epithet or two flies out of your mouth.

When you're done, you will feel incredibly satisfied by the beautiful tart that you have created. And, most importantly, your taste buds will thank you.

Pumpkin Tarte Tatin

The Tarte can be made a day or two ahead and kept, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. Warm the Tarte on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes at a 300 degree oven just before serving.

30 minutes preparation time, plus an hour to bake the pumpkin and 30 minutes to chill the dough
approximately 40 minutes cooking time

For the dough:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, frozen or chilled and cut into about 10 pieces*
1 egg

For the filling:
1 small sugar pumpkin
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

First, cook and prep the pumpkin: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the top of the pumpkin with a serrated knife. Wrap the pumpkin in foil and bake until it begins to soften, about 40 minutes.

Remove the pumpkin from the oven and carefully unrap the foil. When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, cut it in half from top to bottom and scoop out the seeds. Peel off the skin with a potato peeler. At first, this will seem nearly impossible because the skin is quite hard. Persevere. Once you get going, you will conquer that little pumpkin and the peel will be off in a couple of minutes. Slice the pumpkin into half inch sections from top to bottom. The flesh will be easy to cut but still quite firm.

While the pumpkin is cooking, make the dough: *You have two options here for making the dough. You can use the traditional food processor approach or a new technique that I just learned from Amanda Hesser at Food52. For Amanda's approach, whisk the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Using a stick of frozen butter, unwrap one end and grate it on the largest holes of a box grater. The butter will curl off into small shavings. Keep unwrapping the butter and grating until you have grated the entire stick. Add the butter to the flour mixture, crack the egg on top, and lightly scramble it. Mix everything together with your hands, breaking up any large pieces of butter. Push the dough into the shape of a ball and smash the ball onto the counter. All of the flour may not incorporate at this point, or the ball may crumble apart, but stick with it. Smear the ball across the counter to evenly incorporate the butter. As you do this, work in any flour that didn't incorporate initially. Just do this for as long as it takes to work in all the flour; don't overwork it.

To make the dough in a food processor, pulse the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter ranges in size from that of a small pebble to that of cornmeal. Empty the flour mixture into a bowl, and crack the egg on top. Lightly scramble the egg and then, using your hands, work it into the dough until the dough starts to come together.

Roll the dough into a ball, and then flatten it into a disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes and up to a couple of days.

Assemble and cook the tart: When you are ready to cook the tart, turn the oven to 400 degrees. 

Unwrap the dough and roll it out into a circle that is an inch or two larger than the diameter of your pan.

Heat the butter in an 8 or 9-inch oven-proof skillet over medium heat. When the butter has melted, stir the sugar and salt into the butter and spread them evenly across the pan. 

Add the pumpkin slices one next to the other around the pan. Once you have finished the first layer, fit as many additional slices as you can in a second layer, filling in the gaps between the pumpkin pieces from the first layer. Squeeze in as many as you can because they will reduce slightly in size as they cook. Cut a few sections to fit into the middle of the tart.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook the pumpkin until the sugar turns a rich, dark brown and bubbles, about 5 minutes. Rotate the pan if needed to ensure that the sugar browns evenly. Sprinkle the vanilla over the top of the pumpkin and remove the pan from the heat.

Lift the dough with a spatula or a rolling pin and carefully drape it over the pan. Taking care not to burn your fingers, tuck the edge of the dough along the side of the pan. If you have measured accurately, the dough should just fit with a bit extra to slip down into the sides. If you do what I usually do and roll it a bit too big, just squeeze it into the pan. Don't worry if the dough is a bit lumpy because this will be the underside of the tart when you are done. Place the pan in the oven and let it cook until the crust is lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the oven and let the tart cool for 15 minutes or more. Place a large serving plate over the top of the pan. With oven mitts or pot holders, pick up the pan with the plate on top and quickly flip the pan over so that the tart inverts onto the plate. I recommend that you do this over a surface that is easy to clean (or the sink) because more than once a bit of caramel has oozed out of the side as I flip the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature, ideally with vanilla ice cream.

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Sweet Potato and Cranberry Tart

Years ago -- please don't make me tell you how many -- I worked a waitress at the Spring Mill Cafe outside of Philadelphia. The restaurant was tiny and to prepare for dinner, the owner often had the waitstaff in the kitchen making soups, whisking vinaigrette, juicing oranges, and glazing cakes. Apparently, we also made sweet potato and cranberry tart. The owner also opened a bottle of wine before each meal and we all toasted and sipped before the dinner rush. Maybe that's why I remember my waitressing days so fondly. Or maybe it was the wad of cash that I shoved into my pocket at the end of the night.

Anyway, this tart balances the creamy sweetness of the sweet potato with the tart crispness of the cranberries all in one dish. No reason to serve them separately because they are so much better together. I only add a little bit of sugar to the cranberries so that they remain fairly tart to enhance that contrast. Each bite offers a bit of creaminess and a bit of zest. The yin and yang of Thanksgiving sides.

As Oscar said, it tastes just like Thanksgiving. All these years later, it's still one of my favorites.

There it is, folks. The last of my five-side-dishes-for-Thanksgiving parade. I hope you have found something in these that appeals to you. If you don't get them made by Thanksgiving, they will still make tasty side dishes to some other meals. They will be here, waiting for you, all autumn and winter.

And now that we're done with the savory, we can move on to dessert! I've been cooking up a storm and will have a couple of Thanksgiving dessert recipes for you.

Sweet Potato and Cranberry Tart

Because this side dish is served in a tart shell it is fairly substantial and could stand as a main course for the vegetarians at your table.

The dish can be assembled a day and reheated just before serving in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

30 minutes preparation time, plus 1 hour to prepare and pre-bake the tart crust
30 minutes baking time

1 Pre-Baked Tart Crust
2 large sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup cream
8 ounces (2 cups) cranberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
salt and pepper

Prepare and prebake the tart shell according to these instructions. Slide the tart pan onto a cookie sheet so that it is easier to move without the bottom panel popping out.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into large chunks. Put them in a medium stockpot with a few shakes of salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and drain off the remaining water.

Turn the potatoes into the bowl of a food processor, add the cream, and blend until smooth. If needed to make the sweet potatoes smooth, add some of the reserved cooking water a splash at a time. The puree should be as stiff as possible so that it holds its shape in the tart. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.

In another stockpot, add the cranberries, about a cup of water, the sugar, and the lemon zest. Cover the pot and bring it to a simmer. Keep it covered because as the cranberries cook, they will pop open and you don't want them flying all over your kitchen. Simmer until the cranberries have all popped open and are soft, about 20 minutes. Mash them with a potato masher until the mixture is the texture of a thick fruit jam. If it is too thin, let it simmer for a few more minutes uncovered.

After the tart shell has baked, smooth just over half of the sweet potato mixture over the bottom of the shell, reserving the remaining sweet potato. Next add a layer of the cranberry sauce, spreading it evenly across the top of the sweet potato. There may be more than you need. Reserve a few tablespoons of the cranberry mixture to put on top of the last layer.

Layer the remaining sweet potato on top of the cranberry layer. Don't worry about spreading the layer too evenly; you want some of the cranberry sauce peeking through. Add a few dollops of the remaining cranberry mixture for color.

Bake the tart until it heats through, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

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Autumn Green Salad with Roasted Beets, Pears, and Almonds

I've already confessed that I'm terrible at following through with my intentions to make a snazzy drink for dinner party. I might as well get this out on the table, too: salad is usually an afterthought.

I love, love, love, having salad with dinner or -- even better -- as its own course, but I start with dessert, the most important course, and then usually get sidetracked making the main course and the side dishes.

The next thing you know it's 10 minutes before our guests arrive, we have no salad, and I combing through the bottom of the vegetable bin to see what is left there that I can turn into something salad-worthy. Sometimes the result actually works and is an unusual combination that I never planned. But usually it's less than inspiring.

A little crunch from a fresh green salad is especially key at Thanksgiving to balance out all those soft comfort foods. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, even roasted vegetables. All great stuff but not much there in the way of texture. For us vegetarians, there isn't even the chewiness of the turkey.

This year I'm going to do it right.

This salad uses beets and pears to celebrate the season, alongside fresh greens. I added a bit of arugula for its peppery flavor, but not enough to overwhelm the milder flavors of the pears and beets. I even bought dill. At the store. Instead of frantically dashing out at T minus 3 to the herb garden to see what was still growing, I actually planned in advance and put dill on the list.

I'm guessing that this forethought will be an aberration in my planning approach. But this year, anyway, we'll have a tasty seasonal salad at Thanksgiving.

And now I can turn my attention to dessert.

Autumn Green Salad with Roasted Beets, Pears, and Almonds

The parts of this salad can be made in advance. The beets can be raosted, the almonds toasted, the greens washed, and the dressing whisked. The pears can even be diced a few hours in advance. Just toss them with a bit of the dressing to keep them from turning brown.

Serves 8
20 minutes preparation time
20-40 minutes roasting time

8 handfuls of a mix of seasonal greens and arugula
4 medium-sized beets, red or golden
2 Bosc pears
1/4 cup Champagne or white wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons chopped dill
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Wrap the beets in foil and arrange them on a baking sheet. Roast until the beets are tender. Depending on the size of the beets, this will take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes.

When the beets have cooked, set them aside until they are cool enough to handle. Peel off the foil and slip the skins off with your hands.

Slice the beets into bite-sized chunks. Wash the pears, slice and core them and cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt pepper, and dill.

Put the greens in a large bowl. Add about half of the dressing and toss with the greens. Taste and, if needed, add additional dressing. You may not need it all. Sprinkle the pears, almonds, and beets over the top of the salad.

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Roasted Cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts, with Options

This is the simplest of the side dishes in this week's parade, but if you haven't had these vegetables roasted, you must. Today.

Cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are everywhere these days, from farmers' markets to the grocery store. I love the crazy wild purple and yellow cauliflowers from the farmers' market and the stalk of Brussels sprouts from Trader Joe's.

Roasting cauliflower and Brussels sprouts gives them a deep, rich flavor that is more than worth the 10 minutes it takes to prepare the vegetables and toss them with a bit of olive oil. I am convinced that roasting is the reason that all three of our kids love cauliflower. It hasn't won them over on the Brussels sprouts, but as you know, I do not give up easily. I keep trotting roasted Brussels sprouts out onto the dinner table and one of these days, I expect that, like their mother, they will eat these right out of the pan because they can't wait the three minutes between pulling the pan from the oven and sitting down to dinner.

If you already have enough strong flavors on your Thanksgiving table, just roast some cauliflower or Brussels sprouts with a bit of garlic and salt and, I promise they will not disappoint. But if you want to try something a bit more creative, I've got options.

The first is to toss the roasted vegetables with parsley-lemon-garlic just before serving. It will add freshness and brighten up the flavors, a nice contrast to the earthiness from roasting.

Or you could roast some onions alongside the vegetables, slice them, and toss them with the vegetables and some toasted almonds for a riff on the standard green beans with onion and almonds.

Finally, if you add some pimenton to the vegetables before roasting them, they will develop a deep smoky flavor while cooking. Toss on a few toasted pumpkin seeds after the cooking process and you have a fantastic, but very simple, side dish.

You could also mix it up for Thanksgiving. Serve half of the veggies with the one of the optional enhancements and the other half au naturel. It would be interesting to see which disappear first.

Roasted Cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts

 You can, of course, roast both Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, but cook them in separate pans because the cooking times will vary. The vegetables can be roasted ahead and reheated just before serving. Be sure not to overcook them during the first roasting so that they don't become overly mushy when you reheat them. If you are going with one of the options, add the parsley-lemon-garlic mixture or nuts after reheating.

Serves 8 as a side dish
Approximately 10 minutes preparation time
20-30 minutes roasting time

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets or 6 cups Brussels sprouts, with the ends trimmed off
olive oil for drizzling, approximately 2 tablespoons
2 garlic cloves smashed
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large roasting pan, arrange the cauliflower florets or Brussels sprouts in a single layer. Drizzle on the olive oil, sprinkle some salt and pepper over the top, and mix everything together with the garlic cloves.

Roast until the vegetables are tender but not mushy. The time will depend on the size of your florets or sprouts, but start checking for doneness at about 20 minutes. The vegetables should be easy to pierce with a knife.

Option 1: With Parsley, Lemon, and Garlic

1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Follow the instructions for roasting above.

While the vegetables are roasting, mix the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest together in a small bowl. After the vegetables have finished roasting, toss on the parsley mixture and stir gently to completely coat the vegetables.

Option 2: With Roasted Onion and Almonds

1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, peeled and sliced lengthwise into eighths
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Follow the instructions for roasting above, but add the onion to the roasting pan and roast it alongside the cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts.

While the vegetables are cooking, toast the almonds in a sauté pan over medium heat, tossing them a few times, until they are fragrant and begin to turn golden, 2-3 minutes.

When the vegetables have finished cooking, remove the onion chunks. Let them cool for a minute on a cutting board, then slice them into bite-sized pieces. Toss the onion pieces and almonds back into the vegetables and serve.

Option 3: With Smoked Paprika and Pepitas

2 teaspoons Pimenton (smoked paprika)
1/4 cup shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

In a small bowl, whisk the smoked paprika with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Drizzle the olive oil onto the cauliflower or Brussels sprouts and roast as instructed above.

If the pepitas are not pre-roasted, toast them in a sauté pan, tossing them a few times. Cook until they are fragrant, about 3 minutes.

When the vegetables have finished roasting, add the pepitas and serve.

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Wild Mushroom and Potato Parcels

Picture a platter of small parcels on your buffet table, each wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. A small gift for each guest to untie and enjoy at the table.

The insides are just as fantastic. Laced with tarragon and chives, when opened, these parcels release a fragrant puff of steam, enticing you to inhale another whiff and luring you to dig your fork in so that you can taste that scent. The mushrooms and potatoes cook with the herbs, wine, and cream to create a little pouch of flavor. You have got to give these a try.

The recipe is adapted from a recipe in Plenty. I love that cookbook! I fiddled with the proportions and herbs and I swapped out the anise-flavored liquor in favor of white wine, which was excellent. I don't know about you, but I don't have Pernod lying around my house and I didn't want to buy a bottle just for the few tablespoons that I needed for the recipe. White wine, on the other hand, I have. The dish is also hearty enough that it could be a main course for the vegetarians.

I recommend serving these along side something that will soak up the flavors of the sauce. Mashed potatoes or an herbed rice would be perfect and even a mildly-flavored stuffing would do nicely. Bread would also do the trick. And in our house there is always bread.

Wild Mushroom and Potato Parcels

The potatoes for this recipe can be cooked a day or two ahead and the mushrooms cleaned and sliced. I would wait until Thanksgiving morning to chop the herbs and toss everything together. The parcels can also be assembled in the morning and refrigerated until you are ready to pop them into the oven.

Adapted from Plenty
Serves 8
Approximately 30 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

9 cups of a mix of wild and crimini mushrooms
approximately a dozen baby potatoes
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup chopped chives
1/2 cup chopped tarragon
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes and put them in a medium-sized stockpot with their skins still on. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer until tender. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes, and could be anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes. The potatoes should be tender when sliced with a knife but not too soft because they will cook a bit more when they bake in the parcels. Once the skins begin to burst, they are done. Drain the potatoes into a colander and let them cool.

While the potatoes are cooking, clean the mushrooms with a vegetable brush or a paper towel. Remove any large or woody stems and trim the ends off of any smaller stems. Slice the mushrooms and put them in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix everything together gently so that the mushrooms do not break. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Cut 8 pieces of parchment paper at least 13 inches square. Evenly distribute the mushroom-potato mixture among the squares. Pull up the corners of the parchment paper and scrunch the paper together tightly just above the filling. Tie with cotton twine.

Arrange the parcels on a baking sheet with an inch or so between them. Bake for 17 minutes. (If you re removing straight from the refrigerator to the oven, allow an extra minute or two). Remove from the oven. The original recipe says that the parcels need to rest for a minute, but I found that by the time we arranged them on plates or a serving platter, enough time had passed.

Serve the parcels as they are so that each diner can open his or her own bundle. The parcels can be eaten in the parchment paper or the parchment can be removed. Have a bowl handy for the wrappers in case your guests choose the latter option.

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Cardamom Roasted Butternut Squash with Lime-Yogurt Drizzle

Are you a traditionalist at Thanksgiving, wanting the comfort of your favorite dishes each year? Or are you adventurous, eagerly branching out to try something new?

Whichever camp you find yourself in, chances are you will be seated at a table with someone from the competing camp. Or maybe there is a little bit of both camps in you.

To make everyone happy, my solution is to play with the side dishes. Keep the turkey (for you meat eaters) and stuffing, a traditional side or two, and pumpkin and pecan pie. But add something new this year, some new flavors or vegetables -- nothing too wild, but just enough to keep things interesting.

To help you with this, I'm going to give you a week of side dishes starting today. I have five side dishes to share, all with vegetables that are in season and available at the farmers' market now. They'll shake things up a bit and I'll get them to you in time to hit the market next weekend.

For the vegetarians, a couple of these sides, along with some mashed potatoes and stuffing, would round out a meal. If you want a heartier main course, serve them along side that cauliflower tart or vegetable shepherd's pie).

If my ability keeps pace with my ambition, I may even have a dessert recipe for you at the end of the week.

This first side dish recipe is derived from a recipe in Plenty, one of my favorite cookbooks for party food these days (see past posts here and here). We made it for a first course for a dinner party last weekend and I loved the flavors. The warmth of the cardamom was fantastic with the butternut squash and the contrast with the cool flavors of the tangy yogurt sauce, lime, hot peppers, and cilantro elevated the dish beyond the ordinary.

The preparation involved brushing the individual pieces of squash with the cardamom mixture, sectioning limes, making a yogurt sauce, and separately scattering on limes, hot peppers, and cilantro. The presentation was lovely to serve on individual plates but a bit too fiddly to serve with a weeknight meal or on the buffet at Thanksgiving.

So I switched it up, cutting the squash into large chunks, tossing them with the spiced and roasting them. To simplify the accompaniments, I combined all of the flavors into one sauce. Granted the result was not as pretty, but it was simpler to prepare, easy to serve family style, and maybe even a bit tastier because each bite was an explosion of all the flavors. Try it!

Cardamom Roasted Butternut Squash with Lime-Yogurt Drizzle

Depending on the heat of the pepper you use, the dish may have a bit of a kick to it. Since spiciness is not a common flavor on traditional Thanksgiving tables, you may want to warn your dinner companions.

The yogurt sauce can be made up to a day early and the butternut squash can be roasted a few days ahead. Just undercook it so that when it reheats it doesn't get too soft. When the pan cools, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Reheat it just before serving dinner. 

Adapted from Plenty
Serves 6 as a side dish
30 minutes preparation time
30 minutes roasting time

For roasting the squash:
1 large butternut squash
1 1/2 tablespoons cardamom pods
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the yogurt drizzle:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 jalapeno, minced
2/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Trim the top and bottom off the butternut squash. Set the squash on its bottom and slice it down lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard them.

Peel the butternut squash and dice it into large chunks. I left mine quite large, maybe 2 inches per side so that they would retain some shape when roasted. Arrange the squash in a single layer in a roasting pan.

To prepare the spice mixture, pound the cardamom pods with a mortar and pestle until the pods crack open. Pour out the pods onto a cutting board or plate and separate the pods from the seeds inside. (Granted, this process seems like it will be very time consuming, but it only took a few minutes and the resulting fresh cardamom is worth the effort.) Return the seeds to the mortar and pound again until the seeds are finely ground. 

