tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6308218430460572462024-03-05T04:22:47.240-08:00the half-empty cornucopiaCooking, eating, food shopping, foraging, gardening, and preserving foods in Portland, Oregon.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-40364225290447133982010-05-31T09:03:00.000-07:002010-05-31T10:04:25.522-07:00Vegetables are Back!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMvZB038pfOuKIjMFnmoNQIuzNp4gojL2OpbCVEycMfJiqj6-UMiS5hMULbL-s39OPxHyVPHdnn4_03rqIFxTThbfWoUS6Xk45bOxDnS_dRRlKw3WqFMcTMIdf6nTWMVhAm7ajx7TL4Ry/s1600/IMG_1281.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMvZB038pfOuKIjMFnmoNQIuzNp4gojL2OpbCVEycMfJiqj6-UMiS5hMULbL-s39OPxHyVPHdnn4_03rqIFxTThbfWoUS6Xk45bOxDnS_dRRlKw3WqFMcTMIdf6nTWMVhAm7ajx7TL4Ry/s400/IMG_1281.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477468137361105650" /></a>My backyard garden now has 200 times more sun since we don't have our block's most hated maple tree anymore. It is doing amazing things for my vegetables--the sunchokes are already three times as tall as they were last September, lettuces are twice as big as they got last year, and the Red Russian kale plants that my friend Kelly gave me are so big that I need to harvest a bunch every few days or they start shading out other plants! Here's my mom with the kale I gave her last week. <br /><br />Our 14 tomato plants are still small, but they're starting to grow. Brandywine, Currant, Sugar Sweetie, Black Plum, some unknown varieties that we think are going to be golden, German Pink...and I still want to plant a Sungold. Hybrid or no, it has the best tasting and most prolific tomatoes ever and keeps producing right up until it freezes. <br /><br />We got a very heavy Priority Mail Flat Rate box from my girlfriend's dad in Arizona two weeks ago. We had an idea what might be inside--beautiful fresh grapefruits and lemons from his backyard! Lots and lots of them! We immediately made a delicious juice cocktail with grapefruit, lemon, and lime juice, agave syrup, mint, ice, and bubbly water. Then we ate dripping, juicy grapefruits breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week. On a cold morning, broiled grapefruit halves with a sprinkle of brown sugar on top are a nice way to start the day! We've still got the last few lemons left, after hot honey lemonade (I like it instead of tea), lemony salad dressings, pretty lemon slices in our drinks, and more. Any recipe suggestions?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoia4_CQYWoid41BB0u6a-zDYzNeLqJQ0w2muCVqmzlsG6XCZ8NoXpt-jPUltY0qBNEocMR7UX7UvtWOhtd3CAVVuViUJyUgOOBFIVK2SGQyUHk6Qb90cAVZivVhGX0g8IsHpRr9Sjwps/s1600/IMG_1277.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoia4_CQYWoid41BB0u6a-zDYzNeLqJQ0w2muCVqmzlsG6XCZ8NoXpt-jPUltY0qBNEocMR7UX7UvtWOhtd3CAVVuViUJyUgOOBFIVK2SGQyUHk6Qb90cAVZivVhGX0g8IsHpRr9Sjwps/s400/IMG_1277.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477470774954006114" /></a><br /><br />Another fun food adventure recently was a trip to Olympia for a housewarming party and to help my friend Rob get his garden in shape. He is a backyard farming inspiration to me and has been ever since we met in Japan nine years ago. We dug and planted and built a stage in his backyard...but mostly I cooked. Yeasted waffles (yum) and a recipe I will share with you--pickled carrots and radishes. My CSA, <a href="http://trashfactory.net/sunrootgardens/blog/wordpress/">Sunroot Gardens</a>, gave us all-we-could-eat radishes a couple of weeks ago and we've been eating these pickles ever since. They are similar to the pickles you get on a <a href="http://www.bestbaguettesandwiches.com/">Banh Mi</a> sandwich. The best thing about them is that if you let them sit overnight, the radishes turn all-over pink and the orange of the carrots is intensified to almost neon by the bleeding color from the red radish skins. <br /><br />You'll need a wide mouth quart canning jar for this recipe.<br /><br />Ingredients: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROGesrMh8PwvZ5JC02d0uaJdlVU3pr46bc_wJZ0m0pX3cV1-86jdp8AvDwUNGsFZjJ29C-k1D0kIejVr8U06a5SJzv-6DeJVrvJ-FVWdPO_wNEcgzI_GrTzPa5DUivUYSXIZVSJlovErl/s1600/IMG_1272.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROGesrMh8PwvZ5JC02d0uaJdlVU3pr46bc_wJZ0m0pX3cV1-86jdp8AvDwUNGsFZjJ29C-k1D0kIejVr8U06a5SJzv-6DeJVrvJ-FVWdPO_wNEcgzI_GrTzPa5DUivUYSXIZVSJlovErl/s400/IMG_1272.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477478777175630002" /></a><br />About 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds (2 cups)<br />2 cups of sliced radishes, it's nice if some are red, but mixed colors are fine<br />3/4 cup rice vinegar<br />1/2 cup water<br />1/4 cup sugar<br />1 tablespoon sea salt<br />1/2 teaspoon each coriander seeds and black peppercorns<br /><br />In a bowl, mix together vinegar, water, sugar, and salt until everything is dissolved. In the quart jar, put the coriander and peppercorns at the bottom, then layer the carrots and radishes on top, making several layers of each vegetable. Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar to covers the vegetables. Press the vegetable down in the jar so they are submerged in the liquid, then put the lid on and let the pickles sit for at least an hour, preferably overnight, and up to 2 or 3 weeks. Eat them on a sandwich, in a salad, alongside tacos, or just as a tasty snack. Just to warn you--when you open the jar, you will smell a putrid odor. This is normal. It comes from the radishes. You won't taste this taste at all when you eat the pickles! But I will concede that they taste best of all served outside at a picnic, with plenty of fresh air to blow the radish smell away.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-79892474812240912292010-01-17T23:17:00.000-08:002010-01-17T23:46:41.792-08:00Crabapple Cottage: The Cookbook<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUibG5b-HVirb2Vzrk_ovWLjFjqau1sFmTyEv16dMyMm1IxO9bu2-37PUTGXkLPawAAMY41Gi0EQH3sP0o2DOUdGPfLKdBUUIO_QtfQros1-aVAOmUHcYTCFrzdSutcTTgd1QQguPdctX/s1600-h/IMG_0567.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUibG5b-HVirb2Vzrk_ovWLjFjqau1sFmTyEv16dMyMm1IxO9bu2-37PUTGXkLPawAAMY41Gi0EQH3sP0o2DOUdGPfLKdBUUIO_QtfQros1-aVAOmUHcYTCFrzdSutcTTgd1QQguPdctX/s400/IMG_0567.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427976612851039490" /></a><br />I started working on what will be an amazing cookbook someday--the collection of seasonal recipes that my housemates and I love to eat. We're all pining for spring, so we can have asparagus with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce again. In the meantime, there's lentil shepherd's pie...and my go-to winter salad, frisee and butter lettuce with avocado and oranges. It's simple--the only trick is that I cut the peels off the oranges and cut them into rounds, then squeeze the orange peels into my salad dressing bowl so that the dressing has a little orange juice in it. I usually make a quick vinaigrette with sherry vinegar, the orange juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, sea salt, and some chopped onion or shallot. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTx6Va13b_H1dg2r0QHz7gd0RHCleGwLmhzMDwC1IZS8udhIBnbcT4N3jsoBI8CyTJhWVbj7MyMxZXZvaw8384o0Lvf4VEgrpytx00XEErD_v-VTtMGOmQRV9iGkST3x16rW6AYhPECBEF/s1600-h/IMG_0569.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTx6Va13b_H1dg2r0QHz7gd0RHCleGwLmhzMDwC1IZS8udhIBnbcT4N3jsoBI8CyTJhWVbj7MyMxZXZvaw8384o0Lvf4VEgrpytx00XEErD_v-VTtMGOmQRV9iGkST3x16rW6AYhPECBEF/s400/IMG_0569.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427976743648884290" /></a><br />Since I get most of my vegetables from my <a href="http://trashfactory.net/sunrootgardens/">year-round CSA</a>, there are a lot of root vegetables in the fridge all winter...parsnips (they are huge, sweet, and delicious), sunchokes, beets, turnips, and sometimes carrots. This sometimes makes me fall into a borscht rut. I just learned that a spoonful of homemade fermented sauerkraut is really nice in a bowl of borscht. But variety is important...especially a variety of pot pies. To make lentil shepherd's pie, just take some of those winter storage vegetables (an onion, a parsnip, a couple of carrots, maybe a stalk of celery and a clove of garlic), chop them and sweat them in a small soup pot with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil or butter and some salt. <br /><br />Meanwhile, boil a big pot of salted water and boil some potatoes--ideally Russets.<br /><br /> To your onion mixture, add a cup of French green lentils and a mixture of red wine and water to just cover the lentils. Throw in a tablespoon of tomato paste and a spoonful of veggie broth powder, maybe a shake of red chili flakes, a couple of bay leaves and a little chopped fresh rosemary. Cook until lentils are done, adding more water if needed, but you want the lentils to absorb most of the liquid by the time they're cooked. <br /><br />By this time, your potatoes are probably good and soft. Preheat the oven to 350. Drain the potatoes and mash them with a lump of butter and a big splash of milk, and salt/pepper/red pepper to taste. I like to use the whisk attachment of my girlfriend's KitchenAid stand mixer to mash and whip the potatoes, but any way you want to do it is fine. If the lentil pot can go into the oven, you can do the next step right in the pot; otherwise, transfer the lentils to a baking dish. Mound the potatoes on top of the lentils, so that they make a crust. Put the shepherd's pie in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes start to turn a little bit brown in places (if you're getting impatient, just turn on the broiler for a minute). This recipe is flexible enough to absorb lots of different vegetables, and it's also tasty with any kind of cheese added to the mashed potatoes!