Lentil Wheat Berry Soup with Herb Pistou
February 29, 2012
Twice a month, there is an after school garden work party at my daughter’s school. Parents and their preschool age children gather to weed, seed, and harvest the bounty. It is a delight to participate in this effort, a joy to see these young children so excited to work with AND eat fresh vegetables, but a bear to come home late with two overtired and hungry kids of my own. Thank goodness for the crock pot. With only 10 or 15 minutes of prep the night before, a delicious dinner can be ready to serve when I return home.
Lentil Wheat Berry Soup with Herb Pistou is a crock pot soup that satisfies on so many levels. The earthiness of the lentils blend with the chewiness of the wheat berries. The pork infuses a richness into the flavorful broth. These ingredients stew in the crock pot all day and provide a guarantee that your house will smell divine when you return home, tired and weary from the day. The herb pistou solves the one hangup I have with crock pot cooking. While cooking food all day ensures tenderness and rich flavors, there is a tendency for colors and flavors to become too melded and for the heartiness to become dull or bland. Inspired by Blue Kale Road’s Spicy Israeli Zhoug, I came up with a last minute swirl of fresh herbs and acidic lemon to brighten the entire soup. Serve this soup with a crunchy salad and fresh bread. It freezes and reheats beautifully.
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Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes
February 25, 2012
The birthday spirit lives on around here, but the cake does not. Given one more chance to sing a Happy Birthday, I whipped up a second birthday dessert, this one a bit brighter and lighter than the first (Caramel Cake). There have been a lot of posts about sweets and liquor lately, but to be honest, that pretty much sums up the month of February around here. I did mention the “birthday month“, did I not?
Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake is just the thing for a sweet wintery treat. A cross between a souffle and lemon curd, but so much easier to prepare. Prepare the batter and bake. As the cake bakes it separates into two delightful layers, a lemon pudding on top and an incredibly light and moist cake on the bottom. Serve with a gently sweetened berry sauce. I used ollalie berries from my parents bushes (thanks Mom!), but blackberries, raspberries, even blueberries would be delicious. This can be made one day in advance, making it a great dessert for guests.
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Fresh Lime Margaritas
February 19, 2012
I do not have a lime tree, or a lemon for that matter, but that does not stop me from loving margaritas! We recently had the sort of gathering that necessitated a jug of margaritas. I dutifully headed for the market and loaded up a thousand limes for the effort (actually it was 86, yes, 86 exactly). The funny thing was, the clerk did not even blink? How long do you have to work as a grocery checker before it is completely unremarkable when a woman comes through picking up nothing, but a lug of limes? I wanted to make her a drink.
Margaritas truly are the cocktail of the winter. What you say? You tend towards this cold citrusy drink in the summertime or at your annual Cinco de Mayo extravaganza? Well sure, margaritas are great year round, but winter is the time of year when local citrus is most fresh and abundant. Plus, there is something about the tart zing of a lime in February that is sure to chase the winter blues away. The tequila does not hurt either.
Caramel Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
February 13, 2012
It is (one of many) “birthday months” at our house. My husband, who resisted the idea of the birthday month for years, finally sees the beauty. Of course it is his birthday month, and a big one at that. Celebrating for an entire month allows for a thorough celebration. Why choose between a party, an outing, a nice dinner, a trip? With a birthday month you can do it all!
Our festivities began with a few good friends, lots of (still eating the leftovers!) good food, a backyard fire, and of course a birthday cake! My husband is a caramel guy, so after trying to tempt him with cake after cake that featured the power duo of chocolate and caramel, we finally settled on a cake that did away with the distractions and featured the caramel promptly.
Caramel Cake with Brown Butter Frosting is my adaptation of a cake from Maya Angelou’s cookbook, Hallelujah. It is a basic butter cake infused with caramel. So there was no mistaking the caramel, I added an extra layer between the cake layers and drizzled it over the top of the cake.The frosting is the kicker. The standard American buttercream is blown into complete deliciousness, by browning the butter and then chilling it back to proper temperature before whipping it up with powdered sugar and cream. Yes, this frosting is outstanding! All in all, they are a great match and the cake was very well received!
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Last summer I was adamant that our house needed a pasta maker. Scott and I made gnocchi years ago, but I had still never made rolled pasta. For one reason (or many), I did not make the purchase: the pasta makers were more expensive than I imagined, our kitchen cabinets are full to the brim with an assortment of other cooking gear, it was sunny and I wanted to spend time swimming at the river with the kiddos instead of cooking. Anyhow, thanks to Caroline at Grow it, Cook it, Can it for giving me the little push I needed to tackle the pasta project. She is hosting Cook It! 2012, a month-by-month inspiration of sorts to tackle new challenges and try new techniques in the kitchen. This month: fresh pasta.
Originally when I signed onto the challenge, I intended to buy a pasta roller, but again, not wanting to shell out the money and feeling a bit like sticking it to the man- “I don’t need your stinkin’ pasta roller to make fresh pasta at home” I rolled it by hand instead. It was not easy. The pasta dough comes together much like a pastry dough. Beaten egg is poured into a seasoned flour, the trick is to keep moisten the dough just enough to make it come together, but not so much that the dough is wet, which would make the pasta stick together. After a knead and an hour or more to rest, my dryish dough was looking pretty good. It had a mild sheen to it and though firm, gave gently as I firmly pushed it into disc. My rebel spirit suffered as I rolled and rolled. This was seriously hard work, I broke a sweat. Perhaps a pasta roller does have a true purpose. After rolling and flipping and rolling and flipping the dough, I reduced it to an 1/8 of an inch thickness and called it good. Since the dough was still a little on the thick side, I opted to cut the pasta rather thin using a cutting board as a straight edge and a circular pizza cutter.
The recipe for Fresh Rosemary Linguine with Caramelized Onions, Walnuts, and Blue Cheese is adapted from The Greens Cookbook. The caramelized onions are incredibly flavorful thanks to the addition of sage, rosemary, and bay. I made a little extra and they tasted tremendous on an asparagus pizza. The toasty walnuts add a nice crunchy texture and I love how the blue cheese partially melts lending a creamy funk to the whole dish. Yum! This dish is pretty rich tasting, so small servings were perfect with a crisp salad and crisp wine. I will definitely be making more pasta in the coming months (hopefully with a pasta maker), but I am glad to know that it is possible to make a delicious dish without the purchase. You could also make this easily with purchased pasta, but then you miss out on your kids saying, ” Mom, you MADE the pasta?!?!? YUM!”
My Pantry Shelf 