Search Results for: potato salad

Farming in the City….3 Weeks Later

05/31/2013 by Laura Leave a Comment

…UPDATE ON THE CROPS

After a few recording breaking warm days and 3 weeks of alternating rain and sun, rain and sun….things are really growing. Hopefully you can tell we have a new camera. We are still learning how to use it. We purchased a Fugi HS50 EXR. It is pretty “dummy proof” on the auto settings!

The early crops are in the raised bed shown here. Kale, spinach, radishes, leeks, arugula, beets and snow peas. Mixed in with those are a cucumber, zucchini, yellow crook neck squash and patty pan summer squash. I am growing these upward, in the cages. There will be plenty of room for them when the early crops have been harvested.

Dave built a new raised bed for this year. We are calling it the “Salsa Garden”. So far it contains Poblano Pepper, Eggplant, Anaheim Chiles, Jalapeno Pepper, Tomatillos and a bell pepper. I will add cilantro soon. To the right of this garden are the blueberry bushes. They are about 8 years old now and are absolutely loaded with baby berries. Pie, jam, chutney are forthcoming!

We also have raspberries and June bearing strawberries. Dave just finished reinforcing the raspberry trellis. The yellow raspberries are amazing. We added two NW grape plants, which will eventually cover the top trellis.

Below is the tomato bed. There are also Walla Walla sweet onions here, and will eventually house the basil plants that are currently safe and sound on the kitchen window sill. There are 9 tomato plants, 8 varieties. Green Zebra (our favorite), Mr. Stripey, Black Krim, Juane Flamme, Sweet Baby Girl, Gold Nugget, Brandywine, and San Marzano. They are loaded with blossoms!

The herb garden and the romaine lettuce are doing fantastic!

The bed below has a few rows of green beans and a couple more squash plants.

Dave is growing his “prize winning” potatoes in a big tub this year. They will be converted to potato salad on the 4th of July!

Our Favorite Coq Au Vin

02/19/2018 by Laura Leave a Comment

Our crazy Seattle weekend weather demanded warm comfort food. So between the repeating rounds of snow, wind, sunshine, and hail, I made one of my favorite dishes, Coq au Vin. I first fell in love with Coq au Vin when Mom and I made the recipe from the Time Life Foods of the World: Cooking of Provincial France. I loved making something so “exotic”! During my high school years, we frequented a little French café, and it was always my entre of choice. The entre was so popular, you actually had to reserve it when making your dinner reservation. I’ve had many versions of Coq au Vin from random French restaurants, during my travels. One of my favorites is from Anthony Bourdain’s restaurant in NYC, Les Halles. My recipe is from his cookbook of the same name. Bon appétit

Ingredients

1 liter, plus one cup of dry red wine

1 onion, cut into 1 inch dice

1 carrot, cut into 1/4 inch slice

1 celery rib, cut into 1/2 slices

4 whole cloves

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 bouquet garni (instructions below)

1 3.5-4 pound organic whole chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 pound slab bacon cut into small lardons, about 1/4″ by 1″

1/2 pound small, white button mushrooms, stems removed (I could not find tiny mushrooms, so I quartered the ones I bought)

12 pearl onions, peeled (I hate peeling these – I used peeled, frozen pearl onions)

pinch of sugar

Boquet Garni

1 sprig flat leaf parsley

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 small square cheesecloth

1 small piece of twine

Lay the herbs on the square of cheese cloth. Gather up the corners and tie with the string.

Equipment

3 large, deep bowls

plastic wrap

fine strainer

large Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot

tongs

wooden spoon

small sauté pan

small sauce pan

1 sheet parchment paper

whisk

deep serving platter

DAY ONE

Combine the bottle of red wine, diced onion, sliced carrot, celery, cloves, peppercorns and bouquet garni in large, deep bowl. Add the chicken and submerge it in the liquid so it is completely covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

DAY 2

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Put it aside.

Strain the marinade reserving the liquids and the solids separately. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in the large Dutch oven. Sear the chicken on all sides turning with tongs, to evenly brown on all sides. Once brown, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the reserved onions, carrot and celery to the pot and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat evenly. Stir in the reserved marinade liquid and the bouquet garni. Bring to a simmer and add the chicken back into the pot. Simmer very low, slightly covered for about 90 minutes, or until thigh temperature reaches 165′ on a thermometer.

While the chicken cooks, sauté the bacon lardons in a small pan over medium heat until lightly brown. Remove to paper towel to drain. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings and sauté the mushrooms in the same pan until golden. Set them aside.

