Up and Down in Austin

Five weeks in Austin. It’s been a surreal roller coaster ride – up and down. I joined the S.O. in early May – too late for bluebonnets but just in time for tomatoes. Our apartment kitchen is the size of a shoebox and it took ages to cram my usual hoard of pantry items into nooks and crannies. I’m more or less setup for everyday cooking and have been churning out some tasty meals and baked goods featuring local-grown fruits and veggies. Yum!

Craving a deeper experience of what makes Austin tick we booked ourselves in for the Up & Down tour co-hosted by Casa Brasil and South Austin Brewing Company.

It did not disappoint. We got the wikipedia version of coffee history and got to taste really bad coffee, barely roasted coffee, old coffee, delicious coffee and burnt coffee.

We even witnessed the roasting process – a real treat for the senses!

After a break for lunch we were lead further down the row of warehouses to start phase two – the down (mellow) part of the tour: BEER

The S.O. was delighted with this part of the tour – he’s really not a coffee addict like I am but beer, that’s a necessary ingredient for his life.

Just as before, we got the wiki version of beer history around the globe and then sampled really good beer, beer that tasted like it had been run through a bicycle inner tube (old beer), and got the full tour of the process South Austin Beer Company uses to make their beers. We were told that Austin has ideal water quality for brewing beer and that got us excited to get back into homebrewing – later this summer.

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I’m not sure if I should find a gumball machine with temporary tattoos to plaster over my body before hitting up the local grocery store. It is not possible to be bored here, at all. And they smile. Every last one of them smile, and say “howdy” and tell you to have a good day, and want to chat your ear off in the bank lobby or the cat litter aisle at the pet store. I know, weird, right? How long does it take to settle into the wonderful-friendliness of the South? Oh, and tacos are the most addicting thing on the planet. I’m on track to eat my weight in tacos, guacamole and heirloom tomatoes.

This old house

My dad’s a retired general contractor, which means most of my childhood memories revolve around furniture and housebuilding projects. Those fashionable adolescent years were spent with roofing nails in my nail apron, pulling splinters out of hands with a Swiss Army knife and taking out all kinds of teen angst on black tar paper with a slap tacker.

Mom on the other hand was a furniture refinishing MACHINE. That woman can find a yard sale dresser and turn it into a piece of art in mere days. Wood glue, sandpaper, paint and some faux finishing tools ranging from hair combs to feathers to shop rags were here tools of choice.

Fast forward to me now – living in a house built in 1883 with a kitchen that was added in the 1930s. The only thing I own older than this house is some pre-Columbian pottery my old land lady in Mexico gave me that I didn’t know was illegal to leave the country with (but we won’t talk about that now will we). I practically live in a set made for the This Old House show! Horse-hair plaster sprinkles into my tea set in the cabinets, the cats go scavenging for house centipedes the size of a man’s shoe in the basement, and I lack a carriage or a horse to stow in my otherwise useless carriage shed at the end of the drive. Well, that’s where we keep the tall ladder and the spare fridge (huh?) so it’s not totally useless. Just mostly.

Earlier this month Spring Fever soared to new heights and I decided to tackle a painting project in the guest bedroom, which is really the cats’ napping room by day and their not-so-secret hideout by night. When we closed on the house we used this room as the home office, and painted it a lovely burgundy. A two coats of primer and I can still see burgundy, burgundy. *sigh* It was young love and I never imagined I’d want to switch to a lighter color for this room.

Three snowy weekends, two coats of stain-blocking primer, two coats of color and some caulking and wood putty filler later we went from deep burgundy to a pale silver-blue.

Good thing Tita likes it or we’d be in trouble!

Scope creep has taken me down the cellar stairs with paint brushes in hand. Up next: I’m going to paint the kitchen cabinets, inside and out, even if it kills me.

…

I’ve already sought spiritual assistance from my friend with church connections. HELP! Martha Stewart has possessed my body.

Call me when the lovely people with straightjackets arrive.

