Pumpkin pie, re-envisioned

     I shared a fantastic meal with friends the other day.  My friend Kit puts on what I like to call the first seasonal social event (followed by The Night of Beef and Robert Burns Night).  It used to be timed more closely with Halloween, when our kids were young.  We would carve pumpkins and eat spaghetti.  The pumpkin carving has gone by the wayside, and besides, Kit was in the middle of a kitchen remodel.
      Said remodel being nearly complete, she forged ahead and put on a big pasta feed.  We still feed the kids first.  They may be taller than many of us now, but stuffing us all at the same table is challenging.  Besides, they would rather wolf their food down and evaporate into the basement anyway.   I am guessing the art of lingering over your food, and having a real conversation is a skill not yet fully developed.
     We still have the noodles, and a fantastic zesty sauce that Kit makes.  We started adding a more, shall we say, paleo focussed alternative to the pasta a few years ago.  Now, the big bowl of spaghetti squash and bowl of zucchini noodles is just as popular, if not more, than the pasta.  I love it.
     I volunteered for the dessert option.  We aren't completely ascetic after all.  I was looking a pumpkin in the eye, but couldn't quite muster the interest in a gluten free pie crust.  Not to worry!  Personally, I prefer the filling over the crust anyway.
     There aren't too many recipes out there for pumpkin custard.  However, let's think this through:  Custard is a mixture of milk, cream, eggs, the same ingredients as in pumpkin pie!  Generally, I find the pie to be more dense.  That could be easily remedied with extra cream and an extra egg.
     I thus took the filling recipe for my favorite pie, and did some alterations.  Richard Sax wrote one of my favorite dessert cookbooks, Classic Home Desserts.  I am sure he would be one of our food luminaries today, were he still alive.  His recipe creates a lighter pie, without being too heavy on the spices.
      He also does the obvious, and recommends making your own pumpkin puree.  After all, why not?  I hate to buy what I can easily make myself, and this is a classic example.  Bake, puree, poof!
      Then, mix all the ingredients, pour into your neighbor's custard cups/short canning jars (because I lacked the requisite number, and these felt so whimsical) and bake.  It was easier than.....wait for it....pie!

Pumpkin Custard

Serves 8-12

Adapted from Best Ever Pumpkin Pie, by Richard Sax

1 sugar pie pumpkin, approx 2-3 lbs,

  (halved, baked until tender, seeds removed and pureed in a food processor with approx 1/2 c water)

2/3 c packed light brown sugar

1/3 c white sugar

1 T cornstarch

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 t ginger

1/4 t allspice (unless you are my friend Katie, who hates allspice, then use pinch of cloves)

pinch of freshly ground pepper

1 1/4 c cream

1/2 c milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3 T bourbon or rum

1 1/2 t vanilla

1.  Bake the pumpkin, cool slightly, puree until smooth.   You should have 2 cups.  If you have more, it freezes well for a future pie.  Leave the oven on at 400F.

2.  Mix pumpkin with sugars.  

3.  In a separate small bowl, mix cornstarch, spices and salt together, then stir into the pumpkin mix.

4.  Add the remaining ingredients. 

5.  Pour into custard cups, coffee cups or short squat canning jars, approx 2/3 -3/4 full.

6.  Place cups in a large 9 x 13 pan, you may need 2.  Pour hot water into the pan to come up the sides of the cups about half way.  I find this easier to do once the pans are in the oven, to avoid sloshing.

7.  Bake approx 30 min, or until slightly jiggly in the center, remove and let cool.  

8.  Options for serving:  whipped cream, or if you have one of this blow torch things, brûlée them!  

Notes:  this recipe easily doubles.    These keep well for a couple days, although they are best on the day they are made.   Don't make the mistake of using a halloween pumpkin for this recipe, they are bred for size, not flavor.  However, another squash could likely be substituted if a pumpkin is not available.  

Seasonal overabundance converted, take II

     Absurd though it might seem, I subscribe to a CSA.  I know, I know, what would possess a person who has a vegetable garden to get a weekly box of veggies?  There are several reasons.
     For one, I tend to be a jack rabbit gardener, not a turtle.  I have a fantastic spring garden, but inevitably, I tend to fizzle mid-summer.  This coincides with my yearly vacation.  Upon return, the garden seems to have gotten away from me and I just lose my momentum... I do try valiantly to regain it, but have mixed results.  I get a pile of tomatoes and squash, but the rest is questionable.
So, if more lettuce, cucumbers or corn are desired, it usually needs to come from somewhere else.
     Also, I find that I grow the same items every year, and my CSA does a nice job of pushing my dietary and culinary envelope:  romano beans, spaghetti squash, radicchio, that sort of thing.  OK, the radicchio has never caught on with me, but the others do.
     I also like being part of a larger, local process:  CSAs do a fine job of keeping food local, organic and seasonal.   The benefits are well detailed elsewhere, I am just glad to take part.  We can call it walking the talk.
     Sure, I could go to the farmer's market ( I do, actually), I could pick other things to grow, I could time my vacations for January.  The fact is that I don't.  So this is my way of compensating.
     At the end of the season, I get a box of storage vegetables:  potatoes and winter squash, celeriac and rutabagas.  This year, I also got beets and leeks.  A lot of leeks.
     It got me thinking of how to use them up more quickly, as they are a bit of a stretch to call a storage vegetable.  This coincided with a cookbook I have recently become enamored with:   From The Larder by Nigel Slater.  He is a genius.  This book is a series of entries arranged in a diary form over the course of a year, wherein he talks about what he is eating/cooking that day.  It makes for fantastic reading and inspiration.
     He, too, had a plethora of leeks.  While he solved his problem somewhat differently, he also mentioned some other options, which inspired me to come up with this way.
     Bacon is cut small, browned and removed from the pan.  Leeks are sliced thinly, added to the residual fat, and softened.  They are heaped on a piece of puff pastry with a bit of cream and baked.  That is basically it.  The result is a faintly sweet and salty item with shatteringly delicate borders.  We paired it with baked salmon for an easy yet fancy dinner.  Even Bryce said the tart was 'not bad' which is a complement for a person who tends to shy away from green vegetable matter.

