It looks like the Eat The View Campaign is a success. Alice Waters played a role too, Thanks for your open letter. It’s nice to see this in the general news.
It is amazing the buss there is about recession gardens right now! Just Google Recession Garden’s and see what you get. Also here’s another kitchen garden type blog called The Slow Cook. Enjoy.
Flat Stanley has come to visit our house! I had no idea he could cook. He made some great pasta. And he can eat too. I wonder if he does house work?
We made little quiches in this great miniature muffin pan. Really simple.
Ingredient:
Crusts
6oz package cream cheese soft.
1 C butter
2 C Flour
Filling
about 5 oz broccoli diced (small) and steamed)
1/2 small onion diced and caramelized
1/4 favorite cheese finely shredded
3 eggs
1/2 C half & half
1 tsp salt
Combine cream cheese, butter and flour in mixing bowl. Blend well. Chill dough.
Shape into 24 (1-inch) balls. Place in ungreased tiny muffin pans. Press dough against bottom and sides. Drain broccoli.
Into each cup, spoon about 1 teaspoon broccoli and top with some cheese.
In a small bowl, mix cream, eggs, salt . Spoon about 1 teaspoon of egg mixture into each cup. Sprinkle extra cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Yield: 24 quiches.
I also made Dill Cream Cheese Cucumber Tea Sandwiches.
I took two loaves of plain white bread. I mixed about 4 to 6 TBSP pf chopped fresh dill with one 6 oz package softened cream cheese. I used about two skinned cucumbers sliced thin. (Yes some of these items weren’t local but I appreciate the convenience of California veggies.) Then I just assembly lined it. Layed out the bread, spread the cream cheese mixture on then layered the cucumbers on. Added the top and cut off the crust. Each sandwich was cut into four square. Made at least 24 sandwiches.
I failed to get a picture of the cake balls but they are easy. Just head on over to The Pioneer Woman and Bakerella. These are great blogs! The links are Halloween related but you can imagine the possibilities. Be warned this could be a time sucking link.
I also made individual cakes for all the kids. I justed use a jumbo sized muffin tin and turned them over and covered then with the fondant. I used gel frosting to docorate and whala. BK wore her princess dress all day. She definately played Bell of the Ball very well.
We have spent the past weekend and a day or two before preparing for BK Birthday bash. I have to say it was fun but I am glad it is done. 12 kids in the house is a lot!
BK requested a Tea Party for her birthday. Here’ is the menu: baby quiches, Tea Sandwiches, Veggie Platter, and Meatballs as the first course. It was followed by two kinds of cake balls and individual cakes for the youg guest. Of course we also had beverages including tea. the finger foods were great fun for the kids and it made for easy clean-up.
So stay tuned for more to come. If your wondering about those cake balls I will point you in the right direction.
I found a great new product that is made locally here in Santa Fe. It’s called Super Human Granola. It’s a little pricey but man is it yummy!
The granola is a mix of dried fruit, almonds, oats, millet, flax, maple syrup and more. It is sweet but not too sweet with just a hint of saltiness. I had to take the bag away from my kids so they wouldn’t eat the whole thing in one sitting.
You can buy it at the La Montana Coop here in Santa Fe or through there website www.superhumangranola.com. I highly recommend it.
Today was my daughters birthday. I made here this great cake with fondant decorations on it.
Fondant is pretty easy to make with marshmallows and powdered sugar.
You need one pound bag of marshmallows. Minis or regular is fine. You also need some butter and a bag of powdered sugar.
If you plan on makeing colored fondant you will also need food coloring.
First make your cake. I chose chocolate. You then need to put a light coat of butter cream frosting on your cake.
Butter cream is pretty easy to make. For a small batch you need one stick butter (1/2 C), 1/4 C milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 4 C powder sugar. Mix all ingredients until creamy.
The cake will be easier to frost if you chill it first. After the cake is chilled frost it with a smooth layer of butter cream. This is what your fondant will stick to. Chill the cake again. You will be able to even the frosting out after it is chilled if you need to.
To make the fondant spread butter on your work surface and pour about half the bag of powdered sugar on it. Pour the marshmallows into a microwave safe bowl that has been greased with butter. Heat the marshmallows until completely melted. Make sure to stop the microwave every 30 seconds or so and stir them. They will be completely melted and puffy when done.
Pour the melted marshmallows onto the powdered sugar and knead the powdered sugar in. Keep adding powdered sugar until you have a nice dough. You will need to cover you hands with sugar as well in order to avoid the dough sticking. When you are finished refrigerate the fondant overnight or until firm.