In the small saucepan, combine the pearl onions, a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add just enough water to cover the onions, then cover the pan with a circle of parchment paper the same size as the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until all the water has evaporated. Remove the paper and cook until the onions are golden brown. Be careful as this happens fast!

Remove the onions from the pan, set aside. Add the remaining cup of red wine. Reduce by about half or until thick and syrupy. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

When the chicken is cooked through, carefully remove it from the liquid to a deep serving dish.

Add in the bacon, mushrooms and onions to the stockpot. Bring to a gentle simmer. Adjust the sauce for seasoning and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour the sauce over the chicken. If the sauce is not a thick as you like, tighten up with a beurrre manie.

We typically serve this dish with fluffy mashed potatoes. Enjoy with a Washington Syrah and an arugula salad!

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. You will be happy you did.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful evening.

Laura

Garbage Day Soup!

09/27/2017 by Laura 2 Comments

It’s human nature to have many routines, whether they’re conscious or unconscious! Often, we’re not even sure how long we’ve had them or how they got started. One of mine is cleaning the fridge the night before the compost, recycling, yard waste, (garbage, if you’re not from Seattle) are collected. I’m pretty sure my mom does the same thing. However, now that I have “more time than money” I am very conscientious about the wasting of anything. It’s not that I was not conscious before, but when your unpredictable work schedule takes you away from home 3-5 days a week, you don’t always manage the larder as efficiently as possible; leftovers get tossed, planned meals don’t get cooked, and the freezer quickly fills with foil packets I call UFO’s….unidentifiable frozen objects, that are rarely interesting a month or two later!

Even with the best intentions, sometimes what’s left at week’s end, is pretty drab and has very few opportunities to be repurposed! I’d love to hear ideas for leftover lettuce based salads, as that is one item that fills my compost bucket routinely! Chicken or salmon – easily become next days sandwich with a little help of mayo, celery, bell pepper. Potatoes, vegetable and gravy – perfect set up for Shepard’s pie, or “dinner for breakfast” potato pancakes.

I got lucky this week, when I opened the produce drawer to “clean it out”. I had a few ears of corn, a half-dozen poblano peppers, a couple jalopeno peppers, cilantro and some leftover chicken. I knew immediately I would be making a corn, pepper, chicken chowder. We had onions, garlic, baby potatoes and chicken stock in the pantry, so I jumped right in. This could all be thrown together in a crock pot, but I actually made the base one day, and reheated it with cream the second day. This soup is delicious and will stay in our rotation throughout the winter, even though we will have to sub frozen corn for the fresh.

For the corn, poblano and chicken chowder

1 large sweet onion, chopped

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 jalopenos , stems and seeds removed and finely chopped

5 poblano peppers, stems and seeds removed and chopped

4 ears of corn, cut away from the cob

12 tiny potatoes, quartered

1 quart chicken stock

2 cups water

2 cups cooked chicken meat in bite size pieces (from leftover chicken)

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped – retain a few leaves for garnish

1 pint heavy cream

oil for sautéing

salt and pepper

grated cheese for serving – Mexican style

Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, peppers until soft, about 7 minutes

Add the corn cobs, chopped cilantro, potatoes and chicken stock, and allow to simmer at least an hour.

At this point, I added the chicken, simmered it about an hour more and then moved the pot to the fridge. You could easily complete the soup, but I think the extra day with the corn husks in the pot really pumped up the corn flavor! Add salt and pepper as needed.

About an hour before serving, I brought the soup to a slow simmer. I reduced the heat as much as possible and added the pint of cream.

We served this with grated cheese and fresh-baked corn bread. I really hope you’ll give it a try, whether you have the ingredients on hand or not!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great evening.

Laura

50’s Flashback – Chicken (or Tuna) Noodle Casserole

01/15/2016 by Laura Leave a Comment

We all have comfort food favorites and Chicken (or Tuna) Noodle Casserole is definitely near the top of my list. I’ve been reluctant to post this recipe knowing it’s not that interesting or adventurous, and would also require my admitting to use of “that canned soup”. With encouragement from friends who’ve received this casserole after surgeries, babies, illnesses or other trying times, I decided to share the recipe. It’s something I always have the ingredients on hand for and comes together quickly whether in crisis mode or not! It’s as good with tuna as it is with chicken. It freezes well and is great the next day for lunch, or a second dinner. If you hate mushrooms don’t use them, and use Cream of Celery soup instead. I’ve stepped it up from the 4 ingredient tuna casserole version of my childhood, by adding cheese, sour cream, and vegetables. I hope you’ll like it as much as we do!

