I Admit it....

.... I'm a Martha Stewart fan.  Yes, sad but true.  I guess it's the perfectionist in me (and let me preface that by saying I'm no where near as bad as she is! Thank God Andy would say!).  Any way, her daughter Alexis has inherited many of her mother's qualities and is an accomplished baker.  When I saw this garden cake that she recently posted on her blog I thought how cool is that!  I would never have the patience or skill to make one of these myself, but I would love to have one for a special event.

Check this out!

There's even a stone wall!  I bet it's delicious.  Now excuse me while I go whip up that box cake I have sitting in my cupboard.

Yummy Swiss Chard

We've had a bumper crop of swiss chard this year.  I hope it keeps up because it's delicious and the plants are so beautiful.

I've never tried freezing swiss chard but I guess I could since it's similar to spinach and collard greens that freeze well after blanching and draining.  In the meantime I'm enjoying this nutritious green sauteed or with a little crushed tomatoes and some kielbasi.

First clean the greens really well and chop them into bite sizes.  I remove the stems and cook them first since they take a little longer.  You can cook the stems with the greens but by they time the stems cook the greens will get really mushy.

One of my favorite ways to cook them is by using an old Italian recipe that my grandmother and mother taught me.  You start by sauteing diced onions and garlic in olive oil.

 
Add some stewed tomatoes, sausage (or in this case I used kielbasa but you can eliminate the meat entirely), and the stems of the swiss chard.  Cook on low heat until the sausage is almost done and the stems are tender.  Throw in the leaves of the chard.  You will notice that greens cook down a lot so I always use more than I think I'll need.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and then add in a can of drained and rinsed white or red pinto beans (to stretch this meal add in 2 cans of beans - one red and one white).  Continue cooking until the greens are soft and sausage is completely done.

Before serving top with a little Parmesan cheese and grated mozzella.  Serve with garlic bread.  This one dish meal has a rustic taste that pairs deliciously with a robust red wine.  Enjoy!

Going Bananas!

If you've got some leftover bananas and don't know what to do with them I've got a wonderful recipe for you!  Usually I make banana bread with over ripe bananas, but this time I decided to try a cake.

In searching for a good banana cake recipe I went to my favorite recipe site - All Recipes.  I love this site because there are reader reviews of every recipe so you get to see how a recipe performs in the kitchen as well as what modifications people have made to make it their own.  The recipe I found I modified a bit to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand (ok... I'm lazy... I'd rather use what's in my cupboard than make a trip to the grocery) and I think I ended up with a happy surprise!

This banana cake is so moist that it holds up well even after almost a week of sitting in the fridge (although I doubt it will last that long!).  Topped with homemade cream cheese frosting it has a consistency that's somewhere between cake and banana bread, and is so delightfully smooth it seems to melt in your mouth.

The cake bakes on the denser side so don't expect a light, fluffy, cake.  As you can see in the photo below the cakes doesn't bake up high like some cakes do, but because it's so moist you can eat it without icing and even enjoy it for breakfast with a nice hot cup of tea or coffee.  I haven't tried it yet, but this looks like a cake that would freeze well (I'd freeze it without the frosting.)  You could also bake it in a 9x13 pan, but you may want to experiment with using a pan that size since the cake may be too thin using that type of pan.

If cream cheese frosting is too rich for you, try it with a lighter frosting or even whipped cream with some slices of bananas.  If you like nuts you can add some to the batter before baking.  I think even semi-sweet chocolate chips added would be yummy..... now that's something that would cheer me up on a cold winter day for sure!


Banana Cake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 bananas)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter/margarine, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Set aside.
2. In another bowl sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and allspice.  
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.  
4. Add the sour cream and mashed bananas to the batter and beat well.  The mixture will be on the dry side and seem too thick until you add the sour cream and bananas. If it still looks too thick after adding the sour cream and bananas, pour in a little bit of milk to loosen up the batter.
5. Grease and flour 2  - 9-inch round cake pans.  
6. Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes (it took 27 minutes to bake in my oven so you may want to set your timer for 25 minutes and then insert a clean toothpick to test for doneness.)
7. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rake.  You will notice that this cake doesn't come out of the pan easily so if it doesn't come out the first time you turn it over, gentle take a butter knife and loosen it up around the sides as well as the bottom and then flip it again.
8. Once completely cool frost it with the frosting of your choice.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened)
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream together softened cream cheese and butter.
2. Add in the vanilla and then gradually stir in the confectioner's sugar.
3. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies

Put cranberries and pumpkins together and you get a delicious cookie. This recipe I found on the All Recipes website but have modified it a bit after trying it a few times. The cookies are really moist and have a delightful spicy flavor. For more sweetness you can top them with some white frosting or lightly powder with confectionery sugar, but I like them just the way they are.

