Spiced blueberry pancakes

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Over the holiday break, my son had a friend who, last time he was over, I promised blueberry pancakes for breakfast. The blueberries I had on hand were of the preserved Delaware Valley College grown organic sort.  Lucky us!

During the spring and summer weeks, I usually make it to The Market at DelVal College once every week or two to stock up on locally-grown fruits and veggies.  Although some of what I purchase on these trips supplements my CSA produce for meals, I mostly go with a mission to find foods that I will preserve.  Berries and peppers are ridiculously easy to freeze, so often I’ll search for them first.

Choosing foods that are easy to put up makes the weekly chore of preservation simple and fast.  Of course, simple and fast means that my chances of burning out halfway through the season are lessened.  I like the efficiency of this system

The blueberries I used for the boys’ pancakes were purchased in June, on sale for $2.99 for two pints.  Taking them out of the freezer,  I remembered just what a fabulous idea it was to stock up on six pints of these organic, locally-grown dark blue lovelies.  They were absolutely divine, literally bursting with flavor inside the piping-hot pancakes.

Spiced Blueberry Pancakes
Serves 4 (eight pancakes)

1 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil (plus some for pan)
1/3 cup water
1 cup plain rice or soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons real maple syrup (plus some for serving)
1/2 - 3/4 cup blueberries (plus some for serving)

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Reserving the berries, add all other remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add to the wet mixture to the dry mixture, taking care to not overmix.  Let batter sit for ten minutes.  Stir in berries.  Using a ladle, pour scoops of batter into a preheated, well oiled pan or skillet.  When the pancakes start to bubble (about three or four minutes, depending on their size), flip and fry the other side for a minute or two.  Stack pancakes and top with all natural maple syrup and whole blueberries.

In my kitchen, making pancakes is reserved for the less-scheduled and less-rushed weekend mornings.  I usually double or triple the recipe however, so we can eat homemade pancakes during the next couple school/work days.  You know, that way we at least have the illusion of calm and leisurely mornings.  Enjoy!

Summer Meets Winter

Monday, December 31, 2007

What better way to usher in 2008 than with a memory of the sweetest fruit of 2007? I broke into my frozen stash of plump blackberries from our garden to make one of my favorite winter dishes: bread pudding.  I’ve used the basic recipe for sweet and savory bread puddings of all kinds: winter squash, carmelized onion, cranberry, blueberry and, now, blackberry. This last variation is sure to be a favorite and, while so simple to make, seems to be worthy of using the precious summer berries from the freezer.

Blackberry Bread Pudding

1 loaf of challah bread cut into chunks
1 1/2 c. (or more!) of blackberries
6 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
3 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
freshly ground nutmeg

Put half of bread into greased 13x9 baking dish.  Layer berries on top and cover with remaining bread.

In large bowl, whisk eggs with sugar. Gradually whisk in milk, butter and spices. Pour over bread and push down gently. Cover and refrigerate. Overnight is best but an hour will work.

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove covering and bake pudding for 1 hour until puffed and golden.

Happy New Year!

Grilled Ham, Cheese, and Apples

Friday, December 28, 2007

In the lovely holiday lull between Christmas and New Year’s, we’ve been looking to use our time off to tackle a few cooking-related items.  First, either eat or dispose of the leftovers from the multitude of family meals.  Second, prepare some lunches for our inevitable return to work next week.  Third, convert some of the fresh produce in our bursting refrigerator into something more immediately useful during the workweek (e.g., carmelized onions).  Finally, have some experimenting with any and all of the above.

Today’s lunch was no different - bread, apples, butter, cheese and left-over ham served with with a side of lightly dressed baby greens.  It isn’t necessary to use smoked cheddar, but the interplay of it’s smokiness, the salinity of the ham, and sweetness of the apples is really enjoyable.  Also, there is a nice blending of contrasting textures in the crunch of the toasted bread, the creaminess of the melted cheese, the chewiness of the ham, and the crunch of the apples.  It’s a simple addition or two to a classic recipe for something different.

With the exception of the ham, which was leftover from my mother’s Christmas dinner, all items were purchased from Farm to City’s Philadelphia Winter Harvest. 

