Pissaladières

I did it. I took the leap of faith and quit my job. It was not an easy decision to say the least. It was wrought with crying, anger, resentment, all the emotions I could have ever felt rolled up in to weeks of torture. And then the feeling of relief washed over me. I was ready to take the road less traveled. I am not going to say the day of was calm, because it really was not. I took out everything I had on everyone else before pausing to jump.

Here I am a few days later, and miles calmer, and more collected. For once in my life I am rather at peace in thinking about not totally knowing what my next step is going to be. I have made a list, a list of things I want to do with my time. Cook more, Run a lot, Clean, and most importantly, spend more quality time with my husband. The first three were easy to come by, the last one, I had to dig down deep for, not because it isn't something I want to do, but it wasn't obvious that we were missing that on a daily basis.

 

We have both been working a lot, and when we get home we both like to exercise, which then leads to needing to take care of the dog, the chickens, the cats, the garden, shower, and finally whip something up for dinner.  After dinner, its practically time to go to bed, and start the day all over.  Cook more was obvious because I noticed us slipping up on doing it as we got busier and it used to be something we loved to do together at the end of a long day, and cleaning was just something that is a task that gets put off because there is no time to do it. I have my last six loads of laundry I have cleaned and folded, still sitting by my door waiting to be put away, because basically it wasn't made to be a priority. Running more is just something I love to do, it puts me somewhere else, it helps me clear my head and calm my nerves.

So, spending more quality time with my husband is something I need, because in truth, we both just haven't gotten much. But what does this have to do with food? one might ask. Well it doesn't really, and honestly I haven't thought long and hard about what to actually write about. What I did realize that what I wanted to make had to be delicious and easy, something that can be served with a quick salad, which brought me back to a dish we had at a friends house years earlier and we preceded to steal the french delight and make it at home a couple of times.

Pissaladieres, according to the master Elizabeth David, is basically a french white pizza. She suggests using uncooked bread dough or pastry dough as the base, however, I very much enjoy the crunchiness that tart dough brings to it, so although I am steering a bit off course from tradition, I think you will find it to be quite delicious and worthy of date night.

Pissaladières
Tart Dough 

1 rounded cup flour

4 oz butter
1 TB sugar
1/3 tsp salt

Filling

Roughly 3 large onions, sliced

2-3TB olive oil

1TB butter

2 sprigs thyme

white wine to deglaze the pan (only if needed)

1 can anchovies

about 20 niçoise olives

Turn oven to 425 degrees.

Heat oil and butter in a large pan over medium-low heat. Once the butter begins to bubble, add onions and thyme. Cover pan to let onions slowly simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue cooking until the moisture has evaporated and the onions cook down. Remove from heat and set aside.

While the onions are cooking prepare the tart dough. Place all the ingredients in a heat proof bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan until it begins to bubble, then add to the dry ingredients and briskly stir until smooth, then spread the dough in the tart pan. Prick the bottom of the pan with fork tines and then place in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until dough is lightly browned, then remove from oven.

Fill shell with onions, then distribute olives and anchovies on top. {I didn't use my entire can of anchovies for this one, as Lucky is very fond of them, so I snuck a few to him} so use your discretion as to how many you want.

Place tart back in the oven for another 15 minutes then take out, let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy.

Cabbage Sesame Salad

As Ry and I just celebrated a year of marriage, {and what an amazingly fast year it was} I wanted to reflect what it meant, what is different, what is the same and basically my reflection on what it has been for me. I am not the easiest person in the slightest. I am hard headed, I like to argue, I am too honest, and I love to be right. I also however have learned that I am patient, loyal to the core, and fiercely compassionate.

To put what Ry means to me into words seems like an improbable task, because the more we go through the more I love him. I love him for making me laugh in the ER, for constantly being supportive, for knowing exactly what I need when I am having a hard day, whether that be getting my girlfriends on the phone or making me go for a run. I love him for being able to see my faults as endearing, for seeing me as the best version of myself and for pushing me to be more than I think I can be. These are things that don't even begin to cover everything but they are indeed pieces that make up a whole.

