Category Archives: 50 Recipes

July 9, 2013 · 7:14 am

My Garlic Twists to the Right

I do not consider myself directionally challenged, however when I harvested our garlic over the weekend it appears I have trouble with up and down. Look at the photo and notice how all the heads of garlic swing to the right. When you plant garlic you separate a head into individual cloves then stick them in the ground late fall – pointy end up. After that you forget about it all winter, snap off the scapes in the early summer, and harvest the bulbs in July (one clove grows into one head). It’s really pretty easy. Or so I thought until I began pulling up heads which were somewhat stuck because of their right hooks.

In our house we go through fifty pounds of garlic a year. You’d think we were brushing our teeth with it or suffered from a vampire infestation in the basement. If someone ever forced me to get rid of all the herbs in my cupboard I would rip up the floorboards and jam heads of garlic down where no one could see. I would become a garlic horder.

Our family uses garlic granulated, frozen, but most of all fresh. We slip it into almost every dish. So this past fall I committed to growing a serious crop of garlic to try and minimize what we buy at the farmer’s markets and stores. We shall see how long it lasts.

Not all of my garlic was twisted. Heck, I didn’t even plant everything I harvested. There was a surprise crop (above) which volunteered itself from an old garden in our yard. We must have garlic elves in our yard looking out for our extreme garlicy needs.

As I’ve mentioned before I am not the world’s best gardener. If you want to know more about growing garlic check out Margaret Roach’s blog. My seed garlic was purchased from Dan, the garlic guy, at the Amherst Farmer’s Market. Directional disclaimer – Dan’s instructions do say plant the garlic cloves pointy end up. So it wasn’t his fault this year’s garlic crop was wacky.

After the garlic harvest I make a huge batch of pesto. The basil is usually ready (if I didn’t dawdle in the spring getting it planted) so I just have to make sure there are plenty of pine nuts and olive oil on hand. This is not a classic pesto where I carefully grind everything together with a giant mortar and pestle. Nope, my mini food processor does the trick – zip, zap, zoop.

I’m not going to give you portions because everyone’s tolerance for garlic varies. We use 15-24 cloves of garlic for a small batch of pesto (2 cups) which might be overwhelming to some. My rule of thumb is have a loaf of bread next to you and taste as you go, adjusting the garlic-basil-olive oil-nut ratio.

Basic Pesto

Fresh garlic, peeled

Basil leaves

Pine Nuts (or almonds or walnuts)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

I start by putting in what seems a “normal” amount of garlic – 2-4 heads worth, depending on their size. We like our pesto to have bite. Fast spin in the food processor to roughly chop the garlic. Then in goes some olive oil and as many basil leaves as I can jam into my mini processor. Whizz some more and taste. Usually it takes several go rounds to add enough basil. I taste little spoonfuls of the evolving pesto on bread or plain crackers as I go. When it gets close to perfect I add the pine nuts, since they are soft and can disappear if you add them sooner. I pulse until they are chopped but haven’t disappeared. Throughout this process I drizzle in olive oil to keep the mixture slightly loose. It’s not soup (though you can add pesto to soups), nor should it be paste unless you’re planning on using it as such. You are in charge and running this food processor after all.

When it tastes good to you, scoop out the finished pesto and cover with a thin layer of olive oil to keep it from oxidizing. Or freeze in small containers (I sometimes use an ice cube tray), again with a small layer of olive oil on top. We add cheese at the table since some of us don’t do well with dairy.

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Tagged as basil, garlic, growing garlic, low maintenance gardening, margaret roach, pesto

June 30, 2013 · 8:28 am

Gilding with Strawberries and Chocolate

Somebody in our house turned sixteen this past week.

You might think summer is the ideal time to have a birthday, but in many ways it’s not – at least not while you’re a kid or teenager. Summer birthdays can be a pain. The thermometer usually reads in the 90s which means icing and ice cream tend to melt. School’s out so many of your friends are away at camp. Even if your school is really thoughtful and tries to celebrate folks who have summer birthdays with a half birthday it doesn’t always work out. Not if your real birthday is after graduation and your half birthday is during Christmas vacation. So someone in our house hasn’t had a friend birthday party in a while, but he has always had a family birthday party.