Empty the ground seeds into a small bowl. Add the allspice, salt, and pepper and whisk together. Add the olive oil and whisk again. Pour the spice mixture over the squash and mix it with your hands or a wooden spoon so that it thoroughly coats the squash pieces. Roast until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife, but not mushy. The roasting time will depend on the size of the squash pieces, but count on somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, prepare the yogurt sauce. Whisk the yogurt and tahini together with the lime juice. Add the cilantro and jalapeno and mix again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. The dressing will be quite tart, but resist the urge to temper it because it is excellent with the sweetness of the squash.

When the squash has finished roasting, arrange it onto a serving platter or into a large bowl, taking care to keep the pieces intact. The squash can be served hot or at room temperature. Just before serving, drizzle the yogurt sauce over the top or serve it in a small pitcher on the side.

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Cauliflower and Gorgonzola Tart

Those of you have been reading this blog for a while know that my sister, Sarah, and her husband, Ed, own Black Ankle Vineyards, the best vineyard in Maryland. And I'm not just saying that because Sarah's my sister. Their goal was to show that excellent wine can be made in Maryland and, against the odds, they have done exactly that.

It has been amazing to watch over the past 10 years as they built their business from an idea to a successful, thriving enterprise. It has been a phenomenal amount of work, with long days and nights and zillions of decisions -- big and little -- along the way.

I like to joke that it is best to be the sister of someone who owns a vineyard. I get to enjoy the results without the stress and exhaustion that yielded those results.

When Melissa, Black Ankle's fantastic manager, asked me if I would be willing to put together a recipe to send out with the quarterly wine club shipment, I loved the idea. For the first shimpment, we wanted a dish that would complement the 2011 Bedlam. After tasting the wine on its own (tough work!) around the dinner table one night, we hit on the idea of a dish that would include a blue cheese as well as a hearty vegetable such as broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans.

The cauliflower won out and after a couple of tries, I settled on the creamy mildness of Gorgonzola to go along with it. The tart is substantial enough to be served as a main course with a big green salad and a slab of good bread. It would make an excellent main course for any vegetarians at your Thanksgiving table. Cut into smaller slices, it also could be served as an appetizer or a side dish.

Either way, serve it with a chilled bottle of the Bedlam 2011 and a toast to someone you love. Cheers!

2009: Vegetable Shepherd's Pie
2010: Pumpkin Soup with a(n optional) Kick
2011: Garlicky Cuban Yuca

Cauliflower and Gorgonzola Tart

Serves 8 as a main course
Approximately 1 hour preparation time, plus time for the dough to chill
Approximately 1 hour cooking time

This tart is substantial enough to be served as a main course with a big green salad and a slab of good bread. It would make an excellent main course for any vegetarians at your Thanksgiving table. Cut into smaller slices, it also could be served as an appetizer or a side dish.

For the dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 10 pieces
1/2 cup white wine*
1 egg, lightly scrambled

For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
a splash or two of white wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
4 tablespoons chives, snipped with scissors or chopped
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled

Make the crust: Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour with your fingers until the butter bits range in size from grains of sand to small pebbles. Add the white wine and egg and mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until the egg and wine are fully incorporated into the flour. The dough will be sticky.

Form the dough into a ball and flatten it slightly into a disk Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour (or as long as a couple of days).

Make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and has softened, 6-7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the onion into a large bowl. Set aside. Wipe the pan out with a paper towel.

Return the pan to the stovetop, turn the heat to medium-high, add the canola oil, and swirl it around the pan so that it coats the sides. After about 30 seconds, add the cauliflower and arrange it with a wooden spoon so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a single layer. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. Stir, and continue to cook the cauliflower, stirring it only every few minutes so that it browns.

Cook until the cauliflower begins to soften, but is still quite firm, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add a splash or two of white wine. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up any of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour into the bowl with the onions. Let cool for a few minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients to the cauliflower except the egg and Gorgonzola. Stir well to incorporate. Add most of the egg, but reserve a few tablespoons to use later to brush the dough. Mix the egg in quickly so that it fully incorporates but doesn't scramble.

Assemble the tart: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it. Generously flour the counter and the top of the dough and roll the dough into a large circle, at least 15 inches across, adding more flour if needed to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. It's okay if it hangs over the sides at this point because it will be folded onto the sheet after the filling is added.

Spoon the cauliflower mixture onto the dough, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border around the edge. Spread the filling out evenly. Sprinkle the Gorgonzola over the filling. Starting on one side, fold the dough from the edge of the circle up over the filling. Continue around the entire circle, pleating the dough as you go and leaving a wide opening in the center.

Brush the top of the dough with the remaining egg. If you have any left over, drizzle it over the top of the cauliflower in the middle of the tart. Bake until the tart's crust is golden brown, 50 minutes to an hour.

Remove the tart from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

* If you have a decent bottle open from last night, use it. Otherwise, open the Bedlam, use what you need for the recipe, and pour yourself a glass to sip while you cook. But save some for dinner!

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Happy Halloween

Sweet Potato and Maple After School Muffins

We're all bunkered down here waiting to see what hurricane Sandy brings. Schools and offices are closed, the cupboard is stocked, and the firewood is piled high. The winds are whipping aroung outside and we're as prepared as we can be to get thorough the inevitable loss of electricity.

While the power is still on and others in the house are occupied reading and doing homework, I'm sneaking a few minutes to share this recipe with you. It's another in my effort to make healthier after-school snacks for the kids.

Because sweet potatoes are in abundance this time of year and are reputedly one of the healthiest foods available, they seemed like a logical base for a muffin. I also used oat flour for its whole grain goodness and earthiness and olive oil as a healthier alternative to butter or canola oil.

To flavor the muffins, I used my favorite complement of fall spices, those that traditionally jazz up apple or pumpkin pies. But this time, I increased the nutmeg to bring that spice, which so often takes a back seat to cinnamon, up to the forefront.

I made the first batch of muffins with only maple syrup and although the kids gave them  a thumbs up, Gabe and I both thought they needed to be a bit sweeter. Interesting that we had more of a desire for that sweetness than the kids did, isn't it?

After about a day in the storage tin, something funny started to happen to the sweet potato in the muffins. It began to oxidize and those flecks of potato turned from a beautiful autumnal orange to blue and green. I don't know how to explain the science behind that change, but it was not at all appetizing.

When I made the muffins a second time, I tossed the sweet potato with a bit of lemon juice before adding it to the batter. That has done the trick and kept the sweet potato its original color even after cooking and a week of storage. I also added brown sugar to the second batch to make them a bit sweeter. We all did a blind taste test and agreed that the sweeter version was tastier.

If you're home bound, you oven still works, and you happen to have a sweet potato lying around, here's a lovely little snack that you can enjoy and still feel virtuous.

2009: Brown Sugar Cookies
2010: Dinner in a Pumpkin
2011: Caramel Apples

Sweet Potato and Maple After School Muffins

Makes about 18 muffins
approximately 20 minutes preparation time
25 minutes baking time

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar, plus 3 tablespoons, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated sweet potato (approximately 1 large sweet potato)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two muffin trays or line them with cupcake liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, oat flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda.

In a large measuring cup or small bowl, pour the lemon juice over the shredded sweet potato and stir to completely coat. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the shredded sweet potato and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon just until the dry ingredients have been evenly incorporated.

Spoon into the muffin tins. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over the tops of the muffins.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cook for a couple of minutes in the pan, then turn onto a baking rack to cool.

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Eggplant and Smoked Mozzarella Risotto

Ice cubes at the North Pole.

Wolly mittens on a summer day.

Dental floss for a baby.

Eggplant can be a tough sell, too, especially for kids. Especially for Chloe.

We've been trying to convince Chloe for years that she likes eggplant. We had a bit of success masking it and even more success frying it. Granted, shoe leather would also be tasty fried, but I was hoping that after eating eggplant fried, she'd have enough of a positive association that she would be willing to try other eggplant dishes.

But apparently her memory of her eggplant tolerance is short.

She ate Bhagan Bharta a few weeks ago and liked it. But when we sat down to this risotto dish last night, one of our favorites, she announced "I don't like eggplant."

After we told her how good it was, oohing and aahing about the creamy smoked mozzarella, she eventually agreed to let us put a bit on her plate so long as it was just the rice without any of the eggplant. She nibbled at that and was willing to have a bit more.

The second round, her serving had eggplant in it but she pushed it to the side of her plate. At least she let it sit on her plate. Is that progress?

So she ate just a bit of rice and devoured the Swiss chard instead.

Ironic isn't it, that she will eat Swiss chard?

At least she did until one of her pieces of Swiss chard touched the eggplant piled on the edge of her plate. She refused to eat that bit of chard, quickly sneaking it onto my plate.

And so it goes, one small step at a time, in the eggplant battles.

As for the rest of us, there is not a scrap of this risotto left in the refrigerator today. Some of us had more than one serving, and what was left after dinner was carried off in lunch boxes today.

2009: Acorn Squash Stuffed with Curried Lentils
2010: Grilled Eggplant Baba Ganoush
2011: Soft Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Herbs, and Sour Cream

Eggplant and Smoked Mozzarella Risotto

 

I have given up on the salting eggplant thing. If there is a difference in the taste, it is so minor that I don't think it's worth it. Also, after we had this the other night, Oscar commented that he thought the eggplant should be cut smaller "so that it melts into the risotto." I had left the pieced big so that Chloe could pick them out more easily, but I agree that the ideal size would have been a smaller dice for the eggplant, about 1/2-inch pieces.

