August smoke and potatoes

Whew. It's been days, years, eons since the last entry on this blog. Are people still following? Did that grilled salad you now eat with potatochip-battered chicken wings (after you finish your broccoli soup) transform your belief in life’s potential? Well, if this be your truth, or you just miss reading these nugget-sized, sort of food related, rarely informative, but always well loved entries, today is helluva day.

It's been smoky over here in our forested Washington land. So smoky, that a sighting of sun rays invokes the same awe we used to show up with when a rare thread of smoke arched from a hill top. And smoke, dear friends, fucks up your center. Churns it, packs it down tight, and then stuffs it into your gut. When one arrives at peak smoke permeation, as we have, food becomes as rote as the forecast.  Even when friends import a box of luscious tomatoes across the smoky frontier, it matters not.

So, perhaps because bits of our souls are abandoning their posts with each smoke-filled day, we can't remember a meal we cooked and enjoyed since passover - which was in April. And we had a great meal at Passover. Which is why, I present to you, dear friends, a distant Passover memory, but a new Passover favorite:

Smashed Potatoes (from the Whitewater cookbook)
*In a nutshell, its a boiled potato, smashed,  sprinkled with salt, oil and cheese, then baked. Its silly to come across this recipe so late in life.

16-20 baby potatoes
4 T Olive Oil
1 t sea salt
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 C green onions, chopped
1 t truffle oil (or you can skip this, because we ain't rich)

1. Preheat to 375
2. Boil potatoes until just done and can be pierced with sharp knife (about 30 minutes) then drain
3. Place potatoes on parchment lined baking sheet
4. Gently smash and flatten with a potato masher or back of a large spoon
5. Drizzle with 2 T olive oil and sprinkle with salt
6. Bake for 15 minutes, drizzle with remaining oil and cook for further 15 minutes, remove from oven
7. Raise oven to 400
8. Sprinkle potatoes with parmesan and green onions and return to oven til cheese is melted and golden brown (about 5 minutes)
9. Remove from oven and drizzle lightly with truffle oil (the stuff no one has)

A photo of fire day 1, when summer met its quick death.

Pickle gravy. It's so good.

Picklegravy is not for everyone. It is for those who carry a sacred, if not complex respect for the pickle. Those who have pondered digestible vessels they might use to consume more pickles.  It's for those to whom the phrase, "I fucking love pickles," is familiar and honest.

"One day, perhaps, the world may taste the pickles of history. They may be too strong for some palates, their smell may be overpowering, tears may rise to eyes; I hope nevertheless that it will be possible to say of them that they possess the authentic taste of truth….that they are despite everything, acts of love.” - Salmon Rushdie, Midnight's Children.

We should all read Midnight's Children again. It is a book committed to the history of pickles across the human experience and it's so very good.

Pickle Gravy
Ingredients:
1T olive oil
1/4 chopped red onion
1/4 C flour
1T garlic powder (3 -4 cloves garlic)
1/2 C chicken stock
1t hotsauce
1 chopped dill pickle
1/2 C pickle juice
some fresh parsely
salt
pepper

1. Brown red onion in olive oils, add garlic powder
2. Add chicken stock and flour, mix ingredient together with wire mixer until gravy is reduced to gravy texture
3. Add chopped pickles, pickle juice, hot sauce, and salt and pepper, keep on heat until reduced to gravy texture again
4. Top with fresh parsley

How does one serve picklegravy? What food is open to a smothering of this thick, brown, pickle-laden comforter? I understand your questions. It's a new frontier; the pickle has an unsung vigor, a stoicism that begets respect. Try it on baked potatoes (whole, fry, and hash form), scrambled eggs, or roast beef sandwiches. Maybe it's a dipping sauce? A dollop on caramelized onion and goat cheese bruschetta?

It's good. So good.