In our house the family birthday means four things. One is you get to choose the dinner menu. Two you must wear the hat. Three you will get a cake, and four we will sing you the song. The exception to these birthday rules is our dog Oliver. He gets a partially cooked hamburger instead of a cake and doesn’t have to wear the hat since his head is so small. Of course that means he has a Pavlovian reaction anytime we sing the song since he now associates it with hamburger. What can I say? He’s smart, but not smart enough to know that not every birthday is his birthday.

So for Russell’s birthday this year I got up early to bake the world’s best chocolate cake. I just wasn’t sure how to decorate it and the birthday boy had given me free range in the icing department. Fortunately his godfather Rick Ellis called mid-morning to talk to the birthday boy. After wishing him a happy birthday he asked what kind of cake Russell was having. My son’s response was, “I don’t know. I think it’s something chocolate-you should talk to my Mom.” For those of you new to this blog I should mention Rick is an amazing food stylist, a fantabulous cook, and always has inspired recipe ideas.

Developing a recipe or food concept with Rick is like playing food ping-pong. We talked about what was in my fridge (strawberries, heavy cream, and a jar of raspberry jam) and cupboards (lots of chocolate, several different kinds of cocoa, and some honey), what Russell liked (pretty much anything), and then Rick pondered. For all of 30 seconds. Since strawberries tend to weep (let their juices out) when they have been cut Rick suggested a layer of raspberry jam on top of the bottom layer of cake with the cut strawberries nestled into the jam. Thus solving the weeping problem. If raspberries had been in season we could have used them, plus if I’d had an open jar of strawberry jam it would have worked too. Once the fruit component was in place Rick wanted me to add the second layer of cake and frost the entire outside with chocolate buttercream. To gild the proverbial lily, just before serving the cake I drizzled chocolate ganache over the the chilled cake. Brilliant, over the top summer birthday cake. Perfect for a sixteen-year-old.

Here’s what you’ll need to make an Over the Top Chocolate Cake.

1 baked and cooled Chocolate Cake, click here for the recipe
1 – 1 1/2 pints strawberries, tops removed and cut in half
raspberry jam
chocolate buttercream (I made mine from a half batch of this recipe substituting some Valrhona cocoa for part of the powdered sugar)
chocolate ganache

Place cake on a cake plate, spreading jam on top of first layer. Add strawberries (the amount will vary depending on if you make an 8″, 9″ or 10″ cake). Top with second layer and frost outside with chocolate buttercream. Refrigerate. Just before serving pour cooled chocolate ganache over the top, letting it run over the sides and puddle along the bottom. Add candles and sing the song.

Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

4 1/2 ounces heavy cream

2-3 heaping teaspoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons butter

Bring the heavy cream to a boil and add the honey. Pour over chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. Add the butter and let cool till pourable being careful it’s not too hot that it melts the chocolate buttercream.

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Tagged as birthday cake, chocolate cake, dessert, Rick Ellis, Russell, Summer

June 18, 2013 · 1:30 pm

Hand Held Salad

I’ve been on a roll lately – Vietnamese Spring Roll that is. It started because we had one of those wicked curve balls mother nature loves to throw at New England in late spring. Between mud season and summer we get slammed with a few beastly hot days. Hot enough to make your brain so fried you only think about finding a swimming hole and all the ways to not cook dinner.

After the mini heat wave I had to make food for a few events where there were folks who couldn’t eat gluten. My answer again was platters of Vietnamese spring rolls. Loads of crunchy vegetables and rice noodles wrapped inside a paper-thin pieces of rice paper. They fit the gluten free (and vegan) needs beautifully.

I also love them because similarly to make-your-own pizzas or maple syrup sundaes you can customize them to anyone’s taste. If you make them small enough so there isn’t any double dipping, they are a great addition to a casual outdoor party. You can also eat them with your hands so I give them a high-five for being fabulous finger food!

