Post written by kristin | Leave Comment »
I have some buttermilk in the fridge that needs to get used up. We already had pancakes, not in the mood to make waffles nor oven-fried chicken though all are tasty ways to use up the buttermilk. Then I remembered, I haven’t made an Irish soda bread in quite a while. And since I’m getting the recipe out I can share it with you.
We got this recipe from our friend Renee, who emigrated from Ireland as a young lass circa 1960s. Irish soda bread is a type of “quick” bread – no yeast, rises from the action of baking soda. Read the rest of this entry »
Post written by kristin | Leave Comment »
I finally made chocolate ganache. Chocolate cream glaze ganache, to be more exact. I tasted some really good stuff of this nature about eight years ago at a friend’s baby shower and have been wanting to make some ever since. Other things always got in the way until a rainy, cool Easter afternoon in 2010. We made a bunny cake in a stand up mold. The cake is pretty plain and needed some help – chocolate ganache to the rescue.
Bunny cake – before
One of my favorite cake books is The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum. It has everything from very basics (pancakes) to the science (why does your melting chocolate get ruined by a drop of water? it’s called seizing) to the fanciest of fancy celebration cakes. So I looked up chocolate ganache and this is what I found: Read the rest of this entry »
Post written by kristin | 2 Comments »
I just stumbled upon this very yummy sounding recipe for lamb. I have not tasted it but am so sure it will be good, I’m puttin’ it out there in time for Easter dinner. It comes from the folks at Baron’s Meat and Poultry, a lovely local butcher with good stuff, like Soul Food Farm, Marin Sun Farms and Mary’s Chicken products. David sent out his recipe for Roast Leg of Lamb or Top Round with pomegranate marinade.
I have already told you how I love the pomegranate. Read the rest of this entry »
Post written by kristin | 4 Comments »
Basil pesto and fresh grated parmesan
I just can’t resist this post any longer. The green spring talk of the asparagus post keeps beckoning. Green, green basil pesto. Tasty, simple yet sophisticated, good for you!, the kids like it (yup), you can dress it up or not, keep it vegetarian or add non-vegetable matter. Read the rest of this entry »
Post written by andrew | 2 Comments »
the front yard has been improved to include a $20 coldframe. it consists of 3 ten foot 1/2 inch cpvc tubes and a roll of 3 mm plastic. i have used this set up successfully in the past and i have no reason to believe it won’t prevent an early spring frost from killing my lettuce crop. i’m looking at planting a 6 ft square bed of mesclun, i haven’t decided which of 3 seed catalogs will win the contract for seed.
last year i dug up the sod and planted corn, mainly just to get something (that i knew would grow) in the ground. first year gardens are not meant for intensive gardening. i pretty much just turned over the soil and really didn’t weed or tend it that much. in the fall i raked leaves over the whole thing threw a little compost over it and let it rest under a tarp. this spring the soil looks better and is definitely easier to till and prepare for planting.
over the winter i accumulated a larger volume of kitchen scraps and may have a better compost pile working to enrich the soil in a few more weeks. i’ll let you know how that turns out. when i put the seeds in the ground, gentle readers, you will be there.
until next week, andrew
Post written by andrew | Leave Comment »
yes, it is st. Patrick’s day in America. i know the same old boring menu: corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. when done correctly brisket can be quite tasty, salted and spiced it’s still brisket, mmm. braised cabbage is soul food for my northern European ancestors and me, and who doesn’t like potatoes. Read the rest of this entry »
Post written by kristin | 4 Comments »
When we were young, our mom took an Asian cooking class through the local Adult Ed program and she continued to experiment from there. In the 70s that was a bit exotic in suburban NY. To this day, however, all us kids fondly remember the dishes and most of us still make some, especially Yakisoba. It’s easy and pretty quick once the prep is done (can do it ahead); then the dish is ready in about 10-15 minutes. Best of all, I have found that my children readily eat it, spinach and all. (get ‘em some kiddie chopsticks!) Read the rest of this entry »
Post written by kristin | 3 Comments »
I just have to write a quick post about this talk I attended tonight at The Beanery in Alameda Marketplace. David, one of the owners of Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol, CA came all the way to Alameda to give a presentation on their lovely family-owned and operated farm. They have about 300 goats and it is now officially kidding season with baby goats being born everyday. He gave us some history of this family project and how they are old-school and modern at the same time; they support sustainable, humane farming and have modern, artisanal products like goat milk yogurt, kefir and specialty cheeses. They are slowly converting their cheese-making facility to 100% (plus) solar power. At the same time they are growing a family business and providing people with minimally-processed, good goat dairy products. How fabulous! And I love the pictures of the kids:
Read the rest of this entry »
Post written by andrew | 6 Comments »
Yes, somewhere it is spring. Today new york is getting 18 inches of snow. In my grocery store the price of asparagus has reached a reasonable level. In minnesota asparagus season is late may/ early june. The farmers markets are open saturdays in february, meat is for sale. my local ‘local’ store has hydroponic/aquaponic lettuces for sale. the process for aquaponics is basically hydroponics, with tilapia fish farming providing the water and fertilizer. i can still get a decent tomato from bushel boy. sorry, i gotta go. enjoy
asparagus pasta
- 1/2 cup asparagus
- 3 lbs cooked pasta
- mushrooms
- prosciutto
- gr. onion
- thyme
- tarragon
- olive oil
- heavy cream
- parmesan
- egg yolk
saute asparagus, mushrooms and green onion in olive oil in a hot 12″ saute pan
add prosciutto, and herbs
add cream and reduce
add parmesan cheese and finish/thicken sauce with 1 egg yolk( remove pan from heat)
mix in pasta
serve in pasta bowl with garnish
Post written by andrew | 4 Comments »
elegant: in my opinion, is a recipe which comes off tasty every time you make despite the fact that you never make with the same ingredients. fried rice is like that there are some common ingredients in the recipe and the technique is the real elegant part. wok cooking is a techique that calls for mis-en place. you can’t start a dish w/out having all the ingredients lined up and ready for throwing into the sizzling wok.
the average home model gas stove is barely serviceable for wok cooking and don’t get me started on woks and hot wires. the commercial kitchen has a wok burner that sounds like a jet engine, and the vessel is thinner walled than a home wok. that said , i still use a wok at home on my maytag gas stove. i do have a more powerful burner( standard issue) in the front that i use. the wok i use has a slight flat spot and a handle, the construction is moderately heavy. i like the traditional tools for wok cooking; the ’spoodle’ and the shovel,they are necessary for measuring as well as manipulating the ingredient in the wok
fried rice
- leftover rice,cooled and large lumps eliminated
- garlic
- ginger
- oil
- soy sauce
- honey
- ketjup manis
- onions, carrots, peas, mushrooms,
- left overs: meat, eggs, vegies
prep ginger and garlic, minced fine or put through garlic press if you like cleaning that contraption. prep rice, just run your fingers thru it to break up and large lumps. prep vegetable; slicing in sizes according to speed of cooking technique, thin slices which will be cooked or heated rapidly.
heat oil in wok until smoking, discard oil and add fresh oil to wok. add minced garlic and ginger, stir fry 30 seconds, add salt.
add vegetables and cook 2-3 minutes, add other ingredients, finally add rice and stir/scrape with ’shovel’ to distribute vegetables and meat in dish, also to warm rice, you may want to add stock or rice wine to fully warm by steaming as the liquid hit the bottom of the wok, if you have a large amt in the wok.
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