For the Chicken (or Tuna) Noodle Casserole

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite size pieces OR 3 7oz. cans of rinsed, drained tuna

2 cans Cream of Chicken, or Cream of Celery or Cream of Mushroom soup

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup shredded white cheddar, or mozzarella, or Monterey jack or any combination of cheese you like

3/4 cup diced celery

3/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1 cup sliced mushrooms (ok to skip mushrooms if you aren’t a fan)

1 teaspoon minced, dry onion

1 cup frozen, petite peas

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs (potato chip upgrade, but you can use them if you must!)

olive oil spray

EVOO for sautéing the vegetables

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1 package (12 ounces) Wide Egg Noodles

Heat the oven to 375′. Spray a casserole dish with oil to prevent sticking. Cook the noodles according to package directions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain in a colander and set aside.

In the same pot that you cooked the noodles, sauté the celery, peppers, mushrooms and dry onion in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until soft and tender. (By sautéing the veggies and mixing the ingredients in the same pan you boiled the noodles in – you have only one pan to wash!)

Remove from the heat. Stir in the soup, milk, sour cream. Add the noodles and mix well. Add the chicken (OR tuna), the shredded cheese and the peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When all ingredients are combined, pour into the casserole dish. Sprinkle the Panko bread crumbs evenly over the top. Spray the crumbs with a little oil to aid in even browning.

Bake for about 40 minutes until casserole is bubbly and the top is slightly browned, about 180′ on a thermometer.

Serve with fresh fruit or a tossed green salad.

Have a wonderful evening,

Laura

I love sharing my bird photos. Here are the jays that enjoy the peanuts we put out for them!

“…and I’d like that pureed” Part II

08/28/2015 by Laura Leave a Comment

I promised tips and suggestions for pureed, soft foods and smoothies and here they are! We learned a lot the past few weeks during Dave’s recovery from surgery. The meal below, was his first meal at home after leaving the hospital. What you see are peas, mashed potatoes and roast chicken with gravy. Making the plate as pretty as possible helps stimulate the appetite! The other foods that pureed well included pot roast, carrots, butternut squash, roast pork tenderloin and Swedish meatballs. There was no need to make separate foods for our dinner, although I had to restrict my mashed potato and gravy consumption!

I am not listing specific recipes, as they are all included in previous posts.

The Must-have Blender

I had been gifted a Nutri Ninja Blender System with Auto IQ, last year. Honestly, I had not used it much until Dave’s surgery. It has not left the counter since August 10th. This system has pre-programmed times/power levels for smoothies, puree’s, grinding meat etc…. and is amazing! There is a large food processor type bowl, a traditional blender container and multiple containers for making individual drinks, shakes, smoothies. This is one of the most powerful kitchen tools I have ever used! I highly recommend this blender, as you will not get the same results with a “bullet” or “traditional” type blender.

I stocked up on all the typical soft foods before Dave came home. Applesauce, pudding, jello, popsicles, ice cream. We learned the bumps in tapioca pudding and the rice in rice pudding, were too much for the first few days. We also learned that chocolate kind of burned his throat.

In the hospital, mashed potatoes and gravy were some of Dave’s first foods. Making gravy at every meal can be a lot of work. I promised shortcuts and here is one of my favorites! You will need Bisto! Bisto is a British product used to thicken gravies and sauces. I have used it for years. You can find it at Amazon or in the British/Irish section of many grocery stores. It comes in multiple flavours, although the “beef” or brown product works well with chicken, turkey and beef stock. During Dave’s recovery, I made gravy and kept it on hand to warm up and serve with potatoes, at any time.

Laura’s Short Cut Gravy

One carton (32 ounces) stock – chicken, beef, or turkey

3 Tablespoons of Bisto

Bring the stock to boil in a saucepan. Let it simmer about 5 minutes to intensify the flavor. Whisk in the Bisto granules. Continue to stir until gravy reaches desired consistency. If it is not thick enough, add a little more Bisto. There you go! You just made “homemade” gravy. Store it in the fridge in a covered container and warm up in the microwave in whatever portion you need.

Laura’s time saving mashed potato tip

If you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you must pick up their frozen mashed potatoes! The potatoes are prepared with butter and cream and then frozen into individual discs, about the size of a prune. You can heat one, two or the entire package in the microwave, in 4-5 minutes, and then stir with a fork. These potatoes are smooth and lump free! Since Dave needed extra calories, I added additional butter and cream. I am very picky about mashed potatoes, and I challenge you to find a difference between these and “made from scratch” potatoes.

