Monthly Archives: April 2011
Spring Has Arrived
I finally feel like the transition to spring is here. Sure, we’re still having some chilly evenings, but it’s finally feeling more like it’s warmer than it’s colder. My twice-weekly exercise class made its move from inside the high school field house to an outdoor field last week. The first morning it was 55 degrees, though the second morning, it was 20 degrees colder. It might be time to turn the heat off for the season soon.
Now that spring is in the air, the garden is starting to come alive. I still have some snowdrops lingering. The crocus is over, but the first early tulips and my first two daffodils opened this weekend. Chionodoxa has naturalized on the edges of the lawn which makes me smile.
Yesterday, I cleared out the herb bed and found the chervil volunteers, chives, and tarragon poking up green shoots. The lemon balm, oregano, mints, winter (perennial) savory, and sage are still dormant, but alive. The thyme didn’t make it, so I will get some replacement when I purchase the annual rosemary and lemon verbena to round out the mix.
As for food plants, the gooseberries, currants, and blueberries are starting to leaf out. The raspberries and blackberries haven’t gotten started yet, but I’m sure they aren’t far behind. I forgot to check whether the rhubarb is starting to poke up and unfurl but it should be starting. We planted a bed of peas a few weeks back (under the Remay cloth) but no sign of germination yet.
We’re trying a new approach with the lettuce and radishes this year. Check out my latest planter. It’s a 10-foot section of gutter that I spray-painted and Howard hung on the back of the garage. I planted microgreens, arugula, and mesclun mix along with a mix of radishes and some watermelon radishes. These are all shallow growers, so the gutter shouldn’t hinder them. The added benefit is that the height will keep my tender seedlings out of reach of the bunnies living in that corner of the garden. (Next project is to paint that plywood another bright color.)
A seasonal change is a change in more than weather but in what we eat. I’m just finishing up the last of our Winter CSA vegetables, storage vegetables obviously. There are still a couple of butternut squash left and a couple of pounds of beets.
I used up the last of the beets in a simple but delicious soup. Roasted beets combined with sautéed red onion in chicken stock with a smidge of cream. The whole mixture gets processed in the blender for a smooth, magenta puree. The color is wild. The taste is sweet and earthy and more complex than its short list of ingredients. I’m certainly happy to be saying goodbye to winter, but this soup was an excellent sendoff!
Cream of Beet Soup
Adapted from Joyce Goldstein’s Back to Square One
2 lbs beets
2 Tbsp butter
1 medium red onion, sliced
4 cups chicken stock
¾ cup light cream (or half-and-half)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the beets well. Place the unpeeled beets in a roasting pan, add about ½ inch of water to the pan. Cover with foil and bake for one hour or until the beets are tender. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip the skin off.
Cut 1/3 of the beets into julienne and set aside. Dice the remaining beets.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Lower the heat and add the onion. Cook until tender and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the stock and diced beets. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 more minutes.
Puree the soup in the blender until smooth. Return puree to the saucepan. Add the cream and stir to mix in completely. Season to taste.
To serve, ladle warmed soup into bowls and garnish with the julienned beets.
You could dollop with sour cream, but it’s delicious plain.
French Fridays with Dorie: Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccoli
There are several things I enjoy about participating in French Fridays with Dorie. One is that I’m cooking more recipes from a single cookbook than I’ve ever done before. Every week for over six months (well, OK, I skipped once), I’ve tried a new recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. The recipes are so varied: different courses, different ingredients, and different levels of complexity. I’ve learned new ways to make old favorites, been introduced to some new combinations, and definitely learned some new techniques. Sometimes, I make the recipe straight from the book. Other times, I vary it because of food preferences or lack of shopping preparedness.
I’m doing this along a community of other food bloggers that share this experience each week. My favorite part is reading the other blogs and getting new ideas and inspirations based on others’ variations or lessons learned from the same recipe from the same book. The bloggers are from all over the world, and each one brings something different to their kitchen. What’s your favorite part of being part of FFWD?
This week’s recipe was another easy one: Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccoli. I love most vegetables, but, honestly, broccoli is one that I have only recently made peace with. Not to get too political, but I remember in the 1980s when the President George Bush (the first) proclaimed that he had never liked broccoli. It was the only thing he ever said that I actually agreed with.
Times change, and my palette is always open to new experiences, even if it involves retrying old things. It started when I discovered roasted broccoli. The broccoli was coated with olive oil and roasted at high heat until it was singed and slightly caramelized. That went on the list as broccoli I would eat. Then, I found a baked pasta dish I liked with broccoli, roasted tomatoes, and blue cheese. Another recipe added to the “will eat” list. Then, there were a few different combinations of stir-fried broccoli with various toppings from different cuisines that went on the list. My most recent favorite has been a Broccoli-Cheddar Soup that is a lunch favorite (I just made a batch this week.)
This is all to explain that I wasn’t as horrified as I might have been five years ago to see a broccoli recipe as the week’s choice. There isn’t all that much to say about this recipe. It was a simple, though tasty, side dish. Steamed broccoli tossed with garlicky buttered crumbs with a smidge of lemon zest and fresh parsley, giving it a gremolata undertone.
My thoughts on this one?
- I made half a recipe. Though the recipe said to cut the original quantity, double what I made, into only six pieces. I knew I would prefer eating the cooked broccoli without cutting it from the stalk, so cut the broccoli into smaller florets. This worked out well because there were that many more surfaces for the crumbs to stick to.
- I steamed the broccoli in a pot as the recipe suggested. Usually, I do it in the microwave. Next time, I’d just do my usual way because it’s easier, faster, and less dishes to wash.
- I used the zest of half a lemon, but the citrus flavor wasn’t all that strong. I’m not sure whether I would add more zest or just leave it out.
I made the Asparagus with Bits of Bacon (on page 330 of AMFT) in tandem with the broccoli. The asparagus was unplanned, but when I realized I had some, I looked to see what recipes Dorie had for asparagus. I had all the ingredients for this recipe on hand. Both were easy enough to make at the same time, and I’d probably make both again. I’m glad I’ve finally learned to enjoy broccoli.
To see how the other FFwD bloggers fared with their broccoli this week, check out their links here. I’m sure there will be some creative twists on this easy recipe.
Next week’s recipe is Vanilla Eclairs, which will take me completely out of my comfort zone. I’m a bit nervous, but it will be interesting to try something completely different.
A Plateful of Happiness 