This meal was not really local at all, but instead of hiding our non-local . . . → Read More: The Doldrums]]> If local food folks call winter the “Dark Days”, I’m going to call spring the “Doldrums”. Stagnation, indeed! Watch out, strawberries and lettuce! I’m going to snap you up in a couple of weeks. For now, I’m thankful to have several places to by fresh, quality food, and for the skills and time to cook, so I won’t complain too much.

This meal was not really local at all, but instead of hiding our non-local eating and then forgetting to post this recipe later, I’m just going to post it now. I hope you forgive me once you try it. It’s easy peasy and delish, combining several of my favorite things – greens, soft-cooked eggs, yogurt, and butter. Mmmmmmmm! It does take a little more time than your usual egg dish (roughly 30 minutes), because the eggs bake in the oven, but you can just set a timer and then go on with your business.

Look at those yolks!! We only took one photo, because the yogurt and butter totally covered the eggs and greens making for a pretty unappetizing picture. Yummy yummy in my tummy, though!

This recipe is minimally adapted from Plenty to use ingredients we generally have on hand.

Baked Eggs with Arugula and Yogurt

Makes 2 servings

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. I used our 12-inch cast iron skillet. Add the arugula (and maybe spinach) and a pinch of salt and saute for 5-10 minutes or until the greens wilt and there’s a puddle of liquid in the pan.
3. Transfer the greens to a small oven-proof dish using tongs to squeeze some of the water out. Leave that puddle of liquid behind on the pan. Create 2-4 divots in the greens and crack an egg into each. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until the whites are white (not clear). The baking time will depend on the size of your eggs.
4. While the eggs are baking, mix the yogurt and finely minced garlic together with a pinch of salt. Although I don’t love my garlic press, this is a good time to bring it out, so that there aren’t any large pieces of garlic. A good knife job will work just as well, though.
5. After the yogurt is mixed up, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the dried chiles, sweet paprika, sage (which I cut with a kitchen scissor right into the pan), and a pinch of salt. Let it all fry for a minute or two, then turn off the heat.
6. Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove them from the oven and divide among two plates or bowls. Top with the yogurt and drizzle with the butter sauce. Dig in with a spoon, fork, or generous slice of crusty bread.

We’ve finally dug out of the snow and are starting to normalcy. We actually had a lovely weekend! Erik and I both got home in plenty of time on Friday afternoon to hunker down. Our neighbors across the street had a blizzard block party, so we spent Friday night pretty much ignoring the blizzard in favor of drinks and games. When we headed home around midnight, the streets had completely vanished and we waded . . . → Read More: Surviving Nemo + Blizzard Pancakes]]>

We’ve finally dug out of the snow and are starting to normalcy. We actually had a lovely weekend! Erik and I both got home in plenty of time on Friday afternoon to hunker down. Our neighbors across the street had a blizzard block party, so we spent Friday night pretty much ignoring the blizzard in favor of drinks and games. When we headed home around midnight, the streets had completely vanished and we waded home through at least two feet of snow.

When we woke up on Saturday, our little cul de sac had filled with more than three feet of snow and the wind was still howling, so we had a lovely breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup, cherry syrup, and bacon. The pancakes were cakey and fortifying enough for the hour or two of shoveling that followed. Luckily, our great neighbors came out at the same time, so we attacked the snow as a unified force.

That evening, with public transportation still shut down, we bundled up and walked a mile and half over minimally plowed roads to our friends’ house for a fantastic dinner. They made lamb shanks, mashed potatoes, and kale. Just the kind of roaring fire, cashmere sweater, warm slippers kind of food we needed after that walk. They topped it off with a delicious cake, ice cream, and homemade chocolate sauce. Once we were warmed to our toes with food and conversation, we layered up again and hiked back home.

This morning, we slept incredibly late. I guess all that fresh air tuckered us out! Not a bad way to end a very strangely enjoyable weekend. Tomorrow, we’ll get back to real life, I suppose.