The secret to Vietnamese spring rolls is prep, prep, and more prep. You really can’t start assembling them until all your ingredients are washed, sliced, and diced. I use my Japanese mandoline for much of the julienne work. Mostly my fillings are based on a hunt through the fridge and garden to see what is available at that moment. If I’m out of scallions I use red onion. My son Russell doesn’t like avocados or mint so I leave then out of his rolls. The noodles don’t need to be cooked – just soaked in hot water for several minutes then drained. If the rolls are more of a dinner item than hors d’oeuvre add a little protein with either cooked shrimp or tofu. The possibilities are endless.

Fresh Spring Rolls

Carrots, julienned

Hydroponic Cucumber, julienned (I use the skin, but not the seed part)

Mint leaves

Avocados, thinly sliced

Scallions, thinly sliced

Lettuce or baby greens

Rice Noodles, soaked in hot water then drained

Red Onion, thinly sliced

Cooked Shrimp, sliced in half

Firm Tofu, drained and sliced in batons

Spring Roll Papers

Dipping Sauce (we use sweet chili sauce)

Bowls of prepped vegetables ready to roll

I find these easiest to make one at a time. I wet some paper towels and place them on my work surface then dip a rice paper into the bowl of water making sure all of it gets wet. Don’t leave it to swim. Just dip in, pull out and let drip, then lay it down on the paper towel. It only takes a few seconds. As it starts softening from the water you can start building.

If you want to see a step by step tutorial check out the White on Rice Couple’s blog post on spring roll assembly. I like to close both ends, but if you want to try Diane’s version with one end open go right ahead. Another thing to keep in mind is whatever you put down first will be what shows through the rice paper so if you’re going for pretty build accordingly.

It’s a good idea to put some of the softer foods next to the delicate rice paper to minimize (or hopefully eliminate) tearing. Which means save the carrot sticks for the middle. If, despite your best efforts the spring roll tears when your rolling it up then you have cook’s prerogative to taste test.

The choices of spring roll skins is pretty vast. I find them at supermarkets, co-ops, natural food stores, and my international market. The skins are hard discs until soaked in water which means when you store them you want to keep them from getting damp, so don’t forget to seal your ziplock bags tight!

I’d love to hear what your favorite combinations are.

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Tagged as gluten free, vegetable rolls, vegetarian, vietnamese spring rolls

April 24, 2013 · 10:40 am

Crushing a Cramp

The other morning my son Russell came hoping out of his room on one foot, grimacing with pain. He had a killer charlie horse and it wouldn’t go away. Bananas I thought. Potassium. Should I be giving him something with electrolytes? My not-quite-awake brain was trying to remember all the kitchen remedies I could come up with while making lunches, letting the dog out, and serving breakfast.

“I think you should massage it.” I yelled as he hopped back to his room. His sister peeked out of her bedroom and snickered. Watching someone who is nearly 6′ 3″ hop along a hallway with one leg curled up underneath them is somewhat comical. But there is absolutely nothing funny about charlie horses.

When your muscles are trapped in the incessant grip of a muscle spasm it is all you can do to breathe, let alone hop. I know when I’ve had a charlie horse the thought of touching my skin while it feels like ten inch chefs knives are being thrust into my muscles is nearly impossible. Sometimes I can breathe through a charlie horse. Other times I just whimper. Russell was rather stoic, but clearly in pain.

I thrust a banana into his hand and did a quick internet search. The New York Times had a great article which I quickly skimmed. Sure enough their remedy suggestions included hydration, potassium, and calcium. If you are exercising when a charlie horse starts you’re supposed to stop, however in Russell’s case he had just been sleeping (which most 15-year-olds seem to do a lot of). Was hopping considered an exercise if he did it on his non-charlie-horse leg? I scrambled to finish the morning routine since there was a bus to catch. After the banana I handed him a glass of calcium enriched orange juice. It was the best I could do and still finish their lunches.

