How do you know when a recipe is really yours?

Recently, I've been making a lot of cold soups.  Our summer has been particularly hot and chilled soups really cool things off.  Finding a good recipe however can be a challenge and when I researched chilled soups via the internet and my vast array of cookbooks I was faced with disappointment.  Most of the recipes were either fruit based (blech) or had incredible quantities of dairy.  Some of you might remember that I've mentioned that I'm severely lactose intolerant so this creates a problem.  I find a cool recipe but now I have to adapt it.  I have a love hate relationship with this process.  I do love to create new recipes but sometimes it's nice just to recreate someone else's work.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have lazy days too where I just don't want to put mental energy into having to start from the ground up. 

This situation came up a few days ago when I made a Vichyssoise (aka cold potato soup).  This soup has heavy cream and I was excited to make it and adapt it.  It takes a lot of work and experimentation on my part.  On this particular day I was o.k. with that and the result was a brand new recipe that was all mine!  My recipe.  My baby.  Mine.  Mine.  Mine. 

When you love to cook these are the moments you saver.  This moment was really cool.  Not only did I create something of my own but it was a serious hit in our house.  My husband loved my Vichyssoise.  My boys gobbled it up and asked for seconds and I was quite pleased with myself.   I don't have formal culinary training so these moments are particularly poignant for me.  Then it happened.   Glum from the 70's popular cartoon version of  Gulliver's Travels opened his mouth in an attempt to question and possibly be helpful.

Enter the wet blanket. 

Don't get too distracted but here's a clip  of some Glum classics.  I don't know if any of you grew up with this but you will identify with people who are Glumish.  You know.  Those people who always have to insert the critical into a happy situation and bring you down.  My husband had a Glum moment but he's not normally like that.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqALm_rmM1g

Here's how the conversation went.

Me:      I'm so glad that everyone likes the soup.  I love that I created this myself.  This recipe is my   
            own!
Matt:   Hmmm.  Really?
Me:     What?
Matt:   Well, haven't people bee making Vichyssoise for years?  Hasn't someone else done it before?
Me:     Well, yes.  But this recipe is mine. 
Matt:   Why? 
Me:     Why what?  (getting agitated and cranky)
Matt:   Why is it yours?
Me:     We've been over this before.  What don't you understand?
Matt:   You've got to be careful saying what is yours and then writing about it.  You're accountable.
Me:     Well, thank you for the lecture.

It went on like this for about 10 minutes before I realized that he actually had a point.  I mean, I know why a recipe is MINE but no one else does.  I haven't really talked about it on my blog and I figured that this was just the time to do it. 

So here goes.  The big question. 

How do you know when a recipe is really yours?

I get inspired by many recipes out there as many people do, but I have two factors that influence what is really MINE. 

1. Ingredients:
   I have many reasons for changing the ingredients of a recipe of which I am inspired.  Most of the ingredients I can find in said recipes either don't suit my personal/family tastes or they aren't in season.  As you know I buy as local as possible and this usually means buying food/veggies/fruit that are in season.  That is, this is what can be harvested now and is growing in my region.  Not only does this make food cheaper to purchase but it also makes the dish taste better.  Also, sometimes I just don't prefer the flavors or ingredients that other people use.  You can be sure that if I claim a recipe as MINE then I will have changed at least 3 ingredients.  However, usually it's much more.  I like that part the best.  The making it my way part. 
2. Process:
   This is the really important part of making a recipe MINE.  You know I have a food intolerance and it's an inconvenient one.  So much so that some people question whether or not it's real. (Jerks)  Well I can tell you from personal experience that they symptoms of severe lactose intolerance are quite real.  Thankfully, I have found a way to still eat real dairy and I have another website and an accompanying cooking blog dedicated to it (www.deconstructingdairy.weebly.com).  Sadly and happily, I cannot cook like other people do.  Dairy is a fickle food and often requires me to change HOW I make a dish.  Sometimes it's easy by just replacing regular milk with lactose-free milk.  However, often (like in my Vichyssoise recipe) I have to change the whole dang process.  Creamy soups are the toughest.  I can't just add whole milk in place of cream.  I want that soup to be really rich and creamy.  I have a few ways to doing this.  One is fast.  Another takes time (almost 48 stinkin' hours) and the last one takes patience.  I have a fussy intolerance and it requires me to be mindful about my cooking.  

In the end I think it is polite to remark who inspires you.  Every once in awhile I create something completely new that I've never seen before and it's usually the time I forget to write it down, take pictures etc.  Those times are truly magical but know this.  If I am inspired by something I found online or in a cookbook I will source it.  I will tell you who inspired me and I think that we are all better of knowing that.  If someone was inspired by something I created then I would want some credit too.  It's also what keeps the creative process moving and it why I cook in the first place.  It's my creative outlet and I believe that we as human beings require such an outlet. 

Now that you know this, here's how I made that really good Vichyssoise. 

Vichyssoise (inspired by Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen) 
Basically this is just cold potato soup with a fancy name.  I like the fancy name and I feel fancy when I make it and fancy when I eat.  Yep.  I really do.

Ingredients:  My local ingredients are highlighted and were obtained by my CSA or Joes Gardens.

