Since I essentially hoarded last week’s haul (I just roasted the potimarron, and it will become pie very shortly) I didn’t have much of interest to report.  The kiwis – about a dozen of them – made a delicious breakfast on the train down to Torino, scooped from their fuzzy skins with tiny plastic spoons.

Anyhow, this week I’ve got a lot to work with.  The cabbage will be braised, probably with some smoky Alsatian sausages to make a quick choucroute-like dish, one of my winter staple meals.  I’ll probably throw the turnips in there, too.  I’m thinking the (sandy, but tasty – I munched one as a snack while taking photos this afternoon) carrots could become a quick Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvre.  If only I had some ranch dressing handy.  Maybe bleu cheese?  Speaking of, I think the apples will be wonderful sliced with crumbles of gorgonzola picante… or smears of gorgonzola dolce.  Now there’s a Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvre idea.

The mâche I’m eating tonight, alongside a sausage and fontina pizza (guess what I bought in Italy?), and the other lettuce will provide welcome salad respite from the rest of the week’s heavy eating.

Originally published on Seasonal Market Menus.

Sometimes you get lucky you get to whip up something quick with whatever’s about to be thrown out from the fridge. Yes, I hate to waste anything. Luckily, the challenge of coming up with a killer dish from whatever’s left over from the week before intensifies my hunger even more. Makes me feel like a mini Iron Chef, even.

Except for the orzo, everything in here is leftover stuff. And they just happened to be the perfect combination for a delightful dish that I will definitely be making again and again, in the (near) future.

But for now… let’s savor the prototype, shall we?

The sun-dried tomatoes I used here are the dry ones. So, I needed to rehydrate them in hot water for about 20 minutes or so. If you have one in a bottle soaked in oil, you can skip this part.

Ingredients: Orzo, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Grapes, Garlic, Mache, Olive Oil, Fresh Parsley, Red Pepper Flakes

Directions: Cook orzo to al dente, as directed in package. Meanwhile, in a medium-low heated pan, sweat a few pieces of julienned sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (its own, if possible) along with some minced or chopped garlic and a dash of red pepper flakes. Stir until garlic starts to brown a little. Make sure not to burn the garlic. When orzo is cooked, drain using a strainer and transfer to the pan. Add chopped parsley and grapes and mix thoroughly. Serve on a plate and garnish with as much mache as you want. This is one garnish you want to have more of, trust me.

Ever since I found out about mache, I’ve been using it a lot. Seriously, I like this better than spinach. And mind you, I love love love spinach! But the mache’s flavor is so versatile and mild you can use it in pretty much everything from salads to soups to plain munching it by itself. Heck, it’s even pretty enough to use for garnish!

Here’s a salad I made for lunch today with simple ingredients like grapes, black walnuts and leftover sausage pieces. It’s very good with a fruit based dressing. I ran out of mango dressing so I used raspberry vinaigrette on this one.

Also, as you notice in the photo, I added some blackberries but found it to be unnecessary since it was hopelessly competing  with the grapes whose flavor is overpowering. It looks pretty but I would omit the berries next time and simply let the grapes shine (and compliment the mache) on their own.

Ingredients: Mache Rosettes (or baby spinach, if you can’t find any), Grapes, Black Walnuts, Diced Leftover Meat (optional), Fruit-Based Dressing, Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions: In a salad bowl, coat mache rosettes with dressing and a little ground pepper. Transfer to a serving plate and top with everything else.

Well, the Food Network magazine has done it again. This was AWESOME. Toby said several times how great it was, and then he said “This is in your top 10 of best meals EVER.” Ever! I had my doubts about this. I wondered how in the world the portobello cap was going to cook in 25 minutes, all wrapped up in that dough?! I thought it might be a little undercooked. Nope. The crust was so flaky and good, and the mushroom was perfectly tender inside. We felt a little decadent, cutting into this cute little pie! And the salad was good as well! I told Toby that this would be a good dish to have when we have friends over for dinner, and he agreed, and said we should also have this salad, too, since they go so well together. I put my puff pastry in the fridge to thaw all day, but when I got it out at dinner-time, it was still a little frozen. It wouldn’t roll out much, and instead of just using the one sheet, I ended up using both. Oh well. I had alot of the cheese/bread crumb mixture left over as well. I would say next time to use maybe 1.5 cups of cheese instead of 2. Again, this was SO good. Top 10, people! Top 10!