If you make these pancakes by weight, it’ll be faster and you’ll have less to clean up, which is particularly nice on a lazy weekend morning. I’ve included the volumetric measurements, in case you don’t have a scale.

Blizzard Pancakes

Makes 10 medium pancakes

Directions

1. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly.
2. Combine the rest of the liquid ingredients (i.e. not the flours and baking soda) in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the melted butter.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flours and baking soda.
4. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and give it a little slick of oil. If you happened to make bacon that morning, as we did, the bacon drippings work really well.
6. Put a sheet pan in the oven and preheat it to 200 degrees. Unless you have a big griddle, you’ll probably have to cook your pancakes in batches. Too keep them warm, stick them on the sheet pan and cover them with a towel. They’ll stay warm and won’t dry out.
7. Once the pan is hot (a few drops of water will sizzle and skip), drop 1/4 cup portions of batter onto the pan. Cook until bubbles appear around the edges, then flip and cook for a few minutes more. My stove doesn’t heat evenly, so I give the pancakes a 180-degree turn midway through cooking each side. This gives them a more even color, but is only necessary if you’re a little bit of a perfectionist and have a wonky stove.
8. Repeat with the rest of the batter and eat a stack wearing pajamas curled up on the couch.

Dad! Don’t read this post until Sunday!

My dad has many amazing qualities. He can make a game out of anything – including rolled up socks, the packing material from our new blinds, and a big bucket leftover from some construction project. Incidentally, bucket rides also illuminated one of my mom’s best qualities – trusting that her husband wouldn’t put her kids in the hospital and letting us have some crazy fun.

Dad . . . → Read More: Father’s Day Breakfast Idea: How to Make Homemade Pop Tarts]]>

Dad! Don’t read this post until Sunday!

My dad has many amazing qualities. He can make a game out of anything – including rolled up socks, the packing material from our new blinds, and a big bucket leftover from some construction project. Incidentally, bucket rides also illuminated one of my mom’s best qualities – trusting that her husband wouldn’t put her kids in the hospital and letting us have some crazy fun.

Dad will also support me no matter what – even if it’s listening to me hyperventalate on the phone because I spotted a mouse in my first solo apartment or eating a weird vegetarian meal I cook for him. Oh sure, he’ll eat kale for breakfast to make me feel good, but what does he really want? PopTarts and Diet Pepsi. If you were ever in his car before he retired, you know what I mean. Crumbs and cans galore! Might not be Wheaties, but it’s certainly the breakfast of one of my biggest champions.

So for Fathers’ Day 2012, I give you bacon and jam toaster tarts. Make them for the dad in your life or for yourself, just cuz it’s Sunday and breakfast should be fun sometimes. I froze these and then sent them overnight. Just take one out of the freezer and pop it in the toaster, Dad. Love you!!

Some quick notes on the recipe…First, the dough is almost exactly the same as my standard pie crust with extra salt and sugar for flavor. I also added a splash of vinegar to the water on the advice of my friend Mike, who says it will lend extra flakiness. Second, this is a great way to use up some of last year’s lingering jams. Nothing on the larder shelves caught my fancy, so I made a quick strawberry rhubarb jam from what I had around. Store-bought jam is just fine, too.