Bacon and Leek Tart

serves 2-4, depending on what else is served

3 slices bacon, sliced 

4 leeks, white and green parts, cleaned and sliced 1/4" thick

Salt and pepper to taste

1-2T cream

1/2 lb puff pastry

Brown the bacon over medium heat.  Remove the bacon from the pan, leave the fat.  Gently sauté the leeks in the bacon fat over medium heat until softened, approx 5 min.  Salt and pepper to taste.  

Meanwhile flatten out the puff pastry sheet and score it  approx 1/2-3/4" from the edge all the way around.  Avoid going all the way through the pastry.  

Heap the leeks within the scored borders, and sprinkle the bacon on top.  Fold the scored edges over.  Pour the cream over the top.  

Bake in a preheated 450F oven x 20-22 minutes, until the edges are puffed and golden brown.  

Remove and cool slightly, cut into desired sizes:  

This could serve as an accompanying dish, or appetizer.  

It could lend itself to variations:  addition of fresh thyme, diced roasted squash, skip the bacon, gruyere instead of cream, and on and on.  

A Cake for Fall

     I have my friend Laura to thank for this.  She turned me on to Food 52.   I am still not entirely sure  how to describe this site, but here is a ham handed attempt.  It's a food site, with accumulated recipes from what I gather is other folks' blogs and a few other sources.  It also sells foo-foo products that are groovy to look at but rather pricey.  So I ignore that part.  But the aggregator concept is cool.  So then there are a series of say, summer tomato salad recipes from a variety of places.  Or 10 new things to do with chicken.  That sort of thing.
     Somehow, probably when I 'joined' the site, it started to send me daily emails with this stuff.  I am sure I am missing 10 other things that this site is capable of, but that just gives another reason to check it out.
     The recipe that I made today comes from there.  It neatly coincides with the accumulation of too many squashes in my garage and the realization that I had some left over puree in the freezer from last winter as well.
      It also coincides with a general urge to purge.  I would desperately love to commence with a kitchen remodel, but can't yet.   The reasons why are basically out of my control.  So, in an effort to DO something that IS in my control, I have been slowly purging out junk from the garage to eventually make way for the stored items from the kitchen.  Very satisfying.  It's amazing how we amass stuff, and basically don't need much of it.
     Also, my beef group has ordered another beef, and I have a little over a month to finish the residual beef in the freezer.  So the above-mentioned urge thus carries over to the freezer, which is also located in the garage.
     All of this is a long-winded way of saying I had the pureed squash, and now I have a recipe.  It is a simple pumpkin spice cake, one layer.  It is topped with a cream cheese frosting and then garnished with candied pumpkin seeds.  Perfect for fall.  The only thing that I am not overjoyed with is the pumpkin seeds.  What to do?  The lighter green ones that are more attractive for this sort of thing are, according to PCC, sourced from China.  The darker green ones are sourced from Oregon.  So darker green pepitas it is. They all taste the same, but somehow, I don't think my cake is a beautiful as the one on the website....Ah well.  Gotta walk the talk.

     I haven't monkeyed with the recipe at all, and thus won't bother to print it here.  BUT you can find it at Food52.....with this link:

Addendum:  My neighbor Robb complained loud and long that the following link did not work for him.  I copied and pasted it into my server and it worked JUST FINE ROBB.

 http://food52.com/blog/11384-pumpkin-cake-and-proud-of-it?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Editorial%20AND%20Provisions&utm_campaign=10012014_Edit%2BProv_Midweek

However, if you too experience technical difficulties, then try the following:
1.  This link:  http://food52.com/recipes/search?q=pumpkin+cake
2.  Or, failing that, look up food52, and type in Pumpkin Cake in their search line.

I did all three, and all three worked for me.

Before, During and After

     It's a busy time of year, here in the kitchen.  It always is at this time:  all this food starts flooding the gates and I, for one, am unable to consume it all, and don't want to waste it either.  What's a frugal girl to do?  Preserve it!
     It basically started with the tomatoes.  In truth, I was a bit surprised, as they looked at little skimpy after we returned from vacation, and I thought that it might be a thin harvest this year.  I also made the mistake of planting the tomatoes too close together, resulting in a cramped tee-pee, thus difficult to visualize any items on the interior.
     Despite all of that, I have had something of a bumper crop.  I have been eating them nearly daily, bringing salads to social events.  Still the cup spilleth over.  So I have canned tomato sauce, marinara sauce, stewed tomatoes, and tomato soup.  The stewed tomatoes were an experiment last year which turned into a rousing success.
     Most of my canning is what I would call small batch.  I process 10-15 lbs at a time.   I don't do those marathon sessions that my mother used to do.  On the other hand, I am feeding a smaller family.  It works for my brain as well:  I can spend a few hours preserving the item at hand, and not feel like I was slaving over the stove all day.
     One of the interesting items that I have discovered this season is a new food mill.   Being a victim of doing just the way my mother and grandmother did it, it never occurred to me that there were different models out there.  I have always used a Foley food mill to strain/puree.  When my friend Katie moved, she gave me a different version, as she had two.  I was doubtful, it couldn't possibly beat my sturdy Foley!   But in the spirit of scientific discovery I gave it a try, and will probably ditch the old model.  This item is both easier to stabilize, utilize and clean.  What's not to love?

Tomato Sauce

     I have process potful after potful of tomatoes, and now grapes.  Next up is applesauce, as soon as I can find a source.
     The grapes are an odd one.  My friends Al and Laura have several grape vines.  We don't know the variety, but they produce the most lovely perfumed grapes each fall.  I experimented last fall with making juice and found it useful, less for drinking than for making granita this summer.
     Additionally, Al and Laura are more than happy to have someone to harvest what is a bit overwhelming.  Lucky me.  So I picked probably 25 lbs yesterday, and put them through the mill, literally.

