Brunch
Oh mason jar. If you weren't so darn useful I'd be sick of you by now. This summer we spent an incredible amount of time at home, tearing things down, building them up. One week we did decide to get away and disappeared into the woods for some camping by the Russian River. It was a test to see if we are all ready to rough it together in a tent with nothing but fire to cook our food.
We have a funny little tradition of naming our vehicles in this family. It started with Adam's old Chevy S-10 "The Green Machine", then my silver Toyota Corolla "Platinum Bomb". Since then we've also named our bike collection: Adam's long suffering "Midnight Blue" beach cruiser, Jasper's brand new "Sergio" orange and black trick bike and my cream colored townie "Cupcake". Wylie rides a little blue strider that he named "Blue Jay", but recently he announced that he'd embellished the name a bit. It's now called "Lightening-Savory Scone-Blue Jay". You got that right. I'm telling you this little story because we did another remix of the biscuit recipe for Wylie's turn to bring school snacks this week. This time we used the last of our chard, some over-ripe cherry tomatoes and a smokey cheddar, adding a little whole wheat flour to make a savory version of a scone or a biscuit, really what's the difference? You'd think he would have been so excited that we made actual savory scones in his honor, but I couldn't even get him to take one bite for a picture (and they were delicious). I heard back and most of the kids, including our kid, loved them. So there you have it, and here's the recipe.
First off, thank you to everyone who reached out to me about Monday's post. I received so many supportive comments, here and on Facebook, some about standing up for ourselves in difficult social situations, some about being a better person to the people in our lives that truly matter, and worrying a little less about the feelings and perceptions of total strangers. It's that part that I'm really thinking about right now. In that spirit, here's a little post about spending time with the people that matter, and making something sweet together.
We'll be on vacation during fourth of July, staying at a cabin on the Russian River. Boy howdy am I excited! I have a little surprise in store for the boys for the morning of Independence Day...red, white, and blue pancakes. A little food coloring goes a long way, just add a few drops of red and blue to a half a cup of batter. Scroll down for my favorite (dairy-free)recipe!
Aside from being one of my nicknames for Wylie, "peaches and cream" was always one of my favorite instant oatmeal choices growing up. With peaches in season now it seemed the perfect time to make our own version for breakfast using almond milk.
The secret to making the perfect bowl of microwave oatmeal is to cook it with milk instead of water, it puffs and softens the oats. Here's how we did it...
First of all, let's talk about these eggs. I did not dye them, they come from the farm that way. I know. Okay, onto the recipe. I love having eggs for dinner. They are so quick to make, and they are so satisfying after a long, busy day. When I finished classes on Monday I celebrated by making this dish, paired with a rather large glass of wine. I discovered this recipe for truffled scrambled eggs a few years ago when I ventured over to Brooklyn for a late night dinner at Marlow and Sons while I was in NYC for a trade show. I've replicated it at home using thinly sliced shitake mushrooms and truffle oil. The trick to making perfectly satiny scrambled eggs starts with farm fresh eggs like these, with big bright yellow yolks.
Hint to my fellas, this is my idea of a Mother's Day treat. Let me sleep in until at least 8am, and then bring me breakfast in bed. Bonus points if this is the breakfast, made with lemon-rosemary bread from Della Fattoria- my Petaluma mom's know. I learned how to make this little egg treat years ago when I worked at an artisanal bakery in Portland. It has a lot of different names: One Eye, Egg in the basket, Toastie...this recipe is really quite simple to make. I added a little finely chopped asparagus tip and sliced pecorino cheese to mine. See photo tutorial below.
I'll finish off this month of in-season recipes with a great weeknight meal, perfect for pairing with grilled shrimp or a poached egg. Grits are stone ground corn, similar to polenta, which would also work in this recipe. The way I prepare them here, they are low in fat and vitamin rich, not what you think of when you here the word grits. I wanted to infuse the the meal with flavor so I finely chopped asparagus stems and sauteed them in a little olive oil and sea salt to combine with the water. I slowly added white grits to the water, bringing them to a boil, then covering and reducing the heat to low, stirring consistently until absorbed. I then added skim milk and stirred until creamy and fully cooked. All said it took about 25 minutes.
