What you get when both Les and I have a whole day without working

This weekend was so relaxing and wonderful. We finally got a break in this terribly cold winter. To celebrate we decided to cook some really really delicious food! I didn't use a recipe for these, so these amounts might not be perfect. Use your best judgement and taste, taste, taste.  The first thing we made was:

Scallops with Beluga Lentils and a Cranberry Gastrique

Beluga Lentils:

• 1 cup beluga lentils (they look like beluga caviar)
• water
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion, small dice
• salt/pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• olive oil

1. Heat olive oil in a stock pot and add diced onions. Heat until golden and add garlic. 
2. Add beluga lentils, salt, and pepper to taste and stir until the lentils are coated with oil.  Add enough water to cover the lentils by 1 inch.
3. Bring to a boil. Add sundried tomatoes, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 
4. Take out the sundried tomatoes and simmer for 5-10 more minutes until the lentils are tender.

Cranberry Gastrique:

• 1 cup dried cranberries (unsweetened)
• little less than 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp ground fresh ginger
• salt to taste

1. Heat a small sauce pan and add all ingredients. Simmer vigorously for about 25 minute. Taste and add more ginger if necessary.
2. Strain the liquid from the cranberries. Set aside and also save the cranberries.

Scallops

I bought frozen scallops from Whole Foods because I got a coupon for $2 off, but for the record. I don't recommend buying them from Whole Foods. There was a lot of sand in them. I wasn't happy with how these turned out. I need to make scallops again to make these better.

• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 7 scallops
• salt/pepper to taste

1. Pat dry scallops and lightly salt and pepper. Heat pan on medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil.  Once the pan is hot add the scallops. Cook about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side. It should have a golden look on each side. I didn't get the pan hot enough and I didn't pat the scallops dry enough.

The next day, I didn't want to waste anything so with the left over cranberries that were drained from the gastrique, I decided to make a chutney for a delicious appetizer. We also had a lot of the beluga lentils and cranberry gastrique left over, so we added to those and made a second meal...

Cranberry Chutney on Creamy Cheese and a Fresh Sourdough Crisp

Cranberry Chutney

• Cranberry mixture left over from Cranberry gastrique
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 granny smith apple, small dice
• 1/4 onion, small dice
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400˚ F.
2. Heat pan on medium heat and add 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Add dice onions, apples, and salt to taste Cook until golden. 
3. Add 1 tsbp white vinegar and cook for about 1 minute
4. Add onions and apple to the cranberries mixture and process in a food processor until jam consistency. 
5. Cut sourdough pieces and place a good creamy cheese like brie on the sourdough slice. We used a cheese that was on special at Silverglades at Findlay Market. I can't remember what the cheese was, but wow it was so good!
6. Add chutney to the top of the cheesy crisp. 
7. Enjoy!

Baked Butternut Squash and Apples with Beluga Lentils, Cranberries Gastrique, and Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Butternut Squash and Apples

• 1 butternut squash, small dice (from my garden last fall)
• 1/2 granny smith apple
• 1/4 large onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp hot pepper flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Mix together all ingredients and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. 
3. Bake for 15 minutes then raise temperature to 400˚F and bake for 15 more minutes.

 Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

• 1/2 lb Asparagus
• 6 pieces of bacon (from Gorman Heritage Farm)
• olive oil

1. Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces
2. wrap 4 pieces of asparagus with a slice of bacon.
3. Sprinkle with olive oil and bake at 400˚F for 15 minutes.

Les and I felt inspired and wanted to practice with food styling. You know real fine dining. This is how ours turned out. I would say a job well done!!

Estonian Kringel

Pre-baking

I saw this beautiful masterpiece online and thought that I had to attempt making it. I didn't have all the ingredients, but I'm up for experimenting. I cannot take credit for this recipe. I adapted it from http://www.justlovecookin.com/2011/11/estonian-kringel.html which has a great and beautiful photo tutorial on how to braid the kringel. The directions are in Estonian and English, and I wonder if in the English version directions were left out. So I wrote my version of her directions with my alterations and insight about baking from books and working in the bakery in Chicago (Check out Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food).

Dough:
300 g flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lukewarm water (+2 tbsps water)*

1/4 cup plain yogurt
.25 oz active dry yeast
30 g melted butter (1/8 cup)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp divided

Filling:
50 g melted butter (1/4 cup) + 1 tbsp divided
5 tbsp sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg (this was a little too much, I suggest 1/2 tsp)

Directions:

Finished product. I need to work on the baking and braiding technique.

