Archive for Recipes

31 Mar 2011
Appetizer • locavore log • Main Dish • Recipes

Spring Salads

goat-cheese-baked-w-salad-3

Every spring , without fail, I become almost tear-eyed that we are eating great bowls of arugula, spinach, mache, sorrel, chicories and the very first of the lettuces – all planted last fall, all growing again with the milder temperatures… and the rain.Brave greens braving the still chilly weather, they show us winter’s over.

Greens make wonderful companions to fried eggs, poached eggs, omelet, lard-fried croutons, bacon, lardons, duck-fat fried potatoes, duck breasts, thinly cut steaks, any meat really… any thing really. Early spring greens are just glorious, so alive. And I am glad I have them, because, I have to wait at least 30 days before I’ll be able to harvest from the just planted seeds. And with spending so much time out, we definitively need a lot of those quick lunches.

One of my favorite quick meals is a green salad topped with warm breaded goat cheese on a croute (a croute is a French crostini – or vice-versa). I like to marinate the goat cheese ahead of time for added flavor – and I’ll often marinate a lot more than what’s immediately needed – they’ll keep well in the fridge for a few weeks. In a pinch,  if you did not marinate the cheese but want that salad right now, just brush the freshly cut rounds with oil before breading them. Read more

sylvie | No comments
09 Feb 2011
Desserts • locavore log • Recipes

Chocolat, Je T’Aime.

I post a picture of pickled Jerusalem artichoke or marinated peppers (canned last summer) or wheat berry salad on Facebook. Do I get request for recipe? hahaha… However, I post – as an after thought really – a photo of an almond and chocolate cake… and I get no less than 3 (3!) requests for recipe. My friends like chocolate.
cake-reine-de-saba-2010-04-001

But who indeed does not like chocolate?

I would normally not post a recipe for Reine de Saba cake, because, really, it’s such a classic. And it’s a classic for good reason: it is such a very good cake – beautiful, dark and tender; it’s also balanced: not too dense, not too intense, just right. After a bite, you’ll understand its name. Read more

sylvie | 5 comments | Tags: , , ,
05 Feb 2011
Appetizer • locavore log • Recipes • vegetable • Vegetable recipe

Winter Pickles: Sunroots aka Jerusalem Artichokes

Undemanding. Vigorous. Pretty in a blowzy sorts of way. Tall. You could almost be talking about me. But not quite: Helianthus tuberosus is what I mean. You know: Jerusalem artichokes, sunchokes, sunroots, earth apple, tobinambours. Look at them in that somewhat blurry September picture, towering over the arches of the cold frame  – well over 8 feet tall (the arches top at 4 feet tall and the ground is sloping up, so the prospective is somewhat distorted). But tall they will grow in decent garden soil, and that only from spring to fall as they are an herbaceous  perennial -  impressive, no?

jerusalem-artichokes-2009-09-0161

The bright yellow  flower is cheerful and pretty too, in an unsophisticated care-free sorts of way – although small when compared to the overall plant size. Nothing like its fat headed cousin the annual sunflower.

Some people actually things sunroots are “invasive”. Well… for those of us on the Eastern North American seabord, that’s impossible: Helianthus tuberosus is native to Eastern North America (from Quebec to North Florida and as west as North Dakota). How can something native be invasive? Read more

sylvie | 4 comments | Tags: , , ,
01 Feb 2011
Desserts • Fruit recipe • locavore log • Snack

Crepes from the Piedmont

crepe-021

On February 2, in Punxsutawney, PA, Phil the Groundhog is most unwillingly thrust into forecasting the next 6 weeks’ weather (most unwillingly indeed as he is – apparently – wrong 61% of the time). But you know, no matter what poor Phil does or does not do, we are now halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and receiving 10 hours of sunlight a day again! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is cause for celebration, even if only a modest one.

