Berry CSA: weeks 10 &11

In week 10 we received blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and plums. The plums reminded me of the variety that we could find in California growing on trees in our neighborhood, small and soft and so sweet.  

In week 11 we got blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and doughnut peaches, which turned out to be one of my favorite fruits this year. Our CSA hit 100 days of strawberries this season which is impressive, and so we also got an extra carton of strawberries. You may guess as to how I felt about that!

For the most part we ate our fruit as it came to us, but I did bake a Three Berry Buttermilk Bundt Cake for 4th of July (phenomenal!), and a recipe for Blueberry Chocolate Banana Bread. Both have been added to my bank of go-to recipes for their simplicity and because they were really, really, good. Not to mention how gorgeous the final loafs were, your Summer houseguests will be impressed!

For the bundt cake I substituted oranges in place of the lemons. For the banana bread I omitted the bourbon (only because we didn't have any!) and substituted blueberries for the walnuts. 

Chocolate Cake

This recipe is one of my favorites. It was Roscoe's second birthday cake and so it will always be special, but it is really, really good. Even if you don't think you love chocolate cake.

Rich, and moist, perfectly sweet (not too much!), with a mildly intense chocolate flavor that pairs oh-so-well with the buttery frosting. As you can see, we devoured it.

I promise it was pretty before we dug in.

THE CAKE

3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup sour cream
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the over to 350. Lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and dust with flour. Set aside.

Sift the cocoa powder into a small bowl and stir in the boiling water to dissolve and make the cocoa "bloom." Whisk together until completely smooth. Let cool completely, and then whisk the sour cream into the cocoa mixture.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together with an electric hand mixer set on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the cooled cocoa mixture and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the batter and fold in gently, using a rubber spatula, until the flour is completely combined into the batter.

Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

THE FROSTING

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Large pinch of salt
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the semisweet and milk chocolate chips with the butter. Heat on high for 1 minute. Stir the mixture together. If the butter is not completely melted and the chocolate chips do not easily stir smooth, heat again at 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Using a hand mixer set at low speed, beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Oh my gosh, this frosting is good.

Adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. Treats for Kids.

Berry CSA: week 4

I've been sick for the last week, so I haven't quite been able to keep up with blog posts and picture taking. I don't have a pretty image of this week's Berry CSA share but we still got 6 lbs of strawberries and 2 lbs of snap peas. Agriberry was offering pints of their first harvest of raspberries, so I grabbed four of those as well.

Last week was a fun week in the kitchen. We're back to eating mainly from the farmer's market, with grocery lists consisting primarily of those ingredients we need to make the dishes that I have planned for the week.  In addition to the berry csa goodies that we bake and cook, I may also continue to use this regular weekly post to share some of the other produce related dishes that make up our meals each week.

Among other fresh stuff we enjoyed:

Strawberry buttermilk muffins

Roscoe (and Merritt) approved

Gnocchi with peas and bacon

Strawberry soup and a strawberry muffin for lunch

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Collard Greens with Raisins and Almonds

Buttered Spring Peas

Salad Greens from the garden

Everyone loved the strawberry muffins--they were moist and dense, and filled with berries.  Paired with a protein like eggs or bacon they made a convenient breakfast, and they also made for easy snacks to pack up on the go or to carry outside in hand. You can't go wrong with tangy buttermilk and sweet in-season berries.

The gnocchi dish was a crowd pleaser as well.  I love the simplicity of one-pot dinners, with everything you need in just one place.  I couldn't find bacon at the farmer's market (anywhere!) and so we bought fat back, which is basically uncured and unsmoked pig fat. It's cheap and fatty delicious when chopped into little bits and seared in a hot skillet.  I subbed it for the bacon in the dish and it did the job just fine.

I've made chilled strawberry soup a few times in the past, mainly as a first course at brunch. All the recipes I've tried have had similar ingredients: strawberries, juice, and a dairy component.  If the idea seems a little weird then you should probably give it a try.  The kids thought it was a smoothie and at some point I just gave up and poured it into their cups. Andy and I thought it was refreshing and a nice compliment to heavier dinners.

1 cup apple juice
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar (I probably used half this amount)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Combine in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Remove from heat.
3 cups strawberries
1/4 cup water
Puree until smooth in blender. Pour into large bowl
2 cups plain yogurt ( I subbed one cup of the yogurt for whole milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add to pureed strawberries with apple juice mixture. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Garnish with strawberries.

As for the cream of asparagus soup and the collard greens, the soup was very rich but I enjoyed the temperature twist and the collard greens were really good--although I think I'm the only one in the family who ventured to eat them.

Happy cooking!

Berry CSA: week #2

On Saturday we picked up from the market 4 pounds of strawberries, and 2 pounds of rhubarb.