Grilled Ham, Cheese, and Apples

4 slices, Metropolitan Bakery multigrain loaf, thinly sliced
3 oz., Misty Creek Dairy smoked goat cheddar, thinly sliced
1/2 apple, Kauffman’s Fruit Farm Gold Rush apples, thinly sliced
2 oz., ham, cooked (in the future, I would probably use Meadow Run Farm bacon instead, but I had the ham and needed space in the fridge)
butter, Maplehofe Dairy

Note:  The thinly slices are important for allowing a quick cooking time without burning the bread

Heat a cast-iron pan and cast-iron press (we use Lodge, but any combination of a pan and heated weight is fine - even if it is just a brick wrapped in aluminum foil).  As the pan is heating, assemble the sandwiches.  Butter the outside of each slice of bread (i.e., the surface that will come in contact with the pan or press).  Layer in the bacon, trim to fit if necessary.  Next, add the apples and then the cheese.  Finally, add the the second slice of bread.  By this point, your pan should be sufficiently heated to make the first sandwich.  Lay the sandwich in the pan, cover the press and cook for a few minutes.  Flip and cook for an additional few minutes.  Repeat for the second sandwich.

Celeriac: fugly, hairy, and delicious!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Up until last year, I had no idea what a celery root, aka celeriac, was.  It’s not something that my mother ever served up when I was a kid, and it’s not like they look so appetizing I had to pick one up immediately and try it.  Really, they’re dirty-looking, knobby, gnarly, and hairy.  But I’m happy to say that I overcame my bias against warty-looking food and tried it one day - and now it’s among my favorite vegetables.

This very ugly vegetable is a variety of celery that was bred to have a giant root.  It was first recorded as a food plant in 1623.  And while it’s widely used in Europe, it’s not something overly familiar to most Americans.  I introduced it to my in-laws last year on Thanksgiving by serving a mashed celery root and potato dish.  They are now dedicated fans of the celery root.

Some say it tastes like a combination of celery and parsley.  Some people say jicama.  I think it’s a little bit nutty and sweet.  Whatever the case, if you’ve not tried celery root, I heartily recommend you give it a go.  In addition to being a really nice addition to mashed potatoes, celery root has about 101 uses.  It can be made into a coleslaw-esque remoulade salad, a puree, a yummy soup, or even a hearty gratin.

As with all vegetables, there are some recipes involves celery root I’ve been dying to try.

• Black Bass with Grilled Celery Root and Ginger
• Celery Root Risotto with Pesto
• Celery Root Ravioli

I am particularly interested in a recipe for celery root and Asian pear salad, since both are in season and readily available right now.

Dark Days: Winter Vegetable Chowder

Saturday, December 15, 2007

I practically live on soup in the colder months.  That should be obvious - this is my second Dark Days Challenge meal of the week that was soup...and in truth, both were pots of soup, so I’ve been eating both soups all week.  The pot of soup I just made is my secret weapon soup - it’s always good and uses up whatever Winter vegetables you have on hand.

In my case, that was carrots, turnips, parsnips, and celery root (all picked up from the Fair Food Farmstand).  The recipe calls for four cups of any Winter vegetable.  I’m not sure beets would work, but any other root type of vegetable probably would.

The other thing I really like about this soup is that it gives me a chance to forage in my own back yard - it calls for five crushed juniper berries.  My juniper bushes are full of berries right now!

For all the ingredients in this soup, only a few aren’t local - the salt and pepper.  That’s it!  The parsley, thyme, and bay are from my garden, the vegetables were picked up at the farmstand (except the potatoes, which are leftovers from the last CSA share), the milk and butter are local, the flour is local Daisy flour, I used local raw milk cheddar, and the bread is from Le Bus.

2 c. milk
3 parsley branches
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 onion, sliced
10 peppercorns, slightly crushed
5 juniper berries, slightly crushed
2 Tbsp butter
2 large leeks, chopped
4 c. chopped winter vegetables [I used turnips, celery root, and carrot
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 small bay leaves
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp flour
slices of sourdough
shaved parmesan cheese

Put milk, parsley stems, thyme, 2 bay leaves, onion, peppercorns, and juniper berries in a saucepan; bring to a boil, remove from heat and let steep while cooking vegetables.