rating: 9.7

Mushroom Pies with Pear Salad
(from the Nov. 2009 issue of the Food Network magazine)

* Cooking spray
* All-purpose flour, for dusting
* 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of a 17.3-ounce package), thawed
* 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
* 4 large portobello mushroom caps
* 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
* 2 cups shredded cheddar and/or muenster cheese
* 1 large egg, beaten
* 1 shallot, thinly sliced
* 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 6 ounces mache or other salad greens (about 6 cups)
* 1 pear, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and mist with cooking spray.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 14-inch square and cut into four 7-inch squares. Brush the center of each with mustard and season with salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms gill-side up on the pastry and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the breadcrumbs and cheese in a bowl and sprinkle over the mushrooms. Fold in the pastry edges, pleating to fully cover the mushrooms; press to seal. Brush both sides of the pastry with the beaten egg. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet, make slits in the top and bake until golden and crisp, 25 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the shallot, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl, then whisk in the olive oil. Toss the dressing with the salad greens and pear. Serve the salad with the mushroom pies.

Hooray!  I got two things this week that I was going to buy anyway: the potimarron is destined to become my Thanksgiving pie, and the haricots lingots (dried white beans – in the net bag there) will join forces with my duck confit to make cassoulet.  Potatoes are, of course, a staple, and these will likely end up on the Thanksgiving table as well – mashed, maybe with crème fraîche and green onions.  I will probably be serving the mâche tonight to take the gluttonous edge off the meatball sandwiches I have planned for dinner.

The bright red roots are called “radis long,” or “long radishes,” and I’ll admit I don’t have any idea what to do with them.  Ideas are welcome and encouraged.

Those little furry things are tiny kiwis (not mice, as my cat seemed to suspect) and they came with a note saying the sooner we eat them, the better they’ll be.  Looks like dessert is taken care of for the next few days.

Originally published on Seasonal Market Menus.

Yesterday i spent the whole day working on the cosplay items i was designing all day. The mask is sort of alright but i don’t know how to smoothen it’s naturally rough surface.

Anyway, i just gave up for a bit and spent 4 hours watching zetsubou sensei.

At the grocery store this afternoon, I was going to pick up a box of baby spinach when I noticed this one, right beside it.

What in the world is Mâche Rosette, I thought.

Kinda shows the extent of my veggie vocabulary, doesn’t it? Well, it sure didn’t take much for me to decide to pick it up instead of the spinach. I mean, look at it! It does resemble the baby spinach but a lot smaller. It just looked fantastic. I know I’ll be in for a treat with this one.

On my way home, I couldn’t wait any longer that I opened the box in my car and started munching on a bunch just to see how it tasted. Man oh man, was I in green heaven or what? It does have that spinach personality to it but I think I like it even more. It’s a lot milder and a bit nutty in flavor. I swear you don’t even need anything else to go with it. Heck, not even dressing, in fact.

So, here it is. I’ve made a uhh… Mâche Pit, if you will, and I’m trying to figure out a way to make it rock even more than it already does. How about a little grilled chicken with shitake and sesame oil? Or a few pieces of blood oranges with red wine vinaigrette. Maybe I should go back to the store and grab a bag of frisée to add to it. I don’t know.

