Archive for August, 2009
From the Archives: Beet Cake
I’ve been horrified lately by the pictures on some of my oldest post, many of which feature outstanding recipes that get many hits from the search engines. My food photography skills have decidedly improved over the past two+ years, and so I’m dusting off a few old favorites as time permits to have a digital makeover for your viewing pleasure. This Chocolate Beet Cake was just as delicious as I remembered. It is very chocolaty and yet has a hint of something most folks can’t quite put their finger on unless you divulge the secret ingredient. Packed with vitamins and minerals, the beets not only add nutritional value to an otherwise indulgent dessert, but they also make it extremely moist.
For the original archived post, click here. You can go ahead and laugh at my sad pictures from yore! But now you’ll get the full beauty of this decadent cake with the new photos featured here.
Blueberry Banana Bread
I’ve told you all about my blueberry memories before here on SFTF; hinting at how these little blue orbs are such an important part of my summertime vigil over seasonal produce each year. In short, I adore them.
Now, let me go into the full length version of “why.” As a young man, my grandfather planted a half dozen blueberry bushes beside the old wood shop that sits catty-corner to the rambling farm house in which I grew up. As someone who’s now trained in the ways of horticulture and small fruit production, I marvel that these bushes have not only survived this long in this spot, but have truly flourished. But when I was waist-high to my mom, I only cared about one thing: the big ones!
When the first berries on the bush began hinting of blue, I’d watch them like a hawk and usually ate far more before my mom found out they were ripe than she even realizes today. Eventually the gig was up and she would have my brother and I grab the handles of our little white plastic picking pails to go about the process of harvesting all the blueberries before the birds got them. We’d have to pick every couple of days and the joy of it all quickly wore off on my pre-adolescent persona. What I quickly came to learn was that every season there was one special bush that bore the biggest bluest berries you’d ever see and if I got to that bush first, I’d quickly fill my bucket and declare myself “done!” with this berry picking business long before my brother. My poor mother always got stranded alone – my brother and I no doubt off running through the lawn sprinkler, squealing like banshees – gleaning from another bush we could count on every year to produce the tiniest berries you’d ever see. They were as small or smaller than the wild blueberries I’ve seen in Maine.
Once my mom had corralled my brother and I again and got us dried off, we went inside to wash and sort the berries so she could turn them into delicious jam or pie filling. To do this, we’d get out great big enamel basins, paint chipped with age, and fill them with blueberries and water. After a good swishing, we’d pick up handfuls, spread our palms flat and then use the index finger of the other hand to pass judgment on one blueberry at a time, rolling the good ones into a bowl and the bad ones into the compost bucket. This method, which I still use today, is highly efficient and effective. As you roll the a berry from the clump on your palm and down your fingers, you test to make sure it is firm (squishy is bad) and also see all sides of it to determine if it is blemished or still has the stem on it.
Cucumber and Chamomile Salad
Cons
Sticky. Hot. Car seats that scorch the back of your legs when you get in. Sudden storms. Constant state of feeling wilted. Favorite flip flops starting to break after months of constant wear. Mosquito bites from working in the garden at dusk to avoid the blazing heat of the day. Awkward tan lines.
Pros
Fresh peaches. Corn on the cob. Blissful cold showers and a box fan. Abundance of delicate blooms in the garden. Farmers markets bursting at the seams. Anticipating autumn. Messy ponytails are okay. Cold pitchers of ice tea. Long weekends. Laundry on the line. Dewy mornings. Long twilights. Watermelon and cantaloupe. Cucumbers.
Big Sur & Breakfast Pizza
There are many perks to being a food blogger. Good food, great readers, and a comfy space in which to share my passions, among other things. One of those “other things” is occasionally being asked to review a hot-off-the-presses cookbook. I’m repeatedly blown away by how beautiful and savvy cookbooks have become in recent years, and The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook is certainly a stand-out among a worthy field of competitors. Any time I crack a new cookbook, I always flip the pages to look at the photos first. Big Sur’s certainly got stunning captures of both the recipes and the natural landscapes surrounding the restaurant’s tiny town that clings to the edge of California’s coast.
