Random Recipe Monday - Snowball Potatoes

Apparently, I laughed a little too soon about the snow. We had another two hours of snow in the afternoon, which didn't add up to much but which did add plenty of ice. The road is still iced up today and Mama doesn't drive in the snow/ice, so I'm homebound. No Donner Party moments ahead though; I have some stuff in the freezer. I think a nice meatloaf might be in order (much to NR's sadness, I'm afraid). But perhaps I can tempt him with some snowball potatoes.

I haven't made these before but they do remind me of the klub that I still need to make for Dad - although with cheese inside the potato instead of ham (and they are baked, not boiled - alright they are nothing like klub). Of course, NR doesn't love mashed potatoes or cheese so on second thought, he might not be a fan. Then again, he is a sucker for advertising. The chance to eat snowballs for dinner just might be too much to pass up.

Potato Snowballs (by Ingrid Hoffman)

Ingredients

* 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 2 ounces Oaxaca or any other soft white cheese, cubed
* 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
* Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Put potatoes in a large pot and fill with water until potatoes are just covered. Add the 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are very soft, about 40 minutes.

Press potatoes through a potato ricer or pulse in a bowl with an immersion hand blender until they are mashed. Let sit for a few minutes until just cool enough to handle.

Cut the white cheese in 1/2-inch cubes.

Prepare a baking sheet with foil wrap and coat with vegetable spray or rub with oil.

Put bread crumbs in a small bowl.

While mashed potatoes are still warm, form into 2-inch balls and insert 1 cheese cube in center, then roll into bread crumbs and place on cookie sheet. Wash hands and dry after every third ball so the potatoes will form evenly and not stick to the bread crumbs in your hand. Quantity should make about 10 balls.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, serve immediately.

Recipe found at foodnetwork.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...well, no

At last, the big snow of December 2008! It's come to our neighborhood at last. If you blink, you might miss it, so look closely.

Though it doesn't look like much, I must say that it is slippery enough for danger. We watched a girl sliding down the street (as if on ice skates) hurt her leg badly enough that the paramedics had to come. We also saw the dumbest woman in the world get out of her sliding and still in "drive" car to assess why she couldn't manage to get up the hill. Naturally, she fell and the car started rolling away. Luckily, she was unhurt and the car didn't careen into the injured girl, which seemed highly possible. But it was tense there for a few minutes. Oh and I forgot to mention: she was driving a four wheel drive Lexus wagon. I wonder if it is just the snow that brings out the silliest in people.

I say pumpkin, vous say potiron

I'm very fond of Ina Garten, as you know, but I must say this: she is wrong. At least about pumpkins in France. She said in her new book "Back to Basics" (Lord love the library!) that pumpkin isn't even sold in France. I couldn't believe that so I checked. It is. She said that while in Paris she had to make due with a squash called potiron instead. Not to be picky, but a pumpkin is a squash and the french word for pumpkin is potiron. I don't know what Ina's gourd looked like but it was likely a pumpkin.

Of course, for my research I didn't actually fly to France and check all the market stands but I did use my old friend Google and I found recipes a plenty from french folks using pumpkin. One thing I did discover though is that pumpkin is typically only a savory ingredient - pies, muffins, bread are probably not going to show up on a menu any time soon.

So Ina, dear favorite of celebrity chefs, you might want to scope out the markets next time you and Jeffrey are in Paris. Perhaps you'll want to try this Potiron rôti:

"Roasted pumpkin stuffed with bread and gruyère cheese, from The Great Little Pumpkin Book by Michael Krondl. I learned how to make this fabulous dish from Alain Senderens, one of France's renowned three-star chefs. If you can only find big pumpkins, increase the filling and cooking time proportionately. Recipe

1 cooking pumpkin of about 5 pounds

1/2 pound loaf of French or Italian country-style bread

1 cup crème fraîche

8 ounces grated Gruyère cheese

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt and black pepper

Rinse the outside of the pumpkin and wipe dry. Using a sharp knife and cutting at a slight angle so the tip of the knife is angled down into the vegetable, cut off the top quarter of the pumpkin to form a lid. Use a large spoon scrape out the seeds.

Cut the bread into thin slices and toast until golden brown. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line the pumpkin cavity with one layer of the bread, spread with 4 tablespoons of the crème fraîche, a quarter of the cheese and a generous sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper. Continue layering (4 layers in all), finishing with the Gruyère. Set the top back on the pumpkin.

