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Freezer releases a taste of summer

February 2nd, 2009 · local food, recipes

The other evening, I decided it was time to remind myself of summer. I pulled out of the freezer a bag of frozen local raspberries that I bought late last summer. I opened my new cookbook, How to Cook Everything, and set out to make a raspberry tart.

I can’t say everything went entirely as planned. I broke one of my cardinal rules of baking (or cooking in general, really, when dealing with a new recipe), which is to read the entire recipe before proceeding.

Thus, it didn’t register with me until very late in the game that I probably should have thawed the raspberries. Or that I needed to chill the pastry an hour (!) before prebaking it. Or that I needed to allow extra baking time—I think—to make up for the frozen berries. Or that I would resort to sending the hot tart (no, not me!) outside with my daughter’s (not her either!) boyfriend. There, in the lovely evening air in the upper 20s F, he stood guard over the tart against the neighborhood dogs, cats, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, mice and any other possible marauders.

When he brought it back inside, it was the perfect temperature for eating. Even if it wasn’t the prettiest tart I’ve ever made, and even if it exposed my carelessness, it nevertheless tasted like a little bit of summery heaven. Ah…

Even better news is that I still have a bag full of sour cherries and 1/2 cup or more of raspberries in the freezer. Just thinking how I’ll use them makes me smile.

How do you get a taste of summer in February? Or do you lack the desire?

Here are the recipes, adapted from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman.

Sweet Tart Crust

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) frozen or cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 3 tablespoons ice water, plus more if necessary
  • 1 egg yolk
  1. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the container of a food processor and pulse once or twice. Add the butter all at once; process until the mixture is uniform, about 10 seconds (do not over-process). Add the egg and process another few seconds.
  2. Put the mixture in a bowl and add 3 tablespoons ice water; mix with your hands until you can form the dough into a ball, adding another tablespoon or 2 of ice water if necessary (if you overdo it and the mixture becomes sodden, add a little more flour). [I had to add about 3 more tablespoons of water.] Form into a ball, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (You can refrigerate for up to a couple of days, freeze for up to a couple of weeks.)
  3. Sprinkle a countertop with flour and put the dough on it; sprinkle the top with a little flour. Use a rolling pin to roll with light pressure, from the center out. If the dough is sticky, add a little flour (if it continues to become sticky, and it’s taking you more than a few minutes to roll it out, refrigerate or freeze again). Roll, adding flour and rotating and turning the dough as needed; use ragged edges of dough to repair any tears, adding a drop of water while you press the patch into place.
  4. When dough is at least 2 inches in diameter larger than your tart pan, move the dough into the pan by draping it over the rolling pin and moving it into the pan. Press the dough into all the nooks and crannies in the pan, being careful not to overwork it, and use a knife to cut the edges flush with the rim of the pan. [I used a metal false-bottom tart pans, and a quick run over the top with the rolling pin made for quite a nice trim.] Cover and chill 1 hour.
  5. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prick bottom and sides of pastry shell with fork to release steam and prevent bubbles from forming. Butter one side of a piece of foil large enough to cover the crust. Press the foil onto the crust, butter side down. Weight the foil with a pile of dried beans or rice (they can be reused for the same purpose) or pie weights.
  6. Bake 12 minutes; remove from oven and remove the weights and foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust has a nice golden brown color, another 10 minutes or so.

Simple Berry Tart

  • 1 prebaked tart crust (recipe above)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 3 cups strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or blueberries, or a mix, picked over, stemmed, hulled and sliced if necessary
  1. Rub sugar and cornstarch together with your fingers until well combined. [The back of a spoon worked fine.]
  2. Toss with about 2 cups of berries, crushing some of berries with a fork or potato masher to help dissolve the sugar. Pile berries into the tart crust, then top with remaining berries left whole (or halved if they are large strawberries, for example).
  3. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until the fruit mixture is bubbly, about 3o minutes. [I swear mine never bubbled, even after I baked it about 10 minutes more.] Cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Standard Leek & Potato Soup still bursts with flavor

January 26th, 2009 · Cooking tips, Food preparation, recipes

Like lots of cooks, I long ago learned how to make Leek & Potato Soup. It’s a standard-bearer of the maxim, “less is more.” Somewhere along the line, though, I quit making it, and yesterday I righted that wrong. It warmed me to the bone.