Once I finished my visual indulgence, I got down to business reading the text and choosing a recipe to test. After all, the prettiest of cookbooks is just a glorified paperweight if it’s recipe collection is a dud, isn’t it? I really loved reading the producer profiles that are peppered throughout the book – beekeeper, butcher, poke pole fisherman, hunter/forager, even porch farmers (a young couple that produces microgreens from their deck). All of these folks sell directly to Big Sur Bakery, and their products are featured in the book’s wholesome recipes. Reading these profiles reminds me of how different life is out on the west coast. I’m really rather certain there aren’t too many people here on the east coast making a living spearing fish in the surf to sell to local restaurants. If you know of someone doing this, please let me know as I’d love to tag along with them for a day!
Usually when I crack the cover of a new cookbook, I have a hard time deciding where to start with the actual cooking from its pages. Like a kid in a candy shop, everything I see is so tantalizing. Not that the recipes in Big Sur didn’t all read like the chalkboard menu of my dreams, but picking the first dish out of this book turned out to be very easy. I was immediately captivated by the photo of Breakfast Pizza and found myself brooding on the ingredient list (eggs and bacon on a pizza crust?!?) until I was able to find time to make the pizza for myself last weekend.
The concoction of a hungry and hurried chef right before a Saturday brunch service, this pizza proved incredibly tasty and satisfying. I have to admit that I’ve had my fair share of cold pizza for breakfast (mostly back in college, but once or twice since) and always felt a tad ashamed for eating this doughy dish so early in the day. Not so with Breakfast Pizza. It seems perfectly natural to chow down on this – morning, noon and night. In fact, after having it for dinner Sunday night, I happily had the (cold) leftovers for breakfast while driving to work on Monday.
This one is a definite repeat and earns The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook a spot on the top of the stack. I’m already thumbing through it, looking for the next recipe to try. I have to say, I’m very tempted to hop on a plane bound for California to visit the Big Sur Bakery in person. These folks seem like kindred spirits for sure, and I’d love to sit down at their long family-style table and chat about the food.
Do you have a cookbook from a restaurant that makes you want to go eat there, even if it’s on the other side of the country?
Gingered Millet with Roasted Beets
Beets, much like brussel sprouts, have suffered at the hands and up-turned noses of small children everywhere. And, just like brussel sprouts, the ruby and orange roots have experienced a bit of a renaissance in those of us adults who have finally grown up enough to realize that sometimes if you just try something, you’ll actually like it. I credit the dislodging of beets from the “ick” category to the beautiful and fresh varieties that have poured into farmer markets around the country. Even people who don’t have any interest in buying beets from our market table are prone – even compelled – to pick up a bunch of these colorful beauties to appreciate visually, if not in actual taste.
I have to confess that I wasn’t a huge beet fan myself when I was younger. I did, however, love the pickled beets my mom made every year to line our root cellar shelves. I’ll be posting a recipe for those shortly, by the way. I didn’t discover the rustic sweet delight of roasted beets until much later in life (okay, so only a few years ago, in truth). Now I can’t imagine a dinner I’d rather have more than one that centers around roasted beets.
Today’s recipe for Gingered Millet with Roasted Beets is a show-stopper, both in taste and presentation. The ginger is the perfect spicy heat pairing for the natural sugars of the beets. The millet is hearty and healthy, making an entire meal out of this one dish. Hot or cold, this is a dish that does double duty as a dinner entree or a picnic lunch next to a vibrant salad of fresh greens dressed in simple oil and vinegar.
If you don’t have these exact ingredients on hand, don’t fret. Save for the beets and ginger, you can achieve pretty much the same flavors and textures with substitutions such as quinoa, spelt, or orzo for the grain; white or yellow onions instead of red; grape tomatoes instead of sungolds; tarragon instead of cilantro; and so forth. Experiment and make this recipe your own using whatever is coming out of your garden. Just please do come back and tell us all about your adaptations, especially if any of them win over the wee ones in the crowd!
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