Winter Yum

Winter in Seattle is not so cold and clear and crisp as the some of the best winter days of my youth, for the most part. It's a little more grey and dark (admittedly, much more). It still leaves me hankering for hearty food but you need to get some brightness somewhere! That's why I love this recipe. It's both very satisfying but also very tangy and bright, not too dense and heavy. It's a little sweet from the squash, a little spicy from the curry, a little earthy and salty from the miso, and bright and tangy from the lemon and cilantro. And, pretty much all the main ingredients are available at local farmers markets in the winter. Seriously, try this dish, and if you don't have everything feel free to experiment with the veggies. I like it to serve it over quinoa. Rice, soba noodles, and many other things would probably also be good. I have no photos of this dish, so I'm going to include extraneous ones instead. In the grand tradition of this blog, here is my cat, personifying how winter here can make me feel:

For the record he dug this cave for himself.

Miso-Curry Delicata Squash with Tofu & Kale

2 small or 1 larger delicata squash
Olive oil (enough, sorry, I never measure anything but the recipe says 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup white miso
1 tbsp red Thai curry paste (I sometimes double this)
8 oz or 1 package tofu, cut into 1/2-3/4" cubes
4 new potatoes, cut into similar sized chunks
1 & 1/2 cups chopped kale (or up to one bunch; I prefer lacinto/dinosaur/black kale...it's a kale of many names)
2 tbsp lemon juice
Chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the delicata squash in half the long way and scoop out the seeds (you can toast them just like pumpkin seeds). Slice into 1/2" thick semicircles and then cut each semicircle in half (so each chunk is 1/4 of the full circle).

Stir together olive oil, miso, and curry paste. Combine the tofu, potatoes, and squash and toss thoroughly with about 1/3 cup of the sauce, or enough to coat. You want to have some leftover. Roast on a baking sheet or dish in as close to a single layer as you can get, for at least 30 minutes or until squash and potatoes are getting browned on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss every 15 minutes or so. In just the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, add the kale and toss well to coat it with sauce and return to oven. Stir the lemon juice into the rest of the sauce. When veggies are done, toss with remaining sauce and cilantro and serve.

Food for thought: The recipe actually calls for 1/3 cup toasted pepitas, but I never have them on hand so I haven't added them. It also calls to just use the kale raw which is probably great but I prefer the above method - just another option. For my last extraneous photo, a reminder of the special beauty winter can bring here on the westside, which you should have a renewed appreciation for after eating this tasty dish (regardless of your geographic location). It was taken around sunset on new year's day at the Nisqually wildlife refuge.

Delicata squash has been my favorite squash recently because you don't have to peel it. So easy to just roast and chow down on, and also a great size & shape for stuffing if you're into that kind of thing.

Note: Stolen/Adopted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson (I think).

Unpacking Pickles

You know what's great about pickling? You can do it anytime! 

I had this stereotype I was carrying around about pickling that it is a thing you do in the late summer or fall, using the freshly-ripened bounty of your own garden, and never any other way. 

Well, I am here to apologize to pickling. I am sorry about all the times I made assumptions about you, or expected you to speak on behalf all fermented foods, or caused you to feel tokenized in any way.

Let's just free pickling from the simplistic notion that it belongs to one time and one time only. We live in a complex reality and I think we really need to start building a framework to give some context to this and unpack our own positionality. 

In regard to pickles. 

Pickled green tomatoes (left) and cucumbers (right), canned in the fall using the freshly-ripened bounty from my own garden.

But seriously, you can buy all the stuff you need for pickling any time of year in any grocery store, AND you can use old glass jars (as long as you have the right lids) if you don't feel like investing in mason jars. 

Dill Pickles (cukes, little green tomatoes, green beans, whatever), courtesy of my mom's childhood

***You'll need a pot tall or wide enough to boil your pickling jars to sterilize them before packing.***

Start with:

1 quart water
1 pint vinegar
1/3 cup salt

Bring to a boil.  This is enough liquid to cover 4 quarts of pickles if the cukes are small and fill the jar well.  If you think you've got more than 4 quarts on your hands, the amounts below should be added to the above proportions for each extra jar (approximately).

1 and 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup vinegar
2 Tbsp salt

Cukes should not be more than 4 or 5 inches long.  Pack them tightly into sterilized quart jars and to each jar add the following:

2 heads dill
2 red pepper pods (dry)
2-4 cloves garlic 

Place horseradish or grape leaf over the top of the cukes (this step optional) and pour boiling liquid slowly over the cukes.  Seal by putting closed jars into your sterilization pot and boiling for several minutes.  Let cool and put jars in a dark place for 6-8 weeks before using.

