Green Dilly Beans

Bread and Jam for Frances

While I'm not at all ready to join Frances in her "What I am is sick of jam" refrain, my last post made me realize what a wealth of jam I am sitting on.  I'm not ready to fully disclose the extent of my jam stash, but I am ready to share some of the love.  Tell me why you'd like a jar o' jam and I'll randomly pick three winners from the bunch.  Respond by this Saturday the 10th and I'll select and send by next Monday, the 12th.   

PS Proof that there is indeed knitting content on this so-called knitting blog, I thought I'd point out that there are knits to be found on a blog called Bread and Jam for Frances.  Great name, great taste! 

Bun in the Oven - My Sister's, Not Mine

I have been obsessing thinking about scotch eggs since my visit to the State Fair in September.  Melissa, Heather, and I exchanged countless e-mails on the topic.  Turns out you can get scotch eggs in Brooklyn, but nothing turned up in my MN scotch egg hunt.  I would just have to make my own.  What better occasion to make scotch eggs than a baby shower?  At least that's what my sister and I decided when planning the menu for her grand soirée. 

Members of my paternal and maternal family lines descended on Minneapolis this weekend to attend the baby shower I hosted for my sister.  True to family form, what we lacked in frilly baby games and party favors, we more than made up for in sheer volume and quality of food.  Here's what was on the menu:

• Leipaa accessorized with butter, six kinds of homemade jam, and Thill's smoked whitefish and lake trout
• Pickled Delights: dilly beans, quail eggs, herring, and cucumbers - all but the herring pickled by my dad
  
• Tomato Tarts - two kinds - one with gouda and dijon mustard, the other with mozzarella and pesto
• Torta di Riso e Spinaci found on the Accidental Hedonist
• Fresh fruit - sliced persimmons, pears, and apples
• Smoked Sausage, Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Soup
• Mashed Banana Cupcakes, my great-grandma's recipe
• Venison cudighi courtesy of my dad
• Mrs. Alasimi's Pulla
• And last, but not least, scotch eggs.   

They are really quite easy to make.  We used quail eggs from my hometown's local food co-op, which made golf ball-sized bites after the venison sausage wrapping.  A standard chicken egg could end up quite big, but that's not necessarily a bad thing!  The quail eggs are sold to the coop through a high school biology project at Engadine High School.  We used quail eggs that my dad pickled, which added a great brininess to the warm sausage and egg combo. 

The jam selection should not be overshadowed by my scotch egg fixation.  My dad brought six (6!) diffferent kinds of homemade jam and preserves to the party.

Foreground L to R: Ginger Pear Honey, Blackberry Jam, Pear Butter

Background L to R: Apple Butter, Thimbleberry Jam, and Strawberry Jam

In the wake of the party, I am eating very well this week.  Even after sending my sister home with a cooler full of food, I have enough food for another feast.  Last night I used leftover roma tomatoes and crumbled leftover cudighi to make a tomato sauce.  I have it squirreled away in the freezer to eat with polenta during the cold winter months!

Cooking for One

I usually don't delve too deeply into the personal on this blog, but I'm realizing that there is a chunk of my life which is quite different from before, one which will impact future writings on this blog. 

To make a very long story short, I am here in the Twin Cities to start graduate school, while my husband B has returned to NYC for his job.  B got a new job at the beginning of the summer, a job which he initially turned down due to our pending move back to the Midwest.  This employer responded by offering to find a way to make this work for everyone involved.  For now, B will be staying on to live and work in NYC until at least the end of this year.  2008 will have him making a transition to dividing his time between NYC and Mpls. We're not exactly sure what this dual citizenship will look like yet, but are greatly encouraged by the flexibility that his company has shown in their willingness to consider B as a virtual, long distance employee.

Clearly, living apart is not an ideal situation, but we are excited about all the opportunities that lie ahead and pride ourselves in rolling with the changes as they come our way.  We are certainly learning valuable lessons in flexibility and compromise! 

This post was not intended to be a pity party.  It come to mind tonight when I finished my dinner (yum!), ladled the leftovers into a container, and realized that I am ill-prepared to cook for one person.  My family is one that grocery shops as a hobby; I learned long division by comparing different volumes of canned tomatoes to calculate the price per ounce.  In turn, my fridge looks like it is equipped to feed a family of five!  When faced with the bounty of ripe August tomatoes at the farmers market, I simply lose all self control.  As a result, I have been feasting on a lot of this and this.  I have enjoyed the latter with fried eggs and toast in the morning, and am getting good at frying my own eggs to perfection. 

For the first time in my life, I find myself living alone.  I'm already finding that my grocery shopping prowess could be reined in a little.  Beyond the food front, I am very interested to see what sort of company I am for myself, but also thankful that this grand experiment has an end in sight. 

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Today was a good day.  Good enough in fact, to bring me out of blogging hibernation. 

Where to start?   Do you ever have one of those days at work where everything just clicks?  For whatever reason I got a lot done today, I was a veritable model of efficiency.  It felt really good to have this sense of accomplishment; it felt even better to leave the office at 6:45, an abnormally early time for my office.  I need to figure out a way to bottle up this aura and take regular doses. 

