Garden Update- July 2010

I'm always a little apprehensive about venturing out to my patio garden after a long time away. We do have a drip system now (thanks to my wonderful, handy husband!) so the odds of my plants shriveling away have significantly decreased. But you never know when a hoard of aphids will attack poor unsuspecting tomato plants! When we got home Sunday night I took a quick peak outside and everything looked okay...better than okay, in fact. We had a bunch of new cherry tomatoes popping up and a new little eggplant! The eggplant...plant?...also has a bunch of flowers on it, so hopefully there'll be more eggplants to come. I see eggplant parmigiana in my future!

This morning I snapped a few pictures of the tomatoes and eggplant to share:

Sweet 100 Tomatoes

Baby Eggplant

How to make limoncello

Once again, I have been neglecting fraises et tartines for far too long. Now that the school year is over and we're home from our various trips, I have no more excuses and so, here I am. Not that blogging has somehow become a chore, it just hasn't been a priority for, oh, the last 6 months (I suppose that much is clear). What I didn't realize prior to the vacation we returned from last night was how many people around the country (both known and unknown to me!) follow my blog. Over the last 3 weeks, we have been to 7 states (some just driving through) and seen friends and family along the way. I was a bit shocked but mostly humbled that at each stop along the way there was someone giving me a finger wagging and an "evil eye" for neglecting my blog for so long. I even got some, "My friend follows your blog and says you haven't updated in months!" Wow! Hopefully this will give me the kick in the pants I needed.

I thought that given my long absence, a guide to making limoncello would be an appropriate first post back, since this recipe is largely a test in patience. It takes about two and a half months to make, but the result is completely worth the wait. Strong, flavorful, smooth and refreshing, limoncello makes a superb after dinner drink.

To start, you'll need a large, 1.5 L, mason jar, 10 lemons, a 750 ml bottle of Everclear (get the strongest your state will sell you...here in CA that's 150 proof, but in New Jersey we found 180 proof, whew!), and a very sharp paring knife. Start by carefully peeling all the lemons. Make sure you don't have any white pith on the back of your lemon zest. This will make your limoncello bitter, and well, after two and a half months of waiting, that would be...bitterly disappointing. If you have pith on your zest, turn it over and shave it off with your knife. This is a labor of love, but it will be worth it. Once all of your lemons are peeled, put the zest in your mason jar, pour in the Everclear, and close it up. Now here's the hardest part....wait 2 months. I know it's long, but again, it'll be worth it! I usually use masking tape to label my jar with the date the limoncello is ready for step 2.



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2 months later...take your mason jar out of hiding and prepare a simple syrup. I usually use a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar but some people like it sweeter and prefer to use more sugar. This is really up to you and your taste so experiment! You'll want about 4 cups total of simple syrup so if you're using a 1:1 ratio, combine 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar in a saucepan and heat slowly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Some say that if you stir the simple syrup as it's dissolving you'll end up with a cloudy limoncello, but I'm not convinced. I'll need to experiment further with a side-by-side comparison and report back. Once your simple syrup is ready wait for it to cool completely to room temperature (another test in patience...good thing I gave you a ton of practice with 6 months between blog posts!). Once completely cooled, add the simple syrup to the steeping alcohol, leaving the lemon zest inside. Now you're in the home stretch but you'll need to dip into your patience reserves just a little bit longer. Wait 2 more weeks. Then strain out the lemon peel and bottle your limoncello. I like to use bottles from French Limonade, which you can buy at Cost Plus, Whole Foods, and BevMo, because they have the EZ tops. Drink the Limonade, wash the bottle and then use it for bottling limoncello. Once bottled, store the limoncello either in a dark closet or in your freezer. I prefer the limoncello cold, but without ice, so the freezer is perfect. With the high alcohol content, it wont freeze so you don't have to worry about putting a glass bottle in the freezer. Enjoy the fruits of your patience in the smallest glasses you have. Limoncello is very strong and is best enjoyed in small sips. Cheers! Or rather, Salute!

