While sipping said amazing cocktail (and then wanting another), I realized that we never posted our favorite jam recipe. So here it is – blueberry lime jam + blueberry bramble cocktail. It’s also awesome as the filling in a coconut layer cake . . . → Read More: Blueberries for Morning and Night]]> I had planned to post a delicious way to use up all those CSA greens, but then Erik met a friend for a drink last night and I made myself a post-baby-bedtime cocktail.

While sipping said amazing cocktail (and then wanting another), I realized that we never posted our favorite jam recipe. So here it is – blueberry lime jam + blueberry bramble cocktail. It’s also awesome as the filling in a coconut layer cake or stirred into yogurt (especially homemade!). Enjoy.

NOTE: In the interest of brevity, I haven’t included detailed canning instructions. See our post on canning for more details on the canning process and safety. If you haven’t canned before, this is a good one to start with, because it’s just as good as a syrup, so you really can’t mess up on the gelling stage.

Blueberry Lime Jam

Makes about 10 quarter-pint (4 ounce) jars

Directions

1. Prepare your jars, lids, bands, and equipment.
2. Put a couple of small dishes in the freezer. You’ll see why…
3. Put all the ingredients into a big pot – the wider, the better – and boil until gelled, stirring occasionally. A wide pot will help this happen faster than a narrow one, but it could take about 20 minutes of boiling. Be careful to keep the boil under control – stirring more frequently as time goes on will help with this; sugar boils up and out of the pot quickly and can cause nasty burns.

   To test for gelling, put a teaspoon of jam on one of your freezer plates and return to the freezer for a minute or two. If you can draw a clean line through the jam after this short stint in the freezer, it’s ready. (See our vanilla rhubarb jam post for a photo)

4. Fill your jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace
5. Process for 10 minutes.

Now for the fun part – 1 ounce lemon juice, 1-2 ounces vodka or gin, 1 tablespoon jam, and finish with ice and seltzer. Mmmmmm….

Am I ever glad that fall has arrived! I know that’s a little controversial, but hear me out. First – cooler weather. Maybe not such a big deal to you gestationally normal out there, but, for me as a pregnant lady, it’s huge. Second – food!!! We’re awash in peppers, pears, corn, tomatoes, grapes, even an early pumpkin or two. Third (or maybe second-and-a-half) – cooking is fun again. This one’s obviously linked to . . . → Read More: Early Fall Roasted Chicken]]>

Am I ever glad that fall has arrived! I know that’s a little controversial, but hear me out. First – cooler weather. Maybe not such a big deal to you gestationally normal out there, but, for me as a pregnant lady, it’s huge. Second – food!!! We’re awash in peppers, pears, corn, tomatoes, grapes, even an early pumpkin or two. Third (or maybe second-and-a-half) – cooking is fun again. This one’s obviously linked to points One and Two, but there’s something about the changing seasons that reinvigorates me in the kitchen. So, whether or not you agree, hurray for fall!!

The recipe below does not actually involve any seasonal produce, but it is tasty and certainly easy. I’m not usually a huge fan of chicken dishes. I generally find them a little blah and would rather spend my budget (financial and caloric) on more satisfying fare – like duck or eggplant. However, I was watching the Cooking Channel and caught this show about a woman who has a tiny restaurant in her Parisian kitchen. She made this lavender-lemon roasted chicken and made it seem so effortless and delicious. Maybe it was the British accent and perfect red lipstick…maybe it’s a weird pregnancy craving like the cucumber ice cream, but I opened up my Amazon app in a flash and ordered her cookbook. We’ve since made quite a few recipes out of this book and have been delighted each time.

If you start with a cut-up chicken, it’s definitely a weeknight meal, but the complex tart-sweet-herbaceous flavor is truly dinner party worthy.

Sorry for the lack of photos! Totally forgot.

Lavender-Lemon Roasted Chicken

Makes about 6 servings, but it depends on the size of your chicken and your appetite

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients except for the chicken and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend.




2. Arrange the chicken pieces in a container in a (mostly) single layer. Pour the marinade over the top and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 4 hours.