The ones that were spared

Add to the pot with water

Put through the mill, removing skins and seeds.  Then reboil and reduce slightly

25 pounds makes 7 quarts!

      I keep thinking I need to try pickling like my friend Bess, or making sauerkraut, but haven't worked myself up to either yet.  But in the meanwhile, I have a freezer that is filling, and a shelving unit with lovely jewel-toned jars.  Works for me.   

A Recipe For Northwest Vegetable Gardeners

     It's that time again:  all of your excessive pride, wanton greed, or springtime naiveté have resulted in the inevitable.  The zucchini have taken over your summertime garden.  You are afraid to enter for fear that a large torpedo will show itself ----particularly after you carefully searched yesterday, and were CERTAIN that none such items existed.  Now there it is, taunting you, shaming you into realizing that for all your excellent late springtime control over the garden's riches, you are now, clearly, out of control.
     Urban legends speak of fear that someone will leave zucchini in your car.  Or perhaps not urban, as everyone I know locks their car.  I used to leave them on Katie's doorstep, tied in a red ribbon.  Can't refuse such a gift, can you?  I do know folks are bringing them into the workplace in quantity, in order to spread the wealth, as it were.
     Clearly what is needed is a tool.  A way to absorb the wealth.  Zucchini bread is nice, but let's be real, it uses something like a cup of shredded squash.  That's about 1/2 of a normal sized gourd.  This is plainly not good enough for the needs of the overwhelmed gardener.
     I grill them, with great success.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and grill away.  Or use a lemon butter instead.  I do the bread too.
     If you are looking for a recipe that uses larger volume, to great success however, look no further than this item:  soup.  I confess that I do not recall the provenance of this soup, but regardless, I have tinkered a bit with it anyway.  It lends it self equally well to summer squash or zucchini.  The result is most technicolor with a green squash, however.

     In terms of sheer bulk, it does well:  it uses a whole pound of squash for a mere 3 servings.  So if you are totally inundated, and don't mind making a larger quantity, double up!  It freezes well too.
Oh, did I mention that it is ludicrously easy to make?  That should clinch it!

Zucchini Soup

makes 3 servings, or 4 as a appetizer

1/2 large onion, chopped (about 3/4 c)

2 T butter

1 1/2 t curry powder

2 T white rice

1 lb zucchini or summer squash, chopped 

2 c chicken broth

salt 

Saute onion in butter on low.  Do not brown.  When translucent, add curry powder and continue to sauté for another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.  Add rice, zucchini and broth, stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for approx 15 minutes, until rice is done.  

Remove from heat, puree.  Adjust seasonings:  it usually needs salt.  

Serve with sour cream or creme fraiche.  Another option is to top with croutons.  

Serve hot, warm, room temperature or cold.  Another bonus if it is hot outside!  And congratulate yourself on using a whole pound of the stealth vegetable. 

What to do with fennel

      I am pretty sure that my friends think I am a bit loony for subscribing to a CSA.  Not in principle mind you, no, they are quite in support of the concept.  The loony part comes with trying to reconcile the fact that I have a garden, yet still get a farm delivery.
      These two are definitely in contradiction.  I produce plenty of certain foods in my garden:  lettuce, squash, tomatoes.  I get a flush of strawberries, peas and raspberries.  The reason that I get a CSA stems from the fact that I get a wider range of veggies than I normally grow.  This range supplements my garden, and pushes my culinary envelope.  I would probably get stuck in a bigger rut, limited by what I was in the mood to plant, nurture and harvest, if I were to stick to my own garden.
      Some of that is less than welcome.  Take radicchio, for instance.  I just can't get myself to like this in a larger quantity.  A bit in my salad is ok, a whole head?  Not ok.  In keeping with the tradition of every grower in Western Washington, the zucchini load is a bit much.  After all, I have this in my garden as well.   I am eternally looking for a way to absorb a large haul of this vegetable...along with every other gardener.
      Other items, however, are gratefully utilized.  One such item is fennel.  Fennel tends to generate a love/hate response from many folks, partly due to the fact that we don't cook it all that much in this part of the world.  Then there is the licorice flavor issue.  If fennel generates a love/hate response, licorice can eclipse that with it's own rapture/vitriol.
      I don't tend to gravitate to licorice flavors.  I have residual traumatic memories of the very strong and salty licorice that was sent from Germany when I was young.  That was  a complete non-starter.  The stuff we have here is too sweet and lousy.
      (Actually, in a fitting meeting in the middle, the licorice that is found in Iceland, my most recent vacation destination, is pretty good.  I wouldn't want to go so far as to claim rapture, but not bad...)
      Back to fennel.  So it comes in the farm delivery, but I, too, have little cooking experience with this vegetable.  Lucky for me, my CSA (Helsing Junction) tags recipes on to the weekly e-mailing that accompanies the delivery.  They had a terrific one for fennel, and that is what we have here.
      The bulb is what is needed, the fronds are discarded.  Said bulb is then sliced thinly, sautéed in butter until caramelized and the whole mess is then deglazed with honey and sherry.  Correct the seasonings with a little salt, top with chèvre, and prepare to be amazed.  I even make this when I have neither lemons nor garlic.  It's still delicious.
      Funny thing about cooked fennel is that any licorice flavor that is present with the raw version is very muted.  That is a good thing, for all those who are suspicious of the whole idea.  There is only one unfortunate issue:  while tasty, this recipe does not create a dish which is beautiful.  Additionally, when paired with my favorite fish (black cod), it makes for a pale meal.

Caramelized Fennel with Honey, Lemon Zest and Chèvre

serves 2-3

2 fennel bulbs, fronds and bottom removed, and thinly sliced

3 T butter

2T honey

2T fino sherry

1 clove garlic ( I skipped this)

Sea salt

Lemon zest, and juice

1/4 c chèvre

Melt butter in a pan large enough to accommodate the fennel in 1 layer, more or less.  When melted, lay slices in pan and sauté over medium heat.  Brown well before flipping, and brown on other side. 