*If you do make mashed potatoes from scratch, do not run them through a blender or food processor. You will be left with a pot of “glue”! Use a ricer and then “mash” with a potato masher and add butter and cream to make them extra smooth.

Pureeing Meat, Poultry, and Fish

You can easily puree any roasted, poached, broiled meat, poultry, fish, meatball or sausage. Depending on the persons swallowing ability and soreness in the mouth, you will need to adjust how smooth you puree the foods, to meet their specific needs. Add gravy, broth, cream or butter to soften the foods and increase flavor. Serve with additional gravy. Gravy is like a lubricant, that helps make things easier to swallow.

Pureeing Vegetables

Steam the vegetables first. Add them to the blender jar and puree with butter and cream and a little salt and pepper. Dave especially liked sweet corn, peas, butternut squash and cauliflower prepared this way. Trader Joe’s has a riced cauliflower that cooks quickly and blends up smoothly. Add a little butter, cream and parmesan cheese for a great side dish!

Soups

One thing I learned for sure, it is not the right time to introduce “new” foods or flavors. I thought some of the creamy soups in the cartons would be a win. I heated, pureed, served and dumped three different ones, one afternoon. What did work was warming and then blending Dave’s favorite canned chicken noodle soup. Beef barley and split pea also worked well. Adding a scoop of protein powder and a little cream increases the calories and nutrition.

Eggs

You would think scrambled eggs would not be a problem, but they were the first week. I made the eggs as normal, added grated cheese and ran them through the blender for a few seconds. Again, adding extra cream and butter during preparation helps increase the calories and the softness.

Smoothies

There are hundreds of smoothie recipes out there, so I am not going to go into detail. I went with Dave’s favorite foods to find one he liked. I used vanilla ice cream, a frozen banana (peel, chop and freeze bananas for ready use), a scoop of whey protein powder, a large tablespoon of peanut butter, and a little cream to make a high calorie, high protein shake.

Today marks three weeks since Dave’s surgery. I am happy to say, he had his favorite pizza and salad last night! Though his throat is still a little sore, and there is a little difficulty swallowing, he is now able to enjoy a few of his favorite foods. Our next challenge will come when radiation and chemotherapy begin on September 14th. The treatments will cause a change in the taste of foods, a very sore mouth and difficulty swallowing. I will keep you all posted on what works and does not work. Our goal in sharing this story is to help others who may be going through something similar.

We thank you for your support and encouragement.

Have a great evening,

Laura

“….and I’d like that pureed”, Part I

08/19/2015 by Laura 10 Comments

A few friends and followers have commented on my lengthy absence from this space. That makes me smile! I will try to explain. This post has been writing itself in my head for the last 8 weeks. I’ve thought of every clever way I could possibly choose to tell this story. You know….these are the best of times and the worst of times and life is what happens while your busy making other plans, kind of stuff.

In early July, I accepted a sales position with a fantastic company as a Regional Sales Manager. I have represented many wonderful brands over the years, and I am thrilled to now be working with the #1 popcorn company – Angie’s Artisan Treats! The products are sold in hundreds of stores across the country, in brightly colored bags, with BOOMCHICKAPOP(®) written across the front. I am so thrilled to have joined this team of wonderfully talented, creative and hard working folks. I am truly honored and blessed. I cannot wait to come up with a few popcorncentric recipes, someday soon.

On July 7th, I traveled to Denver to join my sales team for a 2 day fall/winter planning session. Though my start date was officially July 20th, I did not want to miss out on the learning’s shared at this meeting. I immediately felt comfortable with my team! We were scheduled for a full day of planning and an evening of fun at a Rockies baseball game! During an afternoon break, I noticed an email from Dave, asking me to give him a call. Since I was in a cellular dead-zone I replied, asking him to let me know what was up via email. I received the following message: The doctor called with the results of my biopsy. It’s not good. My face went white, my hands were shaking, and my throat fell through my body, down to my knees. Keep in mind, I am in a meeting room with 6 people I’ve just met, who are counting on me to help them accomplish company goals for the remainder of the year. My boss noticed my rapid change in demeanor asked me if everything was “ok”. I said no. I told him that Dave had a biopsy on a little lump on his neck, July 2nd, and he had just emailed me that it was not ok. We found a phone that worked and I called Dave. He let me know he was seeing the doctor the following day. I made the decision to head back to Seattle. My team texted Uber, a car arrived quickly, and I managed to get to the airport in time for a 6pm flight. By then, the tears had started and they would not stop! I got to the Alaska airlines desk and told them I had a family emergency and absolutely needed to be on the next flight. The very kind agent got me a seat, listened to my story, told me everything would be ok and sent me off with a full box of Kleenex. I’m really sorry I did not catch her name. I hope she knows how much I appreciated her kindness and ability to say the perfect things to me at that time.