• 1 tbs. butter (Darigold)
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 3 cups leeks (chopped and rinsed) 
• 5-6 medium potatoes (peeled and diced)
• 4 cups homemade vegetable/chicken stock
• 1/2 cup lactose-free sour cream (I buy this at the Co-Op)
• 1 1/2 cups lactose-free whole milk
• salt/pepper (black) to taste
• Optional:  fresh basil or other herb

Process:

• First melt the butter and add the olive oil and heat until hot.  Add leeks and a pinch of salt and sauté them until they are soft. 
• Add the potatoes and stock and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover and simmers until the potatoes are starting to fall apart. 
• Let the soup cool for about 10 minutes and blend.  I prefer using a hand blender but you could use a regular one or a food processor.
• Chill the soup in the pot in the refrigerator for about an hour. 
• Whisk the sour cream and milk until frothy.  Add salt/pepper to taste.  It's really important to completely mix these two together.  If you don't everything will get clumpy.  It will taste fine but it won't look right.
• Stir in the milk/sour cream mixture until it fully combines into the soup. 
• Chill for another hour or so.  You want this soup very cold!
• Serve in chilled bowls and top with fresh basil.

*Please note:  You cannot use vegan sour creams for this process.  Not only does it not taste well but because of the chemical nature of these sour creams they won't combine properly with milk (regular or otherwise). 
**I am taking this opportunity to advocate for this specific sour cream product.  It is made by Green Valley Organics and is truly an amazing product.  I rave about it on web links section of my other website, www.deconstructingdairy.weebly.com.  If you can't find it ask your local grocer if they can order it for you.  This isn't like regular sour cream.  It's much more like crème fraiche and sometimes I eat it with a spoon.  It contains real dairy but is naturally lactose-free AND it's organic.  It's perfect and I'm so grateful that this company makes this product.  They allow people with my condition to enjoy real food.  

For you visual people, here is a photo tutorial. 

Ingredients

 

Sauté those leeks in olive oil and butter.

 

Peel and chop those potatoes.

Cover with veggie stock and boil.

Let cool, then blend.

Whisk that sour cream and milk.  Work it!

Add the creamy goodness to your soup and chill.

Top with fresh basil and chow down.

If you want to see a different chilled soup that I recently made, click to my other blog and try it out.  Here's the link.  http://deconstructingdairy.weebly.com/-cooking-blog-dairy-and-non-dairy-recipes.html

 

Enjoy and have fun on theses hot days. 





Men Who Cook: Summer Ratatouille

What's the only thing better than having a man who knows what they're doing in the kitchen?
Two men in the kitchen who know what they're doing!

This is what we're discussing today. 
Summer veggies, men and ratatouille.

My son Ross and I decided to take a bike ride to Joe's Garden and pick up some extra fruit for the week.  We were low on fruit and I needed a few extra cucumbers so off we went.  After picking out hoards of new fruit I noticed a common grouping of veggies.  A perfect assortment for ratatouille.    Now, we have plenty of veggies at home from our CSA and garden but I just couldn't help myself.  I must explain.

I've never been too excited about ratatouille. What is it really but vegetable stew?  It doesn't really look appetizing BUT I must admit that I've always been curious about it.  It's a strange curiosity that I just can't explain.  And because I'm curious about food I have to try it.  It just seems like one of those things that you just have to try making once in your life right?  I think that I made this eons ago but I don't really remember much about it.  I do remember that it wasn't very noteworthy.  A kind of "meh" dish.  However, it's summer and the veggies are bountiful.  It's always important to revisit something, especially if it wasn't very memorable in the first place.

Meanwhile at Joe's Gardens, my son and I looked at the eggplants, zucchini, peppers, onions, and garlic I noticed that Ross was hesitant.  "Does it have tomatoes in it?", he skeptically questioned after I asked him if I should make ratatouille.  I told him that yes, it does contain tomatoes.  "Hmmmm.  Can you taste them very much?" he asked.  I told him that you could kind of taste them, but they didn't overpower the dish.  (If you can't tell he has an aversion to tomatoes).  This is a bit of a fib on my part because I don't really remember what it tastes like, but if you're a mom and you have a child who is curious about a new food you do what you have to do.  I did know that there were not a lot of tomatoes in the dish so my guess was pretty good.  I also know that if I want my son to be adventurous with a new dish there can be no wishy washyness about ANY of my answers.  For Ross, the adult has to know for sure.  After a few pondering moments Ross decided that we should make it, together. 

So here we are now back at home and ready to make this dish and Ross needs a visual.  Heck, I need a visual.  Who gives the best visuals for ratatouille?  Why Jacques Pepin of course.  He has made this dish on camera two separate times. 

The first was a shorter and quicker version from the More Fast Food My Way series.  I have the cookbook for this one.  Here's the video for that one.  Use it if you're pressed for time and prep your veggies ahead of time.  I suggest chopping everything up, putting it in your pan and putting the pan in the fridge.  Just take it out and let it come to room temperature before you cook.    The recipe for ratatouille starts on 2:26. 

