Cleanse

Our lovely roommate Beth and Baker have decided to go on a pretty straight-forward intestinal cleanse for a week. No, not one of those no food, only drink cayenne-pepper-lemon-juice-water types of cleanses. Not only are our physically demanding waitressing lifestyles just not suited to that kind of dietary and caloric limitation, but I also happen to think that more than a couple of days of that isn't necessarily all that healthy. No, I have no science to back me up on this, it's just a personal thing.

The few simple rules: no gluten, no animal products, no sugar, no corn syrup, limited soy, no caffeine; however, yes - lots of vegetable juices, yes-raw fruits/veggies or steamed veggies, yes-rice cakes/corn chips, yes-buckwheat, yes-rice and other gluten-free grains, yes-unheated extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, yes-nuts. The focus here is on fiber.

Really this is pretty simple to follow. We started off the past two mornings by juicing. Beet, carrot, parsley and apple (no apple for me, obviously.) Other than that, I've had some prunes, corn chips with hummus, stewed greens, brown rice with a splash of organic soy sauce, pistachios, etc.

Beth is making asparagus lightly sauteed in coconut oil and I boiled up some buckwheat.

Five days to go.

As Simple as Bread & Butter

One of the ultimate comfort foods is bread and butter. Some sources say bread goes back to Mesopatamia with the wonders of yeast being mistakenly discovered around 1000 BC. I think it is fair to say almost every culture, if not all have some version of leavened or unleavened bread.

The creamy, yellow tastiness that is butter was stumbled upon between 9000 and 8000 BC. Not surprising, since many of us today have, at some point, gotten distracted and made butter by whipping cream a little too vigorously. The word actually comes from the Greek bou-tyron or "cow cheese."

The point is, we are programmed, through thousands of years to love fat either eaten on its own or slathered on a carbohydrate.

To the right is a photo of the butter I make from humanely-raised (about 15 minutes away) cow's milk and buttermilk beside it. The buttermilk you get in the separation of butter is not thick and tangy (fermented) as in stores. It is very white, and has the consistency of milk. You can make your own easily if you have 10 minutes and a hand-held electric mixer. Trust me, it is worth the miniscule amount of effort. Although it does take roughly 21 lbs of milk to make 1 lb of butter, all you really need is enough to spread on your toast. That figure depends on how much cream a specific breed produces.

After the milk is thoroughly separated, form the yellow butter into a ball, put in a big bowl and wash it in cold water, kneading it with your fingers to get as much leftover buttermilk out as possible. The smaller the quantity of buttermilk, the longer your butter will last.

The photo below is of home-made bread using the no-knead technique. Let's put it this way: if I like it, anyone can have success with it. You get beautiful artisan loaves, full of those great holes bakers strive towards. Incidentally, the holes are formed by the CO2 byproduct of yeast, it fills areas of the rising bread, causing holes when the bread is baked.


The length (total about 20 hour, more or less) of the rise develops the bread's flavor. One of the best parts about this kind of bread, versus the more common bread-machine style loaves is that, because of the lengthy rise, you need just a minuscule (1/4 tsp or less) amount of yeast. I will post a recipe in the recipes section later on.

So enjoy your comfort foods, knowing that all of the additives and preservatives were replaced by a little work and a lot of care!

By the way, if you still feel giulty about eating butter, don't forget that if you get your milk unpasteurized (assuming you can find it,) it is full of healthy nutrients and free of hormones. However, fat is not bad for you! The snack isle is.

Gaga for Greens! - CSA Week 2

This week's CSA was similar to last: asparagus, lettuce, strawberries, kale!, garlic greens and thyme. Our pick-up location has a trade-in box where members can discard items they won't use and pick up ones they'd rather have. A bunch of fellow CSA-ers decided to forgo their garlic greens.
I can see why! They are pretty difficult to find a use for. Really, you have to cut off the tough leafy parts and only use the green stem to the white bulb. I picked up a few extra stalks and made...Green Garlic Soup!