I've never cooked or baked with rhubarb before, but many years ago I enjoyed the sweet and tart combo of strawberry & rhubarb pie. Again, we are torn between enjoying the berries as they are in all their perfection--so tender and sweet this week--and incorporating them into experimental dishes. At the very least I hope to make a strawberry tart and also some strawberry and rhubarb jam. I'm looking forward to scooping homemade jam from my weck jars at breakfast.

Last week, despite my prediction that our strawberries would be eaten before I could bake anything with them,  I did manage to make a strawberry and pistachio crumble that was pretty wonderful.  Kind of a surprise hit that I adapted from a well-loved recipe that we use all the time.

My favorite cookbook of the last year is In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters.  Her book "presents her essential cooking techniques to be learned by heart", and every dish that I've prepared from it has been phenomenal. Each recipe includes many variations and encourages creativity and confidence in the kitchen.

If you have some strawberries hanging around this summer, give this a try:

Strawberry and Pistachio Crisp
Berries
Slice 2 pounds strawberries into quarters
Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon cane sugar over the berries
Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon and toss the mixture lightly to coat

Topping
Mix together in a food processor until crumbly:
1 1/4 cups flour
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup pistachios, shelled
12 tablespoons unsalted butter

Dump and distribute the topping evenly over the berries.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the juices are bubbly and the topping begins to brown.

We let ours sit for 15 minutes to cool and set up a bit, before we dolloped whipped cream on top and ate it up.

Strawberries

Strawberries with cookie topping

Fresh from the oven

Oh yum

I also tossed together the super easy goat cheese pasta and it made a great dish for an early dinner on a hot and balmy afternoon: light and refreshing with the tangy goat cheese, citrus, and asparagus.

Do you have any recipes to share?

Berry CSA, week 1

Our first berry CSA drop was today!  We received 6 pounds of sweet strawberries and 2 pounds of fresh asparagus. Apparently this is the earliest April harvest our farm has seen in 28 years!

Eggs and asparagus are a natural combination, and as if to read my mind a friend sent me a link to a lunch of hard boiled egg sliced over boiled asparagus and sprinkled with grey sea salt, pepper, and blood orange oil.  Oh man.  I opened her note just after we finished up our dinner tonight of cheese omelets and roasted asparagus.

We have one pound of the green stuff left, and this asparagus, goat cheese, and lemon pasta looks like just the thing.

I like to share how I use my produce every week, and I have already come across some yummy looking recipes. Maybe not ideal for this week though, because I'm pretty sure that the berries will only last long enough to devour them as they are, such a predicament!

Still, these recipes make me want to get in the kitchen and start experimenting:
Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet
Strawberries and Dumplings
Strawberry Basil Lemonade
I made this strawberry cake for valentine's day this year and it is so, so good.  Definitely worth making again with fresh strawberries this time (instead of frozen).

Next week I hear we have strawberries and rhubarb to look forward to.  Yippee!

Homemade marshmallows

This post is from December of last year, but I'm gearing up this weekend to make a few batches and wanted to remind you that you should too!! Happy 'mallow making. The recipe can be found here. I'm curious, if you're a candy maker are there any reasonable substitutions for corn syrup?   

Hot cocoa with marshmallows is a quiet pleasure these days. With so many artisan options I've long ago given up on the classic Jet Puffed. When the Fall chill arrives I crave the gooey goodness of a melted marshmallow and this year, instead of searching high and low for a fix, I decided it was time to learn to make them myself. Years ago (before a stand mixer graced my counter top) I attempted a recipe that produced a slimy, wet, and weak little batch of marshmallows too icky to enjoy.

I'm happy to share that with my latest attempt at these heavenly confections (I made cinnamon vanilla), my confidence has been rebuilt and I will be making homemade marshmallows from now until forever.

oh yum

spread it out

liberally sprinkle with powdered sugar and let sit for 8 hours

TAH DAH! Share, and enjoy!

Need something to eat those marshmallows with? Here is the recipe to my favorite hot cocoa--it's really more like drinking chocolate, so you don't need a lot, and topped with either sweet whipped cream or a marshmallow it's perfect any time (or all the time).

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 oz. milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup boiling water

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a medium bowl, combine the bittersweet chocolate with the milk chocolate. Add the boiling water and let it stand for 1 minute. Whisk the chocolate mixture until it is smooth.

In a small saucepan, bring the milk and heavy cream just to a simmer. Add the chocolate mixture and whisk over moderate heat until hot. Pour into small mugs and garnish as you like!

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine

Our daily bread

As detailed in this quasi-new year's resolution post, we've sought small changes in the way that we live on a daily basis in order to better align our lifestyle with our values and bring us closer to living the kind of life that we aspire to, despite a less than ideal housing market.