This year was different, marriage in my mind makes it different, in every positive aspect. I think, in retrospect, even living together does not make one prepared for a marriage. Yes, it gives you ideas of how the other person lives, just like every other roommate does. What is doesn't give you an idea about it your mindset. I still felt like when we were not married, we were both striving to accomplish individual goals, whereas now, my mindset is with "family". Because even though it is just us to, and the dynamics haven't changed all that much, the concept of what is good for us is not necessarily the same as if I were just thinking about myself.

Marriage makes you think outside yourself, it is something that makes you less selfish and more selfless.  I am myself but better. I want to be better, for not only myself but for my husband. I owe that to him, because he has done the same for me.

So here I am to give you a salad of sorts, something that may not sound celebratory, but when I made it, I certainly celebrated.

Cabbage Sesame Salad

1 head small leafy cabbage (you could also use kale here), blanched

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp ginger juice

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Place cabbage in a bowl.

Whisk the sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and ginger juice together, 

and pour over cabbage and toss.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds in and toss again.

Spoon into another separate bowl as you will have leftover dressing at the bottom of the mixing bowl.

Enjoy {as much as I did}

Scrambled Egg Tartine.

My friend Kristen dislikes loathes eggs. She just does not want anything to do with them as a meal item. Sure, she will use them in baking, but when it comes to breakfast, she will consistently reject them. She has made it clear however, that we are more than welcome to make them, she will just pass, and find something else to eat. Its funny, really, because I am pretty sure she likes chickens, and her two best friends are obsessed with egg-anything.

We do however, almost always forget, or at least we chose to forget this fact; because ultimately every breakfast we make is egg based. I am convinced that someday, just like how she came through with starting to like avocados, she will come around to eggs.

I had a lot of leftovers lingering in the fridge when I concocted this dish, and I think it managed to come together quite organically, and I was very pleased with the outcome. 

Scrambled Egg Tartine.
There are so many ways you can alter this. I was thinking of adding roasted red peppers, subbing a tapenade for the chimichurri, using arugula instead of microgreens, in the summer, doing a caprese version with mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. The point is, be creative, 
this is a blank canvas for breakfast.
serves 2.

4 eggs
2 large slices of bread
drizzle of olive oil, for cooking the eggs
 lime butter
chimichurri
microgreens
crumbled goat cheese

Place a tab of lime butter in a skillet, when it begins to foam, fry the bread, flipping over when it begins to brown, then when the other side is browned, pull from skillet and set on plates.

Generously spread the chimichurri sauce on the slices of toasted bread and set aside.

Crack the eggs in a bowl and wisk until thoroughly combined, and add a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil in another skillet, and when it gets hot, pour in the eggs, slowly folding the eggs in with a spatula. When the eggs are set, turn off the pan.

Top the slices of bread with the eggs. Top with a generous amount of microgreens and then crumble some goat cheese on top. Serve and enjoy.

Cucumber Gin & Aloe Juice Mojito

Some weeks just call for a good cocktail. This was one of those weeks.

Cucumber Gin & Aloe Juice Mojito

2 oz cucumber gin

1 oz aloe vera juice

1/4 oz Stregga Liquor

1/2-1oz agave nectar

10 mint leaves 

3/4 oz lime juice

club soda

Muddle the mint leaves with the agave nectar & lime juice, then add the remaining ingredients with some ice.

Shake vigorously, then strain into a glass. Add ice, and top with club soda.

Green Pancakes with Lime Butter

There was always something so enticing about those Mickey Mouse pancakes, weren't there. They aren't any different than any other pancakes other than their shape, yet kids ogle at them. Being an occasional pancake fanatic I was one of those kids, although rather than adding chocolate chips I was much more of a blueberry fan. As I grew older my excitement about pancakes dwindled, but occasionally, I still indulge in a good lemon-ricotta pancake, preferably the ones from Chows. {If you are a chows fan, you know what I'm talking about}

Recently I have been eyeballing these fantastically green not sweet, but a breakfast for the savory lovers out there pancakes in the cookbook Plenty. Saturday morning I woke up determined to make them happen.