Serves 6-8 as a main course
15 minutes preparation time
30 minutes cooking time

7 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 medium eggplants, peeled and diced
1 large tomato, diced
2 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 pound smoked mozzarella, diced

Heat the stock in a sauce pan over medium heat.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook it until it is a deep golden color. Remove it from the pan and discard (or if you love garlic like we do, spread it on a piece of bread for a little snack while you're cooking).

Turn the heat up to medium high and add the eggplant and a few shakes of salt. Cook for a few minutes until the eggplant begins to soften. Add the tomato and oregano and stir.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the rice and the white wine. Cook, stirring, until the wine is absorbed into the rice. Add a couple of ladels of stock and stir a few times, until the rice is absorbed into the rice.

Each time the stock is absorbed into the rice add more, and stir periodically. You don't need to stir continuously, just enough to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When most of the stock is gone, taste the rice for doneness. Is should be tender without any crunch but not mushy.

When the rice is done, stir in the smoked mozzarella and stir to incorporate it fully. Serve immediately.

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Weekend Snapshots: Camping at Black Ankle Vineyards

Wewent camping last weekend and got a wee bit cold.

Freezing, actually.

Last October was so much fun that Sarah and Ed invited us back for another weekend of camping at Black Ankle.

Friday night was the coldest night we've had this autumn, dipping below feezing. We tucked in early. In the morning, everything was covered with frost, even the chairs that we had left around the camp fire. During the day the sun warmed us up and we had a gorgeous fall day for running around, visiting the animals, playing kickball and soccer, and even doing a bit of lounging.

I snapped a photo of one of those brown wooly caterpillars but can't remember, does lots of brown on a wooly caterpillar means a mild winter or a cold one?

Sarah and Ed are also in the process of expanding their winery and, as they did with the tasting room, they are building with strawbales and cob. The straw bales were all in and now they are in the process of adding the layers of mud to form the walls. Olivia and I joined them for a while, digging into that beautiful mud and slathering it on.

By evening we were ready for hot soup and s'mores. I watched those s'mores live up to their name as the kids snuck back for seconds.

The best part, though, was being with friends that we don't see nearly enough and having time to sit and visit. Even so, after we headed home, I thought of more things we never got to talk about. I take that to mean that we have to go back next year.

Olivia's Dumplings

One day your older daughter asks you to buy cabbage because she wants to make dumplings for dinner. Actually, she asks your husband because he is the errand runner in the house. The next thing you know, she is in the kitchen, mixing flour and water to make dough.

Before you can stop yourself, you say "Are you making your own dough?!?!" And you tell her that it would be much easier if she used wonton wrappers instead. But she tells you, "It's just flour and water" and asks, "What are wontons, anyway?" And she continues to mix, and knead, and roll, singing to herself.

Later, she enlists her little sister, who wants to be just like her, to grate and chop and mix. And they are happy together, working side by side.

You peek in and don't want to break the spell but can't help standing in the doorway staring. You grab your camera and take picture after picture. Even after the eye rolling, you snap away, wanting to watch, and hoping that they'll forget about you if you hide behind the camera.

You are struck by how much she is like you, researching dumpling recipes and coming up with her own spin because she loves dumplings and has been reading a book in which the characters eat lots of dumplings and now she wants to make her own.

But she is also not you. Because you love dumplings, too, but have never made your own and definitely would have taken a short cut for your first try by using wonton wrappers.

And also because she has her own way, of developing the recipe, of creating, of cooking. Of being.

There she is, completely undaunted, forging on. And you are in awe. You cannot believe that this girl began life in your womb and that you leaned over her making silly faces at her tiny one to make her smile. That she was once a toddler who cried every day when you left for work in a way that broke just a tiny piece of your heart off each time. You stand there rooted to the ground as the memories flood over you and you snap away on your camera. 

You realize that this will not be the last time that you are overwhelmed by her, that as time rolls forward there will be other times like this where she will surprise and impress you with the person that she has become. And although you are nostalgic for the days that have passed, you are also excited to see what comes next.

Olivia's Dumplings

P.S. They're very tasty too!

Makes about 4 dozen dumplings
Approximately 90 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

For the filling:
1 red onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
2 cups grated Savoy cabbage
2 cups grated carrot
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt
canola oil

For the dough:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water

For the dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

To make the filling, heat a tablespoon or so of canola oil in a large sauté pan and sauté the onions and ginger. Add the cabbage and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the sesame oil and cilantro. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like. Set aside.

To make the dough, mix the boiling water with the flour until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough until it is smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a roll approximately 12 inches long. Cut each roll across into half-inch slices. Flatten each slice on a well-floured surface and roll it into a circle approximately 3 inches in diameter. Continue with the remaining pieces of dough.

Put one tablespoon of the filling mixture in the center of each circle. Fold the circle in half and pinch the dough along the seam to seal it. Place about a tablespoon of canola oil in a non-stick skilled over high heat. Add as many dumplings to the pan as you can, leaving just a bit of space between them. Cook the dumplings, turning them once or twice, until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

To make the dipping sauce, mix the soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. Serve with the dumplings.

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Weekend Snapshots: Autumn Adirondacks

Gabe and I had Monday off for Columbus Day and, even though the kids had school, we made our own long weekend. We schlepped up to our cabin in the Adirondacks with friends. It took forever to get there but, as usual, once we were there, it was a true escape.

Autumn had already arrived there. The air was brisk and the leaves had begun to change. We roasted marshmallows, carved pumpkins, strolled through the woods, and watched the dogs frolic. Some brave souls even swam in the icy lake.

A perfect beginning to fall.

And even though we had a long drive home, we carried some of that peace back with us.

Photo by Oscar

Perfectly Soft-Boiled Eggs, Take 2

Remember that post I did about making perfecly soft-boiled eggs?

Ignore it.

Something wonderful happened, you see, and now I have a new favorite, fool-proof way of making soft-boiled eggs.

One of you, kind readers, left me a comment, explaining your mother's way of making soft-boiled eggs. It is super simple and it works every time. And, best of all, it doesn't require much attention at all. Just plunk those eggs in a pot full of water, turn a timer and that's it. I just had to share.

So, thank you, Livy, for reading and for sharing this tip. And thanks to your mom, too!

Perfectly Soft-Boiled Eggs, Take 2

In Livy's comments, she notes that gas stoves seem to cook more quickly than electric and she removes the egg 30 seconds sooner when cooking with gas. I have gas and 10 minutes has worked on my stove. The edge of the yolk is firm but the center is still soft. Given the variety in stoves and personal preferences, though, it may take a bit of fiddling with the exact timing to get the perfect egg.

Fill a pot with cold water.

Add the egg(s)s and place the pot, uncovered, on a burner over high heat. Start a timer for 10 minutes.

When the timer goes off, remove the pot from the heat, drain the water, and fill the pot again with cold water. Let the eggs sit for 30 seconds or so until they are cool enough to handle. Put in the egg in an egg cup and serve.

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Time Travel (Bhagan Bharta)

I have been time traveling.

I pulled my scrapbook of recipies off the shelf the other day, the one that I filled over the years with recipes from friends, newspapers, magazines. I don't clip recipes any more, now that I can find almost anything on line in seconds. But I have quite a collection from back in the day.

Flipping through those pages took me on a journey. I saw recipes that we used to make regularly that we haven't made in ages -- our favorite cheesecake recipe! -- and many that we have never made. Even seeing those unmade recipes there, with their tantalizing possibilities, was a treat.

My favorite part of flipping through those pages, though, was finding recipes from friends.

Seeing those recipes, written in our friends' own hands pulled me back. Back to Anita's dinner party where I tasted that apple crisp and knew I had to have the recipe. Back to the cheesy potato casserole that Michelle's sister brought to a pot luck. Back to the Spring Mill Cafe outside of Philadelphia, the French restaurant where I worked during college, and the recipe for creamy salad dressing that makes enough to feed an army.

Back to our wedding shower, to the anticipation of collecting the recipe cards friends had brought to share.

Back to that time before we had children when friends were our family, that circle that held us, supported us, entertained us, consoled us.

Back to that time when the lives we live today -- children, house, job -- would have seemed foreign and were only imaginable in a hazy, dreamy vision.

Flipping the pages in that recipe book pulled me gently back there, with visions of more recent events flashing thorough my mind as I traveled there. Children's milestones, vacations, dinners, gatherings, funerals, weddings, all passed me by as if glimpsed out the window of a moving train.

Those images flashed by and overwhelmed me as I thought of all that we have shared and built and lost.

It was 15 years ago that we got married.

I pulled out a recipe that I had not made in years, our friend Neha's mother's Bhagan Bharta recipe. I made it and it was excellent. I served it for dnner, wondering whether the children would eat it.

They devoured it, this family of ours, circling around, carrying me back, closing the loop.

2009: Zuccanoes
2010: Smoky Eggplant Lasagne
2011: Freshened Up Eggplant Parmesan

Malti Misra's Bhagan Bharta*

Bhagan Bharta is an excellent way to use some of those beautiful eggplants and end-of-season tomatoes that are at the farmers' markets now.

Although I have used Mrs. Misra's recipe, I have adapted it liberally and any inauthenticity is my own. The original recipe calls for cooking the eggplants in the microwave. I used the grill because I like that grilled flavor, but if you want a quicker recipe, use the microwave technique (described below). This version is gingery and fresh with just a hint of smokiness from the grilled eggplant and minimal heat.

Serves 6-8
15 minutes preparation time
1 hour cooking time

2 large eggplants (or 3 medium-sized ones)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 medium onions, chopped
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled and chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 handful cilantro, chopped

Rice, naan, or pita, for serving

Preheat the grill to high.

Cut a cross into the end of each eggplant and half of the garlic into each. Grill the eggplants until they are well-charred on the outside, turning them once or twice. Depending on how black you want them, this could take from half an hour to an hour. Remove from the grill and let cool.

Alternatively, if you want a quicker way to cook the eggplants, stuff them with the garlic and microwave them on high for about 15 minutes, until they are very soft.