 

 

The second video I found is of Jacques Pepin making ratatouille from his newer Essential Pepin series.  In this video his charming childhood friend Roland comes and cooks with him.  I must say that out of the two viewings, this second one is my favorite.  Sadly, I wasn't able to attempt this one because Ross decided not to help after all.  He was busy teaching himself to ride a bike.  O.K. I'm proud and a bit disappointed but please take the time to watch this version.  Even if it is just for entertainment value you've got to admit that the banter between these two chefs is fun to watch.  They exhibit exactly how men (and anyone else for that matter) should be in the kitchen.  They're relaxed, having fun, giving each other a hard time and drinking wine.  Please remember that above all else, cooking should be an enjoyable venture. Don't stress.  Just have fun and do your best. 

Here is the link for the recipe and the video. http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/tag/classic-ratatouille/

 

However, I always prefer a direct link to the video itself.   They start making ratatouille on 13:35 and it ends at 20:00.  It's only seven minutes long but I recommend watching the entire show. 

http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/10/episode-113-vegetable-bounty/

Before I tell you how I made this dish, I have to make an important point.  There is a TON of argument about what constitutes a traditional or "real" ratatouille.  Is it the ingredients?  Is it the process?  What?  Personally, I think that ratatouille has to have a few things.  Things like:

• eggplant
• tomatoes
• garlic/onions
• zucchini
• pepper (s)
• olive oil

Other than that I think that it's important and fun to experiment.  To me it doesn't matter whether you layer the vegetables, the process in which you cook them (casserole vs pan) or even the spices.  People can get really testy about spices.  For example I used lavender in mine and that is definitely NOT considered appropriate by some.  Who cares?  It was awesome, fun and tasty. 

 

Another aspect that gets peoples knickers in a twist is how you serve it.  In general, ratatouille was intended as a side dish that is served at room temp.  However, I wanted to make this a meal so I opted to incorporate pasta.  You can decide to serve ratatouille a few different ways. 

1. By itself with olives.  This is traditional and it can be served cold or room temperature when it's hot outside.
2. Over pasta
3. Over polenta
4. Perhaps even over gnocchi.
5. You can even top it over bruschetta.  That would be great for leftovers or for hors d'oeuvres
6. Topped over fish like halibut or other meat.

Try it and get back to me here to let me know what you did.  I bought more eggplant and I might even post your suggestion.

Anyhow, here is how I made my ratatouille as inspired by Jacques Pepin. 

Ratatouille (all of my ingredients came from either Joe's Gardens or my CSA)

Everything local but the tomatoes.  However, I did purchase them from a local store.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 2 med. cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 bunch garlic scapes (from my CSA)
• 1 small green pepper
• 1 large red pepper
• 1/4 of a very hot jalapeño
• 2 small zucchinis
• 1 14.5 oz. can of roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen Organics is my preference)
• 1 medium eggplant
• kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• extra virgin olive oil (Mediterranean Specialties)
• Optional:  for the pasta version
  parmigiano reggiano and kalamata olives

Here's how I made it.

The lavender is fresh right now but the rosemary and oregano is hand dried from my garden.

Oooo.  Look at the lavender flowers.  They really did add a nice flavor.

Spices: I didn't measure anything but used equal amounts of almost everything. The first 5 spices I combined and added to the veggies before boiling.

• dried oregano
• fresh lavender
• dried fennel
• fresh thyme
• dried rosemary
• fresh basil (Only use this at the very end when serving)

In general making this dish was pretty simple.  I mixed all the ingredients and the first 5 spices in the largest non-stick pan I had and brought everything to a boil.

Once boiling I reduced the heat to low, covered the pan, and cooked gently for about 20 minutes.  Jacques recommends 30 but I don't like the veggies to turn into complete mush.  My dish didn't have a lot of extra water but if yours does then reduce the moisture by boiling, uncovered until it has the consistency you desire. 

Your ratatouille is pretty much done now.  Now you have to decide how to serve it. 

• For a side dish:  Drizzle with olive oil, add kalamata olives and fresh basil.  Serve cold or room temperature.
• For over pasta:  Cook pasta according to package directions and spoon ratatouille over drained pasta.  Add a bit of parmigiano reggiano cheese, a few kalamata olives and top with fresh basil. 

Here's the end result.  It was very tasty and quite memorable. 

 

 

Now, that said.  Here's a few things I would have done differently.  I plan to by the way because I was just at Joes Gardens and pick up more eggplant, zucchini, and peppers. 



• Peel the eggplant!  (My goodness the skin gets rubbery.  Maybe it's because I didn't cook it the full 30 min. but this is a problem I've had with eggplant before.  I'm a texture girl and this is a problem for me)
• Reserve about a third of the garlic and add after the boiling was completed.  I've done this with other dishes and it adds more flavor. 
• Top with goat cheese.  (I confess that I snacked a bit on the veggies afterward.  They were good but goat cheese would have made it super amazing! 

If you have made this before, please respond with your successes and frustrations with this dish.  If you haven't made it before, try it and then post your questions/comments.  All posts go directly to my email and I get back to them right away. 
Happy Cooking! (said in my best imitation of Jacques Pepin) 

 

Men Who Cook: Not your typical omelette.

Roquefort egg white omelette.   