Eating during cold and flu season

Fermented and cultured foods help support a healthy digestive system which in turn supports a balanced immune system. If you’re new to cooking or eating this way check out Nourished Kitchen’s recipe page, and dig around some of the research on probiotics here.

Princessa the Goat

When I was in my preteens and early teenage years my family raised dairy goats for companionship, 4-H, and dairy. This was my first foray into culturing foods: yogurt making. We also used the whey to assist the lacto-fermenting process of pickles and sauerkraut. Mom made a mean vegetarian Reuben with sauerkraut, horseradish, Swiss cheese and sun-dried tomato deli slices.

The habit stuck around and I make my own veggie Reubens with raw sauerkraut on homemade sourdough rye and serve it with a fermented pickle. Nom, nom, nom.

This past fall was the first time I started doing water kefir and I’m in love. I ordered a single packet of water kefir grains from Cultures for Health, and while I haven’t been as diligent in refreshing the water every 48 hours I have thoroughly enjoyed the beverages I’ve created with it. I like the flavor profile when I feed the grains with dark, natural sugars which is why the picture above looks cloudy and brown – that’s the leftover dark brown sugar from holiday baking! I mix it with fruit juices – a splash of concentrated lemon, lime, cherry or cranberry is refreshing and tasty. I’ve also added fresh and dried fruit blends when bottling it to go in the fridge.

My sourdough starter is in its third winter now. I store it in the refrigerator when I am not using it regularly, I’ve just pulled it back out of the fridge after a couple of weeks of hibernating. I’ll use it in the bread machine this week as I’ve got a full schedule of clients and little time to follow a traditional kneading-rising-kneading-rising-forming-baking cycle. Because I alternate the flours I use for feedings you’ll see mine has a bluish hint to the separated water on the surface – that’s caused by rye flour feedings and will stay with the starter for many months.

Since we’re at the peak of winter eating now I’m seeing a lot of kale and bok choy pass through our kitchen. In a hurry the other evening I tossed this kale with a bit of olive oil, roasted it just until the edges were getting a hint of color to them (we’re not making kale chips here), and also roasted half of a butternut squash I had in the cold room leftover from Farmer Dave’s fall CSA. Quickly I assembled the roasted kale on the bottoms of giant soup bowls, added Nella’s cooked mushroom ravioli and topped with roasted squash cubes. Heaven!

What have you been up to lately? What are you eating this month?

Friday: Things I like

Hurricane Sandy gave us a ton of wind here in the Boston area, nowhere near what NY and NJ were hit with, but the kind of wind that makes your neighbor’s trees go horizontal and your heart climb into your throat. After a full day of clients I couldn’t tolerate sitting around and watching news reports as pictures of an apocalyptic-sized hurricane ravaged our neighbors to the Southwest. Out came Paul Hollywood’s 100 Great Breads and into the oven went a healthy batch of whole wheat blueberry scones. It’s a rather hodge-podge bread book that has inspired peanut butter loaves and chocolate-cherry breads, so be it quirky I do enjoy his recipes.

Gypsy Forest’s cinnamon maple sunflower seed butter was inspired by Marisa’s cookbook (pictured above) and I must say it is delicious! I propped open my copy of the book and used Marisa’s original recipe as a guideline but definitely added the maple syrup and coconut oil from Gypsy Forest’s version. My husband says it is reminiscent of Halva.

Rachel Gargano’s Tomato Ricotta Pie looks to die for!

A petition is out to ban plastic bags in Massachusetts, woot!

I’m baking my way through Cultures for Health’s Collection of Sourdough Muffin Recipes

Mother Earth News found an 11-year old to write about her pet worms, aka vermicomposting worms

ABC News has a list of charities that are assisting folks after Hurricane Sandy – please give a little if you can!

Jenn Cuisine is putting together a Food Bloggers Support for Sandy event slated for November 8th

Fall is for kraut lovers

A giant head of cabbage was waiting for me at the CSA pickup on Friday and I immediately wanted to make sauerkraut. I still have a pint of last year’s kraut in the basement but the flavor isn’t the same as a brand spankin’ new batch of fermented cabbage. If you’ve never made sauerkraut at home I recommend Ziedrich’s The Joy of Pickling, and anything by Sandor Katz’, like his online sauerkraut recipe.