Kimchi 

1 head of cabbage (there's probably a correct kind, but I've done red and green of many varieties and it's all turned out great)

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp srirachi hot sauce

1 tsp ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 scallions, finely sliced

Cut cabbage into quarters, remove core and slice into 1/2 inch slices. Put into colander, add salt, mix well. Place over bowl and let drain until wilted (approx. 2 hours). 

In a large bowl, combine vinegar and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add all the other ingredients except the cabbage and stir. Rinse cabbage of salt, dry, and add to vinegar mixture. Stir to combine.

Put into sterilized jar and pack down. Add water to cover. Close jar and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. The longer it's in, the spicier it is.

Pickling!

bakin n aprin

Swaying to the Beta Band in a thrift store apron, waitin for the brownies to rise. After hours of blue skies in the snowy mountains, I found the baking sweet spot.  A long day of hiking with skis latched to my feet, music rolling out from the speakers at my side. I am just tired enough to know that I f-ing deserve dessert, a big dessert. This evening it's a batch of blackberry truffle brownies, last night it was mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodles: spicy cayenne pinched into a gooey chocolate cookie.  No photos of these spicy little chocolate especiales, but I tell you this, they surpass those busty homemade oreos posted here in winters past. So, loveys, I miss you all. Along with this effing delicious recipe, I submit a short poem, the product of a brief yet sensuous romance between two cats (one of whom is named mehitable, according to the cockroach typing the story. The cockroach can't hold the shift button and depress a letter on the typewriter at the same time, hence the following excerpt is wanting for capital letters):

"persian pussy from over the sea
demure and lazy and smug and fat
none of your ribbons and bells for me
ours is the zest of the alley cat
over the roofs from flat to flat
we prance with capers corybantic
what though a boot should break a slat
mehitable us for the life romantic"
   - Don Marquis, 1927

Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles, recipe from the post punk kitchen:

For the topping (I skip the topping) :
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper
2. Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil,  sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.
4. Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.
5. Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top but still fairly gooey. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

God speed, my dear friends.  

chicken parade

We've got some lovely lovely little chickens living in our front yard, but one of 'em kept pecking at the hens, gripping their wing in his beak until the little ladies cried in fear - or pain. So, little man had to die. I made a short video about the march to death. The killing mechanism was carefully chosen, have a look at my awkward commemoration of the experience:

Chicken Parade 

After the chicken soul dissolved into the great clouds above (that's what happens), we dabbled in fried chicken. Our first foray was f-ing delicious. Extra ordinarily delicious.

Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

1. the essential chicken pieces: wings, drumsticks, thighs, breast 
2.  1/4 C butter (or fake butter)
3. 1 C flour
4. 2 C crushed potato chips
5. Pinch of paprika

Steps to fryin some chicken:

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Cut yer chicken up
3. Mix flour, crushed potato chips, and paprika in an old plastic grocery bag
4. Roll each piece of chicken in melted butter
5. Drop the butter soaked piece of chicken body in a bag full of crushed potato chips, flour, and paprika
6. Bake in an oven dish until crispy brown on outside and thoroughly cooked on the inside.

This is my first recipe with potato chips. ever. We tried non-potato chip chicken, it just wasn't as good.  Alternative chicken recipes are welcome - we are just two kids from Spokane tryin to make fried chicken.

cabbage cabbage cabbage

I know so little about coleslaw, truly I do. I enjoy it from a distance. It looks dang good on a sandwich, people I revere hold a place for it at every potluck, and it is surely deserving of its enduring presence on America's menu - "do you want coleslaw with your potatoes?" Yes, you do. Nonetheless, I have never attempted to prepare coleslaw in my own home. So, here it is, mayo-free and delicious, a damn good coleslaw recipe from, cough cough, Whole Foods.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar, (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
• 4 cups finely shredded green and red cabbage
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Ground black pepper, to taste

What to do:

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, garlic, cumin, oregano and mustard just until sugar is dissolved. Add cabbage, carrots, green onions, salt and pepper and toss gently to combine. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Go Packers Go.

It's possible that I wrote this post just to share this photo with you. It's possible.

Lettuce All Up in Your Grill

Well, while we're talkin' salads, if you're grillin' something up as the summer gets underway, why not throw your salad on there too?  I made this one last week in honor of our nation's independence or whatever, and I must say I think Lady Liberty was mighty proud.