This is what happens when a person understands the basic fundamental aspects of food.
Yesterday I made a lemon/lime tart and had a few egg whites leftover. Matt offered to make me an egg white omelette. I relented because I feel that yolks are an essential part of this type of egg experience. Egg white omelets are usually so bland and I should have know that Matt would get that. He also has a very clear understanding of my severe lactose intolerance and what cheeses I can tolerate.
Let me introduce you to the flavor extravaganza I was presented with this morning. It was an egg white omelette (made with local eggs) with a small amount of Roquefort cheese and local chives (from our backyard). It was so good that I had to share it with you all. I might just insist all my omelets be made this way. It's a win win right? Matt gets a tart and I get this. An! It's the give and take of marriage that I enjoy.
Give it a go yourself and let me know how you mix it up.

Here's how he made it. 

1. Whisk 3 egg whites in a bowl. 
2. Put about 1 tbsp. butter in a non-stick pan and melt over medium-low heat.
3. Place egg whites in the pan and add a bit of salt and pepper.
4. When the bottom of the eggs appear to start getting more substantially cooked add a few pieces of Roquefort cheese.
5. Flip the other side of the omelette over and put on plate.
6. Add toast on the side and a few chives over the omelette. 
7. Enjoy!

Real men bake. (And cook too)

This handsome man is my hubby Matt.  He was in the middle of making a cherry rhubarb crisp.  Nice huh?

I read it, see it and hear it all the time. 

Women often complain about the following:

• I'm so tired of cooking.
• Why can't he do it for a change?
• Homemade baked goods?  I don't have time for that.

I have a wonderful secret.  My husband.  He's a kind person, an amazing father, one hell of a sexy man, and he cooks well.  Very well. 

I am very lucky that my husband is this way.  We've been married for 15 years and I'm still astonished by how lucky I am, especially when I talk to other moms and married ladies.   The biggest complaint I hear over and over is that there is often little help in the kitchen from our male counterparts.   This living locally stuff would only be a fad of mine if I didn't have some help from this man.  He's integral in its success.  Why?  Because I get tired like everyone else.

Most of what I make is homemade but there is a point every week when I get tired.  I get tired of doing all the normal stuff around the house, with the kids, and sometimes cooking just seems like one additional task.  It's the day of the week that I don't want to make dinner.  I don't care if it's local and the idea of baking anything will certainly set me over the edge.  Enter Matt.  My savior. 

9 times out of 10 he's already got something planned in his mind of what to make for dinner.  The other time he searches around the pantry and our garden for ideas.  Like me, he prefers to use as many local ingredients as possible and feels pride when the majority of them come from local businesses.  He is especially pleased when the ingredients come from our garden itself.  That means these ingredients are essentially FREE and who doesn't like free stuff?

We are blessed with a wonderful backyard.  It's why we bought the house.  It affords us a ton of space for our active boys to play along with a nicely sized garden.  We have 3 raised beds.  One is a perennial garden with strawberries and some very recently added asparagus.  The other beds are rotating beds in which we plant new stuff every year.  I always let one lie fallow for the winter and sometimes an entire season.  We are very proud of our little garden because we both built it and we continue to add new things to it all the time.  For us this little garden is the nexus of our local mindset.  What's more local than your own backyard right? 

Here's our veggie garden as it currently stands.  I was late in starting it this year.  That's why it's so sparse.

Over the years, we've also added fruit trees (2 apple, 2 pear, and 2 cherry) and some rhubarb plants.  The rhubarb was Matt's idea and he tends his plants nicely.  Currently we have 3 and they are all in their second growth of the season.  One is normally superbly gigantic and the other two are doing well in keeping up with their older "brother."  Needless to say we usually have plenty to go around and Matt is often seen snapping off stems to bake into something. 

Our pie cherry tree.  It's small but it puts out a ton of fruit and the critters don't like it.  Yay!
 

One of our rhubarb plants.  It looks small but this is its second growth this season. 

You see Matt has a bit of a secret.  Matt is a pie fiend.  He looooooves pie.  Sadly for him, I do not get around to baking much.  It's not my favorite thing to do although I can do it quite well.  I prefer to cook dinners and such.  It's more to my liking.  Also, I have two boys, ages 4 and 8, and they have constant needs.  I can attend to these needs and still cook.  Baking however can be time sensitive and once you begin you can't just stop in the middle of it all.  So when Matt can wait no longer for a pie he does one of two things.  He either keeps the boys out of my hair and kindly requests a well deserved pie or he takes matters into his own hands.  The rest of this post is about him doing just that. 

When Matt can't have a pie he will either make one himself or make a crisp.  While he loves to consume pie he finds it tedious to make the crust.  Sometimes we compromise and I make the crust and he makes the filling.  However when Matt is in the throws of a serious pie craving something needs to happen and FAST.  This is where a crisp comes into play. 

According to my husband a crisp has many things going for it. 

1. It's fast.
2. It's easy to make. 
3. It has most of the essential components of a pie, such as fruit, sugar, starch etc.
4. You can make it out of staples that are already in your pantry.
5. Frozen or fresh/seasonal fruit work very well.
   (Frozen fruit can complicate pie making very quickly.  A crisp is ideal for frozen fruit.)
6. You can feel good about eating it for breakfast because it has oatmeal AND fruit. 
   (This is Matt's favorite aspect of a crisp and now the boys are on to it.  However, he manages to still eat pie for breakfast too, but he doesn't feel quite as good about it.)