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-4212956345262921942010-01-11T20:35:00.000-08:002010-01-11T21:03:18.421-08:00I invented Rice-A-Roni!That's not quite true. I didn't invent Rice-A-Roni, but I did listen to <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93067862">a radio story about the invention of Rice-A-Roni</a> and make a rice and noodle pilaf loosely based on the recipe that went with the story. And it was delicious, in a salty, starchy, buttery, comfort food kind of way. It was even good the next day as leftovers, and I usually hate leftovers. <br /><br />I also invented a new Rice-A-Roni flavor: chanterelle mushroom and apricot. Everyone is always saying how chanterelles smell like apricots so I thought it might be a good combination, and it was. I made my own dried chanterelles after going mushroom hunting at Thanksgiving, so I had a big bag of those, and also a big bag of the most <a href="http://www.apricotking.com/driedapricots.php">amazing dried apricots</a> from the Santa Cruz farmer's market over Christmas. I kind of want to to buy the 25 pound bag for $180--they're that good. Here is the recipe:<br /><br />1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped<br />1 small yellow carrot, diced into 1/4 inch cubes<br />1 cup long-grain white rice, like basmati<br />1/2 cup vermicelli noodles, broken into small pieces<br />1 handful dried chanterelle mushrooms, also broken into small pieces<br />3 tablespoons butter<br />2 1/2 cups water<br />1/4 cup white wine<br />Vegetable broth powder to taste (I really love <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rapunzel-Pure-Organic-Vegetable-4-41-Ounce/dp/B000E39T82">Rapunzel brand</a>)<br />Salt to taste<br />A tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley<br />5 dried apricots, finely diced<br /><br />Add the butter, onion, and carrot to a medium-small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over medium-high heat until onion is translucent, about five minutes, then add rice and vermicelli pieces and cook for a few more minutes, until they are nicely coated with butter and beginning to turn golden in spots. Add the dried chanterelles, wine, water, and vegetable broth powder; taste. The water should taste fairly salty. If it doesn't, add more broth powder or salt. <br /><br />Put the lid on the pot, turn the heat down to low, and cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Check and see if the rice and noodles are done and the water is all absorbed. If not, put the lid back on and cook for five to ten more minutes. Once the pilaf is done--rice and noodles tender but not soggy, liquid absorbed--add the parsley and diced apricots and gently mix into the pilaf. Fluff up the rice with a fork and serve.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-12111630462090787002010-01-05T22:21:00.000-08:002010-01-05T22:37:47.322-08:00Impossible Persimmon-Apple PieI'm taking a break from refined sugar to recover from the holidays, but the smell of my housemate's homemade banana bread today gave me a powerful urge to bake something sweet. I used ingredients I had on hand and the memory of Bisquick Impossible Blackberry Pies that I used to make back in high school, and came up with this highly successful recipe! <br /><br />They called it "Impossible Pie" because it's impossibly easy, and also because you pour batter into the bottom of a pie plate, and it rises up partially over the fruit during baking to make a top crust too. Impossible! It's basically a moist, eggy cake with fruit baked in, a little bit like a pudding cake. <br /><br />Here's a picture of the slice that's packed in my lunch for tomorrow:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumrfQFv6w4ZEqa5UonRcSxjf-jw-d5MzfSC-v7YbT_Id1X3gjlOA42VlcnniDo24GehyphenhyphenrfX7Pv0svtyIvkRIiz4_GgHQGATe6JZxbUtzL4AcczeXWKqL-hpGIosb-_LeZEprd5nnJOxq9/s1600-h/IMG_0530.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumrfQFv6w4ZEqa5UonRcSxjf-jw-d5MzfSC-v7YbT_Id1X3gjlOA42VlcnniDo24GehyphenhyphenrfX7Pv0svtyIvkRIiz4_GgHQGATe6JZxbUtzL4AcczeXWKqL-hpGIosb-_LeZEprd5nnJOxq9/s400/IMG_0530.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423509549632672962" /></a><br /><br />Impossible Persimmon-Apple Pie<br /><br />"pie crust" ingredients:<br />Handful of hazelnuts<br />3/4 cup all-purpose flour<br />2 teaspoons baking powder<br />2 Tablespoons melted butter<br />3/4 cup milk<br />2 eggs<br />Generous dash of cinnamon<br />1 soft-ripe persimmon<br /><br />"pie filling" ingredients:<br />3 tasty apples, peeled and thinly sliced (I used two yellow and one green) + 1/2 red-skinned apple (I used Braeburn, which was good because it held its shape), skin left on and chopped<br />1/4 cup raisins, soaked for 15 minutes in water or juice if you have time<br />1 tablespoon butter or more if needed<br /><br />Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Then throw the hazelnuts in the blender and blend for a few seconds to chop them. Add the rest of the "pie crust" ingredients and blend until smooth, about ten seconds. <br /><br />Meanwhile, saute the apple slices in the 1 tablespoon butter until they begin to caramelize. Add the chopped apple (you want it to stay more intact) and the raisins, and cook for another minute or two, then remove from heat. <br /><br />Into a greased cast-iron pan or pie plate, pour the "pie crust" batter. Distribute the apple and raisin mixture on top, place the whole thing in the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean and the crust is nice and brown. Let cool for at least a few minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature. <br /><br />This cake was nice and sweet, and it didn't need more sugar at all! It was also fast and really easy. If you don't have persimmon, you might try putting in another soft, sweet fruit like a banana or some applesauce.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-15736730777486990502009-12-28T22:46:00.001-08:002009-12-28T22:50:22.672-08:00Post-Holiday Salad Days<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitxgOx8XWIcVLbONrLfAVycPvtK2ZUHDVKovpm7my7XzFTPoexipeNEYHCZKGLaw1Yeb7FQT5i3El0COcNn32p2YAvxKy80LYcqhSDXqcJ-JGYXtQISXNUx0bUdnMaBuAo136kjRSiHpC/s1600-h/DSCF1825.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:left;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitxgOx8XWIcVLbONrLfAVycPvtK2ZUHDVKovpm7my7XzFTPoexipeNEYHCZKGLaw1Yeb7FQT5i3El0COcNn32p2YAvxKy80LYcqhSDXqcJ-JGYXtQISXNUx0bUdnMaBuAo136kjRSiHpC/s400/DSCF1825.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420545940003995234" /></a><br />I am proud to say that I'm still eating local fruit that I picked myself at the end of December! Two kinds of persimmons and kiwis--if only I had an orange tree too. <br /><br />I've been visiting my family for the past week, and resolved to eat salad every day to counteract my all-cookie meal plan of the past month or so. It's been great! If you haven't had salad with spicy greens, grapefruit, and avocado for a while, you should make it.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-32467734271348822302009-12-02T21:02:00.000-08:002009-12-02T22:02:39.798-08:00Cozy ChocolateWho here knows agrees with the statement "Chocolate chip cookies DON'T COUNT. They are NOT holiday cookies!"? <br /><br />It has only come to my attention over the past month that I, in fact, do not understand holiday cookies. But I'd better learn fast, because I'm going to a holiday cookie party this Saturday and I'm expected to bring NINE DOZEN cookies. <br /><br />Some of my friends Ann and Alyssa's cookie recommendations: <br /><br />Turtles<br />Triple Layer Chocolate Mint Fudge<br />Andes Mints cookies<br />Dyed-green cornflake and marshmallow wreaths with red-hot decorations<br />Russian Tea Cakes<br />Chocolate-dipped mini pretzels<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV75WzZtrFcGTAY-2k_LPwCyYRy-FdL6A7RZMrbTv4YILQTrJzcWYYwybcmKTQqNV1JKHWjFmQE8w-EnfA3GohE5uxtLhPNCnTfwaxBlmhWJ9Wj3m2CmcT9S1dRn0ricTW1VrrqYZxgjQe/s1600-h/DSCF1664.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV75WzZtrFcGTAY-2k_LPwCyYRy-FdL6A7RZMrbTv4YILQTrJzcWYYwybcmKTQqNV1JKHWjFmQE8w-EnfA3GohE5uxtLhPNCnTfwaxBlmhWJ9Wj3m2CmcT9S1dRn0ricTW1VrrqYZxgjQe/s400/DSCF1664.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410883451895477954" /></a><br /><br />None of the cookies I was thinking of making got the Midwest thumbs-up (I wanted to make <a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/chocolate-crinkles/941e22b3-9a48-4fb1-bdb0-27479e76d484">those powdered sugar covered chocolate cookies</a> or biscotti, which are at least actually cookies, unlike SOME holiday "cookies" I could mention) so I thought I might make peppermint marshmallows, using <a href="http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2006/04/15/basic-vanilla-marshmallows/">this recipe</a> that Theresa was really into a few years ago. That was back when we all thought that Emes Kosher-Jel gelatin was vegetarian. <a href="http://www.vegparadise.com/news55.html">Turned out, it wasn't</a>, but we still have a jar from the good old days, so I made a test batch. If you do make this recipe, please note that it will make about eighty 1-inch-square marshmallows. And don't try to double it or it won't fit in your stand mixer!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWanCGK-1e38Wj7o4agexTuJNiS9s69BcU_LS_F8r7wz1O3QhF4ORmp7CLDyE-sPkQqocd_0UKqNvx-VHH1DGquLQLJaHmOno8j77WonJxrgE_4lXKq8-lK_x9wCpfpc3ABMzmHoK0YYe/s1600-h/DSCF1675.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWanCGK-1e38Wj7o4agexTuJNiS9s69BcU_LS_F8r7wz1O3QhF4ORmp7CLDyE-sPkQqocd_0UKqNvx-VHH1DGquLQLJaHmOno8j77WonJxrgE_4lXKq8-lK_x9wCpfpc3ABMzmHoK0YYe/s400/DSCF1675.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410883433392348770" /></a><br />Oh, lovely homemade marshmallows! I want to eat all of them myself in twenty cups of hot chocolate. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5snxXfALnd8U98r38dDZMq22WX3SRhQDcJ6zv5twjAFVgGEuhAnIUspB7YjeCYFBRJ1NCjnqp4A-us0t_CKXq64zwo4zqnbpNPD7cvvXer5kyzOAr6Z_ax-PDzv4QRXfU6-VwhRIcffdT/s1600-h/DSCF1687.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5snxXfALnd8U98r38dDZMq22WX3SRhQDcJ6zv5twjAFVgGEuhAnIUspB7YjeCYFBRJ1NCjnqp4A-us0t_CKXq64zwo4zqnbpNPD7cvvXer5kyzOAr6Z_ax-PDzv4QRXfU6-VwhRIcffdT/s400/DSCF1687.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410883440662964722" /></a><br /><br />Speaking of which, I have a new hot chocolate recipe. My girlfriend always complains that what I drink is not hot chocolate, it's DRINKING chocolate, because I like it to be noticeably thicker than milk and really chocolaty. My new method is to throw a small handful of bittersweet chocolate chips into a cup of milk, microwave for 1 minute, stir really well, microwave 30 seconds more, stir, then 20 seconds more (watching like a hawk so it doesn't boil over), and stir like crazy until it's perfectly smooth and a little bit thickened. It's not too sweet, it has a great texture and plenty of chocolate, plus it's easier and less messy than cocoa powder! I put my marshmallows on top for the final 20 seconds, because homemade marshmallows don't melt as easily as your supermarket varieties do.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-BAJBlF8sLo-Uf3AIxvK31t9VdjsjgRX453BdoBe-mqkBCN2Sh9E1iQwJ7c13hhFzv2Le96hfCS40HHgX9m6cjW9FhMMoZPJV6lDAxTriXI6W30xEnqX1vtHHii8vf12xsfZzhazZPvF/s1600-h/DSCF1680.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-BAJBlF8sLo-Uf3AIxvK31t9VdjsjgRX453BdoBe-mqkBCN2Sh9E1iQwJ7c13hhFzv2Le96hfCS40HHgX9m6cjW9FhMMoZPJV6lDAxTriXI6W30xEnqX1vtHHii8vf12xsfZzhazZPvF/s400/DSCF1680.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410883437682018226"/></a>gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-78954472753985673472009-11-20T21:25:00.000-08:002009-11-20T21:35:20.316-08:00ExperimentsEven though I usually think of cooking as a solo activity--something I do when I'm alone in the house, or to decompress for an hour after a stressful day--I also like to cook with friends. It's good for me, because I learn other people's tricks and favorite flavor combinations, and I end up making things I wouldn't come up with on my own. Case in point: cooking with Martin the other day. I had officially declared it "sandwich night" at my house, but also had a date to hang out with Martin all afternoon and cook, so we invented a sandwich filling. A crazy sandwich filling. Rutabacon! <br /><br />Yes, it's bacon made from rutabaga. I can't give you a recipe, but I can tell you that we sliced all the root veggies we could find (carrot, parsnip, sweet potato, rutabaga, celeriac, etc) into thin, bacon-shaped strips, marinated them in a nice salty, oily sauce that was really a bit more like barbecue sauce than bacon flavoring, and cooked the strips on a cast-iron griddle until they were good and burnt the way bacon should be. They made a great rutabacon, arugula, tomato, and avocado sandwich that I wanted to take a picture of, but couldn't find my camera and I was too hungry to go searching for it!