All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013
Rain, rain, rain. Days and days of rain tend toward gloom. The roses rust and droop, and the newly planted vegetable starts refuse to grow beyond their 2 inch plugs. One day, the sun came out, and as I checked on my pots of herbs, a tiny slender baby snake slithered away. Of course I screeched, I always do:)
I ended up grabbing a bundle of fresh asparagus at the last minute one day at the market - it was crispy and green and reminded me, yes - it really is Spring. I usually cook asparagus quickly, then dip in melted butter with a squeeze of fresh lemon. And I always end up with a stubborn stain on my shirt. I suddenly remembered a sauce I used to make - ( aioli) - but it was rather heavily scented with raw garlic, so I experimented with a milder version, sans the garlic. Sweet!
I sliced the asparagus on the diagonal, then quickly blanched it in boiling water, then drained it. As it was cooling, I made the lemon emulsion, and drizzled it on the asparagus, then served, to some very appreciative and hungry guests: my family! Even Frankie the two year old ate it, and that's saying something! I served vermicelli on the side, along with some parmesan, with fresh blueberries and strawberries I marinated in orange juice.
For the asparagus:
Trim the ends off the asparagus spears.
Cut on the slant in 2 inch pieces, set aside.
Bring water to boil in a pot, when boiling, toss in the asparagus until just barely tender, strain, and set aside to cool.
For the lemon emulsion sauce:
1 large egg yolk from a fresh farm egg
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of sea salt or to taste
a pea sized bit of dijon mustard (more would overpower the sauce)
1/2 cup mild olive oil ( not virgin or extra virgin)
Whisk the egg yolk, then add the lemon juice.
Add the salt and scrape into a food processor.
Drop in the dijon, and whiz.
Add the olive oil, a teaspoon at a time, with the machine going.
As you add the oil, the sauce will come together in a glossy, creamy emulsion. Do not be tempted to add the oil all at once, or the sauce will fail.
Drizzle on the asparagus and serve.
I was overjoyed to find my friends Robyn and Susan at the farmers market once again. I have missed their baskets of beautiful greens much more than I ever realized. Both had bountiful offerings: one with fresh mature arugula, the other with bags of spring greens - everything from baby chard (yellow and red), turnip greens, and baby kales. I positively floated home to make this rich green soup, vibrating with healthiness and freshness. I added some mature spinach I had on hand, and a tasty bowl of new chicken stock, a few sprigs of rosemary and voila! Perfection.
Makes about 3-4 cups of the most delicious soup:
To make:
2 T. red or white onion or leek whites, chopped
2 T. raw rice (I had Uncle Ben's on hand, so I used that)
2 to 2 1/2 cups fresh chicken or vegetable stock
Simmer the stock, rice, and onion or leek for about ten minutes, covered.
Add:
2 cups of packed mature spinach
2 cups packed baby greens
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 T. rosemary leaves, stripped from stem
salt and pepper to taste
Cover the pot and simmer for about 7 minutes, turn off heat, set aside for ten minutes.
Puree with an immersion blender, taste, and adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a nice crusty bread and butter, if you wish.
I am not sure what happened to me in the supermarket, but when I saw the rosy blush of fresh apricots, I was lost. Small, plump apricots, smooth and enticing, totally out of season - apricots, as far as I know, are not local to New Hampshire, at least not in June. I know, I know. I was seduced.
And so, I bought three, and made a delicious pair of tarts, puckery and overlaid with the sweetness of our beautiful local honey, sprinkled with toasted pecans and a pinch of nutmeg. Perfection.
I used Orangette's tart dough recipe, and was very pleased with it, and tossed the apricots with a bit of orange juice, honey, nutmeg and salt, and a tablespoon of sugar, then drizzled them with our wonderful local honey, all good, all pleasing, and the end result? A lovely dessert, missing only a tablespoon of whipped cream, because I had none, but it would have been the perfect ending.