On the home front, B is camping in Yosemite this week, so I'm on my own and cooking for one.  Asparagus and eggs from the greenmarket were calling to be used in a recipe from Lynne Rosetto Kasper and The Splendid Table, whose podcasts and e-newsletter have me salivating on a regular basis. 

As you will see the recipe is pretty simple, basically a fried egg placed atop the asparagus spears. Being a regular cook, this caused me no concern until I went to pull out a skillet for said egg. I stopped, having made an unsettling realization.  It had been years since I fried an egg.  Beyond the basics of theory, I had no idea where to begin.  Had I regressed on the evolutionary chain?  Had I become one of those people who fails to develop the most basic skills due to the proficiency or talents of their partner?????

You see, B makes a mean fried egg, and delights in doing so. The skill he possesses and the enjoyment he derives from preparing such a simple treat keeps me supplied with a steady diet of sunny side ups, over easys, and other varieties, yet leaves me with a dearth of experience in this area. Despite my regular cooking ventures, I realized that beyond cracking the egg into the pan, I had no idea what to do. Do you heat the pan first?  What do you use to grease the pan?  Butter?  Oil?  Some other fatty substance?  Although I knew answers were within reach, easily found in my trusty Joy of Cooking, pride prevented me from looking it up. 

And so I plowed ahead, turned the burner on to medium low, swirled the pan with butter, and hoped for the best. Although I think my strategy was sound, my technique clearly failed. Not only did I break the yolk, I also broke the eggshell, scattering a half dozen shell shards into the quickly cooking egg white. I scrambled (no pun intended) to fish out the errant shards before the white turned opaque, but lost a few bits in the cooked white.  No matter, once assembled, the vivid green asparagus and bright white and yellow egg set against my brown dinner plate provided a perfect contrast of colors for my spring supper.   I happened to have some Green Peppercorn butter, leftover from a venison feast my dad prepared last month, which provided a fruity, peppery addition to the asparagus.  The saucy combination of the seasoned butter and egg yolk made me wish for a good chunk of bread to mop it all up.  Instead, I settled for licking my plate.  Hey, I have the house to myself, there was no one around to see!  In fact, it was so good, I barely flinched when chomping down on the inevitable eggshell.  Paired with a glass of white wine and lemon sorbet with fresh blackberries for dessert, it was a fitting way to end my day. 

Asparagus with a Fried Egg and Parmesan
Asparagus
Water
Kosher salt
Unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
Eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmegiano cheese

Break the tough stems off the asparagus and discard. Arrange the asparagus in a large skillet set over high heat; add a little water and salt. Cover and steam asparagus, rearranging occasionally, until they are crisp-tender and all but 1 T of the water has evaporated, 5 to 8 minutes.  If water is evaporating too quickly, add a few more tablespoons. Or, if there is still too much by the time the vegetables are tender, pour it off, holding the vegetables in the pan with the lid.  Add 1 teaspoon of butter or olive oil; toss the asparagus well to coat. Fry the egg (or eggs) in a 12" nonstick skillet over moderate heat, sprinkling with salt and pepper.  Reduce heat, cover, and cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Arrange the asparagus on a plate. Sprinkle with some cheese and place an egg on top. Spoon some of the remaining cheese over each egg. Serve at once.

P.S. After my fried egg foray, curiosity allowed me to look it up.  Turns out the stovetop and the sidewalk aren't the only places you can fry an egg!   

 

All Tangled Up

Sara, Jackie, Em, Melissa and I took on an epic untangling project yesterday.   After more than a year of talk, I finally took action and had a pasta making party.  Who knew that yarn and spaghetti had similar tangling tendencies?!  Jackie, the pasta maker provider, documented the day's festivities.  Pay her a visit to see the process and final results!

La Gastronomie Française

For pure cubicle escapism, this blog is it. Chez Christine chronicles the adventures of, you guessed it, Christine, a San Franciscan ex-pat, as she slices and dices her way through training at Le Cordon Bleu. Vicarious reading at its finest, not to mention more French food than you can shake a baguette at. Bon appétit!

Some Like it Hot (Not Me)

Not a lot of news on the knitting front.  The minisweater has been done, and is now undone (more to come on that later).  The muggy heat that has befallen NY does not lead itself to picking up the needles.  Having grown up in a part of Michgan that gets some serious snow, I have always been better suited to dealing with wind chill than heat index.  This weather does nothing for my cheery disposition.  I am coping by making dents in my summer reading.  Case in point: I am currently at the limit for books checked out and on hold at the NYPL.  On the bright side, with all the summer heat, Mother Nature's bounty is in full swing.  I have happily lugged home pounds and pounds of CSA produce each week.  Here's what's on the menu this weekend:

Angel Hair with Tomatoes, Summer Herbs, and Shrimp

Toss together:
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2/ c feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 c scallions
1/4 c torn fresh flat leaf parsley
2 T torn fresh dill
2 T torn fresh mint leaves
1 T capers
minced zest of 1 lemon

Saute in 1 t extra virgin olive oil:
1/2 lb lg shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and freshly ground pepper

Add and saute:
3 T extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
pinch of red pepper flakes

Toss 4 oz cooked angel hair pasta with garlic oil, shrimp, tomato herb mixture, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.

