Savoring the Snow

As I sit and write this post, I am looking out at a gently blanketed landscape and the snow flakes are dancing like butterflies.  Today has a meloncholic feel to it, the forests always go quiet when it snows and so do the roads as we, like the animals, huddle down.  Maybe we are not as far removed from primal instincts as we think.

I also feel a particular appreciation for the snow today as this might be one of the last gentle dustings we get this year, and then no more until next year when we hope and pray our Christmas will be a white one!  What lies around the corner is long days starting with early mornings, farmers have already been planning the growing season and taking stock of their 'to do' lists, taking trips out to the green house or the barn with a combination of anticipation for how much needs to be accomplished and excitment to get underway. 

Knowing Spring is on our door step and she brings all her craziness and energy with her, I think today is the perfect day to putter around inside and wear your slippers or just your socks all day and appreciate one of the last quiet days we will have this year.  And, as promised, in celebration of the snowy day, I have included a recipe for some cookies.  A sweet friend, Ashley, baked these last week (using organic ingredients) to share and they were DELICIOUS!  It is Martha Stewart's recipe, Ashley added cranberries and I loved them so much I ate more than my share and didn't regret a thing!  They are absolutely worth a quick trip to the store for any ingredients you don't have!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Coarse salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup finely grated zucchini
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat 1 stick butter and the sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix in zucchini, oats, and walnuts. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
4. Beat together remaining 1/2 stick butter, the cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon filling onto the flat side of 1 cookie, and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining filling and cookies.

Dark Knight Moon

I have a confession to make - it is about a newly . . . revealed . . . fettish.  Its the radishes. I can't help myself and may need the help of family and friends in the form of an intervention.  They are organic and beautiful.  They grow underground, and you can smell the earth, they are demure to look at and all pepper and spice to taste.  I am so enamored with all the different radishes you get, and so when this one appeared on our farmers harvest list for South Shore Organics this week, I just had to have some.  I had to. 

I am of course, talking about the winter root - Black Radish.  They are Spanish in origin, and are bigger than the little red ones we are used to seeing, and talk about sexy!  Dark velvety skins hiding pale white flesh - these are the vampires of the underground: one bite and you're hooked!  Here you go - this is my take on a photo for the cover of a Twilight themed radish novel:

Last month I wrote about a radishing princess with a beautiful heart and the mattador who won her love with his beautiful heart, well, the Chiogga matador that beet all other admirers to gain her affection better watch out!  A new man arrived in town this week and he is ruthless, hungry and dangerous! 

Oh the drama, promise of romance, intrigue and suspense - what will happen next?  Will the radishing princess fall for the dark knights charms?  Is it any wonder I am infatuated?

Surviving Sleet

Here we are again, are you ready to celebrate another storm in New England with me?  Ready to break out the baking pans and punctuate these days with some delicious decadence?  Are you, like me, determined to embrace the gifts of today regardless of how much snow there is to shovel?  And since there has been A LOT of snow to shovel, I feel the need to put the calories back in my body lest I wither away to nothingness and we can't have that, can we? 

It just so happens that conveniently - I love it when this happens - my calorie craving has coincided with a cheesecake craving!  And not just any cheese cake - I want a BAKED cheesecake!  What good is a cold day of wintry mix if you aren't going to at least turn the oven on?  So, this is my special choice for this little winter storm:

Philadelphia Double-Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:

24 OREO Cookies, crushed (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup  (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

4 pkg (8 oz each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup  sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp  vanilla

2 tbsp (heaped) cocoa

1/2 cup blueberries

Method:

• Heat oven to 325ºF.
• Mix crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch foil-lined pan. Bake 10 min.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour cocoa and vanilla with mixer until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
• Bake 45 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil to lift cheesecake from pan. Top with berries.

Enjoy!  A few more snow storms accompanied with decadent ideas and we may just have turned this winter around, don't you think?

Surviving Snowflakes!

Do you remember the conversation your mom had with you when you were little and the kids at school were being mean?  The one where she says 'don't worry honey, don't let them get to you - if they don't get the reaction they want, they will soon get bored and find somebody else to pick on' . . .

Well, that is how I feel about the snow.  It is being mean, and it is picking on me . . . us!  I mean, REALLY!  One storm is romantic, two is still somewhat fun, but one a week is losing its charm.  I have enough snowy photos for ten years worth of Christmas cards - and we built a snowman bigger than us - look:

Yes, my daughter is actually sitting on 'his lap' and those are russet potatoes for eyes - not sure where his rainbow carrot nose is at this point but there you are.  I know others out there agree, that we are kinda out of snow-day ideas.

Back to my point, I think I am going to take my mom's sage advice and refuse to give the mean snow the reaction it is looking for.  Instead, I am going to celebrate these days because after all, taking some down time is not the worse thing to do and I have been told that shovelling your drive burns 1500 calories which makes me feel even more justified in suggesting that we do something decadent, indulgent and delicious with our afternoon.  I am suggesting BAKED PEARS!  With a dollop of Marscapone cheese: 

Ingredients:

• 4 D'Anjou pears
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• Dash of salt
• Dash of ginger (or cinnamon)
• 1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

Method:

1. Heat oven to 325 deg F (slow to moderate)
2. Wash the pears and cut a think slice from the blossom end (don't you love that term, I think all bottoms should be called 'the blossom end') - this is so they will stand easily - leave the stems on
3. Place pears upright in baking dish
4. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over pears
5. Bake uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours, or until pears are tender.  Baste syrup over pears occasionally while cooking
6. Enjoy!