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-26843830006902438222009-11-14T14:00:00.000-08:002009-11-14T14:45:17.768-08:00Making things happen!Do you ever have trouble getting up the activation energy to start a project? For me, a art project will roll along just fine for hours once I get started, but it takes somewhere in the days to months range for me to actually start on something I've been meaning to do. Luckily, there is a catalyst for these creative reactions: my friend Rob. Every time I see him we make and do dozens of things in a very short time. He came to visit me for less than 24 hours...and we made a delicious and beautiful vegetable pot pie complete with perfect pie crust from scratch; baked brownies; went on a walk wherein we talked and talked and also filled our pockets with <a href="http://www.seedtosupper.com/persimmons.html">persimmons</a>, <a href="http://goodstuffnw.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-season-nw-kiwi-berries.html">kiwi berries,</a> and grapes; finished a knitted hat that I was 95% done with (a lot of my projects get to that stage and stay there forever); read <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jip_and_Janneke">Jip and Janneke</a> out loud; and made one-bean salad with home-grown greens for breakfast (along with <a href="http://everything2.com/title/Migas">migas</a>--southwestern scrambled eggs with tortilla chip crumbs). <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxHYKSJM4jAZxvH6weT39wIM0UxV4Zmp7oFJvW7ZQRH1fB_D-AO9lzWz-rUd0PE6RFBc6a3s0fbFHw53eD0ub85DlvzdAtwobnYdSXvw7mf6JxpUJ5mPYOTTNmo86ieL_XcrNaP7C8Pl5/s1600-h/DSCF0680.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxHYKSJM4jAZxvH6weT39wIM0UxV4Zmp7oFJvW7ZQRH1fB_D-AO9lzWz-rUd0PE6RFBc6a3s0fbFHw53eD0ub85DlvzdAtwobnYdSXvw7mf6JxpUJ5mPYOTTNmo86ieL_XcrNaP7C8Pl5/s400/DSCF0680.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404088589157040514" /></a><br />Not only that, but I began to feel excited about giving hand-made Christmas presents, and then once Rob headed for home, I used my remaining motivation to print a ton of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34498147">"I've Moved On" cards</a> that have been on my to-do list for a month and to try taking pictures with my digital camera, which I was afraid was permanently broken. And now a blog post too! And I'm really feeling the urge to make a Christmas gift spreadsheet next.<br /><br />Luckily, cooking seems immune to the activation energy problem. I can cook any time! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj922pL_Z0wSGHDRHdQZElIvaju1DmAAUfitvSSnq_q_zErOmfUvJpJaXVPpj0LePJn0uJibMP8c53FYTFxTUZn5Yfq4ZRdvt5W7uzM9sjeo5PBbrYOpTclzVGwMlrVYalVW3ZcN7yiVq3k/s1600-h/DSCF1610.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj922pL_Z0wSGHDRHdQZElIvaju1DmAAUfitvSSnq_q_zErOmfUvJpJaXVPpj0LePJn0uJibMP8c53FYTFxTUZn5Yfq4ZRdvt5W7uzM9sjeo5PBbrYOpTclzVGwMlrVYalVW3ZcN7yiVq3k/s400/DSCF1610.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404087678059853794" /></a><br /><br />This lovely little lunch has fortified me for the afternoon and proved to me that my digital camera, although it is seven years old and takes the imperfect pictures to prove it, still works: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Of8jVw1C4Ie0Fv40Du2jKvR6MAvvOexuTVjOkmV_vsxd19MLiTAqCFeWfLSWBGAoVsem2VTo9yeKfqtXjCZVk4YjNwEXHsj0G2O6yWBK0SlTPLHR-Op0wad0W_JSHIQWZooSeiRD_Zzs/s1600-h/DSCF1603.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Of8jVw1C4Ie0Fv40Du2jKvR6MAvvOexuTVjOkmV_vsxd19MLiTAqCFeWfLSWBGAoVsem2VTo9yeKfqtXjCZVk4YjNwEXHsj0G2O6yWBK0SlTPLHR-Op0wad0W_JSHIQWZooSeiRD_Zzs/s400/DSCF1603.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404087462621872866" /></a><br /><br />Toast with avocado, a few leftover salad greens, and fresh basil; one of my first Satsumas of the year; and a little pot of green tea. Yum.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-82765717746939328232009-11-12T10:01:00.000-08:002009-11-14T08:29:22.815-08:00Catch UpIt's been so long, and I have so many pictures to share, that I'm going to make this post almost all pictures. Enjoy, and try making some <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/fromage-fort-recipe/index.html">Fromage Fort</a> (pictured below in the little green crock) next time you find your cheese drawer full of little bits of all kinds of cheese. Also, do you see the spiral plate with kiwi berries and fresh figs in it? I found all of those on a walk around the neighborhood. Also, two of my cherry tomato plants are still producing good-tasting, uncracked tomatoes in the middle of November!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjHAS7k8ZEs_FoCvFAqpk9XyZu1w-PBHENGutPwawwaswbMdokcAUkRerUgEqdw6rswE1q-7tnB_A4iDx-DARRi29TJdLbeIfPJ4GF4VLeUiq2w6SZ1rZLpO6CvJIQStC_iAkoyY0VrUR/s1600-h/DSCF1507.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjHAS7k8ZEs_FoCvFAqpk9XyZu1w-PBHENGutPwawwaswbMdokcAUkRerUgEqdw6rswE1q-7tnB_A4iDx-DARRi29TJdLbeIfPJ4GF4VLeUiq2w6SZ1rZLpO6CvJIQStC_iAkoyY0VrUR/s400/DSCF1507.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403280930047102434" /></a> <br /><br />I have tons of this amazing apple cider in my new <a href="http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_04616922000P?vName=Appliances&cName=Freezers&IceMakers&sName=Chest&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a">chest freezer</a>! Remember when I went to Hood River for a super-fun cider squeeze? I never got to show off this picture. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0Eb1XqFhF2UAKHIeDagjmt4dOXH5lKnT-ZJAxTzaa3VcLYw0_-v1jljdtTIcwUeyz8WQO8rKPn7azqyUOQfZLqoiFxoaZPAQtfZSFdmH9tkFPGzSV5OV7jXXUWbYT0p-1Lfdeo3egnEV/s1600-h/DSCF1374.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0Eb1XqFhF2UAKHIeDagjmt4dOXH5lKnT-ZJAxTzaa3VcLYw0_-v1jljdtTIcwUeyz8WQO8rKPn7azqyUOQfZLqoiFxoaZPAQtfZSFdmH9tkFPGzSV5OV7jXXUWbYT0p-1Lfdeo3egnEV/s400/DSCF1374.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403283580649605842" /></a><br /><br />Corn from my CSA--I turned some of it into <a href="http://www.whats4eats.com/appetizers/cancha-recipe">DIY corn-nuts</a>, and ground some to make cornmeal that got used in corn muffins and waffles.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-QvXrwIi9BJhewZCdQ55fZr6u6IUWJSUdp74gS7ztOpr_3jC9ui0DuobLEzPkJUIrwvba652XoOnlgnWcm1ADEuRhpQbrhb5KRnH2W21yH_saMqfYT10YqO5954gN1jAmAlIFYa-PLMo/s1600-h/DSCF1445.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-QvXrwIi9BJhewZCdQ55fZr6u6IUWJSUdp74gS7ztOpr_3jC9ui0DuobLEzPkJUIrwvba652XoOnlgnWcm1ADEuRhpQbrhb5KRnH2W21yH_saMqfYT10YqO5954gN1jAmAlIFYa-PLMo/s400/DSCF1445.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403280645958385346" /></a><br /><br />We didn't find very many edible mushrooms during a recent mushroom hunt, but we did get to see these lovely fairy birdbaths and spend some time in the dripping, mossy woods. Also, there are a lot of things the color of a chanterelle: a glowing yellow-orange maple leaf; a wet chunk of Douglas Fir heartwood; an orange peel tossed out of a car window. I bet I'll still find a load of chanterelles before Thanksgiving. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm02oieGRZPLtaQIhYVJNsVmaa9phGnVwTDQy8J6W5BNPh0-JndoZ6qkTj98Rxfi6Vra5Jk7aYZ5FQXC8nMSz1pH1fZee4cF4eyURhFdnk74wcdjwQuhENuLu_Sl9qS69O1G1QchOAkOM6/s1600-h/DSCF1569.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm02oieGRZPLtaQIhYVJNsVmaa9phGnVwTDQy8J6W5BNPh0-JndoZ6qkTj98Rxfi6Vra5Jk7aYZ5FQXC8nMSz1pH1fZee4cF4eyURhFdnk74wcdjwQuhENuLu_Sl9qS69O1G1QchOAkOM6/s400/DSCF1569.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403281314192094178" /></a><br /><br />Fall is really pretty. I don't have any pictures of the 17 pounds of big, crisp Fuyu persimmons I brought home last weekend after <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/11/portland_project_forages_for_u.html">picking</a> with the <a href="http://www.portlandfruit.org/">Portland Fruit Tree Project</a>, so instead I will leave you with this <a href="http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=224">Laurelhurst Park</a> duck swimming with the fallen leaves. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFElKO9TzLCmPapQMgL2u7VPUdvzSSx2R-hzP-2F-snKNv6wI9U72rzJ3-F5ik2shSG92WV1GRLNK4-KefW05xZyiiPBjkZ26vO50Gis5mUq2lTpALeZHptbZGwJTaEJKRgc9lc7caIm9E/s1600-h/DSCF1539.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFElKO9TzLCmPapQMgL2u7VPUdvzSSx2R-hzP-2F-snKNv6wI9U72rzJ3-F5ik2shSG92WV1GRLNK4-KefW05xZyiiPBjkZ26vO50Gis5mUq2lTpALeZHptbZGwJTaEJKRgc9lc7caIm9E/s400/DSCF1539.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403284277314043842" /></a>gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-87224743639341062672009-10-26T09:11:00.000-07:002009-10-26T09:34:22.755-07:00The Harvest Continues...Last weekend I got to harvest figs and grapes with the <a href="http://">Portland Fruit Tree Project</a>. I love picking fruit, obviously, and I love having fruit to cook with, but the other best part of the PFTP is having friends come to harvest parties with me so we can hang out and talk all morning while up a 15-foot orchard ladder picking figs or craning our necks and having grapes rain down all over us. <br /><br />I made the best thing I've ever made with figs: Honey-Lemon-Fig Marmalade. It's a beautiful rosy color because I used black figs with red insides, and the lemon gives it a much needed tart and bitter counterpoint to the intense sweetness of the figs and honey. I can't wait to serve it at holiday parties with cream cheese and crackers. <br /><br />I started with a recipe from <a href="http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1623,147191-241192,00.html">cooks.com</a>, but made some changes based on how many figs I had and my own taste. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzLQYmueu_2VzxpMcWHerOwu4Elj9HYqkaBn_-s1-B_ekhyphenhyphen7fIjlsjQjyYNtTx346GuF41CaoFCMLo_f6ICXfYnzqCLpf8ZEEOvlUaKzizgUiLZSWrOWCArFzRcNaPY51zBbGHSf48V6a/s1600-h/DSCF1406.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzLQYmueu_2VzxpMcWHerOwu4Elj9HYqkaBn_-s1-B_ekhyphenhyphen7fIjlsjQjyYNtTx346GuF41CaoFCMLo_f6ICXfYnzqCLpf8ZEEOvlUaKzizgUiLZSWrOWCArFzRcNaPY51zBbGHSf48V6a/s400/DSCF1406.