Starting School With a Smile, or, How To Get Your Neighbor To Call You a Goddess

     Geez, it's been a while.  There is nothing like the brain/bandwidth/energy/space sucking effect of completely destroying your kitchen as a DIY project to subsume almost everything else.  That has been my summer.  Garden has gone to hell.  No trips, no vacations, not much cooking, nothing to post.  Except the progress of the kitchen.  The result is FANTASTIC.  It's not done (yet) but the kitchen is completely functional, and pumping out dinners, breakfasts, canned applesauce, tomato sauce, and baked goods.  I love my kitchen!  I am baaaaack, and starting to calm down all over the place.  Wahoo!  I have even planned a long weekend trip to visit my friend Katie!
     The kitchen progress is another post.  This post is about cake.  This cake is a stalwart backbone of my baking repertoire, and never fails to please.  Bryce loves it, even though it has nuts in it.  My neighbor loves it.  It keeps well.  It travels well.  It serves well for breakfast, dessert, snack.   I can hardly recall where I obtained this recipe, but did the due diligence to google it, and I am betting Sunset is my source.  Their source is a place called Aravaipa Farms.  All well and good, but I am here to say that I have doctored, nay, nursed (hah!) this to a different recipe:  tweaked it so much, that it only somewhat resembles the original recipe.  You can google it with the above references if you want the original recipe, but why bother?  This is the one that will get you called a goddess.
     It will also send your kid out of the house with a smile on her face, this first day of school.  I am choosing to believe that this is at least partly due to the cake, and not to the fact that the strike is over, and the serious socializing---er, learning---can now begin!
     I have made this in a pan before, but find it turns out better in a tube pan.   I could see it working well in individual bundt pans if you have them but adjust baking times accordingly.

Morning Banana Cake

(adapted heavily from Sunset's recipe from Aravaipa Farms)

1 1/2 c. white flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. chopped walnuts

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Stir together and set aside.

1 1/2 c sugar

1 c. mashed bananas

1T vanilla

Mix in a medium bowl, then add:

2 eggs

1/2 c. melted butter

Then add the following, alternating with the flour mixture, until moistened:

1/2 c. applesauce

1 c. buttermilk, or yogurt mixed with milk

Pour into a buttered tube pan, bake at 350F until a long skewer comes out clean and cake pulls from the pan sides, 50-60 minutes.  

Cool x 15 minutes, then remove from pan.  Serve warm or cool, and wait for the accolades to come. 

Of Birds and Bees

     Well, as if I don't have anything else going on in my life, remodel-wise, spring proceeds on unabated. As usual my garden is amazingly fecund, and I have been able, through the miracle of no- rest-and-less-sleep to keep ahead of the weeds.  There are changes afoot on 2 fronts that are amusing and at least temporarily distracting.

 First the birds.  Over the last year or so, Brandis and I lost 2 of the older chickens.  The original portion of the flock are older now, and so the first death was a shock, but they are over 5 years old now.  For chickens, that is getting on.  We fully expected to see them stop laying this year as well.  So in January, we ordered more peeps!  They arrived about a month ago, and have been a source of amusement and stress ever since.  Originally 6, one died before they arrived.  Then another died about 2 weeks later, for no discernible reason.  Generally, you figure that some baby chicks die, for unknown reasons, but 2 weeks later was a shock to us.  We had a scare with a 3rd peep, but that has passed as well.

   
     Of the remaining birds, 3 are bantams, which is new for us.  One is a Polish Crested, who will have feathers that look like a punk rocker on her head (Ludmilla).  Brandis' dog, Jack, has been a great baby sitter, although you just have to wonder what's going on in his head about all of this.  You forget, until you have peeps again, how goofy they are:  trying to fly out of their box, racing around.  They get almost frantic when separated from each other.  Remembering our foibles with Calamity Jane, we are very hesitant to let them outside for a while, at least without close observation.
     And then we will have to figure out how to integrate the flock as well.  Stay tuned for more posts on this one.