Well, this ain’t gonna last long before it goes bad. If anybody has had it before, your suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

if i had to strip my book shelf down to one gardening/farming book – and i should hope i’m never forced to do this, the one book that would remain after much pleading for one or two more selection would be masanobu fukuoka’s one straw revolution, not just cause it’s fun to say his name or that it sounds slightly dirty.

less a book on farming than a zen meditation, i’ve read it 3 or 4 times, and still have yet to absorb many of the subtle details.  the method he employes for growing veggies is to scatter seeds in between his orchard and on the margins of his rice and barley crops. he then comes back and forages for the vegetables, when he wants to harvest something.  many crops are allowed to go to seed and these are then scattered about.   is annual vegetable production at least as currently done compatible with a natural way of farming?  certainly my study of permaculture and the like has cast a strong feeling of doubt.  it has had me relishing the odd volunteer tomato and pumpkin all the more.

while installing row cover in the high tunnel, i found myself crawling on my hands and knees, closer to the soil in the high tunnel than i had been in some time.  small weeds were somewhat prolific, and then taking a closer look they didn’t look so much like weeds i was accustomed to seeing in the high tunnel.

weeds

looking closer i realized that the tiny weeds i was seeing all over the place was this plant.

mache

good old mache; among the hardiest of the winter greens to grow and sprout, able to withstand weeks on end of below freezing weather, and still deliver a sweet, tender, tasty, highly prized salad green.  ironically enough i was just lamenting the fact that i had failed to get winter greens planted in time to sprout and deliver a good crop this winter.

i had let mache go to seed in the summer with the intent of harvesting the seed, but by the time we got around to saving seed the seed pods were shattering.  when we went to harvest it the seed scattered everywhere.  i’d forgotten about this, but it seems my forgetfulness and my tardiness in harvesting seeds is in my favor.  now i have a nice crop of mache seeded, and well established, without even trying.  i think fukuoka would be pleased.

Hace poco hice mi primer máscara de papel mache, digo primer, porque antes ya habia hecho una que otra pero con una mala técnica, que ni se le podría decir “máscara” o de “papel maché” xD.

Pero en la escuela llevo una materia que se llama: “Artesanias Mexicanas”, y pues ahi la maestra nos fué guiando sobre la técnica correcta

Todavía me falta darle una capa de laca, para que la proteja del polvo.

El molde para la máscara fue sacado de mi cara

Esta obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons.

the winter garden

ma has been busy preparing the winter garden for the last couple of weeks.  Under straw mulch 7 different varieties of garlic have been planted.  in a cold frame winter hardy greens such as mache have been planted. we have plenty of kale that should keep us in greens for another month and a half or so, then I usually lightly drape row cover over it for the harshest part of winter.  come next spring it puts on brand new spring growth.  This kale in the early spring is some of my favorite, sweet, tender and very much needed after a long winter.  it doesn’t last long though, pretty soon it starts to set seed after which the taste begins to decline.

new for this year is the use of quick hoops.  in august ma planted onions and leeks, which are looking pretty good.  They are planted in two 30 inch wide beds with a 12 inch wide walk way between.  then 10 foot lengths of electrical conduit are pushed into the ground, making a hoop that covers both beds.  then row cover is attached over the top.  as the weather gets worse we will cover the whole thing in plastic for the winter, and then reverse the process when it warms up.  if everything goes right, and we will have the first onions and leeks in the motor city.

the idea of the quick hoops is pretty new to me.  i’d seen low tunnels of this sort, and had used some, but is by far the simplest and cheapest way i’ve seen.  this all comes from eliot coleman and his great books “the winter harvest handbook” i got it last spring when it came out, and then he came to the farm to give a presentation.  he made everything seem so simple that we couldn’t help but try.  i’m installing some quick hoops at work this week, but i’m a little concerned about how rocky the soil is, making installation a chore.

Real quick post today to let you know that “Bob” the ground breaker is finished and ready to scare the crap out of the kids.  Check the PROJECT PAGE as always for all the detailed pics of him from conception to finished product.

I managed to get some work done on Bob the Ground breaker over the last couple days.  I might actually get him in the yard by Halloween Eve to give the little victims, er, I mean Trick or Treater’s a scare.  Check out his project page for progression photos and my own well thought out comments. 

I’ve got bacon on the brain.  I look at this gorgeous fall produce (love the palette of fall – orange, brown, and yellow punctuated by deep, healthy green) and think, “Ooh!  I could make potimarron pizza.  With bacon!  Or potato-potimarron gratin.  With bacon!  Or risotto with potimarron and spinach.  And bacon!  Can you tell I’m excited about the potimarron?  Winter squash is something I don’t really get tired of, and potimarron is one of my favorites, with its sweet, nutty flavor.  The mâche will make an excellent salad to accompany any of those rather heavy dishes, and I’ve had a hankering for some pork and apple breakfast sausage ever since Sam brought it up.