When Matt gets ready to make a crisp he gets out his go-to cookbook.  Here she is.  Betty Crocker's New Cookbook:  Everything You Need to Know to Cook.  I got this book as a wedding gift and I used it when I first began cooking because it has all the basics in there.  I quickly outgrew it and moved on to a full fledged cookbook addiction.  I guess you could say that this book was my gateway drug.  Seriously, though.  It has some pretty good basic stuff, like how to make pies and crisps.  Both Matt and I ignore the old-fashioned "healthful" advice of this book.  For example substituting margarine for butter.  It's butter all the way in our house.  I don't even keep margarine in the house.  Blech! 


Oh, the memories...She was a good little cookbook...

However, the irony is that this book was not meant for Matt.  It was given to me by a well-meaning and very conservative couple who wanted to help get me on the right path to cooking for my husband.  How tickled I am now that Matt loves this cookbook and uses it to put himself on the right path to cooking for me/us/our family.  Ha!  Now that is turning tradition on its ear. 

I have to say that in general Matt cooks very different from me.  I try new stuff constantly.  I revamp recipes and turn them into my own.  Matt on the other hand cooks with what is there.  He is far more creative than I.  He cooks mostly by instinct.  Like most men, he knows what he likes and he utilizes that strength in the kitchen. He will whip up a wonderful meal when I complain that there is "nothing in the house to use for dinner."  It always tastes amazing and the kids love it too.  However this style of cooking doesn't always work in the area of baking.  That's why a cookbook is needed.  Since Matt cooks on the fly, he views most cookbooks as destructive to whatever he is creating.  So Betty Crocker really has been quite honored by this man.  This is one of a small exclusive group of cookbooks that Matt will utilize for extremely specific purposes.  I love it.  I love his unique way creating food that he and I enjoy.  It's truly awesome. 

So here's what he made. 

Matt's Tart Cherry Rhubarb crisp (Inspired by Betty Crocker's New Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fruit (a mixture of pitted tart cherries and rhubarb)
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (adjust to the tartness of your fruit)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup stick butter
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. nutmeg

How he does it:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease bottom and sides of square pan, 8x8x2 inches, with butter.  Arrange fruit in pan and mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.  Sprinkle over fruit.  Bake crisp for about 30 minutes. 

That's it.  Then according to Matt you just eat it until it's gone.  Yes, breakfast is acceptable. 

Voilà!  Here she is.  Local and yummy.

So ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you this.  Real men not only cook but they bake too.  They take matters into their own hands and get it done.  They support their family by doing their part.  Men, you don't need to be a master chef to cook or bake well.  You just need to know what you like and begin somewhere.  Find a cookbook that suits you, open it up and get going.  This is what women have done for centuries.  It's your turn and guess what?  You might even discover something new about yourself.  Something like, it feels good to create something that your family covets and enjoys.  It feels good to make your spouse feel less tired during the week and see that grateful smile on her face.  It feels good to see that you are setting a good example for your children of what it means to be a man.  It feels good to realize that a man who cooks/bakes is an incredibly sexy creature.  No woman can resist a man that knows his way around a kitchen.

Lastly, let me end by saying this.  I have never expected Matt to be like me in the kitchen.  I let him be himself and so therefore he is comfortable there.  I want him to be comfortable.  The alternative keeps me up at night.  I might actually have to make my own crisp! 

(Swoon!)

            

Brentley Softpacks: Bags so functional even the tags have a purpose!

This company has gone by many names over the years.
Brentley
Brenthaven
Brentley Softpacks
But two things have always remained constant. It's a local company and the quality of bags is impeccable.
My husband got his first one in the early 80's. I got mine when I came here to go to college. When my oldest went to kindergarten he got one as well. In a few years our youngest will continue this tradition.

Their bags last forever and this Fathers Day I got a more professional looking one for my husband to take to his office. It's chic and functional. He was pretty happy with it and then we noticed the tag. Yes, the tag. Apparently it is made up of dried yet flattened seeds. You can plant them in your garden and they are supposed to grow into flowers. That is the coolest thing I've seen in a long while and VERY Bellingham. Talk about taking recycling to another level. We are going to plant them today. I love this idea.

Kids Northwest: The only place we go for shoes, boots and sandals.

Here is Mike Hodgin helping Finn find just the right fit for his Tevas.

It's summertime and naturally my boys need new sandals.  So off we went to our local kids merchandise outfitter, Kids Northwest. 

We've been buying shoes, boots and sandals (and various other children's toys and clothes) here since our oldest Ross was born 8 years ago.  Why?  Because they have quality merchandise at fair prices and they are passionate about children's gear.  In reality I can choose to buy shoes anywhere, but I go to Kids Northwest because I know I will always come home with shoes that will last and fit my boys well.  This doesn't happen when you purchase shoes online.  You get ill fitting shoes and since there's no accountability the quality is hit and miss, even if the brand stays the same.  And returning anything online is a big pain in the youknowwhat.

Mike and Janet Hodgin are the owners of this store.  They are wonderful people and they know everything there is to know about children's shoes/boots/sandals.  My boys are weeds and they grow out of everything.  FAST!  So getting the proper fit is not only essential, it prevents me from wasting money and waste is my pet peeve.