     It was over dinner, looking out over said fecund garden, that we noticed the bees.  One of my bird houses, which has never had a bird tenant, had bees coming and going.  There was a lot of buzzing going on, and it turns out that we have a bumble bee hive!  These gals are great pollinators, so they are naturally welcome.  No honey to be obtained, and according to my friend Kit, they are not likely to stay around past this season.  We will then rejoice and enjoy the visit, and be grateful for their service.
     Finally, if all goes well today, we will participate in this year's Chicken Coop Tour!  This is very exciting, and has forced Brandis and me to knuckle down and address some ongoing garden issues:  we have built our garden gate, the approaches, with steps, to it, and spruced up our coops.  Brandis is still working on the design elements of her coop siding.  If all goes well, we will have the great back hoe removal of bamboo next week.

Pork Tacos, or, what to do when you have no kitchen

     Well, it's been pretty busy around here.   I hardly know where to start!  The kitchen remodel goes on, somewhat sluggishly at the moment, but it goes.  We are down to studs, shiplap flooring and a whole lotta dust.  The French doors have handles, the windows are in, and the roof is no longer in danger of collapsing, as the Versalam beam is in, supporting the joists, and correcting a whole bunch of pre-existing construction errors.  Between the wiring, the joists and some rather odd framing done by previous homeowners, it's been a real adventure trying to get some things right.

      So, currently, my kitchen is in my living room, we wash dishes in the bathroom sink.  It basically feels like camping in a house.  Everything is on bare bones supplies, and takes twice a long as it normally would.  The framing is in place now, though, and I can see the potential for what this space will be.
     Being food obsessed with no kitchen is a challenge.  I have eaten a few meals that are merely fuel.  But I try to keep up standards, such as they are.  Dinner tonight definitely upheld standards.  It helps that the garden is in full swing, and I have a barbecue to back me up.
     I developed the pork recipe a few years back, and originally made it in the oven.  But it works more easily on the grill, and there are fewer dishes that way, a great benefit when you only have the bathroom anyway!
     The concept is this:  brine the pork, pat it dry, salt and pepper it, then grill it, adding a glaze half way through.  Add to that a delicious and very simple mango salsa, and dinner is on!

Chipotle Pork Tenderloin
serves 2 with left overs, or 4

2-3 lbs pork tenderloin

5tsp salt

3/4c sugar

4 c water

2-3tsp chipotle in adobo sauce

2T brown sugar

1 T plus 2 tsp olive oil

Additional accompaniments:  cilantro, shredded cabbage, radishes, corn tortillas, cotija cheese

Dissolve salt and sugar in water, and brine the pork for 1 hour.  

Prepare your grill:  preheat or get the coals ready for a medium fire.  

Pat dry, oil with 2 tsp oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill over medium to high heat, turning every 3 minutes until browned, total of 9 minutes.  

Meanwhile, mash the chipotle, add the remaining oil and the brown sugar and stir.  

When the pork has browned, brush with the chipotle mixture, and return to the grill.

Grill over medium heat, turning every 2-3 minutes, until browned and lightly charred on all sides, approximately 10 more minutes.  

Remove, and let rest 5-10 minutes.  

Meanwhile, heat the tortillas in olive oil on a stove, and make sure the salsa is ready to go.   Then slice and cut the pork into batons for tacos. 

Serve with sliced cabbage, cilantro, radishes and any other accompaniments that light your fire.  

Quick Mango Salsa

serves 2

1 mango, diced

1/2 cucumber, peeled so that there are stripes of peel left, and then diced

3T diced red pepper

1 scallion, sliced thinly

1 T jalapeno, minced

Cilantro, if you remember, which I didn't

1-2T rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, taste to correct seasonings.  

Enjoy, and feel smug that you can do this WITHOUT a kitchen, unless yours is still intact.