Melt butter in a soup pot over low heat.  Add veggies, 2 bay leaves, parsley, and two pinches of salt; cover and cook for two minutes.  Add flour; stir well.  Add five cups of water; boil.  Lower heat to simmer; cook 20-25 minutes until veggies are fork tender.  Strain milk into soup pot and toss the solids.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place a slice of bread in the bottom of a bowl, sprinkle with shaved parmesan, and ladle soup over bread and cheese.

A word of warning: this is some of the most filling soup ever!

Be it ever so humble, there’s nothing like a turnip

Friday, December 14, 2007

Turnips are plentiful ‘round these parts right now.  The farmer’s markets are just full of them!  Oddly, turnips suffer by reputation with many people.  They allege that turnips are woody, that they’re ugly, that they don’t taste good.  Stop maligning the turnips!  They are delicious and nutritious (high in fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Potassium and Copper), with an interesting history.

Did you know that turnips were originally used to make jack o’lanterns around Halloween?  In Ireland, turnips were hallowed out and lit inside to keep the demons and devils away. 

Despite all that, I’m really in it for the taste.  And, like I said, turnips are delicious - and not just my favorites, the Hakurei turnips.  Regular purple-topped varieties are really great, too!

So what can one do with the turnip, other than use it as a tool of the paranormal?  I like to use them in soup and I know lots of people who are crazy about them simply roasted, but there are lots of possibilities.  They can be pickled, made into custards, transformed into latkes, and even the greens can be used! 

There are two turnip recipes I’ve been dying to try: turnip souffle and warm turnip green dip.  I guess I’ll have to nip out the nearest farmer’s market later and pick up a mess of turnips!

Dark Days: ham and bean soup

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The dried beans I purchased from Margerum’s last month have been hibernating in my kitchen.  In truth, I’ve been a little hesitant to use them.  It’s sort of like that whole thing with Elaine and her “spongeworthy” dilemma from Seinfeld - those dried beans are such a great (and not widely available) commodity that I start to second guess myself when I have a recipe idea.  Is that soup recipe spongeworthy?  Well, you know what I mean.  I just don’t want to waste locally grown dried beans on just any old recipe.

Finally, I got over myself.  I mean, they’re beans and they’re meant to be eaten.  And if I run out of beans and can’t find any more this Winter, I’ll just have to live with it and resolve to stock up for next year.  And then I grabbed up a slab of ham from Country Time Farm in Hamburg, PA and made ham and bean soup. 

It’s been a little warm this December to be true soup weather, but this really hit the spot!

1/2 lb of white beans (Margerum’s)
1 quarts of water
1.5 lb of smoked ham steak with a small pc. of bone, cubed and bone reserved (Country Time Farm)
1/2 cup of diced onions (alas, not local)
1 cup chopped celery (from my CSA share, frozen)
1/2 cup chopped carrots (Lancaster Farm Fresh)
2 cloves garlic, diced (Landisdale Farm)
Salt and pepper
chopped parsley (my garden, dried)

Soak the beans in cold water for about 2 hrs. Drain.

Place all ingredients in a big old soup pot, cover with water and simmer for about an hour and a half.  If you want a thicker soup, cook the beans for about an hour and then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another hour.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I must admit, I’m kind of excited about the prospect of a Nor’easter coming through on Sunday.  It’s my fervent wish for us all to get snowed in for a couple of days.  We’ve got wood for the fireplace, and lots of soup!

Fresh Tofu Scrambler

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Every good vegetarian has a recipe for a tofu scramble tucked in her or his apron. It’s probably one of the very first dishes a new vegetarian learns to prepare, and puts to rest any misgivings one has about not liking tofu. My first introduction was about 17 years ago in a dinner lovingly prepared by mom using a Fantastic Foods mix and served on English muffins. A meal that is now one of my all-time comfort foods.