Maybe, just maybe, if we punctuate these storms with a little celebration, the snow will get bored and go pick on somebody else.  It's worth a try . . .



Impossible is a word full of possibilities!

The season of self indulgence is drawing to a close and I am already squeezing myself into my wardrobe and trying various diets on for size.  I am considering New Years Resolutions at the same time: try harder to save, treat each day as a gift, do six impossible things before breakfast, save the day at least once, be more adventurous with food etc. etc.

Or, maybe I should be more specific and have one particular goal to accomplish this year, and since we are embarking on this local and organic produce delivery journey, maybe it DOES have to do with food.  A food adventurer . . . oooh . . . an EXPLORER!  And I am not talking about exotic foods, far off flavors and foreign fragrances.  Just vegetables.  I mean, there has to be at least one great recipe out there for each and every vegetable!  Don't you think?  I love veggies, but there are some I just don't like to eat, so maybe that will be my mission for 2011.  Find a way to eat everything, and savor the experience.

So, that being said, here is a little recipe that I thought I would share with you all, it is the 'little black dress' of sauces!  Everything looks great in it and its perfect for every occasion.  Need something for seafood or fish?  This is it!  Asparagus or brussels sprouts need a little dressing? Look no further!  It is a French Butter Sauce, and tonight we are eating it on roasted brussel sprouts, yum!  Enjoy.

1. Bring 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup white wine, 1tblspn minced shallots, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper to the boil in a deep saucepan.
2. Continue to simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, the larger the saucepan the quicker the ingredients will reduce.
3. While the wine mixture simmers, cut 1 and 1/4 cups of chilled butter into small squares and once the sauce is reduced, add half the squares and beat with a metal whisk until the mixture forms a creamy paste.
4. Reduce heat to low and continue beating in one piece of butter at a time, adding a new piece as soon as the previous piece is nearly incorporated.
5. The sauce should now be about 1 1/4 cups and have the consistency of a light hollandaise.  Remove from heat and strain.
6. Season with salt and pepper, add a squeeze of lemon.

Voila!

'Tis the Season

Let me just start by saying that nature is a wonderful thing!  

Imagine a finely tuned, well-oiled food system that produces exactly what you need right at the moment you need it!  And no, I am not talking about our grocery store with its carefully appointed displays, or the incredible network of transportation mediums that bring the food to our tables, I am talking of course, about Mother Nature.

In a world where we cultivate only the best-selling produce and import what’s out-of-season, we have forgotten what 'seasonal' means, and have lost the fine balance of meeting our bodies needs.  When it comes right down to it, by eating seasonally we are doing just that.  Winter vegetables like brocolli, brussel sprouts, kale, leeks, squash, turnips and cauliflower are all rich in Vitamins A and C - to help us keep colds and flus at bay.  They also have iron and calcium as well as many other minerals, and fibre too.  They are not as high in starches and sugars as some of you might think, certainly nowhere near as high as some of the summer fruit and vegetables – but then, we aren’t as active in winter are we? 

If we eat seasonally not only will we improve the variety in our diets over the course of the year because we are no longer just eating our ten favorite things all year round regardless of where it comes from or how far it travels, but we will have healthier bodies that are fed less excessively too.  So add the following fresh produce to your shopping list this season: beets, broccoli, broccoli rabe, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, collards, kale, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, salad greens, sprouts, winter squash, swiss chard, spinach, turnips, cranberries, apples, pears and quince – and be merry!

Happy Holidays!

It's cold outside, but it's warm in here . . .

We have a family member visiting from Sunny South Africa this week – he is not used to the cold – or the dark for that matter (it is not called sunny SA for no reason!)  His first few days here he was just miserable about the awfulness of it all, however, after some rest and the opportunity to acclimatize he has settled in.  Last night he was saying how he can appreciate the benefits of our ‘resting season’ as he called it, and he is right isn’t he?  That’s just what it is.

I too would love to just ‘settle in’ for the ‘resting season’ – and for those of you who would like to join me, here is a good soup recipe for the slow cooker (or just stick it on low on the stove if you are around to keep an eye on it).  Potter around at home, scratch the cats belly, or chin which they likely prefer, decorate the tree if you haven’t already, walk around in your socks all day and if you want to go all the way, you can even stay in your jammies – just for one day, shhhh, I won’t tell. . .

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

4 carrots

1 red pepper

2 bunches green onions

1 bunch kale

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 squares vegetable bouillon or a quart of vegetable/chicken broth

cilantro

Water

1 stick organic sweet cream butter

Method

Chop all vegetables into bite sized pieces. Be sure to use all of green onion, including chives. Tear leafy parts of kale into salad size pieces, discarding stem. Toss vegetables, vinegar, bouillon, and butter into a 5 qt slow cooker. Add water until pot is full. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, then reduce heat and let simmer until serving time. The longer it cooks, the more the flavor comes out.  Settle in and enjoy.