Perfect Sunday Morning

It's been especially lovely here this morning.  Alternating sun and clouds with a fresh breeze blowing.  It makes it feel like the seasons are changing, even though this is southern California, where Fall doesn't exist in the traditional sense.  I spent the morning drinking coffee, eating huevos rancheros doused in molé, reading magazines and a novel, and finishing the week's laundry.  This afternoon I plan to sit down and watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, via amazon instant videos, while trying to develop a lemon flavored brownie.  With my tiny apartment oven its been hard to use my sourdough starter every week, and I've been relying on pancakes and english muffins a little too much.  Since the sourdough generally gives a good chewy texture to baked goods I'm going to try brownies, or lemonies.  I shall see how that turns out.

What's your perfect Sunday morning entail?

Weekend Edition: Recent Acquisitions and Conquering the Tiny Oven

This weekend I bought new side tables.  I was unsure of the purchase at the store because the borrowed end tables that I have been using each have a small drawer, which is very useful for hiding those necessary, but ugly, things like matches, scissors, masking tape, and all that standard junk drawer type of stuff.  These tables are leggy, with a shelf, but no drawer.   Since they were a good price, and in excellent shape, I just didn't believe that they'd still be there by next weekend, and so I brought them home.

And I really love them.  I'll solve the "junk drawer" problem by getting a lidded basket or something to sit on the lower shelf.  Meanwhile, I think my library books look pretty good there.

And since fresh berry season is now in full swing, and peaches are starting to arrive in the stores, I really wanted some granola to go with all that yummy fruit.  I make a version of this recipe, leaving out the coconut and dried fruit and using maple syrup instead of honey, and pecans instead of almonds.

Did you make or buy anything great this weekend?

Culinary Chronicles: Oatmeal Crisps

These are very thin crunchy oatmeal cookies, sometimes called Oatmeal Lace cookies.  I far prefer them to the thick chewy raisin laden type of oatmeal cookies.   I'm pretty sure that I first copied this recipe down out of my Grandma Jan's recipe box when I was about 9 or 10.  At this point the recipe consists of no more than the list of ingredients below, and I just rely on memory to get the rest of it right.  There are no spices included in the ingredient list, but I did add some classic spice-cookie spices the last time I made them, and I think it was a pleasant addition.  Make your own call.

Oatmeal Crisps


1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups quick oats
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
*1 tsp or more cold water, as needed to keep dough sticky
[1/2 tsp. each of ginger and cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. cloves-- optional}

Cream butter and sugar together.  Beat in two eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt and baking soda together, along with the spices if you are using them.  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.  Stir in the oats and nuts until well incorporated.   Scoop what seem like small balls of dough onto a cookie sheet with plenty of space in between each one, using a teaspoon sized measuring spoon, or a melon baller. The trickiest part of this recipe is making sure that the dough is moist enough so that the cookies spread out as thin as they are supposed to.  The dough should be pretty sticky, but the dollop should still hold its shape as it sits on the cookie sheet.  Bake at 350° F, for about 12 minutes.  You may have to test bake a few and adjust the moisture level as needed for the second round.  It's also helpful to have two cookie sheets for baking because the cookies need to cool for a couple of minutes on the sheet before you try to remove them due to their thinness.

Weekend Edition: Soup Making Machine

Last night I proved my ability to multi-task in the kitchen by simultaneously making this Pad Thai for dinner, this Andalusian Cabbage Stew and this Sweet Potato & Sausage Soup to eat throughout the work week, and my weekly loaf of sourdough bread.  The combo of it being dark when I finished and the aforementioned simultaneous dishes means that I don't have a photo of soup for my soup post. Oh well.  Enjoy these baked goods.

This week's sourdough and oatmeal crisps that I made on Saturday.

Vintage Kitchen: Brer Rabbit's New Orleans Molasses Recipes

I've been craving gingerbread now that Fall has arrived and I knew it was the perfect recipe to find in a vintage cookbook.  Looking through the stack of old cookbooks I hit the jackpot in terms of gingerbread, this 1948 Brer Rabbit's Molasses Company cookbook.  A lot of the old cookbooks that I've bought at estate sales are of this variety-- an extended advertisement for a product.  Many others are old church cookbooks put together by the members for fundraising purposes.  Both types are very interesting in terms of advertising of the day.

I love to read rules like this.  Note that number ten states, "Never cut hot gingerbread with a knife.. always pull apart gently with 2 forks."  Of course I immediately want to cut it with a knife after reading that.  Why is it such an absolute?