Ry and I slowly sipped our coffee alternating duties and crossing off the list of what to add; and there, thirty minutes later, sitting in front of us, were the best pancakes I think I have ever had. In fact, I am craving them right now.

Green Pancakes with Lime Butter

from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

{i made a few adaptations and those will be noted}

After one bite, Ry said "I think these might even be good with maple syrup", and I retorted, 

"I will do you one better, we have ginger syrup" which incidentally I think was 

made with exactly these little 

'cakes in mind. 

INGREDIENTS
Lime butter
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Grated zest of 1 lime
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 tsp chile flakes

 'Cakes

1/2 lb spinach
3/4 cup self-rising flour {I used AP and it worked out just fine}
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
2/3 cup milk {I used almond milk}
6 medium green onions, finely sliced
2 fresh green chiles, thinly sliced
1 egg white
Olive oil for frying

PREPARATION
To make the lime butter. Put the butter in a medium bowl and beat it with a wooden spoon until it turns soft and creamy. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Tip onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a sausage shape. Twist the ends of the wrap to seal the flavored butter. Chill until firm.

Wilt the spinach in a pan with a splash of water. Place in a cloth napkin and squeeze out excess water.  Roughly chop and put aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, whole egg, melted butter, salt, cumin and milk in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the green onions, chiles and spinach and mix with a fork. Whisk the egg white to soft peaks and gently fold it into the batter.

Pour a small amount of olive oil into a heavy frying pan and place on medium-high heat. For each pancake, ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan and press down gently.  Cook until you get a good golden-green color. Transfer to paper towels and keep warm. Continue making pancakes, adding oil to the pan as needed, until the batter is used up.

To serve, pile up three warm pancakes per person and place a slice of flavored butter on top to melt.

And maybe some ginger syrup too if you are feeling up to it. 

We also added micro greens on top for a little more oomph. 

Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.

I am not sure when exactly it happened, but at some point in my life I became a lemon hoarder lover. I don't mean the, oh yes, i love citrus, its lovely isn't it? I am referring to the kind of person who looks at you funny if you don't have a stockpile in your kitchen, because of course, it is on a rare occasion that you won't find them in my kitchen. I suppose I could say the same about garlic, onions, limes, shallots, parsley, etc... but for the sake of the story, let's pretend I am not about to go there.

I am a lucky gal. Our neighbor, Hal, doesn't use lemons {pause for gasp}. This makes me lucky, because he has the most incredible meyer lemon tree. I get giddy whenever I look at it. We have a lemon tree, yes, but it is some sort of weird mutant hybrid citrus, that is excellent for its rind, and that's about it. For years we have acquired two pound citrus {yes, its bizarre} and while the hubs thinks its amazing, it just doesn't yield the juice I would like to see come out of a lemon. 

My friend Lane, is a lemon lover as well. Soul sisters at heart, we can geek out and obsess over how much lemons make us happy, so I know when she reads this, she may be calling me.

On Sunday I woke up, took our new furry friend out to relieve himself, then came back in to blanch and freeze a whole lotta kale we had pulled out of the garden the day earlier. While the huge pot of water was boiling, i glanced over and saw my last two lemons in the bowl, and I immediately decided that my hubby deserved some fresh baked love in the form of scones. 

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.

These aren't very sweet, which is rather nice. They lend themselves to either be eaten plain or with "toppings". I melted some honey with butter, and dipped mine in. I also tried them with kumquat marmalade and that too was delicious, but I think that lemon curd would also be divine.