We got to the doctors office the next morning, a few minutes early. Me with my notepad and Dave with questions. We heard the words: cancer, radiation, chemo, surgery, recovery, treatable, curable. It’s not that we had never heard those words before, it’s that those words were now on my husband’s chart, along with his name, social security number and birthday. My husband Dave, the guy who had never spent a night in a hospital; except at my bedside, never broke a bone and had one or two stiches once or twice in his entire 58 years. We asked and received answers to many questions, and left with many more. We would not see this doctor again, as she and our primary care doctor, had arranged for us to meet with a doctor who specialized in Dave’s particular type of cancer. We spoke with our primary care doctor and confirmed it would be ok to wait to see the specialist after our week at the beach, which we had planned as my “between jobs vacation”.

With a July 24th appointment confirmed and our concerns of immediacy laid to rest, we put all our energy into our upcoming week on the Oregon Coast! We needed the rest, relaxation and diversion! We had stayed in the same rental house in Cannon Beach for over 15 years. Sadly, it is no longer available. We found a fabulous pet friendly house a little further south in Rockaway Beach, right on the beach and next to an awesome restaurant! I cooked two things during our vacation: baked potatoes to go with steaks Dave grilled and blueberry muffins, with berries from our garden. Dave and I ate every fish / shellfish available in it’s finest fried form, tried numerous offerings of the Oregon Coast’s best chowder and drank every IPA we could find. It was glorious. Cooper, our younger dog had never seen the ocean. He is fearless and adventurous and, as predicted, ran straight into the waves with total abandon!

The best calamari either of us have ever eaten was at the restaurant next door to the house we rented in Rockaway Beach. We had calamari and oyster shooters 5 nights in a row! Dave also had a dang good burger and I enjoyed a few fabulous salads at the Sand Dollar Restaurant. We sat at picnic tables on the patio with Cooper and Jasper tucked under our feet.

The fried oysters and clam chowder from Old Oregon Smokehouse were also a hit!

The last two weeks in July included a trip to Minneapolis for the first days of my job, and a Sunday afternoon gig for Dave’s band: The Fentons. The trip to meet the rest of the folks at my new company, and and the gig all were fabulous. I finally read the manual on my year old camera, and managed to record The Fentons 60 minute performance, flawlessly. After the gig, Dave had to let the band know of his condition. With surgery pending, decisions had to be made and scheduled gigs had to be cancelled. It was one of the hardest conversations he has ever had with the 4 guys who have been friends for over 35 years. We also made the decision to delay our long overdue bathroom remodel that we had scheduled for September. We talked about cancelling my Paris birthday trip, but decided we would wait to see what the specialist had to say.

We met with the doctor who would take over Dave’s case on Friday, July 24th. We heard more words, conditions and scenarios that we had never, ever considered alone or in the combinations suggested! Further tests were scheduled, including a PET scan, to possibly determine the source of the cancer. Surgery to remove the tumor as well as the suspicious tonsils, would be scheduled soon after. On the way home in the car, Dave told me he was done, if he could no longer eat or sing. I assured him, that would not happen.

Dave had surgery on Friday, August 7th at 7:40a.m. His tonsils were removed robotically, and numerous tissue samples were taken to be biopsied. Though the PET Scan indicated the source of the cancer was likely a tonsil, subsequent pathology did not confirm it. Dave has been an amazing patient. He has not complained once and he has bounced back quickly. The removal of the tumor on the right side of his neck, left him with a six-eight inch incision. He has lots of ideas to explain the resulting scar, once this is all behind us. Dave will meet with the radiologist and the oncologist next week. After that, the treatment plan will be determined. The waiting is the hardest part.

