Snow, cast iron and pears

Snow in Maine - duh, right?  Not this year.  We've been snow-deprived for weeks.

And then came Nemo.

This meant a snow day on Friday and over two feet of fluffy, gorgeous flakes piled outside our home in layered mountains, carved by the wind.

This also meant extra time in the kitchen to bake, cook and poke through recipes, which makes an all-around awesome weekend.  From Heidi's Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread to turkey veggie soup with homemade stock and roasted red peppers stuffed with scrambled eggs, topped with pepper jack and broiled to golden deliciousness - it's all good.  But I'm most excited about the recipe mash-up I did to create my winter upside down cake.

I am reading Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life (read it now!) and immediately tagged the recipe for fresh ginger cake with caramelized pears. I know - big surprise for those of you who know me well as ginger is one of my food obsessions.  I've also been hankering for an upside down cake made with pears in one of my cast iron skillets.  Mom's memories of her mother making pineapple upside down cake in the same cast iron skillet each time have been lingering in the waiting room of my brain for weeks.  Now that I have a few of the cast iron pieces that my Oma and Opa cooked with for decades, I have no excuse to make that upside down cake wait any longer. So I took Molly's recipe and found a few others for upside down cakes and did a real mash up.  What came out of the oven was exactly what I was looking for and it tasted heavenly!  If you love gingerbread and melted brown sugar goodness (seriously - you just said,"bring it on!" - right?), then bake this immediately and enjoy a warm slice with ice cream melting down the sides.

Even if you don't have piles of snow outside your window.

Pear Ginger Upside Down Cake with Walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a *9 inch cast iron skillet, melt:

4 T unsalted butter on low

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Stir to combine for about 4 minutes.  Then add:

2 sliced pears, firm ripe

1 cup walnuts (or a nut of your choice - pecans would be good, too)

Saute to coat and dissolve sugar - about another 5 minutes.  Watch the temperature, though so it doesn't caramelize and harden into taffy like clumps (I'm speaking from experience!).  Then turn off the heat, even out the mixture in the bottom of the pan with a spoon and turn to your cake batter.

In a small bowl, whisk:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup flax meal (you could use nut meal here as well)

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/2 t ground cardamom

In a medium bowl, whisk:

1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup unsulphured molasses

4 T melted, unsalted butter (slightly cooled)

1/4 c maple syrup

1 egg

2 T grated fresh ginger

1 t vanilla

zest of 1 orange

Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir to combine.  Pour the batter over the pear mixture in your skillet. Bake for about 35-40 until the cake springs back.  Cool in pan on rack for 3 minutes, then loosen edges, cover pan with plate and turn out cake.  Replace any pears or nuts that have stuck to the skillet.  Sprinkle the cake with 2 T dark rum.  Cool 10 more minutes and slice to serve warm with fresh whipped cream or ice cream of your choice.

*If you don't have a 9 inch cast iron skillet from Oma and Opa (or anyone else), then use a regular skillet to make the pear mixture as directed above, then scrape that into a 9 x 3 inch cake pan, pour batter on top and bake as directed.

Winter and fruit make friends

That's right - summer does not have a monopoly on fruit.

Winter is stepping up to the plate with pickled peaches, strawberry jam, flash frozen blueberries, preserved lemons, apple rhubarb chutney and my new favorite: dried fruit compote.

Picture this: plump figs, pears, cherries, dates and apricots swimming in sweet syrup turned dark from warm spices like cloves, star anise and cardamom. No extra sugar and it's a cinch to make.  Seriously - do you SEE the gorgeous figs strutting their stuff through the side of the mason jar?!

Ladle it over warm oatmeal for breakfast, thick Greek yogurt at lunch, or top with whipped cream and toasted nuts for dessert.  In fact, I would not blame you if you did all three in the same day.  

Go ahead. 
It's OK.  
It's fruit.  
It's good for you.

Dried Fruit Compote

adapted from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe 

3 cups mixed dried fruit (natural, not coated with sugar)

*whole spices 

A few strips of citrus peel, just the outer layer (I used orange and grapefruit)

Boiling water, enough to cover the fruit - about 3 cups

juice of 1 orange

Mix the fruit in a large bowl, pottery or glass work well.  Put in the whole spices and strips of citrus peel.  Pour boiling water over everything until submerged.  Put a plate on top of the bowl so the fruit can steep and stew.  After an hour or two, check to see if your fruit is plump and tender.  If so, then take out the whole herbs and citrus strips and stir in the orange juice.

Mollie suggests you serve it room temperature or chilled, but I envision it delicious warmed on ginger ice cream.  We enjoyed ours this morning on baked oatmeal with thick Greek yogurt and toasted nuts.  I intend on having more this week on various hot cereals from bulgur wheat to quinoa to steel cut oats.  With the yogurt and nuts of course.