Just like onions, sauteing garlic greens produces a soft, sweet flavor. I cut off the dark green, flat leaves and the garlic bulb. I then cut the garlic stems into about 2 cups of thin rounds (took me approximately 7 stalks.) Half a stick of butter went into a heavy-bottom pot on medium heat along with 2 medium, diced red onions. I sauteed those until clear and tender. Make sure not to brown them. I added in the garlic greens and 3/4 lb diced red potatoes (skins on.) Added salt and pepper and cooked another 5 minutes. I then added 4-5 cups organic vegetable broth, sliced baby portobellos and minced thyme, brought it all to a simmer, covered with a lid and let it be until the potatoes got soft, but not mushy.

From the same basket we made Southern Style Greens:
I used the garlic bulbs I had cut off of the greens, sliced them thin, sauteed them with a bit (just a bit!) of bacon fat, home-made butter, salt, pepper and half of a small red onion. Then I added some apple cider vinegar (to taste) and organic chicken stock, enough to cover the bottom of the pan and then another big splash, oh so scientifically precise! Add the coarsely chopped kale, cover with a lid and turn the heat way down. Wait for the kale to cook down to your liking (whether that be crunchy or soft.) I like mine pretty soft.

All that is left is asparagus - that one always goes quickly, who doesn't love asparagus?! lettuce, strawberries and the rest of the thyme.

Mushroom Madness

The baker had taken over the arena, but finally here is the first post written entirely by the braiser!

This dinner was inspired by the wonderful aromatics and robust earthy flavors of White Truffle Oil. Upon learning the best technique for showcasing the pure truffle flavors, which was simply using the oil as a drizzle, I chose a very simple recipe to keep the truffle oil as the main flavor of the dish.

Start with about 1lb of new potatoes; quarter the potatoes laying them out skin side up on an ungreased sheet pan salt and pepper to taste. An interesting side note is that pure white truffle oil can have a peppery taste. I decided that all of the dishes could have a fungal theme, so I bought ravioli stuffed with portabella mushrooms and Parmesan cheese.
First, I boiled the ravioli then let it dry in the strainer. When the ravioli is dry to the touch lightly fry them in hot oil until golden brown on both sides.

Our meat dish was sun dried tomato and mozzarella stuffed pork sausage. I cut the casing off and sauteed the sausage with a small amount of oil on high heat until the sausage started to stick to the pan. The little pieces of dried meat that stick to the bottom of the pan are called fonds and play a huge role in making the sauce. Once the fonds become noticeable add enough wine to fill the bottom of the pan. I used white wine but any stock, wine or spirit can be used. Once the wine is added, scrape the dark spots from the bottom of the pan and dissolve them, creating a basic sauce.

The next step is to let this reduce. Once you notice bubbles form around the pan let the sauce reduce for another 2 minutes then add two tablespoon of butter. The amount of butter varies greatly depending on the dish.

Now turn the heat off, let the butter melt in, mix well and enjoy!

Farm Fresh Eggy Delights - CSA Week 1

Ah yes ladies and gentlemen! CSA season has finally arrived!

We received our first bundle yesterday. Picked it up from the Tuesday farmer's market. Garlic greens, rutabaga, strawberries, radishes, overwintered spinach, asparagus and baby lettuce. Elmwood Farm even gives a few recipes for less familiar veggies.

Last night's dinner was quiche! Yes indeed, the baker made a meal. Admittedly, it was one that played to her advantages. Spinach, tomato, colby jack cheese, bacon for added crunch, sauteed onion and a whole wheat crust.

I would post a picture, but it came out of the oven at 11 last night and it is almost all gone! See recipes for a hearty, healthy meal.

Goin' Bananas

On our way out the door, last time we visited my mother-in-law, she handed me a big bunch of aging bananas and five or so miniature loaf pans.


Sadly, when I greased my bread pan, my favorite recipe was nowhere to be found! Banana bread can be quite dense and oily inside and out. None of which sounds too appealing. The long gone, possibly amidst a mammoth paper pile recipe was light and mild flavored like a moist coffee cake. With buttermilk on hand, I found a recipe that seemed fluffy then added a crunchy top and threw in some sunflower seeds and a few almonds.

It turned out lovely with a crispy top and moist but not wet or oily interior and had a pretty good banana flavor. By the time I got around to taking a photo, it was more than half gone! My old recipe will never get chance to be found.
All that remains is to make the batter again and divide it among the small pans to be frozen and shared later.

Update: One regular-sized batch of banana bread makes 3 small ones. Here is a double batch:

What a Sweet Day

Finally, baking gets a moment in the spotlight.


Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers! Admittedly, the red velvet cake I was requested to make turned out a wee bit differently than expected. The red color is usually produced by food coloring, but why use something that doesn't contribute any flavor and has questionable nutrition? Our ancestors ate for energy and health, we eat for...well, pleasure for the most part.

Our mental development has led to the creation of concentrated foods like sugar, which brought ease of use and variety of flavor. There are also additives with no flavor and with questionable health effects but which are appealing to other senses. It's always interesting to use recipes with variations that appeal to more of our senses, are natural and have interesting flavors.

What is sweet, red and full of vitamins? Beets!

The recipe called for boiling 5 or 6 beets for 40 minutes until tender. Skinned and mashed they become part of the cake batter. Although mine didn't turn out bright red, it certainly had a dark red tinge to it. I cut the cake in half and spread nutella frosting (nutella, cream cheese confectioner's sugar - beaten) on the bottom half. The top has cream cheese, vanilla icing.

As for flavor - it was nothing like red velvet cake as you may know it. The flavor is distinctly beety chocolatey and creamy. The cake itself was incredibly moist although slightly dense.
I will certainly make this delicious cake again!

Meal in a Fix

As much as we resist sleep to snatch those moments of winding down and cooking, there are nights when it all seems pretty exhausting and an easy, cheap meal is in order. Last night was just such an evening. Taking into account the current economic situation and the states of our savings accounts, we invested in a multitude of tuna cans, grated cheese, brown rice, taco shells, eggs, oatmeal, pita bread...you get the idea here. Throwing some of these together, Ryan made a fish taco concoction.

The canned tuna was fried with cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, a dash of chili powder and lime juice. Never has canned fish had such a full flavor! The oven took care of warming taco shells and Near East long grain rice mix topped it all off. We filled our taco shells with rice, tuna, chopped lettuce, a pinch of cheese and sat down to an episode of x-files.

And all was right.


The photo may be blurry, but don't let that fool you.

A Light Repast

We were thinking about using some of the plethora of photos and stories from meals made past, but Ryan decided to break in our blog with what was, for us, a new recipe. We chose the trusty Moosewood Cookbook (provided by MaineCelt) for our first bloggable meal.

The past couple of days have been pretty warm here in Kentucky. Being loyal Northerners, we prefer temperatures at or below 70 degrees. In short, to cool our sissy selves down we made something that didn't heat up our bellies. Flipping through Moosewood, the middle eastern recipes were particularly appealing. We decided on three that are relatively inexpensive, easily made and healthy dishes. Tabbouleh, Eggplant Relish and Falafel.

The tabbouleh has a distinct sharp flavor from the scallions and parsley (food processed for ease). The bulgur is lighter than couscous and has a unique, almost al dente texture. With minced tomatoes and cucumbers adding a level of freshness.

On the side Ryan made spicy eggplant relish with (store-bought) pita bread. It cooked in one pan, first sauteing the eggplant and onions until soft, then adding spices and garlic. Chilled and voila, a tasty dip!

Finally, a middle-eastern staple, falafel! One of my favorites, this was the fastest item. A bit of parsley from the garden, scallions, garlic run through the food processor and added to canned chickpeas, cumin, salt and lime juice. Mashed with a potato masher and fried over high heat to make a crispy, savory pancake.

Later that night I made a batch of white chocolate chip, dried cranberry, almond biscotti. The perfect complement to peach iced tea! The plan was to ship them off to distant shores, but they were devoured by friends over hysterical stories and memories at one in the morning and then next morning for breakfast. A worthwhile sacrifice!

See our recipes page for detailed descriptions!

Welcome!

In the darkness of night, we are a'stirrin'. Cook and server, we arrive home to fashion some vittles an hour or two after nine-to-fivers lay down for their restful snooze. The cook who simmers, sautes, steams, plates, assembles and chops afternoon 'till night for customer palates picks up his own wooden implements to fix up some more intimate fare. All the while, the server who smiles, takes orders, times courses, clears tables, brews beverages, and, finally accepts payment with (hopefully) a tip fires up the oven and throws together a new or favorite baked concoction.

We dole out the limited wages attained by preparing and serving food to strangers for our own culinary whims. Welcome to our nightly ritual!