I titled this post…. “and I’d like that pureed” Part I. I’m guessing you might be wondering how this story and how this food blog are going to relate! Dave was instructed to eat only soft food after his surgery on August 7th. When the doctor told me he would be required to eat soft/pureed foods, I totally panicked. You don’t recover from major surgery eating ice cream and mashed potatoes, unless you’re 4 or 5. Additionally, what was I going to eat during his recovery, that would not make him go crazy if he could not have it. I looked at the menu the hospital provided. YUCK. Poorly seasoned, tasteless food only gets worse once pureed. So, as I always do when I need to learn anything, I got on line. I read, researched, dug my Nutri Ninja out of the cupboard and started cooking in preparation for his home coming on Monday, the 10th. I will share my recipes, ideas, and shortcuts with you via Part II of this post.

Have a wonderful evening,

Laura

Salmon Nicoise and Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

08/09/2014 by Laura Leave a Comment

I knew I was kind of pushing my luck serving salmon two days in a row. Dave informed me that it is not much of a “hard-working man’s meal”. By hard-working, he means painting the second of four sides of the house. I think he was too hot and tired to protest. I did surprise him by making a beautiful plate of our favorite heirloom tomato bruschetta. We finally have tomatoes and basil all ripe together. If you are not growing your own tomatoes, you must splurge; at least once this summer, on a few from the farmers market and make this dish. A little fresh mozzarella and prosciutto make this a meal on its own!

Though Salad Nicoise is traditionally made with tuna, I often see it made with salmon as I have done here. Maybe it is a Pacific Northwest thing. Regardless, it is becoming my favorite preparation! And since it’s summer and we are having a French salad, I had to serve it with a lovely, dry rose! Someone needs to inform the folks who stock the wine in the cooler that people drink chilled rose in the summer. There were numerous choices on the shelf, and none in the cooler! Doesn’t it look beautiful with the salmon?

for the Salad Nicoise

for the dressing

Dijon Vinaigrette – not traditional – but my version!

2/3 cup of great quality olive oil

1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon tarragon

Fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste.

Whisk all together in a small bowl or measuring cup.

for the salad

4-6 small baby new potatoes, boiled gently until fork tender, drained and cooled

1/2 pound haricot vert – or any other small green bean, blanched until tender and cooled

2-4 hard-boiled eggs

a handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes

mixed baby lettuce

Nicoise olives (I could not find these at my regular store. I substituted the Lucques olives I had on hand. At least they were French!)

4 ounce portion of grilled salmon or one can of good quality tuna packed in olive oil, per serving

capers for garnish

fresh ground pepper and salt

Slice the cooled potatoes, place in a small bowl and pour a little of the dressing over them. Garnish with a small spoonful of capers. Stir gently to coat. Place the green beans in a small bowl and dress them in the same fashion. Slice the tomatoes, peel the eggs and chill until ready to plate.

To assemble the salad, place a handful of the baby lettuce on a chilled dinner plate. Sprinkle with a little of the salad dressing. Arrange the sliced potatoes, green beans, eggs, tomatoes, salmon or tuna, and olives in a pleasing pattern. Spoon a little more dressing over the salad. Bon appetite!

to prepare the Bruschetta

fresh baguette bread, sliced on the diagonal

olive oil

salt and pepper

chopped heirloom tomatoes, about 1 cup

finely minced garlic, 4-5 cloves

1/4 cup basil chiffonade

Brush the sliced baguette bread with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toast until the edges brown.

Mix the diced tomatoes, minced garlic and basil together in a small bowl. Add a little olive oil to coat the tomatoes. Stir gently.

Spoon the tomato basil mixture onto the toasted bread. Garnish with a little more basil.

First Day of Summer!

06/22/2014 by Laura Leave a Comment

Yesterday was the first day of summer; the longest and most wonderful day of the year. The solstice begins a series of long days! Since we are so far north it can remain light up to 10:30pm. We were charmed by perfect weather, not always the case on June 21st in Seattle! We worked in the yard most of the day; weeding, trimming, mowing, sweeping. Feeling inspired and motivated, we tore into our garden shed. The shed was in total disarray and begging for reorganization. By disarray, I mean knowing you have string for the weed whacker, a washer for the sprinkler, twine for the tomatoes; but cannot find any of it! With hooks replaced, tools rehung, gloves, hand tools, washers, sprinklers and clippers all sorted and placed in bins the shed has returned to a state of organized usefulness! We pinky swore we would keep it that way! Rewarding ourselves, we relaxed on the patio for a couple of hours; listening to music and drinking in the beauty of the day.