3. Once the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.




4. Dump the chicken and marinade into a baking dish and sprinkle with the salt. Bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until the temperature at the thickest point is 165 degrees (or the juices run clear when you slice into the thickest part).

This was so tasty, I’d lick my plate, but I don’t have my licker license. I love you and miss you already, Grandpa!

We were fortunate to spend this weekend with a bunch of friends in NY, especially after Friday’s tragedy. It’s nice to have a chance to see people before the craze of Christmas sets in.

On Saturday, we attended a baby naming / christening, which was followed by a fun party for family and friends. The hosts told us they wanted to make punch, which seemed weird to me, since there would be older . . . → Read More: Old Favorites]]> Happy Monday!!

We were fortunate to spend this weekend with a bunch of friends in NY, especially after Friday’s tragedy. It’s nice to have a chance to see people before the craze of Christmas sets in.

On Saturday, we attended a baby naming / christening, which was followed by a fun party for family and friends. The hosts told us they wanted to make punch, which seemed weird to me, since there would be older family there. Shame on me for doubting them! It was a huge success! Everyone loved it and had fun guessing the ingredients and drinking out of the tiny cups. Here’s a link to the post about our old fashioned punch, in case you want to liven up your holiday entertaining.

Last night, we met some of my oldest friends for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants – Northern Spy Food Co. I had a delicious cauliflower soup and, of course, their kale salad. Now that we’re deep into dark leafy green season, I’m going to have to dig back into the blog archives and make our knock-off of the Northern Spy kale salad. If you’re getting a lot of kale and squash from your CSA, it’s a tasty and different way to put them to use.

For the past few Super Bowls (as well as last year’s Oktoberfest), Lindsay and I have made soft pretzels. Making them is definitely more complicated than regular baking, but not horribly so, and the results (and crowd appreciation) are worth it.

Most recipes on this blog have been modified somewhat from our original source (sometimes quite modified). This is one of the few recipes that we have made many times and never once . . . → Read More: How to Make Soft Pretzels]]>

For the past few Super Bowls (as well as last year’s Oktoberfest), Lindsay and I have made soft pretzels. Making them is definitely more complicated than regular baking, but not horribly so, and the results (and crowd appreciation) are worth it.

Most recipes on this blog have been modified somewhat from our original source (sometimes quite modified). This is one of the few recipes that we have made many times and never once tried to tweak. There is no need. It’s spot-on. It’s from our personal favorite, Alton Brown.

Equipment:

• Stand mixer (optional)
• Thermometer (Infrared or probe)
• Large bowl
• At least two half-sheet (large) baking pans
• Parchment paper
• Large pot
• Kitchen tongs
• Large, flat spatula

Yield: 8 pretzels

We have never just a “single” batch of these. We are always bringing them to a party, so we make 16 or 24. Once you get a rhythm down, it’s easy to keep going. However, you still need to work in increments of 8 pretzels. if you are using a stand mixer, such as our typical KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, and you want to double (or triple) the recipe, make the dough once (8 pretzels), get that dough rising, and then repeat. As each batch finishes rising, follow the steps to shape it into pretzels. By the time you are done shaping that batch, the rise on the next batch should be complete. Have all your pretzels shaped by the time you get to the baking soda bath.

I once tried to make a double-batch in the stand mixer without separating it into two batches and it very nearly burned out the motor. It was too much. If you have the next-level of stand mixer (the type that does not tilt up), it might have the power and capacity; maybe you can power through it.

It is also possible to knead this dough by hand, even though it’s been written assuming you are using a stand mixer. We did it by hand the first time we made them. Follow the same yeast proofing steps in a large bowl. Then mix in the flour and butter with a rubber spatula until combined, and dump the dough onto a surface that has been cleaned and floured and start kneading by hand. The good news is that if you do it by hand you can double or triple the recipe straight away and only need to knead once. You are much stronger than a stand mixer!

Note that if you double the recipe, there is no need to double the baking soda bath (i.e., you will still only need 10 cups of water and 2/3 cup of baking soda). Just keep using the same potful.