Fathers’ Day Toaster Tarts

Makes 10 tarts

Directions

1. Follow these directions to make dough for a double crust pie, adding the vinegar to the ice water and the sugar and salt to the dry ingredients. After you’ve put the dough in the refrigerator, come back to this recipe.
2. While the dough is chilling, make the icing by combining the confectioners’ sugar with 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk until smooth.
3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. To roll the dough, you need a decent amount of space. We’re aiming for a rectangle that’s 15 inches on one side and 8 inches on the other, so you’ll need to roll your dough a little bit larger to account for uneven edges. Find your counter, clean it, and lightly flour it. Keep some flour on hand for the rolling process.
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. Take one of the dough halves out of the refrigerator. Prepare your filling, so that it’s ready to do when the dough is. Beat the egg and have a pastry brush nearby. If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can use your fingers, but it’s slower.
7. Now, roll out the dough carefully. This is one of those situations when it really helps to be a bit nuts about neatness. Do your best to keep it in a rectangle twice as long on one side as the other. I use a bench scraper to push the ragged edges flat and to help me flip the dough around every few rolls, so that it doesn’t stick to the counter. Use that flour when you need it.
8. Once your dough is large enough, use a ruler and a thin knife to measure and cut a 15-inch by 8-inch rectangle. Don’t worry about moving it yet.
9. Along each of the 15-inch sides, make a little mark with the knife every three inches. Use the ruler and the knife to connect the marks, so that you now have five long rectangles (8 inches by 3 inches). Again, don’t move anything.



10. Using the pastry brush, paint all the edges with egg wash.



11. Place about a teaspoon of filling on one the end of a rectangle. Fold the dough in half to cover the filling and transfer the tart to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining four tarts.



12. Seal the edges of each tart with your fingers, then use the tines of a fork to crimp them. Poke a few holes in the top of each tart with the fork.



13. Brush or drizzle some icing over each tart. Don’t worry about being too neat. You won’t notice once they’re baked.



14. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly brown. Just like the real thing, you will finish these in the toaster. If you want to eat them immediately, bake them for about 10 minutes longer.



15. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The final week of the Dark Days Challenge is focused on breakfast. We’ve done a bunch of breakfast posts, so we were a bit stumped. I wanted to do another baked good, but didn’t want to split two dozen muffins or a whole coffee cake with Erik over the next two days. Yogurt and granola parfait with strawberries? I just couldn’t decide. So then I forgot all about it… ….until this morning. I was . . . → Read More: Dark Days Challenge: Breakfast]]>

The final week of the Dark Days Challenge is focused on breakfast. We’ve done a bunch of breakfast posts, so we were a bit stumped.

I wanted to do another baked good, but didn’t want to split two dozen muffins or a whole coffee cake with Erik over the next two days.

Yogurt and granola parfait with strawberries? I just couldn’t decide. So then I forgot all about it…

….until this morning. I was out for a run in the beautiful almost-spring weather and remembered. Dang it! So here’s what I had for breakfast – two poached eggs on leftover mixed green salad with sunflower thyme pesto. Completely local, but maybe not breakfast-y enough for some people. It totally hit the spot for me, though. Maybe I’ll have a muffin for lunch to even things out.

In honor of International Waffle Day (March 25th), Lindsay and I made waffles for breakfast this past weekend (we’ll be out of town on the 25th). It was difficult to choose which recipe to make. I am a bit of a waffle enthusiast, and have made excellent yeast waffles, half whole-wheat waffles, hazelnut waffles, bacon brown sugar, and Liege waffles. That’s before even talking about the toppings. In the end, based on what we . . . → Read More: How to Make Local Oat Waffles]]>

In honor of International Waffle Day (March 25th), Lindsay and I made waffles for breakfast this past weekend (we’ll be out of town on the 25th). It was difficult to choose which recipe to make. I am a bit of a waffle enthusiast, and have made excellent yeast waffles, half whole-wheat waffles, hazelnut waffles, bacon brown sugar, and Liege waffles. That’s before even talking about the toppings. In the end, based on what we had on-hand and the fact that it was the most “local” recipe for posting, we decided to make oat waffles.

Local Oat Waffles

Makes 5-6 waffles

Directions

1. As Alton Brown always reminds us, in baking, it’s always preferable to measure your major dry ingredients (i.e., the flour) by weight. Variations in humidity and grind density can throw you off if you measure by volume (e.g., cups), and having too much or too little flour can have a big impact. Waffles are baked, so the raw oats and the flour listed above are by ounces by weight.

