Strawberries from Eastern WA. I forgot to get a shot of the tender Red Chard.
Two pastries from the "Taste of Prague" bakery in W. Sea. Walnut and cherry. I bring this container every week, it holds them perfectly. The vendor has compostable boxes, but it's nice not to need one. And we walk to the market which is good exercise today. I feel blessed we have one, even if it's scaled down.
While roasting vegetables for dinner last night, I pulled the ingredients for Blueberry Cake...with fruit I got at the farmer market and froze...it's February and time to make sure it's all gone before freezer burn sets in.
Here's an extreme close up of the finished cake which took the grey and cold out of the dark and stormy night.
Oh boy the house smells great, as the blueberry and cherry bread is minutes from doneness.
The berries were frozen in the summer and pulled out this morning. Perfect on a grey, wet and cold January morning.
Here it is cooling on the rack...unlike a deep loaf pan I'm going to let it cool "as is" as cut small cubes and put them in an air tight container. That way all the topping won't fall off!
This is one of my adaptations of the Lemon Blueberry Bread in the well regarded "New Basics Cookbook."
These photos are from the week of September 27 - October 1.
Massachusetts grown heirloom tomatoes at Davis Square Farmer Market.
Late blooming roses along Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass.
Maine
Late afternoon looks great through a golden tree.
Eight lovely eggplant from the farmer's market. These turned out to be just a wee bit over 2 pounds, right on target for the recipe.
These were washed, patted dry, then the ends trimmed off before slicing into 1/4" rounds before broiling. They fit nicely on the tray that came with the oven we have never used. It was covered in foil to make clean up easier. After a light brush with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper these gems were broiled about 15 minutes each side, then set aside to cool. Because this stage was done in advance, they were stowed in an air tight container overnight along with breadcrumbs made from a fresh baguette in the food processor.
The next day was the assembly. Pre-broiled eggplant rounds tossed with olive oil and 1-1/2 cups of breadcrumbs, a cup of Pecorini cheese (we were out of Parmesan) and 14 chopped fresh basil leaves. The point was to coat the eggplant, so kept stirring and trying not to dump it all on the counter. Sauce was a jarred mushroom variety; the cheese for topping was Provolone.
Don't mind the dried out bits on the side of the pan, they were easily pushed away with the spatula.
The dish tasted amazing on top of spaghetti.
Sorry my "recipe" is incomplete, it really is a dish in process, but I based it on ideas from Best 125 Meatless Italian Dishes and a New York Times posting which you will find to be more specific.
Another simply delicious, economical meal here; I made it up and called it the Cup and Half Casserole because that's basically the recipe. If you have two cups of each, use a bigger pan and freeze the leftovers.
Layer ingredients in order listed in a deep casserole dish, about 8" x 10". Emile Henry is fabulous.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for at least 40 minutes, carefully bake some more until it is bubbling all the way to the center and golden brown.
Farm fresh organic corn. Ends trimmed to fit on baking sheet. No touching!
A key to success with this process are ears that are still moist, the silk is not dry or brittle. What I've found is husking corn is really easier after it's cooked. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, then place tray on rack to back. Turn after 10 minutes, to make sure nothing is scorching!!
Turn them, and cook another 10 minutes under a watchful eye.
These look done. The aroma is that of cooked corn. The ears are hot to touch. Be careful and remove with a potholder and slowly husk away keeping at the forefront of your mind that hot steam is about to escape (like microwave pop corn) and the first peel back will be a blast.
If it's not hot and steamy, put it back in the oven and check at 5 minute intervals until it's done.
Butter? I don't think so. We each ate 2 ears and set dinner off for an hour. Two ears are leftover and were put in a tightly sealed glass container after peeling and cooling. Tomorrow the kernels will be cut off for some sort of recipe. Oven Baked Corn on the Cob, yum!
On the griddle.
On my plate with real maple syrup.
Another box from the blueberry haul went into the making of this delicious quick bread. The crunchy topping is modified from the recipe: a bit of canola, some flour, a bit of sugar and some cinnamon.
The moment of truth with quick breads is getting them out of the pan. Success! Use your hands if it's flopping over and re-form it into a nice rectangular loaf while warm if necessary.