• Mix the yeast and 1/2 tbsp sugar with the lukewarm water and let it sit a few minutes while the yeast bubbles and foams up, about 5 minutes.
• Add the yogurt, egg yolk, and the melted butter to the yeast mixture and stir well.
• Mix together the flour and the salt, to the wet ingredients. (I had to add about 2 tbsp extra water at this time because it wasn't picking up all of the flour)* then knead the dough for about 5 minutes. 
• Shape it into a ball, and place the dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover and place in a warm space and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F**. Dust your work surface with flour, and roll the dough into a long rectangle to about the thickness of 1cm.
• The original recipe said to "Spread the melted butter across all of the dough, then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture." Make sure to leave enough of the sugar mixture to sprinkle on top. By looking at the photos though it looks like she might have made a paste out of just softened butter, sugar and cinnamon. The next time I do it, I'd like to try to do it this way to see what happens. 
• Roll up the dough and using a knife, cut the log in half length-wise. I started with a serrated knife because I didn't want to mash the dough, but I changed to a sharp paring knife and took long cuts into the dough.
• Twist the two halves together, keeping the open layers exposed Check out this great photo tutorial (http://www.justlovecookin.com/2011/11/estonian-kringel.html). After braiding it put in a round and tuck in the edges. Transfer the prepared dough to a baking tray (buttered or covered with cookie sheet).
• Top the kringel with the remaining 1 tbsp butter and sprinkle some of the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg mixture on top. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350˚F for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
• I didn't do this, but you can "Top with icing sugar mixed with water if you want, just sprinkle some sugar, or eat it like this, because it’s delicious, i’m telling you ! :)"
• Eat warm and Enjoy!

**I did the sugar test to see if my oven ran hot or cold so this temp had to be changed for my oven since it runs about 25 degrees hot. To test your oven's temperature, heat your oven to 350˚ and put in about 1 tbsp sugar in an oven safe bowl or foil. Check the sugar in 15 minutes (even an hour) it should still be powdered. It might turn slightly brown but it's still a powder and shouldn't melt. If it does melt then it's calibrated too hot.  Next turn up you oven to 375˚ and place about 1 tbsp sugar in the oven again. In 15 minutes or so the sugar should melt. If it doesn't it's calibrated too cool.  Sugar melts at 367˚ and looks like glass. So it can give you a rough estimate of how your oven is calibrated. You can now change the oven temperature depending on your oven. An oven thermometer works as well, but I don't have one.

Potato Torta layered with Greens

I came home after work today after going to the Green Umbrella - Local Food Action Team Meeting, and got inspired to cook. So my first go to is my big black book of recipes that I've cut out of magazines or printed out, but I just didn't have the right supplies for anything. So I went online and looked for Kale recipes because I brought home a TON of Turnip Greens, kale, arugula, and lettuce. So I found this recipe from Bon Appetit - Potato Torte with Tuscan Kale and Pancetta. Alas, I didn't have hardly any of these exact ingredients, but I thought hey I'd experiment.

This is the deliciousness that ensued. If I can get my husband to eat turnip greens and spaghetti squash, and ask for seconds and thirds, then it must be pretty good.

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil,  plus more for drizzling (from our honeymoon in Italy)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup Kettle potato chips (it called for bread crumbs, but we didn't have that, and to be honest I don't like potato chips, but Les does. So we have them and it worked really well in this recipe.)
• 2 ounces bacon (from GHF), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 onion + 1 shallot, thinly sliced (from Madison's - Findlay Market)
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 pound baby turnip greens (it said to cut center ribs and stems removed, but that just seems wasteful especially since baby turnip green stems are not really hard), leaves cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (about 6 cups from GHF)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (from our garden)
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1/2 large spaghetti squash  
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation 

• Preheat oven to 350˚F. Cut open the spaghetti squash and scoop out the seeds. place squash cut side down in a pan with sides and cover the bottom with water.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until the stringy squash easily breaks apart. Scoop out all of stringy flesh and set aside.
• Meanwhile, brush a 9-inch-diameter springform pan or an 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil. Crunch up the potato chips and the coat bottom.
• Place diced potatoes in a large pot and add water to cover by 1-inch. Add a generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid slightly ajar, and gently simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. 
• Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium to low heat. Cook until bacon begins to brown, about 5 minutes. If you cook it on too high of heat then it will shrivel up. Add onion and cook, stirring a few times, until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. 
• Add turnip greens to onions and bacon stirring to wilt. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; season with salt and add 1/2 cup of the reserved potato water. Cook until the greens are tender. Stir in nutmeg.
• Drain potatoes and put into a large bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 of the squash (you can probably add more, but I wanted to keep some for a different meal) and cheddar cheese; season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon 1/2 of potatoes into prepared dish, smoothing to cover bottom and 1-inch up sides of dish. Spread turnip green mixture over potatoes. Spoon remaining potatoes over and smooth top. (This can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover tightly and chill.) 
• Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese on top and drizzle with oil. Bake, uncovered, until torta is heated through and top is golden, about 1 hour. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into squares or wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

If you want to see the recipe that I seriously adapted - http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/11/potato-torta-with-tuscan-kale-and-pancetta#ixzz2Md0YXqH6 

Curried Mushroom Cashew Pâté

One of my friends gave me a huge amount of cashews two days ago, and we've been trying to come up with great ways to use them besides just eating them. So we came across this recipe gem from Bon Appetit. I will have to say it's not the most attractive thing, but what pâté is? Ok to be honest I hate pâte, but this has no liver thankfully. So it's tastes delicious! I was thinking a slight drizzle of truffle oil on top would make it even better!