Brussel Sprout Chanterelle Pasta with Brown Butter

Okay okay, I realize how ridiculously long it has been since I wrote a new post. I apologize. I'm actually touched by all the nudges I've gotten from friends to update the blog. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Before we get to the good stuff (the food, obviously) I should fill you in on recent exciting developments in my grad school/career as an SLP. First, I've officially graduated with my Masters Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. It has actually felt a little anticlimactic since I walked in the graduation ceremony in June, finished my student teaching in December, and had my degree post to the university website about a week ago. It seems like such a momentous accomplishment should be accompanied by more than a link on a website, but at this point, I'm just happy to be done.

The other good news is that I have a job! I'll be working as an SLP for a preschool for children with special needs- the same place where I did my student teaching. I'm thrilled about this, because I already know that the people and children at the school are wonderful. I know it will be a great experience! I get to start the job as soon as a little piece of paper (actually, an email) comes through- my credential. So until then, I've been trying to get things organized, start getting back in shape and simply enjoy the rest of my time off.

Alright, now on to the food porn. This dish was introduced to me by my supervisor at the aforementioned preschool. I believe she found the recipe in San Francisco magazine. It is simple and delicious...simply delicious! A huge part of what makes this dish so tasty is how fresh it is, so make sure your ingredients are at their peak of freshness. Especially the brussel sprouts- try to get them on the stalk; I promise you they will be better this way.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. shallots, minced
• 6 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1/2 lb chanterelle mushrooms, sliced (or substitute shitake)
• 1 lb. brussel sprouts, thinly sliced
• 10 oz. fresh tagliatelle or fettuccine pasta (I opted for fettuccine, but I bet tagliatelle would be delicious!)
• Grated parmesan
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook 2 Tbsp of butter over low-medium heat until it becomes light brown. Add the shallots and sage and cook until the shallots begin to soften (about 2 minutes). Turn the head up to medium. Add the mushrooms and brussel sprouts. Continue cooking until mushrooms and brussel sprouts start to soften (3-4 minutes). Turn heat off, and cover to keep warm.
2. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain but do not rinse. The pasta should be very wet.
   
3. Add the pasta to the pan with the brussel sprouts and mushrooms. Add the butter, parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. If the pasta seems dry, add the reserved 1/2 cup of cooking water. Serve immediately and enjoy!
   

Alyis N' Rose Cafe- Bean Pie & Carrot Pie

I discovered bean pie and carrot pie for the first time at the San Pedro Square Farmer's market. Generally when I shop at the farmer's market, I like to stick to the basics- veggies, fruits, eggs & sometimes meat. The cookies, bread, homemade tamales can definitely be enticing, but the high price tag usually deters me from making the purchase ($7.00 for a small bag of biscotti?? I can make that at home!). Plus, those items are usually not the healthiest, so I try to avoid them. Enter: free samples. One fine morning I was minding my own business, about to walk home from San Pedro Square, and a nice gentleman offers me a taste of bean pie. Hmm...I think to myself, bean pie eh? Unsure about this combination, but never one to turn down a new and interesting food, I accepted. The bite reminded me of a smoother, slightly more dense version of pumpkin pie. Next I tried the carrot pie, and found that it was even more like pumpkin pie than the bean pie...only slightly more...carroty? All in all, delicious. I decided I would break my "rule" and bring home some pie. And the consensus at home was positive as well. Give this pie a try (hey, that's a good little jingle, maybe I should go into marketing...).

If you can't get to the San Pedro Square Farmer's market on Fridays between 10am and 2pm, you can get this pie at Alyis N' Rose Cafe in Santa Clara, CA. If you need any more convincing, check out their great reviews on yelp!

Catch-Up...Last Week's Veggies

I haven't been the best lately about photographing and posting our veggies from Two Smalls Farms each week. Last week was a beautiful box, so I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of our loot. Here it is! ...including the huge red cabbage that I finally finished today! When my co-workers saw my lunch yesterday and today I definitely got a few "Wow...red cabbage AGAIN??" Good thing I love it!

Red Cabbage Salad

This is a pretty simple recipe, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway since it's a classic French salad. I've been reading Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee, which has inspired me to write my recipes in a more stream of consciousness manner.

Start with a very fresh head of red cabbage and cut it in half. Then cut one of the halves in half. Keep one quarter of the cabbage out and put the remaining pieces in the fridge. Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, slice the cabbage very thinly, and then give the entire pile a few chops so that the cabbage slices are not too long to eat easily.