Cut a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap the entire pumpkin. Brush the pumpkin lightly with the oil. Wrap the pumpkin with the foil and place on a baking pan. Set in the oven and bake about 1 hour, 40 minutes. The pumpkin will be done when the outside skin has softened and a very sharp knife can easily pierce through to the interior flesh.

Remove from the oven, take off the foil and place the pumpkin on a serving platter. Carefully remove the lid and, using a large spoon, stir the interior mixture, making sure to incorporate the pumpkin into the other ingredients. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve hot.

Serves 4 to 6."

Random Recipe Monday - Apple Cupcakes

Ever buy an ingredient because you need one tablespoon and then you have a whole jar in the fridge, looking accusingly at you every time you get something out? Ok, maybe not looking at you, unless the ingredient was a fish head, but you get the idea. Mine is apple butter. I needed it for the apple cider doughnuts I made awhile back and unfortunately, it seems to only be sold in giant jars. Go figure. So I've tried to use it in my oatmeal but at that rate, it will be a moldy oldie before I go through it all.

I'm bound and determined to use up that apple butter. I don't want to waste the money and truthfully, it is pretty good stuff. Enter Apple cupcakes. Half a cup will be used in making these babies and heck, cream cheese frosting on an apply little cake sounds pretty darn good. Good for Halloween, good for Thanksgiving, whateva floats your apple boat.

Any other ideas for using apple butter? Mine is heavily spiced so I don't know how well it would work in something savory, but I'm willing to give things a try.

Random Recipe Monday - Pumpkin Dumplings

The word "dumpling" is so cute, don't you think? It conjurs images of "The Apple Dumpling gang" and big pots of chicken n' dumplings, and fat cheeked babies. It also makes me think of wonderful dim sum meals and things savory. That's good news because I'm trying to cut back on sugar. I know, no fun that's for sure. It certainly puts a crimp in my cupcake baking. But I can still make dumplings - especially savory ones.

"Pumpkin" is another cute word. My favorite word for adorable children, actually. It's also a versatile veggie that works for both sweet and savory dishes. So, just imagine when these two language lovelies get together. Voila, .pumpkin dumplings that work well with fall flavors.

More like gnocchi than your grandma's dumplings, the flavor is mild and more about the butter that the dumplings are sauted in, rather than a burst of pumpkin (I said no sugar, not fat...). You could amp up the taste by increasing the nutmeg but I like them a little more mellow, a little more of a background player to grilled kielbasa or pork chops. A little sage in the butter might be nice and I'll try that next time. But like all good dumplings, the pleasing and the plump goes hand in hand and that's what makes them good.

An apple a day...

Have you noticed that apples don't taste like apples anymore? Though not a fan of the Wachowski Bros, I must say that the scene from the Matrix where the character Mouse says "You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything" has been on my mind. That's how I feel about apples now.

Apples taste like each other or nothing, depending upon the apple. Sure, some are more sour - granny smith apples hit pucker sooner than golden delicious, but the quintessential appleyness seems to be missing from the fruit at the grocery.

And no wonder. Out of the 17,000 different kinds of apples recorded over history, how many are left? A handful, a basket full - not even a bushel. I bet the local grocery store has five or six, tops. Talk about disappointing.

So I'm on a quest. To find the apple. The real taste of an apple. Not the bland juiciness of a fuji or the mushy graininess of a red delicious. I want to find out what apples really taste like - the apples from the past, when apples had flavor. (You know, back in the same time when roses actually had a scent. When we hadn't bred everything away for perfection.)

This weekend, we'll be heading to the local farms to see what's out there. I don't expect really exotic selections like the Allum or the Arkansas Black, but perhaps we'll find some gravensteins or pippins. Something with some character, some flavor, some zip.

Foodhistory's chart of apples will be on my bookmarks for awhile while I scratch this apple itch. Maybe I'll even look for a variety or two to plant in my own yard. I can't help wondering when we all decided that blemish-free fruit was better than flavorful fruit? Is a year round supply of bland better than a few months of wonderful? I think not.

If you have any favorite apple varieties, please let me know so I can look for a local sample. I'd love to try them.

Oktoberfest, Ja ist es gut.

I think I've mentioned before that I don't drink beer. It just isn't my cup of tea, as it were. Ahem. It certainly looks good - especially those pints of Guinness or the Sam Adams commercials with the frothy stuff and loads of talk about winter wheat, hops and ale. The closest I get is using it in cooking.