Ingredients (multiple all quantities to increase the yield):

For the baking soda bath (do not need to be multiplied):

Directions:

1. Combine the sugar and salt in the bottom of you stand mixer’s bowl. Measure out the yeast into a separate bowl.

   

2. Heat the 1.5 cups of water in the microwave for about 1 minute (time will vary according to your microwave and the type of container you are heating it in). Measure the temperature with a thermometer and make sure that it is at least 115 degrees. If it is more, then wait for the temperature to fall.

   You can use any type of thermometer that will get a reading, but an infrared (IR) thermometer comes in very handy. This is actually a piece of construction / contractor hardware and not a cooking tool, but with it you can measure the temperature of the water just by pointing it and pulling the trigger.

   

3. When the water reaches 100 – 115 degrees F, add it to the bowl. Mix to dissolve the sugar and salt into the water. Sprinkle the yeast onto the surface of the water and let it sit for 5 minutes. When the surface is foamy and a bit bubbly, it’s ready (see below)

   This step is proofing the yeast. Basically, the yeast has been dormant and you are waking it up (with the heat) and giving it its first meal (the sugar). That’s why the water temperature is important. The optimal temperature will wake the yeast, but if it’s too hot it will kill it. That’s what eventually led me to invest in the IR thermometer. Now your yeast is ready to help the dough rise.

   

4. Melt the butter in the microwave (chunk it up and microwave it for 30 – 60 seconds). Add the flour and melted butter to the bowl. Using the dough hook attachment, turn the mixer on to a low speed until everything is combined (see picture below). Then turn it up to medium and let it knead for about 3 – 5 minutes, until it has formed a ball and pulls away from the side of the bowl without sticking. You may have to stop the mixing and intervene once or twice if the dough doesn’t cooperate. Just peel it off the hook with your hands or a rubber spatula and place the blob back at the bottom of the bowl.

   

5. If you are going to double the recipe, have a separate large bowl ready. If you are making a single batch, you can just use the bowl from the stand mixer. Drizzle it / brush it with a small amount of oil and place the dough ball at the bottom of it. Cover it with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let it sit for 50 – 55 minutes, or until it doubles in size. The warmer it is, the quicker it will double, because the yeast is happier. We put ours on top of an oven burner. We don’t turn anything on, but the pilot light underneath provides a little bit of warmth.

   

Before and after the rise.

6. When the timer for the rise is about 10 minutes from going off, turn the oven to 450 degree. Line a number of half-sheet (large) baking pans with parchment paper and set aside for later. Brush the paper with a tiny bit of oil. After you shape each pretzel (see below), place it onto one of the lined pans. You should be able to fit 6 pretzels on each sheet.
7. Mix the baking soda into the 10 cups of water in a large pot. Turn the heat to high, and bring it to a boil, mixing sure to dissolve the baking soda. You will begin to notice some strange deposits forming on the pot (they look like salt water deposits). This is from the baking soda and is normal.

   

8. While you are waiting for the water to boil, clean and flour a large work surface. Once the dough is done rising, cut the dough ball into eight equal pieces.

   

9. Now for the artistic part: shaping the pretzels:
   1. Roll each piece into a rope that is 24 inches long.
   2. Make the rope into a “u”.
   3. Fold the ends back over each other.
   4. Give the center of the pretzel another half-twist, and press and pinch the ends onto the “body” to lock them in plce

   
   

10. Once you have a full sheet of shaped pretzels, you can start with the baking soda bath. This is where it helps to have two people; the shaping process + the baking soda bath process is a perfect team effort. My tools for the boiling bath are a pair of kitchen tongs and my widest spatula. Pick up one pretzel with the spatula and/or your hands and place it into the boiling pot. Leave each pretzel in the water for 30 seconds, and then carefully remove with the spatula and place back on the pan.

    My trick is that I place the pretzels into the water “upside-down”. After 15 seconds, I flip them over with the spatula and tongs and let them boil for another 15 seconds. Because they float, this ensures that both sides of the pretzel get an equal treatment. This is important because it is this process that gives the pretzels their “skin”. The baking soda (which is a base) gelatinizes starches on the surface of the dough and creates a chemical base that will brown nicely when baked. It’s the same process for bagels. You can see the difference in the picture below. the pretzel on the right has been boiled; the others have not been.