When the eggplants are cool enough to handle, slit them length-wise and open them up. Scoop out the flesh and chop it coarsely. If you come across any of the garlic cloves that you stuffed into the eggplants, chop them, too. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, ginger, and chile and cook until the onions have softened, about 8 minutes. Add the eggplant and about a cup of water, along with the ground coriander and salt. Cook until the water has reduced and the mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomato and cilantro and cook until everything has heated through, about 2 minutes.

Serve hot with rice, naan, or pita.

*There are many variations of the spelling of the name of this recipe, including Baingan or Baigan and Bhurtha and Bhurta.

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Almond-Oat After School Cookies

I have a love-hate relationship with prepackaged snacks. When ever I see parents who travel with great little bags of snacks I always admire their organization. And our kids love all of those snacks, especially those one-serving protein bars. They are very convenient and were especially great for the kids to take to camp because they don't need refrigeration and are fairly healthy.

But my effort to get the kids to eat them only when on the go and not at home was a losing battle. By the end of the summer, the kids were chewing through protein bars like mice munching through Swiss cheese. And those things are pricey, which is not at all in line with our belt tightening! So basta.

Now I am trying to make something home made for the kids to have when they come home from school. My goal is to prepare something on the weekend in a large enough quantity that it will last through the week. Ideally, my criteria are:

1. Nutritious - the snacks need to stick with them for more than a few minutes and to offer some nutritional benefit. Whole grains, nuts, some protein, there has got to be something of substance.

2. Tasty - the kids have to like the snacks as much as those protein bars or they'll never eat them.

3. Reasonably portable - something that can be eaten in hand, so that it can still be a snack on the go.

I see that third one slipping away quickly. One of our regular snacks has been homemade applesauce and, since that satisfies numbers 1 and 2, I've been going with it. And, at least for now, I'm not too worried about them having some sugar and fat. All of us parents have our own ideas about what kids should and shouldn't have, but my theory is that, in moderation, treats are okay. I am fine with a cookie or two alongside a piece of fruit.

I also worry that if I make the after-school snacks too obviously healthy, the kids won't like the end result and we'll have wasted food languishing on the counter while the kids beg for more goodies from the snack aisle. Maybe I can wratchet down some of the less healthy stuff over time, but for now, I'm sticking with my mantra, "everything in moderation."

I realize that getting nutritious and tasty into the same snack might be a bit tricky. Generally, I'm not a fan of sneaking helathy foods by my kids because I'd rather that they learned that they like healthy foods. But I'm not above a few tricks.

Chloe refuses to eat anything with nuts in it. She's not allergic and she will eat them raw, but she just doesn't want them in her baked goods. Fair enough. For these cookies, I used almonds and oats, but ground them so that they would not be detectable. I also used whole wheat flour and mostly brown sugar.

The cookies are chewy and moist, and the little bits of almond and oats add something to chew on so they seem to last a bit longer. They made a great snack, along with some sliced honeycrisp apples.

And from Miss Chloe?

"Momma, these cookies are so delicious!"

Whew.

2009: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip After School Cookies
2010: Chocolate-Hazelnut Macarons
2011: Classic Apple Pie

Almond-Oat After School Cookies

I tried making these cookies with less butter to see how a lower fat version would taste. The shape and texture of the cookies was different. They were more cakey but still tasty. In the end, I decided to stick with the version with more butter because they just tasted more. . . well. . . more buttery. If you decide to go the lighter route, use 1 1/2 sticks of butter instead.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies
30 minutes preparation time, plus at least an hour for chilling the dough
1 hour baking time

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (8 tablespoons or, for a lighter version, as little as 12 tablespoons)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 large egg

Measure the oats and almonds into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until they are chopped into tiny bits. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and pulse once or twice to combine.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Add the sugars and almond extract, and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the egg and mix again until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough is evenly moist.

Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour and up to several days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out the dough with a table spoon and arrange about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 10, just until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.

The cookies may be stored in an airtight container for about a week.

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Weekend Snapshots: Frederick, Maryland

We spent some time in Frederick this weekend, wandering around the old city, window shopping, taking in the historical setting. There are many great antique and home goods stores (as well as at least one charming toy store and even a Cuban restaurant), but we didn't do any buying this year.

Our goal, naturally, was food-oriented, a visit to the Lebherz Olive Oil and Vinegar Emporium. We've been hearing and reading about the sketchy origin of most supermarket olive oils, a something you can read lots more about in Tom Mueller's book, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. NPR did a story about it, and the New York Times has this review.

Lebherz is the real deal. They offer olive oils and vinegars from around the world and if you head into the store, you can taste them until your taste buds give out. They have pure olive oils from several countries as well as infused ones that add herbs or other flavors. Sarah and Ed had discovered the store and we had tasted several of the olive oils at their house.

We descended on Lebherz, and even with the children tasting through those bread samples at an alarming rate, they were very patient and helpful. In the end, we each chose an olive oil and ended up with three varietals, two Spanish ones, Hojiblanca (Chloe) and Arbosana of Tarragona (Gabe), and one Italian Sicilian (me). We also bought two Tunisian olive oils that were infused with other flavors, mushooms and sage (Olivia, who doesn't even like mushrooms) and chipotle (Oscar).

And since we don't get out to Frederick nearly as often as we'd like I was very happy to see that they deliver.

photo credit to Oscar
 

After our stroll through the city, we had a delicious lunch at Family Meal, the casual restaurant owned by Brian Voltaggio of Top Chef fame. Family Meal, set in a former car dealership, is more casual and more affordable than his signature restaurant, Volt, but the food was excellent nevertheless. My favorites were a corn chowder and a blueberry milkshake, but there wasn't a bad dish on the table.

Black Ankle is only a few miles away so we spent a couple of hours there. There was so much going on with the harvest in full swing. We peeked in on the winemakers, checked out the fattening pigs and new calfs, watched the progress on the new straw bale winery, and sipped wine under the new sailcloth awnings. The kids even broke out some olive oil and bread to nibble on while we adults drank our wine.

All in all, a perfect afternoon.

Order in the House

As we settle into our fall routine, other aspect of our lives seem to be getting organized again, too. We have started eating meals on a more predictable schedule, and the meals are more balanced and healthy. With earlier mornings, everyone is trying to get to bed earlier, and some of us who are compulsive that way are jotting everything down. Lists, schedules, calendars, they're all getting a lot of attention these days. 

Fiscal belt tightening naturally seems to go along with all of that. We are trying to get back on a budget, pay off some bills, and just generally have a tighter grasp on where it's all going.

As part of all of this getting organized and saving money, we've been eating through our pantry. We've pulled out grains and beans from the back of the pantry and used them to build meals. And, although, we purged much of the food in our freezer when we lost power this summer, we still have a few meals there, too. So far, we've made a rice salad with Italian black rice, roti and chick pea and potato curry, and lentil and feta salad. Chloe found ice cream cones in the pantry and wihte peach sorbet in the freezer so we had those for dessert a few nights ago. Cuban black beans and spinach gnocchi are coming soon.

The whole family has gotten into the act, and it feels satisfying, this belt tightening.

What's in your pantry?

Peach Cobbler

Cooking with Mother Goose: A series of occasional posts inspired by children's stories and rhymes.

Cobbler, Cobbler

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe;
Have it done by half past two;
Is it black or is it brown;
Is it up or is it down?

This rhyme has saved us countless times as we tried to entertain our children during one of those seemingly interminable waits. Like at a restaurant when three seconds after ordering someone asks indignantly, "where is our food!?!" Or while in waiting in line at the post office/grocery store/DMV, trying to keep everyone in line and reasonably quiet. Or fifteen minutes into a long car ride when after the inevitable, "are we there yet?"

We play it as a guessing game. To play, put a penny or pebble in one hand and curl both hands into a fist. As you recite the rhyme, tap one fist on top of the other, alternating which hand goes on top. At the end, others guess which hand contains the object.

As I was perusing the internet to see if there are any other versions of this rhyme, I again realized that perhaps my version is not the original. It is quite different from the others I found which are variations of these:

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe;
Have it done by half past two;
Half past two is much too late!
Have it done by half past eight.

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe;
Have it done by half past two;
Stitch it up or stitch it down;
And I'll give you half a crown;

Or:

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe;
Have it done by half past two.
Stitch it up or stitch it down;
Then I'll walk around the town.

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my boot;
Mend it well to fit my foot;
Stitch it Up or stitch it down;
Then I'll walk around the town.

Maybe our version was adapted by our children's nursery school, Acorn Hill. Whatever the provenance, we still use it from time to time, and the last few times I made cobbler, it raced through my head. The best kind of cobbler, cobbler.

2009: Homemade Ricotta
2010: Peach Macarons
2011: Herbed Ricotta-Feta Spread

Peach Cobbler

This recipe, like peach pie, lets perfectly ripe peaches shine. We are comng to the end of peach season in these parts, and this is an excellent way to use up any you have left. It is also delicious with blackberries instead or a mix of the two.

Serves 8
40 minutes preparation time
30-35 minutes baking time

8-10 medium peaches (about 6 cups cut and peeled)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
1/3 cup boiling water
vanilla ice cream for serving (optional, but really, really good)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the peaches and boil them for about 1 minute. Drain and let cool. When the peaches are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins. Cut the peaches into bite-sized pieces into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice and stir to coat the peaches. Add the cornstarch and sugar and mix until the cornstarch and sugar are fully incorporated.

To make the dough, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter pieces and mix the butter into the flour with your fingers, working until the bits of butter range in size from grains of sand to small pebbles. Add the boiling water and stir with a fork until the batter is uniformly moist.

Pour the peaches into a pie plate. With a large spoon, scoop the dough over the peaches, making sure to leave lots of gaps (even more than I show in the picture) between the lumps of dough so that the steam can escape.