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396946206341528706" /></a><br />Ingredients: <br />3 cups fresh figs (stems and a slice off the bottom removed), mashed into the measuring cups<br />1 1/2 cups mild honey <br />1 whole Meyer lemon plus juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon<br />1 bay leaf<br /><br />Chop figs or break them up with your hands until there are no pieces left that are bigger than a chunk you'd like to find in your jam (for me, this is about 1/2 inch pieces). Put the figs in a wide, non-reactive pot, and add the honey. Finely chop one whole Meyer lemon, including rind, and pick out the seeds. Add the lemon (but not the seeds) to the pot with the figs, along with the juice of an additional 1/2 lemon and the bay leaf. <br /><br />Bring jam to a boil, then cook over low heat until thick and jamlike and reduced in volume by about half, stirring occasionally. This took me about 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, fill up your canning pot with water and bring it to a boil and sterilize six 4-oz canning jars (this jam is intense, so I think the small jars are a good idea). I'm assuming that you know how to can or can look up the procedure on <a href="http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/348/348-594/348-594.html">one of the many extension service sites</a>, so I'll just say, once your jam is done, take out the bay leaf, ladle the jam into the jars with 1/4 inch headroom and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. For me, this recipe made six 4-ounce jars with a little left over to spread on toasted baguette slices with cream cheese.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-42584056375957275402009-10-21T20:05:00.000-07:002009-10-21T21:03:43.369-07:00Tomato Marmalade and Apple Butter AngstFor the past few days I've been thinking about a bizarre recipe I found in an old Gourmet magazine...Tomato Marmalade. Yes, it's sweet. And yes, it's made with regular red tomatoes. Gross? But the person who sent in the recipe called it "superb"! So I made five jars. Here's the recipe I used, modified just a bit from the original (which was served to Calvin Coolidge while he was in the White House!):<br /><br />2 pounds red tomatoes, peeled and sliced<br />3 cups sugar<br />1 juice orange, quartered, seeded, and very thinly sliced<br />1 tangelo (or another orange), quartered, seeded, and very thinly sliced<br />1/2 lemon, halved, seeded, and very thinly sliced<br />2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice<br />1 teaspoon whole cloves<br /><br />Place a small plate in the freezer. Wrap the cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie up the bundle with cotton string. Combine all ingredients except cloves in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Add cloves and turn heat down to a simmer; simmer the mixture for about 30 more minutes, or until it's thickened. (To test, pull the plate out of the freezer and put a small dollop of marmalade on it. Put it back in the freezer for one minute. Get the plate back out and tip the plate to see if the marmalade runs. If it pretty much holds its shape and seems jamlike, it's done.) If marmalade isn't thick enough after 30 minutes, let it cook another ten minutes and test again. <br /><br />Meanwhile, put your canning pot full of water on the stove and let it heat up to boiling. Wash 5 half-pint canning jars in hot soapy water and rinse them. Put the lids and rims of your canning jars in a small pot of water and heat to just below boiling; keep lids simmering until you're ready to use them.<br /><br />Use a wide-mouth canning funnel to transfer the hot marmalade to 4 or 5 of your clean half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe jar rims with a clean damp cloth; put on lids and tighten rings finger-tight. Process jars immediately in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes. Let cool undisturbed for 24 hours; check seals. Store those with good seals in the cupboard; if any jars didn't seal well put them in the fridge to eat right away. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtgxA45hcIXey6aktzFAs_fdFT5KTl7gGCbKVFJ8XZYs74vWzteI2pwOvtyBq5_lY61cls55-uM2ilY2nMInYdr7j2LMyRfXWI2u8IUJbViAlxRyvy-84w5DDwYEIr4ujgsi3h6jAK2ec/s1600-h/DSCF1398.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtgxA45hcIXey6aktzFAs_fdFT5KTl7gGCbKVFJ8XZYs74vWzteI2pwOvtyBq5_lY61cls55-uM2ilY2nMInYdr7j2LMyRfXWI2u8IUJbViAlxRyvy-84w5DDwYEIr4ujgsi3h6jAK2ec/s400/DSCF1398.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395261596722227266" border="0" /></a><br />It's giveaway time for all the produce that's left now that harvest season is ending...in addition to the mountain of green tomatoes that I turned into green tomato chutney yesterday, I have quite a few apples and pears that I got on a brilliant trip to Hood River last weekend.<br /><br />My friend Kelly took me to her friend's beautiful little farm where we squeezed cider, took pictures of maple leaves, jumped on a trampoline, and ate way too many caramel brownies. At the end, we each got to bring home 7 half-gallons of cider (!) and as many apples and pears as we could carry. It was so much fun. One day Kelly will have a farm just like that one and I'll just go to her house for the annual cider squeeze.<br /><br />I've been making apple butter for the past...five years? A long time! And I think my apple butter is the best I've ever tried (no offense, everyone else). I don't like cinnamon much, so I go easy on the spices, and I have cut the sugar back more each year so now I use 1 cup sugar for 7 cups apples. My recipe has a little apple cider vinegar in it too, which I think balances the sweetness well. But no one in my family will eat apple butter! They won't even try it. This year I was getting all sulky about the fact that not one of my family members would appreciate a jar of apple butter under the Christmas tree and had decided not to make any. But them my girlfriend's mom asked me if I was making more, and so did Kelly, and so did my friend Rob...all unprompted. So I guess SOMEONE will appreciate a gift of apple butter! I made another five jars tonight. <br /><br />I did try the chestnuts...soaking them overnight was a good idea, because it made the shells easier to cut. However, I still almost got a blister on my thumb from cutting slits in the shells of about 60 nuts. Not much fun. I boiled half and roasted the other half. The boiled ones were softer and somewhat easier to peel, but I couldn't really get the inner skins off of any of them without crumbling the nut meats! After all that, I started feeling sour grapes-y about the whole thing. Chestnuts have a weird sweetness that I don't love. After eating all the broken nuts, I think I've had my fill for the year. Next time I will serve hot roasted nuts and make my guests do the peeling themselves!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-46470753330457132462009-10-14T14:57:00.000-07:002009-10-14T15:29:45.044-07:00What It's Like To Be MeI was walking down the street this afternoon noticing edible plants the way I usually do, and I started thinking about my stream of thoughts and how funny they would seem to most people. <br /><br />"Hey, which way do I turn to walk past that chestnut tree? Those people's tomatoes are still looking good. Ooh, lots of chestnuts today, must be because of the wind! Look at those bright red apples up in the top of that tree, I wonder what kind they are? Is that mint? How is so much mint managing to grow out of cracks in the sidewalk?! I guess I'd better take some home. Is it too cold to make salad rolls tonight? Well, there's always mint tea..."<br /><br />And that was a typical one minute in the life of my hunter-gatherer brain. <br /><br />That's also how I always end up coming home with some weird edible things poking out of my pockets and rattling around in my school bag. Here's a picture of just some of the things I've brought home in the past 24 hours: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbH-od1Ns_OAxrgQ8laYTK_Mimr568c8LbEXkWpTcLd4JYIXxPYw37BmMas2L85wmcXCVoVa-z3SgQPvV7C32ojkxXhzYqyMqVp036dDTXQYhOzIQvC14dhumebXsuOfuFGXR0Bz-c_dJ/s1600-h/DSCF1292.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbH-od1Ns_OAxrgQ8laYTK_Mimr568c8LbEXkWpTcLd4JYIXxPYw37BmMas2L85wmcXCVoVa-z3SgQPvV7C32ojkxXhzYqyMqVp036dDTXQYhOzIQvC14dhumebXsuOfuFGXR0Bz-c_dJ/s400/DSCF1292.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392584705383232754" /></a><br />I admit that the parsley is from my own garden and the crazy corn was picked up from my CSA farm, but the rest was authentically gathered off the sidewalk, and there were also a bunch of apples and tomatoes and shelling beans that didn't make it into the pictures.<br /><br />Who knows what to do with chestnuts? I keep picking them up, and I now have at least three pounds of them, but I've never been all that successful at cooking them. I'd appreciate advice! Aren't they beautiful though? Here's a picture of the chestnuts at the farmer's market today:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2ap5Aw-rARw5uMmRj7txlsmd2mFQ2prN7gVqT7Fjjsh42HyY32i2IvKELrhGTsSZIU28QNM6Ju-uqs801jSLQKdBTqWzog4d-2EbzedPOgZ1xtBb_2npfcg8hi7tWac6iyipzqgvimev/s1600-h/DSCF1279.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2ap5Aw-rARw5uMmRj7txlsmd2mFQ2prN7gVqT7Fjjsh42HyY32i2IvKELrhGTsSZIU28QNM6Ju-uqs801jSLQKdBTqWzog4d-2EbzedPOgZ1xtBb_2npfcg8hi7tWac6iyipzqgvimev/s400/DSCF1279.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392585659806104226" /></a><br />I'm going to try soaking them overnight, then roasting some and boiling some others to see which one tastes better. If only I had some sort of open fire...gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-68835507154886552572009-10-05T19:53:00.000-07:002009-10-05T20:46:09.984-07:00Imperfection<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1hfkVmSAHxmMvTt5FkR6G6lJoqZi4B-dBs4GXLIx-lIbtkUjQS2VeQdcIB2OBjRjivOIN2j1wi83GsWyeReYPbYJuCE7SGlb6LInIQYFieSOpKpB1zjRXoasja1OeF_TR-SAvvh0652P/s1600-h/DSCF1188.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1hfkVmSAHxmMvTt5FkR6G6lJoqZi4B-dBs4GXLIx-lIbtkUjQS2VeQdcIB2OBjRjivOIN2j1wi83GsWyeReYPbYJuCE7SGlb6LInIQYFieSOpKpB1zjRXoasja1OeF_TR-SAvvh0652P/s400/DSCF1188.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389328016182118722" /></a><br />Lately I've been having a problem with getting preserving projects completed. For example, I started making tomato sauce on Friday night. I ended up getting distracted and sticking the half-cooked tomatoes in the fridge for two days. Yesterday morning I used my food mill to get the seeds and skins out, then accidentally left the strained tomatoes simmering on the stove while I went grocery shopping for an hour and a half! Luckily when I got back home, the house was not on fire, and even more luckily, the tomato sauce was nicely thickened but not burned at all. It's now in my freezer. <br /><br />Another half-finished project was yesterday's big batch of applesauce. Twelve cups of peeled, cored, and chopped apples spent the day bathing in a hot crock pot with just a hint of honey, but then I ran out of time. I utterly failed to put the applesauce through a food mill, put it in hot sterilized jars, and process the filled jars in a boiling water canner. Instead, there are far too many unsterilized and unsealed jars of applesauce in my fridge to be eaten in a week. <br /><br />And even more disappointing: the five quarts of grape juice that I made this morning tastes like metal! How could my stainless steel pot do this to me? I transferred it to glass jars, but I think it's too late to undo the damage. <br /><br />And to top it off...