We found time to address some of our mini goals before Merritt was born, but we didn't get to everything, and being home over the past month has made it easy for me to focus in on the details of what happens here, which in turn has provided more motivation for improvement.

I've been making steady progress on the list of action items that we initially identified, and I would love to share more about the individual changes that we've made (like banning the tv), but this post here is about bread!

Cinnamon Raisin

White Sandwich

Whole Wheat

We consume a fair amount of sandwich bread in this house, and I thought it was a great idea to learn to bake the kind of bread that we eat on a regular basis. I've always been just a little shy about baking anything that requires the use of yeast as a leavening agent. I never could get it just right (I've since learned that yeast doesn't need hot water to proof, it's really much happier at lukewarm).

So, we've identified three winning recipes that now serve as our staples, and we've woven their baking into a weekend ritual that satisfies my need to keep the belly's in this house full, while offering anyone who wants to join in the opportunity for family cooking.

I love everything about warm yeasty breads rising and baking on a Sunday morning.

Here are the recipes:

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

White Sandwich Bread

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Crunchy, Chewy: Granola

I've been craving snacking granola this week and it dawned on me as I perused foodzie (for the hundredth time) and considered other fruit/nut combinations at my mixed nuts, that I could make my own. So I did!

Recipe:

4 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to melting

1/2 cup honey

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

1.5 cups dried cherries, unsweetened

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1.5 cups cashews

2 tablespoons flax seeds

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1.5 cups banana chips

1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the oats, coconut, almonds, flax seeds and chia seeds. Pour in melted coconut oil and honey, mix until all the dry ingredients are evenly coated.

Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until the granola is nicely toasted and brown. Turn the granola every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooking.

When the granola is mostly cool, add in the banana chips, cherries, and cashews. Once the batch has cooled completely add in the chocolate chips and store in an airtight container.

This recipe provides a nice granola base to which you can add whatever yummies you're in the mood for.

Enjoy!

Marshmallows!

As requested, here's the recipe for homemade marshmallows, adapted from my favorite of favorite cookbooks for sweet treats: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: desserts for the serious sweet tooth.

1 cup cold water

3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cinnamon

cornstarch and confectioners' sugar for dusting

Pour 1/2 cup of the cold water into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the water and allow the gelatin to sit and absorb all the water, 45 to 60 minutes.

In a large saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup cold water, the granulated sugar, the corn syrup, and the salt. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and let the mixture come to a boil. Cook the syrup, without stirring, until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer (or you can eyeball it--basically you want the sugar to get to the soft-ball stage). Do not allow the syrup to go past 244 degrees or the marshmallows will be rubbery rather than tender. Remove the syrup from the heat and slowly beat into the dissolved gelatin with an electric mixer set at low speed. Increase the mixer speed to high and continue beating until the mixture is very thick and white but still warm, about 15 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and cinnamon.

Generously dust a 9x13 inch baking pan with cornstarch. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and dust the top liberally with confectioners' sugar. Let the marshmallow stand, uncovered at room temperature, for 8-12 hours to firm up. Turn the marshmallow from the pan onto a sheet of parchment paper liberally dusted with confectioners' sugar. Cut into 20 large squares. Dust each square with more confectioners' sugar. Store the marshmallows in a tightly covered container until ready to serve.

Oh my gosh. I hope you love them as much as I do! Need a reminder as to how easy to make and yummy to eat they are? Read the post from last week.

Sweet Redemption

Hot cocoa with marshmallows is a quiet pleasure these days. With so many artisan options I've long ago given up on the classic Jet Puffed. When the Fall chill arrives I crave the gooey goodness of a melted marshmallow and this year, instead of searching high and low for a fix, I decided it was time to learn to make them myself. Years ago (before a stand mixer graced my counter top) I attempted a recipe that produced a slimy, wet, and weak little batch of marshmallows too icky to enjoy.

I'm happy to share that with my latest attempt at these heavenly confections (I made cinnamon vanilla), my confidence has been rebuilt and I will be making homemade marshmallows from now until forever.

oh yum

spread it out

liberally sprinkle with powdered sugar and let sit for 8 hours

TAH DAH! Share, and enjoy!

Need something to eat those marshmallows with? Here is the recipe to my favorite hot cocoa--it's really more like drinking chocolate, so you don't need a lot, and topped with either sweet whipped cream or a marshmallow it's perfect any time (or all the time).

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 oz. milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup boiling water

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a medium bowl, combine the bittersweet chocolate with the milk chocolate. Add the boiling water and let it stand for 1 minute. Whisk the chocolate mixture until it is smooth.

In a small saucepan, bring the milk and heavy cream just to a simmer. Add the chocolate mixture and whisk over moderate heat until hot. Pour into small mugs and garnish as you like!