Slide the pie plate onto the baking sheet and bake until the peaches are bubbling and the top of the cobbler is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve, ideally with vanilla ice cream.

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Overabundance Grilled Vegetable Dip

"Mommy, will you give me 100 kisses tonight?"

I am ashamed to admit that my first reaction is not one of unbridled joy. Chloe has gotten into bed later than I want, and we are all tired from adjusting to the routine of a new school year. I want to finish cleaning the kitchen, and to make sure the older children have finished their homework and are winding down for the day. And I really want to get to bed myself.

We have read. We have snuggled. The water glass is full. It's time to go to sleep.

She throws it out there partly, I think, because she thinks it is an impossible request to grant. 100 is, after all, a very big number to this little girl. And suddenly, I am seized by a desire to show her how much I love her in a way that maybe she will understand.

"Sure, sweetie, I'll give you 100 kisses."

I begin kissing her all over her face, up and down her arms, on both sides of her hands. It goes quickly and in about 2 minutes, my sweet girl is covered in kisses. I can't stop, so I give her a few extras on her cheeks and eyes as I whisper my last good nights.

"Why do you always give me extras?"

"Because once I start, I can't stop."

"Because I'm cute?"

"Because I love you so much."

She has no more words after that. She just smiles, pulls her comforter up to her chin, and burrows into them. Good night, sweet girl.

2009: Harvest Vegetable Tart
2010: Triple Ginger Zucchini Bread
2011: Herbed Ricotta-Feta Spread

Grilled Vegetable Dip

At this time of year, when the markets are overflowing with excellent produce, we grill a lot of vegetables. This dip is endlessly adaptable and can be made from whatever grilled vegetables are left over at the end of the week. The dip can be made ahead and stored for a few days in the refrigerator.

30 minutes preparation time
40 minutes grilling time

1 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 small eggplant, peeled and sliced
1 red pepper
1 red onion, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2/3 cup crumbled feta
1 or 2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons oregano leaves
handful of basil leaves
pita chips, crackers or vegetables, for serving

Turn on the grill to high and let it heat while you prepare the vegetables.

Salt the eggplant with coarse salt and set aside for 15 minutes or so. Pat it dry with a paper towel.

Brush the eggplant, zucchini, and red onion lightly with olive oil and sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper. Arrange them on the grill in a single layer. Add the red pepper to the grill, too.

Cook the vegetables on the grill until they are tender and lightly charred. The red pepper should blacken all over. When the pepper is done, remove it from the grill and set it aside to cool. When it is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin with your fingers and remove the seeds and stem.

Add the vegetables to the bowl of a food processor with the feta, remaining olive oil, and lemon juice. Blend until the vegetables are well-mixed, but the mixture is still a bit chunky. Add the oregano and basil and mix briefly. Taste the dip and adjust the flavors by adding more salt, lemon juice, or herbs, if you like.

Serve with vegetables, crackers, or pita chips.

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Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I have been doing a lot of whining for the past week or so.

Why does school have to start before Labor Day?

Couldn't we just have one more week of summer?

And why do they have to start school on a Monday? A five-day week that first week back is exhausting.

If we had a three-day week this week, we could build up more gently until everyone is back in the groove of going to bed early, getting up early, making lunches, doing homework...

I'm this way every August as I bemoan the eagerness with which I waited for the more carefree days of summer only to have them fly by at warp speed.

I have talked to friends who have a much better attitude. They're looking forward to the rhythm and routine of fall again, getting onto a more regular schedule with the kids. It sounds good. And yet I'm having a hard time getting it into my head that lunches need to be made every night, homework needs to be done, backpacks need to be packed every day.

The children feel it, too. By the end of the week, we were tired out, exhausted with all that staying on schedule, not to mention all that behaving during the school day.

Fortunately, we still have our Friday night movie and pizza nights. We still cling to these nights, and this past week it was especially welcome, a chance to chill out on the couch after a mentally and physically exhausting week. It was a chance to come together, relax, and remember that, even with all of the changes that the week brought, some things do not change.

Hmmm, maybe there's something to that routine and rhythm thing after all.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

If you're looking for a super dense, earthy whole wheat dough, this isn't it. The bread flour and whole wheat pastry flour make this dough light and barely identifiable as whole wheat dough, but a bit more healthy and filling nonetheless. It's a bit chewier than our standard semolina pizza dough, more of a classic American crust. It works as well for pizzas cooked on the grill as those baked in the oven.

Makes enough for 3 medium pizzas
20 minutes preparation time, plus about 2 hours for the dough to rise
approximately 10 minutes per pizza baking time

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons salt

Measure the yeast into a bowl and add the warm water. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, then stir the yeast to make sure that it has all dissolved into the water. Add the olive oil and stir.

Measure the flour into the bowl and sprinkle the salt over the top. With a wooden spoon, mix the flour until it is very stiff. Abandon the spoon and use your hands to work the flour and water into a cohesive dough. Turn the dough onto the counter and knead it for a few minutes until it is smooth and consistent in texture. If you weren't able to get all the flour into the dough before, you can work it in as you knead.

Form the dough into a ball and put it back in the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it is about double in size, approximately 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees or as hot as it will go (but not broil). If you are using a pizza stone, slide it into the oven and let it heat for about 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into thirds and roll each third out. Add the toppings of your choice and bake for 8-10 minutes per pizza. Get it while it's hot!

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Black and Blue Berry Buckle

Cooking with Mother Goose: A series of occasional posts inspired by children's stories and rhymes.

One, two,
Buckle my shoe;
Three, four,
Shut the door;
Five, six,
Pick up sticks;
Seven, eight,
Lay them straight;
Nine, ten,
Do it again.

That was my version, but as with so many nursery rhymes, there seem to be many variations that have evolved over the years. Wikipedia gives this one:

One, two,
Buckle my shoe;
Three, four,
Knock at the door;
Five, six,
Pick up sticks;
Seven, eight,
Lay them straight;
Nine, ten,
A big fat hen;
Eleven, twelve,
Dig and delve;
Thirteen, fourteen,
Maids a courtin';
Fifteen, sixteen,
Maids in the kitchen;
Seventeen, eighteen,
Maids a waiting;
Nineteen, twenty,
My plate's empty.

"Eleven-twelve, dig and delve" sounds familiar, but I couldn't square that with "do it again," which led us to restart the entire rhyme. I don't ever remember getting beyond twelve. I wonder how long it took me to learn how to count to thirteen.

Buckle, slump, crisp, cobbler, grunt, pandowdy. There are many intriguing dessert names. Buckle is a moist, fruit-laden cake with a streusel topping. It is often made with berries, and this version uses both blackberries and blueberries because that is what I had on hand. The sweetness of the blueberries was excellent with the muskiness of the blackberries, but any berry would do.

In addition to their general deliciousness, another great thing about berries is that they require very little preparation. There is no peeling or pitting. It's just a quick rinse and go. The cake is easy to throw together so it's perfect for a weeknight dessert. Or breakfast for that matter.

2009: Peach, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad
2010: Blackberry-Ginger Jam
2011: Cantaloupe Agua Fresca

Black and Blue Berry Buckle
Adapted from Gourmet

Serves 8 to 10
35 minutes preparation time
approximately 60 minutes baking time

For the topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lime zest (from 1 to 2 limes)
4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into about 10 pieces

For the batter:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3 cups berries
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.

To make the topping, in a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, and lime zest together with a fork. Add the butter and work it into the flour with your fingers, until the mixture ranges in size from grains of sand to small pebbles. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each egg.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add it to the sugar-butter mixture all at once, and beat until it is just combined. Gently fold in the berries with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and level it with the spatula. Sprinkle the streusel over the top. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Roasted Figs with Roquefort and Walnuts

I have been trolling facebook drooling over friends' summer vacations. Yes, friends, if you are my friend on facebook, chances are I have flipped through the pictures you posted of your fabulous, fun, relaxing vacation, getting in some vicarious summer vibes.

For us, you see, it's the dog days of summer. Our vacation ended a few weeks ago and we are done with vacation. Kaput. Finished. Over. All that awaits us now is the quickly approaching first day of school. It's a sad state of affairs.

Taking a vacation earlier in the summer did have one major advantage. We were here when other friends left on vacation. The kids happily earned a few dollars watering the plants, but the treat for me was not monetary. "Help yourself to any ripe tomatoes or figs. We don't want them to go to waste."

Music to my ears. I admit that I did feel a few pangs of guilt, reaping what others had sown. But I got over it in the time it took for the tomatoes to turn from a pale green to a deep red.

I first checked the fig tree a couple of days after they left, but nothing was ripe. When I checked again two days later, there were many, many ripe fruits. Amazing. And delicious. These figs, with their delicate sweetness are such a treat and a few of them did not even make it into the bag.

In addition to snarfing them one after another raw, I wanted to do something more with them, something to make them a bit more special, but that still left them as the stars of the show. Gabe and I made a version of these simple little treats years ago in a cooking class and it popped back into my head as I was noodling over what to make.

I have to digress for a moment here. I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday or what I did last weekend, but I remember what I made in a cooking class 15 years ago. I must be insane. Really. I have given Gabe the same book twice because I didn't remember that I had already given it to him. And I did that not once but twice! But this recipe for figs pops to mind?!?! Houston, we have a problem.

But they were good. Very good. The few minutes in the oven softens the figs and allows the cheese to melt and the walnuts to toast perfectly. I'm getting a picture of myself in my old age, surrounded by stacks of multiple copies of the same book, reading them over and over because I won't remember what I just read. Next to me, a plate of figs.

At least the food will be good.

Roasted Figs with Roquefort and Walnuts

Makes 24 appetizers
10 minutes preparation time
5-10 minutes cooking time

12 figs
1/4 pound Roquefort
24 walnut halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the figs in half. Top each fig half with a slice of Roquefort and a walnut half.