From this I learned that if I add an egg to my oatmeal along with apricots and molasses, I might achieve the most iron-rich meal possible.  Good to remember if ever I become anemic.  Did I ever write about adding an egg to oatmeal?  You just crack it in there right when the oatmeal comes off the stove, and stir it well.  The hot oatmeal cooks the egg, and your oatmeal becomes sort of custardy-- richer tasting and really creamy.  It's delicious, and was not my idea, but I stopped reading the blog from which I got the idea... and can't remember what it was called.  (Oh yeah, here it is thanks to a quick google search Bread & Honey).

There are a lot of gingerbread recipes in this cookbook, ranging from traditional to tropical, but I just went with the first one, "My Best Gingerbread."  It's definitely good, and tastes distinctly of molasses.  I have an organic molasses purchased from the food co-op, not the Brer Rabbit brand, and mine is very dark.  If using a lighter molasses, the flavor would be milder.  My gingerbread also turned out a bit denser than I expected.  Don't know if my baking powder is getting old, or its an altitude issue?  It's not too dense to eat or anything, just reporting the results.

The cookbook also has lots of recipes that I wouldn't think of making with molasses, like the smothered pork chops above, or the veal goulash.  Both sound good.  I've never actually cooked veal though, and I'm not actually sure I've eaten it for that matter.  Reason right there to try it.

My Best Gingerbread-Best gingerbread you ever tasted!

1/2 cup shortening

12 cup sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup Brer Rabbit Molasses

1 cup hot water

Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add egg; beat well.  Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.  Combine molasses and water; add alternatively with flour mixture.  Line 8"x8"x2" greased pan with greased waxed paper; pour in batter.  Bake in moderate oven, 350° F., 50-60 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes.  Remove from pan.

Brer Rabbit New Orleans Molasses Recipes, © 1948, Penick & Ford, Ltd., Incorporated; New Orleans.

Culinary Chronicles: Lemony Roasted Potato Salad

It's still hot here despite feeling like the beginning of Fall.  What does that mean from a culinary perspective?  It means that we still eat a lot of meals outside like it's summer, but its not too hot to use the oven, and those more wintery means of preparation start to sound appealing.  You know, like braising or roasting.

Last week I wanted something hardier than a green salad for dinner, but something that was quick to prepare and could make a one-dish dinner.  I roasted some potatoes and boiled a couple of eggs and mixed up a slightly more Fall-like version of a classic potato salad.  Because it had multiple variations of lemon-- preserved, fresh juice, and lemon balm-- it still tasted summery too.  It was delicious, so I jotted down the recipe to share.

Lemony Roasted Potato Salad  (Makes 4 generous servings).


12 medium potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes, leave skins on
1 small-medium onion finely sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped mint and lemon balm (to taste, substitute herbs as available)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
4 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped into coarse pieces
1/2 of a large preserved lemon rind, rinsed and finely chopped
3 to 4 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
good dash of black pepper


Toss cubed potatoes with enough of the olive oil to lightly coat it, reserve the rest of the oil for the dressing.  Toss in the preserved lemon rind, rosemary, salt and pepper and spread on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Roast in a 425° F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are browned but not too crunchy.  In a bowl combine roasted potatoes, chopped eggs, fresh herbs, lemon juice and remaining olive oil and toss well.  Serve slightly warm.


Lemon balm isn't an herb that I use very often, but I planted some this spring and it seemed like a good fit here.  My go to herbs from the garden are mint, tarragon, basil, garlic chives and rosemary.  Oh, and I like lavender sometimes especially for baking.  I expanded my herb garden this year to include marjoram, oregano, sorrel, pineapple sage (really good in lemonade), and lemon balm, but I haven't yet got in the habit of using those herbs regularly.  What herbs do you grow, and which do you find yourself using all the time?

Vintage Kitchen: learn to bake... You'll Love it!

Courtesy of General Foods Corp., circa 1947, I bring you another vintage classic cookbook.  It's battered cover, loose pages and stained cover are a testament to it's frequent use.  Although, I must admit, I've never made anything beyond it's brownies, I looked at it more closely prior to this post and am definitely going to test out more recipes.  

I recently read The Marion House Book's archives, and really liked her post comparing her go-to brownie recipe to another.  Her go-to brownies look delicious and pretty decadent.  Someday I'll try them, but for a quick everyday brownie, this is my winner.  (It is seriously quick.  So quick that I've never understood why people would bother with a brownie mix when from scratch is just as fast).  