Start with fresh cabbage, white is the most popular, and cut it into manageable wedges:

If you value your knuckles and happen to have access to a food processor with a grater attachment you’re golden. KitchenAid mixers also have a grater thingamajig that would be perfect to coarsely shred the cabbage.

The grated cabbage then goes into a bowl with salt and you punch it with your fist (highly therapeutic), or a potato masher, like this:

At first the slaw is coarse and unyielding, which can lead to pinkening of the flesh of your fist and fingers. But keep on punching, squeezing and pressing until a brine begins to form:

You should have a healthy bit of juices on the bottom of the bowl too:

Once the juices are flowing you can add a bit of Caraway seeds or Juniper Berries to the cabbage.

Now you’re ready to put it into that giant 2 quart mason jar you purchased at the hardware store over the summer and haven’t figured out a use for except for the granola storage on top of the fridge:

Tuck one of the reserved outer cabbage leaves onto the top and give yourself 3 inches of headspace for this big jar. You want the brine to come up just above the leaf, a smidgen of filtered water would be OK at this stage if needed.

I’m using the Perfect Pickler apparatus for the first time on sauerkraut, it works similarly to the beer making airlocks my husband uses when brewing. It allows the cabbage to vent but it’s a one-way street – air can escape but nothing can enter the jar. I’ve used the PP with a few batches of pickles this summer and I’m a big fan of clear glass jars for fermenting compared to expense crocks that you can’t tell things are going south in.Good reasons to make sauerkraut in the Fall:

1. Availability of Fall crop cabbages
2. Cooler temperatures allow for slower fermentation and better tasting kraut
3. You’re going to need some kind of condiment for all of the bread you’re baking to keep the house warm!

If you don’t have fancy kraut-making equipment try Ziedrich’s trick of placing ziplock bags on top of the cabbage in your jar and filling with a brine solution until there is no room for air to enter the jar anymore. Cover with a cloth napkin held in place by a rubberband to keep out dust and curious cat noses during the fermenting process.

Do you make sauerkraut? I’d love to hear your story or special tip in the comments below!

Cream kale soup in the slow cooker

We’ve had at least one bunch of kale in our weekly CSA box for the last month and I have kale growing in my SIP pot outside that is loving this transition into cooler weather. After doing cookie sheets of oven baked kale chips and tossing a handful of kale into morning smoothies I was excited to try something different with these greens.

Creamy Onion Soup with Kale
adapted from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson

In a skillet over medium-high heat saute until soft and translucent:

4 onions, halved and sliced thinly

Add:
2 minced garlic cloves
4 whole allspice (I used a 1/2 tsp ground)
1 bay leaf (I used 2 fresh)
1 tsp grated lemon zest (I used a splash of lemon juice)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Saute for a full minute until the spices are very aromatic, then transfer to the slow cooker.

Add to the onion mixture:
4-5 cups of vegetable broth
3 potatoes, peeled and diced (I used red potatoes and left their skins on)

Cook in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender. Remove the whole allspice if used and the bay leaf.

Stir in:
1 tsp paprika powder
4 cups chopped kale, be sure to remove stalks

Cover and cook on high for 20-30 minutes, or transfer to a pot on the stovetop and cook at medium-high until the kale is tender. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until it reaches desired consistency. If kale is not tender it will wrap around the blades of the blender.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or croutons.

And there were perderders

Remember my shopping bags growing potatoes?

Well, they grew…

And grew…

Then some evil slugs came and started munching on my potatoes…

Try as I might I found no useful tools to permanently kill off the slugs that were obsessed with destroying my fingerling potatoes.

After returning from a week’s vacation I discovered the beautiful green leaves and vines were withered and dead. With a sieve and some gloves I carefully went through the soil to remove these beauties:

A modest handful of fingerling potatoes!