 

Curried Mushroom Cashew Pâté

Recipe by John Ash

February 2003

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 pounds fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, or crimini mushrooms, very coarsely chopped (we used 1/2 lb shiitake and 3/4 lb crimini)
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots (about 2 large)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 3/4 teaspoons curry powder (we used Madras curry from Colonel De at Findlay Market)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup roasted salted cashews (ours were salted)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley, chives, and basil) (We used thyme and tarragon)
• Fresh parsley or basil sprigs (optional) (we didn't use)
• 1 French-bread baguette, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, toasted (We used crackers and homemade whole wheat bread.)

Preparation

• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, curry, and cumin and cook until mixture begins to brown and all liquid evaporates, stirring frequently, about 12 minutes. Cool.
• Using on/off turns, finely chop cashews in processor. Add oil and blend to coarse paste. Add mushroom mixture and chopped herbs; blend in using on/off turns until mushrooms are coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon mushroom pâté into bowl. Cover and chill 4 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead; keep chilled.
• Garnish pâté with herb sprigs, if desired. Serve with toasts. (We garnished with Fontina cheese and a touch of curry powder.)

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2003/02/curried_wild_mushroom_pate#ixzz2MW8m2U8p

Quinoa Flour Crepes

Oh how I love crepes! They are so easy and you can fill them with anything! I mean literally anything!

As long as you know the ratio for crepes you can substitute pretty much any liquid or type of flour.

The ratio is:
1/2 part flour
1 part liquid
1 part egg

For the liquid, be creative. Think juices, stocks, milk, water, etc.  For the flour, be inspiring. Think quinoa flour, buckwheat flour, garam flour, whole wheat flour, etc.

This particular crepe has the following:

• 10 oz milk from Snowville Creamery
• 5 eggs from Gorman Heritage Farm (GHF) (1 large egg = about 2 oz)
• 5 oz quinoa flour (Thanks Megan Divelbiss for giving me some to try!)
• salt and sugar are optional - I didn't use either

After whisking all the ingredients together until there are no lumps. Set in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the flour to completely absorb all the liquid.

Then heat a pan on medium heat - cast iron or non-stick are the easiest to use. melt about 1/2 teaspoon butter to coat the bottom of the pan to keep the batter from sticking. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter (that will depend on the size pan you use) into the center of the pan then rotate the pan to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. The crepe should be very thin! Cook for about 30 seconds - 1 minutes. Flip the crepe and cook another 30 seconds. You can make a lot of crepes at a time and then refrigerate them.  I love doing this on the weekend then reheat them and fill them with different ingredients throughout the week.

The one pictured is filled with:

• arugula from GHF
• bacon from GHF
• caramelized onions in balsamic vinegar and rosemary
• oven baked grapes
• White cheddar (if I was going to do this again - I would use goat cheese, but I didn't have it at the time)

Another day I filled it with:

• hard-boiled egg from GHF
• bacon from GHF
• creamy homemade mustard dip
• arugula from GHF
• white cheddar

Another day I filled it with:

• Oven baked butternut squash thinly sliced with rosemary (both from my garden) and olive oil
• arugula from GHF
• bacon from GHF
• Boursin Cheese

The options are limitless!

What are your suggestions for crepe fillings?

Salted Caramel Apple Pie - Deeper Roots Customer Appreciation Dinner

I thought that this was posted right before I left for Italy, but obviously it wasn't. So here is the post that I meant to post before I left for the Salone del Gusto - Terra Madre. I'm sorry I wasn't able to post while I was there. Please expect posts about the Salone in the very near future!

I'm getting ready to take off to Italy in a couple hours, but I thought I'd post a few tasty things that have been going on recently to give me some inspiration for the Salone del Gusto - Terra madre.

Last weekend Deeper Roots Coffee had a Customer Appreciation Dinner. At this event they asked their customers to bring a home-made apple pie and then we would have a bake off. I thoughts, what a great idea so I whipped out my favorite apple pie recipe - Salted Caramel Apple Pie. yumm.  Everyone brought such amazing pies. It was very hard to decide whose was best.

Courtney Robinson was the winner with her yummy apple pie with a crumble topping. Yum! Sorry I don't have the recipe for her pie, you'll just have to ask her to make it.

This is the recipe for my pie. I made it once for my family, but unfortunately I wasn't able to taste it because I was doing a "no sugar" detox type thing for Lent, but everyone said it was delicious. So I thought I would try it. I think it turned out beautiful. I'm really thankful that I learned how to make pie crusts when I worked at Flourish Bakery in Chicago.  So here it is.

Pie Crust 

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1/2 - 3/4 cup ice cold water

Fill a liquid measuring cup with water and several ice cubes, and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt.  Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture, and work together with a pastry blender.  Work until the mixture looks sandy and the butter is about the size of peas.  The mixture will look uneven, which is ok.

