Garden to Table. Hand to Mouth.

I’ve been inspired recently by cookbooks, collections of essays, and YouTube videos that serenely demonstrate a farm-to-table, or garden-to-table lifestyle. I’m talking about the media that seems to show people wandering out into the garden or field, coming into the kitchen with lovely produce, and that’s dinner. I love it. I’d love to live it!

I’ve been gardening in my backyard with varying degrees of success for years. Even when I lived in an apartment with no yard of my own, I accumulated a collection of pots filled with dirt that at least produced fresh herbs. I come from a family of hardcore vegetable gardeners, and I just cannot escape my genetically imposed compulsion to give plants, be they be fruits, vegetables, or flowers, a good home.

This year, I’m finding myself rediscovering what it means to have enough time to manage and appreciate my outdoor spaces, and, while things may not be perfect, they are reasonably productive so far. I’m getting more and more comfortable with the possibility of saying, “Let’s go see what’s in the garden,” as a means of figuring out what’s for dinner.

 

I had quite a nice crop of radishes that also produced prodigious greens that went into a batch of a pesto like this one, and a bowl of soupy noodles like this one. The lettuces are still coming, although I’m trying to eat them before they bolt. Needless to say, we are having a bowl of salad once or twice a day, and sandwiches are getting an extra punch of green crunch. Cilantro is easy to grow, and my first planting is flowering, but I harvested more than enough to make chunky salsas like this one and garnish bowls of soup beans.

 

Up-and-comers include the peas I feel like I planted so long ago, and are finally almost ready to pick. I don’t know if I’ll have enough of them at once to make this pea and mint salad, or to add to a risotto like this one, but no matter. I’m happy to eat them straight out of the pod on my way in from the garden. I’ve also got what is fast becoming a boatload of kale – Lacinato and Red Russian varieties. I better get creative about kale in a hurry!

 

The squash plants are growing, and I’m collecting zucchini recipes like I do every year. I still love most of the recipes in this list, though, so the research is easy. Tomatoes are the hardest to wait for, and, aside from winter squash, they are the most patient with themselves. I keep an eye on them nonetheless, torturing myself with thoughts of ripe tomatoes.

Of course, there are even more seasonal wonders outside my own garden. My local farmers market and stores that focus on seasonal produce are just getting into the summer swing. Berries and stone fruits are the stars right now, and some of those berries featured well in this galette last week. The little local strawberries I found, however, did not join the blueberries and rhubarb I put in the pie. After a very wet end of winter, we had an achingly dry time the rest of the spring, so the berries were small and maybe a bit homely. Their flavors were so concentrated by the dearth of water, however, that they may have been the sweetest strawberries I’ve ever had. They were so delicious, so surprisingly overabundant with flavor that I declared them too good for the rustic mixed-up pie. We ate them all hand to mouth, one by one, with no regrets.

Planting seeds. A pot of Soup Beans. Brownie sundaes.

 

 

Ready. Set. Go!

If only there was someone, like the guy with the starter pistol at the 100 meter dash, who always knew when the start should be, who was always willing to tell us, and was always right. Of course, Starter Pistol Guy only needs to concern himself with the clearly defined end of the previous race and the clearing of the track (someone else’s problem) before confidently and sharply defining the next beginning. Whether everyone showed up means nothing to him. And he doesn’t have to live with the results of the race.

I’ve wanted to reboot this site for some time, mostly with complicated re-branding, new focus, new ideas. I left my food service management job in December, when the overwhelming hostility made me realize that the stress and overtime were totally not worth it. I now have a data-centric position in a large company, and room to breathe, both at work and at home. I have the time.