It’s one of those perfect, reliable eats - a dependable friend during meal planning. Always there for you, like lasagna or a stir fry, willing to use up any veggies you need to move out of the crisper; always a complete source of nutrition and whole foods; always willing to be brunch (with toast), dinner (in a tortilla), a snack or anything in between; and, thanks to Fresh Tofu, always ready to show of its local flavor.

One of my favorite discoveries during One Local Summer, Fresh Tofu has been supplying the east coast with organic tofu since 1984 and is distributed throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I purchase mine at a local natural food store (Plumsteadville Natural Foods), though Whole Foods carries it as well. It truly is a superior product, living up to its name and consistently giving great texture and taste to my favorite bean curd recipes. If the gourmet mecca that is Horizon’s uses Fresh Tofu, you can safely bank on it awesomeness. Besides, anyone with a flying block of tofu for a logo has got to pretty much rock, right?

Although creating and perfecting a great tofu scramble recipe is one of those must-experience kitchen intimacies, everyone needs a place to start. Vegan cookbook author extraordinaire, Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s, version is a great place to do so and provides the base for my recipe below. Her spice combination is so colorful and the flavor can’t be beat. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, that shouldn’t stop you from honing your scramble skills. In fact, one of my favorite versions is a cilantro-heavy one made by an omnivore friend.

 
Tofu Scrambler
serves 4

1 pound organic Fresh Tofu, drained and pressed well
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped kale (or other dark, leafy green)
1/2 cup chopped peppers, carrots, and/or any other veggie in the fridge
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
hot sauce to taste

spice blend:
3 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high. Saute onions 3 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms, saute 5 minutes more. Add garlic, saute 2 minutes more. Add spice blend and mix it up for 15 seconds or so. Crumble in tofu and mix well. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water if necessary to keep it from sticking too much.

Mix in kale and other vegetables, cover for five minutes, allowing steam to soften them. Stir in hot sauce to taste. Mix in nutritional yeast.

Serve with toast (Bakers on Broad Complet bread was used above) and fruit for breakfast, or in tortillas with guacamole and salsa for dinner.

Although this is my standard recipe, it’s really more of an outline. I can’t say I’ve actually ever made the same scrambler twice. Everyone seems to find their own special ingredient, whether it be a spice or veggie or secret sauce, so don’t be afraid to experiment!

Eggs-travagant

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Yesterday during my volunteer shift at the Fair Food Farmstand, I learned a couple of things about chickens - certain breeds are more sensitive than others to temperature.  The lovely blue eggs they sell can only be found in the Spring and Fall, for instance, because the chickens don’t like it when it’s too hot or too cold.  Prima donnas!  The Farmstand won’t be getting any of the great free range Meadow Run Farm eggs for a while, either - in the colder weather, the chickens are kept inside and don’t get to graze and don’t lay many eggs.

I was a little sad to hear it - I just used the last of my Meadow Run eggs a few days ago.  And then I got excited, because I was able to share those eggs with people I really like - members of my dragonboat team!  We had a sort of ancillary event the other day where we all had to bring some food, and my potluck dish was deviled eggs.

Deviled eggs sort of get a bad rap - they’re a little bit kitschy and people make fun of them.  The thing is, though, that I don’t know a single person who dislikes them.  I like to play around with deviled eggs to make them a little less boring, and I really like the recipe for the deviled eggs I took to the event - the yolks were mixed with boiled potato, minced smoked salmon, and green onion.  The potato changed the texture of the yolk quite a bit - the eggs were eggy without being too eggy.

1 dozen eggs
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lime juice
4 tsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
8 Tbsp minced smoked salmon
6 Tbsp finely chopped green onions

Boil the potato for about 15 minutes.  And while the potato is boiling, cover the eggs in water, throw in a bit of salt, and tsp. of vegetable oil, and bring to a boil.  Boil for ten minutes.  Immediately remove the eggs for the heat and transfer them to a bowl of cold water.  Peel the eggs, cut them in half lengthwise, and scoop out the yolk.

Combine the yolk and potato with a bit of salt and pepper, the oil, juice, and mustard.  Mash it all together really really well with a fork or a masher.  Throw in half of your minced salmon and green onions and stir to blend.  Load it all in a piping bag and pipe into the egg hollows.