This recipe comes from the NY Times of May 20, 2012 (whence I stole this photo) and is worth it.  If the steak is looking pretty good too, that recipe is also included said issue.

Grilled Caesar Salad

For the dressing:
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced
3 egg yolks
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

For the vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp lime zest
1 lime, juiced (approx. 2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

For the salad:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 heads romaine lettuce, tops and bottoms trimmed neatly, the heads cut lengthwise into quarters
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Make the Caesar dressing.  Put the minced garlic into a medium bowl, and add the minced anchovies.  Using a whisk, mix and mash these ingredients together until they form a paste.  Add the egg yolks and the mustard, and begin to whisk them with the paste.  Add a small stream of olive oil while continuing to whisk.  Add more olive oil, whisking all the while, until the dressing begins to emulsify.  Add the Worcestershire sauce sauce, and continue to whisk until the dressing achieves a mayonnaiselike consistency.  Add the red wine vinegar, whisk to combine, then season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

2.  Make the vinaigrette.  Combine the lime zest, lime juice, balsamic vinegar and oil in another small bowl, and whisk to combine.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

3.  Make the salad.  Drizzle the olive oil over the quartered heads of lettuce.  Lightly grillthese over a low fire for 15 to 20 seconds on each side, until they have a light goldenness, and remove to a platter.  Using a pastry bruch or a small spoon, paint the Caesar dressing over the lettuce, making sure to get dressing between the leaves.  Return lettuces to edges of grill, sprinkle with Parmesan and cover for 30 seconds to allow the cheese to soften and toast.  Remove lettuce to a platter, and drizzle with lime vinaigrette.  Serves 4.

Wilbur

Woh woh woh - so much time has passed my precious friends. It's Junuary in the Methow Valley: the chickens have grown to the size of nurf footballs, the wind constantly tears our bags of recycling across the fields, and the river is screaming past our house to the Columbia.  June is a hell of a month, she just never seems to compromise.

On another note, the spring greens are filling up our fridge and we have quite the crush on this little strawberry vinaigrette. It's f-ing delicious on salads and grains and it tastes like a sun-shine day.

1C strawberries
4 tsp rice vinegar
4 tsp lemon juice
1 T sugar (I skip the sugar and add more honey)
1 1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried parsley, pepper
1/4 C olive oil

1. Puree strawberries
2. Add other ingredients except oil, blend
3. Add oil gradually on lowspeed.

The best honey in the valley is sold by the proprietors of "it's like biting into a cloud."  Their seven year-old grandson provided the name. It's damn good honey.

And to brighten up your day, have a look at this little 10' tall pig, duck, and carriage monument parked in Wilbur, Washington. Population 866.

We are making an 8 x 10 print. Should we order a copy for anyone else? Anyone?  

Slow-cooked Broccoli Soup

 

Slow-cooked
Broccoli
Soup









"To every season, change, change, change," Bob Dylan tells us. But if your parents were like my parents, they preferred the Birds version. 

The seasons have twice-changed since this photo was taken and this meal consumed. Mr. Broccoli--standing mature and proud before you--withstood the early snow of October and November. He was the last veggie we reaped from our little garden in Rochester, New York and it is fitting to think of him again, now two seasons on, as we inch toward planting season.

The recipe, adapted from Alice Waters, requires a word of caution and a small leap of faith. One hour seems like a long time to cook broccoli. One hour seems as though it is a mistake. You'd think one hour of cooking broccoli will take it past the point of bright, verdant, and tasty and wrench your effort into some gley, nasty place. Trust dear reader, somehow, and we're not sure how ourselves, it goes gray and then bounces back to green.

Once the bounce back occurs the broccoli can be used in at least two ways, both delicious. The first way is as an alternative to pesto with pasta. In the second, the broccoli is blended to make a smooth soup, begging for some grated cheese, toast points charred beneath the broiler, or grilled cheese from a cast iron skillet better yet.

---

  On low heat:

  + Glug(s) of olive oil

  + 6 cloves garlic, minced

  + ½ tsp to 2 tsp red pepper flakes

 
  To pot add:

+ 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets and stem, peeled and sliced thinly

+ 1 cup water

Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer (slow it down now).