Pour 1/2 cup of the ice water (no ice cubes) in the flour-butter mixture.  Use a rubber spatula, or your hands (I find it easier to use my hands at this point) to gather and mix the dough together.  Dip your fingers in the ice water and continue to work the dough until the mixture was fully come together.  Be careful not to overwork the dough.

Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

(Adapted from Four and Twenty Blackbirds)

Makes one, thick 10-inch pie

Salted Caramel

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel

Apple Filling & Seasoning

4 to 6 lemons

6 large apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Assembly

1 egg, beaten

granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fleur de sel

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the salted caramel:

Cook the sugar and water together over low heat, until just dissolved.  Add the butter and bring to a slow boil.  Continue cooking at a low boil until the mixture turns a deep, golden brown color, almost copper (this will take a while).  Once the mixture has turned a copper color, remove from the heat immediately and add the heavy cream.  The mixture will bubble rapidly and steam.  Whisk the mixture together well over low heat, and sprinkle in the sea salt.

To make the apple filling:

While the sugar mixture is boiling, begin to work on the apple filling.  Juice the lemons into a large bowl.  Peel, core and very thinly slice the apples.  Coat the sliced apples in the lemon juice - this will prevent the apples from browning and will add flavor.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, and mix together.  Sprinkle this mixture over the apples, and use your hands to gently mix and coat the apple slices.

To assemble:

Roll your pie crusts, cut your lattice and fit the bottom crust to the pie dish.  Layer 1/3 of the apples in the bottom on the crust, and move to adjust so that there are minimal gaps.  Pour 1/3 of the caramel mixture of the apples.  Add 1/3 of the apples and another 1/3 of the caramel for the second layer, then add the third layer of apples and all but a small bit of the remaining caramel.  Note: save a small portion of the caramel to pour on top of the lattice once it's assembled.

Patiently assemble the lattice crust on top and flute the edges of the crust.  Pour the last bit of caramel on top.  Brush the crust with beaten egg and lightly sprinkle with granulated (or turbinado) sugar and sea salt.

Place pie on a baking sheet (the caramel will bubble over during baking).  Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.  Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and make 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the pie is golden brown and apples are soft.

Remove pie from the oven and cool fully.  

Customer Appreciation Dinner

Here are some other photos from the appreciation dinner:

The dinner was prepared and cooked by Courtney Robinson, Les Stoneham and Ryan Doan.  Wow it was tasty.  Here is what we had:

• Harvest Salad (fresh greens, pork belly strips (from Gorman Heritage Farm), sage goat cheese, figs, and pumpkin seeds with a light drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette)
• Blue Corn Meal Corn Bread
• 4 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese (Court's specialty)
• Ryan's special grilled chicken (from Gorman Heritage Farm)
• Tons of coffee, yum
• Jasmine iced tea
• Blank Slate -  India Amber Ale

It was a fabulous night. Thanks to all the customers that came out to be appreciated!

 

Mushroom Agnolotti with Corn and Tomato Pan Sauce

 In the midst of summer what do you have a lot of?  We have a lot of sweet corn and tomatoes so this recipe is fabulous if you have an excess of both!

Mushroom Agnolotti with Corn and Tomato Pan Sauce
(adapted from Better Homes and Garden - Sept. 2012 issue)

2 ears sweet corn on the cob (came from Gorman Heritage Farm)
18 oz. wild mushroom agnolotti or ravioli (we amazingly had one package of this in our freezer but we added another package of three cheese tortellini)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced (Egyptian walking onion from our garden)
2 cloves of garlic minced (from our garden)
2-3 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped (orange paste, ponderosa beefsteak, and Opalka paste from our garden)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp chives, chopped (from our garden)

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Shave corn off the ears with a serrated knife and reserve. Add the cobs (to release corn starches and add richness. Les was also making a salsa verde sauce so he boil some tomatillos in the water before I put the past in. You definitely don't need to do this!) and agnolotti to water. Boil for about 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, for pan sauce, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook until fragrant, about two minutes. 
3. Add corn kernels and garlic to skillet; cook until bright and crisp and tender, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and toss until they begin to release some juices, about 2 minutes more.
4. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup liquid. discard cobs. Add pasta back to the pot with the reserved cooking water, corn mixture, and butter. Gently toss over low heat to melt butter. (The original recipe put arugula in at this time which would be very tasty but arugula isn't in season right now - way too hot for that). Sprinkle in chopped chives and serve. 

Makes about 4 servings

Tomato Time!

I'm so so excited that it is tomato time finally!  I just hate that squirrels like our tomatoes as much as we do.  Any suggestions on how to keep them from eating our tomatoes? My favorite summertime salad is definitely the Caprese Salad. Easy easy recipe!

Caprese Salad



Ingredients:
Tomato
Basil leaves
Mozzarella
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt

Slice up some basil (fresh from our garden), tomato (it was unfortunately half eaten by a squirrel. It probably should have stayed on the vine another day, but I didn't want more of it to be eaten), and fresh mozzarella (from Jungle Jim's - made in house). Then just sprinkle a little sea salt, olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar on top. Viola!  You have the best summer easy snack!