1/2c butter + more for brushing

1/3c light brown sugar

2c flour

1TB baking powder

1tsp salt

lemon zest from 2 lemons

2TB poppy seeds

2TB lemon juice

1c almond milk

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

 Put the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl and stir, then cut the butter into the dry ingredients.

Add the poppy seeds and lemon zest and toss together with the crumbled dough.

Add the remaining wet ingredients and mix together gently, adding more flour if the dough is too wet.

Turn onto a floured board and form into the shape of a circle and cut the pieces like you would a pie.

Place on a baking sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes, then pull out and brush with melted butter and put back in the oven. Check scones after another 5 minutes, as they should be done, but leave in until golden brown.

Pull out, cool, and enjoy.

Sushi Rice

A true conversation in my household:

me: "hey Ry."
Ry: "yes dear."
me: "Did you know that Washington borders Canada?"
Ry: {chucking} "um, yes, i did. you didn't"
me: "well no. i mean I knew it was north, but never really put two and two together. in fact, i realized today that i am absolutely terrible at geography. comedically actually."

As the conversation progressed and Ry quizzed me on "the states", we both couldn't help but laugh. It was one of those hilarious faults that you realize you have that force you to take yourself down a notch and giggle. In retrospect, I suppose having history after lunch in high school was not such a great idea.

There are a lot of things I am not good at. Geography, playing music, dancing, understanding my IRA, just to name a few... Some of them I have accepted and others, I am working on. When I met Ry, one of the first meals I made for him was disastrous, involving coconut milk, rice, ahi, lemongrass and garlic. Needless to say, that night he learned that I am was terrible at making rice. RICE. I know. Shameful.

I have since learned how to make rice properly, which is probably a good thing because you can't really get away with making sushi rolls without it.

Sushi Rice

2 cups short-grained Japanese-style rice 

2 1/4 cups water

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Wash rice well in a few changes of cold water.

 Drain rice well, place in a heavy-bottomed pot and cover with 2 1/2 cups water.

 Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, bring to a boil, and and reduce immediately to low heat.

 Cook the rice for 15 minutes.

  Turn off the heat, and let the rice sit for another 10 minutes.

 Mix together the rice wine vinegar, salt, and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

 When the rice is cooked, turn it out into a bowl, and pour the seasoning mixture over the rice.

 Gently stir with a wooden paddle, using a cutting action, until the rice is evenly coated.

 Let the rice cool before using.

Understanding Salad Dressing. {well vinegarette at least}

My Mom is one that is not afraid of salad dressing. She loves it. The more, the merrier. Growing up, I remember jars of creamy dressing, mainly blue cheese and caesar loaded into the side walls of our refrigerator. She would pull them out and blend them with balsamic vinegar then mix it with whatever salad was present on the table that night. Growing up, that is how I understood dressing.

As I matured into my early twenties, and I worked in various restaurants, knowing full well of how much dressing could be loaded onto the salads, I would ask for it on the side. I loved in house vinaigrette, and at the time, did not quite grasp why they were so good.

These days, I make dressing in stride, due to my education a la Alice Waters who, in her book The Art of Simple food, gives a basic recipe for success and explains the many variations you can work from on that. It allowed me to understand dressing, as simple may seem. 

Most basic salad dressing contain two things, oil and vinegar{or an acid of some sort, like lemon juice, or a combo of the two}, and generally speaking the proportion is 2:1. Put the vinegar in a bowl, and slowly wisk in the oil creating a creamy emulsion. I have however put vinegar in a container, added the oil and shaken it up vigorously and it works the same. Here is where it gets fun. Lets say you love vinegar... simply add more vinegar...or if you love garlic like I do... add chopped garlic to the emulsion...herb lover... add herbs... in the mood for a creamy dressing... add a TB cream or yogurt...creamy herb dressing...add both.

It is so simple. So do it.

{No Mayo} Pickled Beet Deviled Eggs.