It was (all too) soon time for dinner. Armed with my bounty from the farmers market and a piece of Copper River Salmon, dinner was quick and easy. I knew I wanted to use my peas, fava beans, and garlic scapes, somehow. Catching up on my favorite blogs in the afternoon, I came across a dish posted by Aran Goyoaga at Canelle et Vanille: Fava and Peas with Prosciutto and Fried Egg. Not really a salad and not really a vegetable, it was more of a first course. The dish was exactly what I was looking for. I modified the recipe to include tiny, new potatoes. The dish would be a wonderful meal on its own, and was also perfect with the grilled salmon.

I prepped the peas and the fava beans the day before. If you have never worked with fava beans, there are a couple of steps. First, remove the beans from their velvety outer jacket.

Next, blanch the beans for about 30 seconds in a pot of boiling water, and immediately place in ice water. This makes it easier to remove the white, outer shell from the bean. Remove the outer layer and set aside.

Shell the peas and set aside. Can you tell Dave shelled and photographed the peas?

For the Fava and Peas with Potato, Prosciutto and Fried Egg

Adapted from the original recipe Canelle et Vanille: Fava and Peas with Prosciutto and Fried Egg.

About 1 pound of Fava Beans, shelled, blanched and peeled

About 1 pound of English peas, shelled

4-6 tiny, new potatoes (not in original recipe)

3 tablespoons of olive oil, plus additional for frying the eggs

1 small leek, cleaned and sliced, white parts only

5-6 garlic scapes, or 2 finely sliced garlic cloves if you do not have scapes

4 slices prosciutto or Serrrano

2 eggs

1 cup watercress, – I had arugula which I used instead

Chopped mixed herbs, I used parsley and tarragon

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the fava beans and peas about 2 minutes. Remove and drain in a colander.

Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook until a sharp knife can easily be inserted, about 10 minutes. Drain and slice in half.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan. Sauté the leeks and scapes (or garlic) until soft, but not brown. Add the fava, peas and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté to warm through and to ensure all vegetables are coated with the oil. Set aside and prepare two fried eggs.

When ready to plate, place the vegetables on a plate of arugula (or watercress). Top with the prosciutto and fried eggs. Garnish with the chopped herbs. I also added some sliced radishes at this stage.

A perfect summer meal and a perfect summer day. Cheers to many more!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

03/17/2014 by Laura Leave a Comment

There was no doubt we would make Corned Beef and Cabbage for a traditional Saint Patrick’s day dinner. We love this meal and we always comment “why don’t we make this more often”? Our only “twist” is using Guinness Stout as the cooking liquid. Other than that, it is 100% traditional: corned beef, carrots, small potatoes and cabbage – roasted for many hours in a slow oven.

What was not so traditional was the Orange Cornmeal and Almond flour cake I made for dessert. Dave asked me “How is this cake Irish”?

I explained that I was browsing Irish recipes on the Saveur website, when I came across the most beautiful Irish blog, Farmette. The cake recipe was created by an Irish chef, Donal Skehan and included in his new book, Homecooked, and was featured on Farmette as part of a virtual book tour. In spite of the fact that none of the ingredients come from Ireland, my explanation was accepted and we agreed this was an Irish dessert.

I followed the recipe exactly the first time, using polenta. The cake was far too gritty and heavy. I made it a second time with finely ground corn meal and it came out perfect. I am wondering if Irish polenta is more finely ground than the Bob’s Red Mill polenta I had on hand. I increased the ingredient quantities to fit a 9″ pan, rather than the 8″ pan used in the original recipe. I added “semi-candied” orange peel*, as a garnish.

ORANGE CORNMEAL CAKE

adapted from Orange Polenta Cake with Honey and Rosewater Syrup, Donal Skehan, Homecooked, via Farmette blog

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 cups almond flour

1 cup finely ground corn meal

1/3 cup all purpose flour (or gluten free flour blend, such as Cup 4 Cup)

2 heaped tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cup caster (bakers) sugar

12 ounces softened butter

4 large eggs

Grated zest of 3 large oranges

Additional 2 oranges if making candied orange peel garnish

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

Creme fraiche, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 350′. Grease a 9″ diameter springform pan, then line the base with baking parchment.

2. Place cardamom in a bowl together with the almond flour, corn meal, all purpose flour and baking powder.

3. Beat the sugar and butter in a bowl until the mixture is light and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold the dry ingredients into this mixture with a spatula until just combined. Add two-thirds of the orange zest together with the vanilla extract, and just fold through.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place it on the middle rack of the oven to bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

FOR THE SYRUP

Juice of 2 large oranges

1/4 cup of sugar

1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liquor (optional)

5. Prepare the syrup by placing all the ingredients in a small saucepan over a medium heat and bringing to a steady simmer.