Original recipe from The New Basics Cookbook. I use canola instead of butter, usually forget the lemon zest because I am lazy, and modify the icky sweet and fatty topping using the same ingredients, same amount of flour but much less of everything else.
Look what I carried home from the Saturday fruit stand! That's six delicious boxes of Spartan blueberries from Whitehorse Meadows Farm.
Two boxes went right to a rimmed cookie sheet to freeze overnight. I'm following the tip of NOT rinsing them beforehand. This morning I poured the frozen fruit into freezer containers (clearly marked "Wash Me") for future use. Another two boxes are now on the tray freezing.
The cherry pitter was put to use again to make these sundaes with plain non fat Nancy's Yogurt . The cereal is wholesome and super crunchy so the combination with soft fresh fruit is wonderful on a hot summer day.
With tiny Bunny Cookies on top. They were actually cuter than good - gluten free but too sweet. Strange but we ate them anyway!
First of the season! Small ears with yellow and white kernels. Baked in a pre heated 350 degree oven right on the rimmed cookie sheet for about 15 minutes. The ears should be hot to the touch. To enjoy, carefully peel back the husk and silk, if steam does not come out they need some more time. So easy and delicious, without the need for butter or salt. Just dental floss after eating. :-D
The Moroccan bag that carried everything home. Firm stuff on bottom, delicate on top; two mile round trip on foot, no problem.
Corn, ready for baking "as is" 350 degrees, 15 carefully watched minutes. Perfection! Fingerling potatoes, small peaches, green beans, blueberries, strawberries and Bing cherries.
While the corn was baking, I washed, drained and pitted the cherries with a gadget. These were just stowed in the freezer.
The blueberries were picked over and rinsed a few times. It's hard to see but I like to nest the colander in a round Pyrex glass container.
The berries were picked over again, if you are going to freeze fruit it should be the best possible. I lined a small rimmed sheet (jelly roll) with waxed paper, poured these into a single layer and stashed in the freezer. Once the fruit is solid, they can be poured in to freezer containers.
July 4, and we had leftover spaghetti, smoked salmon and Romano cheese. After a Google search we decided on this Salmon Carbonara Spaghetti omitting the egg yolks. Oh my this was good. Why one would need fatty meat, heavy cream and uncooked egg to make this combination work is beyond me. I added some vegetable broth to the sauce to keep things moist. Served with steamed broccoli, shredded basil and a lovely less than $8 Columbia Valley Riesling.
Happy July 4! Not much room for anything heavy or sweet after that dinner. Good thing we have berries!
Farmer market haul: very ripe Fir Island strawberries and two type of cherries: Bing and Rainier varieties from Tiny's.
This BerryGram just in from British Columbia, Canada. Thanks T and S for the photo. Hurrah for the red, white (and blue).
Fantastic recipe, the only modification was replacing the butter with Canola oil. Highly recommended if you have a box of fresh berries on hand.
Four cups of my own frozen blueberries from the farmer's market in August; a mixture of little and plump gems to mix into a double batch recipe of quick bread.
Wet ingredients in the big bowl: egg, canola, milk and sugar. Dry ingredients mixed together in glass bowl: flour, salt, soda. Once everything is measured it really is a quick bread.
Topping of canola, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon was added to this traditional loaf and a rectangular shallow pan of batter. Extra yummy on a damp January day with a glass of milk.
Last week at the farmer market one of the merchants recommended baking corn instead of boiling. Holy cow! The entire ears were placed on a rimmed cookie sheet (jelly roll) and baked for 15 minutes in a 350 oven. Then, using an oven mitt you carefully pull back the husk and silk and enjoy. No butter or salt. No boiling away taste or soaking for an hour in order to grill. Yum!
A quick sandwich on a hot day. A toasted Grande Bolo Roll is always a good starting point. Then Munster cheese, slices of tomato (from the farmer market) and some torn pieces of (our own garden grown) basil were placed on top and placed under the boiler till golden. A drizzle of olive oil was added before putting the halves together and "smooshing" the pieces and slicing the sandwich in half.
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