 
Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add more water if it gets too dry. After an hour it will be mushy, eat as is as a sauce for pasta or rice.

 



OR puree with more water to make a soup.

 





Add the juice of half a lemon and some grated hard cheese if you so desire. Taste for salt and pepper. We had our soup with grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches, highly recommended.

---

We opted this night for the soup. It tastes best as a prelude to a few rounds of backgammon played on a board made by Mr. Nick Allgood. Although we made the soup in an attempt to extend fall into winter, I think it will work just as well as we all call in the spring over winter's contrary din. 

Today is cold and soaked through. Rain meets woodsmoke for an undifferentiated sky. It is a day that makes me pine for those I love in western Washington. Good Sunday and much love. Muah.
m/h/r & m/m/d 

oreooooos

hey hey friends!

I came across a  recipe for scrumptioussss homemade oreos a few weeks back and it certainly seems blog-worthy. Truly, these are f-ing delicious.  Just an FYI, the creamy white center of these naughty little cookies is straight up butter. Every time I took a nibble, NJ Allgood threw me a look that could pierce a lesser man's soul: twas the steely glare of indignation. I believe he is tiring of enduring the consequences of my lactose-hating gut. I ate with my eyes closed. And they were delicious. F-ing delicious.

I genuinely believe the bible size portion of amish butter took these cookies to a whole 'nother level of goodness.

Recipe from smitten kitchen:

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Also of interest, today was the methow valley hot air balloon festival. Sort of a silly crowd, those ballooners.

And to end the post: Planet Druidia is in sight. All rise in the presence of Dark Helmet.

Dog tossin

Friends, friends, friends!

I haven't posted to the 509 cookin blog for a few weeks but, me oh my, have you all been on the mind.

A few weeks back, while attempting the winter trek to Winthropland USA, our good friends' subaru met its auto-maker (Mr. Otto).  Only twenty miles from our snowed in-house, head gaskets were blown and a subaru's dreams were destroyed. With the loss of their car and 3 feet of accumulated snow, our friends became more than friends in our little Winthrop house: they became roomates. Night after night we played cards,  battled over banana grams, drank whiskey, and shoveled snow.  On one of these joy-filled evenings we brought my favorite spicy peanut dipping sauce to the table, it seems like a good one for the world wide web - I do love it so.

PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE:

1 C peanut butter (I often use much less than 1 C)
1 C hot water
1/4 C chopped cilantro
3 T sugar (I use honey or agave)
3 T soy
2 t apple cider vinegar
2 cloves chopped garlic
pinch cayenne (I use much more than a pinch)

1.  Whisk  PB with hot water
2. Stir in other ingredients
3. Season with salt

Easy!

Also, during one of their many afternoons of snowshoeing, our friends discovered an extraordinary new snow game. I am oh so excited to share it with you. So, here it is, the international debut of dog tossing.

Requisite Animal Photo

This here's The Scrumpy Chicken. Technically, his name is Antimony. (I co-adopted him with an engineer and if that doesn't explain everything, how much time have you spent around engineers?) I suppose his photo is relevant here because he is a little nuts. Looking extremely confused and chasing things that don't exist are among his favorite pastimes.

Anyway. On to the real food. I made a double batch of these guys in DC over Christmas to hand out to friends and I could barely get them out of the house because my family kept chowing down on them. They have that sweet-salty-spicy thing that makes you want to just keep putting more in your mouth:

Chipotle-Rosemary Roasted Nuts

Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil, or for much more convenient cleanup, line it with a sheet of parchment paper. Combine the nuts, 2 tablespoons of oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder on the sheet pan. I actually stuck to the recipe here for once, but I think any mix of nuts that you prefer/have on have of equivalent volume would be fine. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.

Spread the nuts in one layer (for me this took two baking sheets). Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Keep a close eye - they go from perfect to burnt really fast around this point. When they're done, they will still be very sticky - the coating will harden as it cools. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary.

Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool (this is very important, or you will have giant blocks of nuts). Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature. Recipe from the internet, which apparently adapted it from Ina Garten. Happy munching.