It’s a marvelous feeling, this having some free time, and I was going to reinvent myself with it. The problem was that I wasn’t sure where to begin, and without some kind of Starter Pistol Guy, I didn’t know when either. I was finished with one race, and so the next could start. When I thought about it, though, I didn’t want to run a race anymore. Besides, starter pistols are loud and startling and make me anxious. I’m much more comfortable with a quiet revelation, a subtle shift, the sun coming from behind a cloud. Since uncertainty is inevitable anyway, I’m much more comfortable with planting seeds than with pushing off with all my might from a starting block.

I still love to read books, study cookbooks, watch movies and series, tinker with some crafts, and garden, so I will always write at least a little about those things. This site will still be mostly about food, though. I just love it too much. The way I eat and the way I cook have changed since I began writing here, even since the last time I posted. It will be fun to see how that plays out in words and pictures. I’m still silly and love a pun. I still can’t seem to keep my kitchen, or the rest of my house, very clean. I still cook for Harry and myself nearly every day. I still love to talk (and write) about what I ate today, what I plan to eat tomorrow, what would be great to eat some day, and how to make it all. I cook and I bake. I eat and I enjoy.

So, there’s a pot of Soup Beans with brown rice for supper, and shredded cheese and chopped green onions to go on top of it. This is, of course, the ultimate comfort food, warm and savory, a little spicy, cheesy, nourishing, and ready for leftovers and repurposing. This is still one of our favorite meals for all its simplicity and no-nonsense-ness. It’s good to eat, and that is all that matters.

And for dessert, there’s a brownie sundae. The remains of a pan of brownies (I brought the rest to share at work) are the starting point. A perfect square, or a crumbled rubble, your choice, is terrific topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and a squirt of Reddi Whip (or whipped heavy cream if you’d rather be fancy). I refuse to participate in a calorie-counting diet culture when such joy can be had.

There are seeds sprouting in the back yard. Radishes and arugula, peas and cilantro. They will inspire me when they are ready to eat. Or not. The inescapable nature of planting seeds is that the results remain to be seen.

 

 

Coming soon:  A chocolate sauce recipe. Rhubarb! Spring weather (I hope!). Maybe something green.

 

 

 

Savoring Sunday

Is it reasonable to expect a neglected blog to come back to life? We'll see, won't we.

We're all dealing with everything from disappointment to outright panic right now, and a bad case of the "Sunday Scaries" doesn't help one bit. While expecting to organize the whole upcoming week on Sunday is a fast way to go completely crazy, I do like to take a deep breath or two, clean out and re-stock the pantry and refrigerator, and reflect on what's been good, fun, and delicious in the last week.

**Baking. Much like adventurous quarantine-ers, I've been messing with a sourdough starter. None of my loaves have been quite what I hoped, or particularly photogenic, but they're still pretty exciting. I made a round loaf yesterday that tastes great and has a nice soft texture, and I have some dough in the refrigerator that is based on the sourdough focaccia recipe in the most recent issue of Fine Cooking Magazine.

I finally took a more disciplined approach to Cinnamon Raisin Bread. I'll post the recipe, and the technique I used, soon.

Thanksgiving, of course, involved Grandmama's Pumpkin Pie.

 

I've been trying to make quick breads for weekend breakfast, whether it be in the waffle/pancake family, or something more casual and hand-held, like muffins or scones. Today's breakfast was these Pumpkin Molasses Muffins. A couple weeks ago, it was these Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins, (which were better than I remembered), and I tried out a Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin that I need to share here.

 

**Other cooking. Today's snacking included a Curry Lentil Hummus, which is also destined to be shared here.

I've been going nuts with infused liqueurs this year, mostly using vodka, but also brandy. I made a rhubarb liqueur this spring, and a delicious mint liqueur and a sweet cherry liqueur this summer. Lately I've made apple, cranberry, and orange, and still plan to try out cinnamon and ginger, or perhaps other citrus fruits. This is particularly weird for me because I have virtually zero tolerance for alcohol. I'll have to start making these good enough to give as gifts!

I've been leaning on old favorites for easy and comforting meals lately, too. Pizza still happens on most Saturdays, and I've recently made Spaghetti Pie and Italian Chickpeas. I still love them all!