When I was growing up my mom used to take my sister and I to this really cool local children's clothing and shoe store in Tacoma, WA.  I remember that store fondly.  All the people who worked there knew us by name and my mom refused to buy shoes anywhere else.  My mom would claim that when she bought shoes at other stores the fit was never quite right.  I never really understood what she was referring to but now I do.  You see the shoes were the same at all the other stores, but the people fitting us in our local store knew how to do it properly.  Mike and Janet know how to fit children properly.  They know that each piece of footwear has to have just enough room to grow, while maintaining a fit that doesn't allow the shoes to go flopping all over the place.  Kids and parents hate that and shoes are important.  Very important.

 

Mike and Janet are two of the first businesses owners I met when I first moved to Bellingham.  They were kind and considerate and allowed me to ramble on and on about being new in town and the challenges of raising children.  I will forever be grateful to them for welcoming me into this community.  Someday I will be very sad when my boys outgrow their store.  However, the values they instill will linger. 

• Kindness
• Knowledge
• Quality

Kids Northwest.  Thanks for keeping us happy today and for many years to come. 

Yay for Summer.  Our new Tevas. 

Huevos Rancheros with Local Black Beans and Red Pepper

I used a recipe I got with Acme Farms and Kitchen and adapted it a bit. The black beans are from Haricot Farms and the eggs from my son's preschool. I added red pepper to this recipe and used up some homemade leftover red sauce. Sometimes being local means more than just local ingredients. It also means using what you have available in your own local kitchen.

The best part about making this was the fact that I was missing a few important ingredients.  We have a Haggen (local Bellingham grocer) near us and I biked myself and my son with a trailer to the store to pick up the red pepper and cilantro.  We have a nice non-profit called SmartTrips that allows participants in the Whatcom County area to calculate any trips made without using your car.  You can make a smart trip using the bus, a bicycle, your feet or carpool.  It's a nice site because you can calculate total miles used but also how many calories burned and also various other environmental benefits of keeping your car off the road.  After 10 trips you get a SmartTrip card that gives discounts at local participating businesses.  Every year my husband and I compete to see who gets their card first.  He bikes to work about 2/3 of the year so he usually wins.  Either way, we are sending a good message to our family, our environment, and making a connecting with local businesses. 
I love this town!

100% Whole Wheat Pizza with spinach, garbanzo beans, olives and goat cheese.

The finished product.  Healthy, energizing AND yummy.

My husband and I were cleaning up dishes tonight and I realized that my viewpoint has changed when thinking about what to make for dinner.  In the past I would find some kind of meat or fish in the freezer or grocery store and then plan a meal around it.  Once a meal was constructed in my mind I would then find a vegetable side to accompany it.  What has changed?  I realized tonight that I now do quite the opposite.  I look into my garden, refrigerator, or pantry and find a vegetable(s) and that instead becomes the main course.  I still include a vegetable side dish but now veggies dominate our entire meal.  This is quite a mind shift for me and very revolutionary.  Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not turning into a vegan or even a vegetarian overnight.  However, I have been trying to incorporate more plants into my diet and I will admit that Mark Bittman has influenced me in this somewhat.  I still love meat.  I just eat less of it and what I do eat is from sources I know and trust. In short, meat accompanies dinner sometimes but it very rarely dominates it these days.  However, though my perspective on food has been altered somewhat, my passion for good tasting, locally sourced food has not.  Here's I've been up to recently.

I've been experimenting with breads lately.  I've never felt completely competent around breads so I've been experimenting for a few months.  Here's a link to my other blog/website about how this new obsession began.  deconstructingdairy.weebly.com  After searching the internet for well rated cookbooks I finally found Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzber, M.D.,  Zoe Francois.  I checked it out at the library and after a few renewals have now decided to purchase it from Village Books.  They have a nice chapter about flatbreads and pizzas and so I decided to give homemade pizza a shot. 

Now pizza is faster to make than bread but there's a trick.  Pizza doesn't have a second rising like bread does and you really need to have everything ready and prepared right before it goes into the oven.  You don't want the dough to sit and rest.  It will start to stick to your prepared surface and if you have placed sauce on your dough it will get soggy quite fast.  So get everything ready ahead of time.  That means:

1. sauce
2. pizza dough
3. toppings (cooked or raw) 
4. preheated oven (450 degrees)

So lets get started.  Most of the ingredients I used here are local and nearly all of the veggies are from my CSA box from.Acme Farms and Kitchen.  I decided to use a red sauce for this pizza.  Here's how I made it. 

Step 1:  Basic Red Sauce  *local ingredients are highlighted in green

Ingredients:

• 14.5 oz. can of Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic
• dried oregano (about 1/4 tsp.)
• fresh basil (2 fat leaves)
• kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper

This is the most versatile sauce ever.  Please note that you can use it on pizza, pasta or anything else that calls for jarred pasta sauce.  Also note that tomatoes are incredibly important when making this red sauce.  Don't skimp.  Buy the good ones.  Use either San Marzano tomatoes or the Fire Roasted ones from Muir Glen.  The fire roasted aspect imparts a ton of flavor. 

Here's everything you need.