With what’s left, I can enjoy that wonderful flavor again, just as it is, or use it as the base for countless soup variations. Not bad for a soup I had it on the stove in less than 15 minutes.

Leek & potato soup

  • 1 pound russet potatoes (baking-type potatoes), about 2 medium potatoes
  • 1 pound leeks
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 quarts water
  • 2-3 tablespoons butter, cream or half-and-half (which I used)
  • Fresh minced parsley or chives for garnish (see note)
  1. Peel and dice potatoes. Wash leeks well to remove sand (see below), then slice.
  2. Place potatoes, leeks, salt and water in 3-4 quart pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Mash or puree vegetables.
  3. Remove from heat, then stir in butter, cream or half-and-half. Serve in warm bowl with minced herbs for garnish. Makes 8 servings.

Note: Lacking parsley and chives, I minced up some celery leaves. They, being a paler green, weren’t quite as pretty in the soup as the herbs would have been, but they worked, and I even liked the flavor.

Variations: You can add chopped greens, carrots, peas or other vegetables toward the end of the cooking, allowing just enough time to cook them. Feel free also to add even closer to the end already-cooked (read: leftover) vegetables or diced chicken. Or try some other combination that appeals to you. This is a great start to many other soups.

Cleaning leeks

As I understand it, leeks get some of their distinctive personality from having sandy dirt piled up around each stalk as it grows. The parts under cover stay white and tender. They also can get gritty. To make the cleanup easier, do this:

  1. Trim off root end and dark, tough leaves.
  2. Cut through the leaf end in half both vertically and horizontally:
  3. Immerse the thus-prepped leeks in water for a few minutes. (You can weight them with a plate to hold them underwater.)
  4. Swirl the leeks vigorously through the water to rinse away the now-softened/loosened dirt.
  5. Rinse again under running water, and use as desired.

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Rolling Prairie announcement hints of spring

January 23rd, 2009 · local food

A glimmer of spring arrived at my house this week, and I’m not talking about yesterday’s unseasonable warmth. Rather, I’m referring to the flier announcing the 2009 Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance produce subscription service, a type of CSA (community supported agriculture).

The alliance is a group of six farms that cooperatively furnish a weekly vegetable supply to about 300 subscribers from May through October, give or take a couple of weeks. The farmers deliver twice a week in Lawrence and once a week at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park and the Franklin Center in Kansas City, Kan.

This will be RPFA’s 16th season, and the 16th season I’ve subscribed. I gave a call to Bob Lominska, who will be site coordinator at the Monday delivery in Lawrence, to see what this season holds in store. Here are a few things I learned:

The nationwide interest in local food has been a boon to RPFA. In fact, the waiting list is so long for the Kansas City area sites that the alliance didn’t bother to send fliers to people there.

Lawrence customers account for about a third of the total subscribers. I suspect more people didn’t sign up in advance here because we’re spoiled by living in a small city where waiting isn’t a major requirement in our daily lives, and sellouts of anything are relatively unusual. As I understand, last year was fully subscribed, however, so I won’t be complacent about the Feb. 1 deadline!

The RPFA farmers have gotten into a rhythm, more or less. I could fairly see Bob shrug when I asked about the growing plan for 2009, and he reported that the group had planned “in a casual sort of way.” In other words, although farmers are famously independent-minded, and although some RPFA growers have come and gone over the years, members of the group have settled in and seem to have a general understanding of which growers grow what and in what quantities. “We’ve just gotten better at what we do,” he said.

Prices are staying the same. The alliance decided to hold the line on price, mindful of customers’ financial anxiety. Some people probably think the prices are awfully high, at $16 a week and a $70 deposit (most of which is applied to the final two or three weeks’ service). Anyone who shops for high-quality organic produce, however, will surely think it’s a bargain. I need to develop a taste for mushrooms, though, as they are a fairly frequent and high-value item, which I usually give away.