Here we go, super fast.  Mix the dry ingredients.

Melt the butter, add in the sugar, the beaten egg, and the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet.

Mix in nuts or extra chocolate.

I like to use a loaf pan instead of square because it makes them a little thicker.  This is a pretty small recipe, which is good in the sense that there are less temptation.  At this point I sometimes put cream cheese or peanut butter across the top and then run a knife through to marble it in.

Out of the oven.

These were probably on the plate for about a minute and a half.  Delicious.

Life Goes On.

Okay, the wound is still fresh, but in the spirit of moving on, here are a couple of things that I'm really enjoying today.

Garden annuals mixed with wild flowers.

A version of this bouquet has been gracing both houses here on the farm for the past couple of weeks.  We are always lax when it comes to planting cut flowers.  Its something we always vow to remedy for the following year, but when spring comes around we're so busy planting vegetables and doing yard clean-up that we let it slide again.  So when my garden zinnias just weren't profuse enough to create a full bouquet, I started wandering the property looking for filler.  I'm loving it with the weeds mixed it.

Homemade granola with fresh peaches.

Peaches are without a doubt my favorite fruit.  Nothing can top a perfectly ripe peach, but if you have to buy them in the store they are often just terrible.  Peaches don't travel well!  Lucky for us, they grow well in Albuquerque, and everyone shares fruit.  These peaches are from a co-worker of my mom's and they were so delicious!  The granola is based on this recipe from Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks, except we use maple syrup instead of honey, pecans instead of almonds, and  skip the dried fruit and coconut altogether.   The great thing about making your own granola is that you can customize it and you know exactly how much fat and sugar has gone into it.  Do you make your own granola?

A Little Summer + A Little Fall

Fall seems in the air this morning, it's windy and cool.  Yet, it still feels summery because the wind is very fresh due to last night's rain.

Sunset Lightning Storm from S@sha on Vimeo.

This sunset drove me to pause the movie I was watching to go outside.  (I was watching The Ghost Writer.  Have you seen it?  Ewan McGregor and a spectacularly rainy Martha's Vineyard modernist beach house make it worth watching).

Orzo, fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic chives and a little asiago and mascarpone for creaminess.

Perhaps due to all the rain last night both here and on my television screen, I needed comfort food for lunch.  This simple pasta dish sufficed.

Culinary Chronicles: Refrigerator Dill Pickles

As I mentioned the other day, I've been using this recipe from Sharon Spain on Design*Sponge.  Its super easy and fast.  I always add garlic because I just prefer a garlicky pickle.  Its also tasty to throw a little red chile pepper in the jar if you like things spicy.  Mustard seeds?  Whatever, they are your pickles, go to town!  Here is what you need:

20 - 30 pickling cucumbers (small, about the length of your palm or a little bigger)

a big bunch of fresh dill

2 heads of garlic (you need at least one clove per jar)

2 quarts water

1 quart vinegar

3/4 cup salt

10 - 12 pint size canning jars, I prefer wide-mouthed

1 big pot of boiling water to sterilize your jars and utensils (especially tongs to pull the jars, etc. out of the boiling water)

Make the brine and bring to a boil.  (1 quart of vinegar,  2 quarts of water, 3/4 cup of salt).

Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water.

After washing your cucumbers thoroughly, slice as thin or thick as you'd like your pickles to be, and pack each jar pretty tightly.  These are wide-mouth pint jars.  There is also a big sprig of fresh dill and a clove of garlic in each jar.

Once the brine has boiled and your jars have been packed fill the jars to about a quarter-inch from the top.  These are refrigerator pickles, so you can fill the jars a little more than if you were going to pressure can.  Clean the edges of the jar and screw on the lids tightly, and refrigerate. 

The following morning the pickles are already looking good.  We got seven pints out of this batch, which takes up a fair amount of refrigerator space.  Since they must be refrigerated until opened and eaten you need to plan for storage, or give them away!  

What are your favorite kinds of pickles?

Recently

I seem to have fallen into a summer slump.  The beginning of the week found me with one of those headaches that would not go away.  It lasted for two days and was accompanied by basic nausea, particularly when I tried to look at my computer screen for more than a minute.  Ugh.  I tried to get back to my lingering projects, shelf and blouse.  The shelves are like the headache.  Its a project that just won't go away.  I switched from spray paint to a can of gloss enamel, which smells infinitely better but refuses to apply without brush strokes.  Sigh.  I'm just going to have to make due and relax knowing that no one except me will give my shelves a super close up view.  I didn't attempt to tackle the blouse with my headache.  In the meantime I have managed to photograph some of the other things that I've been doing.