Remove fennel from pan, and then deglaze with honey and sherry.  Pour over fennel.  

Press the garlic and add, with a pinch of sea salt.  Sprinkle with lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon.  Top with crumbled chèvre. 

Peaches for breakfast

     One of the better parts about summer, aside from the balmy weather and long days, is the amazing produce that is available.  I have nothing against apples and oranges, but my real fruit love sits squarely in the summer cornucopia:  berries and stone fruits.  I cannot get enough.
     In my exuberance to surround myself with these items, I occasionally buy too many at the store (shocking!), and then rashly set them out on the fruit tray in the kitchen.  Lo!  I get up one morning, and all said fruits are now on the verge of becoming moldy or at least chicken food.
     This very situation occurred to me this morning, with teetering-on-the-edge peaches and nectarines staring me in the face.  What to do?
     Oh, did I mention the other conundrum of the summer months?  Those blessed chickens, the ones that live at 6024 Chicken Lane, are in high production mode right now.  With the long days, we get between 3-7 eggs per day, and that doesn't even count the quail eggs.  Which is another topic for a different post.  So basically, we are swimming in stone fruits and eggs at our house.
     Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just in need of creative ways to utilize the fruits of the season.  And what, dear friends, utilizes both of these items?  Clafoutis!  As I explained to Bryce, a clafoutis is basically one of the many foods that uses milk, flour and eggs.  The differences between pancakes, dutch babies, custard, clafoutis and various other cousins in this family is the proportion of those 3 ingredients.  Plus, in the case of said clafoutis, you get to add fruit, as it that is the classic presentation.  Frankly, I don't think I would care so much for one without fruit.  Classically it's cherries, but oh well, it was stone fruits that I used.  The consistency is more pudding-like, akin to custard.
     I found the basic recipe for this on the Fine Cooking website, but then manipulated it rather heavily.  And then my neighbor Robb basically pounded down my door to get some, so a blog post was in the making....

Stone Fruit Clafoutis 

serves 3-4, depending on whether Robb is around

1 T sliced almonds, toasted

2 T butter

1 lb fruit, I used peaches and nectarines, cut into coarse pieces

6T sugar, divided

1/2 c flour

1/4 t table salt

3 eggs

3/4 c milk

1/4 c cream

1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 425F.  If you are attentive enough, you can toast the almonds in the oven while you prepare the fruit, then remove and set aside, with 2 tsp of the sugar.  

While you are preheating the oven, put a ceramic pie plate in there to preheat with it.

Melt the butter in a skillet, add the fruit and sauté until the juices are reduced, about 3-5 minutes.  Add 3 T sugar, and continue to sauté, another 1-2 min. Remove from heat.

Whisk the flour and salt together, plus the remainder of the sugar, add the eggs and whisk until no lumps remain, then add milk, cream and vanilla.  

When the oven is hot, remove the pie plate, carefully butter the pan (I use the non-stick spray stuff), add the fruit and juices, and spread around evenly.  Add the milk/flour mixture.  

Bake about 7 min, then sprinkle the almond sugar mixture on top.  Bake another 8 minutes, or until the center is set, and the edges are puffed, golden and starting to pull away from the edges.  

Remove from oven and resist the urge to eat right away, let sit 10-15 min.  Then dig in. 

Notes:  this would serve equally well as a dessert....Also, other stone fruits, such as apricots, would be just as amazing.  

Utterly Simple Shrimp and Bittersweet Transitions

      Don't you just hate it when life throws you a curveball?  It's not like you can't hit it out of the park (or maybe you can't), but it's really inconvenient.  Irritating perhaps.  Heaven knows I have had my share of curveballs and I am sure there are more to come.  But it doesn't mean that I like them.  It also means that I am entitled to kvetch about them, as a sort of retort to the cosmos.
     This curveball is one that has, admittedly, been a long time coming.  I have no excuse as to unexpectedness.  But, being human, I have delayed the real grappling with this item.  Now it is nigh and delays are no longer an option.
      Being a Seattleite, if one is inclined to stereotypes, I am slow to embrace new social contacts.  I find large social gatherings painful.  I am loathe to engage in activities with relative strangers.  So I tend as well to keep my friends near, where I can reach them.
     Katie is without a doubt one of my oldest and dearest friends.  She has been nothing less than true blue and always there for me.  We go back over 20 years, to when we used to live across the street from each other.
     In the spirit of great tolerance and indulgence, she graciously accepted my ribbon-tied zucchinis on her porch, which sealed our fate, I think.  Our daughters are 10 months apart and are each other's oldest friends as well.  We have had many laughs and tears.  She has been my social link to many other folks I otherwise would never have had the social stamina to meet.
      We share countless interests:  gardening, books, music, love of the outdoors.  Doubtless one of the greatest shared interests is food.  No one shares the zest, nay, lust for food the way she does.   We have had countless conversations that started with, "I made a great dinner last night....."  after which she or I would proceed to regale the other with what it involved.
      This goes beyond what we cook.  No one else is as interested in sharing dishes in a restaurant and ordering a variety to really get a feel for a menu.  We share sandwiches, salads, entrees.  While others are hoarding their dishes to themselves, we always want to split our items.
     While she is best known for her amazing cakes and pastries, thanks to her pastry chef years, what I  marvel at the most is the simple but truly amazing foods that she makes, and the recipes that are hers alone.  Among these are her Veggie Soup, Mango Salsa, her Artichoke Dipping Sauce, her Thai Fish Sauce.  That is a mere sample.  We created a Christmas Seafood Stew a few years ago that is transcendent.
     Geez, this sounds like she died.   She hasn't, but she is moving away.  Away as in Bend, Oregon, which is a good 6 hour drive away.   So, while I have known that this was coming for a long time now, it is really happening in a week or so, and I'm NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS.  Neither is she, but it is what it is.
      That hasn't stopped us from making terrific food.  I was at her place a couple days ago and had the most amazing shrimp.  You use the Trader Joe's large shrimp, butterfly them, marinate them in one of her super simple marinades, skewer them and toss them on the grill.  We had them surf and turf style on Sunday with salad and potatoes.
      I loved them so much I made them again tonight, and threw them on a salad.  It's one of those 'signature' recipes that can go in many directions.  Just change up the herbs and you have a new dish.
      And as for Katie, I am going to miss her like my right arm.  The summer seems like it will be dull and quiet without her here.  
      I try to look on the bright side though:  I have a place to visit!  And it's a short flight!  They have cell phone and internet service there!  And if we are lucky, Bend won't be a culinary wasteland, and we will have many more entrees to split.   Katie, we might be living in different states soon, but I intend to keep you near anyway.  Maybe I will send you a zucchini or three.  You won't have your own garden so you will need them....