So why would I post about Oktoberfest? Well, I think there is more to this German celebration than drinking, right? Ok, well, there is more than just drinking, anyway. There is also eating. That I can get behind.

I don't come from German roots and I'm not always partial to things that end in -wurst or -braten. But there are plenty of other hearty dishes that go nicely with autumn and heck, I'm always up for a good pretzel.

So, donned appropriately in lederhosen - man, these shorts are chaffy - and empty stein in hand, I'm ready to try out a few favorites (or culinary knock-offs, either way).

My first stop is a Fried German Potato Salad. I've always loved fried potatoes and onions as a side dish and this is a variation on that theme. I think a roast pork loin with beer sauce would go nicely with that.

We could finish off with some more chewy pretzels but I'm in the mood for something sweet. How about lebkuchen? (Think gingersnap but chewy). That should go well with a mug of...cider.

Whether you make it to Munich or not, enjoy Oktoberfest. It runs until early October traditionally, so you have plenty of time to polish those steins or savor that sauerkraut.

Autumn Snaps

Punkin at the State Fair
Black pumpkin table runner
A Vintage Halloween acquisition
Never going to turn red...
These either...
The moles are back...

Minestrone, anyone?

Continuing with my veggie lust, I thought that a big batch of minestrone would fit the bill and get my family to eat some vegetables. Hubby and NR were both under the weather and I believe in the restorative power of soup. But neither guy is big on vegetables, so I knew the soup would have to have a bit more going on than just that.

Minestrone typically uses ingredients that you have on hand, whatever is in season. For mine, I used some zucchini, carrots, asparagus and some heirloom tomatoes. To make the dish a bit heartier, you could use potatoes or beans but I went with pasta and some meatballs. The veggies were prominent so it still is a minestrone in my book and it was tasty. Even if some of the veggies stayed at the bottom of the bowl, NR took in some, along with the broth, so the minestrone did its job. Plus, it made good leftovers. Here's my concoction:

Mama D's Minestrone:
1 sweet onion - coarsely chopped
1.5 cups chopped peeled baby carrots
2 cups chopped asparagus
1 cup cubed zucchini
4 cups chicken stock
salt, pepper, dried basil
1/2 package small pasta (I used orecchiette, but anything small would work) (approximately 8 ounces)
20 or so of your favorite cooked meatballs (your recipe or a good frozen meatball that has been thawed and cooked)
4 large heirloom (or flavorful) tomatoes, with juice

In the bottom of a heavy stockpot, over medium heat, add three tablespoons olive oil. Warm oil and add onions and carrots, saute for about five minutes. Add asparagus, zucchini, and stock. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add salt (about 2tsp) and pepper (about 1/2 tsp) to taste. Add 1.5 tsp of dried basil. Cover and cook 1 hour.

Prepare tomatoes by chopping into cubes, reserving any juice. Add tomatoes, reserved juice and pasta to soup. Increase heat to medium-high. Add cooked meatballs and cover pot for approximately 20 minutes. Check soup for seasoning (I added another 2tsp of salt) and pasta for doneness.

Just a bit of harmless brain alteration, that's all

"Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is one of my favorite movies. Maybe it is the new-school-but-it-looks-like-old-school claymation or the voice work of Ralph Fiennes, but something about that movie just tickles my funny bone.

So much so, that when I get a craving for Veg (vegetables for you non-anglophiles), I naturally think of the enormous specimens in the movie and the rabbit...err..rabid townsfolk that love them. Who wouldn't love a pest control company called Anti-Pesto? I'm mean really, what's better than that?

Ok, so this digression does have a point. For the last couple of days, my mind has become a "rabbity mush" as Wallace would say and I can't stop thinking about fruits and veg. It started with a huge pot of corn chowder, with tons of fresh basil (the recipe is at one of my favorite blogs, Posy Gets Cozy) and moved on to a severe thirst for apple cider (see the earlier post about the doughnuts).

Today, at the store, I found myself strolling the produce section, lingering over the piles of peaches and stacks of squash. I came home with a huge bag of fuji apples and the blackest and biggest seedless grapes since a trip to Versailles. These local grapes were almost as good as those, albeit far less pretentious without the mini-berets and tiny cigarettes.