Enjoy!



Cranberry Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg and pumpkin.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into mixture until well blended.
4. Cut the cranberries in half and stir into mixture along with the orange zest and walnuts.
5. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Yields 3-4 dozen cookies depending the size.

Note: There was still something about the cranberry bread recipe that didn't sit well with me so I modified it even more. This time I think we've got a really nice recipe and Andy loves it. Please see the previous post for the edited version.

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

EDITED on 10/21/09: There was something about this quick bread recipe that still needed to be changed. I spent some time in the kitchen figuring it out and now I think it's much better. The recipe below is the edited version.

After going to the Cranberry Festival last week I stocked up on fresh cranberries. They are in season right now, readily available fresh, and very affordable. They also freeze really well so you can buy lots now and store them for many yummy recipes all winter long.

I decided to first do some baking. I'm trying out a few cranberry bread recipes and this one seemed to work well after some modifications. I cut down on the amount of salt the original recipe called for, cut the nut quantity in half, and added some dried, ground ginger to give it a little more zing. Also, the original recipe said to bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes, but when I took the bread out of the oven the middle collapsed a bit and the inside was not as done as I would have liked. So, I would increase the temperature to 350 degrees and bake it for less time. All of the modifications I made to the recipe are reflected at the end of this post. If you give it try let me know what you think and if you changed anything. I won't be offended... it's not my recipe I just found it and tried it out so I'd love to hear your feedback.

Washing fresh red berries -- The colors are so vibrant.



Here my ingredients are "mise en place" -- ready to go.


Mixing the dry and wet ingredients separately before putting them all together.


Folding in the cranberries.



Folding in the chopped walnuts.


In the loaf pan and ready to be baked.


The finished product. Tasty and very pretty with lots of red chunks of cranberries. A wonderful breakfast treat or an evening snack with a piping hot cup of tea.



Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cut brown sugar
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• Grated peel of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (chopped or whole depending on your preference)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (use less or more depending on your preference or eliminate all together)
• 1/4 tsp dried, ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
2. In another bowl, beat egg. Add orange juice, peel, butter and hot water.
3. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.
4. Gently fold in cranberries and walnuts.
5. Spoon into greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Serve Up Some Spuds!

I've been off for a few days enjoying a much needed break from work. It's always so relaxing to have a few days to catch up on all the little things that seem to accumulate.

Over the weekend I planted my first crop of potatoes (at least I'm hoping they'll be a crop in early fall). I've never grown potatoes before but was inspired by all the creative ways in which people grow them. From using unusual containers such recycled tires and new garbage bins filled with soil to traditional trenches and potato boxes --there seems to be as many different ways to grow spuds as there are varieties of this delicious food staple.

As a kid I remember sprouting a sweet potato suspended by toothpicks in a glass half filled with water. Of course back then we never actually grew a potato but we sure ended up with a pretty vine that to a young child was magical.



Since I knew I wanted more than just a cool looking vine I decided to do a little potato growing research by searching the Internet. To my amazement my best chances of producing a harvest started with certified potato seeds. The picture on a web site of a potato seed looked suspiciously similar to a plain old potato that I could buy a supermarket.

(These aren't potato seeds but they look just this.)


"Now why on earth would I want to spend money for something that I already have in my kitchen?" I thought to myself. "Especially since there's a few in there sprouting," I pondered. Well after reading further the potato growing web guru informed me that supermarket potatoes are usually sprayed with a sprouting retardant so even those that show signs of sending out a shoot or two probably won't turn into a viable crop. Buying organic potatoes may yield a harvest when planted since these aren't sprayed, but potato seeds with good strong eyes on them would increase my odds of getting a harvest. And... since I'm not the gambling type I was finally convinced - potato seeds I would get.

Knowing that I needed to order potato seeds was only half the battle. The endless varieties of potatoes seemed mind blowing to me. I used to think there were only about 4 different types of potatoes - russet Idaho baking, white Maine, Yukon gold, and red. Well I quickly found out I was was in serious need of an education since the many choices available made my head spin. Thankfully due to the late date in which I was placing my order most varieties were sold out so I didn't have to think to hard - Phew! I finally settled "Gold Rush."

