Elderflower Fritters

May 26, 2011 by Jane

My elder bush is loaded with blossoms this year, inspiring me to sacrifice a few future berries to experiment with the flowers.  Elderflower fritters are an old timey classic, and give yet another opportunity to sample wild foods in a delicious recipe. I served the fritters with violet syrup that I had made a few weeks ago, and they were delicious.

Pick the blossoms and let them sit for a little while to allow critters a chance to escape. Leave the stalks on the flowers as they make nice “handles” for both cooking and eating!

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POSTED IN Herbs, Wild Foods | 1 Comment

Strawberry Shortcake: A Class for Kids

May 24, 2011 by Jane

This recipe was made for a class of 4th graders.  Everyone was involved in the project, and the preparation and baking took just an hour! The students even made the whipped cream by shaking heavy cream in a jar. The recipe was selected to emphasize that we could make a delicious dessert using local foods in season with a minimum of sugar.

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POSTED IN Local, Strawberry, Teaching | Leave a comment

Kitchen Nightmares

May 23, 2011 by Lauren

I’ve been wary of the kitchen since slicing off a portion of my thumb on a Mandoline slicer last week. Who knew that personal protective equipment – a food-holder or cut-protection gloves – is essential to operate such a device?  The evening, a true comedy of errors…

To stop the bleeding, I poured a heaping spoonful of cayenne pepper over the wound.  While painful, I was so light headed from the incident that the cayenne didn’t seem to faze me.  Weak, I decided to lie down on the kitchen floor.  Wishing I could rewind time, I brought my good hand to my head to cover my eyes.  At which point, cayenne pepper went flying into my eyes.  Could it get any worse – blind and bleeding?  An hour later, I needed a little sumpin’ to calm my nerves.

Almost a week later and still in some pain, I’ve decided to recreate the infamous chips.  I purchased a new Mandoline slicer with a food-holder, which, by the way, is now the most complicated piece of equipment in my kitchen.

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POSTED IN Apple, Cheese, Fruit, Pear | Leave a comment

Battle Salmon

May 16, 2011 by Lauren

Spontaneous road trip or stay in and cook?  Surprisingly, staying in and cooking was Tyler’s idea.  We began with a mini road trip, seeking wild Alaskan salmon.  We found two pieces and the battle began – my miso-glazed salmon versus his array of mystery ingredients.  Whose cuisine reigns supreme?  A tie for flavor; however, I admit, his presentation won.

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POSTED IN Salad, Salmon | Leave a comment

My Signature Dish

May 14, 2011 by Jane

My signature dish is roast chicken.   It is always a favorite when entertaining and is surprisingly easy to prepare. Pound per pound, a whole chicken is your most economical option.  Best of all are the leftovers—especially bone broth—but I’ll save that for another post.

Of primary importance is the selection of the chicken. The minimum standard is to purchase one labeled “hormone and antibiotic free.” Even better is to find one at your local farmers market that has had the opportunity to live outdoors like a normal chicken, eating fresh greens, bugs, pecking at rocks and given organic feed. The nutritional value of a chicken varies greatly depending on what it eats, so know your farmer!

Preparation is easy, and always begins with a trip to the garden. Even in snow, I can clip some springs of rosemary and sage.  This spring I was able to find parsley, lovage, and oregano that came back, but my thyme was too young to harvest.  So, use whatever you have. (Maybe this will motivate you to start an herb garden!)

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POSTED IN Chicken, Herbs | Leave a comment

Brazilian Birthday

May 9, 2011 by Lauren

Last weekend was mom’s birthday, and well, I thought that a Brazilian dinner was in order.  My parents met in Brazil and the menu seemed perfectly nastukashi.  Upon arrival, I did, however, put mom to work making the caipirinhas.  Considering that I wasn’t old enough to drink when we left Brazil, I was concerned that my version would lack authenticity.  Caipirinhas may be my new favorite cocktail, absolutely fantastic!