See? Mushy mind, for sure. AnyVeg, I finished my craving with a huge bowl of butternut squash soup, sprinkled liberally with Goldfish crackers. While hubby and NR scarfed down their homemade pizza, I slurped down the squashy soup. Something clearly must be amiss. Craving apples, eating veggies and dreaming of salad is not in my bunny nature, as it were.

Oh, I was going somewhere with this post...ah yes, the squash. I tried a pre-fab squash soup and it was pretty good, though fresh would have been (and will be) a lot better. I'm thinking of whipping up a batch, with a bunch of fresh sage and a drizzle of cream. Maybe a nice salad with cranberries, sunflower seeds and a poppyseed dressing to round things out. Hmmmm...sounds like I need to get down to the local farms and see what's available.

Oh, right. The recipe. This is the one I'll be tinkering with this week, with plenty of nutmeg and onion. Mmmmm...onions....

I guess there are worse cravings than vegetables. Like cupcakes, perhaps. Well, maybe carrot cupcakes wouldn't be too bad.

Apple Cider "Doughnuts"

Apple cider is the quintessential autumn beverage. As hot cocoa rules winter and margaritas hold summertime, cider practically screams out "It's fall, everybody. Grab a mug and a sweater."

Drinking it, no sweat, but making it is another story. It involves multiple kinds of apples, an apple press and some patience - none of which I usually have when I want a mug. Thankfully, there are good brands out there for tasty cider and I don't have to worry about smashing apples in cheesecloth. For those who want to try it though, check here.

Almost as well known as the beverage, apple cider doughnuts are an autumnal favorite - especially in the northeast. I like doughnuts but not enough to contend with the frying; I avoid deep frying more for the mess than the calories. Luckily, a baked style doughnut (more a bundt than doughnut, but close enough) uses apple cider, so I can have my doughnut and eat it too. The recipe calls for a maple glaze, which I am normally all over, but I think that might hide the apple flavor. I'll test it with and without.

Sounds like a perfect pairing with a mug of cider.

Autumn on the rise - a few favorites

I'm not a fan of The Sound of Music. I know. As a musical theatre fan (notice I spelled it "theatre" and not "theater" - you know I'm a fan now), it is simply not done to say that you don't like The Sound of Music. It's like movie buffs hating Gone with the Wind or art history students shrugging their shoulders at the Pieta. Nope, everybody likes TSoM.

Except me. Well, I have to take that back partially - I like the song My Favorite Things. Oh yeah, I know it has been done to death, from everyone from Tony Bennett to The Supremes to Dionne Warwick to Miles Davis. But I still like it. Maybe because my sister used it as an audition piece when she was a little kid trying out for a musical or maybe just because I too like whiskers on kittens and warm woolen mittens. I don't know. But in any event, I like it because it takes ordinary, everyday things and elevates them to remarkable.

In a world often gone mad (by the way, movie trailer voice over artist Don LaFontaine just died, hence the dramatic beginning to this paragraph), sometimes it is only the simple things that make me feel grounded. I can't change the big stuff (not by myself, surely) but I can notice and remark on the small stuff, the stuff that makes life...well, life.

So, some things that I really enjoy about the beginning of autumn:

I love how the mornings are crisp but you can feel the heat of the sun coming through the nip in the air. It reminds me of some fun weekends in Whistler, BC or strolling around the streets of Leavenworth, WA.

Sweaters come back from the corners of the closet and there is something comforting about a good sweater. No horizontal stripes though, please.

Apples taste better - especially Jonathans, hot chocolate with whipped cream seems more appropriate and piles of knobby ornamental gourds start to appear in grocery stores. Good applesauce, warm zucchini bread and homemade mac n' cheese with slices of polska kielbasa - all things I like in the fall.

The smell of wood fires when it gets dark and that wonderfully toxic "new plastic" smell that can only be found on good Halloween masks. Lighting candles on my mantle, listening to moodier music (Loreena McKennitt and Kate Rusby are good celtic-style favs) and bringing out the photo albums.

I like that summer is still around but not as hot around the edges. Cool mornings, sunny days but shorter all the while, the windows still open but quiet without all those breeze boxes and fans going all night. Socks start returning, as do sleeves and even the occasional afghan for nights on the sofa.

It might not be brown paper packages tied up with string, but ordinary can be quite dandy, actually. I know that this particular autumn will be consumed with all the political drama of the presidential race, but taking just a few moments to appreciate the simple things seems especially timely right now.