Maybe they will go in my corn chowder with the yummy sweet corn we picked up at a farmstand on the Cape? Or perhaps they will make a teensy helping of mershed perderders?!

What to do with six pounds of strawberries?

I like strawberries. They’re not my favorite fruit of all time (that would be a battle between mangoes and pineapples), but I do enjoy them and love that I can go to a local farm and pick my own.

But that leaves me with a must-pick-one-more-strawberry complex and I can’t walk out of the strawberry field without a flat of them. Normal folks go and pick a cute little pint or two to take home and enjoy over their oatmeal, or whatever it is that normal folks do with their strawberries. Anybody know?

Perhaps offended, or enticed, by our greedy little strawberry stained hands the Guineas decided it was appropriate tobeg for strawberries as we left the field.

Bless their little feathers they LOVED the strawberries and followed us for some ways down the path before realizing we had a strict 3-strawberries-for-the-guineas rule.

I chuckled when my friend asked, “What are you going to do with that many strawberries?” Heh. Errr. Umm. “Definitely some kind of jam,” was all I could come up with.

After dinner last night I pulled up Under the Tuscan Gun’s recipe for Italian shortcake and impatiently waited for the puff pastry to defrost on the kitchen counter. I didn’t bother rolling it out or carefully cutting it into rounds, instead I used a pizza cutter and sliced it into thirds per fold and tossed them in the oven. The assembled shortcakes were glorious – stacked tall and so pretty with the red berries and green basil. Alas I was in such a hurry to taste them I didn’t snap a picture. You can imagine them can’t you? Tall as a Scooby Doo sandwich, smartly standing there with the chocolate shavings and the berry juices drizzled on the plate. I’ll try next time!

Then I made jam while working from home on this rainy, cold Saturday. I was inspired by the simplicity of the strawberry jam I did last year that involved zero pectin and no chopping. Glorious! This year I used Canning for a New Generation’s recipe and it was perfect. The skimmed foam made it’s way onto an English muffin and was the perfect companion to a rainy day tea.

Then I chopped some strawberries into bite sized pieces, tossed them into a half pint jar I sterilized “just in case” from the jam I put up earlier, and slogged some bourbon over it to the top off the jar. I will make Strawberry-Mint Juleps with it next weekend.

Still unsatisfied with how many berries I had leftover I turned to making Strawberry Cake. Somehow I will not eat this cake before 2pm tomorrow when I take it over to a girlfriend’s to bottle wine. How on earth am I going to stay away from this gorgeous cake until tomorrow?? Maybe I’ll make shortcakes again tonight…

Homemade pop tarts

Mom was out visiting this spring and we walked into Roost/The Beehive in downtown Salem and discovered this book:

Screen grab from Amazon

I love pies in all kinds of shapes and sizes but there’s something pretty sweet about a pie you can hold in your hand. Needless to say I am in love with the Handheld Pies cookbook and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes pies – sweet or savory. In fact, I bought one for me and my mom I thought it was so cute. If you can find a copy at a local indie store instead of slave-labor warehouse book suppliers that’d be even better.

There’s no way these pies are going to be low on calories so enjoy these little handheld wonders for the awesomeness that they are.

Blood Orange Marmalade – Mascarpone Pop Tarts
adapted from Handheld Pies by Billingsley & Wharton

In a food processor pulse:

1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons)
4 oz. cream cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Once the mixture has taken the form of pea-sized clumps add:

1/4 cup whole milk

Pulse until the dough comes together, adding 1-2 tablespoons more milk if needed. Turn out the dough onto a floured kneading block and knead it over a few times til smooth. Divide dough in half, shape into a circle and wrap in plastic wrap to refrigerate for 2 hours up to 3 days.