    

11. Once you have an entire sheet pan of boiled pretzels, it’s time to given them the final prep before baking. Separate an egg and put the yolk into a small bowl. Add the TBsp of water and whisk them together until beaten. Measure out a small bowl of coarse salt. If you can get “pretzel salt”, terrific, but any coarse sea salt will do. Also make sure to have a pastry brush on hand.

    Remember to double the egg wash if you are doubling the recipe. You will need it.

    

12. Brush each pretzel with the egg wash. Don’t be bashful. Get into all the nooks and crannies. Finally, sprinkle generously with the salt.

    

13. Once all the pretzels on a pan are egg-washed and salted, put them in the oven to bake for 12 – 14 minutes, until they are a dark, golden brown. When done, place them on a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

    We like to serve our pretzels with a selection of mustards, but every time the only mustard anyone wants with them is Colman’s hot English mustard. We strongly recommend it.

    

    If you want to double up and bake two pans at once, be sure to space the racks out in the oven as much as you can and to swap the pans once during baking to compensate for any temperature differences. If you are baking only one pan at a time, place the rack in the middle of the oven.

I barely know who’s playing this year. I’m just not a huge sports fan…but I do like the food tradition! if you want to speed things up, you can make this recipe from store-bought beans, sour cream, and salsa verde. Honestly,though, even making it all from scratch, most of the time it was hands-off. It just took a bit of planning to know to start the day before.

This recipe is adapted from Gena . . . → Read More: Dark Days (Super Bowl Edition): Three Layer Bean Dip]]>

I barely know who’s playing this year. I’m just not a huge sports fan…but I do like the food tradition! if you want to speed things up, you can make this recipe from store-bought beans, sour cream, and salsa verde. Honestly,though, even making it all from scratch, most of the time it was hands-off. It just took a bit of planning to know to start the day before.

This recipe is adapted from Gena at Choosing Raw. Since our food focus is local and Gena’s is vegan, it’s a little different, but the inspiration and bean dip were all her.

Three Layer Dip

Ingredients:

Directions:

Layer One:

1. Heat the oven to 450.
2. Spread the bell peppers on a lightly oiled baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stiring halfway through. They should smell delicious and be browned in spots. Note: I regretted putting these directly on the pan, because it required a LOT of elbow grease to clean up. I’d recommend lining the pan with foil first.

   

3. While the peppers are roasting, blend the rest of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, like refried beans. You might need to add a tablespoon of the bean cooking water (or regular water) to get things moving.

   

4. Let the peppers cool briefly and then add to the food processor with the beans.

   

5. Process until smooth. Taste to judge if you should add more salt and pepper and add if needed.
6. Spread in an even layer on the bottom of a 4 cup ( = 1 quart = 32 ounce) container.

Layer Two:
Spread 1 cup of sour cream (store-bought or homemade) on top of the beans. We used cream from Milk Thistle Farm and buttermilk from Tonjes Family Dairy.

Layer Three:
Spread 1 cup of salsa verde (store-bought or homemade, again) on top of the sour cream. We used salsa verde we canned this fall using green tomatoes from our friends’ garden (Thanks, Brian and Mary!) and peppers from Oak Grove Plantation.

Serve with chips and veggies. We used yellow, orange, and purple carrots (from Paffenroth Gardens), watermelon radishes, and gilfeather rutabagas (both from Windfall Farms).

Part of the book is a history lesson on the invention, evolution, and role . . . → Read More: How to Make Old-Fashioned Punch]]>

In a few weeks, a good friend of mine is taking his wife and kids and moving to Paris for work. Lindsay and I have decided to throw them a going away party. We were on a quest to fund something fun to serve, and we came across this terrific book: Punch, which is where we got this recipe.

Part of the book is a history lesson on the invention, evolution, and role of punch through to its decline in the late 19th century. Part of it is about general techniques for making punch. The rest of it is punch recipes for any occasion. Since my friends are moving to France, we wanted to make a Champagne punch.

The problem is that when you read the recipe, it doesn’t sound all that appealing. We were really taking it on faith that mixing wine, tea, hard liquor and Champagne would result in something drinkable.