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine

Pumpkin Cake

The annual pumpkin cake was baked and devoured last weekend. As sophomores in college, a girlfriend of mine introduced me to this moist and spicy cake topped with fluffy cream cheese icing. Her dad, a former chef, frequently invited us to his home for fancy coursed dinners complete with candlelight and appetizers. We were in heaven.

Somehow, I was able to get my hands on the recipe for this ah-mazing cake and it has been an integral part of our Fall festivities for the past 8 years. I bake it only during the season, and while people have begged me for the recipe, I don't dare. It's really not mine to share. I do bake it on request, however!

As the Sous-Chef De Cuisine Roscoe gave five stars to the batter, the icing, and the final product.

What are your favorite Fall treats? Do you share your "secret" recipes with people who ask?

Bake-N-Blog: #28 Gingerbread Cupcakes

It rained every day last week. The temps were lower than usual and even though Fall doesn't officially begin for another month, with the smell of gingerbread wafting through our house, it was easy to make believe that school was in session and that the leaves were turning.

Cupcake 28 is a special little cupcake, and I picked it for a handful of reasons. Did I ever tell you that we have a tradition of baking gingerbread houses from scratch and decorating them on Christmas Eve? It's a family event. The year before Roscoe was born we made a Gingerbread Trailer Park and it was one for the books!

Toward the end of every season I begin to itch for the next, so I couldn't resist a little mid-August Fall welcome.

Without further ado, let's get started!

Cupcake Ingredients:

To avoid the embarrassment of discovering little lumps of salty baking soda sprinkled throughout my cuppy-cakes, I first whisked the flour and baking soda together in a small bowl. Then into my mixer I beat on medium speed the butter, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. When all the ingredients had incorporated together nice and smooth I added the molasses and each egg, one at a time. Then I dumped in the sour cream, mixed some more then scraped down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula. Next, in went the dry ingredients: the flour and baking soda. I dumped half in at a time and mixed the batter on medium speed until it was well-blended.

Have you ever used Sili Cups? These neat little baking liners are made from silicone and are placed directly on a half or full sized baking sheet, which eliminates the need for a cupcake pan.

In the face of some obvious advantages: they are pretty to look at, nonstick, reusable, portable, and easy to store, they come with an even longer list (or maybe just weightier) of disadvantages: they are a challenge to clean, often feel "sticky" even after washing, and more often than not result in destroying the delicate pastry that lies within in order to remove (at least in my experience, and maybe there's a trick I'm not aware of...but I don't think so).

Anyway, I have them, so I use them!

I spooned a little more than a 1/4 cup into each of 12 silicups (about 3/4 full), popped them into the oven at 350 and set my timer for 30 minutes.

Then the three of us took turns with the batter bowl until it was clean and afterward we put Roscoe down for his nap.

When I checked on the cupcakes at about 20 minutes they were overflowing and batter was baking into hard little brown bits on the sheet pan. Hmmm....perhaps I filled them too full.

At 28 minutes a batter tester came out clean so I pulled the cupcakes out to cool.

And then it was time for the FROSTING!!

A classic Cream Cheese frosting, with a special little twist: Marshmallow fluff.

The recipe called for 4 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 stick room temperature butter, 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 jar of marshmallow fluff, and 1 tsp vanilla. My first concern was that the size of the marshmallow fluff jar was not specified. I had a 16 oz jar which seemed like an awfully marshmallow-heavy ratio. So I used only 1/2 the jar. I creamed the cream cheese and butter on medium high speed then added the vanilla, marshmallow fluff, and confectioner's sugar.

The icing was yummy, but not very cream-cheesy and the flavor of Marshmallow was too dominant for my taste. I decided to make a separate batch of the frosting minus the marshmallow fluff, and then mix it with the first batch.

Bottom line, the new ratio is: 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 stick butter, 3 cups confectioner's sugar, 8 oz. marshmallow fluff, 2 tsp. vanilla.

PERFECTION. Luscious, dreamy, with a warm pulled taffy-like viscosity, and an egg-shell sheen finish. Delicious from beginning to end.

After removing the unsightly overflow (the silicups made this otherwise impossible task extra easy), I used the icing injector tip on my mechanical pastry bag to fill the cupcake centers with icing, and then I carefully iced the tops.

Tah-dah!!

Aren't they lovely?

I was so happy that fresh ginger was used in this recipe, and if I could make one tiny improvement I would increase the "spiciness" of the cake. Some people don't like spicy gingerbread, but I think it would complement the cool and creamy icing so very nicely.

Also, my little ginger cakes were a little dark and a little dry. Thirty minutes in the oven was too long. I think 22-25 minutes would have been better. Otherwise, my panel of taste testers declared these cupcakes "like Christmastime!" And I have to agree.

Thanks to Staci, for inventing the Bake N Blog! & thanks to Ming at Ming Makes Cupcakes for inventing Cupcake 28!