Somewhere in between two and five I was such a brat. I was the kid who babysitters hated to be around. Whether it was me cutting off my hair, screaming about not wanting to go to bed, or, yes, throwing toys at them, I totally went there as a child. My mothers solution was to put me in to sports, all.the.time. Every sport you could possibly put a child in, I did it. And by the time I would come home, I was so tired, I would just pass out. It was brilliant in fact. And now, despite my lack of musical or dancing abilities, I am thankful for it.

So one day, somewhere in between basketball and soccer practice, my mom made me a turkey sandwich. I ate it with vengeance, and then it came right back up. Gross I know. It was the fault of an OVER mayonnaise-d sandwich. I know some people love mayo, and will not accept a sandwich without it, but I was and never be one of those people. I am not sure it is fair to blame it entirely on that sandwich, but it is definitely an event I remember. I know my friend, whose name starts with an S will agree with me on this.

That isn't to say that I don't use it every so often, and in fact I completely understand that not everyone has had the same experience that I have had, but I have steered clear of mayonnaise involved recipes, for example deviled eggs. But deviled eggs are so amazingly good you are thinking to yourself, and I happen to agree, now. But yet, still as much as I have tried them, I have time and time again, not loved the idea of mayonnaise filled egg cups.

With Easter around the corner, however, I have been thinking about dying eggs. So when I came across a tid-bit in a magazine recently that touted pickled beet deviled eggs, I could not resist concocting my own little recipe, because the idea is indeed brilliant.

Pickles Beet Deviled Eggs

2 cups distilled white vinegar

1 cup water

1 large red beet, peeled and sliced

6 hardboiled eggs, peeled

3TB creme fraise

1tsp fennel powder

salt and pepper to taste

chives or chervil garnish

Bring vinegar and water to a boil with the sliced beets, let is simmer for 10 minutes then turn off.

Put pickling liquid in tubberware and allow to cool to room temperature.

Place eggs in pickling mixture and allow to soak for 1-2hours in the fridge.

Slice eggs in half, and whip together egg yolks with remaining ingredients, and then assemble.

Garnish and enjoy.

Trailblazers and Tuna Fish.

I like to think of my grandmother as a trailblazer. Not the western kind, but the kind who was different, just for the sheer joy of it. She liked to push buttons, hit your insides when you were least expecting it. You needed to be armored to "hang" with her. The kind of person who you have to let down all your insecurities to be around; you had to be able to sit there and laugh at yourself and your downfalls. She loved to laugh, and she loved to laugh at herself, and I think that makes a person stronger, and I think she knew that too. To not be able to laugh at yourself is to stay prisoner to your insecurities, and she was definitely not insecure.

I say this with love, because she is the one who passed down the maybe-not-so-witty-but-may-hurt-you-where-you-aren't-ready-for-it kind of humor. My mom got it from her. The kind of honest humor that kicks you in the butt, but you love it because its not only honest and genuine, but also usually filled with some line of truth. She never neglected to tell me if I looked terrible, but on the other hand she always loved to tell me when I looked fantastic, which over the years I learned how much that honesty really meant to me, and how I would carry on that same sense of self.

The first vivid memory of talking to my gma was over the phone, and I am pretty sure I was ten, and she was definitely telling me more than one too old for my age kind of stories, which of course, at the time I was taken a back by.  Over the years, our visits were often, usually involving me bringing two very hot cups of coffee to her apartment just to have girl chat. She knew everyone and always had an opinion of who to date, who not to date, who my mother dated, etc. It was engaging and rewarding to have such a colorful person around.

To say the least, my grandma was not like any other grandparents. She never had homemade cookies baking or her hair in curlers, but what she always did give was an amazing amount of love. She was genuine, strong, spiritual, and full of personality.  She adored people for who they are, the good and the bad.  She would make friends with the local 20.something.year.old baristas and introduce them to you as if they were the best of friends, touting their positive attributes to you. She could gauge your creativity, or lack there of, and was always encouraging. We would take her out in public and she would always promote you whenever she got the chance which is a quality I absolutely loved and hated simultaneously.