Store your compote in jars in the refrigerator for a week or two (as long as their is enough liquid to cover the top of the fruit).  I'm going to try freezing a small jar as well.

*I used a few star anise and a tea ball filled with cloves & cardamom pods. A cheese cloth bag would've worked fine, too.  Use the spices you love.  I would've thrown in a cinnamon stick if I'd had one on hand.  Slices of fresh ginger would be nice, too.

Apples Kick Butt

Tolman Sweet
Golden Russet
Baldwin
Black Oxford
Gray Pearmain
Pumpkin Sweet

Creative color names in the latest L.L Bean catalog?

Perhaps.

But in my kitchen they are the remnants of the amazing heritage apple CSA (remember Out on a Limb from my last post?).  After incorporating my bi-monthly deliveries into everything from curry to cakes and sausage, onion & blue cheese hash to pies, I'm down to one simple favorite:

applesauce.

I love it cold on greek yogurt or ginger ice cream.

I love it warm topped with toasted walnuts.

I love it room temperature with a fresh peanut butter sandwich.

This time, I've added a bag of cranberries from Ricker Hill, the last slosh of apple cider in our frig and a few spices: Saigon cinnamon, ground cloves, and fresh ginger (a generous grating). At the end, I'll swirl in just a touch of maple syrup - I want to leave most of the sweetness up to the apples. I left the skins on as many as I could and when it's done, it will be thick and chunky - a gorgeous pinkish, scarlett color from the berries. But right now, the aroma of tangy apples and sweet spices fill the kitchen and I'm happy.  Happy to spend less time unpacking and settling into our new home and more time LIVING in our new home (my excuse for the 6 week gap in my posts - life happens).  In fact, I've been baking up a storm this weekend: chocolate cake with coconut pudding filling, peanut butter brownies with chocolate ganache, banana gingerbread snack cake - all this three days after a batch of mammoth-sized, rum kissed chocolate chip cookies.

What can I say?  I LOVE my new kitchen!

And as the temperature dips back down this week, we'll be cozy inside with our sauce.  Apples kick butt.  That's all there is to it.  So go grab your favorite fruit (apples, pears, cranberries, blueberries...) and make some sauce.  You won't be sorry.

Tarte Tatin

What better way to settle election night jitters than to pile ginger ice cream on top of a warm slice of sweet, caramely tarte tatin?!

homemade sea salt caramel in the refrigerator
at least 4 pounds of heirloom apples in my vegetable bin (thank you Out on a Limb apple CSA!)
some puff pastry and ice cream from the store

Done, done and done!

 

Here is the original recipe from delicious. magazine. (what's that? you haven't hear of this amazing British food magazine?  Go.  Go and find it now. Try Longfellow Books. Order it if you must.).  As mentioned above, I already had caramel from another recipe, so I didn't make it from scratch tonight, but it's fairly quick to make.  And don't be afraid of the flip out of the pan.  Do it over the sink in case caramel drips out.  The key is confidence and a snap of the wrist.  You can do it!

Salted Caramel Tarte Tatin

8 mid to small sized apples - tart or middle of the road, not too sweet

3/4 cup sugar

3 T water

3.5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 tsp Maine sea salt

one round of puff pastry (most boxes have 2, put the other back in the freezer)

1. *Peel, core and slice the apples in half. Don't worry if they brown on the counter because the caramel covers that up.
2. Heat an 8 inch, ovenproof skillet over low heat with the sugar and water.  Stir until sugar has melted and then turn up heat to low medium and let it bubble gently for about 5 minutes until it turns a caramel, brown color (keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn).
3. Take the caramel off the heat right away and stir in the butter (it will foam quite a bit).  Sprinkle the sea salt over the caramel and then arrange the apples, cut side up.  Trim apples to fit them in snugly as they will shrink in the oven.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Put the pan back on low/low medium for about 5 minutes. Then let it cool completely.
6. If you have a block of puff pastry, then roll it to the thickness of a quarter.  If you have a rectangle or circle then use it as is.  Place the pastry on the skillet and trim the dough to the edge of the pan.  Tuck the edges down over the apples.
7. Bake the tarte for about 30 minutes until the top is dark golden.
8. Let it cool for 5 minutes.  Then place a large plate over the top of the skillet and flip in one swift move.

Serve warm with your favorite ice cream.  Vanilla bean, coffee, ginger or coconut are all excellent choices!

*Save those peels!  Dip them in peanut butter, dehydrate them for a crisp snack, freeze them in cubes for a fun way to keep apple juice cool or steep them in boiling water with a cinnamon stick, strain and add honey for some homemade tea.

Tidbits and leftovers

Tonight we warmed up with the last two servings of a delicious, spicy butternut squash soup topped with salted pumpkin seeds in sage oil.  On the side, we slathered the last two slices of my walnut currant bread with goat cheese.  For greens, a salad with a winter personality: I massaged balsamic dressing into raw kale (yes, it was very relaxed afterwards) and added dried cranberries, oranges and toasted sunflower seeds. And finally, the last three gingerx4 cookies - 1 1/2 each with a mug of orange cinnamon tea.