For the dough:
For crust:
4 Tbsp. ice water, plus more as needed
¾ tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
9 Tbsp. (4 ½ oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
To prepare the crust:
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine 4 Tbsp. ice water and the cider vinegar. Set aside.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to blend. Add the butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal; there should be no pieces of butter bigger than a large pea. With the motor running, slowly add the water-vinegar mixture, processing just until it forms a ball. If the dough seems a bit dry, add more ice water by the teaspoon, pulsing to incorporate.
Turn the dough out onto a wooden board or clean countertop, and gather it until it just holds together. Shape it into a disk about 1 ½ inches thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for two hours.
Butter two four or five inch tart forms ( with removable bottoms) well. Remove the dough from the fridge, and cut the dough in half, storing the other half in the freezer for later. Roll out the dough and press dough into tart pans, firmly pressing down into the tart pans, trimming off the excess. Firm again with your fingertips. Set aside, and preheat oven to 360F, then prepare the apricots.
For the fruit:
Three or four small apricots.
Cut the apricots in half, remove the stone, and cut each half apricot into 5 or 6 pieces.
Toss with :
1/4 cup white sugar
big pinch of nutmeg or mace
big pinch of kosher salt
3 T. orange juice
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
2 tablespoons local honey to drizzle
Toss the sugar, nutmeg, salt, and orange juice with the apricot slices. Arrange the apricots in a circular fashion around the tart form. Top with pecans. Drizzle with a tablespoon of honey on each tart, and set in the oven for 40 minutes or so. Remove to cool for 30 minutes, remove from tart pans, then cut into halves and serve as is, or with whipped cream. Serves four.
Total bliss. Enjoy!
Pollen season is here. I am sneezing my way through the days and nights, but also admiring the slow growth of my chive plant. Once upon a time, I had a very small chive plant. I have babied it like you wouldn't believe, but it never grew those stupendous blossoms other people had. This year, a little better, but only enough for a fat handful or two of those pretty little purple blossoms. I was eating my lunch on the terrace, looking at the blossoms, when I suddenly realized this was the day! The blossoms were full, the sun was out, so I grabbed my scissors and snipped away. And I made, as I always do, Chive Blossom vinegar.
I used to steep the blossoms in the sun in a jarful of white and apple cider vinegar, but too many times we had stormy weather - rain and clouds, gloom and fog. I hit on a method that is quick and pleasing, and guarantees at least one bottle of that rosy, onion-flavored condiment that is fresh and ever so slightly onion-y from your little garden. It works wonderfully in salad dressing, or marinades for the grill, but make sure you keep it in a corked bottle in the fridge, since it is basically a puree from a juicy, fresh plant.
To make:
1 or 2 cups chive blossoms, pulled off or snipped from a blooming chive plant
Place the chive blossoms in a blender, then cover with half apple cider vinegar, and half white vinegar. Blend on Liquify.
Pour the liquid, blossoms and all, into a glass jar and screw on the lid, making sure the vinegar does not touch the metal of the lid.
Place the jar in the sun for a day or two, or until it turns a lovely, gentle pinky-purple.
Using a plastic funnel lined with a coffee filter, strain the vinegar into a bottle or jar and store in fridge.
That's it! You are now a proud owner of a coveted Spring tradition - fresh chive blossom vinegar. Enjoy!
Bouquet season as I stroll through the garden! Lily of the Valley , pale pink geranium with bridal wreath and antique yellow iris......
A few weeks ago, my neighbor quite suddenly called me and asked if I could make a few quiches for a gathering she was having. I was stunned. I suddenly realized I hadn't made a quiche in years. Of course I said yes ( I do like a challenge) and immediately googled quiche, just to jiggle my brain. I knew the basics, but had forgotten the amounts. In the end, the quiches were partly Julia and my memories of the amounts I'd used in the past - and the temperature, which I always keep on the low side, since we're talking cream and eggs. The first quiche was traditional, but with Westphalian ham instead of bacon, and a fairly tasteless gruyere, which was all I could find in our rural area. The second was much more fun , with shredded spinach, a heaping cup of crumbled goat cheese, nutmeg, and freshly minced dill. Because I only had a day or two to prepare, I used a frozen pie crust, which was fine with me, as my pie crusts usually look...well...extremely rustic, even on the best of days:) It came out looking as pretty as can be - and my neighbor sent me a thank you note for a quiche that was delicate, but creamy; instead of rubbery and tough.
