What's left in the garden soup

Today we woke up to an inch of snow! Enough already! It didn't take long to melt off or prevent us from heading outside to enjoy some sunshine and do some gardening. Boots on, we tromped out into the fresh spring air, to plant a cherry tree, a gooseberry bush, two tree roses and some Merion Blackberries.

Molly and Avril also helped clean up the veggie garden. It was fun to find some colorful, edible treasures left over amongst the winter tattered veggie beds.

Freshly washed beets, carrots, scallions and leeks ready for the soup pot.

Avril singing and stir'n the veggies in the pot.

Saute chopped leeks, scallions in 2 Tablespoons butter and two large circles of Olive Oil.

Add chopped rainbow carrots and four Yukon Gold potatoes.

Some shakes of Salt and Pepper.

Cook until wilted.

Add two boxes chicken broth.

Boil until veggies are tender.

Use stick blender to puree and further cream the soup or leave chunky, your choice.

Delish!

Apron Adventures... Part 5

You have got to try this Banana Cake from the kitchen of Gena Jones. This is the best way to turn ugly brown bananas into something devine.

When my Mom was pregnant with my little sister Sara, she had a neighbor girl help her with the summer duties of being a farm wife. Gena made this delicious cake for mom and she remembers having a hard time not eating it in one sitting! Pregnant or not, this cake is absolutely delicious and well worth the steps to the divine finish. I recently made this for a party, and in honor of a friend’s birthday. It was devoured.


¾ cup shortening or butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed banana
½ cup butter milk (or ¼ cup milk plus ¼ cup plain yogurt)
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup finely chopped pecans
½ tsp salt
Toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Butter and flour two 9 inch baking pans. I also like to butter a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Butter the pan first then cut and lay a circular piece of parchment in the bottom of the buttered pan then butter again.
Cream shortening, sugar to fluffy; add eggs for 2 minutes at medium speed; add bananas, beat 2 more minutes; add dry, buttermilk, vanilla and beat 2 minutes more; stir in nuts and split into two pans. Sprinkle with coconut.
Bake 20-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool.


Place coconut side down 1st layer, remove parchment.
Filing goes in the middle
Top with coconut side up 2nd layer
Frost sides only


Filling
½ cup sugar
½ cup cream or ½ and ½
2 TBLS flour
2 TBLS Butter

Cook to thickened, add ½ cup chopped pecans, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ cup butter; cool

Frosting
Cream together 1 egg white, 1/2 cup butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla, ½ tsp coconut extract, blend, add 2 cups powdered sugar until well blended.

Cocktails demystified...

I was so happy when my friend and neighbor Robert Hess of Drinkboy.com and author of The Essential Bartender's Guide- How to Create Truly Great Cocktails said he would teach a class about cocktails at his home bar. It wasn't difficult to rally a group of students for this class.


Roberts approach to cocktails is all about participation, appreciation and moderation. He teaches from the perspective of cocktails as cuisine, and encourages the gourmet pairing of cocktails with food. Through out the evening we learned cocktail history, tools, techniques, various alcohols and how they are produced, and sampled four different drinks: Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Japanese, and a Pimm's Cup.

The first drink we learned the history and making of is the Cosmopolitan.
1 1/2 ounce citrus vodka
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce cranberry juice
3/4 ounce lime juice

Cosmopolitans all lines up and ready for sampling.

Learning the ingredients to the Japanese. We were amazed at all the various types of bitters.

• 2 ounces brandy
• 1/2 ounce orgeat (almond syrup)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Learning all about the various cocktail glassware. We learned why those huge 12oz V-shaped martini glasses are not so good. We've all been brainwashed to think bigger is better, but they are far too large for a sensible drink. He recommends we hunt through antique stores to fine the old cocktail glasses or champagne coupes (the first and shortest glass in the picture).

Please check out Drinkboy for more details on these and other delicious recipes. He also has several video demonstrations on the Smallscreen network. Here's a sample video where Matt and I learn how to make a Champagne Cocktail.

Cheers!

mon petit chou chou...

According to one New Year's tradition, cabbage is king of good fortune. All summer long we grew various varieties of cabbage. My favorites were the Primero and Charmant varieties from Territorial Seed Company.

Cabbages actually store for quite some time in the fridge. I picked a huge purple Primero from the garden back in November, and saved it until now.

New Years Day we enjoyed apple sausage with a colorful side of cabbage sautéed with apples, onions, seasoned with celery seeds and apple cider vinegar.

Let’s see if eating it actually brings us good fortune.

Apron Adventures... Part 4

Avril in her apron and I in mine,

Ready to make gingerbread dough so fine.

With sugar and butter mixed in the bowl,

We're out of molasses, we shouted Oh No!

Now don't you worry,

Avril don't you fret.

This dough can be saved

Thumbprint cookies you bet!

Roll chocolate dough balls

In nuts all chopped up

Then get your thumbs ready

For making small cups

Little thumbs press, into a small yummy mess.