Tidbits and leftovers rock.

You'll love making this soup at home.  It's tasty, it goes well with grilled cheese and it makes extra so you can freeze some for a busy night.

I saw the folks from Karmasouptra making it on 207 last month and added my own twists.  Spice it to match your tastes.  Butternut squash goes well with so many different flavors from sage to cayenne to maple.

1. Seed, peel and cube one medium butternut squash.
2. Drizzle generously with maple syrup, sprinkle with cinnamon, salt, pepper and coriander and roast on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees until tender and golden.
3. Meanwhile, in a soup pot, saute:
     1 medium diced onion
     2 medium diced carrots
     3 medium diced celery stalks
     1 T crushed red pepper (or to taste)
     salt and pepper
4. Add 1 - 2 cups of water and simmer until all veggies are tender (start with 1 cup and add more later if it's too thick).
5. Add roasted squash to pot, scraping in all the syrup, spices and juices from the pan (amazing flavor!!).  Puree with an immersion blender or ladle into a blender in batches.
6. Back in the pot, stir in 1/2 cup or so of yogurt.
7. Taste and season to your liking.

Serve with toasted, salted pumpkin seeds on top OR fresh sage OR a drizzle of olive oil and chards of gruyere.  Especially tasty when eaten with a grilled cheese on hearty multigrain bread and a mix of gruyere and cheddar cheeses.

Enjoy!

Sunday Romping, Baking & Eating

A day as sunny and beautiful as this one calls for a long romp at the beach, so we promptly packed Kia into the car and headed to Pine Point beach.  The people strolled, collected shells, wiggled toes in the sand and threw sticks into the sea.  The dog raced across the sand, charged through the waves and swam after endless sticks with boundless energy.  Now, the dog looks like this:

Today was also a day of baking.  For breakfast, we had baked oatmeal with Maine blueberries, orange zest, walnut and pecans.  Served warm and topped with cranberry or pumpkin greek yogurt from Swallowtail Farm.  For lunch, leftovers from last night's dinner.  I was inspired by 1. ) a recipe from this amazing Mediterranean cookbook by Silven Rowe:

and 2.) by the fresh veggies and breakfast sausage I snagged at the market yesterday.  I simmered brown rice and raisins in red wine, added sauteed onions, garlic, red pepper, swiss chard, fresh oregano and sausage, and then folded in a container of feta cheese.  I lined a cast iron skillet with layers of phylo dough brushed with olive oil, filled the dough with rice mixture and then layered on more dough.  I brushed the top with olive oil and browned the packet on the top of stove before putting it into the oven to bake for a bit.  It turned out quite yummy and make plenty for two more lunches.

For my weekly snacks on sale at Dunne & Roman music school in Yarmouth, I baked Maple Date Orange bars and toasted some Spicy, Sweet & Salty nuts: cashews, almonds and pumpkin seeds with chili powder, cinnamon, salt, cayenne and honey. I also baked two loaves of whole wheat bread - one filled with peanuts, honey and salt and the other with sundried tomatoes, herb olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We decided to make dinner sandwiches of the savory bread and slathered them with avocado, Kennebec Cheesery's sundried tomato & red pepper goat cheese and salad greens - delicious!

Looking for recipes from any of the meals mentioned above? Just post a comment and I'll include them in a future post!

Food IS community

When we first moved to Oppenheim, our German neighbors would walk downtown almost daily to get fresh bread from the bakery, a cut of meat from the butcher or fresh vegetables from the market for the evening meal.  Meanwhile, our refrigerator was packed with groceries from the bimonthly trip to the commissary on base.  It didn't take us long to learn from the locals, and we began to frequent the bakery up the hill for crusty loaves of dark bread, the small tavern in the square for spiced Goulash soup and the food stand on the main drag that served spiced, roasted hanchen (chicken) and pomme frites, packed into a bag piping hot for the short bike ride home.

As an adult living in southeast Maine, I, too have access to an array of delicious, local markets and food artisans.  I made my weekly visit to the Portland Farmer's Market this cool, fall morning and wound my way through the stalls of autumn vegetables, winter squash, apples, cheese, sausage and yogurt.

The market just makes me happy.

So many people coming together to share fresh, local food.
Farmers and producers sharing their passion for growing and making clean, delicious food directly with the folks eating it.
A community connecting, overlapping, mingling and interacting.
No rushing or grumbling lines.
People stop to say hello and have a conversation or to listen to the guitar music or to chat with their farmer.

That's what food is about.  It's about community, from its source to the market, to the way you prepare it with care to share with those you love.

So no matter where you find your local food, whether it's at a market, a mom & pop store, a food cart or a bakery down the street, may you find the community connected to it.

That's food worth sharing.