   

2. Place a saute pan over medium heat. Once it’s nice and hot hot, add the raw oats and toast them for about 5 minutes (until you can smell them getting toasty). Give them a second to cool off, and then grind them in a food processor. Pulse until you get more or less to the consistency of coarse flour.

   

3. In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients (AP flour, oat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda). Whisk until everything is combined evenly.
4. Melt the butter in the microwave. Time will vary depending on the microwave, but start with increments of 15-20 seconds. You want it melted but not dried out. Let the butter cool for a minute and beat the eggs in a medium bowl (it will need to be able to contain the buttermilk), then beat in the butter. Whisk in the buttermilk last. We did not have any buttermilk, local or otherwise, so we used 1 cups of our homemade yogurt mixed with 1 cups of low-fat milk (all from milk from Shaw Farm). It worked as a substitution, but wasn’t perfect, so get buttermilk if you can.
5. The skill in making waffles is in combing the two bowls that you now have: dry ingredients and wet ingredients. The key is to fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients using a rubber spatule. DO NOT WHISK OR ZEALOUSLY STIR. Pour the wet ingredients onto the top of the dry ingredients.

   Then, in one fluid motion, use the spatula to cut a line down the middle of the bowl and turn your wrist to bring the bottom contents of one-half of the bowl to the top. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn and do it again. Repeat until most of the pockets of dry flour are gone.

   Don’t overdo it,though. You do not want a perfectly consistent mixture. There will still be a few pockets of dry ingredients as well as lumps in the batter. That’s fine. The risk here is over-mixing, so err on the side of lumpy (see below). Turn on your waffle iron and let the batter rest in the bowl for 5 minutes. Also take you maple syrup out of the fridge so that it can get a little warmed up.

   

6. Make your waffles according to your waffle iron’s instructions. Measuring the amount of batter for each waffle is the hard part, and each waffle iron is different, so I can’t help you. I have a large ladle that I know more or less matches the batter volume of one waffle, so that’s a big help.



]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2012/03/19/how-to-make-local-oat-waffles/feed/ 0 http://eatlocal365.com/2012/01/17/somervilles-own-taza-chocolate/ http://eatlocal365.com/2012/01/17/somervilles-own-taza-chocolate/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:31:37 +0000 Lindsay http://eatlocal365.com/?p=4886 My parents came to visit in December and it was so so cold. My plans of wandering around the city were squashed. We didn’t even want to walk to the nearest bus stop. But d’y'know what’s nearer than the nearest bus stop? A CHOCOLATE FACTORY! For serious. Where’s the closest place to get a snack? A CHOCOLATE FACTORY! Yeah, that’s how we roll.

Taza Chocolate makes really SOLE-ful chocolate, if you’ll allow me that somewhat . . . → Read More: Somerville’s Own Taza Chocolate]]> My parents came to visit in December and it was so so cold. My plans of wandering around the city were squashed. We didn’t even want to walk to the nearest bus stop. But d’y'know what’s nearer than the nearest bus stop? A CHOCOLATE FACTORY! For serious. Where’s the closest place to get a snack? A CHOCOLATE FACTORY! Yeah, that’s how we roll.

Taza Chocolate makes really SOLE-ful chocolate, if you’ll allow me that somewhat over-used acronym. Beyond Fair Trade, Taza Chocolate is “Direct Trade” certified, which adheres to the following principles:

1. We work exclusively with certified organic cacao farms that practice sustainable agricultural methods.
2. We pay a premium of at least 500 US dollars per metric ton above the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) price on the date of invoice to the producers of our cacao beans for high quality cacao with 95 percent fermentation rates or more and dried to 7 percent moisture or less.
3. We physically visit each cacao producer or producer group at least once a year to build long-term, sustainable relationships.
4. We only buy cacao from producers using fair and humane work practices.
5. We never purchase cacao from producers engaging in child or slave labor.

