Spring chicken pot pie

Chicken stew with spring veggies! (shelled peas, carrots, celery, onions) For the topping, I just used the JOC rolled biscuit recipe. Yum!

I wasn't really sure how to make the stew, and something weird happened with the broth while it was baking, but it was still tasty. Too much flour or the milk got a tiny bit gloopy? I'm not sure. Anyhow, I cooked the chicken and some bacon separately, and poured the veggies and broth over that. I started the broth with the fat left from cooking the meat, added a little flour, chicken broth, and milk.

I think we all agreed a dinner with friends on Sunday helps postpone the Sunday slump feeling.

Pique nique!

Tiny sandwiches, fruit, and containers of hummus, cheese, etc. are perfect for spring lunch al fresco at Blue Hills.

Egg Sandwiches

Henry and I both love egg sandwiches. Well, Henry just has a feeling he would love an egg sandwich. This one is 2 eggs, spinach, some unknown cheese from the fridge, and pumpkin-seed bread

Salad Mania!

As you know, I really love this salad. And I have been subsisting on variations of the original. I made this version with roasted mushrooms (in addition to the asparagus), and added chopped fresh thyme to the dressing. This made the godly nectar even more amazing! I added the thyme to the vinegar-salt-shallot mixture, and, as before, whisked in the oil and pepper about 20 minutes later. I think it is best to stick with arugula or spinach or something hearty, because slightly wilted mesculin mix is not as tasty.

Edible, Inedible

For lunch today I ate leftovers from dinner last night. It is not really my thing to post on restaurant food, but I did bring this pesto pizza to room temperature and consume two pieces. Also, I am behind on posting. Anyhow, I went with some friends to a restaurant run by a group that may or may not be a cult. Initially, I thought the pizza was quite good, and I especially enjoyed the spelt crust. I felt about the same way at lunch today.

But after I finished my lunch, I did a little web reseach through Google, and quickly lost my appetite and the desire to ever go back to the cafe. What I have not lost, unfortunatley, is the garlic breath. Edible or Inedible?

Apples and cheese

I love apples and cheese. As a sandwich, just plain, cold or baked, any old way.

Inedible! Snotty yogurt

I love my yogurt maker. It is not necessary to have a yogurt marker, and some people think it is a huge waste of money, but they are cheap and convenient and I like the little containers.

Anyhow, to make basic yogurt you heat up the milk to steaming with tiny, tiny bubbles around the edge, let it cool to 110 degrees F, then whisk in a couple spoon fulls of plain yogurt, or yogurt starter. Then just incubate at 110 for 8 hours or so, pop it in the fridge, and that is it!

But don't use Fage! Fage is really delicious strained Greek yogurt, but it just did not work. I used it once, and the Trader Joe's version once, and both times the yogurt came out snotty, slimy and weird.

My guess is that by straining it, the whey is removed, and this must be important for making yogurt. This is just a guess.

I tried to give you all an extreme close up of the texture, but it is kind of blurry.

I went to Whole Foods to get powedered yogurt culture, and for some reason they are not stocking it right now. The super nice woman in the dairy section gave me a free sample of a container of yogurt she says works really well as a starter. I will let you know how it goes.

Inedible?

Our friend Carla, trusted guest chef, sends in the following:

"As the title of Ms. Mary Cat's blog suggests, she would occaisonally be posting "inedible" items on her blog. Presumably, because Mary Cat is such an excellent cook, little to no posts about inedible items have appeared on her blog. Experimental, nouveau Fermento-phile Carla to the rescue!

After my recent purchase of a fermantation cookbook and my life altering realization that I am always craving fermented foods, I decided to embark on the creation of homemade sauerkraut. Essentially, homemade kraut involves cabbage, salt, some jars and a lot of waiting. You mix the salt and the cabbage together and put it in a jar with another weighted, smaller jar on top. The combination of the weighted jar and the salt causes the cabbage to essentially excrete water, which makes a brine. Then you have to let the creation sit for about 4 weeks, while the natural bacteria do their work.

I am patiently waiting. However, there is a strong possibility that this could be inedible. Post-tasting post to follow!"

Thanks, Carla -- We can't wait for the follow-up!