Making Tiramisú.

The recipe makes one loaf pan cake and two smaller portions.  

A cross section of one of the smaller portions which have been wrapped tightly and frozen for those times that I have a dessert emergency.  As in I need it and have nothing on hand.

I followed a recipe from the book "In Late Winter We Ate Pears: A Year of Hunger and Love," by Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber.  A collection of fairly simple Italian recipes based on those that the couple have learned and developed over the years that they've lived in and visited Italy.  They run a restaurant in Vermont called Osteria Pane e Salute that focuses on slow and local food, and have a blog.  I couldn't find the recipe online anywhere and it's too long to transcribe.  (Summer slump remember?)  The book is part memoir and part cookbook, and I like the recipes but was underwhelmed by the memories.  I really wanted to love it, but the prose seemed like it was over-embellished for literary effect instead of reflecting an authentic voice.  The wife's writing is the same on their blog but I still can't imagine that she speaks that way.  On the other hand the husband writes the recipes in a much more down to earth tone.

And on the home front, some of our local produce.

Yesterday's harvest.  I like the ombre effect of this composition.  The tomatoes are clockwise from the left: Brandywine,  San Marzano, Sasha's Altai.  Beans: Kentucky Wonder pole beans and one Chinese long bean.  Herbs: summer sorrel, mint, tarragon.  Cukes: Armenian cucumber, and Mountain Pickling cukes.

The fig was dug started from a side shoot of an unknown variety.  My guess is Turkey brown.  It produces  lots of small fruits and it is totally winter hardy in our climate.  

Last night we put up a batch of tomatillo salsa (posted recipe last year).  We tend to freeze it rather than can it because it holds up well that way and we usually make it in small batches.  Tonight we are going to make refrigerator dills.  Anyone got a favorite pickle recipe?  I've been using this one with the modification of added garlic for dills, and also plan to make more bread & butters since the turned out so well last year.  I'm also thinking of pickling some of the Armenian cukes and adding a cinnamon stick and some cardamon to the brine.  Haven't researched that one yet but the idea has potential, don't you think?

Weekend Edition: Saturday Supper

About once a month my mom likes to have my uncle over for dinner on Saturday-- a monthly family get together.  Usually in the summer months we grill, but thanks to overcast skies it was cool enough to cook indoors and I had a craving for a roast chicken.  

Super simple and most ingredients (except lettuce, lemons, sugar & butter) from New Mexico.  Tomatoes, basil, mixed herbs, and pears from our garden.

Culinary Chronicles: Summer Food

A mid-week lunch was a variation on my favorite tomato and basil sandwich, and then because it was so hot, a small dish of vanilla ice cream with rose preserve topping.  Super summery.

This rose jam came from one of the Middle-Eastern markets in town.  Our attempts at making Oaxacan style rose ice-cream haven't been entirely satisfying, not rosy enough, but this is a good substitution.

Vintage Kitchen: Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls

I'm a collector of old cookbooks.  I pick them up at estate sales and thrift stores, and a few have been passed down through my family.  There is no rhyme or reason to the collection, I'm attracted either to the graphics, the recipes, or the kitsch factor.  Sometimes its an inscription that wins me over.  I also love old church cookbooks.  Short little recipes contributed by the ladies' membership with funny old fashioned business ads interspersed.  Long ago (in blog terms, like 1999 in real life) I had an online journal where I featured some of the recipes from these old cookbooks.  It solicited lots of comments at the time, and I've been meaning to start doing it on this blog.  Here is the first entry.

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls, 1957 (reissued in 2003)

This cookbook belongs in the category of family hand-me-down.  Well, not quite, since it's yet to be handed down.  My mom has had it since childhood and still uses it occasionally.  I have to borrow it from her shelves when I want to use it.  I learned to make chocolate pudding cake from this cookbook, as well as butterscotch brownies.  When I was little I loved the cheesy comments at the bottom of the pages from children of the day, as well as the sage advice of Betty Crocker.  I also loved the photographs of the food, particularly the cakes.  Our book has now seen better days with a broken binding and missing pages.  I think it would definitely be worth my while to buy a new copy.

Last week I had a craving for butterscotch brownies (or blondies as they are sometimes called).  I added chocolate chunks to the recipe and used pecans for the nuts.   I think I'd skip the chocolate next time.  I like the classic version better.

Some other gems...