<a href="http://www.gourmet.com/">Gourmet Magazine</a> is no more! And it is my favorite food magazine, the one I have a subscription too. Apparently, <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113513756&ft=1&f=1001">according to NPR</a>, Bon Appetit is Gourmet's hip younger sibling, but I don't agree. I think it's tacky and shallow compared to Gourmet!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOb1_z1TX02rH6CsCRGGh_PVTiI31nFdHys0-9OKfrDWMJ7POOj3T1uCBjqOg8IUYXlQZR86TpDfZGmM1ijAZst5V7MKVefMALl6_peFDgoX7wB3WQhrV_vfkBxFwd3-wJXe0YLuDV1mQs/s1600-h/DSCF1187.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOb1_z1TX02rH6CsCRGGh_PVTiI31nFdHys0-9OKfrDWMJ7POOj3T1uCBjqOg8IUYXlQZR86TpDfZGmM1ijAZst5V7MKVefMALl6_peFDgoX7wB3WQhrV_vfkBxFwd3-wJXe0YLuDV1mQs/s400/DSCF1187.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389321273859817218" /></a>Here is one thing that went right though: my dinner on Sunday. I think the fact that other people did a lot of the cooking helped. Ann and Kelly made incredible fried green tomatoes with their own tomatoes, panko, and a gorgeous dark-brown egg from their <a href="http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/Marans-B71.aspx">Cuckoo Maran</a> chicken. Martin busted out the juicer and turned an entire paper shopping bag full of free apples into apple cider. Theresa baked a pumpkin pie with the picture-perfect <a href="http://www.liseed.org/moschata.html">Long Island Cheese</a> pumpkin that we'd been using as a centerpiece (served with cinnamon-maple whipped cream and honey ice cream). And I made a big salad and two pizzas, one with pesto, pears, beets, and walnuts; one with mozzarella, homemade tomato sauce, summer squash, red peppers, and onions. <br /><br />I highly recommend tomato-on-tomato action--ketchup on fried green tomatoes is a winner. We also got the notion that crisp, crumb-coated fried green tomatoes would make a good veggie burger substitute, in a bun with burger toppings!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-87865158531617832602009-10-01T22:05:00.001-07:002009-10-01T22:33:25.298-07:00Fall FellThis afternoon I tried to go to the <a href="http://www.portlandfarmersmarket.org/sec_Experience/markets/Thursday_Eastbank_Mkt.php">Eastbank Farmer's Market</a> and it wasn't there! I can't believe that the season is already over. There are so many things still being harvested! Tomatoes and eggplants, winter squash, walnuts, mushrooms, grapes, apples, pears...and I was hoping for one last week of peaches. Did I tell you about the <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/08/pche_de_vigne.html">black peach</a> that I got last week at the People's farmer's market? From the woman who has the unusual apples and also crazy things like medlars. I had never heard of black peaches, but she said that they are grown in France in the vineyards, as a sort of canary in the coal mine--when the peach tree starts showing signs of a disease, the grape farmer sprays the grapes. Anyway, my peche de vigne was delicious and beautiful, like the peach equivalent of a blood orange, with intensely wine-colored and flavorful flesh. I'm going to plant the seed and see if it grows.<br /><br />My CSA has tomatoes aplenty and I'm making lots of sauce and dried tomatoes. It's almost time for green tomato chutney too...I can't accept that it's time to pull out the tomato plants already, but it's time to plant garlic, so the tomatoes have to go.<br /><br />Is everyone else obsessed with chanterelles right now too? I modified a recipe from Gourmet for <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Shrimp-and-Pearls-353635">shrimp and "pearls"</a> by substituting chanterelles for the shrimp and it was amazing. (I also tripled the recipe, added some onion and garlic, and left out the sugar and tarragon.) I also made some outstanding roasted potatoes and roasted chanterelles with a little bit of parsley vinaigrette. And corn-chanterelle chowder a few weeks back. And tonight I had pasta with chanterelles, fresh chopped heirloom tomatoes, garlic chives, and basil. They're so cheap at <a href="http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/">New Seasons</a> right now, only $7.99 a pound! You have to get some. <br /><br />The other thing it's time for is winter crafts. Today I did a little sewing and a little knitting, getting warmed up for long winter nights spent under a blanket on the couch with just my hands sticking out, knitting away.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-60572502911672360642009-09-14T21:40:00.000-07:002009-09-14T22:01:50.711-07:00Surprises<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7sGWqaxkcQ9fYajUYMH8t8E1edUVPLtefYqEUbsPeqWmwEPEMjWODpwVgBd1_3su4JDfZuwLU4GKKmhYRBHwNqRiFXFvbdqNVghNSlLiLRFl1Z8NSrCY0WrkDpNxUudOBGwbnB0DSTRk/s1600-h/DSCF1020.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7sGWqaxkcQ9fYajUYMH8t8E1edUVPLtefYqEUbsPeqWmwEPEMjWODpwVgBd1_3su4JDfZuwLU4GKKmhYRBHwNqRiFXFvbdqNVghNSlLiLRFl1Z8NSrCY0WrkDpNxUudOBGwbnB0DSTRk/s400/DSCF1020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381551326388755794" /></a><br />I don't like eating leftovers, so sometimes I try to fool myself by putting things I've made away in reused deli containers. Then I can pretend I've bought myself something nice to eat. Like this really tasty bean salad I made yesterday...freshly cooked mixed dry beans from <a href="http://www.sungoldfarm.com/">Sun Gold Farm</a>, with onion, carrot, celery, radishes, and vinaigrette. I made the salad to take to a <a href="http://www.audubonportland.org/local-birding/swiftwatch">swifts-watching</a> potluck and a lady from a neighboring potluck crashed our picnic blanket and sampled our vegetarian delights. The beans got a positive review. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnFNQMsTE5KyI6K_GGLOK0OXJo7MQTGKsGRrQDTpdxWu8Q2W6soSKnneWnK3whLzfgzyzsud6UpkMTNzdZtGxc5LPeZ4TUJ8zChT-xmLNyhoKXvSVYhNvUyvSwvMXSr1IzZ2IQw7ZP8mA/s1600-h/DSCF1061.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnFNQMsTE5KyI6K_GGLOK0OXJo7MQTGKsGRrQDTpdxWu8Q2W6soSKnneWnK3whLzfgzyzsud6UpkMTNzdZtGxc5LPeZ4TUJ8zChT-xmLNyhoKXvSVYhNvUyvSwvMXSr1IzZ2IQw7ZP8mA/s400/DSCF1061.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381554346537243074" /></a>Also, I got three surprise gifts of jam left on my porch today while I was at work! Awesome. Strawberry, raspberry, and crabapple-basil. And equally exciting, a friend let me pick a lot of seedless grapes and I'm going to make raisins tonight!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-37213654847360896982009-09-08T11:10:00.000-07:002009-09-08T11:21:05.460-07:00That's not good. But THAT is.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmF2jpghudd8oKCVPX4Fh0Al2SgUG9K06KXMhaW7ADnpgGT9LU9gt420sNQ9UqUQZpd8c98z6qtpVIvjK1jCEVptqSSIY3gOOCTXp8tUGDSib7gK8l-qH2Qac_9UhCqUV1GOE7KBDwlXSN/s1600-h/DSCF0934.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmF2jpghudd8oKCVPX4Fh0Al2SgUG9K06KXMhaW7ADnpgGT9LU9gt420sNQ9UqUQZpd8c98z6qtpVIvjK1jCEVptqSSIY3gOOCTXp8tUGDSib7gK8l-qH2Qac_9UhCqUV1GOE7KBDwlXSN/s400/DSCF0934.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379163014838872482" /></a>Theresa and I were outside by Ophelia's enclosure at 6:45 this morning, three minute after sunrise, to see how she was receiving her new chicks. Not well, it turned out--the poor baby Brahma was making her high, loud alarm call and trying to get away from vicious pecking. We freaked out and kicked Ophelia out of her spot and brought the chicks back inside again. They are still doing fine, but I'm disappointed that we won't get to see Ophelia raising chicks. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97fXjblbLAeHBtnjTSJfZ_i57toCE2pR3mDQdGynUENi0Xm_k9eWZxdx6UzWoMfe_D6ZsNB5TlJ2cYRHKMXcvjpmY0y1FnCwCxWRjR7DznmBeH_7NDvxt5dA74pKFfFjF0Xsm76ztoP7l/s1600-h/DSCF0926.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97fXjblbLAeHBtnjTSJfZ_i57toCE2pR3mDQdGynUENi0Xm_k9eWZxdx6UzWoMfe_D6ZsNB5TlJ2cYRHKMXcvjpmY0y1FnCwCxWRjR7DznmBeH_7NDvxt5dA74pKFfFjF0Xsm76ztoP7l/s400/DSCF0926.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379163106086030002" /></a>When I looked in the fridge this morning, I noticed that the last cup of our milk from last week was looking a little borderline, so I made waffles. Whole wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, a little oil, pinch of salt, a spoonful of ground flaxseed and enough milk to make a batter. I let it sit for a minute to let the flaxseed do its sticky thing, and then waffled away in my "five of hearts" waffle maker. My mom got it for me because a childhood friend's mom had one and I LOVED to go to her house for waffles. I made enough waffles to use up the milk, so there are some leftover to be Theresa's toaster waffles tomorrow!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-69568873152085833352009-09-07T22:12:00.000-07:002009-09-07T22:38:04.204-07:00...uh oh.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4rmivxRngMeKvdKMxehmN_WLskEcIQTsd7FHL386-QThsc8Z53iSxvrG4qZO28M8C47w4u6l_2HxkxpakiNPHpUkoQFqYlwNCP-kzu-yhF_yUMToQutIeYiw0ZpyXVMtStCh-8MKn13w/s1600-h/DSCF0877.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4rmivxRngMeKvdKMxehmN_WLskEcIQTsd7FHL386-QThsc8Z53iSxvrG4qZO28M8C47w4u6l_2HxkxpakiNPHpUkoQFqYlwNCP-kzu-yhF_yUMToQutIeYiw0ZpyXVMtStCh-8MKn13w/s400/DSCF0877.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378965983900081890" /></a>Things aren't going well with the chicks. Ophelia did not believe that they were here own babies...this morning the poor little chicks were shivering in a corner while Ophelia continued brooding the the opposite corner. Then she bolted out of her little enclosure and left the chicks alone while she ate and ran around. We brought the chicks back inside to their heat lamp, and them Ophelia went back to brooding! We tried the whole slipping chicks under her thing again tonight, but I'm not too optimistic. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mY9dsPZ7oJV1NM3uBACfQhrj8tVWQNlv9f8hkrjlQzeF9hhsTZZFu0OmpEB4I780haenOKI_bnZ5ZkwzgyjnFwSGbdbvYPvHZhqiaJjXDHwmD2uRjNSrYgKwRcT717tQOH1RO03PVBdx/s1600-h/DSCF0857.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mY9dsPZ7oJV1NM3uBACfQhrj8tVWQNlv9f8hkrjlQzeF9hhsTZZFu0OmpEB4I780haenOKI_bnZ5ZkwzgyjnFwSGbdbvYPvHZhqiaJjXDHwmD2uRjNSrYgKwRcT717tQOH1RO03PVBdx/s400/DSCF0857.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378961135295938898" /></a>Today I went to the Oregon State Fair! We got to see rabbits and cavies, goats, pigs, quilts, and the prize-winning baked goods, jams, and jellies. We noticed that these two sisters, Katy and Lena, had won first and second prize in almost every category for junior division canning and preserving...and then we SAW THEM get their prizes! They both won a lot, but the younger sister, age 11, had the most points of anyone in the junior division and she was extremely excited to stand on stage and receive her fistfuls of ribbons and $200. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj978kO2eCfkKa7sdC5YzrJ65FV2Y6Zxx6nFjHS93EXJwL2KU5UBM5_m8QaDQ3ornw73MdjXDS7ktTSHJ1m-zhS_6cEbW00sSv8oh2b6WmwebMpImBJL1m_yX2XE9NhVWT_9cKFjlRmZYtx/s1600-h/DSCF0860.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj978kO2eCfkKa7sdC5YzrJ65FV2Y6Zxx6nFjHS93EXJwL2KU5UBM5_m8QaDQ3ornw73MdjXDS7ktTSHJ1m-zhS_6cEbW00sSv8oh2b6WmwebMpImBJL1m_yX2XE9NhVWT_9cKFjlRmZYtx/s400/DSCF0860.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378964436230280514" /></a>Next year I promise myself that I will enter something in the State Fair. I can totally win a ribbon for something! Especially if I choose a category without many entries, like dehydrated foods...right?<br /><br />Although I always look forward to finding the best candy apple at the state fair, I packed a local-foods lunch and brought it with me. Roasted vegetables, pluots, pear, cheese. And I never did find a caramel apple that seemed worth eating. Also, after my ice cream cone from the Oregon Dairywomen, I couldn't really handle more sweets...<br /><br />Tomorrow is the first day of school for Theresa, so I get to pack a lot of lunches this week! I hope some of them might be photo-worthy.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-76489241158713366912009-09-06T22:34:00.000-07:002009-09-06T23:21:28.863-07:00Chicks!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-4YJwhrgNnG56M-qFB0__xMSFOEZdAnRx3C-Tpa97YhXeln2o4HGkIbTtw09Q6sBW9a7OWqLcP3O5P712o0tjsAqP1utFYoUd_s1EpI6QcgxKNKMgP0NKAA3myKzR0QKmJggws6pBPor/s1600-h/DSCF0817.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-4YJwhrgNnG56M-qFB0__xMSFOEZdAnRx3C-Tpa97YhXeln2o4HGkIbTtw09Q6sBW9a7OWqLcP3O5P712o0tjsAqP1utFYoUd_s1EpI6QcgxKNKMgP0NKAA3myKzR0QKmJggws6pBPor/s400/DSCF0817.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378600171778457442" /></a>My chicken, Ophelia, is supposed to be a good layer...a chicken who has been highly bred for egg production and therefore has little maternal instinct and rarely becomes <a href="http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKBroody.html">broody</a>. Yeah, right...she has become broody TWICE in one year! The first time was this spring, and Theresa and I decided that the next time it happened, we would get her a chick and let her raise it. <br /><br />So...today we got two new chicks at the <a href="http://www.urbanfarmstore.com/">Urban Farm Store</a>! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmT74lRssgFfv7SN_dJg0BYE-TisThPFTL_itr-F41mylCENHTmNg4lLyRkdDyzWCGKRNWrFa8sWSqiBJBvBloF9RRjZ8OdLtGRGtxc54mRqoMGiw1DABDLI-c39bmhk1LigB7Sisl0QCZ/s1600-h/DSCF0841.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmT74lRssgFfv7SN_dJg0BYE-TisThPFTL_itr-F41mylCENHTmNg4lLyRkdDyzWCGKRNWrFa8sWSqiBJBvBloF9RRjZ8OdLtGRGtxc54mRqoMGiw1DABDLI-c39bmhk1LigB7Sisl0QCZ/s400/DSCF0841.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378600345651145298" /></a>We tried to get just one, but she started making such pathetic lonely sounds that we had to get a second one. We chose a <a href="http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/delaware.html">Delaware</a> and a buff <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma_(chicken)">Brahma</a>. The Brahma is going to be enormous, I'm a little scared. Well, if she lives long enough. It is possible that tomorrow morning our little babies will be pecked to death or suffocated, although I am hoping for a better outcome!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnhpFLn0G4ebI1Skd1AxGRlHfMV1fHhLNiQsMgyFgrJ1G1ycUCanbbkpoi4JkoyiiWG7mZd7_gaXHCs7uYEGvXsdWRbc_ND5Pmk2-CgCJF9BPpN9in-LNpy5spTfHRswvksnJo6vVpbNS/s1600-h/DSCF0824.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnhpFLn0G4ebI1Skd1AxGRlHfMV1fHhLNiQsMgyFgrJ1G1ycUCanbbkpoi4JkoyiiWG7mZd7_gaXHCs7uYEGvXsdWRbc_ND5Pmk2-CgCJF9BPpN9in-LNpy5spTfHRswvksnJo6vVpbNS/s400/DSCF0824.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378600531472844482" /></a>We slipped the chicks under Ophelia tonight while she was half asleep, and a little while later they seemed to be alive and happily peeping under there, and we are hoping that tomorrow morning when Ophelia wakes up she will believe that these chicks are her very own little darlings. If this works, she will do all the work of raising them, including keeping them warm and making sure they are safe and well fed.<br /><br />And by the way, the food at <a href="http://biwarestaurant.com/">Biwa</a> was very good last night. Really nice presentation and most of the dishes were great. Surprise fantastic item: kimchi kara-age...battered and deep fried pieces of radish and napa cabbage kimchi! They were highly reminiscent of spicy fried calamari, which is one of my favorite forbidden foods. The udon though...not so good. Noodles were obviously handmade, but tough and not supple, without much flavor, and the broth was flavorless too! The bowl of noodles was pretty, with grated radish on top and hot pepper flakes on the side, just like you'd want it, but it just didn't taste like anything. The ramen was much better. And the tsukemono plate was beautiful. Lots of kinds of pickled vegetables--carrot, paper-thin radish slices, tiny radish cubes with red shiso, eggplant, lotus root, takuwan, and one big juicy umeboshi.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-31531054964150718872009-09-05T13:23:00.000-07:002009-09-05T14:24:52.611-07:00Good Day for Rain Barrels<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CANM6w7hgZt-4sN9ZDdCiwjQrGgr6ix7oImuOFoBHM9XHHlsj239T5is5SDzIJjymHv0lZg_VgPkKleC1ukVB_NCz-fTZ8xpvRYVm1VZ7VJboudkqcY_BQSEj2cd2GS8FkX3GX0bQeAx/s1600-h/DSCF0805.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CANM6w7hgZt-4sN9ZDdCiwjQrGgr6ix7oImuOFoBHM9XHHlsj239T5is5SDzIJjymHv0lZg_VgPkKleC1ukVB_NCz-fTZ8xpvRYVm1VZ7VJboudkqcY_BQSEj2cd2GS8FkX3GX0bQeAx/s400/DSCF0805.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378085622073900962" /></a>Not that I have rain barrels yet...got to get working on that. Also on gutter cleaning. Did anyone else forget what rain sounded like? I was so surprised to hear the sound of heavy, steady rain this morning! Summers in Portland spoil me--months at a time without more than a sprinkle of rain. <br />I'm happy that all my plants are finally getting a DEEP drink of water. Especially the potatoes. Their roots are so deep, I don't think I ever give them quite as much water as they'd like. <br /><br />A friend from high school is coming to town tonight and we're going to eat at <a href="http://biwarestaurant.com/">Biwa</a>! I'm excited...I haven't been there in at least a year! As I recall from the last time I was there, they make the best ramen I've had in Portland (and no, it isn't vegetarian) but their veggie options left something to be desired. Mainly I was grumpy about how they slapped what tasted like just plain miso on slabs of tofu and called it dengaku. Dengaku has a couple more ingredients in it which balance its flavors between salty and sweet, and give it a silky texture...plain miso is not a good substitute! (However, I did appreciate that Biwa uses <a href="http://www.lizcrain.com/foodloversguidetoportlandblog/2009/03/02/">my favorite locally made miso</a>.) <br /><br />Dengaku recipes vary in their proportions, but they always include miso (red or white), sake, and sugar. Some include an egg yolk for a smooth and glossy texture. You might start with three tablespoons of miso, 2 of sake, and 1 of sugar (with or without an egg yolk)--place all of these in your smallest pot, and cook over low heat, stirring, until smooth and uniformly thick. (You can also use the microwave, especially if you're not using egg yolk.) Taste and adjust sugar and sake amounts if it is too salty or too thick. Then brush onto sliced sweet potatoes and cook on the grill until sauce bubbles and caramelizes. That's my personal favorite way to use this sauce, but it's also great as a topping for grilled tofu or pan-fried eggplant. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIA0_m7gQPSV7vvq8wlnt7K-SIcY7ISS3Ls8EAKRisFI7ntqgsbhAI-wdzA77Q-UxNuC1xBp3juROHJooGr9yCTCR9tZnif9f_piKoUYtlR-JYV62DgeZ_vcaUdGUovVg165I71rk5mr7/s1600-h/DSCF0796.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIA0_m7gQPSV7vvq8wlnt7K-SIcY7ISS3Ls8EAKRisFI7ntqgsbhAI-wdzA77Q-UxNuC1xBp3juROHJooGr9yCTCR9tZnif9f_piKoUYtlR-JYV62DgeZ_vcaUdGUovVg165I71rk5mr7/s400/DSCF0796.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378088028933872434" /></a>Although I'm getting all judgmental about how to make tofu dengaku, please don't get judgmental about the local-ness of the food I'm about to devour--it's in my personal set of rules that I can eat at any restaurant as long as I'm not doing it excessively or purposely to avoid the effort of preparing something local. <br /><br />Speaking of Japanese food, did you know that spinach crowns are "the most delicious part of spinach", according to a favorite cookbook of mine, <a href="http://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9780870115271">Good Food from a Japanese Temple</a>? I always try and save them from the compost bin when another person at my house cooks spinach greens. The whole crown, including lower stems, tiny inner leaves, the rosy connection between stem and root, and the little bit of attached root are all not only edible, but delicious. I wash them, soak them in clean water overnight to loosen even more dirt, and then boil them in salted water for about three minutes. They are good with just a little soy sauce or with a miso, sesame, or nut dressing. <br /><br />And now for a picture of my CSA garden, which is a place I love so much that I want to take out-of-town guests there to visit...in this picture you can see castor bean (no, we're not going to eat it), quinoa, and sunflowers. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZWAjBcvFXxLz9QlgVKxKFULb-rw6SqCMZVYN76gSO0jCPHWgvvp6QK1XNDbl9U-KI8kUc02PIdCqwqeND62nXSYisNjbrtGPd3-HZAqWd-oW4Naj2ubvco5zvbFOF-xTm6RGQVjcnbrW/s1600-h/DSCF0790.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZWAjBcvFXxLz9QlgVKxKFULb-rw6SqCMZVYN76gSO0jCPHWgvvp6QK1XNDbl9U-KI8kUc02PIdCqwqeND62nXSYisNjbrtGPd3-HZAqWd-oW4Naj2ubvco5zvbFOF-xTm6RGQVjcnbrW/s400/DSCF0790.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378094397592172466" /></a>gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-69118565827271601422009-09-04T14:11:00.000-07:002009-09-04T17:14:43.618-07:00The Reuben PizzaI have a day off work today, so I'm sort of puttering around doing things on my to-do list and making good food. I finally pulled out the giant tomatillo plant that hasn't made a single tomatillo yet, and transplated a few little tatsoi starts in its spot in the garden. We have a big vase full of tomatillo flowers now. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSGtkXgiMKDRQEFDm_Ca2mY-LC_ZLT7w54qH-EJjqKZRcuukIx31Vw2dSRyx7FYl6Skan4RxJb8JEzy5ZdX00bil5SfzqOFoP6xpUnrajrdVS5do9MVKFD_x9KO5HGTEJa7o7du9cipc-/s1600-h/DSCF0754.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSGtkXgiMKDRQEFDm_Ca2mY-LC_ZLT7w54qH-EJjqKZRcuukIx31Vw2dSRyx7FYl6Skan4RxJb8JEzy5ZdX00bil5SfzqOFoP6xpUnrajrdVS5do9MVKFD_x9KO5HGTEJa7o7du9cipc-/s400/DSCF0754.