Sprinkle the other half of the salmon and green onions over top.

The eggs, potato, and scallion were locally grown.

I hear the latest fad in deviled eggs is mixing the yolk with avocado.  Avocado can generally not be found locally, but it made me wonder what a deviled egg would taste like with the yolk mixed with butternut squash.  Perhaps one day I’ll spend the day making different deviled egg concoctions.  Let it never be said that eating locally grown food in the Winter is dull!

Even When You Think You Have Nothing, You’ve Got Something

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Some of my favorite recipes aren’t really recipes at all: they are desperate explorations of a seemingly empty refrigerator or pantry.  Determined to make something, we pull out whatever we have and find a way to pull it together.  Sometimes this results in disasters (my sweet-potato gnocchi being the most recent example), but more often it’s a miraculous transformation.  These accomplishments are doubly pleasing: we feel frugal for not wasting food we have nor purchasing anything new, and we feel particularly creative for doing what we wouldn’t have thought possible an hour before.  This morning, determined to make breakfast (my wife loves breakfast), my wife pulled out of our empty fridge an apple, leftover bourbon cranberries, and walnuts.  Using a recipe from Nigella Lawson’s Feast as a guide, she created these delicious muffins.  One more thing - my wife loves to make baked goods as guilt-free as possible without sacrificing flavor, so feel free to sweeten or fatten these as you like.

Apple, Cranberry, Walnut Muffins
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 cups flour (I used a combination of spelt and whole wheat pastry)
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup wheat germ
pinch salt
½ cup yogurt
½ cup honey
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup milk
1 egg
¾ cups whole cranberry dressing
1 apple, finely diced
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Combine ¾ cups of the walnuts with the flour, baking powder, wheatgerm and salt in large bowl. 

In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, honey, canola oil, milk, and egg.  Add cranberries and apple. Pour wet ingredients into dry and combine. 

Spoon mixture into prepared large muffin tins. Chop remaining nuts more finely and combine with brown sugar.  Sprinkle onto muffin tops.

Bake for 20 minutes.

No Local Pancetta - Yet

Saturday, December 01, 2007

I think every Italian cookbook published has a version of Carbonara, and at least have of them claim to be “authentic.”  Since the recipe has never been codified, I am not sure how that is possible.  This is one I’ve changed over time, adopting various proportions of ingredients and different techniques while dropping others.  One of the most helpful recipes was Nigella Lawson’s.  To get a creaminess, she suggests combining the egg and cheese before adding them to the cooked pasta.  Rather than pancetta in this dish, I have used Meadow Run Farm’s Cottage Bacon.  It’s lower in fat and has a smoky flavor, so I won’t be substituting it for pancetta very often, but here it works.  I can compensate for the loss of fat with olive oil, and the smoky flavor somehow makes it more like the “breakfast” pasta (or hangover pasta, as Mario Batali claims) it is in Italy in my mind.  This is not when we eat Carbonara (mostly a lunch dish here), but I still like the idea.  I also use the bacon sparingly, as the smoky flavor is rather strong.  If you were to go back to using pancetta, you’d probably use quite a bit more. 

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 lb. Severino Spaghetti
1/3 cup Meadow Run Farm Cottage bacon, cut into strips
4 oz. Hendricks’ Dairy Parmesan, grated (or more or less to taste)
4 eggs (preferably Meadow Run Farm), scrambled
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Put a large pot of water on to boil.  Once it boils, salt it aggressively and turn it down to a simmer. (Well-salted pasta water is essential to good pasta.  Also, I like to the sauce or “condiment,” as it is referred to in Italian, almost done before I put the pasta in to cook.)  Add the bacon to a cold pan (a wide-bottomed, shallow pan big enough to hold the pasta) with some olive oil (enough to film the bottom of the pan).  Slowly heat the bacon to render the fat.  Once the bacon is crispy, remove it to a plate with a slotted spoon.  Lower the heat (if necessary) to medium-low and add the onions.  Allow them to really cook, to soften, grown golden and sweet.  This will take a good ten minutes if not more.  Once the onion is cooked, reduce the heat again and bring the pasta water back up to a hard boil; the, add the pasta.  While the pasta is cooking, stir together the egg and cheese until they are well incorporated.  Cook the pasta until it is slightly undercooked (this is a matter of taste, as I prefer a firmer pasta) to your judgment.  Remove the pasta from the water, reserving approximately one cup of the pasta water (which should be beautifully clouded and salty), and add the pasta to the pan with the cooked onions and toss to coat with the oil and onions.  Next, add the egg-and-cheese mixture and parsley, tossing the pasta and parsley to coat and slowly cook the eggs.  The eggs should cook and the cheese should melt into a nice sauce, with bits of onion and parsley suspended in it.  If you need additional liquid,  add some of the reserved pasta water.  Serve with additional cheese and freshly cracked pepper.   