A sudden bout of frugalness prompted me to get unshelled shrimp of the small, shrimpy variety, which introduced me and B to the pain in the ass process known as peeling and deveining.  All I have to say about that experience is ... never again.

Humpus Gumpus Has Been Averted

The weekly CSA deliveries continue to roll in and I have been having a blast coming up with new ways to store and ingest the influx of produce.  Last week's delivery heralded the arrival of the first fruit harvest, which in this case was cherries, about 5 lbs of them!  I love cherries as much as anyone, but the thought of eating 5 pounds of cherries could only lead to one thing....humpus gumpus.  Context clues prove to be invaluable here, but just in case, I'll fill you in. Googling the term humpus gumpus does not yield any results, so although I can provide you with no corresponding website link, I will credit my grandfather, who is known to the world as Poppa, with coining this phrase.  Humpus gumpus, as it is known in my family, is another term for the runs, more specifically when the trips to the bathroom are the result of eating way too much fruit.  Humpus gumpus was a common childhood affliction growing up in a family that defined desert as unlimited quantities of fresh fruit.  Thankfully, humpus gumpus did not ensue last week because I found a delicious chutney recipe to temper the cherry consumption.  It was a great addition to 4th of July feasts as a grilled chicken glaze and sauce.  Enjoy, and may all your trips to the bathroom be regular.   

Fresh Cherry Chutney

3/4 cup cherry preserves
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Mix preserves, vinegar, and allspice in medium bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup of preserves mixture for glaze (use this glaze for grilling chicken or pork); reserve remaining preserves mixture.

Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onion; sauté 1 minute. Add cherries, cayenne, and reserved preserves mixture. Boil chutney until thick, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve with grilled chicken or pork that has been glazed with previously mentioned preserves mixture.  Makes 4 servings.

This recipe comes from the June 2005 issue of Bon Appetit. I found it on Epicurious as an accomaniment to grilled pork tenderloin.  I used a vidalia onion, extra cayenne to taste, and added a sprig of fresh rosemary to the simmering pot. 

Farm to Table

This week marks the first week of my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership, a Christmas present from my mom and dad. CSA’s hook up local farmers with hungry people who want fresh local produce, providing farmers with a steady source of income and consumers with farm fresh goods that support local growers, a win-win deal if ever there was one. A CSA membership gets you weekly deliveries of whatever is ripe for picking that week. Mine is run through the 6th Street Community Center at Avenue B, and delivers food through November. Deliveries for 2 people average about 5 lbs of food per week. Produce is picked on the farm in the AM and delivered to city sites the same day for evening pick up. The only downside seems to be the potential for getting a lot of the same thing as it comes into season – hence all my plans for copious canning and pickling. Yesterday I picked up an allotment of 4 different kinds of lettuce, radishes, arugula, joi choi (kin to bok choy), lambs quarters (similar to spinach in taste, but not looks), yukina savoy (Chinese cabbage), mizuna (Japanese mustard greens used in mesclun salad mix), and apples. Whew. I hadn't even heard of some of these greens, so I'll provide links for background info on those that required Googling on my part. A salad spinner / lettuce washer has been purchased just to accommodate the invasion of greenery. For more info on CSAs, check out Just Food  or Farm to Table

Fiddle Dee Dee

Although I'm certainly not the first to say so, it's official....spring has sprung!  B and I heralded the season's arrival this weekend when we found fiddlehead ferns at the Greenmarket.   While I'm not sure that Scarlett O'Hara had these delicate greens in mind with her trademark "fiddle dee dee" pronouncements, I have extended the phrase's applicability to include these edible eats just because I welcome any excuse to say it  (I have always counted the ability to easily amuse myself as one of my more fortunate traits).  Regardless of catchy phrases, these highly perishable tasty treats, unfurled fern fronds (say that 10 times fast), are only available for a few short weeks each spring and culminated in a delicious dinner last night. 

Fiddlehead and Ramp Pasta 1 basket (about 2 cups) fiddleheads 2 cloves garlic - minced 2 T olive oil 2 plum tomoatoes - chopped 1 bunch ramps - chopped - keeping white and green parts separate 4 anchovies sliced red pepper flakes - to taste salt and freshly ground pepper 1 lb rotelle (wheel shaped pasta) - cooked and drained freshly grated Romano cheese Wash the fiddleheads under cool water several times. In a pot, blanch the fiddleheads for 2 minutes -drain. In a skillet, saute the garlic in olive oil until it is transparent; add the fiddleheads, the tomatoes, the white part of the ramps, and the anchovies. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the green ramp leaves and saute for 1 minute more. Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste, and toss with the pasta. Serve with grated cheese.