Then a dab of Marrionberry jam, that's the best!

Here is the recipe we share with you, so you can make merry thumbprints too!

chocolate marrionberry thumbprints

Potlucks: refreshing our spirit of neighboring

Ah, how I do remember the seasonal potlucks of my childhood. The spread of macaroni casseroles, green Jello salads, tomato aspic, twice baked spaghetti, salads, pies, cakes and cookies.

My mom, would always bring a salad she named Eureka Farm salad, which is a deliciously modified Tabouleh. She always added all the various types of chickpeas or lentils my father was growing in the fields at the time to her delicious salads. Here’s a recipe for another one of her salad treasures: Lentil Salad with Smoked Turkey. I remember her salads were often a stand out amongst the traditional Whitman County spread.

There are some annual potlucks in my life now that I wouldn’t miss for the world.

Every summer we host an annual 4th of July party with a potluck feast. At the last 4th there were 200 people, so you can only imagine the spread!

Today, the local ladies gathered at a neighbor's house for a feast to celebrate the holiday season. Everything from chili, corn bread, quiche, turkey and stuffing casserole, to rhubarb pie and cake fulfilled my every potluck craving.

Thank you to the all my neighbor ladies for sharing a wonderful afternoon together and refreshing our spirit of neighboring. Don't let the acres of woods between us keep us apart.

Apron Adventures... Part Deux

The other day my apron Lola and I got an upper body work out in the kitchen! You can too!

Try making one of my favorite holiday cookie recipes: Sand Tarts, an old recipe from my Aunt Jene, originally from Joy of Cooking page 711.













tip 1: Make dough day before in Cuisinart food processor and refrigerate overnight.

tip 2: A heavy stone rolling pin gives you a better work out and it is better weight against the hard dough.

tip 3: This dough is frustrating at first to work with. The first batch is never as good as the following. Don't give up on this dough, it is crumbly at first, but as it warms up it melts together.

tip 4: Roll out the dough as thin as you possibly can. The thinner the better, trust me it is worth all the effort!

tip 5: Aunt Jene says 10-12 mins, Lola and I say 7-8 mins in our hot oven. The over done, dark brown crispy one's may become your favorite. They are mine!

Apron Adventures... Part 1

Meet Lola. She is my favorite, most comfortable apron.

My Mom gave me Lola, which is appropriate since her best friend’s name is Lola. Actually Jill, named Lola by her grandkids, is also amazing in the kitchen. I have fond memories of Lola helping Mom cook in the Eureka Farm kitchen of my childhood and of Jill’s restaurant The Harvest Moon in Palouse,WA.

I can’t cook, bake or can anything without wearing Lola. If I can’t find her, I panic. I'll wear one of my other aprons in a pinch, but Lola always is my first pick! I swear the end result of whatever I do in the kitchen doesn’t turn out as well if she is not tied snuggly around my waist.

Maybe you want your own Lola apron? Zuzu? Stella? Or maybe you want your daughter to be the cutest little kitchen helper? Mom gave this lovely little Katie apron to my daughter Avril. Tara and Dave of Funktion may have your dream apron. A sweet blend of ruffles and flowers give feminine touch to your power in the kitchen.

Last night Lola and I made the best Original African Peanut Soup. A recipe from one of my old college haunts The Colophone Cafe in Fairhaven, WA. The ginger, garlic and peppers are perfect blend of spice to help kick this winter chill all the way to Africa.

Today, I’m putting on Lola to make my favorite Aunt Jene’s Sand Tarts and Marshmallow Snowflakes with the kids after school.

Matt's Cheesy Nut Cone

Matt wanted a cheese ball to take along with us to Thanksgiving dinner at Willie and Jay's place.
He was motivated to make it himself, but didn't realize you had to prepare the cheese mixture the night before. After a couple of margaritas down at Ixtapa, he was in no way able to whip up a cheese ball the night before Thanksgiving.

so...

who do you turn to when you want to make the ultimate cheese ball, but your husband is too tipsy and you are a bit tipsy yourself?

One of my favorite tipsy & cheesy ladies, Amy Sedaris, has the ultimate cheese ball recipes in I Like You - Hospitality under the Influence. An appropriate book, appropriate title, works for cooking under the influence too!

Open book & turn to page 117

Adding the nuts the next day, completely sober mind you ;-)

Turn to page 181 and add steal a couple ingredients from her "Lil'smoky Cheese Ball" recipe (smoked Gouda & butter)

Presto, magic! "The Heavyset Cheese Ball", originally known as "The NutSnacker" by Kraft, comes to life.

Must be served with Ritz crackers for that extra cheesy effect.

Since my husband Matt claimed all night that he actually made the cheese ball himself, our friend Jay and I changed it's name to:

"Matt's Cheesy Nut Cone"

Mid November Desert Grape Jelly

Matt harvested the last of the sweet desert grapes growing in our garden. I ran them through the juicer. Then made a delicious batch of grape jelly. The golden color is lovely.