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377724375613470674" /></a>My loaf of honey-wheat bread turned out pretty well, but with a little of that homemade-bread heaviness. I had some for breakfast with homemade Hood strawberry freezer jam and with Ann & Kelly's tomatoes. I'm not going to run out and use that recipe again, but hopefully I won't be foolish enough to ever have 2 cups of leftover porridge again! <br /><br />Yesterday I picked up an entire flat of imperfect peaches for free, as well as a big bag of free pears that Theresa spotted on a walk around the neighborhood. <br /><br />I made a huge vat of peach sauce, and cut up the peaches that were firm enough to cut and froze them. I'm thinking that the peach sauce might be a good base for peach ice cream? Or just on top of vanilla ice cream! Or we can eat it like applesauce. Or put it on pancakes or shortcakes! Or put some in the freezer for later...oh wait, the freezer is completely full. I really want a deep freeze so I can keep all my stores in it! Since I can't stop myself from collecting piles of whatever is in season and trying to preserve it, I think I deserve a place to keep my goodies. Any tips on what kind I should get? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNw6zAPUIriHILxglW88aXD4QF28jfsTY3AwwhUmwfJ5H3W4r12nXNYNdVhZDmiYizdFVb6US2KPHYggiM1YyzNDzBlwMnWWAJmcpVr97HMQzTxkc3CGPRGelvqxtushdRxxDj0OietT8k/s1600-h/DSCF0770.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNw6zAPUIriHILxglW88aXD4QF28jfsTY3AwwhUmwfJ5H3W4r12nXNYNdVhZDmiYizdFVb6US2KPHYggiM1YyzNDzBlwMnWWAJmcpVr97HMQzTxkc3CGPRGelvqxtushdRxxDj0OietT8k/s400/DSCF0770.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377728750222257810" /></a>For lunch I invented a new recipe that may sound strange. Reuben pizza! I made pizza crust with the caraway rye bread dough I had in the fridge (you have to <a href="http://catalog.multcolib.org/search~S1?/Yartisan+bread+in+&searchscope=1&SORT=R/Yartisan+bread+in+&searchscope=1&SORT=R&SUBKEY=artisan%20bread%20in%20/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&FF=Yartisan+bread+in+&searchscope=1&SORT=R&1%2C1%2C">get Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day out of the library</a> if you don't own it!) and put leftover tomato sauce from yesterday's breakfast, homemade sauerkraut, and cheddar on top. I sweetened the tomato sauce with a little honey to make it taste more like Russian dressing. Then baked for 15 minutes at 475, and the pie was beautiful and really tasty. The crust might have been the best part--light, with little crispy air pockets, and those caraway seeds to remind you that it was no ordinary pizza. Call me Eastern European, but I love the flavor of warm cooked sauerkraut, and I would definitely make this pizza again!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIArvnLDmbU59P2SIDuFKTo6JfyH4rRW0GF4Eq-bAfdsAzjKROpCNZpifRE2aLuS4Wpp3sbKNROick7EMNLq8kXGGrKqUEUOajFFXDsa5cA4WkisyrYZj8ShIzt5HuZPSuyxzT4pr9ogi/s1600-h/DSCF0758.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIArvnLDmbU59P2SIDuFKTo6JfyH4rRW0GF4Eq-bAfdsAzjKROpCNZpifRE2aLuS4Wpp3sbKNROick7EMNLq8kXGGrKqUEUOajFFXDsa5cA4WkisyrYZj8ShIzt5HuZPSuyxzT4pr9ogi/s400/DSCF0758.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377730673748564850" /></a><br />The last thing I want to talk about today is the creepy mystery tomatoes growing my backyard. It looks like we've had a visit from <a href="http://www.boscobel.k12.wi.us/~schnrich/bunnicula.htm">Bunnicula</a>! Two of the three unidentified tomato plants that my housemates brought home turned out to make eerily WHITE tomatoes. One of them is a white Roma, which I've never seen or heard of before! Even Google returns no results for "white roma tomato"...so perhaps we have the only ones in the world? Doubtful. Further investigation turns up <a href="http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/heirloom-tomato-roundup-00400000022464/page11.html">"Ivory Egg" plum tomatoes</a>, so that's probably what we've got. But compared to the pictures I found, ours are much whiter!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-55943163700222904732009-09-03T09:18:00.000-07:002009-09-03T14:11:02.665-07:00To DoI must bake bread today! But first I have to clean out the fridge and make room for the bowl of bread dough. Do you know about the book <a href="http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/">Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day</a>? Well, I got it for Christmas last year after using <a href="http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/cookbook/2009/artisan-bread/boule.html">one of the recipes from it</a> obsessively for months beforehand. Guess what? It really works! Well, actually, I always found that I had to turn the oven heat down and cook the loaves for about 30 extra minutes at the end of baking, but once I did that, the bread turned out great, and it was very convenient to be able to make four loaves over a period of two weeks with all the prep done on the first day. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_h9evDL7Yr5FdRpnH0RPeBJvVdShZpUFr5J0xb3DOIU4yVsLAyhWf6ZTUVzTjFgtHaFylt6pzypjk9FWA7XDFKiNnHkMquX5KzCVjaCS_2J70a9lIgmt7cblbcCE-VwgAFjOC9QB0LHA/s1600-h/DSCF0696.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_h9evDL7Yr5FdRpnH0RPeBJvVdShZpUFr5J0xb3DOIU4yVsLAyhWf6ZTUVzTjFgtHaFylt6pzypjk9FWA7XDFKiNnHkMquX5KzCVjaCS_2J70a9lIgmt7cblbcCE-VwgAFjOC9QB0LHA/s320/DSCF0696.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377298485047537618" /></a>Also on the to-do list for today is to print <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26395994">burning bridge cards</a>...another job involving the fridge. The cards are made with <a href="http://www.savegocco.com/">Print Gocco</a> and I keep the screens with ink on them in the freezer between uses. That keeps the ink from drying out and makes the screens last longer--cleaning them makes them wear out pretty quickly. I have to get some more cards to <a href="http://www.elsasam.com/">Elsa & Sam</a>! <br /><br />For breakfast today I made an egg (from my chickens) poached in fresh tomato sauce with basil. It was good, but would have been better with a piece of fresh-baked bread!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ACJyNnKoAX3PODemt6LmUHn4ZUbJxM_OW0L1yYOTXRs2hnQUz7RZQxstltNJdWj81tUqezGxALy_yU3nV2OGqfLwtY3wltbnpxiOxVHH0Ax9L2K0bmC6qx624QNVvRkQVOsA_W3_KZfq/s1600-h/DSCF0705.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ACJyNnKoAX3PODemt6LmUHn4ZUbJxM_OW0L1yYOTXRs2hnQUz7RZQxstltNJdWj81tUqezGxALy_yU3nV2OGqfLwtY3wltbnpxiOxVHH0Ax9L2K0bmC6qx624QNVvRkQVOsA_W3_KZfq/s320/DSCF0705.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377348523550531650" /></a>Update:<br />I went a little overboard with the bread-making. In my fridge there is dough for two loaves of honey-wheat bread with (you're gonna love this) COOKED GRAINS, aka leftover porridge, and also dough for three loaves of caraway rye. I couldn't wait for the second rising, so I made myself a single roll for lunch. It was the honey wheat, and thankfully, the whole grain bits taste great in it. I hope that the final product has a lighter texture, but even with the rising rushed, the roll was pretty good. Slowly rising in the fridge is a sandwich loaf of honey wheat that I plan to bake tonight, and I have two weeks to make the rye bread. <br /><br />The lump of mashed potatoes-looking-stuff on my plate is actually a special treat: soft and delicious <a href="http://www.blacksheepcreamery.com/">Black Sheep Creamery</a> rosemary-garlic cheese. Also impressively good: Reliant grapes. You can get them <a href="http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/dynamicContent.aspx?loc=1275&subloc=1&menuId=1362&mc=12751">at New Seasons</a> right now, and you probably should.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-68754143965901651692009-09-02T09:33:00.000-07:002009-09-04T17:16:31.518-07:00There's a reason why gruel went out of style!Yesterday my friend Serena came over to pick tomatoes with her two little girls. The girls brought their Easter baskets and filled them up with pretty, multicolored cherry tomatoes--it was so cute! Theresa gave them some eggs from our chickens to take home in their baskets too. <br /><br />The porridge never did get to a point that I would call appetizing, but then, I really dislike oatmeal and all hot cereals, so I don't know what gave me the idea that I would start liking it now. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuvcYhLi3zWOLBwF5i1SPWhMkhr4413NYyI6-YtAID62d2UO613DuEdizorW7cL5yRsJVPo_dabc883Vbe-I5nUIh-kCgiIbOe6BJWFu-KOWd-pM6_nz4dH5wupuvj0RoI3NfmLo0cLKD/s1600-h/DSCF0689.JPG"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuvcYhLi3zWOLBwF5i1SPWhMkhr4413NYyI6-YtAID62d2UO613DuEdizorW7cL5yRsJVPo_dabc883Vbe-I5nUIh-kCgiIbOe6BJWFu-KOWd-pM6_nz4dH5wupuvj0RoI3NfmLo0cLKD/s320/DSCF0689.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376910151681118258" /></a>However, I am determined, so I made pan-fried porridge-cakes with kinpira-style vegetables for breakfast. I won't give the recipe for the cakes, because they were not so good that they should be repeated. But Kinpira vegetables are delicious. When I lived in Japan, <a href="http://www.applepiepatispate.com/vegetable/kinpira-gobo-burdock-root/">Kinpira Gobo </a>was one of my favorite foods...and I was in love with the Kinpira Gobo Burger from <a href="http://www.mos.co.jp/english/history/">Mos Burger</a>. It had two toasted cakes of rice for a bun, and a pile of warm Kinpira Gobo in the middle. <br /><br />Here is my simple formula for making Kinpira vegetables at home. The usual vegetables are gobo (burdock root) and carrots, but I like to add shiitake mushrooms too. And today I also included small batons of turnip and a handful of cauliflower florets. (And left out the gobo...you can find it here, but it's not exactly readily available. I got some last spring from <a href="http://www.wintergreenfarm.com/who_we_are.html">Winter Green Farm</a> at the farmer's market.)<br /><br />Stir-fry about three cups of mixed vegetables, preferably including burdock, carrot, and shiitake mushrooms, all cut into slivers or strips, over high heat, in 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil, with a light sprinkle of salt. (The traditional way of cutting vegetables for kinpira is to cut the roots as if you are sharpening a pencil, so you get sort of diamond-shaped slivers.) Add a few shakes of hot red pepper flakes. When vegetables are nearly done, add a generous tablespoon each of sake and soy sauce, and cook until there is almost no liquid left. Serve with toasted sesame seeds on top. (If you don't have sake, that's ok, just leave it out; sometimes I also add a teaspoon of sugar; and sometimes I leave out the sugar and add a clove of garlic.)gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-75207273301542616932009-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:002009-09-01T10:48:15.388-07:00Day 1: Local Food Challenge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXXYZEGVuTBRbFqDtrWokVnOwN1sLCiH4xJgo-9aKW-fSwqjZf2_63W4w35dnl_9xSMmLaKkBvWXecmkwxMLBqVoTyIxB2Row3FOAfVE3yrS74Ai4W-NkUL3Oi0lh_lBPqMcDWPGZaYJ1/s1600-h/DSCF0688.