When you are ready to use your fondant warm it up in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute to warm it up. To add colors just add food coloring and knead it in. (Make sure you grease the table and/or coat it with powder sugar to prevent sticking.)
The measure your cake diameter and height to figure out how big you need to roll out the fondant. I roll mine an inch biger to make sure I have enough. Lightly brush water onto the cake before covering it with fondant. Transfer the fondant to the cake and gently work the sides down stretching it slightly to avoid creases in the sides.
After that you free to play with the decorations. The fondant is like clay or Fimo and can be molded into just about anything. There are lots of videos out there on making and decorating with fondant just search the web. Most of all be creative. Don’t be afraid to fail and you can do just about anything with a cake.
So I am finished with my garden planning. At least for now. It’s always changing. Here’s what I have decided to plant.
Winter Squash (Delica and Carnival)
Zuchinni
Brandywine Tomatos
Mexican Midget Tomatos
Tomatillos
Corn
Cantalope
Anaheim Pepper
Watermelon
Sweet Peppers
Basil
Mint
Lettus
Chard
Parsnips
Carrots
Radishes
Beets
Cilantro
Dill
Leeks
Scallions
Texas Onions
Eggplant
Soybeans (edamame)
Sunflowers
Peas
Pole Beans
I have 170 sq ft of garden space. Four 8 x4 beds and two 3 x 7 beds next to the south house wall. The wall serves as a great heat catch and I plan to try some four season gardening there this year. I’d also like to plant some berry bushes this year along with some patatos but we will see what the finances look like as we go along.
So far I have invested $95 in the four 4 x 8 beds and $65 in seeds and starting supplies. I am going to try starting some seeds this year as well. There is a great little video on the basics of seed starting over at OG.
The last frost here is generally around May 15th but that depends on your elevations and your yard (slope, sun, etc.). I have figured out which plants I want to start inside when so that I will have plants to out in the garden in May. Different plants have different needs so make sure you read the labels. Some need to be soaked or scratched.
I am going to try some experimenting with different plants that aren’t necessarily normally started indoors. Since I live at high elevation with cool night temps there are some plants that are harder to grow from seed. So check back and I will fill you in on my successes and follies.
OMG, Comfort Food! Who doesn’t love Lasagna?
Lasagna is a great local meal for the cold months when fresh veggies are harder to come buy.
It’s a basic recipe.
1 lb ground meat ( I used Elk)
3 different cheeses ( I used Mozzarella, Cheddar and Feta) Ricotta is good too
Pasta sauce or canned if you have some from your garden.
Lasagna Noodles ( I used about 3/4 of a package)
Favorite Italian Spices (basil is great if you have some dried or fresh)
Basically just layer ingredients, noodles, sauce, meat cheese and repeat about three times. Bake at 425 F until brown and bubbly. I like to use my skillet to bake in but any shallow dish or pan will work.
This one is one of my kids favorites.
OK so I decided to give the no-knead bread another chance this time I tried a slightly different recipe that didn’t involve a covered container.
This recipe was basically the same except instead of using a contain to keep moisture in I used water in the oven. The basic recipe can be found at Gardens by the Lake and is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
I like the idea of just making a big batch for the refrigerator and tear chunks off during the week as you need them. My first try resulted in a very flat loaf so I decided to use this cake pan with the bottom popped out to contain the shape.
Of course you have to bring the dough to room temperature. But this is pretty easily accomplished by setting it on top of the stove while you preheat.
When you first put the bread in at 450 F you also add two cups of water to a broiler pan on the bottom shelf. I cooked it at this temperature for 30 minutes and then lowered the temp to 350 F for another hour. I could seem to get the bread up to an internal temperature of 210 F. I only achieve 200 F but this resulted in a moist loaf that was still great. At least not sticky enough to stick to the knife.
I while this is a great way to make quick bread and results in a great crust. I have decided that I prefer the old fashion method for the resulting bread quality. I am going to try some more of the recipes over at A Year in Bread.
I’ll keep you posted.
So now you know. I would love to eat something from Momofuku! The simple pleasures of good food. Check the other great info and videos over ant eatmedaily.com
This year we decided to put in raised beds. I was very please with the soil and double dug it since I wouldn’t be doing that again. B was quick to pitch in but its had to shovel when you have no weight to put into it. BK was eager to help too but didn’t get to far with the hand trowel. Daddy rabbit was the construction contractor with his crew of chickens. Luckily they work for worms and thought that this was all for them. We had to break for lunch union rules. I thought BK was going to smack B a good one when he got too close to her gelato! All in all it was a good days work. All we need to do is add more soil and compost and we will be ready to plant. Now to get those seeds started.
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