There are a few tedious parts to this recipe: washing the spinach, spinning it dry, destemming it, and blanching it briefly, then squeezing out the liquid and slicing it into thick ribbons. To crumble the goat cheese, use a fork and pull out the cheese gently, so you don't have huge chunks. Try to use everything as close to room temperature as you can, as that affects the baking.
Goat Cheese and Spinach quiche:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
1 frozen pie crust
2 T. soft unsalted butter
Spread the butter on the bottom of the crust, then pre-bake for 10 minutes in the upper third of your oven. Remove and cool.
The quiche:
1 1/2 cups half and half
4 extra large eggs
good pinch of nutmeg, or several scrapings with a grater
1 heaping cup of crumbled goat cheese
2 T. minced fresh dill
1 T. minced fresh parsley
pinch kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 T. scallion (green onion ) tops, green part only, sliced
1 8 oz package mature spinach ( not baby spinach) washed, spun dry, de-stemmed, and sliced, then blanched (see below) Or use 2 cups packed spinach prepared as above.
For the spinach:
Briefly blanch the prepared raw spinach in boiling water (5 minutes), strain, let cool, then squeeze out any remaining liquid. Set aside.
In a bowl, whisk the half and half, the eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper, dill, parsley, and the goat cheese until combined. Add the squeezed spinach and whisk in with a fork, then add the scallion tops.
Pour into the pre-baked pie crust, and bake in upper third of oven for 45 minutes. The quiche may puff up a bit, the center should be softly solid when you press it gently. It will continue to bake as it cools.
Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges.
It has been cold, rainy, and windy here, after a few gorgeous sunny and warm days - too cold to plant the tomato seedlings, but the lilacs have stayed beautifully full and colorful, and so has the lady's mantle. The radishes and sugar snap peas are poking through, but everything else is waiting for warmer weather. May your forecast be sunny and warm!
Oh, the pink of Spring! Right now the pale pink magnolia trees are blooming, the hot pink azaleas, the rainbows of tulips, and the rhubarb plants range from pale green stalks to rich, ruby red under the umbrellas of dark green leaves.
For a long time, I didn't eat rhubarb. When I went to an organic farm school in Lake Placid as a boarder in 7th and 8th grades, rhubarb was on the menu endlessly. When you grow your own food in a cold climate, you make use of what thrives, and that meant rhubarb. Just cooked with a little honey, it was tart and tasty - for a while. But it appeared as dessert and breakfast over and over. And over.
So I avoided rhubarb for a long time, until recently. The first fresh fruit in May is hard to not take advantage of! But I no longer make it only rhubarb, but temper it with the sweetness of strawberries, no yet ready here, so I buy them from the store.
Barely simmered with a little water, delicious local honey, and a spoonful of minced fresh ginger, it makes a wonderful topping for my Greek yogurt in the morning. Roasted chicken with a dipping side of sauce for lunch. Goat cheese on thick bread with a spoonful of this jam is a treat in the afternoon. And rhubarb sauce on ice cream rounds out dessert.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce
First, wash the rhubarb and cut off the large leaves. The leaves are toxic, so I usually toss them in the trash. Slice into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Trim and slice the strawberries into quarters. Peel the ginger and mince.
2 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries
1/4 to 1/3 cup water
3 heaping tablespoons local honey or more to taste
2 teaspoons minced, peeled fresh ginger
pinch of sea salt
Place all into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir until the rhubarb falls apart , usually about 7-10 minutes. Take care not to scorch the fruit - some fruits are juicier than others. If it looks dry, just add a little more water. Set aside to cool. Store in fridge. This makes about 3+ cups of Springalicious sauce.
A year ago: chilled chive and parsnip soup