Now, first heat up a small amount of olive oil in your small pan.  Keep the oil on medium heat, smash the garlic and toss it in the oil.  Let the garlic brown for about 10 seconds and add the crushed tomatoes.  Be careful the oil will splatter a bit.  Swirl a little water in the can, swish it around and dump the leftover tomato residue into the pan.  Don't waste those tomatoes.  They're not cheap. 

Lower the heat on the sauce and simmer until becomes as thick as you like.  While the sauce is simmering tear up the basil leaves and add the dried oregano.  Salt and pepper to taste.



My husband dried this oregano from our garden.   When I want to use it I squish it with my hands over whatever I'm making. 

 

Remember you can use this red sauce for pasta, lasagna, sandwiches etc.  Just remember to reduce it and/or blend it to suit the dish you are making.  I usually make a ton of this and freeze it.  Then I thaw it out when life gets really busy.

You can blend the sauce into submission, but for pizza I like a bit of texture so I choose not to.  I also reduce this sauce a lot more than usual.  I like to make it pretty thick because I don't want to risk having a soggy pizza crust.  No one likes that.  Eeeew.   

Step 2:  100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough *local ingredients

Before I begin this segment, I must tell you that this dough takes time.  Plan ahead and make it at home so it will taste better.  However, if you are feeling spontaneous or just don't have the time at the moment here's another suggestion.  Go to your favorite pizza place and ask them to sell you their dough.  Most places will sell it to you for very little.  Buy a few pieces of dough and freeze some for another day.  Most places will not only do this but it is far cheaper and better than anything you'll buy in the store.  In Bellingham, LaFiama does this but their dough is not 100% whole wheat and this one is! 

It helps to whisk the dry ingredients together before you add your liquids.

This 100% whole wheat dough can be used for more than just pizza.  I use it for focaccia and other artisan breads too.  Once the dough is made and has rested it is super quick to make pizza.  If you want to make this and save time, make the dough on the weekend and let it rest in the refrigerator until you're ready to make pizza.  After that, it takes the same amount of time as any other dough and it will be homemade and it will be better for your health.  Remember that whole grains fill you up faster than refined grains but have the same calories.  However this dough is  really good.  I never sacrifice taste for caloric content.  That's just silly and I refuse to live like that.  Healthy yes!  But it has to taste good for me to recommend it.


Ingredients:

• 7 cups whole wheat flour (I used Bob's Red Mill.  It's reasonably local because it comes from Oregon but usually I prefer Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. granulated yeast
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (I bough this at The Market at Lakeway, another local grocery store)
• 3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil  (Mediterranean Specialties)

Mix all of the ingredients in a large container or bowl.  Make sure it can hold over 5 quarts because this dough is really going to rise. 

Yes.  I mix my dough in a BIG food safe bucket. 

Once everything is mixed, cover it with a towel, lid or plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 2 hours at room temperature. 

Before rising:  Only 2 quarts.

Make sure that whatever is coving your dough isn't airtight.  That part is really important.  After 2 hours your dough is ready for pizza.  If you don't want to use it right away put it in the fridge.  It will be easier to handle once the dough is cold. 

After rising:  Yowza! 

When you are ready to make some pizza, grab a wad (yes, I said WAD) of dough from your bucket.  It should be about the size of a small grapefruit.  Toss a small amount of flour onto your work surface and dough and roll out with a rolling pin.  This dough rises a bit in the oven so roll it extra flat for a thinner crust.  With time and experimentation you will find what you like best. 

When the dough is rolled out to your desired thickness, gently place onto a piece of parchment paper.  I prefer Reynolds Parchment Paper.  Place your sauce evenly onto your dough and then begin to add your toppings. 

Cut the parchment paper to fit the size of your dough.

Schmear on the sauce.

Add your toppings. 

Step 3:  Toppings (cooked or raw)

Now I'm not much of one for the traditional overly cheesy American style pizza.  I like to be creative and since I'm lactose intolerant I have to be very particular about what cheese I do include.  Sometimes I don't add cheese at all.  Thankfully, I can tolerate goat cheese so that's what I used.  The beauty of pizza is that you can put pretty much anything on it.  I tend to like cooked toppings but raw ones are nice too.  Be creative.  Use what is in season and what you can find locally. 

For this pizza here is what I used.  *local ingredients

• Cooked garbanzo beans (Haricot Farms)
• Goat cheese feta Gothberg Farms  (This stuff is gold and this is my favorite goat dairy!)
• Cooked spinach from my CSA
• pitted Kalmata olives. 

Add a bit of olive oil to your pan, cook your washed spinach until it looks very dry and then salt/pepper to taste.

I mixed the rest of my toppings in the hot pan but turned off the burner.  The residual heat will evaporate any additional moisture. 

If any of your toppings are cooked, be sure to let them thoroughly cool before placing on your pizza.  Certain toppings really require cooking to make sure the water they contain is released before they are put in the oven.  This is especially important for people who like vegetables on their pizza.  If you just want the plain old pepperoni and cheese this won't really apply to you.  However, the pizza I made here is vegetarian and therefore has more veggies.  I don't want those goodies to get my crust soggy so I cook and cool then beforehand.  Examples of toppings that need to be dehydrated through the cooking process are:

1. spinach or other greens like kale or swiss chard
2. mushrooms of any kind
3. onions, leeks (alliums)
4. broccoli
5. cauliflower

Once your toppings are ready place them over your sauce. 
Slide the pizza onto a pizza stone or cookie sheet and cook in a 450 degree oven for 5-20 minutes. 
5 min. for thin pizza and 20 for super thick. 