So whether you celebrate Ground Hog Day, Candlemas, St Brigid’s Day, Imbolc, or just want to have a fun family evening, I propose we make crepes. Listen: if you can make pancakes, chances are you can make crepes! The basic ingredients are the same after all (flour, eggs & milk), the proportions different. As when making pancakes, a cast-iron skillet is the most practical choice. There is absolutely no need for a special crepe skillet: I do not have one.  Fun and easy to make, sweet or savory, sophisticated or homey, crepes are our friends – and they are coffee-friendly, hard-cider friendly and, without a doubt, wine friendly!

If you want to read more and get the recipe for Vanilla Crepes stuffed with Almond Creme and served with Maple Caramelized Apples (and suggestion as what to drink with that) please head over to the Virginia Wine Gazette On-Line where editor and wine expert Mary Ann Dancisin asked me to do a “Virginia Edible” blog post. Except for the almonds and vanilla, those crepes can be Virginia grown…

sylvie | 4 comments | Tags: , , ,
27 Jan 2011
locavore log • Recipes • Soups • Vegetable recipe

Snow Day

soup-carrots-fennel-003

What is it about a snowy day that makes me reach for comfort food?  It’s rather funny actually. We’ve had horrendous days this winter, cold and blustery, wind blowing at 50 miles an hour in 20 degree weather and no snow cover – terribly hard on animals and plants, and humans too. And no special yearning for comfort food. And then comes the much awaited much hoped for snow, finally. Finally, since the previous snow storms went either North, South or West of us, leaving us desperately parched, and feeling cursed. All in all, it was not that much, maybe 5 or 6 inches of wet snow. But I am grateful. And let’s face it: I like snow in winter.

And so maybe it’s a little celebration of sorts this need for comfort food? A sign that, after all, things are OK; Read more

sylvie | 3 comments | Tags: , ,
12 Jan 2011
Desserts • locavore log • Recipes

Ginger Ice-Cream

There is no season for ice-cream. Or rather I should say:  it is always the season for ice-cream. And in winter we make ice-cream from frozen fruit (poached and pureed, and then mixed into the ice-cream base) or more often using spices.

Ginger ice-cream is a favorite of mine. No surprise there for those who read this blog, even occasionally. My liberal use of ginger is after all rooted in childhood. The ice-cream gets a double dose of ginger: first the cream is infused with fresh ginger (which will also color it a pale yellow), and then chopped crystallized ginger is folded into the finished ice-cream. Good by itself or in combination with sautéed or baked fruit.

ginger ice cream with sauteed asian pears

Fresh ginger by the way is a model spice to keep around – it will remain fresh for weeks. Choose plump firm roots at the market. Don’t buy a small knob because that’s only what you need for a dish. Buy a big whole healthy root. Don’t keep it in the fridge where it will not only shrivel but mold (yuk!). Break off what you need when you need it.  If your root is drying out too fast (sometimes it happens no matter what you do), you can salvage what you have by pickling it (slices or chunks in vinegar or vodka), or by grating it and freezing it (my preferred way). Read more

sylvie | 5 comments | Tags: , ,
21 Dec 2010
Fruit recipe • locavore log • Recipes

Winter Preserve

Just because it’s winter does not mean you can’t make jam from local fresh fruit.

Guess what kind of jam I am making?

ginger-pumpkin-preserve-012

Apricot you say? They are a chancy crop around here and I never get enough to freeze for later to make jam in the winter. Nope, it’s pumpkin – as bright a jam as apricot jam , indeed. Cooked with a little ginger, of course!