For the main course, we had feijoada with couve a minera and pudim de abacaxi for dessert.  While I can’t pronounce any of it, it was delicious.  Researching my Brazilian menu, I stumbled upon Saveur’s Feijoada recipe.  Right… where am I going to find pig’s tails, pig’s feel and pig’s ears?  Even then, how would I know if I’m cooking them right?  I saw an article in the MountainXpress featuring trotters at Lab, but was disappointed to learn that are not a regular on the menu.  Boo.  Savuer notes, “Finding the specialty meats for feijoada can be difficult in the United States; the important thing is to use a variety of meats, salted, smoked, and fresh.”  Ok, I can handle that.  So, here’s my version.

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POSTED IN Beef, Brazilian, Greens, Pork | 1 Comment

Ramp Festival

May 2, 2011 by Lauren

I’ve been anticipating the Waynesville Ramp Festival for a while.  Scratch that, a long time.  When my mom/culinary partner and I arrived at the festival… well, it seemed a rather sparse – a few inflated, multicolored children’s games, outlying craft booths, representative fair food booths, and Waynesville’s flashing D.A.R.E. cop car.  What it lacked, the aroma and concentration of ramps!

The souvenir and the ramp booths were basically the extent of the ramptitude .  We found the lack of rampness carried over into the lunch.  Those in-the-know purchased bags of cleaned ramps and alternated bites – between raw ramps and the prepared lunch.  It reminded me of going to the bar and chasing shots with beer.  Genius.  We didn’t hang around for the ramp-eating contest, which I anticipate was the highlight of the event.  I did notice that my Vibram FiveFinger shoes brought back a souvenir!

Prior to heading back to Asheville, we purchased a bag of ramps.  My intent – to create a deserving ramp recipe.

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POSTED IN Bread, Festival | 5 Comments

Edible Flowers Meet Spring Salads

May 1, 2011 by Jane

Spring is such a wonderful time to make a salad.  There are so many wild greens like chickweed, dandelion greens, violet leaves, and cress to name just a few.  Leaves of lettuce, arugula, and spinach are tender and tasty, too. Don’t forget many flowers are edible and loaded with nutrients! I love adding violets and arugula flowers to salads. Experiment and have fun, but always make sure you properly identify the plants. Also, check to see that they are on the “edible list” before eating anything.

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POSTED IN Flowers, Herbs, Salad | 1 Comment

Moti’s Butter Chicken & Naan

April 25, 2011 by Lauren

Ever since reading Saveur’s email featuring Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhanwala), I’ve been craving Moti’s version.  Apparently, I’m not the only one.  Searching for Moti’s recipe, I stumbled upon The Mike/Mitch Project and the following line rung true: “Ever since leaving Japan I have casually searched for the equivalent of Moti Butter Chicken. Whenever I dine at an Indian restaurant I search the menu for Butter Chicken, but alas I have never found it.”  So, here’s my attempt to recreate Moti’s Butter Chicken.

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POSTED IN Bread, Chicken, Indian | 2 Comments

Eggs: “Fast Food” Bursting With Nutrition

April 23, 2011 by Jane

Eggs are back in good standing after years of being declared unhealthful. A JAMA study in 1999 showed no evidence of an overall significant association between egg consumption and risk of CHD or stroke in either men or women. Eggs contain every nutrient the body needs except vitamin C. Pregnant and nursing mothers in China will eat up to 10 eggs a day (provided they can afford them!)

The other good news is that more and more people are raising “backyard” chickens, and the eggs are “to die for.” The chickens are outdoors pecking at the rocks, eating bugs (who ever said chickens were vegetarian?), and noshing on greens all day long. The shells come in beautiful shades of brown, blue, and green, and the yolks are brilliant orange from the beta-carotene in the greens. The yolks contain most of the nutritional “goodies:” healthful fats, lecithin, the B vitamins, as well as A, D, and K, and even omega 3 fatty acids if there is flax in the feed.  The whites have the highest quality protein of any food.

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POSTED IN Eggs | 3 Comments