Yes, it’s very definitely midwinter here in Kansas, as today’s temperature (which has been sliding since 6 a.m. to 20 degrees and snowing as I write this) and the forecast (chance of snow tonight, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) attest. This Rolling Prairie harbinger, though, gives me hope that I’ll make it through another winter so as to revel in the glorious greens sure to greet me when Rolling Prairie rolls out its first produce in April or May.

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It’s a new day, and I’m feeling fat and happy

January 21st, 2009 · General

The presidential inauguration day was too momentous an event to let pass without note, so I invited some friends over to share in some Obama favorites—mainly chili—to celebrate. Although so far Barack Obama hasn’t strongly indicated a shift away from the agriculture policies that give us cheap soda pop and expensive fruit, I’m willing to give him the a little slack while enjoying the first day with Obama in and Bush out. Ah…

I made two kinds of chili, with and without meat, both a little spicier than Obama’s chili but I didn’t make it particularly hot, since I was sharing it with people whose heat tolerance was unknown.

Inauguration Day Chili

Start the day before so you can soak the beans!

  • 1 pound dry red kidney beans, preferably organic
  • 2 quarts water, plus more for soaking
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound ground beef, preferably 100% grass-fed
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 medium-hot chili peppers, minced or pureed (I used the rest of the local peppers from the freezer)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  • 1 large can (28-30 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
  1. Sort beans and discard any stones or beans that look bad. Put in pot and cover with water about 3 times as deep as the beans. Soak overnight.
  2. Drain beans. Rinse pot. Rinse beans well and drain again. Return to pot. Add 2 quarts water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. Add salt, and simmer 30 minutes more, or until tender.
  3. Meanwhile, brown beef and drain if needed. (Grass-fed beef doesn’t have much fat.) Add onion, chili peppers and garlic, and cook until soft.
  4. Drain off and discard (or save for another purpose) one-third to one-half of the cooking liquid, depending on how thick you like your chili.
  5. Add meat mixture, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, oregano and tomatoes with juice to beans. Stir well to combine. Simmer 45 minutes or more to blend flavors. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. For best taste, cool and refrigerate for a day or two before reheating and serving. (This allows flavors to develop and merge.) Makes about 8 servings.

Variation: To make Meatless Chili, skip step 3. Then, in step 5 instead of the meat mixture add 1/2 cup bulgur to the cooked beans along with the onion, chili peppers, garlic and spices. (If you prefer, you can saute your vegetables in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil before adding them to the beans. )

100 Days Chili

Of course, this recipe, should you want to try it, is too late for inauguration day. That’s OK. You can use it to mark the first 100 days or the Super Bowl or whatever excuse works for you.

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Second try at 100% whole wheat bread better

January 19th, 2009 · Food preparation, recipes

I decided I’d give Mark Bittman’s All Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread a shot after being underwhelmed by the results of Slow Fermented Whole Wheat Bread, both of which he discussed in his NYTimes column. If you don’t remember that one, here’s my report on it. It was as bricklike as promised, a little too leaden for my taste.

I threw aside (for the moment) all the good advice you all offered and decided to try again for an easy 100 percent whole wheat loaf. Perhaps you can tell from the following photo, the resulting loaf is about 50 percent higher and less dense than the brick.

As usual, I improvised a bit to accommodate ingredients I had on hand. Here’s my report, and a promise that next time I’ll try your suggestions, probably Joanne’s and Susan’s, as the Renegade’s recipe requires too much interaction for me! My changes are in square brackets [ ].

All Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

  • 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, plus more as needed
  • 2 tablespoons vital gluten
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast ["instant" is what I call quick-rise yeast; I didn't have any, so I used active dry yeast and increased rising times accordingly]
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or honey, or more to taste [I used honey]
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, or softened butter, plus more for the bowl and the pan [I used canola and nonstick vegetable spray for the bowl and pan]
  • Scant 1 1/3 cups cool milk, preferably whole or 2 percent (warm the milk to at least 70 degrees if you’re working by hand) [I used 1/3 cup half-and-half and a scant cup skim milk; I warmed the combination to 115 degrees as an aid to the active dry yeast.]
  • All purpose flour for dusting and kneading as needed

1. Put the whole wheat flour and vital gluten in a food processor, add the salt and yeast, and process for 5 seconds. With the machine running, add the sweetener, the oil or butter, and most of the milk through the feed tube (you’ll need a little less milk if you’re using a liquid sweetener). [I probably screwed up here; I dumped it all in.] Process for about 30 seconds, then remove the cover. The dough should be in a well-defined, barely sticky, easy-to-handle ball. [Mine wasn't; it was quite wet.] If it’s too dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time and process for 5 or 10 seconds after each addition. If too wet, which is unlikely, add a tablespoon or two of flour and process briefly. [And so I did. It never formed a ball, though, but I quit attempting to process as it the motor was struggling with the dough's stiffness.]

2. Use a little more of the oil to grease a large bowl. [I sprayed.] Shape the dough into a rough ball, place it in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let rise for at least 2 hours, until nearly doubled in bulk. [I let mine rise 3 hours.] Deflate the ball and shape it once again into a ball; let rest on a lightly floured surface for about 15 minutes, covered.

3. Using only enough white flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface, flatten it into a rectangle about the size and shape of loaf pan. Let it rest for a few minutes. Use the remaining oil or butter to grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Place the loaf in the pan, flattening the top of it with the back of your hand. Cover and let rest for 1 hour, or until the top of the dough is nearly level with the top of the pan.

4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of the loaf lightly with water, then put in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it (it will fall easily from the loaf pan) or the internal temperature reads about 210 degrees. Remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack. [Mine went about 55 minutes.] Yield: 1 loaf.

Source: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by way of New York Times.

I might make it again. We’ll see how I feel after consuming a loaf of it. Next time, though, I’m going for a loaf with some all-purpose flour in it!

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Seller offers almost-instant gratification

January 14th, 2009 · Books, Tools

They’re here already! My mail-order kitchen items are here!

That’s not a huge surprise. One small advantage of living in Lawrence, Kansas, is the city’s proximity to an Amazon.com warehouse. That means when I redeemed a Christmas gift certificate on Sunday, my items had a short distance to travel, and they arrived today. In fairness, though, one item came via Amazon from a seller in Seattle, and it arrived today too. Two of the four items are kitchen-related, and I can’t wait to put them to use.

Exhibit A is a new cookbook, How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition): 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman. Based on innumerable recommendations from others, I’ve recommended this book many times, but I haven’t owned it myself until now. It’s like a couple of my other favorites (Joy of Cooking and Mastering The Art of French Cooking) in that it provides tons of useful and educational information along with many, many recipes.

How to cook everything, of course, is hyperbole. When I first opened the book, I landed on pages 626 and 627, which feature recipes for squid and octopus, recipes I’m not likely to have a use for. Did I mention I live in Kansas? Yea. Meanwhile, he doesn’t have recipes for bison or venison, which are considerably more available in these parts than tentacled creatures. That’s OK. We in the midlands are accustomed to this sort of slight, and dear late Mrs. Rombauer of Joy fame, a St. Louisan, provides instructions (at least in the edition I own) on cooking far more critters than I’d care to try. Muskrat, anyone? Opossum?

In any case, you’re likely to see some of my adventures in cooking from this big ol’ book. If you have it and recommend any recipes in particular, let me know what they are.

My other kitchen purchase is the highly recommended but not particularly attractive Unicorn Magnum Peppermill (at left). I’ll let you know if it lives up to its reputation. I suppose even if it doesn’t grind as well as expected, it’s at least easy to fill and has a nice little tray to catch the pepper “crumbs.”

(And, of course, you can see what else I think is worth ordering from Amazon at Foodperson’s unabashed exchange division.

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