I am so thankful to have had a relationship with such an amazing woman who I will never be able to say enough about.  To put her in just one page is not enough to fully encompass who she was or who she will remain to be in my heart. I am thankful that I got to know her, and that she was in my life. 

The last time I saw her, I brought her a tuna sandwich. I got tuna, because I love tuna fish sandwiches. One of the things I learned in that visit is that they are her favorite, and I chuckled to myself upon learning that, because I always wondered where I got it from.

So as a memorial to one of the most interesting people I will ever know,
I would like to offer you a tuna panini.
a colorful tuna sandwich.

Tuna Panini
If you are anything like my grandmother, you would insist this be served with a bag of potato chips.
  two slices of any bread
1 TB whole grain mustard
1 TB capers
handful of spinach
olive oil
1 small can tuna packed in olive oil
1 slice of cheese
salt and pepper

Turn on grill pan.

Slather one piece of bread with mustard on one side and drizzle olive oil on the other side.
Place bread down with olive oil side down.

Drain tuna of most of the olive oil, but keep enough to keep the tuna moist, and mix with the capers,
then top the mustard slice with the tuna. salt and pepper tuna.

Place the spinach on top of the tuna, then the cheese on top of that.

Press down with remaining slice of bread, then place on grill.

Drizzle top piece with olive oil, then press down with the grill press for about
2 minutes or until the cheese begins to melt.

Flip sandwich, and grill for another 2 minutes, then pull off of grill.

Cut in half and enjoy.

Kumquat Marmalade

One of my dearest friends lives far away, not east coast far, but in the armpit of California far. Keene, CA far. At least from Napa. So the Mr. and I felt like we all needed to visit this past weekend, so we scooted the half a dozen hours down to see our new-ranch-owning friends.

Going to their home, is like taking a mini vacation filled with land, horses, throngs of dogs, and lots of home chores. Home chores that both the Mr. and I love to partake in, making us what I think of as the perfect house guests to a place like theirs.

As Kate's husband Nick started a burn pit of old wood (amongst other things), Kate took the Mr, and I to the craziest fruit farm we have ever been to. It reminded me of a circus, that was overtaken by fruit trees and pony rides. I thought about taking some pictures, but decided not to scare anyone. Despite the craziness, they did have some exotic (and cheap) citrus that Kate and I picked up determined to make something of it all. Kumquats, however took priority, as mysteriously, we both had the idea to make marmalade.

Kate and I have a lot in common, we like to can, cook, garden, etc. and it is one of the many things we love to do together that we do not get to do often enough. So in our best of intentions, we planned to do all of those things on our visit, and as you already can tell, marmalade was on the plate. 

I brought my mecca of jamming cookbooks, which we both ogled over prior to starting our venture. So while the boys played outside, and somewhere in between making lunch, pickling green beans, feeding the horses and drinking cocktails, we made some of the most tedious beautiful marmalade.

Kumquat Marmalade.

from Blue Chair Jam Cookbook.

We had a day, not three, which the book suggests to be the correct amount of time to make the marmalade properly, so we condensed the waiting time in between steps, which did not seem to be an issue in concocting the final product. So if you are doing this at your leisure, please, feel free to take your time, but if not, feel free to alter it to your time frame allotted.

After careful consideration, and reviewing the entire recipe again, I did not feel I would do justice to the recipe by posting it. I want you to just buy the book. Really, do it.

I say this with love. xoxo.

Oeufs en Cocotte

Weekend mornings are such an amazing treat. I don't mean the mornings where you get up and get going, but the mornings where the sun shines through the windows and the air is crisp, and the plan on of the day is to have no plan at all. I think I get it from my mother. The first couple times Ry and I stayed at my mom's, he noticed the leisureliness to the morning rituals. Get up, make coffee, unload the dishwasher, grab the newspaper, go back up to bed with several cups of hot brew, and read the newspaper, and enjoy the company of the loved one sitting next to you.