Savory Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Friday, November 23, 2007

Local vegan for Thanksgiving:  so good!  That’s because I’ve been hoarding sweet potatoes and shallots from my CSA share since September. 

I found that the most efficient way to deal with the abundance of produce each week was to preserve whatever preserved easiest, so more often than not, each week’s potatoes and onions were put in the dark.  My stockpile of sweet potatoes and shallots finally met the light of day on Thanksgiving morning as Jason and I created a smash for our vegan dinner with friends later that night.

While pulling the recipe together, my only objective was to stear clear of the traditional sugary and sticky sweet potato recipes.  One of the most valuable lessons eating locally has taught me, is that simply is the very best way to cook and enjoy vegetables.  Local food just tastes better; there’s little reason to doctor it up with loads of other ingredients.  Think I’m overstating?  Do a test of your own.  A bite of local sweet potato vs. a bite of store-bought sweet potato.  No contest.  Be sure to note the incredible color difference while you’re at it, too!

Additionally, always considering a local vegan diet when preparing meals, things like marshmallows and white sugar don’t please either side.  In avoiding a lot of ingredients, shallots and thyme seemed like a great way to impart a bit of simple savory loveliness into our dish.

Savory Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 8

4 pounds of sweet potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled and quartered (Blooming Glen Farm CSA crop share - 5 miles)
1/4 pound of shallots,  chopped (Blooming Glen)
1 tablespoon dried thyme, crushed (Blooming Glen)
1 tablespoon olive oil (not local)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (not local)
1/2 cup soy milk (from Westsoy - 91 miles)
1/4 cup vegan buttery spread (from Earth Balance - 117 miles)

Add sweet potatoes to boiling stockpot and cook for 15 minutes or until tender.  While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add shallots and thyme to the oil and cook five minutes or until soft and fragrant.  Drain potatoes, score skins (so they don’t get caught in your masher) and smash.  Stir in two-thirds of the shallot mixture, soy milk and Earth Balance.  Serve with shallots and thyme mixture sprinkled on top.

On top of being delicious, the simple ingredients mean super quick preparation.  We had this in a serving dish and packed up in under 30 minutes.  Maybe I should have started this post with “Local vegan for Thanksgiving:  so good, so fast and so easy!” 

Turkey Day Challenge: Pumpkin creme brulee

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The other day at lunch with Lauren, I was lamenting over my inability to get the consistency of some pumpkin creme brulee just right.  It’s something I’ve been borderline obsessive-compulsive over ever since I roasted those pie pumpkins that came in my CSA share last month.  After another test run, I perfected it - the perfect creme brulee for my 100 Mile Thanksgiving.  The bulk of the ingredients are locally grown - eggs, cream, pumpkin, and maple sugar.

So what was the issue that stymied my efforts?  I’m pretty sure it was the fresh pumpkin puree.  If you’ve ever made a pumpkin pie, you’ve probably dealt with canned pumpkin puree.  It’s thick, like a paste.  Fresh puree is far different.  It’s a little watery.  Sure, I could have cooked it down to get a thicker paste, but what’s the point?  I’d rather do a little experimenting!

Here’s the recipe -

2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch ginger
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup fresh pumpkin puree
1/2 c. sugar
maple sugar for topping

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Heat the cream and spices in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk it every now and then until it boils.  Remove from heat and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Combine the yolks with 1/2 cup sugar. Stir with a fork until light in color and the sugar is mixed in.