When the dough is ready to be worked whisk together in a bowl, and set aside:

1 egg
1 tablespoon cold water

Gently unwrap one half of the dough onto a clean, floured surface and sprinkle a bit of flour on the rolling pin and top of the dough. Roll out into a large round getting the dough roughly an eighth of an inch thick. Taking a glass mason jar or biscuit cutter cut rounds into the dough ending with an even number.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. With two teaspoons at the ready scoop 1-2 teaspoons (depending on your tart’s size) of mascarpone cheese onto the bottoms and smear it around to cover the dough within a 1/4 inch of the edges. Follow this up with a teaspoon or so of the Blood Orange Marmalade, or jam of your choice, on top of the cheese. Dip your finger into the egg wash and run it along the naked edge of the tart then carefully add the top and press the two halves together to seal. Fork tines work really well here and add a decorative edge. Gently puncture the top of the dough with the fork in a few places to vent. Repeat for the remaining rounds in this batch and return to the refrigerator for 15 minutes. While the first batch is chilling you can pull out the second ball of dough and repeat, use the same jam or try something different. We love Gloria’s Rhubarb, Blueberry & Lime Jam in these pop tarts too!

Place the first batch of pop tarts in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove the oven and carefully transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking rack to cool, put the second batch in the oven and repeat.

These guys will be scorching hot so give them about a half hour to cool before eating. If you’re in a hurry you can pop one in the freezer for a few minutes, they’re so hard to resist eating straight from the oven!

Vermicomposting: Or, my adventures in worm wrangling

Mom always had a compost heap when I was growing up. She read books, researched methods and tried out a variety of techniques. It was an impressive compost setup to go alongside her giant vegetable gardens. Now, as teenagers we didn’t appreciate the pile of rotting food scraps to the degree Mom did, in fact I can recall at times we were downright embarrassed of that section of the yard. One summer our beloved family pet, a muscular Rottweiler, discovered a bear in the compost pile and proceeded to chase him off. Coincidentally my preteen sister was skipping down the driveway at that very moment and was nearly trampled by the ‘chasee’ and ‘chaser’. The compost heap went on hiatus that summer.

Eight and a half years since the last time I participated in composting I opted to take it up again this past winter through the compost collection service known as Bootstraps Compost. These fine folks would pick up my compost and bring an empty 5-gallon plastic bucket every other week. It was great. No smell, no pitchforks, no shovels, no chicken manure. Then the great came to a screeching halt when they wrote to say they’d not be able to service my neighborhood anymore due to low subscriptions. BUMMER!

Vermicomposting

I wasn’t new to the term but I hadn’t spent much time considering applyingvermicomposting to my own routines. That all changed when I realized I had this spiffy compost can under my kitchen sink, a rediscovered habit of saving vegetable peels from the garbage bin, and a guilty feeling for shrugging off compost simply because it was “smelly.”

Websites and gardening magazines told me I could easily shell out some hundred or so dollars for a worm compost bin with special trays and spigots and shelves. Or I could get myself a plastic bin from the hardware store, drill ventilation holes, and voila! instant worm farm. Being budget-minded and not entirely sure if my new hobby would simply be a fad I opted for the latter option.

Homemade worm bin

Using a cordless drill I created vent holes around the bin

Then I layered damp shredded paper, food scraps, crushed egg shells, followed by a final layer of damp shredded paper

Then came a thousand red wigglers

The day the worms came in it was raining like mad, or as my partner would say “all of the gulleys needed washing”, and it didn’t occur to me that worms have natural instincts to climb high so they don’t drown in a rainstorm. Heh. I gently release my worms into the bin and leave the house for several hours. Upon my return I’m thinking I’ll just peek in on my little bin, so I haul it out of the crawlspace to look and they’re trying to escape. Worms on the outside, worms on the lid, worms on the ground, worms wriggling up the sides of the bin. Eeeps! Armed with a foam plate leftover from a holiday party I start wrangling up my worms, one anorexic worm at a time. It took about 20 minutes to catch them all and I got to do it all over again the next morning. Then everyone settled into their new worm condo with an enticing banana peel and peelings from a kiwi, two ingredients worms are sworn to love. No worms have tried to escape in the two weeks since.

You can call me the Worm Wrangler.