Whole Wheat Bread - one more hour of house work for Les!

 I also got the urge to bake some bread. Nothing better than fresh bed with cheese, tomatoes and basil. Yum!  This is a whole wheat bread - No Knead from Jim Lahey.  I recommend his book so much especially if you are busy and don't have time to knead. You just have to let it rise for about 18 hours.

 

Carrots and so much Red Russian Kale I don't know what to do with it!

We also have carrots ready and so so much kale. If you would like some kale please let me know and I'll be sure to pass it on!

Garden - June, 2012

Garden -  July 15, 2012 - I can't believe how much it has grown

Sunflowers are coming quick

Tomatoes - trying something new. Let's see how this method works.

Latte Tastiness from the Les-meister

Lavender Scampi

After putting on an event at Gorman Heritage Farm like Savor the Season, what do you do the next day?  Get inspired to cook something of your own that savors the Spring season in Ohio!  Les and I went on our Sunday morning walks to Findlay Market this morning to gain some more inspiration.

Lavender Scampi with fresh homemade pasta was decided on after we indulged ourselves in pastries at Skirtz and Johnston, and Honey Lavender gelato and espresso at Dojo Gelato.

Homemade Pasta


Ingredients:

• 9 local eggs (from Madison's at Findlay Market)
• 27 ounces of flour
• 4 tbsp olive oil

1. Put flour in a bowl and make a hole in the middle of the flour. 
2. Crack all eggs inside of hole in flour. Slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs with your hands. This is fun. You get quick messy.
3. Add enough olive oil to make dough firm buy pliable.
4. Turn out dough and kneed for 5-10 minutes until the dough is shiny (not just from the oil). 
5. Wrap up in a reusable plastic bag and set aside for at least 30 - 1 hour. (you can also let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours.)
6. Cut into 12 pieces and roll out using a Kitchen pasta attachment. 
7. We used only 1 piece for the following recipe. So we put the rest on a pasta dryer that Les made for me. That can be saved dried for about a month (but it's definitely better completely fresh.)

Lavender Scampi

Ingredients:

• 1 lb raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 1 lb asparagus - from Gorman Heritage Farm
• 1/2 cup olive oil reserve 2 tbsp for pan
• 1 tbsp capers (can sub pickled nasturtium seeds)
• 1 tbsp ground lavender flowers - From Gorman Heritage Farm
• 1 tsp honey
• Juice of 1 lemon and peel + juice of half another lemon for topping
• 2 cups white wine (look for something dry and mineral tasting) - bought at Market Vines
• 4 tbsp butter
• salt/pepper
• 5 cloves garlic coarsely chopped - from Madison's (our sprouted already sadly)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped - from our garden

1. Marinate shrimp in olive oil, lavender, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and honey for 1 hour. After 1 hour drain shrimp and set aside marinade
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive in bottom of pan. Place garlic and shrimp in the pan and cook evenly for 2 minutes. Flip shrimp and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove shrimp with slotted spoon to keep oil in the pan.
3. Throw in asparagus and marinade and boil. Scrape any brown bits of the pan into the sauce. Once asparagus is tender, about 5-10 minutes, toss shrimp with chopped parsley back to the pan.
4. While preparing the scampi bring water to boil with salt (the water should be quite salty - like the Mediterranean Sea). Toss fresh pasta into the water and boil for about 4 minutes. (this will be longer if you are using dry pasta)
5. Strain pasta and top with the scampi. Garnish with a good amount of fresh lemon juice and a spring of parsley. We also added some delicious sourdough bread.

Mahi Mahi Tacos with Mango Salsa and Sweet Chili Mayo

 After a great day of going to our great local market, Findlay Market, and weeding/prepping our garden, Les and I set up to make some deliciousness. We were happily surprised to find some gems in our garden that had overwintered like a purple carrot, walking onions, cilantro, parsley galore, and a purple potato!

As we were at the market and visited Luken's, the Mahi Mahi fish filets spoke to us and screamed, "We want to be made into tasty fish tacos", and we responded with a resounding, "Yes Sir!"

 Luckily we already had most of our ingredients. We will definitely make this recipe again!