For years, when we didn't get the paper delivered, I would run my tush to the corner store in my slippers with quarters in hand and buy the Sunday paper, and merrily come home to fresh brew, and Ry scurrying around the house, getting ready to start his day. He didn't get it, he didn't quite appreciate the ritual. It took him several years of molding to be able to understand the peace it brings in the morning. Last week, while Ry was still sleeping, I crawled out of bed, put the kettle on, ground the beans, emptied the dishwasher, filled the french press, ran outside to pick up our {now delivered} Sunday paper, came back in, crawled into bed with my Bodum in hand, and looked over at Ry as his eyes peeled open. As he stuffed a pillow behind his back and I handed him his cup of coffee, he looked over at me, smiled, and said "this is good". He finally got it.

This morning, after our leisurely ritual, we made breakfast. Not a breakfast of champions, but an ode to our garden so to speak. Oeufs en Cocotte, a very simple egg dish that is fairly flexible in ingredients, but this morning, with the garden brimming with kale, and some homemade ricotta lingering in the fridge, I kept it fairly simple.

Oeufs en Cocotte 

with kale and ricotta

1 large bunch of kale cleaned and destemmed

1/2 cup ricotta

4 large eggs

1 TB ghee (or your choice of cooking oil)

1-2TB butter for buttering the ramekins

salt and pepper to taste

Turn the oven to 350 and boil a pot of water in a kettle.

First you must cook the kale, so melt the ghee in a pan and saute the kale until wilted, then set aside until cooled.

While the kale is cooling, butter your four ramekins and place in another stoneware dish.

Divide the kale amongst the ramekins and also divide the ricotta into the ramekins as well. salt and pepper each, then break an egg into each vessel.

Pour the now boiling water from the kettle into the stoneware dish, creating a water bath that the ramekins are now sitting in, and then place that dish in the oven.

The eggs should be cooked in about 15 minutes, but use your best judgement. The whites should be cooked and the yolk should be firmly in tact but just barely cooked.

Remove and enjoy with toast.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Growing up I was told to eat carrots for better vision {as I am sure most little tots are told}. I especially took it to heart because I rocked some nerdy thick glasses at the time. Thankfully, I have always loved carrots and it was never a push to get me to eat any vegetables for that matter. As I grew older, carrots not only became a staple in my diet, but I grew to appreciate them in other forms other than just raw.

Ginger and I are very very good friends. I am avidly obsessed with anything that is digestive-friendly. I literally keep a jar of pickled ginger in the fridge to munch on, and knobs of it hang around our fridge as if it was going out of style. So when the opportunity comes up to add it to something, I of course do.

There is something warming and also refreshing about soup, and this one happens to be one of my favorites. 

Carrot Ginger Soup

 After making this soup, I felt like I should have added more ginger, however, that was my preference and I believe that you could alter this to your own liking. I really wanted to add coconut milk to this to give it a creamier texture and still think it would have been divine, but the Mr. requested I keep it out. I topped it with a few micro greens and drizzled it with lime infused olive oil but any twist really will add to this soup.

1 medium onion, chopped

2 TB coconut oil 

4 cloves of garlic, minced

large thumb ginger, minced

1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped roughly

4 cups vegetable broth or water

salt and pepper to taste

On medium, saute the onion in the coconut oil until soft, then add the ginger and garlic and saute for another minute, then add the remaining ingredients {minus the s&p-do that at the end}.

Let the ingredients lightly simmer on the stove until the carrots are very soft, then use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. {s&p to taste now}

Ladle into bowls, top {or not} with your favorites, serve and enjoy.

Kiwi-Limequat Sorbet

We received an ice cream maker attachment along with our Kitchen Aid last year for our wedding thanks to my dear mother, and it has been sitting at the back of a shelf since. Not because I didn't want to use it, because trust me, I have had many nights where it was all I wanted to do, but the reality of it is that it has to sit in the freezer to freeze before you can use it, and we absolutely n.e.v.e.r. have room in our freezer. Its usually shoved with frozen broth, leftover soup, dumplings, fish, etc, you name it, its full. 

