Wild Flora's Food

An Easy, Nutty Meal

2007-12-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

Cook whole wheat rotini and toss it with almond or hazelnut butter (look in the natural foods section). On the side, green and yellow beans (preferably ones you grew in your garden) simmered in vermouth and dressed with a touch of sesame oil.

Pan de Polvo

2007-12-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

I can't say that I have ever been crazy about Pan de Polvo, aka Mexican shortbread or Mexican wedding cookie. But my mother was proud of her recipe and made it for every special occasion, from faculty parties to the time I was bullied into bringing food to the Junior Prom even though I didn't go.

Recently I came across a weatherbeaten index card on which she had written her recipe. (After doing a search, I discovered that it is practically identical to this one at Cooks.com.)

3 lbs flour
1 1/2 lbs Crisco (by which no doubt she meant shortening)
8 oz sugar
1/2 cup cool cinnamon tea

Mix all ingredients and work into a smooth dough.

Pinch off tiny pieces, roll between palms, and form into tiny rings.

Bake in moderate oven (about 350 degrees) until rings start to brown.

When cool roll in powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Slow Cooked Venison Roast

2007-12-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

My attitude toward hunting has changed. Don't get me wrong, I still love animals. But my study of ecology has led me to understand that, like it or not, we live by eating. And by we I mean all of us, from worms to trees. This doesn't excuse cruelty or waste, so I remain opposed to factory farming and excessive consumption of protein from flesh. But I no longer see anything wrong with eating the flesh of an animal that has either lived wild or been well cared for on a family farm, and has then been quickly killed.

When I moved to the country, I had a chance to get to know more about animals that are often eaten for meat. I still haven't reached the point where I could kill one myself. But I now have a better understanding of the relationship between humans and meat animals.

Deer are an example. They're beautiful, and I love to see them. But they also tend to overpopulate in the environment humans create. When humans arrived here in Nova Scotia, there were relatively few if any deer. When we cut down most of the forests and replaced them with gardens and crops, we created an environment that is far more hospitable to deer than the ancient forests were. We eradicated the cougar and wolf and brought down the bobcat population; nowadays, if it weren't for coyotes (which are also not native) and the automobile, deer would have almost no predators at all.

Which brings me to hunting. Being shot is not a great way to die, I'm sure. But it's better than starving, which is the fate that awaits animals that overpopulate, and it is certainly no more painful than being killed by a wolf. Not all hunters behave responsibly, and I don't want those hunters on my land. But recently I met a hunter who kills what he shoots at and eats what he kills, and he is welcome here. As a result, I sometimes get a gift of venison, and it gives me great pride to be able to cook and eat flesh that grew wild on or near my own land.

4 lb. venison roast*
one onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoonfuls canola oil
2 cups crushed tomatoes**
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoonfuls brown sugar
1 tablespoonful Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
dash of nutmeg
2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered**
2-4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks**

1. Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil
2. Add tomatoes
3. Add salt, celery salt, Worcestershire sauce, ground pepper, brown sugar, mustard, lemon juice, and nutmeg
4. Place roast in a large (5 qt slow cooker) or pot
6. Cover with tomatoes
7. Add carrots and potatoes

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

* If your roast is bigger than 4 lbs, increase other ingredients accordingly.
** Preferably ones you grew yourself or that were grown locally.

Oatmeal's Revenge

2007-12-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

I GREW UP IN TEXAS. Probably the wealthiest family in the area were the owners of a large ranch. One day when I was very young, for reasons now lost to time, this family invited my parents to dinner.

In retrospect, I realize it's likely my parents were not expected to arrive accompanied by a minor. But that wasn't my parents' style (I cannot remember ever having a babysitter), so the three of us arrived together at the grand hacienda.

The next thing I knew, my parents were being ushered to a beautifully set dining table while I was being hauled off into the kitchen to eat with the rest of the children. That alone was enough to infuriate me in those days. But imagine my ire when I discovered that, while the adults were experiencing what Texans considered fine dining, the children were being given ... oatmeal.

And by oatmeal I mean just oatmeal. It appeared to have been made with water. If salt was used, it was imperceptible. And nothing was placed on the table that might afflict the tastelessness of this meal. No salt, no butter, no milk, no sugar.