Mahi Mahi Tacos

Fish Marinade Ingredients:

• 2 limes juiced
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp honey
• salt/pepper to taste

Fish Batter Ingredients:

• 2 filets Mahi Mahi tuna
• 1 cup flour + 1/4 cup flour for dusting
• 2 tsp baking powder
• salt/pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3/4 cup beer (we chose a pale ale form BBC - Bluegrass Brewing Company)

 Mango Salsa Ingredients:

• 1 mango cubbed
• 1 cup cilantro chopped (we had tons and tons growing from last fall! Yeah for reseeding)
• 1 lime juiced

Sweet Chili Mayo Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayo
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp garlic chili paste
• 1 tsp honey

Flour Tortilla Recipe (Look at previous post) - I luckily had some frozen left over from the last time I made tortillas

• 1 shredded purple carrot (amazing find in our garden that overwintered)
• pinch of baby arugula to taste (we are growing this in our windowsill. One of my favorite things to garnish almost every dish!)
• coconut oil and vegetable oil for frying

Directions

• Cut filets into 1 inch strips.
• Mix together marinade ingredients and cover fish with marinade for a minimum of 1 hour.
• Remove fish from marinade and roll in 1/4 cup flour + paprika mixture. Set aside.
• Combine ingredients for mango salsa. Set aside.
• Stir together ingredients for sweet chili mayo.
• Make flour tortillas and keep them in a warm spot or wrap them in a towel.
• Heat enough oil in pan to cover fish half way.
• Whisk together beer batter until thick consistency.
• Test heat of oil with a drop of batter. It should bubble right away. Dip fish into batter and place carefully in hot oil.
• Cook until golden, flipping when necessary.
• Drain on paper towel or screen.
• Assemble tacos in the handmade tortilla with shredded carrots and arugula and enjoy.

What I've been up to...

Harvest Corn Chowder

Sorry I can't remember what was in this, but man it was good!!! I had a day of harvesting in the garden and came inside to cook something tasty. I just added a bunch of random things into the chowder like tomatoes, zucchini squash (from my Boss's garden), carrots, croutons left over from a dinner at the farm, cheddar cheese, onions, and other things.

Hand-made Pumpkin Ricotta Ravioli with browned butter sage sauce and Gorman Farm Bacon

Notice our new table that my new husband just made us and the chairs we just got as wedding gifts?  They were made by Les's cousin out of coffee burlap sacs.

I'm teaching a cooking class this month. So right now I'm perfecting the recipe. I'll get back to you on what goes inside of it.

Spaghetti Squash Stuffed with Everything Good

I've never had good luck with growing squash, but this year the spaghetti squash has grown like gang busters! I've been trying a whole bunch of new things with them. This was pretty tasty and it was all ingredients just from my back yard or already in my fridge.

Half the Spaghetti Squash, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down in a pan with 1/2 in of water.  Bake the squash at 350˚. Take a fork and scoop out the flesh leaving 1/4 in around the outside.  Mix the squash with whatever you have in the fridge. For this recipe I had leftover couscous (made with home-made chicken broth), ham from the wedding, shredded carrots, onions, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and chives on top.

Cereal Crusted - Stuffed French Toast with Blueberries

Filling:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and more for cooking the french toast
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 Tablespoons apricot preserves
1 cup diced blueberries
4 thick slices whole wheat bread
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Egg Batter:
6 extra-large eggs
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Breading:
1 1/2 cups of a mixture of crushed Cheerios, granola, flaked coconut (My suggestion don't use Cheerios. They just don't work well)

In a medium bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons of butter and the cream cheese until combined. Add the apricot preserves and mix until incorporated. Fold in the blueberries into the cream cheese mixture.

Cut bread into thick slices. Make an incision on the crust side of the 4 pieces of bread about 3/4 of the way through. You're creating a pocket to stuff the cream cheese mixture into. Gently spoon 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture into each of the 4 slices of bread and gently close the pocket. Refrigerate the stuffed slices while you prepare the batter and breading.

For the egg batter, add the eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla, and milk to a medium shallow bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Prepare the breading by adding the crushed cereal mixture to a sheet pan. Dip the bread slices in the egg batter making sure to let each side soak for about 20 seconds. Next, dip them into the cereal mixture.

Put a large skillet on medium-high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of butter. When the butter has melted add the stuffed bread slices and brown on each side for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from skillet and serve immediately. Top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, fresh blueberries, and syrup if desired.

adapted from: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/04/strawberry-stuffed-french-toast.html

PEACH SEASON!!!

This weekend one of my co-workers got a ton of peaches from a side stand, and was incredibly nice to share them with me. They were starting to get a little overly ripe so I went to it making some delicious peachy-ness!

I made a peach, gruyere, and caramelized onion quesadilla AND a peach, blueberry galete. Yum yum!!!

Tortilla Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- enough water to make it pliable and tacky but not sticky

Quesadilla Ingredients:
- gruyere
- onions (fajita-style slices)
- chopped chives
- 1/2 in. slice peaches
- olive oil
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
- pinch sugar

Tortilla Recipe:
1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Add water until it forms a ball.
3. Knead for about 8 minutes
4. Separate into balls.
5. Let rest
6. Roll balls out flat
7. Heat frying pan on medium heat, add a little butter and fry on both sides.

Quesadilla:
1. stir-fry onions with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar until start to get wilted and golden.
2. Place tortilla in frying pan and cover with cheese, chopped chives, peaches, and caramelized onions.
3. Put other tortilla on top and fry until cheese is melted.