KT's Grilled Shrimp in a Lemon Vinaigrette

Serves 2-4

16 oz colossal shrimp (We use the Wild Blue Shrimp from TJ's)

               (defrosted, butterflied)

2T lemon juice

1 clove garlic minced

4T Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2-4T chopped herbs:  I used basil, but use whatever is fresh

1/4 t paprika (optional)

Toss all ingredients together, let marinate 30-60 min.  Skewer and grill, turn once after 2 min, depending on how hot your grill is.  

This dish has many uses.  On pasta, a salad, as part of a meal with a salad or steamed veggies, an on and on the list is endless.  

      

   
   

It's like an upside down crisp!

     Hello folks, been a bit of a dry spell.  I have been too busy working at the real job, weeding my garden and generally making less than excellent food that is not 'blog-worthy.'  That, however, is about to change.
      The impetus here is Bryces' cousin Lucy, who is visiting over the long weekend.  That and the fact that I recently saw a link to a recipe for lemon chiffon pie.  That was the original idea.  However, in looking at it, it just didn't seem to speak to me.  However, by then, I had started to obsess about the idea of pie for dessert.  The requirements:  something that could be made with ingredients immediately available.  I was not going shopping.  Also, it needed to be a bit creamy.
     I poked into a few cookbooks, and finally found a likely item:  Rhubarb Custard Pie.  The source here is a newish book for me, but one that I have seen mentioned many a time in other blogs, with the usual raves.  I am beginning to see the logic.   Emily and Melissa Elsen have assembled a terrific series of pie recipes in their book, 'The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book."   I usually have a bit of skepticism about these raves, but this seems to be founded.
      This recipe uses an unusual approach.  You make a crisp topping, press it into the pie plate and bake it.  You then add a rhubarb compote, and top with a custard layer and bake.  The rhubarb and custard are both creamy and sweet-tart.  But the crust, oh the crust.  It's a little chewy, a little caramelly and totally makes this like an upside down crisp!
     Don't hesitate my friends, if you have rhubarb languishing in your garden, this is a great place to use it.  Oh, did I mention that it's easy?  And my neighbor Robb is already begging for the recipe.  Robb,  here it is:

Rhubarb Custard Pie

adapted from The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book

serves 8-10

Oat Crumble Crust

2T white sugar

1/4 c light brown sugar, packed

3/4 c rolled oats (I used quick)

1/3c white flour

1/2 t kosher salt

1/8 t ground allspice

1/8 t ground cinnamon

4 T unsalted butter, at room temp, in 1/2" cubes

Mix all ingredients except the butter together.  Add the butter, and rub until it resembles a crisp topping :  incorporated and chunky.  

Lightly oil a 9" pie plate, press the mass into the plate and up the sides.  Freeze while you are preheating the oven.  

Bake 18-20 min at 350F.  Let cool.  

Rhubarb Layer

1 lb rhubarb, cut into 1/2 - 1 inch pieces (approx 3 c.)

3/4 c sugar

3T cornstarch (I dissolved this in 2T cold water)

1/4 t salt

Combine and bring to a boil.  Cook until the juices release and are thick and cooked down, about 5 min.  Set aside to cool.

Custard Layer

1/2 c sugar

1/4 t kosher salt

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c plain yogurt

1/8 t grated nutmeg

1/2 t vanilla paste

2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together except eggs, stir to combine.  Lightly beat the eggs and add to this mixture.  

Assemble the pie:  

Spread a layer of the rhubarb over the bottom of the pie plate.  You might have too much rhubarb.  Pour a layer of the custard to the top of the crust.  

Bake the pie at 325F.  After 15 minutes, rotate the pie and keep checking every 5 minutes until the edges are set, puffed and the center is no longer liquid but quite wobbly.  Do not over bake.  

Notes:  

I poured the extra rhubarb and then custard into custard cups and baked them with the pie, removing them early.  

This recipe could easily be gluten free:  substitute gluten free flour for white in the crust.  

   

Springtime Meal for a Rainy Day

      It's finally springtime up here in good old Seattle, and while it's chilly outside, at least we are seeing the flowers blooming.  And it's thankfully lighter at both ends of the day.  I take as much comfort from that as from almost all the rest.  I guess I am like the chickens that way:  very dependent on the daylight hours.
      At this time of the year, more so than any other, I feel the arrival of certain foods to be a very welcome relief from the monotony of the season before.  It's getting a bit thin there at the farmer's markets, and we are all in a waiting game for the items that show that our gardens are giving it a go, one more time.  On the forefront of this is asparagus.  O asparagus!   If I were a poet I would write an ode to the asparagus.  This fantastic vegetable is elegant, mysterious and entirely accessible in the kitchen.  It lends itself to many incarnations.
     This dinner is thanks to a new site that I have been peeking at lately:  Food 52 (thanks, Laura!). This site operates a hodge podge of categories:  techniques, items for sale, and contributions from a host of sources for recipes.  I like looking at the pictures, but it's the recipes that catch my attention the most.
     So it was quite inspiring to find both the asparagus idea and the fish idea on this site.  The fish, based on a recipe from James Peterson, is extremely simple.  I used the opportunity to try it on two kinds of white fish, and found the cheaper rockfish more to my liking.
      The shining star however, was the asparagus.  I frankly butchered the recipe, as I was in a rush, and didn't want to fiddle with all of the ingredients.  I am sure that the addition of the full complement would be lovely.  This stripped down version was fantastic.   Add a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and you have all the makings of a fairly simple but fancy springtime dinner.
   