Many years ago I worked at a bakery in Portland that made these delicious jam-filled buttermilk biscuits. Jammers are the perfect comfort food for any time of day, and with the help of a heart-shaped cookie cutter they also make the perfect Valentine.
Two Tarts - Baked Eggs with Proscuitto and Gruyere
For me, the hardest thing to get a pretty picture of is food. The raw components can be off putting, and lighting and styling food when I'm actually preparing it is no easy feat, especially because that's usually after dark. I guess that's why I don't write a food blog. As a capable home cook, I do appreciate beautifully shot food blogs as a resource for new ideas and techniques. A tablet on the counter sometimes replaces my need for clunky cookbooks, making it easier to scroll between recipes when I'm working on a complete meal. I can also carry recipes with me to the store by way of my phone. My new favorite food blog is Two Tarts. A collaboration between two Colorado foodie friends named Dulcie and Sarah. They have amassed a collection of recipes for food and drink, with a focus on seasonal fare and components, like syrups, sauces, and pie crust. I'll be testing their Baked Eggs recipe when I host our now semi-regular ladies invitational next month. Here are some more pretty food blogs to explore if home cooking is your thing...
Here's something delicious to make for brunch if you should find yourself with half a can of pumpkin puree leftover from making a pie. It happens. I suppose if you were so inclined you could also use it as a taco shell to hold the leftover stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce. You know you want to.
I love to bake beer bread in the fall. We eat it straight out of the oven slathered in butter, and alongside homemade pea soup. The recipe I follow is really quite simple, and pretty darn nutritious, calling for whole wheat flour and old fashioned oats. Last batch, my six year old asked how it was possible to make bread without yeast (go Jasper!). The answer for this recipe is found in the beer's yeast, and a combination of baking baking powder and soda which work in concert to leaven the batter-like dough.
This weekend I turn the big 35 and my parents are coming to celebrate their accomplishment by watching my children so I can dig in at Central Market and spend Sunday wine tasting. To make it easy on them, I created two new dishes to feed the kids while we're gone. For breakfast they'll have a pumpkin spiced granola made from oats, pepitas and shaved almonds. For lunch they'll have macaroni and cheese made with goat cheese and pumpkin puree (a cow milk free recipe). Using pumpkin puree adds sweetness and color without a distinct flavor, and softens the bite of the goat cheese, while adding vitamin A and iron. My little helper Wylie tried both dishes today and they got two tiny thumbs up. Recipes below. Have a happy weekend!
From Top Left: Baby charentais melons(a French cantaloupe variety), The family eating at the cedar table handmade by Nicole's husband Phil, Lucie enjoying tomato cobbler, The Martin's lush backyard vegetable garden.
Cherries are one of my favorite summer treats, and they are at the height of their season right now. I love them fresh out of of the basket or baked into pies, in quinoa salad, and as preserves with goat cheese on a whole wheat English muffin for breakfast.
One of my favorite things to eat in the Fall is pumpkin bread. I have been working on this recipe for a few weeks and I think I have finally figured out how to make it both moist and flavorful, in a more figure flattering way.
We implemented the eat vegetarian one night a week rule some time ago. I thought it would be healthy for our bodies and our pocket book to skip the meat. We live in California where Farmer's Markets abound and we have access to everything that grows, so why not? One of our absolute family favorite dinners is a vegetable hash with poached eggs. Secret ingredient is smokey Spanish paprika. It adds something to the hash that makes you think of bacon. Here's what's in season now:
September in Petaluma means chilly mornings, followed by sweltering afternoon sun. The leaves are starting to yellow, the grass is a pale gold, and it's apple time. I suddenly feel the desire to make heartier fall food, but it's so hot by dinnertime I can't stand to be in the kitchen. Yesterday I took advantage of the cool morning and made some things ahead of time, a few Asian takes on picnic food, using sweet and bitter vegetables, and some stuffed eggs with a little wasabi kick. Good served cold as lunch food, the salad can also be warmed up and served with pork or chicken at dinner, or with a poached egg over top like everything I seem to make...