Here's the description from the online catalogue:

Released in 1992 from North Dakota, Gold Rush is a welcome addition to the russet repertoire. Attractive oblong-to-long tubers with smooth russeted skin and extremely white flesh are especially delicious for baking and fries. Mid-season maturity, high yields, resistance to hollow heart, common scab, verticillium wilt, and drought have made this variety popular. Large vigorous upright vine has light lavender flowers.

Well sounds good to me -sold! I ordered 3 lbs (yield is supposed to be 10 lbs for each pound planted) from Gurney's Seeds and within a few days a tiny little bag of potatoes arrived at my door.

The instruction slip that came with my order told me to cut the potatoes into smaller pieces ensuring that at least 2 good eyes were on each piece. Cutting the seeds into pieces would give me more plants instead of planting each one whole. After cutting I placed the potatoes on several layers of newspapers to dry out for a few days until the cut side dried over into a nice wound.

Here's what they look after drying for a few days.

A closer look.

A little closer.



Finally here they are placed on the bed and spaced out - ready for planting. I dug holes about 3-5 inches down and dropped the potatoes in there. Covered each one with soil and then prayed.



Sprouts should emerge in about two weeks. When the stems are about 8 inches high, I'll hill the vines up with soil leaving about half of the vine exposed. Hilling puts the root system deeper where the soil is cooler while the just scraped-up soil creates a light fluffy medium for the tubers to develop into. All tubers will form between the seed piece and the surface of the soil. Another hilling will be needed in another 2-3 weeks and yet another as well, 2 weeks after the second. On subsequent hilling, I'll add only an inch or two of soil to the hill, making sure there is enough soil atop the forming potatoes that they don't push out of the hill and get exposed to light (or they'll turn green).

As I wait for my tubers to sprout, I decided to pull up a recipe I like. This one is for potato pancakes. It's a versatile side dish that you can serve with brunch, dinner, or as part of a vegetarian meal. For added flavor top with sour cream, apple sauce, cranberry sauce, or maple syrup (for breakfast).



Ingredients

2 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 medium potatoes, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Mix in potatoes and onion.



2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In batches, drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture into the skillet. Press to flatten. Cook about 3 minutes on each side, until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels.

At Least the Pansies Love It

My pansies have been doing a happy dance for quite some time now. It's unusual for them to still be growing this strong, but with all the unseasonably cool and rainy weather we've been having they are still proudly showing their cute little bear faces.

We've had mostly cool weather this spring with highs only in the 60s most days and nights teetering on the brink of frost. Occasionally we get a summer-like tease of warm sunny weather like today and yesterday, but overall it seems as though summer is still a long way off.

So when I heard the weather forecast for the next few days I wasn't happy. "Highs only in the 50s!" the weatherman shouted on the evening news. I quickly picked up my remote and searched for the soothing scenery over on the Travel Channel. Maybe a Caribbean day dream will lift up my spirits I thought to myself. After all New England weather is so unpredictable what do TV weather people know anyway I tried to convince myself.

So as we embark on yet another cold front I'm looking on the bright side of things. I could enjoy this delicious pansy salad.



Pansy Herb Salad
Serves 4

With their beautiful array of colors and mild lettuce-like flavor, pansies brighten any dish. For this salad, only lemon juice is used as a dressing. The walnuts and feta add quite enough flavor.

Ingredients:

4 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup fresh sprigs of dill
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
4 large basil leaves, rolled up and thinly sliced crosswise
1 large lemon, halved
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup toasted walnuts
3/4 cup crumbled feta
1 cup fresh pansy flowers

Directions:

Toss salad greens and herbs in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon juice (without the seeds) over the greens and season with salt and pepper. Toss again. Add walnuts and feta and toss well. Divide salad and pansies among four serving plates and serve.

Photo and recipe credit: http://www.sheknows.com/articles/804900.htm

Basil The Great!

Basil is one of the most loved herbs in the world today. Basils belong to the Lamiaceae mint family and there are many varieties out there, but sweet basil is best known. Although natively grown in India most associate it with Mediterranean cuisine.