 Halibut and Rockfish

Finished product

       Fish Baked with Butter and Sherry

serves 2-3

adapted from Food 52

2 lbs non-oily white fish, such as halibut, rockfish or cod

Salt and pepper

2-3T butter

3T dry sherry

2 T chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 400F.   Pat the fish dry, and season generously with salt and pepper.

Dot with the butter, sprinkle with the sherry and then the parsley.

Bake 10-15 min until the fish is just opaque and flakes.  Do not over bake!

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus

serves 2

adapted from Food 52

1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed, and cut in 2" lengths

2 strips bacon,  chopped

1 T butter

1 c quartered and sliced leeks, white and pale green parts only

2 T pine nuts

1/4 t orange zest

Salt and pepper

Saute the bacon in a skillet until browned.  Add the butter, and then the leeks and asparagus.  Saute approximately 3-4 min, until asparagus is tender.  Add the pine nuts, and continue to stir.  Right before serving, add the orange zest and correct seasonings.  

The original asparagus recipe included garlic and lemon zest.  It called for pancetta.  That just wasn't going to happen on short notice in my house, but this was also amazing and will be repeated.  

Sweet Potato 'Risotto'

      I went out to dinner with my parents the other day.  There is a local place here called Blackboard Bistro that serves and eclectic and inventive mix of tasty food.  One of the items that attracted my attention was something called sweet potato 'risotto.'  I couldn't resist.  It was combined with scallops and utterly delicious!

      I should clarify here.  The term risotto is used rather loosely.  There is no rice involved here.  Indeed, this is a sweet potato dish.  I could taste chicken broth and butter.  The sweet potato is chopped very finely, minced really, and thus (slightly) resembles rice in texture.  It almost eclipsed the scallops.  

     The chef may have given me the recipe, but I didn't have the courage to ask.  So I elected to devise my own recipe, and that is what we have here.  

     Even though the dish at Blackboard did not appear to have anything else in it, I have a fair number of leeks in the garden still, so that was added.   The sweet potato was added of course, and then chicken broth as the moisture.  That's it.  

Sweet Potato 'Risotto'

serves 2-4, depending on what else is served

1/4 c leeks, cleaned, quartered lengthwise and sliced thinly

2 c finely chopped sweet potato (this could well be relegated to the food processor)

2T butter

1-2 c chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan large enough to hold the above ingredients comfortably.

Add the leeks and sweet potato, stir to coat with butter, x 1-2 minutes.  

Add the broth, 1/4 c at a time, in the manner of making risotto:  Add the broth, stir frequently until the broth is nearly absorbed or evaporated, repeat until the potato is very soft.
This should take about 15-20 minutes.  There should be some moisture left in the dish.
Season to taste.

The dish at the bistro had a rougher texture to it and wasn't flecked with green.  That may be esthetically preferable.  Either way will be delicious, but that's all there is to it.  But to my mind, the result is more than the sum of the parts. 

Fastest Meal in the West

     Ok that title might be a tiny bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.  I think it was about 15 minutes from gathering ingredients to sitting down to eat.  Sadly, it was so tasty, it was less than that to an empty plate.
      I continue to channel my friend Laura here, in the endless search for dishes that are suitable for her dietary restrictions.  Frankly, this doesn't feel like a restriction however.
     The beauty of it is that, if a Trader Joe's is in a neighborhood near you, it is embarrassingly easy to throw together.  Heck, I should give them this recipe, as it uses 2 primary ingredients that both are purchased at that dangerous place.
     Truly, I struggle somewhat with TJ's.  Don't get me wrong, I do shop there.  But I am uneasy about buying all of the prepared foods that are sold in that freezer section, as it seems like a sell out when I am such a believer in preparing my own foods.  But there are days in this household when a meal on the table soon soon soon is a nice thing.  And it does prompt my child to actually volunteer to make dinner, a habit I want to foster.   Well, and another thing, you can acquire plenty of things there that are not pre-made, and are just waiting for your inspiration.
      Take this dish, for instance.  Originally from Gourmet, with a modification, it's really quite simple.  You sauté scallops that have been sprinkled with curry powder, set them aside and then sauté spinach.  That's it.  What?  It can't be that simple?  Oh, yes, it can.  And if you have a bag of spinach and a bag of scallops from sitting around waiting for inspiration, it's ludicrously easy to boot.

Seared Curried Scallops with Zucchini (or Spinach)

serves 2

1 lb sea scallops (defrosted if from TJ's)

1 tsp curry powder

1 1/2-2 T vegetable or olive oil

1t finely grated or peeled fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 " slices

        OR:  1/2 bag of baby spinach

Salt and pepper

1.  Pat scallops very dry,  sprinkle with curry powder and salt and pepper.  Heat 1T of the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat until quite hot, but not smoking.  Place the scallops in the pan and leave ALONE for 1-2 minutes (watch the clock not the scallops, to resist the urge to check), or until golden, flip and repeat.  Remove to a plate.  They should be golden brown and just opaque in the center.  

2.  Add the ginger and garlic.  Be careful not to let them burn, add the spinach (or the zucchini), a couple pinches of salt, and stir constantly until wilted.  

3.  Serve the scallops over the greens or zucchini.  

That's it.  Stupidly easy.  I think a nice baguette for you bread eaters out there would work with this dish.  But I didn't really miss it.  