As Shawn drove them to the bus stop I had my light bulb moment – banana fruit smoothies. Years ago I’d written an article about fruit smoothies for a magazine and realized they didn’t need to have ice cream or frozen yogurt to give them that smooth creamy texture. The secret was frozen bananas. Bananas have a fairly neutral taste, replicate ice cream’s texture when blended from frozen chunks, and are something my freezer is full of. I can’t abide a banana with spots. Once it has spots it is only good for baking or making smoothies with. What can I say? My mother’s business partner would only eat the brownest, spottiest bananas she could find. We should have been banana roommates since we were on opposite ends of the banana spectrum. Since we don’t share a kitchen I have a freezer full of frozen bananas.

For the magazine article I came up with “recipes” but really it goes like this: a handful or two of frozen sliced bananas, fruit juice, some berries or soft fruit to jazz it up. That’s it. You can play around with combinations but it is hard to go wrong. No ice. No sorbet. No ice cream or frozen yogurt. As Jamie Oliver says, “Easy Peasy”.

Here is the main trick – peel your bananas before freezing them.

Banana Fruit Smoothies

1/2 – 3/4 frozen banana cut into chunks (more or less)

1-2 cups fruit juice

1/2 – 1 cup other fruit, chopped if large

Place the fruit and juice in a blender set on ice crush. Blend until very smooth and no big chunks are left. Normally I use all frozen fruit. You could use fresh fruit for the “other” fruit if you wanted, but remember the frozen fruit helps take the place of ice cream.

I haven’t given strict amounts since you may want your smoothie very thick, or thinner. Some fruit may require more juice to help liquefy it. The idea is to play around.

Here are a few different combinations we enjoy (though really we work with whatever is in the freezer besides bananas).

Banana-Pineapple-Orange
Raspberry-Cranberry-Orange-Banana
Mango-Banana-Strawberry
Blueberry-Blackberry-Banana
Banana-Orange-Peanut Butter
Peach-Strawberry-Banana

What are some of your favorite smoothie combinations?

Update 6/6/13 I’ve had several recommendations on preventing charlie horses since I wrote this post, including one from our friend Molly who is a homeopath. Magnesium supplements were a suggestion I heard several times. We tried this one and found it worked pretty well. Again I am not a doctor so this is not medical advise – just what’s worked for us.

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Tagged as bananas, charlie horse, frozen bananas, fruit smoothie, muscle cramps, muscle spasm

March 29, 2013 · 1:19 pm

Remembering with Dumplings

Last September Isabelle and I were driving to her first college interview when we got the news that one of her friends from her old school had taken her own life. That morning. It was overwhelming, horrible, sad news. I pulled over to let the college know we weren’t coming to the interview. Then we turned around and headed home, crying most of the way. I wanted to change things, turn back the clock, erase what had happened. But I couldn’t. All I could do was take us back home.

Neither of us felt like eating. I asked Isabelle if she would like to make some of the foods she and her friend had made at our house awhile back when they had a cooking extravaganza. Pork Dumplings and Fruit Smoothies. She told me she wasn’t hungry and I understood. I wasn’t really hungry either. Then when I drove past the exit for the supermarket she turned to me and wanted to know why I wasn’t getting off to go to the store. I got off at the next exit and headed back to the supermarket. We bought the ingredients for pork dumplings, and went home.

I am not saying that cooking was able to assuage our feelings about this girl’s death. Nothing could do that. It was a way for us to remember her. Remember her smiling and laughing self. Remember how silly she and Isabelle had been when they whizzed together fruit smoothies and steamed up heaps of dumplings. Remember her when she was in Isabelle’s life. We cooked dumplings because we missed her and were mourning her not being there.

This recipe is from Susanna Foo’s book Chinese Cuisine. There are many recipes in this book which I love, and these dumplings are a family favorite. We make a meal of them, which would probably have Ms. Foo raising her eyebrows, but they are so delicious we eat them until we have to roll away from the table.

Part of my family doesn’t eat pork so I always make a double batch of dumplings – one pork and one tofu. Also in my grocery stores Nappa cabbages are usually the size of footballs so by making a double batch I can use up most of the cabbage in one massive dumpling marathon. If you do make both remember you’ll need to double all the other ingredients (tamari, toasted sesame oil, ginger, cabbage & carrots). I find one package of wrappers is not enough for a single batch of dumpling filling, but two is too many. If you are doubling the batch go with 2 or 3. You can buy the extra package of wrappers and use the leftovers for something else. Or the lesser amount of wrappers and when you run out use the remaining dumpling filling for a quick stir fry. In all the years I have been making these only once have I had the perfect ratio of filling to wrappers. Don’t sweat it if things don’t come out evenly.