Breakfast revelations

     Ok, I am a little late to the table here (ha ha ha).  Megan Gordan's book Whole Grain Mornings has been out for a while,  and failing that, she has published in a host of other venues.  But I am here to tell you that she writes an amazing recipe.  It's no wonder she is famous for her granola.
     My breakfast option has fallen into a rut.  Actually, it falls into ruts regularly.   I went through the buttermilk and fruit puree fad.  Then the muesli fad.  Most recently it was the Dave's Bread with turkey and defrosted berries (it is winter after all) fad.   The berries are not on the bread, but accompanying it.   On a whim I checked out the above mentioned book from the library.  She writes recipes that are seasonally organized, and each one has a whole grain in it.
     I should clarify for those who are thinking this is a lot of oatmeal and granola.  Oh no.  The sky is the limit here:  rye flakes, amaranth, bulgur, cornmeal, farro are all fair game.  That is only a partial list.  So this morning I had a muesli with rye flakes, coconut and dried mango.
    To plan ahead for tomorrow, I made her farro with apples and cranberries.  Both of these are amazing recipes.   She is not too heavy on the sugars, and many, if not most of her recipes are able to be dairy free.  (Morgan:  dairy free.  You need this!)  Some are both dairy and gluten free.
     Neither are all the recipes sweet.  Each seasonal segment includes savory options.  It has made me rethink breakfast.  And I bought the book.
     My goal is to break up my routine with a variety of options, and thus try to avoid the rut.  I failed to photograph the farro combo, but my adapted version of her recipe is below.

  Warn Farro Breakfast Bowl with Apples, Cranberries and Hazelnuts

serves 2

2 T coconut oil

1 apple, unpeeled, and cut into small chunks

1/4 t ground cinnamon

1 c cooked farro (see below)

1/4 c hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1-2T honey

option:  plain yogurt

Sauté the apple in the coconut oil until softened, then add the cinnamon and farro, continue to sauté until heated through.  Add the nuts, cranberries, stir to combine.  Add honey.  

Serve with yogurt (or not, if you are Morgan).  I find it makes an amazing treat dairy free.  I haven't gotten to the official breakfast yet.  

To cook farro:  Boil 1 c farro in 3-4 c water for 20-30 minutes, until tender.  It will have a chewy texture.  Drain.  This will make 2-3 c.  cooked farro.  This is ok, as you will find it can be added to a host of options:  sautéed kale, for instance.  Or make more of the recipes in this book.  You won't be disappointed.  

The Time is Here

     The time is here, the time is now.....I think that comes from a children's book, but I can't quite dredge it up.  Not to worry, I am adopting it as my mantra for February.  The focus of this mantra?  It is my kitchen, naturally.
      I have been living in this house for 13 years.  When I moved in the hideous vinyl flooring was peeling up.  The cabinets are the really cheap pressboard Ikea type.  The cabinet doors didn't match up.  You could see the drywall taping.  There is a walled in brick chimney in the middle of the house.  The lighting cans are only 50-75% functional.  It should therefore come as no surprise that I have been considering a remodel for years.
     The first obstacle was a combination of inertia and early childhood rearing.  I simply didn't have the bandwidth.  There was probably a bit of fear mixed in.  There were other issues that took precedence:  the dry rot in the bathroom shower, for instance.
     The good thing about the dry rot is that it forced an issue, I had no choice.  There were pillbugs in the shower!  That project taught me that 1.  I can do this.  2.  It won't bankrupt me.  3.  I really love my bathroom.  4.  Beware of exploding projects.   I chose to expand (explode) the project to include replacing all the pipes and switch the hot water heater with a tankless system.  I don't regret those decisions.  However, it took longer and cost more.  Lesson learned.
     There is nothing like remodeling your bathroom to make you realize that your kitchen is awful.  This project is bigger though.  It will cost more.  It necessitated looking at the behemoth in the room: the pantry and hidden chimney.  These items waste space.  I won't explode it to include refinishing the hardwood floors in the house, no way.
      It is my good fortune that my next door neighbor is an interior designer.  She has been my visionary, and is able to translate that vision into CAD drawings.  So the plans are in place.  Actually, they have been largely in place for almost 2 years.   Somehow, this winter, I finally found the courage and focus to take this on.
      It will involve knocking down a wall and expanding the opening to the living room.  French doors, replacing appliances.  The highlights (to my mind) are the limestone counters---Fossils!!,  and the painted cement backsplash that my friend Morgan will do for me.  That, and a new stove.
     The first step is to move the electrical panel, which is out of my league.  To that end, above mentioned Morgan helped me demolish the drywall on a wall last weekend.  This has impelled and inspired me.  I want to knock it all down now!  I want to get going!  I want to rip up the peeling vinyl and live out of boxes (ok, maybe not quite the latter).
     I will control myself for now.  The electricians come on Thursday.  After that however....The time is here.  The time is now.