A Little Floral Photojournalism: Reason to Have Faith

     It's been pretty cold and damp around here lately.  I know, I know, it could be worse, we could be in Illinois or New York right now.   Or Ukraine.  I won't even go there.  I did talk with a person recently who travelled to Wisconsin.  His observation was that, yes, it's colder there, but the humidity is less, so it is not as noticeable as here.  But I digress.
     Somehow, this time of year is rather challenging for me.  I am really ready for spring, and find the wet and chill to be particularly discouraging.  I would particularly like to work in my yard.  A couple warmer days would spur me onward, but they do not appear to be in the reliable future.
     It was with pleasure last weekend, therefore, to be able to have a vigorous walk outside and finally feel like I was enjoying the climate.  It was still cloudy but not as cold, and certainly dry.  Turns out Bryce also had a walk the day prior, and had a similar experience.  There were visual treasures to be found, and hints of the future were at hand, if one looked carefully.
     So, without further ado, I present the fruits of our labors.  Fear not, fine readers, it's now March, and Spring is nigh!

Bryce's photos, the last 6, are......more stylized than mine, but no matter, they also are amazingly evocative of the season, the fact that there are colors out there beyond the dull browns and steely grays.  Just need a bit of careful observation to see them.

Living Without, or, the Deconstructed Burger

      So, I am channelling my friend Laura tonight.  She has recently been instructed to follow a very restricted diet due to health concerns, and we have had several conversations around this issue.  This is not a new topic.   I touched upon this a while back, referencing gluten free food.
      What is becoming more and more evident to me is the number of people around me who have real medical needs to avoid certain foods.  Allergies to soy, ulcerative colitis, gluten intolerance, these are just a few.  There is the mysterious Retroperitoneal Fibrosis and its possible inflammatory roots, so I have adopted a (mostly) dairy, wheat and sweets free diet, a work in progress.  My friend Kit is following a gluten free diet as well, for health reasons.   I have a friend with thyroid issues thought to be auto-immune, who is talking about this.  And now Laura is instructed by her rheumatologist to adopt a very restricted diet, as part of a program to help her regain some semblance of health.  How restrictive?  Try no grains, no starches, no refined sugars, only certain fruits, no beans or legumes, no dairy, no seed oils.
     I know, right?  When I first saw that, I balked!  Then, my second response was to obsess about all the things that are NOT on the list.  Her husband is mourning the lack of bread.   No lentils, no bananas, no yogurt, no.....Wait.  That is the problem.  It's kind of like when my oven died a few years ago.  All I could think to make for dinner involved baking.   There are parts of the world where an oven in the home is not commonplace.  (Even in France, but that's because one can just pop down to the boulangerie!).
     When I first started talking to Laura about this diet, I kept asking her if this or that was allowed.  Mostly, there were a lot of no answers.  Then I started thinking about what she COULD have.  I flipped through my book of collected recipes.  In an effort to combat the down mood that she was in, I started listing the recipes that I had that she could eat.   Even I was amazed what qualified.
      Southwestern Beef Stew, Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Hazelnut Butter, Curried Squash Soup, Grilled Steak Salad, New American Borscht, Roasted Tomato Soup, West Coast Coleslaw, Asparagus Soup, Green Chili Pork, Braised Port with Pears and Chilis, Halibut with Garlic Mayonnaise Topping, Crawfish Pie without the pie, Beef and Broccoli Stir fry, Shrimp and Cabbage Salad.
      I have only scratched the surface, and only out of my own compendium (several of these are already on the blog, by the way).   All recipes can be shared.
      Part of the point here is that if you can let go of what is not on the restricted list, and keep your mind open, there are plenty of things that you are likely already eating, things that you already enjoy, which are perfectly acceptable, even under the rubric of a severely limited diet.
      Another point, one which I have been struggling with myself, and slowly grasping, is that sometimes food just needs to be food.  This is hard for me.  I am a particularly food obsessed person.  I like food, really good food.  I think about what my next meal is going to be in a detailed kind of way.  If I invite someone over for a meal, I spend a great deal of time perseverating about different menu items, and probably take far too much time in the preparation work, making an excessive effort.   Food does need to taste good.  It's great when it tastes great.  But it also needs to fill a person up, and it doesn't have to be excellent to do that.  It's OKAY to enjoy a very simple meal and to let go of the gourmet obsession, and just get a meal in.
      Finally, sometimes, it's worthwhile to take a lesson from our picky children.  How many times  does a child eat largely the same key ingredients as the adult, but in discrete items that don't touch on the plate.  It's frankly infuriating most of the time.  But there is something to be learned here as well.
      For instance, this method allows one to focus on what really makes a particular dish delectable.   I gave a lamb stew recipe to Laura at her request, but it has garbanzo beans in there.  Now, they add a  nice textural component to the dish, but I am willing to guess that it would be fine to omit them, and it would still be a tasty stew.
      Another case in point is the hamburger.  What is the key ingredient here?  The BEEF!  Make this ingredient excellent, and prepare it well, and let go of the things that one then associates with a burger in the typical American presentation.  So, I made burgers this evening:  I took ground beef from the famous grass fed organic beef, added a tablespoon of barbecue sauce, 3/4 tsp of kosher salt and 1/4 t of ground pepper.  I mixed it all up, fried it on my trusty grill pan to rare/medium rare, and served it with sliced tomatoes, an excellent barbecue sauce, carrot and celery sticks.  It was great!
     I would like to take a minute to mention the barbecue sauce.  My friend Mark got it from About Barbecues and Grilling by Derrick Riches and it's delicious, and easy to make.  If you are going to have stripped down ingredients, it is worth it to make them really good ones.
 
   

Deconstructed burger

Mark's Kansas City Rib Sauce

makes 2 c

1 c. Ketchup

1/4 c water

1/4 c vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

3 T olive oil

2 T paprika

1 T chili powder (I use chipotle)

2 cloves garlic

1 t cayenne (I reduce this)

Heat oil in sauce pan, add garlic and sauté.  Add  remaining ingredients, simmer about 15 minutes. 

And, Laura?  I know there isn't a bun here.  And why do we obsess about a bun?  It's just a vehicle to get the yummy burger to our mouths without a fork and knife!  Let it go folks, and enjoy the key ingredient!  