So of course I refused to eat it.

The story might well end there--I would have gotten hungry, but my parents would have fed me when we got home and everything would have been find. Except that wealthy Texans in those days were big on discipline, this distinguished household had a rule that children were to eat whatever they were given.

I was ordered to eat. I balked. I was hauled, crying, out into the dining room where the adults were in the middle of their sumptuous meal (evidently it never occurred to anyone that flaunting what the adults were eating might not be the best way to get me to eat the wallpaper paste waiting in the kitchen).

My parents, who had never forced me to eat anything I didn't want to, were helpless. And so the rancher himself stepped up to deliver ... you guessed it, the Starving Children in India speech. While he sat there surrounded by the symbols of his own wealth, eating to excess while his own children choked down oats and water, he actually had the nerve to give That Speech.

I don't remember what happened after that. I do know that my parents were never invited back. And yet they never mentioned my behavior, never blamed me for the collapse of this social opportunity. From what I know of my parents, I doubt they cared.

Which brings me to the subject of oatmeal. With nothing added to it, oatmeal is as close to tasteless as any foodlike substance ever comes. But with just a little of the care that the rancher's kitchen staff failed to take, it can be very yummy without being loaded down with bad-for-you sugars and fats. Whole oats (never quick cook or instant!) are a great source of insoluble fibre, which lowers cholesterol among other benefits.

On these cold mornings, I often make oatmeal, happy in the knowledge that the rancher in my story probably died years ago from a heart attack brought on by eating too much steak.

6 cups water
3 cups old-fashioned or steel-cut oats (steel cut oats cook faster but make a mushier porridge)
1 3/4 cups raisins or other chopped dried fruit (tip: dried apricots have a low glycemic index and are very nutritious)
1/2 teaspoon salt or salt to taste
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
6 tablespoons maple syrup or molasses (omit this or use artificial sweetener if you want to cut the sugar content)
6 tablespoons of chopped nuts (I usually use walnuts)

Combine all of the above and simmer until it achieves the desired consistency. You can also make this in a rice cooker. Contrary to a widespread misconception, oats do not take a long time to cook. I put a pot of oatmeal on just before going to my office to write this. By the time I'd finished, the oatmeal was done.

For a treat, add cream or butter. But this isn't necessary. For calcium and a milky flavor, I sometimes pour on evaporated skim milk.

This recipe makes enough to over-feed 4 people. You can save the leftovers and reheat them in the microwave the next day.

Pecan Puddings

2007-11-22T02:36:00.000-08:00

NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT, pecan pie is rich. It's also a minefield for cooks: If you make pecan pie, your guests will eat it, which is good. But they tend to eat too much, and the next thing you know you're listening to a lot of whining because they've made themselves sick.

This year I stumbled on a way to get all the good stuff out of making pecan pie while lightening the load a bit. My trick also encourages portion control, letting people enjoy this much-loved dessert with much less risk of overeating it.

What happened was this: I made a pecan pie for Thanksgiving, but I ran out of space in the pie crust before I ran out of pie filling. So I grabbed a small glass ramekin, just big enough to hold about a quarter cup of pie filling, sprayed it with cooking spray, poured the remaining pie filling into that, and put it in the oven alongside the pie. I took it out of the oven about 10 minutes before the pie was done (it cooked faster because it was in a small glass container), let it cool, and then gave it to my husband as a treat. He said he didn't miss the pie crust at all, and that the amount of pie filling in the ramekin was exactly the amount he would (ideally) eat in one serving.

Tim also raved about the recipe I used for filling, which is based on the one in my precious 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking. I've tried a lot of pecan pie recipes, and also tasted a lot of commercially made pecan pies. In my opinion (and Tim's), this is the one that gives the perfect balance of sweetness to pecan flavor.

2 cups pecan pieces
3 large or 4 medium eggs (I prefer the latter)
1 cup sugar
1 cup golden corn syrup
3 tablespoons regular butter (with salt), melted
1 tablespoon dark rum (I use Gosling's Black Seal, which is also my favorite sippin' liquor)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, with the rack in the center of the oven.

Spread the pecan pieces on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, stirring at least once, for 6 to 10 minutes. (To find out whether they're done, give them a sniff. If they smell roasted, they are.)

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining ingredients until blended.

Stir in the toasted nuts.

Spray ramekins with butter-flavored cooking spray. (How many ramekins you'll need depends on how big they are. For the best portion control, use ones that hold only about a quarter cup.)

Pour pie filling into ramekins. Put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven. Bake until the edges are firm and the center is just barely set, about 25 minutes.

Cool before serving.

These can be served with a small dollup of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (use nonfat for more calorie control).

They can be kept for 2 days in the refrigerator. But warm them to room temp or place them in a 275 degree oven for 10 minutes before you serve them.

Late Summer Sandwich

2007-08-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

Two slices bread, preferably something whole grain and tasty
Extra virgin olive oil with fruity, peppery taste, to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated, about 2 T or to taste
2 eggs, preferably from local chickens
Chopped tomato, preferably locally grown. A mix of red and yellow cherry tomatoes right from the vine is especially pretty and good.
Fresh basil leaves, about 4

Scramble the eggs with the cheese and the tomato
Toast the bread and drizzle it with the olive oil
Assemble these ingredients into a sandwich with a layer of fresh basil leaves

A Ducktail

2007-07-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

THE FLORITA

IT WAS HOT, AND MY DUCK WAS GONE. ... OK, time to make the long story shorter. Duck is both a duck and a representative of the bird community frequently referred to as ducks. She's one of four I adopted back in May (and have blogged about on both the Wild Flora's Farm and Wild Gardening blogs). Yesterday we had a bit of a broo hoo hoo, as one might expect when adopting poultry. The ducks were learning how to fly; my ancient Great Pyrenees dog Molly (blogged about frequently at the Wild Flora's Farm blog) suddenly Rediscovered her Lost Youth and decided to (try to) chase them. Duck (the others being named Cover, Run, and Hide) took off. We made a sincere effort to find her but, alas, she seemed to have Vanished.

Cut to: The following day, and it was Hot. Hot by Nova Scotia standards is not ALL THAT hot--low 80s--but is humid enough to drown a squid. I'm not a fan of Heat, so I would have been in a Bad Mood anyway, even if Duck's disappearance had not been not preying upon my mind.

I got up early and went looking for Duck. I took my walking stick, which has a carved raven's head on the top, and I found my way carefully down the steep slope behind the house, which goes down to the pond. I was very worried that Duck was trapped somewhere, worried enough so that I took risk I'd fall and end up trapped myself as a result. But ... no Duck.

Cut to: The day has passed. It's almost 5. I've been looking for Duck every few hours, and have not seen or heard anything of her. In the meantime, I've cleaned the bathroom and washed the bathroom floor on a day when, really, I should have been lying on my bed naked, with a fan playing carelessly upon my supine body. The lack of nakedness and absence of my friend fan did not improve my mood.

I want a treat. More specifically, I want something cold, and an alcoholic beverage is sounding pretty good right now. We don't drink alcohol much, so there's not much in the house. We are also out of ice.

I go to the freezer, where I find a giant bag of no-name frozen fruit, kept in the freezer for emergencies just like this one: peach slices, strawberries, melon balls, pineapple chunks, whole grapes. I bring it inside and fill a martini glass with frozen fruit chunks. The only alcohol we have in quantity is dry vermouth, which we use for cooking, and kirsch (cherry brandy), which I like to add to fruit desserts. I fill the gaps left by the fruit in the martini glass with vermouth and then spike the drink with kirsch. It's not bad. Not bad at all. ... By the time I've had two of them, it's starting to be the best drink I've ever had. (Even though I think it would probably be a lot better with stone-cold vodka or gin.)

And dissolve: I hear Tim say, "There's a duck on the pond. It's your duck." (Obviously he's not yet clear on his relationship to our ducks.) I run to the window, grabbing the binoculars on the way. Yes, it's Duck. She's on the pond, looking quite content. I'm sure she misses her friends, and she's at risk of ending up as some coyote's lunch, but at least for now she seems healthy, and she is living in Duck Heaven, with the biggest wading pool ever and all the food she can eat.

Come to think of it, maybe the Florita should be made with Cold Duck.

Duck, shortly before she took off.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

2007-07-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

IT'S STRAWBERRY SEASON here in Nova Scotia, and anybody in his or her right mind is eating as many fresh strawberries as possible. When the local restaurant and farm store advertised home-made strawberry pie on its roadside sign, the pies disappeared within a few days. You have to move fast during strawberry season.

The best strawberries, big and deep red and full of flavor, should be eaten right out of the box. If you rinse them first, you have more self-discipline than I do.

If you want to gussy them up a bit, a bowlful with a bit of cream and maybe a dab of sugar is fabulous and not too hard on the waistline.

But for sheer strawberry bliss there is nothing like our strawberry shortcake, which is traditionally served at "strawberry suppers" held in churches all over Nova Scotia. The ingredients are simple:

Biscuits made with extra sugar.

Strawberries. I slice them and add a quarter cup of sugar per pint. At our local church, most of them are mashed (I'm not sure whether sugar is added), a few are sliced, and some are left whole with the green tops on. This makes for a very attractive presentation.

Whipped cream. I usually add some powdered sugar to the cream as I'm beating it.

And devour! A big bowl of this is so filling, and so delicious, that some nights this is all Tim and I have for supper. And we consider ourselves very well fed.

Here in Nova Scotia, home-made biscuits go on sale as soon as the first strawberries become available (and are often offered right next to the strawberries). Being far too lazy to roll out and cut biscuit dough, I don't make my own even though a neighbor generously shared her family recipe. I'm not going to give out that recipe, either. However, those of you not lucky enough to be Maritimers should pick your favorite biscuit recipe and add half to a full tablespoonful of sugar for each cup of flour. A basic "shortcake biscuit" recipe from the Joy of Cooking calls for:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
5-6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Cut in butter. Add half and half. Mix until most of the dry ingredients are moist. Knead dough 5-10 times. Roll dough about 3/4 inch thick and cut into squares or rounds. Place on a large ungreased baking sheet, about an inch apart. Bake 10-12 minutes until biscuits are golden brown.

The Many Faces of Rice 'n' Beans

2007-04-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

CHEAP, HEALTHY, AND FILLING is an important food category, one I like to serve up quite frequently. Typically that means a dish that's either vegetarian or has very little flesh in it, containing instead a lot of vegetables, especially bulky, high-fiber ingredients such as rice, beans, or pasta. Most (all?) cultures have versions of this dish, whether it's the rice and beans of Mexico or the pasta and beans of Italy.

The other night was one of my CH&F nights, and I was planning to make black beans with turkey and rice from Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet cookbook. When I was about a third of the way into it, however, I realized that I was out of chile, which meant that I couldn't make the Mexican-inspired dish Brody had in mind. So I made some quick substitutions and ended up, instead, with a Thai-inspired curry.

Later it struck me that there is probably a universal formula for rice and beans, which you can easily customize to use ingredients you have on hand. The basic formula is something like this:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 pound meat or tofu
1 cup chopped onion
At least 1 cup chopped vegetables
At least 1 teaspoon chopped garlic, ginger, or a combination of the two
Seasoning (chile, curry, ...)
Salt in some form (can be a very salty ingredient such as soy sauce or Parmesan cheese)
1 cup tasty liquid (tomato sauce, coconut milk, stock, ...)
2-3 cups cooked beans
3 cups cooked rice

Heat the oil, then cook the meat or brown the tofu. Add the onion, garlic/ginger, and vegetables and sautee them until they're soft. Add the tasty liquid and the beans, stir it all up, and simmer it for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Jane Brody's version of this recipe calls for:

Meat portion: ground turkey
Vegetable portion: sweet green pepper
Garlic/ginger: garlic only
Spices: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard, 1 teaspoon chile powder
Salt: reduced-sodium soy sauce
Tasty liquid: tomato sauce
Beans: black beans

However, a vegetarian, Thai-inspired version of the same recipe could be as follows:

Meat portion: tofu
Vegetable portion: frozen "Thai vegetable" mix
Garlic/ginger: ginger only or a combination of garlic and ginger
Spices: curry, turmeric, chile, and lemongrass or lemon juice
Salt: regular salt
Tasty liquid: coconut milk
Beans: chickpeas

If you keep pre-made Thai cooking sauces in the pantry, as I do, you could replace the spices, salt, and tasty liquid with a pre-made sauce. This makes the dish more expensive to make but is handy in an emergency. For instance, when I realized that I didn't have the chile called for in Brody's recipe, I had already cooked the turkey, green pepper, onion, and garlic. However, I replaced her spices and tomato sauce with a couple of cans of Thai curry sauce. Then, instead of the black beans called for in the original recipe, I used canned chickpeas, which I also keep on hand for emergencies. It turns out that chickpeas simmered in coconut milk are delicious!

Perfect No-Koan Brown Rice

2007-04-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE, I'm trying to consume less these days. This is not just for financial reasons (though spending less is a substantial side-benefit) but also for the sake of the planet.

So I'm reluctant to acquire kitchen appliances. Yet, even so, of the relatively small number of kitchen appliances I do own, I notice that there are only a couple I use frequently. Both of them are shown in the photo; I don't think it's an accident that they're both small enough to fit on my kitchen counter. The small food processor with the dark blue base (at the back of the photo) lives on the counter full time and gets the most use. Even though it will process only about a cup at a time, I often use it in preference to getting out the large, heavy food processor I inherited from my mother or even the immersion blender I bought at a second-hand store. Let's face it: The tools we are most likely to use are those that are right in front of us.

The appliance I use next most often is the small rice cooker in the foreground of the photo. It doesn't live on the counter, but being lightweight it is very easy to retrieve from storage. I think this encourages me to use it more often than I would if it were large and/or heavy. Also, being small, it doesn't take up much room on the counter. So I can set it up and put it to work without having to give up a lot of counter space. The take-home message here: When buying small appliances, the smaller the better. Not only are tiny appliances cheaper, but you're more likely to use them.

Even if the rice cooker were bigger, however, I would probably still use it a lot. We eat a lot of brown rice, and although it's certainly possible to make brown rice in an ordinary pot, it's a lot easier to do it in a small rice cooker such as this one. This is because a rice cooker solves a problem that has long plagued people who cook rice: I call it the brown rice koan. Namely, for the rice to cook properly, you need to keep the lid on the pot. However, to check to see whether the rice is done, most people need to take the lid off the pot. Hence the koan: How to take the lid off the pot while not taking the lid off the pot?

Of course, if you've been cooking brown rice with an ordinary pot for a while, you know the answer to this koan. The trick is to use your sense of smell. When the rice is done, it starts to toast, and if you're right there next to the pot you can smell it before it starts to burn. Trouble is, you have to hang around the pot waiting for the toasting smell to happen. If you get distracted and don't notice it soon enough, burned rice. Good spiritual training, maybe, but not such good eating.

A rice cooker removes the koan from rice cooking. Put the ingredients in, put the lid on, turn it on, and wait for it to turn itself off. (Mine actually turns itself to "warm," which is convenient but not essential.) When it turns itself off, the rice is finished. Meanwhile, you do not have to hang around, sniffing the air over the pot like a rice-obsessed hound.

A small rice cooker like the one pictured costs very little. I think ours cost about $15, maybe less. It makes four cups of rice, which is enough for two meals for two people. This cooker doesn't do a good job on smaller amounts of rice, so we usually make four cups and save the leftovers. I often have them for breakfast.

Here is a great recipe for tasty brown rice made in the rice cooker:

Two cups Basmati brown rice. (Basmati rice has a wonderful smell when cooking.)
Four cups fat-free chicken broth. (Vegetarians use vegetable broth.)

Place both in rice cooker. Put lid on rice cooker. Leave until rice cooker turns itself off, which usually takes about an hour.

"Be Yourself" Spaghetti Squash Casserole

2007-04-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED in rural Canada, I was eager to make a good impression on my neighbors. So when I was invited to bring a "hot dish" (the first word is accented) to a church function, I was thrilled. I delved into the Joy of Cooking, located a recipe that seemed suitably impressive, and proceeded to spend three days assembling an elaborate casserole, with each of the ingredients made from scratch using nothing but the best ingredients and a lot of butter.

The big day arrived, my accomplishment was placed on the table along with everyone else's offerings, and ... mine was barely touched. I ended up coming home with a boatload of artery-clogging goodness, which I had to eat for a week.

Subsequent efforts to impress the community with my culinary prowess also did not fare well. I reached my nadir when the anticipated call came and I was asked to bring ... milk.

Flash forward: I had joined the board of directors of the local recreation association, which hosts community potluck suppers. When you attend, you're expected to bring something to share. For a while I relied on my pumpkin pie cheesecake : It's hard to go wrong with several pounds of eggs, cream, sugar, and cheese. But cheesecake is hard to make. So one night I got lazy: I decided to forget about trying to impress anyone; instead, I figured, I'd make something I could eat (both with enjoyment and without sending myself to a premature grave). That way, when nobody touched it, at least I wouldn't mind bringing it home.

What happened next was yet another example of Flora's Law, which states that "You can have anything you don't want anymore." The dish was a hit. Well, OK, maybe not a hit, but it was received better than anything else I've made. Several people liked it enough to ask for the recipe. It's even going to be included in the "Social Supper Favourites" column in the April recreation association newsletter. (Full disclosure: I am one of the editors of the recreation association newsletter. But when I said I was going to put this recipe in the newsletter, nobody complained.)

So here it is, straight from the MSRA News to you:

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This tasty vegetarian dish is adapted from one in Natural Health, Natural Medicine by Andrew Weil, M.D.

Take a whole spaghetti squash and poke it a few times with a knife to allow steam to escape. Bake in a low oven until it's soft to the touch. Allow it to cool.

Meanwhile, slice 2 large carrots, a large onion, 2 stalks of celery, and a green pepper. Heat about 2 tablespoonfuls of olive oil in a skillet and cook the carrots and onion over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Add the celery and green pepper with some red pepper flakes and salt (if desired), then cook about 10 minutes, continuing to stir. When vegetables are tender, add a large can of crushed tomatoes, 2-5 cloves chopped garlic, and basil and oregano to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes.

When the squash is cool enough, discard the seeds and scoop out the remaining contents. Mix the cooked squash with the other vegetables and put half in the bottom of a large baking dish. Top this without about a cup of shredded part-skim mozzarella and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Add the remaining vegetables and top with another cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes or until the cheese is slightly brown. Let it rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

A Light Lunch to Herald Spring

2007-02-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

A GOOD FRIEND came to lunch yesterday, and with a lot of last summer's garden bounty still in the freezer, I decided to make a meal of frozen vegetables. Because I don't like to be busy with cooking when a guest arrives, I also wanted to choose recipes that could be wholly or mostly made the day before.

We had a particularly good carrot crop last summer, not only abundant but also exceptionally flavorful, so carrot soup was at the top of my list of things to make. To go with the soup, I wanted bread. To go with the bread I wanted some sort of spread, and I wanted the spread to be a color that would look good with the color of carrots. This called for spinach, the only dark green vegetable that I still have a lot of in the freezer.

Turning to one of my favorite cookbooks, the notorious 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking (which is not to be confused with any other edition of Joy), I chose recipes for Carrot-Ginger-Orange Soup and Spinach-Yogurt Spread, which I then adapted to suit the ingredients that happen to be available to me.

The day before my friend was due to arrive, I prepared the spinach-yogurt spread as follows:

1. Take two coffee filters and put them in a sieve, then set the sieve in a bowl. Into each of the coffee filters place a cup of fat-free plain yogurt, then leave this to drain for several hours. (Draining as much liquid as possible off yogurt gives it a consistency more like cheese than like yogurt. In fact, some people refer to drained yogurt as 'yogurt cheese.')
2. Meanwhile, thaw about 10 ounces of frozen spinach.
3. When the spinach is thawed, use the food processor to mince a couple of peeled shallots. (The original recipe calls for green onions and garlic, but I prefer shallots and I usually have them around because they're easy to grow.)
4. To the minced shallots add the spinach, the drained yogurt, 2 T grated Parmesan cheese, 2 T sour cream, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg, and some salt. Blend all this until smooth, transfer to a storage container, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Also on the day before my friend was due to arrive, I got the carrot soup started as follows:

1. Thaw about a pound and a half of frozen carrots. (You could also clean and chop the same quantity of fresh carrots.)
2. When the carrots are thawed, chop a medium onion and prepare 1 T peeled fresh ginger.
3. In a soup pot, melt 1 T of butter in 1/4 cup chicken stock.
4. Cook the onion and ginger, along with 1/2 tsp curry powder, in the butter and chicken stock until the onion is tender.
4. Add 4 more cups of chicken stock and the carrots to the soup pot.
5. Chop about 4 clementines (enough to make one cup) and add them to the soup pot. (The original recipe called for fresh orange juice, but clementines are abundant this time of year and delicious, so why not use them?)
6. Simmer until the contents are warm and the carrots are soft. Because my carrots had been lightly cooked before being frozen, I didn't have to simmer the soup for long. If you started with fresh carrots, you'd probably have to simmer it for 15 or 20 minutes.
7. When the carrots are tender, turn off the heat under the pot and let the soup cool.
8. Once the soup is cool, transfer the soup to the food processor for blending.
9. Transfer the blended mixture to a storage container and put it in the refrigerator.

The next day, when my friend arrived for lunch, the spinach-yogurt spread was already made. To go with it, cut slices of a good multi-grain bread (I bought mine from a bakery), brush them on both sides with a good olive oil, and toast them on both sides under your oven broiler.

To finish the carrot soup, return the carrot mixture to the soup pot, heat it, and add 1/2 cup heavy cream and some salt.

Served on white china, the orange carrot soup and the green spinach spread were very pretty together; the colors made me feel that spring was on its way. I wish I had remembered to take a picture, but by that time I was busy enjoying the company of my friend!

PS: This was such a light lunch that I thought we were entitled to a sumptuous dessert. My local grocery store sells excellent cheesecakes in small sizes (which means less leftover cheesecake, which means less temptation for ME), and I'd much rather spend time with friends than make myself crazy in the kitchen, so you can guess what the dessert was. (Think cheesecake, think chocolate.)

TIP

2007-02-25T14:29:00.000-08:00

Often if a dish seems bland, salt is all that's needed to bring out the flavor.

Blueberry Nut Bread

2007-02-24T05:43:00.000-08:00

Based on a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet, this is easy to make and is good for breakfast or snacks. The bread usually disappears quickly at my house (and if it doesn't, it freezes well), so I always double this recipe to make two loaves.

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour ("whole white" flour works too, but produces a heavier bread)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted (I have also used canola oil)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate plus 3/4 cup water, heated to almost boiling
1 cup (more if you're a big berry fan) of fresh or frozen berries (the recipe calls for blueberries but I often use a frozen mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
3/4 cup chopped nuts (the recipe calls for pecans but walnuts would work too)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the butter or margarine, beaten egg, and warm orange juice to the flour mixture, stirring the ingredients to combine them. Don't overstir, as this will make the bread heavier.
4. Stir in the berries and nuts.
5. Transfer the batter to a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
6. Place pan in hot oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife or other tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

2006-10-30T02:06:00.000-08:00

Made annually in honor of the birthday of a special friend, this recipe is a blend of the "perfect pumpkin pie" and "perfect cheesecake" recipes originally published in Cook's Illustrated magazine, with some influence from the Libby's company's recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. I'll tell you about the variations I've tried on this recipe, which will help you to modify it to your own tastes.

Note: When Cook's Illustrated talks about a "perfect cheesecake," they mean not only one that tastes swell but also a cheesecake that won't crack across the top while baking. Achieving a non-cracked cheesecake requires extra effort, some special equipment, and some risk that the entire recipe will fail (for reasons that will become obvious as we proceed). Over the years, I've learned to live with a cracked cheesecake! However, I'll include information on how to achieve the non-cracked type for those who want it.

EQUIPMENT
You'll need a nine-inch springform pan or other pan suitable for making cheesecake. To make the crack-free version, you'll also need a roll of the widest possible heavy-duty aluminum foil and a roasting pan large enough to hold your springform pan. (The largest size of disposable aluminum turkey roasting pan will work.)

PREPARING THE PAN
This step is required only if you're going to try for uncracked cheesecake, which must be cooked in a water bath. In other words, the pan with the cheesecake in it has to be cooked inside of another pan that contains hot water. (This is why you need that giant roasting pan.)

Skip the following unless you're determined to have a fully perfect cheesecake: Tear off a big piece of aluminum foil. Remove the bottom of the springform pan and put it in the middle of the foil, top down. Pull the foil back over the edges of the pan bottom. Put the bottom back in the springform pan (still covered with foil). Close the pan and pull the foil up around the edges of the pan. The goal is to make the pain watertight. Make absolutely sure there are no punctures in the foil, or other ways it could leak, because if the water reaches the cheesecake you'll end up with a waterlogged cheesecake. (This is the risky bit.) Place springform pan in large roasting pan and set aside.

PREPARING THE OVEN
Adjust oven rack to middle position and set oven to 325 degrees.

CRUST
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

Brush melted butter all over the bottom and halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Add graham cracker crumbs and shake the pan to coat well with crumbs (which will stick to the butter).

FILLING

1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg (optional)
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/2 teasoon salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 pounds (3 packages) Philadelphia brand or other mass produced cream cheese. Cook's Illustrated warns against using fresh or artisan-made cream cheese. Apparently the binders in commercial cream cheese make a better cheesecake. Creamcheese should be at room temperature.
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

With heavy duty electric mixer (I use a Kitchen Aid style), beat cream cheese until smooth. Be sure you do this thoroughly, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl, or you will end up with lumps of cream cheese in your cheesecake. Gradually add sugars and beat on medium speed until sugar dissolves, about three minutes. Again, be thorough and scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl. Add eggs one at a time. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl every time an egg is added. Add vanilla extract and beat until just incorporated.

Stir sour cream and heavy cream into cooled pumpkin mixture. Now stir in spices: Ginger, cloves, and nutmeg give the cheesecake a more "pumpkin pie" flavor, but if you don't care for spicy cheesecake you can reduce the quantities or just use cinnamon alone.

Stir the pumpkin mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Pour this batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan (or the pan in the roasting pan) on the oven rack.

If you're going to try for crack-free cheesecake, pour boiling water into the roasting pan surrounding (but not into!) the springform pan. The water should go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake until the perimeter of the cake is set but the center jiggles when the pan is tapped, about 55 to 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the oven door ajar for an hour or longer. (The more slowly the cheesecake cools, the less it will crack.) Remove the springform pan from the oven. (Remove from water bath if using.) Set it on a wire rack. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least four hours.

TOPPING (optional)

1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon brandy

Just like the cheesecake, this is best made the day before you plan to serve it. Beat whipping cream until it forms soft peaks. Still beating, gradually add confectioner's sugar, then brandy. Refrigerate until used.

Preparing a salad

2006-08-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

According to an ancient maxim, it takes four people to successfully prepare a salad:

A sage who will wisely ration the salt, pepper, and mustard.

A miser who will parsimoniously deal out the vinegar.

A generous person who will give forth in abundance the oil.

A maniac who will mix the whole into a flavorful combination.

Courtesy of the Herbfarm restaurant, which used to be located in Fall City, Washington, here is an alternative way to make a simple but elegant green salad:

Base greens: arugula, chick weed, chicory, choi (bok and pak), corn salad, cress, edible chrysanthemum, dandelion greens, endive, kale, lamb’s quarter, lettuces, miner’s lettuce, mustards, orach, purslane, shepherd’s purse, spinach, violet leaves, watercress

Herbs: basil, caraway, chervil, chives, cilantro (coriander), dill, fennel, Good King Henry, lemon balm, lovage, marjoram, mint, parsley (curly & flat), rosemary (small amount chopped very fine), salad burnet, sorrel, sweet cicely, tarragon)

Edible flowers: arugula, borage (whole flower), tuberous begonias (petals and stems), calendula (petals), chives (whole or petals), chrysanthemums (petals), day lily (flower or petal), English daisies (petals), scented geraniums, honeysuckles, lilacs (petals), marigolds (‘Lemon Gem’), nasturtium (flower), pansies (flower or petal), peas (not sweet peas), pinks (whole or petals), roses (petals), tulips (petals or whole and stuffed), violas (whole flower)

The bulk of the salad should come from base greens. Add additional vegetables if desired, though a charming green salad can be made with greens alone. Toss with salad dressing, being careful not to drown the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress with herbs and edible flowers.