Next make the vinaigrette in the bottom of a salad bowl. Combine a few small spoonfuls of dijon mustard with a splash of red wine vinegar. I don't ever measure this so I can't give you specifics. I like to stick my nose in the bowl and smell to see if there's a nice mustard-vinegar balance. Add some salt and freshly cracked pepper. Next, slowly drizzle oil into the mustard mixture while beating it with a fork or whisk. I like to use a combination of walnut oil and olive oil. I find that if I use only olive oil, my vinaigrette comes out a bit too fruity. As you whisk in the olive oil, the mixture should emulsify. If you notice that the vinegar and oil are separating, slow down or stop the stream of oil and continue to beat the mixture. Once it begins coming together again, add a little bit more oil (again, I never measure...some people prefer a more vinegary vinaigrette- i.e. me- and some prefer more oily, it's up to you to decide what you like!).

Delicata Squash Macaroni & Cheese

Once again I've let several weeks go by between posts. This must be a sign that it's no longer summer, and I'm back to work. I'm loving my internship at the preschool, and I'm still cooking fairly often....just not taking the time to photograph and write about the food. I'm going to try to be better though!

This recipe was one I just had to post because Trevor loved it so much. A supposedly "healthy" version of mac and cheese, by Martha Stewart. I actually found the recipe on Kitchen Gadget Girl's blog, as she planned on cooking this up for her family after receiving a squash in her CSA box a few weeks ago. Seeing as we belong to the same CSA (Two Small Farms...a great option if you're looking for a local food source!), we also received squash in our box a few weeks ago. In fact, we've gotten some delicata squash, some butternut and a sugar pie pumpkin...and this is just the beginning of the fall/winter squash season (and I love it!). Winter squash are wonderful because they're so versatile, and you can save them for a long time before using them if you're overwhelmed with other more perishable veggies. Plus, they're so wonderfully comforting and bring about a strong feeling that fall has finally arrived!

The "Healthy Macaroni and Cheese" recipe from Martha Stewart calls for 1 small butternut squash, but you can substitute any winter squash. Kabocha would be great if you have one, but I had delicata squash, so I decided that would do the trick. As I mentioned earlier, my husband Trevor loved this recipe and would never have guessed that there was squash in the mix so I guess this is a good thing if you're cooking for a picky eater.

Ingredients for 6 servings:
1 small butternut squash (about 1 lb)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp coarse salt, plus more for water
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound macaroni or shell pasta
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
4 Tbsp grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, seed and cut the squash into 1-inch pieces. Combine the squash, stock and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork (about 20 minutes). Spoon the squash into a food mill (or alternatively, smash with a fork), and puree the squash, milk and stock together. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, 3/4 tsp salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt. Stir in macaroni pasta and cook according to package directions for al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta and 2 Tbsp of Parmesan. Stir until well integrated.
3. Lightly coat a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer pasta mixture to dish. Mix breadcrumbs, remaining Parmesan and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over pasta.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove foil and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top- about 30 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Sick gourmet?

Friday marked the end of my third week of my Student Teaching at a preschool for children with special needs. It has been a wonderful experience so far and, of course, the kiddos are absolutely adorable and mostly well-behaved. I've loved it so far. As I neared the end of week 3 and had not yet gotten sick, despite the dozens of children sneezing all over me, I thought I must have an immune system of steel. Friday morning I woke up feeling great, at 10am the runny nose started, by noon the soar throat was in full swing, and by Saturday morning I had a fever that lasted the rest of the day. Gosh these kiddo germs sure are strong!! Needless to say, I haven't had the energy or appetite to cook much these last few days.

Friday night, I did muster up the energy to make a sausage, potato and cabbage soup that warmed me up and upped my vitamin C (from the cabbage). Saturday was leftover cabbage soup for lunch and pâtes au beurre ("pasta with butter") for dinner. This morning, I'm starting to feel a little better, and suggested we have an omelet for breakfast. After all, we still have tons of veggies in our fridge that cannot be ignored!

Well my sweet sweet husband took charge (i.e. would not let me help with anything), and created an absolutely scrumptious omelet with cherry tomatoes, avocado, scallions, onion, turkey sausage and feta cheese. The sausage had a nice smokey taste and the feta was a perfect complement of flavors. The tomatoes were also a perfect addition. At this rate, I'll be better in no time! Thank you sweet husband.