Bake until the cheese has melted slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.

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Vacation Snapshots: the Adirondacks

We took our annual trip up to the Adirondacks this summer. The lake holds so much for me: memories of times past, nonstop fun with siblings and cousins, and the peace that comes with a true escape. But really, the story is best told -- and remembered -- in photos.

Cognac-Soaked Peaches

The other evening, I planned to make peach sorbet for dinner for friends, but on the way home from the market with my fabulously ripe seconds peaches, I remembered that I had taken the ice cream maker's freezer bowl out of the freezer when the power went out.

And I hadn't yet put it back.

It takes about 24 hours to freeze hard. On to plan B.

Those seconds peaches weren't going to last the day so I wanted something that used them. And then I remembered this beautiful post from Cheryl Sternman Rule at her fabulous blog, 5 Second Rule. Man, that woman can write!



So these are peaches, not figs. And I substituted cognac for ouzo. So what? It still counts.

2009: Mint Limeade
2010: Grilled Peaches with Mint Whipped Cream
2011: Sour Cherry Clafouti

Cognac-Soaked Peaches

The first time I made these, I made the slices too big and it was hard to cut the skins to eat them. So now I recommend cutting them into bite-sized pieces before letting them steep in the cognac. The squeeze of lime juice will help keep them from discoloring.

This recipe is an excellent little quick dish worth having in your repertoire.

Serves 4
10 minutes preparation time, plus an hour or two to sit

4 ripe peaches
4 tablespoons cognac
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
a squirt of lime

Vanilla ice cream, pound cake, or creme fraiche, for serving

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Slice the peaches lengthwise and cut each slice across three times. The result will be bite-sized cubes.

Pour the peaches into a bowl and add the cognac, sugar and lime juice. Stir and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for at least an hour.

Serve spooned over ice cream or pound cake or with a dollop of creme fraiche.

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White Peach Sorbet

Do you remember growing seasons that hit us leisurely, allowing us to gorge on strawberries and get completely sick of them before cherries hit? Then we ate cherries until our mouths and fingers were deep purple and blueberries came along. Next came raspberries and we had time to get our fill before the peaches, plums, and nectarines hit the markets.

What the heck happened this year?

Strawberries were barely out before they disappeared, I only saw one week of sour cherries, and now it is blueberry-raspberry-plum-peach-nectarine season. I'm assuming that the exceptionally warm spring and summer has gotten us into this predicament.



Or maybe it's old age, it's just me, and time is flying by.

Either way, I'm having trouble keeping up.

As always, though, I was ecstatic to see the first peaches appear at the farmers' market. We will eat lots of them with the juice running down our hands and chins, and we will make pies, and maybe this year I will can some for the winter (suggestions welcome!).

For now, though, we are loving this sorbet because it just tastes like pure peach. A very cold, perfectly ripe, refreshing peach. I plan to stock the freezer with this one.

2009: Purple Raspberry Sauce
2010: Apricot-Blueberry Upside Down Cake
2011: Blueberry Birthday Pie

White Peach Sorbet

I used mostly white peaches for this sorbet because their perfume-y, delicate flavor shines in this pure concoction. But yellow peaches would do just fine.

If I am making the sorbet on the day I am buying the peaches, I ask for seconds at the market because they will be very ripe. If you do this, buy a few extra because you will likely need to pare off some bruised or brown spots.

Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
Makes about 1 quart
10 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time, plus a few hours to cool and freeze the sorbet

6 very ripe peaches, preferably white peaches
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rum
1 tablespoon lime juice

Wash the peaches and trim off any bruised spots. Cut them into chunks with the skins still on.

Add the peaches to a small saucepan and stir in the sugar until the peaches are well-coated. Add the water, cover, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, cook the peaches until they are very soft and the sugar has dissolved, about 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside to cool. After it has cooled to room temperature, pour the peach mixture into a blender, add the rum and lime juice, and blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the instructions. Freeze the sorbet until ready to serve.

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Classic Gazpacho

When the weather is beastly hot, gazpacho is an excellent antidote. Fresh taste, no oven or stovetop to heat up the house, the best seasonal produce.

Really, that's it.

It's hot. Make gazpacho. Be cool.

2009: Smoky Deviled Eggs
2010: Brown Buttered Zucchini with Spaghetti
2011: Sushi Rice Salad

Classic Gazpacho

This gazpacho is a basic recipe that can be tweaked to your liking. Love garlic? Cilantro? Lime? Go wild! If you like more spice, increase the jalapeno or add just a bit at the beginning and, after everything is blended, taste the soup and add more jalapeno if you like.

My approach is to blend the strongest flavors most thorougly at the beginning to ensure that they will be spread uniformly throughout the soup. The milder vegetable flavors can be left more chunky.

The soup can be made ahead. The flavors will intensify and are even better after it has had a chance to sit overnight.

Serves 8
30 minutes preparation time, plus about 2 hours for chilling

4 slices peasant wheat or similar hearty wheat bread, crusts removed and cut coarsely (about 2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 jalapeno pepper
5 large tomatoes, diced
2 cups yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
2 red, yellow, or orange peppers, seeded, cored, and diced
1 teaspoon cumin
juice of 1 or 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
3/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Spanish olive oil

Set aside about two cups of the tomato, cucumber, and pepper to add back at the end for texture.

Pour half a cup of water over the bread and let it sit for about a minute. Squeeze out the water with your hands. Put the bread in a blender with the garlic, jalapeno pepper, and some of the tomato. Blend to a fine puree. Pour into a large bowl or soup tureen.

Blend the all of the remaining ingredients except the olive oil in batches. I don't blend the successive batches as finely so that the soup has a variety of textures. If needed, add some water, up to 2 cups total.

Add the olive oil to the last batch of vegetables and blend until the olive oil emulsifies. Add to the bowl with the other batches of blended vegetables. Add the remaining chopped vegetables and stir everything to combine. Refrigerate until the soup is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours.

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Chloe's 8th Birthday

Eight years ago today I was an office party at my friend Patti's house when I started having contractions. After Patti's son timed my quickening contractions, I went home and they promptly stopped. I planted some flowers, we had dinner with friends, they started up again, and we called the grandparents in to watch Olivia and Oscar.

A few hours later, we met Chloe for the first time. When the nurse bathed her, she grabbed on to the side of the plastic basinette and didn't let go. The nurse said she had never seen anything like it. Eight years later, Chloe is still grabbing on to life, living every day to the fullest.

Happy, happy birthday to my sweet, cheerful, loving, funny, and perfectly mischievous Chloe!

Togetherness: The Whole Beet Sauté

Peas in a pod. That's what we've been here for the past week or so. Five of us, together, nearly every day, around the clock. With no power and no air conditioning, we ended up congregating in the coolest places -- on the porch, in the basement -- so that even though we had plenty of space to spread out in this house, we were never far apart.

And it was too hot to do much besides sit around and try not to think about how hot we were. All those summer projects that I had on my list seemed much less critical with the temperature hovering at about 100.

Summertime has a togetherness rhythm anyway, with vacation, lots of time at the pool, and weekend outings. But this year, we got thrown into our togetherness in a hurry. 

We were together all day for three days straight, had a one-day interlude and then were together for the Fourth of July. Most of our time was great. We turned the dining room table into a ping pong table, spent time together at the pool, played games, went to the movies, and read and read.

But the togetherness wasn't always ideal. At times our nerves wore thin, patience waned, and tempers flared. I led the way on that one. One afternoon, I found myself arguing with Chloe, one of those ridiculous arguments that escalated beyond the point of no return. Afterwards I had to remind myself that I am the adult and need to set a better example, rather than acting like the 7-year old that I was arguing with. Now I can't even remember what our argument was about, but at the time it all seemed so very important.

And one afternoon, as we set out to stay with our super wonderful friends who offered to take us in to their air conditioned home with dog and all, each of the kids decided to test our patience, whining, complaining, fussing. One at a time, they pushed our buttons, almost breaking us.

We lectured them all the way over to our friends' house about gratitude and giving us a break. I'm not whether it really sunk in, but we needed it. And it does seem that things are improving.

I feel like we're moving in synch now. Not without our challenges. Not without needing a little break apart or a series of long, deep breaths. But slowly it is coming together. We're coming together again.

Summertime togetherness.

2009: Lentil and Feta Salad (we still love, love, love this recipe)
2010: Red Wine Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Crostini
2011: Fresh Pea and Potato Gratins

This song has been running through my head while writing this post. Does anyone else remember it or am I showing my age here?

The Whole Beet Sauté

Serves 6 as a side dish
15 minutes preparation time
30-60 minutes cooking time

Beets and goat cheese are a classic combination but we used a soft goat's milk cheese with a rind rather than the usual chevre for this recipe. If you're in the D.C. area, you may be able to find it: Cherry Glen's Monocacy Gold. But even if you can't find it, try another soft goat's milk cheese that is a bit different.

The beets can be roasted in advance and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

1 bunch beets, with their greens
olive oil
2 garlic scapes, chopped (or 1 garlic clove, chopped)
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a couple of slices of goat's milk cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash the beets and cut off their tops. Wrap the beet roots in foil and layer the wrapped beets on a baking sheet. Bake them in the oven until they are tender. The cooking time will depend on the size of the beets, but could be anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.

When the beets have finished roasting, let them cool until you can touch them. Unwrap them and remove the skins with your fingers. Cut the beets across their middles and then into quarters so that you have small wedges.

Wash the beet greens and cut the stems off the bottom. You need not remove the center stalk of the leaves; they will become tender when they cook. Chop the greens roughly.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add the greens and the scapes, along with salt and pepper. Cook until the greens wilt, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If the greens begin to brown, add a splash of water.

Add the beets to the greens and cook them until they heat through. Add a splash or two of balsamic vinegar and stir to loosen any caramelization on the bottom of the pan.