Butter as a Means to Shamayim

Elana, I dedicate this, my first post on the 509 foodie blog, to you. I ask you to a conjure memory from our often painful, often smile-worthy teenage years and recall waking up on a Sunday morning at the Rayner Ranch to the smell of frying bacon and Dutch babies. No, the latter item does not refer to offspring of people from the Netherlands. Gross. Or maybe good, I don't have experience with it. Dutch babies refer to a light popover pancake whose batter puffs up into a golden mountain range with a delicate, crusty edge that rises above the cake pan.

While we usually had Papa Pete to thank for the awkwardness of cooking bacon for a Jewish girl, we had Mamma Linda, otherwise known as "Marge", to thank for those thin pancakes called Dutch babies, those vessels for melted butter, fresh squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar, those little pieces of heaven.

Judging by previous posts, pictures of animals are a requisite for this blog. So I introduce everyone to my fat cat, Sundance. We often call him "Fatty," with the most endearing of intentions, of course. Rob and I believe Sundance has discovered the fast-track to the third, if not fourth layer of heaven, judging by the level of joy and enlightenment he exudes. We believe Sundance's trick is in the butter. The cat loves to eat, and he is damn good at it. He also likes sleeping, dangerously warm places, and eating while in dangerously warm places.

So maybe my cat photo and recipe have something in common: heaven.

--

Dutch Babies

2 TB butter

2 large eggs (room temperature preferably)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1 pinch salt

Lemon wedges

Powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch cake pan with butter (Linda typically used Crisco), and don't be shy about it. Place greased pan in the over for a minute until the grease melts.

2. Beat eggs slightly in a bowl with wire whisk. Beat in flour, milk and salt until just mixed (beat gingerly or theses babies lose their puff). Pour a ladle-full of batter into the warmed pan and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes or until sufficiently puffy and golden brown.

3. Serve hot off the press so as to enjoy optimal puffiness. The classic Rayner topping tradition includes fresh squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar.

--

By the way, Elana, you said this is an exclusive invite-only blog, yes? Why has Beyonce not posted yet? I want to know what she eats to get that fabulous ass. I bet there is butter involved.

Soup and Bonus

Happy winter!!!

Well, we're finally seeing some snow here in the Emerald City and as a tribute, I've decided to make something from another part of the world that falls to pieces when they are coated with but an inch of "the white stuff".

We weasled this recipe out of Walter, the insane Italian who ran the shishi restaurant I worked at after college. He was truly a piece of work. He would rush through the restaurant, gesticulating wildly and ordering people to bring "VIP" glasses and dishes when anyone "VIP" came in. He would say to these "VIP"s things like (go for your most stereotypical Italian accents here), "Oh, you are my brother! We have fresh figs for you my brother! And special fish - no no! For this you do not have parmesan cheese, it is fish!! Kate! We need 14 new place settings for these people, they are the best people! Hurry!"

Needless to say, I did not last long in that environment. Fortunately, my father, though not quite a "VIP", enjoyed a certain level of respect from Walter, so we snagged this recipe and haven't stopped making it since. He may have been nuts, but he made really excellent food.

Warning: the copy of this recipe I have was written by my mother, so the measurements are, shall we say, rough. That's ok. It's a rustic soup, enjoyed by rustic people, so just guesstimate your little hearts out.

Tuscan Bean Soup

2 small cottage cheese containers dried cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans)

2 HEADS garlic*

1 1/2 onions

1 teacup (?) olive oil

Bunch of sage

Bunch of rosemary

Soak beans overnight. In the morning, discard the water. Add garlic, one whole onion, sage, and beans to fresh water. Cover with olive oil. Cook 4 hours on medium heat until soft. Take out onion and sage (should still be whole-ish...These can actually be blended to make a nice spread, rather than just chucking them.)

Mash beans by hand or in blender. Return to broth. Sautee some more onion with rosemary in oil. Add to the soup.

When serving, add a drizzle of truffle oil. Or not.

* BONUS: two whole heads of garlic are a pain in the ass. Luckily, I found out about this. It really works!!! Proof:

Before..... ...After

Amazing!

Enjoy.