 

**Reading and other entertainment. I have joined the ranks of devotees to "The Mandalorian". I can't help it. It's just so much fun!

I've read novels by three authors recently that I can't recommend enough:

Naomi Novik's Uprooted and Spinning Silver are two of my favorite books, so I wasn't surprised to also really enjoy A Deadly Education, which came out this fall.

I loved Alix E. Harrow's 10,000 Doors of January, so I looked forward with desperate longing to Once and Future Witches. It is great! Read it! Read them both!

A friend recommended Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir with such geeky glee that I had to read it. I was blown away (as everyone who reads it seems to be), and waited for the follow-up, Harrow the Ninth with more than my usual impatience. Mind. Blown. Again. Harder this time. (You might want to read them with a close friend just so you have someone who will understand what has happened to you.) 

** The week to come. It doesn't look like a good one. COVID-19 is a bad, bad, bad thing, and too many people don't know that or don't care, which means the particular industry in which I work is a virtual mine field. I need to rely on some of the favorite things I savor on Sundays (or some other day that I might get time to contemplate) for comfort and escape. I hope you have some outlet, too. These things may not solve our problems, but, with any luck, they give us a place to rest our consciousness. They help us keep what it means to be human.

Zucchini Brownies

 

Yes, I know it is fall. There are apples and cider to enjoy. You’ve already got your license to pumpkin spice. You’re testing the limits of the amount of Halloween decorations the rest of your household will tolerate. I get it. But you know what’s really scary? The amount of summer squash I still have!

Since the yellow crooked neck squash I planted has been even more prolific than the always-reliable zucchini, I’ve been using it in place of the green stuff in my favorite savory dishes like Grilled Zucchini and Feta Dip, Zucchini and Cheddar Risotto, and Pasta with Zucchini, Corn and Fresh Mint. I still have to use up the zucchini, though, so I tend to use that in sweeter applications.

Enter Zucchini Brownies. You know you’ve hit squash bottom if you’re stuffing vegetables into your brownies. I’m so there.

These are actually pretty fabulous, however, deeply chocolate, and extra moist without being mushy. And, I challenge you to find the zucchini in the final product. Go ahead, look. I’ll wait.

 All the zucchini really does in this recipe is add moisture and fiber. Although you most likely won’t notice the added fiber, they will stay moist longer than you might expect for a pan of brownie sitting on the counter. Otherwise, these really just behave like brownies – chocolaty squares that ride the line between cookie and cake, maybe leaning more toward cake.

I stirred walnuts into my brownies, but, like any other brownie, you wouldn’t have to. You also wouldn’t have to add the instant espresso, but I like what it does for chocolate. You could add chocolate chips or some kind of chopped candy if you like. Really anything that you like in or on a brownie would go well in this mix.

Because first and foremost, these are just good basic brownies. They also happen to be, however, a way to trick someone into eating vegetables. Maybe just a few vegetables, but – ha, ha, you ate vegetables!

 

Zucchini Brownies

Adapted from afamilyfeast.com

 

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine salt

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups shredded zucchini

¾ cup chopped walnuts

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 13 x 9 – inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray or greasing it as desired. Set aside.

2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Whisk together to combine well. Set aside.

3. In a medium-size saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat. Stir frequently, making sure the chocolate doesn’t burn. When the mixture is smooth and creamy, remove from the heat.

4. Whisk in the sugar until well combined. Beat in the eggs until the mixture is very smooth and beginning to thicken. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

5. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir together just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the zucchini and walnuts, making sure they are well-distributed through the batter.

6. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and smooth it out evenly. Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached and no wet batter. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Makes 12-16 brownies.

 

Other recipes like this one: Cocoa Chocolate Chip Brownies, Chocolate Zucchini Quick Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Crumb Topping

One year ago: Glazed Rum Cake