Actually, we didn’t taking it on faith. Before making a full party-sized bowl and spending an ungodly amount of money on alcohol, we made a smaller trial batch and had a few friends over to test. Since it was a more leisurely day than the party will be, we decided to take pictures.

Sure, it has nothing to do with cooking techniques or seasonal eating, but it does seem to fit in because it’s such a throwback. We strive to eat foods that were grown and raised in the same manner that they were prior to industrialized agriculture. Why not try to party the way people did in the 18th and 19th centuries?

The results were actually pretty spectacular. The punch was tasty, but light and fizzy, and it packed a punch.

Lindsay bought a real punch bowl for cheap on Etsy that came with 12 tiny glasses. That’s the best thing about punch: how social it is. The book talks about how punch declined in the face of the individualized and personalized cocktail. Isn’t that the nature of modern society? The individual over the community?

With punch, everyone is drinking the same thing, from small glasses, and inevitably everyone mixes around the punch bowl. It’s fun. We would definitely recommend it for any party, especially if you are hosting, since it’s one of those great “you can do it all before the party” tricks that allows you to enjoy yourself.

Daniel Webster’s Punch

This recipe is scaled for our smaller “test bowl”. As written in the book, everything is doubled, except for the Champagne. We intended to use only half the bottle, but then we realized it was best to just use it up anyway and keep the bowl topped off with bubbles.

Ingredients:

• 6 Lemons
• 1 cup of raw sugar (e.g., turbinado or demerara)
• 2 tea bags of black tea (e.g., Earl Grey)
• 1 pineapple-worth of 1/2 inch pineapple rings
• 1 pint of cored strawberries
• 375 ml (one small bottle) of cognac
• 375 ml (one small bottle) of dark Jamaican rum
• 375 ml (one half of a 750 ml bottle) of oloroso (cream) sherry
• 750 ml (one bottle) of Bordeaux or similar red wine
• 750 ml (one bottle) of Champagne or sparkling white wine

Directions:

1. Carefully peel each lemon. It’s best if you can manage to peel each one in a single, long spiral. Try to leave as much of the white pith on the lemon as possible and remove just the yellow of the peel.

   

2. Place the peels in a glass bowl and pour in the sugar. Use a wooden spoon to thoroughly mash the sugar into the peels. Mix and repeat, mix and repeat for at least 5 minutes. You want to thoroughly macerate the peels with the sugar to draw the lemon oil out into the sugar. When you are done (when you get tired of doing it), set the bowl aside and let it sit for an hour.

   

3. When the hour is almost up, bring some water to a boil and pour 1 cup of the boiling water into a cup or mug containing 2 bags of black tea, such as Earl Grey. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then remove the tea bags.

   While the tea is steeping, juice enough of the peeled lemons to get 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. Strain the lemon juice to get rid of any pulp or seeds.

   Once both of the above are done, pour the tea and lemon juice into the bowl with the sugared lemon peels. Stir with the wooden spoon until the sugar on the lemon peels completely dissolves into the liquid. Once there is no sugar visible, remove the peels with a pair of tongs and set aside.

   This is why it is helpful to have peeled the lemons into single strips. If your peeling resulted in smaller pieces, you can either fish for them with the tongs or strain the mixture.

   

   You can discard the lemon peels at this point, but Lindsay had the bright idea to make them into candied lemon peels (since they are half way there already). That will have to wait for another post, but check out the results below. We’ve .added them to cookies and eaten them straight-away as snacks. Brilliant re-use!

   

4. Transfer the liquid to a glass bowl or jug that is large enough to hold all of the ingredients. This could be your final serving bowl if you like. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the Champagne (cognac, rum, sherry, wine, and fruit). Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

   

5. After the hour, transfer to your serving bowl. Add a large amount of ice (about the size of a softball or bowling ball). It would be smarter to put the ice in the bowl first and pour the punch over the ice, so that you don’t send drops of wine flying in every direction the way that I did. Top with half the bottle of Champagne. When the bowl is halfway down, top it off again with the other half of the bottle. Ladle into tiny glasses to serve.

   

6. Watch the bowl go from full, to half-full, to empty in what seems like no time flat!