The herb was so revered in ancient Greece that it was called "The Herb of Kings." Only a king could harvest it, and then must use a golden sickle. But, the Greeks also believed that basil was a symbol of malice and lunacy. They believed that to successfully grow basil, one had to yell and curse angrily while sowing the seeds. Even in French, semer le basillic, “sowing basil,” means ranting. Well I can certainly relate to that… especially with my recent seed sowing “experiments.”

I sowed basil seeds indoors on 3/31. They sprouted very quickly within a week, but then they stayed at the sprout stage with seed leaves for what seemed like an eternity (which is what caused my ranting). Finally about a week ago they started to get their true leaves and they’ve been taking off like gang busters ever since.

This picture was taken a week ago and the seedlings are probably twice the size (I’ve got 8 individual plants growing).

I’m Italian by heritage and basil, fresh tomatoes, and mozzeralla were staples in my childhood home. Growing up we called it basilico. But, some people call it BAH-ZEL…

…not to be confused with this guy….

Photo above: John Cleese as Basil in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers

Or, this woman.

Photo Above: Toni Basil 80’s pop star (Hey Mickey!)

Whether you call it BAY-ZIL or BAH-ZEL it’s always a deliciously fragrant herb to have in the garden and kitchen.

Try it as a cocktail (virgin or not)

Bloody Gazpacho

50ml Absolut Vodka (optional)
4 Basil Leafs
1/2 Inch of Cucumber
100ml Fresh Tomato juice
Dash Balsamic vinegar
6 Drops of Tabasco
4 Dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 shot Fresh lemon juice
2 pinch Minced garlic
2 pinch Ground pepper
2 pinch Celery salt

Or, for dinner.

Mix up some pesto and pour it over boneless, skinless chicken breasts and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes depending on how thick the meat is. (Quick Tip – If you can’t find fresh basil to make the pesto yourself or if it’s too early for harvesting, you can use Buitoni – usually found in the deli or dairy case).

The chicken is delicious cold the next day over a salad – Ellie’s Dad can attest to that!

Classic Pesto

2 tablespoons coarse-chopped walnuts or pine nuts
2 garlic cloves peeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups basil leaves (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation: You will need a food processor or strong blender. With the motor running, drop the pine nuts and garlic through the feed chute. Process until finely minced. Add the olive oil and pulse three times. Add basil, Parmesan cheese, and salt to the processor bowl. Process until finely minced, scraping down sides. Refrigerate leftovers and use within 1 week. Yield: 3/4 cup

Ice Cream anyone? Yum!

Basil Ice Cream from Epicurious

2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup well-chilled heavy cream

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer; an ice cream maker

Bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, then remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender (reserve saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute.

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 1 minute. Add milk mixture in a stream, beating until combined well. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and registers 175°F on thermometer (do not let boil). Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cold, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in cream and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.

So as my basil grows by leaps and bounds I’ll be dreaming of upcoming warm summer days with the fresh scent of basil drifting through the air. In the meantime, cocktails anyone?

In Honor of the Fish!

One of my favorite organic gardening products is fish fertilizer.

Ellie's dad is not so keen on it because of the fishy odor it leaves right after it's applied, but that quickly goes away once it dries. In the veggie garden I apply it once a week with a hose attachment. In the perennial garden I don't use it as often, except for mid-summer when everything seems to need a little bit of boost. I also mix up the concentrated form and use it in the container plants, which seems to help things bloom a little better.

We live on the South Shore of Massachusetts and are close to the ocean, which means that we are lucky enough to have access to the beauty of the seaside as well as all that wonderful fresh fish that is caught not too far from here.

Here's Plymouth Beach not too far from our home.

Even Ellie loves the ocean and we take her for walks on the beach quite often in the warmer weather.

In honor of fish fertilizer I cooked up some fresh haddock that I got a local fish store. It's an easy recipe. I dipped the fish in an egg wash and then coated it in a mixture of plain breadcrumbs, Mrs. Dash seasoning, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I then ligthtly coated the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and placed the fish inside. More olive oil gets lightly sprinkled on top for flavoring as well as the juice of a half lemon. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and fish flakely.

All prepped and ready to go in the oven.

For a side dish, we had warm red potatoe salad. The potatoes are in a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped fresh garlic, fresh parsley, and fresh rosemary. Actually the potatoes are better the next day cold after marinating.

Here's the finished meal staged for the blog (I said staged because we don't really eat like this).

Here's where we usually eat...

...with our bums on the sofa facing the TV... Yup, wish I could say we didn't, but I'm being real here.