Serve the beet-green mixture onto individual plates and top with a slice of the goat cheese. Eat it while it's hot.

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Rose-Laced Strawberry Ice Cream

We are hot. Very hot.

Lost power, 100-degree temperatures, no refrigeration, no place to charge electronics, no air conditioning. Blah, blah, blah.

Day 1 was great. Everything stopped. Softball was canceled, the pool was closed. We sat on the breezy back porch for hours and read. Some of us dozed. We found an open gas station with a short line and they even had ice. The kids got to see their first grown-up movie -- Moonrise Kingdom -- and we had a whole-family dinner and a movie and Moorenko's ice cream date. Great stuff.

Night 1 was not as fun. All the windows were open but it was probably still in the high 80's overnight and the air was completely still. Not a breeze rustled. I tossed and turned, feeling like a complete wimp for not being able to handle one hot night. And then I looked at Buddy, panting in the corner in his fur coat and felt even more pathetic.

Day 2 was good, too. The pool reopened and we spent the entire day in and out of the water, staying cool. There was more reading and napping and by the end of the day, sitting in the shade in my wet suit, I felt chilled. What a feeling. Dinner was things that needed to be eaten from the refrigerator and freezer. Including ice cream, rose-laced strawberry ice cream, that had melted to the consistency of a milk shake. Still cold enough to be refreshing.

Night 2 was better. Some of us slept in the basement which was less comfortable, but much cooler. The only thing that woke me from time-to-time was the restless, panting dog.

Now we're on Day 3. I have the day off from work and am stealing a few hours of air-conditioned Starbucks wifi to finish this post. The pool is open again and there we share the few outlets to charge our phones and laptops. Pepco tells us that we will have power back by Friday, a full week after it went out.

Today the Katy Perry movie comes out, and the new Spiderman movie is released at midnight-o-one. We will have more air conditioning. And we will never have never been so caught up on the latest movies.

I am feeling grumpy and hot and keenly aware of the privileges of my usual existence that make this few days without power feel so challenging. And I am grateful for the extra time to relax and do very little with people I love, like read and play games and sit around a container of melting ice cream and feel compelled to eat it until it's gone.

2009: Strawberry Preserves, Lemon Optional
2010: Cherry Galettes
2011: Oscar's Tasty and Juicy Strawberry Pie

Rose-Laced Strawberry Ice Cream

 

The rose flavor of this ice cream intensifies as it freezes. I call for 2 tablespoons of rose water in the recipe with the thought that the ice cream would be made at least 1 day before you plan to eat it. If you plan to eat it sooner, you may want to add a bit more.

Makes a bit more than a quart of ice cream
15 minutes preparation time, plus a few hours for the berries to sit and the ice cream to chill

1 quart strawberries (before hulling and cutting)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon creme de cassis
2 tablespoons rose water
2 cups heavy cream

Rinse the berries, hull them, and cut them in half or quarters. Mash them in a small bowl with the sugar. Add the creme de cassis and rose water and let them sit for about an hour.

Pour the mixture into a blender and add the cream. Pulse a couple of times until the berries are chopped but still a bit pulpy. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the machine's instructions for finishing the ice cream. Freeze until it hardens.

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Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Pistachio Vinaigrette

For the first time in more than 12 years, I spent a few days home alone. Those words still don't seem like they go together to me. Home. Alone. 

I had been away from the family before when I have traveled for work or for fun, but I had not been home without the children for more than a few hours since... well, since I had children. It's hard to believe. Last week, Gabe and the kids went down to Miami to visit his family, but I only had enough vacation time to go for a few days.

I was apprehensive before they left. I thought that I might feel a bit lost, that the house would feel eerily quiet, that I would get lonely. I made a list of about 6,000 projects that I wanted to get done, everything from gardening to reorganizing the basement. There are always more things to do than we have time for in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, but I also wanted to make sure that I had enough to do to fill the quiet hours. Just in case I felt lonely.

But it didn't happen. I kept waiting for a feeling of loneliness to wash over me or for the house to creak and creep me out. But it didn't happen. I had Buddy to keep me company, and I talked to Gabe and the kids every day. I even looked at pictures of them and felt that tug of love. But at the end of the day, it was just me. And I loved it. 

I had forgotten how free it can feel to lie in bed and read for a few uninterrupted hours. Or to take a long bike ride in the middle of the day. Or to garden until dark just because I felt like it. Or to eat when I felt hungry, not when I thought it was necessary to avoid a meltdown. Or to make a salad for lunch that I knew I would love and not have to worry whether anyone else would eat it.

My mini staycation reminded me of myself in my younger days. I was transformed back to that young woman who lived alone, who had her life in front of her. The experience recharged me. And when I saw the children in Miami a few days later, they were even more charming than ever. Amazing that after a few days alone, they are the most beautiful, clever, funny people. Again. At least to their mama.

2009: Almond Granola
2010: Vietnamese Cucumber Salad
2011: Grilled Fava Beans with Pepper and Pecorino

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Pistachio Vinaigrette

Gabe and I first had this salad at The Inn at Little Washington, back before we had children and such things were in the realm of possibility. The tartness of the grapefruit is the perfect counterpoint to the creaminess of the avocado and the pistachios add crunch.

If you can't find raw pistachios, it's fine to use the roasted and salted ones. Just skip the toasting step.

Serves 4 as a side dish
20 minutes preparation time

3 tablespoons raw pistachios
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 perfectly ripe avocado
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
sprinkle of salt

Toast the pistachios in a skillet over medium heat until they are fragrant and just begin to deepen in color, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let them cool for a couple of minutes.

Measure 2 tablespoons of the pistachios into a mortar and pestle and crush them until they are small but not completely pulverized. Pour them into a small bowl, add the olive oil, and whisk. Set aside.

With a serrated knife, first cut the top and bottom off of the grapefruit. The idea is to cut as much of the pith off as possible without removing too much of the flesh. Continue to remove the remaining peel by cutting from top to bottom around the entire grapefruit. Next, remove each section of flesh by cutting along each side of the membranes that separate the sections. Remove the sections and arrange them on a platter, leaving a space in between each piece.

Cut the avocado in half and separate the two halves. Remove the peel. with your hands Slice the avocado the long way into slices (I leave the seed in while I do this) and arrange the slices between the grapefruit sections.

Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the grapefruit and avocado and then sprinkle the toasted pistachios on top.

Add the vinegar to the olive oil-pistachio mixture along with a pinch of salt and whisk until it emulsifies. Spoon the dressing over the salad. Serve and eat!

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Shaved Asparagus Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts

I've been seeing recipes for shaved asparagus pop up here and there. They are made with raw asparagus shaved thinly and mixed with any number of ingredients. I finally decided that I better try one to see what all the fuss is about.

I used parmesan because I thought the nutty saltiness would complement the freshness of the asparagus and I wanted to shave it to mirror the shape of the asparagus. Parmesan and pine nuts go well together so I added pine nuts to my list. I decided to keep the dressing simple, using lemon and chives to enhance the freshness of the raw asparagus.

The result was very refreshing. Leaving the asparagus raw brought out the green, new flavor rather than highlighting the sweeter side that you would get from blanching or roasting. That bright new flavor was perfect for spring.

Shaving the asparagus is a bit fiddly, but it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be. Just dig in and give it a try and by the third one, you'll be a pro. If you want some more tips, Amanda and Merril at Food 52 offered this helpful tutorial. The only change I would make is that I keep the ends on my asparagus before I shave them as a handle.

Oscar doesn't like asparagus and Chloe can't tolerate much lemon, so they weren't fans. But Olivia joined the adults at the table in giving it two thumbs up.

2009:  Roasted Asparagus and New Potatoes with Tarragon
2010:  Olivia's Warm Goat Cheese Salad
2011:  Asparagus and Cannellini Bean Salad

Shaved Asparagus Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts

Fatter asparagus will be easier to shave than the ultra thin ones, although the thin ones still work. I like to leave the shavings long because they look pretty curled into a tangle in the bowl. They are too long to be bite-sized, however and if you'd like to save your dinner guests some work, cut the lengths into thirds or quarters after shaving them.

Because the asparagus shavings are more sturdy than lettuce greens, they can be tossed with the dressing ahead of time and they will not wilt. I'd wait to add the pine nuts and cheese, though, or they will lose their texture.

Serves 4 as a side dish
20 minutes preparation time2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 bunch asparagus (about a dozen)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons fresm lemon juice
1 tablespoon chives
chunk of pramesan for shaving

Put the pine nuts in a single layer in a pan over medium-low heat. Toast until they are fragrant and begin to turn golden, 3-5 minutes.

Rinse and drain the asparagus. Leave the ends on. Lay an asparagus stalk on a cutting board. Using a potato peeler, begin shaving the asparagus lengthwise from the base, beginning where the aspargus stalk starts to change color from white or pale green to a deeper green. Depending on the shape of your potato peeler, as the stalk gets flatter, you may need to shift it to the edge of the cutting board to get a better angle. Continue all the way to the tip so that the result is a long thin sheet of slightly curled asparagus. Discard the handle end of the stalk (or save it for stock).

Keep shaving until the asparagus is too thin to yield another piece. Repeat with the remaining stalks. Toss the curled asparagus pieces into a shallow bowl. If there are any short pieces or tips that didn't get curled, toss then in as well.

Put the lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk it together and, while you are whisking, slowly add the olive oil. Using a pair of scissors, snip the chives into the dressing, pour the dressing over the asparagus, and mix gently.

Just before you are ready to serve, sprinkle the pine nuts over the top of the salad. Using that same potato peeler (rinse it if you must), shave some parmesan over the salad. Use as much as you like, but I'd count on at least 12 to 16 pieces to ensure that each serving gets three or four pieces of parmesan.

Gently mix the salad and serve.

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