Banana bread with apples

I am really bad about eating bananas, and they always hang around on the counter and turn brown. Luckily, I love making banana bread, so I just peel them and stick them in the freezer. This weekend I decided to do something about my freezer stash of ripe bananas.

I had a vision of a really cool loaf of banana bread with rings of apples on top. It sort of turned out, but not really. I think a smaller apple in thicker slices would have worked better.

I made the JOC quick banana bread recipe, but sliced half an apple into thin rings (the rest of the apple i chopped and tossed in the batter). I put these on the bottom of the loaf pan (after I greased it), and poured the batter over the apples. Overall the bread was really moist and tasty, but I think it could have been prettier.

Some friends came over for brunch on easter and declared it edible.

Biscuits

I made a batch of drop biscuits this weekend to freeze. I figured this way I can just pop one in the toaster in the morning and have breakfast on my way to the T, or while I'm bopping around the house getting ready for work. Drop biscuits are the same as rolled biscuits, but with more milk.

Table inspires Nancy the Chef

Nancy McNeill of Portland, Maine reports that her new table has inspred her to cook meals that are fit for serving on the beautiful table. And her chairs have not even arrived yet. Nancy, we can't wait to see what culinary creations the whole set will bring! Send pictures!

Here she has made pasta with puttanesca sauce and a salad. Rumor has it an italian from Amato's looks pretty good on this table as well.

ARLA bars

Alert reader Carla sent in her latest creation, which I have taken to calling ARLA bars. Carla reports:

"Here are pics of the date bars I made. They were made in the 'nart* with dates, almonds, pecans, crystallized ginger, cinnamon and cloves. They were based on the LARA ginger snap cookie bar. They are very delicious and as you can see I just happened to have little ziploc bags for each of them."

* 'nart = Cuisinart

Thanks, cARLA!

Pasta !

Connie invited me over for dinner last night and made pasta and a tasty sauce. Connie grew up eating food from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking." Marcella tells it like it is:

"Outside of spinach, no coloring can be recommended as an alternative to basic yellow pasta. Other substances have no flavor and therefore no gastronomic interest. Or, if they do contribute flavor, such as that of the deplorable black pasta whose dough is tinted with squid ink, its taste is not fresh. Pasta does not need to be dressed up, except in the colors and aromas of its sauce."

Connie does not mess with Marcella, so she made a highly palatable spinach pasta. The sauce was minced onions, carrots, and celery sauteed in a pan with one can of whole plum tomatoes, a bit of water, some butter, s & p. Edible! Thanks, Connie!

tried and true

I love cereal.

Fresh Asparagus

My grandmother taught me a way to keep asparagus fresh and tasty in the fridge. It works! Basically, you treat the asparagus like flowers: cut the ends off (just a little), place in a container of water, and then create a sort of greenhouse by covering the top with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and secure with a rubberband. Pop this in the fridge. Try to change the water every day until you use up the stalks.

Again! Again!

The salad was so tasty, I made it again the next night for a friend. This time, we had the salad with warm, seasoned bread on the side. I might just make this salad again tonight.

Best Salad Ever

Last week, Carla told me about a salad she made, and I could not stop thinking about it. So I asked her for the recipe, and it was so good I am passing it on to all of you.

First, mince an entire shallot. In small bowl mix this with 1.5 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar and a good pinch of salt. Let this stand for at least 20 minutes, or while you do everything else.

Prepare 1-2 hard-boiled eggs. The tried and true method I use is to put the eggs in a pan of water that just covers the eggs. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for exactly 8 minutes, or 7 if they are smaller. Run cold water over the eggs to cool and stop the cooking. Peel the eggs when they are done.

Then, as you water is heating for the eggs, prep 1 lb. of asparagus. Clean it and cut into pieces to suit your fancy. I cut them in large pieces at an angle (2-3 pieces per stalk). I roasted the asparagus (400 for about 10-15 minutes) with a tiny bit of oil and s & p. Carla steamed her asparagus.

Put about 4 hand fulls of arugula in your salad bowl. I seasoned the dry leaves with a bit of s & p.

Whisk 3.5 Tablespoons of walnut oil into the shallot-vinegar mix. Add the warm asparagus to the arugula, toss in the dressing, and crumble the hard boiled eggs into the salad.


Enjoy! We paired this salad with a delicious spring risotto with snap peas, parmesan, and bacon.