The Best Part of the Meal

It has been long overdue and you all are about to experience my first attempt at BLOGGING. AHHH!!!! Good, I can already check off "using all caps for one word" and "continuous exclamation points" from the "must do on a blog" list. Well, I haven't created an incredible meal for this post. Instead, this is a tribute to our good friend - the wine bottle. Actually, I am going to write about the by-product of the wine bottle.

Being a bit of a recycling nerd, I have been keeping bottle caps and wine corks for a few blue moons. Well, I came across a good use for those corks that doesn't require a large inventory and very minimal supplies.

A Hot Pan Mat

Supplies:

1 - Wine corks (wood cork or artificial)

2 - Picture frame (size dependent upon the amount of available corks)

3 - Several 2 inch screws and electric screw driver

4 - Hot glue gun and glue sticks or super glue

Instructions:

1 - Find a picture frame that you don't want to use for pictures anymore.

2 - Line the sides of the frame with corks so you know how many corks to screw together.

3 - Fill the inside of the picture frame with as many corks as you can smoosh together. Yes, I can also check "use the word smoosh" off of the list.

4 - Screw together the corks, leaving the head of the screws on the visible sides of the hot mat.

5 - Using your glue gun or super glue, attach the corks connected with screws to the top perimeter of the picture frame.

6 - Grab a cooking pan and place it on the stove top with the heat on high.

7 - Once the pan is super hot, place it on your new hot pad so you an enjoy your newest creation.

One last thing that I have to add to this blog post.....

fattening up the brussels sprouts

Fueled by spiked cocoa and winter wonder, we made another year's worth of good-lovin Harvest Meal memories. Of course, for some of us, the effort to remember Harvest Meal 2011 with fondness and warmth will require a selective editing of a one or two undesirable memories. 

   

Despite the nameless scandal above, our table brimmed with color, life, and the extraordinary food creations of our people. sigh.

I cooked up an okay orange-spiced pheasant but, bottom line, classic fried pheasant nuggets just can't be replaced. I am sure we were all thinking the same thing.

More success was found with a brussels sprout recipe I adapted from epicurious.com. These are some succulent little sprouts.

2lbs of brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered

1-2 shallots (I used green onion for the harvest meal)

2 cloves garlic (or more...)

2 Tbs dijon mustard

2 Tbs white wine

1/4 lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt plus more for seasoning

Pepper

2 Tbs C olive oil

slivered and toasted almonds (optional)

Sauce (optional):

1/2 C fresh goat cheese chevre

1- 2 Tbs Olive oil

1- 2 Tbs White wine

salt to taste

1. Combine shallots, garlic, mustard, wine, lemon juice, salt, and pinch of pepper. Making ahead of time allows flavors to blend.

2. Whisk oil into mustard mixture above. Coat brussels in dressing.  

3. Bake at 425 for 30 - 45 minutes, flip em over and stir em up every 10 minutes. Take the brussels out of the oven when they look golden brown and crispy

3. While the brussels are cooking, combine sauce ingredients and cook on low heat until sauce is creamy and smooth. In the past, I have made these without sauce. 

4. Pour goat cheese sauce over the brussels when you are ready to serve. 

It was a weekend of love and brussels sprouts.

Curried Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Still basking in the glow of a surprise visit from the fabulous EFisher! Nothing like fancy pomegranate champagne cocktails (followed by copious amounts of red wine), some comfort food, nature documentaries and a sleep over to make the end of the week phenomenal.

So if that sounds like a plan, try this one on for size! If I don't say so myself, this one is DELISH! This is sort of one of those, add as much as you want, cook it up and enjoy, so feel free to adapt the amounts of veggies etc. This is just an estimate--but makes a big amount, in a 9x13 pan. So cut in half if you want less, or freeze the rest! It keeps really well!