Blackberries are coming

Late summer means blackberries. It's amazing that fruit that good can come from a Class Four Noxious Weed. Perhaps that's why those plants can cover so much ground so fast - birds can't ignore the berries (and their seeds). Of course, having rhizomes that travel under the ground and the fact that they can live twenty five years doesn't hurt either.

But, on the sunny side of things, you get lots of blackberries when you have blackberry plants. If you can pick them. Blackberry thorns are a deterrent but a good pair of gloves, some rolled down sleeves and jeans go a long way toward protecting from the pokes and scratches that come from reaching for that really good berry, just over your head.

There are different kinds of blackberries but most of us are familiar with Himalayan, which are the ones you typically see growing along the side of the road. True "wild blackberries" are smaller, have less seeds and, some folks think, a superior blackberriness to them. They are also a bit like finding Sasquatch in the woods.

But whether it is the common variety or a rarer species, the upcoming crop of berries holds all kinds of possibilities. Pies, cobblers, cocktails, barbecue sauce, muffins, cakes, smoothies, jam...oh the list is endless. Whatever you decide to make with the berries you bravely battle the stickers for, you'll have to do it fast because these berries won't last long once picked. Keep them dry - don't wash them until you are ready to use them and keep them in the fridge too.

Summer might be on the way out (pout) but at least she's putting on a good spread for her going-away party.

What a peach

*
“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring and because it has fresh peaches in it” Thomas Walker

Fresh peaches taste like summer, without the sunscreen or bug spray flavor. They are perfection at their ripest and whether you eat them off the tree or in a pie, pudding or upside down cake, they are one of the best summer fruits going.

Now some folks are put off by the fuzzy skin. Not me, I find it part of the peachy experience. But for those who can't deal with it, there are a couple of ways to get rid of the fuzz. If you are eating only one, use a veggie peeler or a paring knife and just peel it off. But if you need to make a pie and you have a bunch to peel, get a pot of water boiling. Cut an X in the bottom of each peach, place the peach in the water for 15 seconds or so, remove the peaches with a slotted spoon and rinse them in cool water. Once they are cool enough to handle, rub them with a towel to peel back the skin. Read EHow for a more detailed version if you need it.

For those who love historic food stories, check out The Old Foodie's blog for the rumor about unpopular King John's death by way of peaches. Foodie reports that peaches were grown at the Tower of London in 1272 and provides a 16th century recipe for "Marmelet of Peches". Kinda puts my humble offering of Fresh Peach Coffee Cake (in honor of Rosemary) to shame.

So, fresh or cooked, I hope you'll give these in-season sirens a place in your kitchen. Let these sweet babies spark your imagination; some peach jam would be lovely in the winter, or some dried peaches would be great in a Waldorf salad, or a pitcher of mimosas with fresh peach juice, or...

*Peaches and Pewter by Pauline Campanelli. Check out Art.com.

Christmas in May and other insane ideas

Actually, there is nothing insane about planning ahead. It just sounds insane, when the heat of May just starts unfolding, flowers starting to make a show in the yard and fans coming out of the closet, to be thinking about December. And yet, it isn't going to be that long before weather starts turning colder, leaves and temperatures falling, and the gift giving season will be upon us. Is that depressing? Where's my old "live in the moment, savor the season" stylings, you might ask. Actually, they are still here. I'm thrilled with Spring right now and looking happily toward Summer. But I'm still thinking ahead to Christmas and starting already to plan my gifts. Why? Well, becaue money is tight (tighter than usual) and I can't do my usual last minute shopping spree to make it work. Last year, I started making gifts in October and I found that by December I was a wreck, finishing up the last of the gifts on time.

This year is going to be different. This year is going to be methodical and smooth. No, really, stop laughing. For that to happen, it needs to begin in May, slowly, cautiously, with thought and planning. I'm not going to make some jumbo list and weigh myself down. No Ma'am, I am going to write down things that I accomplish, rather than some enormous "to do" list. (Many thanks to Olde Prairie Register for sharing thoughts on this subject.)

This year I am not only looking forward, toward Christmas, Halloween, heck even the Fourth of July, but I'm also looking toward the seasons. Pots now for herbs that I can dry, local sources for fruits and veggies to turn into jam and salsa, yard sales and thrifty buys for things I can transform into birthday gifts and anniversary presents.