When I was growing up “Confiture de Citrouille” was made all around. The pumpkin was cut up in largish cubes (or sliced fairly thinly) and then simmered in syrup perfumed with a vanilla bean or two. Here in the US the primary use of pumpkin seems to be pumpkin pie or bread (a cake, really). But let me tell you that pumpkin is eminently versatile as a vegetable (whether roasted, gratineed, pureed, souped, or stewed; in lasagna and tortellini) and as a fruit (candied, tart, ice-cream, jam, cake, flan, soufflé) and – of course  – as both (chutney). Does that make it a well-rounded denizen of the vegetable kingdom or a vegetable with multiple personality disorder? mmm… Read more

sylvie | 6 comments | Tags: , ,
30 Nov 2010
locavore log • Recipes • Side Dish • Vegetable recipe

Roasting Cauliflower

In the colder months, we roast, braise, bake and generally use the oven without hesitation. Roasting vegetables is a great way to make their flavor really shine.  For cauliflower (as well as for other members of the cabbage family), roasting also mitigates the “boiled-cabbage” odor that can permeate the house – one that so many people find objectionable.  And while we have plenty of other veggies at the moment (roots, tubers and hardy greens) that are delicious roasted, cauliflower is possibly the vegetable that really benefits from roasting. If you ever had boiled or steamed cauliflower and lamented its ensuing sogginess, you know what I mean…

A few weeks ago I was hired to make side dishes for a large birthday party, and roasted cauliflower with capers was on the menu. Another version – a little spicier – is one I also like, as it combines ginger (a favorite spice of mine), garlic & jalapenos.  The dish can be served immediately while warm – or at room temperature. It can be prepared ahead and refrigerated; in which case, take it out of the fridge about 1 hour before serving time to bring it to room temperature. It’s – in other words – perfect for the potluck parties that are looming around at this time of the year.

If you have had boiled cauliflower before and did not care for it, try roasting it before totaling giving up on it.

cauliflower-roasted-003

Read more

sylvie | 6 comments | Tags:
29 Oct 2010
fruit • Fruit recipe • locavore log • Wild Food

Ode to the Autumn Olive

autumn-olives-003

I have know for a while that autumn olives (Elaeagnus umbellata) were edible. I just never took the time to go after them. But this year seems to be the year when I started to forage more consistently (bird cherries, wineberries, elderberries, chestnuts, Japanese quince, pawpaws, wild grapes etc) and so when a shrub of autumn olives shimmering in yesterday’s morning sun called to me, I grabbed a bucket and I started to pick. Let me tell you what a nice way to while away an hour it was (and do something useful too!). Warm (but not too warm) sun on my back, the berries like little prayer grains under my fingers, my mind ticking all the reasons such a cursed plant (by some) provides for thankfulness. Because, truly, what’s not to like about autumn olives? Read more

sylvie | 19 comments | Tags: , ,
12 Jul 2010
locavore log • Recipes

On Eating Humble Pie

Back in January, I seeded tomatoes because I confidently was going to harvest tomatoes in June (for the record, it has happened in the past).

Today is July 12; have I harvested a tomato yet? No. Emphatically and sadly no. I mean a “real” tomato,  a handful of cherry tomatoes absolutely do not count. This is what happens when you are unable to up-pot the seedlings as they grow, and grow, and grow.

I have however harvested a pumpkin. Yes, a pumpkin.

pumpkin-july1

To add insult to injury from a volunteer pumpkin (the ones I planted are not as far advanced – by far!  a reminder , if any, to plant seeds next year in April not in May)

The pumpkin was not fully ripe, but as the vine was dying off, I had to pick it. Because it is immature, it will not keep long. So I cut it up and baked it to pre-cook it (it is still firm, although cooked). An immature pumpkin is perfectly edible, the taste and texture a little closer to summer squash that winter squash. There’ll be lots of summery preparation for it – for it is, after all, just a squash…

I’ll saute chunks with shredded sage & butter; I’ll slice it thickly and grill the slices; I’ll slice it thinly and toss the slivers with a spicy dressing and lots of cilantro; cubes may even be sauteed in butter, finished with maple syrup and served with vanilla ice-cream. Who says pumpkin is for winter only? They are eaten all over the tropics and it’s hot there, you know….

This morning, as I was working in the lower garden, I noticed however that one Early Girl was definitively blushing. Maybe a tomato on July 15 after all? Or maybe we’ll have corn before tomatoes this year, the silk are turning brown…

Sigh…..

sylvie | 6 comments
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »