A Light Lunch to Herald Spring

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

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

Blueberry Nut Bread

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

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

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.