The spark for this came when I spent the whole day yesterday thinking it was Friday. I was ready for the weekend, told my son there was no school (always something he loves to hear) and thought about my plans for Saturday. It wasn't until Thursday PM that my sister broke the news to me. I couldn't believe that I spent an entire day, reading news, answering mail, watching television, and didn't know what day it was. Talk about being in a fog. Well, if the fog can shroud one day from the next, it can cover up the months as they speed by, leaving me unpleasantly surprised when special days creep around the corner.

So, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or Kwanza, whatever holidays that come for you in the colder months, perhaps a little time spent in the sunshine of May, planning and preparing will make for a merry time in the dark of December. Forget the "to do" and focus on the "done". Forget multitasking and think about monotasking. Live in the moment, with an eye on the future - and keep a calendar nearby!

Random Recipe Monday - Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb has never been one of my favorite fruits...er..vegetables. This veggie's stalk is the only edible part on the plant (leaves are poisonous) and the stalk needs plenty of sweet to counteract its tart. I've always thought this plant must have been discovered out of necessity. Strawberries, cherries, peaches - not hard to figure out how people learned to eat and enjoy these fruits, but rhubarb? Without sugar to temper the pucker, how did people discover this as a delicacy?



Rumor has it that rhubarb has been in America since Ben Franklin brought it to us, though some say it wasn't until the mid-1800s that this veggie found its way to America. I've found references to its healing properties; constipation, hot flashes, heartburn and high cholesterol are all supposedly helped by eating rhubarb (check with a doctor before you run out and buy some). But more than its health benefits, rhubarb is known as the "pie plant". Folks like rhubarb pie. Sumner, Washington has declared itself "Rhubarb Pie Capital of the US" due to the popularity of the dessert; it is the largest shipper of fresh and frozen rhubarb in the country.

Strangely, I couldn't find a rhubarb pie recipe from Sumner, so I've posted a few others for your review. These sound so good that they might make me rethink my opinion on this tart veggie:

Rhubarb and Pineapple Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups rhubarb
1 cup crushed pineapple
pastry for double crust
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teapoon salt
2 eggs beaten

Procedure:

Set oven to 425Deg F. Peel rhubarb and cut into one half inch peices before measuring. Line a pie plat with plain pastry. Mix Rhubarb with sugarm flour, salt and eggs. Spoon or pour 1/2 the mixture into bottom shell.spread half the pineapple over the rhubard. repeat these two layers. Cover with top crust. Press edges together and trim. prick top to let steam escape. If a glazed surface is desired, brush top of pie with milk, cream or melted butter. or slightly beaten egg white. Bake in quick oven (425deg F) 10 minutes, Reduce heat and continue baking in moderate oven (325 deg F.) 30 Minutes

Fresh Banana Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients:

1/2 pound Fresh rhubarb
3 Medium bananas
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Orange juice
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 tablespoon Butter
1 9" unbaked double pie crust

Procedure:

Prepare pastry. Slice rhubarb (should yield 3 cups). Slice bananas (should yield 3 cups). Combine ingredients except butter and crust. Spread into pie crust. Dot with butter. Place crust on top. Bake at 450 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until browned. From The Central Market Cookbook by Phyllis Good.

Happy Spring!! It's about time

I have been waiting for Spring for ages. Winter this year seemed so very long and I really wanted to see the cherry blossoms start their show. Finally, it has happened. Today is the first day of Spring. My own trees are bursting forth and all's right with the world. (Well, at least on the first day of Spring it is) To celebrate this lovely Spring Equinox, I thought I'd post a few links that might be of use to those looking for a fresh start.

If you are looking to do a major Spring cleaning, check out Real Simple's checklist.

Need a new look? Here are the links to all the couture and ready to wear shows in New York for Spring (and Fall) 2008. Don't forget to update your makeup too.

What about your garden? Get it growing with these Spring tips. Speaking of flowers (weren't we?), why not send some to someone you love to celebrate Spring? Here is a list of the traditional meanings of flowers - very big in Victorian circles - but still charming.

Spring is bringing a new hobby to our house. We're taking up hiking as a family, to get us out into nature and our behinds off the couch. Our first hike will be this Saturday, weather permitting. Learn the basics here and we'll share the blisters together.

Worked up an appetite just reading about all that hiking? Try a Spring frittata with fresh asparagus. Here's a handy produce guide so you can tell at a glance what fruits and veggies are in season. I'd love to try some fiddlehead ferns, just because I love saying it - but I've never had the opportunity. Artichokes are in season though, so that is almost as good.