Birgit’s Big Super Bowl Challenge

Guest Written by: Jo Epping-Jordan

It’s Super Bowl time, and the city of Seattle has gone wild. Everyone has caught Seahawk Fever, and even Birgit is not immune.

“Could I come over to watch the game?” asked Birgit, AKA ‘She Without Cable’.  “I’ll bring food,” she added hopefully.

Of course she could.  But why not make things interesting?

So I issued Birgit her Big Super Bowl Challenge. To meet the challenge, she would need to:

•       Provide one dish per quarter;
•       Overall comprise a complete meal containing a drink and appetizer (1^st quarter), salad (2^nd quarter), main dish (3^rd quarter), and dessert (4^th quarter).

Extensive negotiations ensued. Did the food need to be prepared during the quarter, or in advance?  Could she recruit helpers? What were penalties if she missed her play clock?

The pressure mounted. As the Seahawks prepared for game day, Birgit planned her menu. She checked her ingredients, sharpened her knives, and mentally prepared herself for the challenge ahead.

1^st Quarter: Off To A Great Start

It was the fastest score in Super Bowl history as Denver coughed up a safety just 12 seconds into the game. Mark (recruited by Birgit to make first quarter’s appetizer and drink) was equally fast in producing margaritas and guacamole, both two ways.

Margaritas with the Seahawks Snake

Margaritas, recipe from “I never measure” Mark

2 ounces Herradura Reposada tequila

2 ounces Patrón Citrónge orange liquer

1 ½ ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

Ice

Adjust to taste

Non-alcoholic margaritas, recipe from food.com

2 ounces simple syrup

1 ounce lime juice

1 ounce lemon juice

1 ounce orange juice

ice

Adjust to taste

Guacamole, Mark’s style

Amounts are highly approximate:

2 large mashed Hass avocadoes

2-3 Tbsp finely minced red onions

Juice of one lime, freshly squeezed

4 Tbsp finely diced ripe tomatoes,

4 Tbsp finely diced cilantro

Pinch of cayenne

Sea salt to taste

Guacamole, Bryce’s style

Amounts are highly approximate:

1 large mashed Hass avocado

1 Tbsp finely minced red onions,

Juice of ½ lime, freshly squeezed

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Guacamole two ways, plus Birgit's salsa

2^nd Quarter: Domination

During the 2^nd quarter, Seattle continued to dominate Denver in every aspect of the game. For her part, Birgit was equally effective in the kitchen. This quarter’s dish was a green salad with lemon cumin vinaigrette, produced with the speed and precision of a seasoned chef.

Green salad with lemon cumin vinaigrette

Salad

Lettuce

Tomato

Red pepper

Red onion

Red cabbage, a small whiff for color interest

Vinaigrette

Juice of ½ lemon

¼ - ½ tsp of ground cumin

½ tsp sugar

¼ cup olive oil

salt to taste 

Mr Snake approves of Birgit's green salad with lemon cumin vinaigrette

3rd Quarter: It’s All About The Team

Seattle started the 3^rd quarter by scoring once again within the first 12 seconds, bringing the score to 29-0. The Seahawks’ relentless march towards victory was distracting for all of us, and Birgit’s timing started to slip. By that point, though, no one really cared as we were all too busy doing fist bumps and victory dances around the TV.

Birgit’s 3^rd quarter dish was tacos, which was apropos for the event.  Just like a champion football team, great tacos consist of contrasting ingredients that work together to form a unified whole.  A little of this intermingles with a little of that and voila!, the magic happens.

Birgit’s tacos

Beef filling

2 tsp oil

1 onion (about 1 cup) chopped finely

3 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp chile powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

½ tsp oregano

¼ tsp cayenne (optional; taste first)

salt

1 lb ground beef

½ cup tomato sauce

½ cup chicken broth

1-3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp cider vinegar (optional)

Brown onions and garlic, add spices, then brown beef. Add tomato sauce and broth. Simmer 10-15 minutes, adjust seasonings.

Other taco ingredients

Tortillas

Black beans

Tomato

Red onion

Cilantro

Avocado

Queso Fresco (Mild Mexican cheese)

4^th Quarter: The Final Touch(down)

The Broncos attempted an onside kick to start the 4th quarter but weren't able to recover; the Seahawks took advantage and scored yet another touchdown. Meanwhile, Birgit was preparing the final quarter’s dish: flan. 

Flan, recipe from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar

2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon grated zest from 1 lemon
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk (see note)

Instructions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a kitchen towel in the bottom of a large baking dish or roasting pan and place a 9-inch cake pan in the center. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, swirling the pan gently, until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and cook, gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture has caramelized to a deep, dark mahogany color, 7 to 10 minutes. Carefully and slowly pour the caramel into the cake pan, being careful not to splash caramel onto yourself or outside of the cake pan, and cool slightly until hardened.

2. Bring a kettle or large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, whisk the whole eggs and egg yolks together in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Whisk in the zest, sweetened condensed milk, and low-fat milk. Pour the mixture into the cake pan, and gently place the roasting pan on the oven rack. Being careful not to splash any water inside the pan of custard, pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until the water reaches halfway up the side of the cake pan. Bake until the center of the custard is just barely set, is no longer sloshy, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 170 to 175 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes (start checking the temperature after 25 minutes).

3. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully transfer the cake pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Wrap the cake pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate the custard until completely chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

4. Run a knife around the cake pan to loosen the custard. Invert a large serving platter over the top of the cake pan, and grasping both the cake pan and platter, gently flip the custard onto the platter, drizzling any extra caramel sauce over the top (some caramel will remain stuck in the pan). Serve immediately.

The final touch: flan

Summary

Final score: Seahawks 43, Broncos 8. The Seahawks routed the Broncos in every aspect of the game and exhibited their command of the sport.

Similarly, Birgit displayed her versatility and expertise in the kitchen by producing a varied and complete Super Bowl meal. Did she deliver on time? Not really. But did anyone care? Not at all. Was it great food? Absolutely. 

All in all, a resounding achievement for all!