Peach and Blueberry Galette
( I got this recipe and slightly adapted it from http://www.thegalleygourmet.net/2011/07/sunday-dinner_17.html)

serves 6-8

For the Pastry Dough

1 1/2 cups unbleached-all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

10 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3-6 Tablespoons cold water

For the Fruit Filling

1 pound (about 2 large) ripe and juicy peaches, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 half freshly squeezed lime juice

pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of kosher salt

1 Tablespoon milk

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling

Mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and sugar until combined. Scatter the butter pieces on top of the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse bread crumbs and the butter is the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over the mixture and mix; repeat with the remaining water until the dough begins to form small curds and holds together when pinched with fingers. (Depending on the humidity in the air you may not need all 6 tablespoons of water- I only used 4 1/2 tablespoons today). Empty the dough onto a work surface. Using a bench scraper, form the dough into a rough mound about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide perpendicular to the edge of the counter. Starting at the farthest end, use the heel of your hand to smear about one-sixth of the dough against the work away from you. Repeat until all the dough has been worked. (This technique is called frisage - I just learned how to do this) Gather the dough into another mound and repeat frisage technique. Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold and firm but malleable, about 1 hour.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 400º F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. (If the dough has been chilling for longer than an hour, let is rest at room temperature for 15 minutes to become malleable). Separate into two balls. Lightly dust a large sheet of parchment paper with flour. Roll dough into a round circle about 1/4-inch thick, dusting with flour as needed. Transfer parchment and dough onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until cool and slightly firm.


Meanwhile, gently toss together the peaches, berries, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt over the fruit and gently toss to combine. Remove the dough on the baking sheet from the refrigerator. Sprinkle top with sugar. Carefully place peaches in a spiral and place blueberries on top in the center of the dough, leaving a 2 1/2-inch border around the edge. Carefully fold one edge of dough over 2-inches of fruit, leaving a 1/2-inch area of dough between fruit edge and inside edge of galette. Repeat folding around the tart, overlapping dough every 2 to 3 inches while gently pinching dough at the pleat, but without pressing dough into the fruit. Using a pastry brush, brush the dough with the milk and sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar. Do the same with the second one. Bake for 30-40 minutes, the fruit juices should be bubbling and the crust golden brown. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and cool for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!


Source: Adapted from Joy of Cooking, 1997 and America's Test Kitchen

Crepes filled with spinach and fondue-style spinach artichoke Dip

So this is how Les and I eat breakfast everyday. We break out the big wine glasses and garnish our breakfasts. Ha! Just kidding, but today I did get inspired. On Friday I had a cooking class at the farm and the talented Laura Robinson was our guest chef. She taught about cooking with ratios and how if you use simple ratios you can achieve different types of food. One of the items on the menu was a simple crepe, and we had so much crepe batter left over that I was able to bring it home and experiment with the fillings myself.

This recipe reminds me of the crepes I had when I lived in France, and also the crepes I made when I managed the Speckled Bird.

Recipe for the Crepe:

The Ratio: 1 part liquid: 1 part egg: 1/2 part flour

We had one girl in the class who was lactose intolerant so we used water for our liquid. Laura made a great handout for the class which some of the info is below.

Ingredients:

• 8oz Water (Liquid)
• 8 oz Egg (1 large egg is 2oz)
• 4 oz Flour
• pinch of Salt
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla (the vanilla extract we use was homemade by putting about 3 vanilla bean pods that you cut lengthwise into vodka and let stand in a mason jar for at least 3 months.)

STEPS
Weigh flour and add to blender along with other ingredients
Blend for 7-9 seconds, or until just combined
Let batter rest in fridge for an hour to ensure tender crepes
Heat 6-7” skillet over medium heat and grease slightly with butter
Add 1/8 cup of batter to pan, tilting to evenly coat the bottom
Let set untouched for about a minute, flip and cook 30 seconds longer

NOTES
1 egg = 2 ounces
1 fluid cup = 8 ounces
Refrigerate cooked, cooled crepes for a week or freeze for a month
If I didn't use the leftover crepe batter I wouldn't have included the sugar or vanilla in the crepe batter since it was a savory crepe

VARIATIONS
Use different liquid base – soy/almond/coconut milk, water, stock, juice
Add a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped herbs
Add ground spices (cayenne, cinnamon, etc)

WHAT TO DO WITH CREPES
Fill with leftovers
Layer with filling and slice like a cake
Use as a base in muffin tins and fill with custard
Use with any number of sweet applications
o Lemon curd
o Jam
o Sauteed apples
o Nutella

For our filling we used something totally different. for my next class on Friday "Cooking with Wine," I'm making a spinach artichoke dip. I was experimenting with it yesterday and had left overs. So I thought yum. Lets add the artichoke dip into the crepes with some of our left over fresh spinach. Yum.