3-5 medium sweet potatoes or yams; whatever you prefer
2 tbs olive oil
1lb ground turkey
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tbs curry powder
1 can(s) (14- to 14 1/2-ounce) chicken broth
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
1 pound parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbs grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 green beans or frozen peas, your preference
1/2 to 1 cup milk warmed
1 tbs butter

1. Pierce potatoes all over with fork. Cook in microwave on High 15 to 17 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with fork, turning potatoes over once; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high until hot. Add turkey; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring and breaking up turkey with side of spoon.
3. Stir flour and curry powder into turkey in skillet; cook 1 minute, stirring. Add broth and heat to boiling. Cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens slightly. Put turkey mixture into 9X13 baking dish and spread evenly.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wipe skillet dry. To same skillet, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and heat on medium until hot. Add carrots, parsnips, and onion, and cook, covered, about 15 minutes or until vegetables are browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread evenly over turkey mixture in dish.
5. When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes in half and scoop flesh from skins into large bowl. With potato masher, coarsely mash potatoes. Stir in milk, butter, and 1 teaspoon salt; mash until well blended. Spread potatoes over vegetables.
6. Bake uncovered, 35 to 40 minutes or until top is browned.
   

There ya have it!! Wham, bam thank ya MA'AM for joining us last night! T'was a dream!

I have no pictures of this lovely dish, so instead, I've decided to share some of my favorite holiday kitty--soon to be YOURS, EFisher & NJAllgood.....

OK why not two...

Viva la zuppa d'Italia

Well, dang, I sure am sorry to hear of flus and unfortunate arachnid attacks in the afterglow some amazing time in Winthrop. It was truly nourishing to spend some time cooking, drinking and speed-spelling with good friends. Cate and Nick, you were sorely sorely missed.

But we don't have to leave the joy to those in Okanogan county! Now you, too, can bring home some of the winter fest spirit. Here, give this a try:

Umbrian Lentil and Rice Soup (for 6 people)
*This recipe calls for prosciutto, but for Jews, Muslims, and/or other non-pork consumers you can substitute sliced turkey or just leave it out! It's just fine that way too! Really!

1/2 lb. brown lentils (dry)
2 1/2 qts. water, meat, or vegetable broth (I've used half organic chicken or vegetable broth & half water, which was just right)
1 large bay leaf
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 or 4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb. prosciutto, chopped*
1 Tbs. minced fresh sage, or 1 tsp. crumbled dry sage
1 cup peeled, seeded and chopped canned tomatoes, plus 1 cup of their liquid. (I used a 1 lb can)
1 Tbs. tomato paste
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cp. white rice
freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. chopped fresh Italian parsley

Rinse lentils. Place in a soup pot and add broth/water and bay leaf. Bring to boil over medium heat, reduce to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, about 12 minutes.In a cold skillet, combine olive oil and garlic and place over medium-low heat. Saute about 4 minutes. Stir in prosciutto and saute another minute, until garlic is fully softened.Add sage, tomatoes and their liquid, and tomato paste. Simmer 5 minutes.Transfer pan contents to the soup pot with the lentils. Bring to boil, then add salt and rice.Stir well and cook over medium heat, uncovered, until rice and lentils are tender, 15-30 minutes.Season with pepper and stir in parsley. Serve with drizzle of olive oil (optional).

Please enjoy while picturing people speeding by on mopeds, smoking, wearing little backpacks full of wild boar salami that they are bringing back to their old wizened grandmothers who are just finishing up rolling out the lasagne or dragging a medium sized tree down a cobble-stone street to chop up and feed into their wood stoves to heat up while they wash the sheets in the tub out back so that the water is hot for the lentils by dinner time.

And with my blessings.

Fighting the bug

Well, it seems to be the season for energy sucking flus.  To add to her mucus and sore throat woes, our fellow blogger now has an infected spider bite. The good news, Peter Parker, is that you may wake up with the ability to fly between skyscrapers. That's the good news.

I lived with a little ecuadorian lady who boiled up a masterpiece every time I had a nasty sore throat. Seriously, when I get the shitty ol flu, this is the only bliss to be found. Well, waking up not sick is also blissful.

1.5 cups water

4-5 cloves

1 Tb s honey

1/2 or whole squeezed lemon

a bit of grated ginger

Boil all of the above ingredients together, take out the cloves before you sip.

A tea bag by the same name is truly insufficient. Only the real deal ingredients will get you sweatin.

I do enjoy taking pictures and giving the blog a bit of glitz but, because I forgot my camera on the night of the Winthop hardware store ladies night and could not capture the tables, literally tables, full of meatballs, hotwings, and cakes, no other picture seems sufficient. Instead, please enjoy this little youtube clip, it always give my day a bit of shine. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKxodgpyGec

 Peter Parker, this video is the cure. I swear it.