6. Pierce holes all over the cake with a wooden skewer while it is cooling and pour over half the syrup, a little at a time, until the cake has soaked it up. Sprinkle with the pistachio nuts, drizzle with the remaining syrup and sprinkle with remaining orange zest to decorate.

7. Serve in slices with a little creme fraiche.

*Laura’s Semi-Candied Orange Peel

I wanted something quick and pretty. Searching the web did not really give me the results I wanted, which led to my little experiment. I made the orange peel “shreds” using the special peeler I bought to make Green Papaya Salad. It worked really well. I put the shreds in a pyrex bowl, covered them with a little water, covered the bowl and microwaved it on high for 4 minutes. I drained the water, covered the shreds with 1/2 cup of sugar, a little more water, covered the bowl, and cooked another 5 minutes on high in the microwave. I let it cool for a few minutes and then removed the shreds from the bowl with a fork, onto a cutting board. They were not as curly as I wanted, so I wrapped them around a chop stick, held them for a second, and let them continue to cool. It was a lot of extra work, but I really like the results!

Laura’s 8 Layer Lasagna Bolognese

01/03/2014 by Laura Leave a Comment

Christmas and New Year’s have come and gone but there is one more holiday dinner that tops our list. Hopefully this will become a tradition, as this is the second year of the “post-rehersal” band family dinner. I am very excited to host the Fentons and their families this year. Need to know more about the Fentons? Follow this link: http://www.fentonstwang.com/

The Menu

Laura’s Lasagna Bolognese
Grilled Vegetable Platter
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Stew – our Vegan option (post to follow)
Tossed Green Salad
Sourdough Bread (previously posted)
Southern Pecan Coconut Cream Cake (posted 01/03/14)

The Lasagna

Depending on how big of a pan of lasagna you are making, you may need to double the sauce recipe. The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen until you are ready to assemble the lasagna. I received a new lasagna pan that is HUGE, so I tripled the sauce recipe. http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/91156-chefs-lasagna-pan.aspx

Bolognese Sauce (adapted from 25 Favorite Classics, Food and Wine Magazine, September 2003)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 celery rib, finely diced

1 pound coarsely ground beef chuck

1 pound coarsely ground pork

1/4 pound mortadella, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 small can tomato paste

1 cup dry white wine

Two 28-ounce can Italian whole tomatoes, chopped, with their juices

1 1/2 cups beef stock

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped basil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

In a medium enameled cast-iron casserole, melt the butter in the oil. Add the garlic, pancetta, carrot, onion and celery and cook over moderately low heat until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef and pork and cook over moderate heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the mortadella and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, the stock, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon each of the parsley and basil and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very thick. I like to simmer this sauce at least 4 hours.

Reduce heat to very low, stir the cream and the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley and 1 tablespoon of basil into the meat sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Béchamel Sauce (adapted from Cuisine at Home, February 2004)

I doubled this due to the large size of the lasagna I am making.

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup finely diced yellow onion

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

pinch if nutmeg

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups of whole milk

10 ounces Boursin or Aluette cheese

8 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 egg, beaten

Saute the onion for the béchamel sauce in melted butter over medium heat. Add cayenne and nutmeg and cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour to make a light rue. Cook about 2 minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the Boursin in small pieces and whisk until smooth. Set aside 2 cups of the sauce to top the lasagna. Cool remaining sauce for 10 minutes. Whisk in the spinach and the beaten egg. Set aside.

For the lasagna

Prepared lasagna noodles or pasta sheets, enough to create 4-5 layers of pasta in your pan

1-2 pounds shredded mozzarella cheese – or more – depending on the size of your pan and recipe

1 pound Grated Parmesan cheese – or more – depending on the size of your pan and recipe

Spray your lasagna dish with non-stick spray. Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of béchamel sauce. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce. Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the noodles. Spread a layer of meat sauce over the béchamel sauce. Top with a generous layer of mozzarella and then sprinkle with parmesan.

Layer another layer of pasta. Cover with a thin layer of béchamel. Cover the béchamel with a layer of meat sauce, then mozzarella, then parmesan. Repeat two more times., finishing with a layer of noodles.

Spread the last noodles layer with the reserved béchamel sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake uncovered until hot and bubbly at 375′ for approximately 45-60 minutes. Let the lasagna “rest” for a least 20 minutes before serving.

The Fentons – L to R: Norman, Snake, Blackie, Howard, Mrs. Chaz Fenton, and Chaz

Sometimes, a couple of pictures tell the whole story!