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXXYZEGVuTBRbFqDtrWokVnOwN1sLCiH4xJgo-9aKW-fSwqjZf2_63W4w35dnl_9xSMmLaKkBvWXecmkwxMLBqVoTyIxB2Row3FOAfVE3yrS74Ai4W-NkUL3Oi0lh_lBPqMcDWPGZaYJ1/s320/DSCF0688.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376556721592316642" /></a> So far so good: multi-grain biscuits, cheese, and applesauce for breakfast. Yum. My porridge turned out kind of awful though--not thick enough and the rye berries give it a strange sourness. I'm cooking it down to get it thicker, and then I'll see if I can make it taste better.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-40343786314124122682009-09-01T00:47:00.000-07:002009-09-01T01:13:56.760-07:00So It Begins...September 1st, the first day of my second annual Local Foods Challenge. I'm up late working on food for tomorrow...went to the Alberta Street Co-op tonight to look for a few more local things--I was hoping to find walnuts and black beans, but no such luck. It's pinto beans and hazelnuts for us until the <a href="http://www.portlandfarmersmarket.org/sec_Experience/markets/Saturday_PSU_Mkt.php">Saturday Farmer's Market</a> where I hope to find another source of vegetarian protein. (There's always the<a href="http://store.tillamookcheese.com/Medium-Cheddar-Baby-Loaf-2-lbs-P110.aspx"> Tillamook Medium Cheddar Baby Loaf</a>, but I'm trying not to count on cheese for ALL of my protein.)<br /><br />These are the local grains I've found:<br /><br />Rye, whole grain and flour<br />Wheat, whole grain and both white and whole wheat flours<br />Farro, whole grain (a favorite for soups and grain salads)<br />Wild rice<br /><br />Local beans: <br /><br />Only pinto so far, but I've found cranberry beans, white beans, "sulfur beans", black beans, and a few other varieties in the past so I'm hopeful that I'll track down some other legumes. <br /><br />Local nuts and seeds:<br /><br />Hazelnuts<br />Pumpkin seeds (shelled) <br />I hope to find walnuts too. They're all over the street, but I'd like for someone else to get the green shells off for me if possible. <br /><br />Local dairy products:<br /><br />This one's easy. I have a milkman from Noris Dairy who brings me milk and yogurt every week, and there are so many good local cheeses at the Farmer's Market and in stores. I'm a fan of <a href="http://www.fragafarm.com/news.htm">Fraga Farms'</a> creamy chevre and goat feta. Plus Tillamook and Bandon are both only about three hours' drive from here, so their cheap 2-pound blocks of cheddar are always a good option. There's also my favorite butter, <a href="http://rose-valley.org/">Rose Valley Organic</a>. <br /><br />Local vegetables:<br /><br />In season now we have just about everything, including good staples like potatoes, turnips, beets, cauliflower, and carrots. Winter and summer squash, all kinds of salad and cooking greens, mountains of tomatoes, onions, garlic, you name it, it's available.<br /><br /><br />Local fruits:<br /><br />Prune plums are coming in and a couple of other late plum varieties, Bartlett pears are dropping off the trees, a lot of apples are getting ripe, local grapes are just showing up in the markets, some fig varieties are getting ripe now, and Asian pears are also ready to eat. I've also got some dried and frozen peaches and frozen blackberries that I'm excited to eat. <br /><br />Prepared foods:<br /><br />I'll be baking bread, biscuits, and so on starting tomorrow. We have some apple-pear sauce that I made tonight. And in honor of <a href="http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/national_trail_mix_day.html">National Trail Mix Day</a>, some cherry-hazelnut-pumpkin seed trail mix. Also a little bit of hazelnut butter that would be good on apple slices. And I've got the crock pot going with some very coarsely ground grains which I hope will turn into porridge by morning!<br /><br />Wish us luck, and if anyone else is up for joining the September Local Food Challenge please comment with tips and your experiences!<br /><br />Happy Trail Mix!gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630821843046057246.post-72783469428692328272009-08-31T09:31:00.000-07:002009-08-31T22:13:02.054-07:00Road Trip!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqvT-h00wjyVTLB9WZt1bPgYdCMby5ped9mDUpk1rnPYaYk4sM2tC6NMxIA_9ydDJDiNX2WKeUsdy57P7ubOT-4F8F3ycjSMrE0V13zuuObmvltT_1p1a2uEEu7eAQT3RSo9A8B0t8TVk/s1600-h/DSCF0674.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqvT-h00wjyVTLB9WZt1bPgYdCMby5ped9mDUpk1rnPYaYk4sM2tC6NMxIA_9ydDJDiNX2WKeUsdy57P7ubOT-4F8F3ycjSMrE0V13zuuObmvltT_1p1a2uEEu7eAQT3RSo9A8B0t8TVk/s320/DSCF0674.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376171437983451250" border="0" /></a><br />Olympia, Washington--the only place other than Portland that I've seriously considered living. It hasn't lured me away from my beloved city yet, but it's still a possibility. Also home to my dear friend Rob, who used to be my neighbor in Japan! Rob and I share a love of edible plants and a love of making things, so when we're together, we always talk gardens, share seeds, cook a lot, and do an art project like letterpress printing or making paper. <br /><br />This weekend was a perfect example. We made spectacular zucchini bread with squash from Rob's sister, and then we spent the day making beautiful paper from scraps and ends of art paper I'd been saving up, and then we planted a bed of salad greens, and then I got to look through Rob's seeds and take home some kale plants too.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEFM1w9mg3pP7ZSi7xM23LUsxKRs8pi8pSpPVYjVAG_vGytqcA_8FLTfLyJYOeG8YBsiLvQC21yEBKJApZC-vM2hkk5D-VgRrhmJycqhe54c6zQT2puADzJFKp0IXxfnMe_YfX97c35C6/s1600-h/DSCF0684.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUEFM1w9mg3pP7ZSi7xM23LUsxKRs8pi8pSpPVYjVAG_vGytqcA_8FLTfLyJYOeG8YBsiLvQC21yEBKJApZC-vM2hkk5D-VgRrhmJycqhe54c6zQT2puADzJFKp0IXxfnMe_YfX97c35C6/s320/DSCF0684.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376172340428884082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My girlfriend Theresa and I also took a hike <a href="http://www.ci.olympia.wa.us/?sc_itemid={D448C97C-EFF5-4DDE-9786-BDD33F341C56}">right in the city</a> and found it amazingly forestlike, complete with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_parvifolium">red huckleberries</a>, my new obsession! I only just learned to identify them and tried them for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and so I am still enchanted by them. Here I am picking and eating! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ISSqOGfmAHflXOBJkWF3X3hYwG2pA5Yyt-ZuSTOVHnV85IJ41dDHDqOisrlaInIyT4iCPuFEHQI-j7SLKYdyIVs1AW3cQO_ZcP3LXBoY5LBSG1tUKAqsMKWN0crdwVShk36f53D2g-tp/s1600-h/DSCF0648.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ISSqOGfmAHflXOBJkWF3X3hYwG2pA5Yyt-ZuSTOVHnV85IJ41dDHDqOisrlaInIyT4iCPuFEHQI-j7SLKYdyIVs1AW3cQO_ZcP3LXBoY5LBSG1tUKAqsMKWN0crdwVShk36f53D2g-tp/s320/DSCF0648.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376179040447335426" /></a><br /><br />And here is the recipe for the zucchini bread we made:<br /><br />I adapted it from <a href="http://www.visionsofsugarplum.com/2009/08/cinnamon-chocolate-chip-zucchini-bread.html">this recipe</a>, making changes to suit each of our desires. I wanted nuts and no cinnamon. Rob wanted ginger, and Theresa likes whole wheat. And all of us wanted to use as much zucchini as possible. <br /><br />Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread!<br /><br />You will need:<br /><br />2 cups unbleached white flour<br />1 cup whole wheat flour<br />1 tablespoon baking powder<br />1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda<br />1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger<br />1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />1 1/4 cups brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons more to sprinkle on top<br />3 eggs<br />3/4 cup <a href="http://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/?title=Yogurt#j9">plain whole milk yogurt</a><br />1/4 cup oil<br />1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />2 cups grated zucchini (see directions below)<br />3/4 cup chocolate chips<br />3/4 cup chopped or broken walnuts, toasted<br /><br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil two loaf pans. <br /><br />If your walnuts aren't toasted yet, you can toast them in the oven while you're getting everything else ready. About ten minutes should do it, on a baking sheet. Let your nose tell you...when they snell good, they're ready. Be careful not to let them burn, which can happen quickly! Then let them cool. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSdbMrubov29ZMUTmA6QAb3I1LWcPzBmt-ZEvacbFjQyQXuzrL2cmMDceOGr5Gkr69_7ko8UoBY4Qe-F6pqpqtNphCUcjB0etqBLxv2BbQxW0WJs4IY6CdJQeOm5EyTELwU36Zu4iYxJv/s1600-h/DSCF0681.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSdbMrubov29ZMUTmA6QAb3I1LWcPzBmt-ZEvacbFjQyQXuzrL2cmMDceOGr5Gkr69_7ko8UoBY4Qe-F6pqpqtNphCUcjB0etqBLxv2BbQxW0WJs4IY6CdJQeOm5EyTELwU36Zu4iYxJv/s320/DSCF0681.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376361762438259378" /></a>First, grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. You will need about half of a baseball-bat-sized zucchini or one to two medium sized ones. Once you have a good pile grated, start taking handfuls of it and squeeze them out over the sink, getting out as much liquid as possible. This is important, so please don't skip this step. Put the dry handfuls into a measuring cup. Keep grating, squeezing, and measuring until you have two packed cups of squeezed-dry zucchini. <br /><br />You'll need two bowls, one for wet ingredients, one for dry. In one bowl, combine flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda, ginger, and pepper, and give this mixture a good stir to get everything evenly distributed. In the other, whisk together the 1 1/4 cups sugar, eggs, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir gently until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and stir just a tiny bit more to distribute them evenly. Don't overmix or you will have tough bread! <br /><br />Pour the batter into the two load pans, sprinkle each loaf with a tablespoon of the reserved sugar to make a crispy sweet topping (trust me, you will be glad you did this!) and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer poked into the middle of a loaf comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Start checking at 50 minutes and don't panic if it takes 70. <br /><br />Let the bread cook in the pan for at least ten minutes before you try turning it out onto a cooking rack, seriously. If you try to do it instantly the loaf will break into pieces and you'll be sad. <br /><br />You may want to make a double recipe, because even though this makes two loaves, five people managed to finish both of them between breakfast and dinner in one day. We could have used two more, plus we sure had enough zucchini.gillianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816967993124025495noreply@blogger.com1