It was a gorgeous weekend, and I discovered that there was indeed room in our freezer for once {how that happened I have no idea}and I couldn't think of anything better to do than make some sorbet. I had juiced several pounds of limequats that we picked up in Keene, Ca last week, and wanted to use that, and to offset the tartness, I wanted to use these delectably sweet kiwis my friend Rachel purchased the day earlier.

Kiwi-Limequat Sorbet

1 1/2 cups limequat juice
1 1/2 cups kiwi puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup prosecco

Mix the sugar, juice and puree, when completely combined, add the prosecco and stir slowly
until incorporated.

Place in a freezer safe container and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions

{note: the sorbet will be very soft, place back in to the freezer until completely frozen}

Here's to something tart and sweet.

Warm Winter Salad

I, for the most part, eat salad every day for lunch. I love a delicious salad, however, there are those very cold chilly days where I want all that vegetable-ness, but not the cold food factor.

Today I left my house scrambling for some leftovers in the fridge and ended up grabbing a container of blanched green beans, some roasted spaghetti squash, boiled lentils, a carrot, and some mustard. For some reason, I needed mustard. I looked at it at lunch and thought, "hm". So I played it by ear and made myself what turned out to be a delicious hot salad.

Warm Winter Salad

I think this can really be done with a myriad of vegetables, the ones I used were just what I had lying around. I would imagine adding tofu, or some greens could also be a delicious addition.

1 cup roasted spaghetti squash

1/2 cup cooked sprouted green lentils

1 large chopped carrot

1 1/2 cups blanched green beans

1 TB olive oil

2 TB whole grain mustard

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

salt and pepper

In a pan warm the olive oil, then add the spaghetti squash, and warm for a minute.

Add the lentils, carrot, and green beans, and combine. Cook until warm.

In a seperate bowl, combine the mustard and vinegar, then slowly drizzle into the pan over the salad.

Combine then serve.

Rosemary Meyer Lemon Bread

I may have made one.very.terrible.mistake.

I learned how to make bread. Good bread. Perfect little boules in fact.

It harmlessly started with Sprouted Whole Wheat, then casually turned to Focaccia, then went full force into the boule that I would like to share with you, Rosemary Meyer Lemon. It is my fault. And I knew it would happen, but I resisted only for so long. When the bread came out of the oven the other day, The Mr. looked at me, and beamed from ear to ear with a smile that could only say "I am now going to expect to have homemade bread ALL THE TIME". Yes, a smile can say all that... especially when it is followed by the ever so sly sentence, "Thank you for learning to make bread, it makes me so happy".

This is my husband. The man that loves a good baguette.

So I have made this boule now twice, yes it is that good.

Rosemary Meyer Lemon Bread
from William Sonoma
 
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 3/4 tsp. salt + more for garnish
4 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
3 tsp. chopped lemon zest

 In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, rosemary and zest. Add 1 5/8 cups water and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and very sticky. Cover the bowl with wet towel. Let the dough rest at warm room temperature (about 70°F) until the surface is dotted with bubbles, 12 to 18 hours.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour and knead the dough about 10-20 times and make into a small boule, adding flour as needed. Cover loosely with a wet towel and let rest for 2 hours.


At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, put a cast-iron pot in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F.




When the dough is ready, pull the cast iron pot out and sprinkle some semolina flour on the bottom of the pot.

Flip the dough ball into the pot and cut a nice slit down the middle. Brush with Olive oil and sprinkle with salt.


Place the top on the pot and place in the oven, and then turn the temperature down to 450°F and bake for 30 minutes.


After 30 minutes, pull the pot out and take the top off, then place back in the oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes, of until the top is browned, then pull the pot out, pull the boule out of the pot, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes, if you can wait that long.