And finally, I have to share one of my favorite songs, apropos of the day. Richie Havens' version of Here Comes the Sun. Hippie wannabe that I am, Spring makes me think of Woodstock, which makes me think of Richie.

A cobbler by any other name...

Probably second only to pie, I love cobbler. I'm a sucker for warm cobbler with melting ice cream; it doesn't even matter what it is filled with - ok, maybe not mince meat. But cobblers and their ilk have many different names, depending on the part of the country, the ingredients and the cooking method. Check out the interesting info at What's Cooking America to find out the exciting differences between cobblers, buckles, slumps, pandowdy, crumbles, crisps, brown betty and croustades. Me, I'm a crisp and cobbler fan. (For those who won't click links, a crisp has a crumb topping on the baked fruit and a cobbler has a biscuit type topping.)Here's the crisp recipe I made up the other night to go with our Chicken and Dumplings.

Easy Apple Crisp

3 apples - granny smith are nice, but whatever you have on hand, peeled and sliced
1/2 stick of butter, 1 tablespoon for buttering pan
1 c sugar
1/2 lemon for juice and zest
2 tsps cinnamon
pinch of Allspice
1/4 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
two pinches of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice your apples, squeeze the lemon over the slices and grate some zest into the mix. Add 1 cup sugar, pinch of salt, 1 tsp of cinnamon and pinch of allspice; toss. Butter your baking dish (a shallow gratin dish works well) and place apple mix inside. In a separate bowl, mix oats, flour, sugar, one pinch of salt, 1 tsp of cinnamon. Pour topping on apples. Cut your butter into small chunks and dot the top of the crumb mix. Place your dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Clams Casino

Being born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I do like me some seafood (as evidenced by the above photo of the Dancing Clams from Ivar's Restaurants - a local fav). I draw the line at raw oysters or anything overly slimy looking, but I love clams (except geoducks). Clam Chowder is my top soup and steamed clams with drawn butter are pretty darn good. Razor clams, for those in my neck of the woods, can be harvested in November and December (at least at my local beach, on specific days) so clams are an in-season treat. Not that I'm going to do the digging, mind you - I'll leave that to the local fishmonger shop. But wherever they come from, clams are good eating.

I heard recently that placing live clams in cool water with a handful of flour will force them to disgorge all sand prior to cooking. That's a trick that I am going to try when I make Clams Casino. This dish combines bacon and clams for a tasty treat. See Food Timeline for the lowdown, but it orginated around 1917. (As an aside, this dish also shares its name with a Burlesque dancer, Miss Clams Casino. That alone makes it worth checking out.) There are many recipe versions of this oldie but goodie, but check out the traditional version provided by Food Network. It calls for cherrystone clams but I think I'll try it with the local Razors, just for the heck of it. And if you are feeling really adventurous, give Tyler Florence's Clams Casino Pizza a gander. I like unusual pizza pie, but this might be going a bit too far even for me.

But however you enjoy them, give three cheers for a delicious bi-valve. If anyone tries the pizza, let me know how it goes.

Baby it's cold outside...

Yesterday was the first day I really felt cold this autumn. Even though the sun came out in the afternoon, the wind felt wintry and my coat wasn't warm enough. Our single pane, 1950s windows frosted up right away and the house felt drafty and chilly. Even the puppy wanted to stay hunkered down in the house, so I wasn't the only one feeling the chill. My list of things to do before it gets cold is still on my fridge, unfinished of course. I have to get those gutters cleaned out and the lawn furniture put away. Maybe this weekend, since we're taking a pause in our demolition work inside the house.

To drive out the cold, I made baked applesauce and made a big pot of soup for dinner. The soup was Italian sausage, potato and kale in cream. It hit the spot and I was feeling cozier by nightfall. I tucked into bed early with a book (Grace O'Malley, Ireland's Pirate Queen) and let the dog sleep on my feet for once.

This morning, the house is cold again and it looks sunny but frosty outside. I'll warm up the applesauce for breakfast and drink another mug of tea. After some needed cleaning, I'm going to sew some bed warmers. A pillow made of ticking, filled with flax seed and lavender that I can warm up in my oven before bed. With any luck, it will warm my toes at night and won't burn down the house while warming in the oven. (if you try this, don't sue me if your house burns - who says I know anything?)

Winter is coming, time to bundle up, inside and out.