Pork or Tofu Dumplings

1 1/4 pounds ground pork or 1 pound firm tofu

1 cup minced scallions including greens

3 Tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce

1 1/2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 generous Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 pound Napa cabbage, sliced into very fine slivers

2 carrots, peeled and finely grated (optional)

2 packages dumpling wrappers (gyoza or wonton)

dipping sauce – recipe below

In a large bowl combine the pork or drained and crumbled tofu with the scallions, tamari, sesame oil, and ginger. Mix well and let sit for a few minutes so the flavors of the different ingredients to absorb and blend with one another. Then mix in the cabbage and carrots if you are using them. Nappa cabbage is sometimes also labeled as Chinese cabbage. If you can’t find it you can use savoy cabbage but add 1-2 tablespoons of water since savoy is a bit drier than Nappa.

Set up your steamer, I use one I bought from an international market years ago. It just fits into one of my large frying pans. I line the baskets of the steamer with pieces of parchment paper or the whole outer leaves of the Nappa cabbage to prevent the dumplings from sticking to the bamboo.

In the original recipe Susanna Foo called for round dumpling wrappers. I cannot find them at my local store so I make my dumplings with the square wrappers. To form the dumplings have on hand a small dish of water. Scoop a tablespoon of filling into the center of the dumpling wrapper and then moisten the edges by dipping your finger in water and running it along the edges. Then fold the wrapper so two sides match up. You can try to pleat the edges together, though lately I have been lazy and just sealed them shut flat, with no fancy pleats. I make the tofu dumplings into triangles and the pork dumplings into square, four-seamed packages so everyone knows which is which when they come out of the steamer. Steam for 11-13 minutes over gently boiling water. Serve while hot with dipping sauce. Don’t forget to occasionally add more water to the pan, as the water boils dry when making lots of dumplings. You can also freeze formed but uncooked dumplings. They will simply take longer to cook from their frozen state.

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

Tamari

Toasted sesame oil

Rice wine vinegar

pinch sugar or drizzle of honey (optional)

water

I have little dipping bowls I just line up and add the ingredients to, tasting as I go. My mix is roughly 1 Tablespoon tamari to 1/2-1 teaspoon sesame oil, a small splash of rice wine vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and a splash of water. See what works for you.

I have had very little experience with suicide, however there are a few people from our church St. John’s who are wise and wonderful and who sadly have had their own personal devastating contact with suicide. They supported our family by listening and offering to share some of their own observations in the days and weeks and months after this young woman’s death because it was not easy. I don’t think it ever gets “easy”. They were also ready with an endless supply of hugs and kleenex and checked in often to see how we were doing. The teachers and headmaster at Isabelle’s school were likewise incredibly caring and willing to reach out to us however and whenever we needed.

One of the best pieces of advice I was given regarding teen suicide survivors was to let them make decisions about their own life, especially in the time immediately following the event. Whether to go or not to go to the funeral. Whether or not to take the SATs. Whether to get out of bed and go to school some days. There is no right or wrong way to deal with this, but it does help to affirm their choices. Also remember to let those who are in your son’s or daughter’s life (teachers, friend’s parents, coaches, therapist) know what has happened. They may not have heard, especially if the suicide victim went to a different school.

The number for the National Teen Suicide Prevention hotline is 800-273-8255.

Isabelle’s friend really loved art. If you would like to make a donation in her memory you can send it to the Frontier Regional High School Art Department, North Main St., South Deerfield, MA, 01373 c/o Jack Purcell who was one of her art teachers.

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Tagged as pork dumplings, Susanna Foo, teenage suicide, tofu dumplings

Category Archives: 50 Recipes

My Garlic Twists to the Right

Gilding with Strawberries and Chocolate

Somebody in our house turned sixteen this past week.

Hand Held Salad

Crushing a Cramp

Remembering with Dumplings

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