Pour a little bit of the cream into the yolk/sugar mixture. Whisk well.  Pour a little more of the cream into the yolk/sugar mix.  Keep whisking.  Continue until all the cream has been incorporated. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla.

Place 4 6-ounce ovenproof ramekins in a large roasting pan. Fill the ramekins with the pumpkin mixture. Place the roasting pan on the center shelf of the oven. Carefully pour water into the roasting pan, being careful not to get any into the ramekins. Add enough water to come halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 45 minutes until the custard is set but still jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and cool. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Note: the original recipe calls for a baking time of 25 to 35 minutes.  I suspect this would work if you use canned puree or your oven runs much hotter than mine.

Sprinkle a thinnish layer of maple sugar over the tops of the brulees. Use a pastry torch to brown the sugar; or, place the ramekins on a baking sheet under a broiler about 4 inches from the heat until the tops brown and bubble, about 1 to 3 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes and serve.

What an excellent dessert spread we’ll have at Thanksgiving this year - pumpkin creme brulee and apple cake!

Fruit of the Gods

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Persimmons have long been known as the food of the gods.  The fact that the three that I purchased at the Fair Food Farmstand this week came from someone named Giovanni who grows these luscious fruits, along with figs, in his backyard in Philadelphia only makes them seem more magical.  I couldn’t resist the beautiful basket sitting on the counter.  And while I’ve tasted persimmons before, this was my first experience handling the soft fruits them and cooking with them.  Now I can add them to the amazing list of local foods that are in season in autumn.

For three days the persimmons sat lined up on my counter while I tried to decide how best to use them.  This morning I remembered a recipe I saw in the November/December issue of Hobby Farms for persimmon pudding, and I decided to give it a go (with the Bean’s help, of course).

First, you cut the fruits in half, remove the seeds and core and scoop the jelly-like pulp out.  Then you mash it up. This is where the Bean’s expert toddler mashing skills came in handy, all the while saying “P is for Persimmon!” over and over.  After that, it’s basic baking ingredients and an hour in the oven.

Persimmon Pudding/Cake
From Hobby Farms Magazine (Nov/Dec 2007)

1 c. persimmon pulp
1 egg
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar (the recipe called for 1 cup, but I think 1/2 cup was more than enough with the sweet fruit)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 T. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325.  Stir together persimmon pulp, egg, milk, melted butter, vanilla and salt. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon; fold into the persimmon batter.  Pour into a buttered 1/2 quart casserole dish and bake for 50-60 minutes until set and lightly browned.

The result was actually more cake than pudding.  Name aside, it had the unmistakable yet subtle taste of persimmon and tasted terrific with a cup of coffee.

Three questions occurred to me while baking this:  what’s the best source for local butter that’s reasonably priced for baking?  How can I use the rest of the can of sweetened condensed milk? What else is Giovanni growing in his little garden of paradise?

Turkey Day challenge: roasted potatoes with watercress yogurt sauce

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Every now and then I like to skip mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner and serve potatoes in some other way.  I know it’s practically sacrilege to say that, but it’s true.  A favorite around here are roasted potatoes with yogurt watercress dressing.

If you’re into Green Goddess salad dressing (which I am), you’ll probably like the dressing - it’s very similar.

1.5 c. yogurt
1 c. watercress, stems removed
1/3 c. mayonnaise
6-7 scallions, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp fresh basil, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Whirl it all together in a blender until smooth and Bob’s yer uncle.  Er…it’s done, is what I mean.  Refrigerate the sauce for 30 minutes, or until your potatoes are roasted.  I like to use the goat yogurt from Shellbark Hollow Farm and the scallions and mint are local.  Alas, it’s a little late in the season to find fresh, local basil and watercress.

Lancaster Farm Fresh provided the small red potatoes I used for roasting.  Just coat them in good olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper, and roast at 450 degrees for 35 minutes.  Drizzle with the watercress sauce (or, if you’re my husband, drown the potatoes in sauce) and eat ‘em up!