Spinach Artichoke Filling (Fondue-Style)
For this recipe, we used homemade mayo (recipe below), but you can use store-bought mayo just as easily.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 8 1/2 oz. can artichoke hearts
• 1 cup home-made mayonnaise (see next recipe)
• 1/2 cup Meier’s White Table Wine (it's a local winery in Cincinnati)
• 1 cup grated gruyere cheese
• 1 cup fresh finely chopped spinach
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1 medium boule of bread (I made some homemade bread using the ratio of 5 parts flour: 3 parts water (plus salt and yeast). I also doctored it up with olive oil, subbed some local buckwheat and rye for standard bread flour.)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Drain artichokes and chop finely. Mix gruyere cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and oregano in a bowl. Set aside.
Gradually add wine to mayonnaise, blending well.
Fold Parmesan cheese mixture, spinach, and artichokes into the wine mayonnaise.
Place in an ungreased 1 quart baking dish and bake, uncovered for 25-30 minutes until hot and
bubbly.
Cut top of boule like a pumpkin. Leaving 1 1/2 inch thick crust, pull out the soft sourdough from the center of the boule, and pour mixture into bowl that is left.
Serve immediately with bread from the inside of the boule, crackers, or vegetables.

Home-made Mayonnaise

The Ratio: 20 parts oil: 1 part liquid (plus yolk)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 egg*
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (or any kind of acid; lemon, wine, lime, etc. - I used this because it's from a local farm in Indiana.)
• 1 tsp water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup light olive oil (can use any kind of oil; canola, vegetable, sunflower, etc.)
• 1 tbsp whey (optional) **

Makes 1 cup
In the bowl of a food processor or bowl, combine egg yolk, vinegar, water, and salt. Whisk until ingredients are combined.
Continuing to blend, stream olive oil drop by drop until it starts to look creamy. It is important that the oil is added very slowly. Once emulsion starts to happen add the oil in a very small
continuous stream.
Once 1/2 cup of oil has been added, oil may be added at a slightly increased speed. Keep
whisking until all oil is added and the mayonnaise sticks to the whisk. Store mayonnaise in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Mayonnaise will thicken more during the chilling process.

NOTES
** Lacto-Fermented Option - After making basic mayonnaise, stir in whey. Store in an airtight
container for 7 hours at room temperature before transferring to refrigeration. Fermentation will extend the mayonnaise shelf life from several days to a month or more. (I haven't tried this yet, but I want to. I'll have to make some farmer cheese to get the whey. That's for another day)
* You can also use just the yolk, if you do this, freeze your egg white until you can use it like in a meringue. I found using the egg white makes the mayo a lighter color and it seemed more creamy to me.

Because of the gruyere cheese and wine the artichoke dip has a rich winy fondue-taste. I got the ratios from the book Ratios by Micheal Ruhlman. Thanks Brian for getting this book for me! It's great and I highly recommend getting it if you like to cook/bake!

Lemon Cupcakes with Lavender Cream Cheese Frosting

One of my co-workers is leaving the farm (Gorman Heritage Farm) and for her going away luncheon I made some Lemon Cupcakes with Lavender Cream Cheese Frosting. This recipe uses some of our lavender, and I used the eggs from Findlay Market. I just love being able to cook more with local ingredients. I've actually started teaching cooking classes at the farm now that uses as many local ingredients as possible. I'm hoping to keep this more up to date with what is prepared in the classes. But for now, here is the cupcake recipe.

Lavender Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons lavender petals
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

I first infused the butter with lavender using the following method (the ingredients above account for the butter infusion process).

Infused Butter Method from Cupcake Project

* Slightly more butter than your recipe calls for. When you make the tea-infused butter, some of the butter will get stuck on the tea leaves and you’ll end up with less usable butter than you started with. How much more butter should you use? You’ll have to experiment. It will vary depending on the type of tea that you use and how good you are at pressing the butter out of the wet tea leaves. I found that I needed 1 cup of butter to end up with 3/4 cup of butter.

* 2 grams (or approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons) of whole-leaf tea per tablespoon of butter. As Robert says, “The key to flavor is freshness so be sure that you are using only tea that is highly aromatic and butter that has no off aromas or flavors.”

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter until just liquid.

2. Add the tea leaves.

3. Continue heating the mixture for about 5 minutes on low heat.

4. Remove from the heat and allow to stand for another 5 minutes or until the butter is discernibly tinted by the tea leaves.

5. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing hard on the tea leaves and then discarding them. This is the part where you will undoubtedly end up with some butter that you can’t get off of the leaves. I encourage you to press as hard as you can, but not to obsess about lost butter – it’s for a good cause.

6. Let the butter come to room temperature and then use it as you would regular butter in your baked goods.

via Baking with Tea – How To Get the Flavor of Tea Into Your Baked Goods ~ Cupcake Project.

Frosting:

1. Beat lavender-infused butter and cream cheese with a fork (if you have a mixer it probably would make it easier) until fluffy. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time; mix until smooth.

Lemon Cupcake:

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, and sprinkle with lavender petals.

Adapted from From Martha Stewart Cupcakes, May 2009

via Lemon Meringue Cupcakes and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com.

via PrissyCook » Blog Archive » Lemon Mergingue Cupcakes.

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