 Jura beige limestone.  Fossils!  

 Morgan's gorgeous cement board walls.  

 Camera jiggle, but here is my helpmate from Saturday's fun

Yep, that's nob and tube wiring.  The Mickey Mouse electrical panel is beyond.  

   
   

Winter suppers

     Funny to be posting about winter suppers today, when the thermostat outside nearly hit 60.  But as it is still January it feels right.  Dinner tonight was a simple affair, cobbled together after a day of working in the yard.   It has been a dark winter, and this weekend is the early beginning of it's end, which I celebrate.
     It came together slowly whilst I was pruning dead raspberry canes and enabled by my latest cooking guru, Nigel Slater.  This man is a genius.  I often judge a cook/writer by the number of books that I own.  So Deborah Madison and Dorrie Greenspan rank highly.  I still have several Mollie Katzen books, but look at them less these days.  Rising above all of them is Nigel, the author of several well known books.  What has appealed to me lately are his duet of Kitchen Diaries and Notes From the Larder, two books that are both diaries of a year of cooking and gardening (beginning with January and so on) and peppered with method, recipes, musings.  It makes for great reading (at least I think so!) and great inspiration.   I am actually limiting my reading to the month at hand.  This helps to keep my culinary energies in check, and seasonally apropos.
     Back to dinner:  a simple affair of salmon and cabbage.  But the seasonings and method make the meal.  I failed to photograph this meal, and it would be in the lousy light of my kitchen, it would have been a mediocre photo at best anyway.  Thus you will have to use your imagination and then just break down and make this meal.  I say that, as it was grubbin' good.
     So the cabbage was Nigel's inspiration.  One January entry was for steamed cabbage tossed with bacon and a splash of vinegar.  This was what hit me as I was being scratched by the raspberries.
     I love cabbage.  While steaming it might have worked fine, it smacked of too many pots for my taste.  So this was actually simplified by browning the bacon, and then removing it, but leaving the fat behind.  Then I sautéed said cabbage with salt and pepper until bright green and lightly browned on the edges.  Toss in the reserved bacon and the aforementioned splash of vinegar and there you go.
     To make the salmon coordinate with this dish, I went with mustard.  My sister does this frequently with halibut, but it works just as well with salmon:  You make a simple glaze of mustard and mayonnaise (or sour cream) and bake the fish.  The mayonnaise keeps the salmon moist.  The mustard goes with the salmon AND with the cabbage.
     That's it!  This meal could have accommodated a starch, but I didn't bother.  And the salty bacon and mustard made for a meal that brightened up the winter darkness.  Anything that can do that is worth repeating, in my book....

Honey Mustard Salmon

serves 2

1 salmon filet, approx 3/4 - l lb.  

salt

equal parts Mayo or sour cream and mustard.  I used honey mustard

If using dijon mustard, add 2tsp honey

Preheat oven to 425F.  Pat the salmon dry, and sprinkle with salt.  

Mix mayonnaise and mustard (+/- the honey).  Spread generously on the salmon

Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on 1.  the thickness of the salmon and 2.  how done you like it.  I tend to like it on the BARELY done side, so go for the 10 minute version, for a filet that is about 1" thick.  

           Cabbage Sauteer with Bacon

serves 2-3

adapted from Nigel Slater

2-3 slices bacon, sliced 1/4" thick

4-5c sliced cabbage, I sliced about 1/4" thick and cut into pieces approx 2-3" long

salt and pepper

2t white balsamic vinegar (another light colored vinegar would work here too)

Brown the bacon, and remove to a plate.  In the reserved fat, saute the cabbage until just green and barely translucent, lightly browned.  While sautéing, sprinkle lightly with salt and generously with pepper.  In the last 1-2 minutes of cooking, add the bacon.  When finished, sprinkle with vinegar.  

Enjoy!

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.