Keep an eye on your pie until the center is bubbly (the dough not the cheese) and the outer crust is hard.  Let cool on a cutting board for a few minutes and then feast!

I usually pair my pizza with an additional salad and a glass of red wine.  Beer can be fun too but pizza was made to go with red wine.  Remember Italians had their hands on this creation WAY before us. 

Be creative.  Experiment with toppings and sauces. 
What's on your favorite pizza?  Tell me because I want to give it a go myself.  Better yet.  Send me a picture at jnnfrwerner@gmail.com 
Let's vote on our favorite. 

Asparagus pizza!

Shiitake and Asparagu Pesto Pizza with Goat Cheese

I used local ingredients for this entire pizza. Local dough, pesto made from local veggies, local mushrooms and of course local asparagus. This was the best pizza we've had yet this year.

The best CSA ever!



The gogeous ACME CSA box.

For those of you who haven't been living under a rock for the past few years you might have noticed that "being local" has become quite the popular thing to be.  Many people are interacting locally in many different ways but in the end it's about doing things closer to your current home.  Some of the cool local things I've recently read about and participated in are:

• Creating a home garden.  (That's about as local as you can get.  After all it's in your own back/front yard.)
• Shopping at local businesses
• Perusing at Farmer's Markets (Bellingham, WA has two each week.  Yippee!)
• Joining a CSA

This last one is the one I'm going to talk about today.  One of the coolest ways to interact within your local community is to join a CSA.  Specifically, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  and in general it consists of a farmer opening up shares of their farm that you purchase.  In return for this purchase and usually additional seed money you get a box of goodies from said farm.  If you want to learn more about CSA's and want to find which ones are available in your area click here.  http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Now I have joined many CSA's over the years and they've all been somewhat satisfying.  I adored the idea of directly supporting farms, farmers and their associates but sometimes I ran into a few issues.  First of all since I have a large garden I couldn't always get through all the produce.  I had this big box of veggies/fruit and my garden producing at full force and it all became too much.  The other problem I ran into was that in my area I only got veggies or fruit and sometimes the occasional carton of eggs.  To get local meats and breads I had to go to the Farmer's Market or CO-OP and it felt like the CSA was a wasted trip.  Finally, the last and worst problem I ran into with one CSA was that the produce was too fresh.  In other words the produce was ready to eat and would go bad before I could use it.  I love purchasing local but wasted produce is simply money down the drain.   I hate waste more than anything. 

Therefore I kind of gave up on CSA's for awhile.  My husband was not happy with them either and he was a kind of a hard sell for the above reasons.  Then one day I was happily playing on facebook and someone mentioned a place called Acme Farms + Kitchen http://acmefarmsandkitchen.com .  I am always curious about everything local and because it was new I checked them out.  I noticed instantly that this was no ordinary CSA.  This was a pair of moms who started a company that coordinated with local farms and businesses to provide local products that were organized into neat and tidy boxes.  In fact they refer to these boxes as a CSK (Community Supported Kitchen) because they offer a range of products.  Yes, that's correct.  This company not only offers produce but they also offer bread, fresh pasta, meat (chicken and seafood), beans, honey, milk, eggs...to name a few.  The best part is that everything you purchase is local.  Yippy Skippy.

I must also mention that the produce included in the boxes in impeccable.  It's perfectly fresh yet lasts all week long.  I've been getting produce boxes for over a month now and nothing has gone bad.  If anything it lasts a little over a week.  Here's a nice picture of one of the CSA boxes I recently received.  Isn't everything gorgeous?

Here's what's inside.  Stunning huh?

 

Acme Farms + Kitchen also offer these fabulous things called locavore boxes.  The locavore boxes are wonderful boxes filled with produce and other delights. Not only does Acme Farms + Kitchen tailor make them to your dietary needs but they also comes with recipes.  Now these aren't just any recipes.  They are incredibly varied recipes that incorporate all the local ingredients included in your box.  That means that there is no waste.  You use absolutely everything in them.  What this concept translates to is a significant cost savings on your grocery bill and your family ends up eating far more vegetables than they normally would.  It's a win, win, win.  My husband is now a true convert and is addicted to the dairy-free locavore box that we routinely get.  And please note that my husband is incredibly frugal and quite picky about the quality of his food.  He and I are both like kids in a candy store when we pick up our CSA.  It has been quite the blessing in our home. 

So thank you Acme Farms + Kitchen.  Thank you for being smart organized women with good hearts and sound minds.  Because of your business our local economy just gets better and better. 

Please notice that there are shucked oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farm, Ralphs Pretzel buns, Breadfarm Hoagies, pasture raise eggs and Bellingham Pasta Co.Fusilli.  This is the non-veggie portion of the dairy-free locavore box I just purchased. 

Tomatoes in June!  Kale, green asparagus, assortment of lettuces and oregano.  Yes, herbs are often included in the produce box.  Nice touch!