Source: Taza Chocolate website

Their chocolate is Mexican-style, which has a nice gritty quality and really fruity flavor. “Gritty” might not be something you think you want in chocolate, but it’s pretty tasty. The straight-up chocolate is great, but my favorite part of Taza is all the crazy stuff, like salt and pepper hot chocolate discs. Or chocolate-covered ginger. Mmmmm….

They also make roasted cacao nibs, which are a great nut substitute. They definitely have a chocolate flavor, but it’s much subtler than chocolate chips. We remade these cranberry muffins substituting 3/4 cup of nibs for the carrots. Wicked! (I’m really becoming a Bay Stater, now, huh?)

If you want more info and live in the area, you should definitely check out their factory tour. Gena at Choosing Raw just wrote a post on them, too, so check out her site for another take on the greatness of Taza. If only they were still open, so that I could swing by for a snack…



]]> http://eatlocal365.com/2012/01/17/somervilles-own-taza-chocolate/feed/ 10 http://eatlocal365.com/2011/12/18/dark-days-challenge-week-3-cranberry-carrot-muffins/ http://eatlocal365.com/2011/12/18/dark-days-challenge-week-3-cranberry-carrot-muffins/#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:09:00 +0000 Lindsay http://eatlocal365.com/?p=4754 Happy Sunday to you all! My parents are visiting for the weekend, so we had a lazy morning. After a huge feast last night of braised chicken and parsnips, a riff on this macaroni and cheese, and a kale salad with toasted almonds and dried cherries, we only needed a nibble for breakfast. Muffins!

About two weeks ago, we ordered a five-pound box of fresh cranberries from Cape Cod Select. Take a look at that . . . → Read More: Dark Days Challenge Week 3: Cranberry-Carrot Muffins]]> Happy Sunday to you all! My parents are visiting for the weekend, so we had a lazy morning. After a huge feast last night of braised chicken and parsnips, a riff on this macaroni and cheese, and a kale salad with toasted almonds and dried cherries, we only needed a nibble for breakfast. Muffins!

About two weeks ago, we ordered a five-pound box of fresh cranberries from Cape Cod Select. Take a look at that great box!



We used most of them for canning – whole berry sauce, relish with oranges and walnuts (no mint), and pickled cranberries…



… but had about 2 cups sitting in the refrigerator. We also had a TON of carrots. Why? I don’t know. I probably planned to use them in some grand scheme, so bought some at the farmers’ market, and then got some more from the CSA, and it just got out of control.

For a random muffin based loosely on a Mark Bittman recipe, these turned out really really well. Just sweet enough, but with a tart bite every now and then. The texture is great, too. I don’t usually like coffee shop muffins, because they’re too dense, but these are moist without being heavy. If I do say so myself…



Cranberry-Carrot Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Where we bought it
2 cups	All-purpose flour		Cayuga Pure Organics
1 1/2 tsp	Baking powder
1/2 tsp	Baking soda
1 tsp	Salt
1/2 tsp	Cinnamon
4 TBsp	Butter	Cut into 1/2-inch cubes or smaller	Kate’s Homemade
1 cup	Maple syrup		Cooks Farm and Bakery
1	Egg		Red Fire Farm
1 cup	Fresh cranberries		Cape Cod Select
1 cup	Carrot	Grated and lightly packed	Red Fire Farm

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Add the butter pieces to the dry ingredients and use your fingers to rub the butter through the flour mixture. Keep smooshing until the butter is pretty evenly dispersed and all the chunks are pea-sized or smaller.
4. Whisk together the maple syrup and egg.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the flour/butter mixture and whisk until just barely combined.
6. Gently fold in the cranberries and grated carrot. You’ll probably have to switch from the whisk to a spoon or spatula, but use as few strokes as possible to avoid developing gluten, the protein that makes bread nice and chewy, but muffins tough.
7. Fill each muffin cup with a scant (i.e. not quite full) 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a thin knife or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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