Originally published on Seasonal Market Menus.

• Un oignon
• 20 gr. d’huile d’olive
  
• 400 gr. d’eau
• 1 bouillon cube
• 300 gr. de pommes de terre
• 250 gr. à 400 gr. de feuilles vertes de votre choix:  Mâche ou Épinards ou Oseille ou Verts de blettes ou fanes de radis ou tétragones ou cresson….
• 1 c. bombée de crème fraîche épaisse ou 60 gr. de crème liquide
• Sel, poivre.

Mettre l’oignon coupé en deux dans le bol. Ajouter l’huile et chauffer 2 mn, sens inverse, varoma, vit 1.

Ajouter l’eau et le bouillon cube. Couper les pommes de terre en morceaux et les mettre dans le panier. Programmer 20 mn, varoma, vit 1.

Laver les feuilles et les mettre dans le varoma. Au bout de 10 mn de cuisson poser le varoma  sur le bol.

A la fin de cuisson , mettre les pommes de terre et les feuilles dans le bol. Ajouter la crème fraîche, le sel et le poivre. Mixer 1 mn vit.8.

Vous obtenez un velouté épais que vous pouvez diluer avec la quantité d’eau selon votre convenance.

Vous pouvez le servir avec :

• des lardons grillés ou bacon grillé
• Un nuage de crème
• Des croûtons
• du gruyère râpé ….

Idées:

• repas du soir,  en verrine à l’apéro, ….

Astuces:

• Sur le plateau du varoma vous pouvez mettre votre semoule de couscous à cuire. Il faudra préalablement l’épicer, la huiler et l’humidifier.

Kyckling är något vi äter mycket av när vi är i Turkiet. Det är sån otrolig skillnad i smak och kvalitet mot den vi får hemma. Kycklingfabrikanterna har ju hittat på ett smart sätt att öka sin förtjänst genom att spruta in saltvatten i kycklingen. Kallar den marinerad och säljer denna vattenskadade kyckling till godtrogna konsumenter.

De blir väldigt konstiga i konsistensen av den behandlingen, smakar nästan som att tugga på en mjuk fiskbulle, tycker jag. Kycklingen här nere får däremot växa till sig till rejäl storlek och är naturligt mör.

Styckningsdetaljerna är också annorlunda mot hemma, här skär de loss benet på den tjocka lårbiten, fläker ut och plattar till lite. Och har på det sättet fått till en kotlett, som går mycket snabbare att steka än om benet är kvar i mitten.

Kycklingkotlett med Paprikagräddsås och stekt Blomkål

2 Kycklinglår

½ pressad Citron

1 tsk Oregano

Havssalt och nymald Vitpeppar

Ett litet Blomkålshuvud

Smör

Paprikagräddsås

1 Spetspaprika

1 gul Lök

1 Vitlöksklyfta

2 dl Grädde

Smör

Worcestersauce

Havssalt

Svartpeppar

2 msk Rödvin

Skär loss köttet från benet, men låt det hänga kvar på ena sidan som ett handtag. Platta till lite med handflatan. Marinera med citron och kryddor en stund.

Bryt blomkålen i mindre buketter och förväll i saltat vatten. Låt rinna av.

Finhacka paprika och lök, fräs en stund i smör. Krydda och häll på vin och Worcester, låt det koka in. Häll på grädden och låt såsen puttra i en halvtimme. Späd med lite mjölk om den blir för tjock, rör då och då.

Stek kycklingen i smör, ca 20 minuter, vänd några gånger. Stek med den förvällda blomkålen mot slutet.

Servera med Tomat, inlagd Gurka och Sallad. Jag hade Portlak, eller Maché som den heter hemma. Mild och krispig, med lite smak av krasse.

]]> http://theheavennearth.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/bern_jo_wed_sing/ Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:27:29 +0000 dendevil666 http://theheavennearth.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/bern_jo_wed_sing/ http://weirdowearingamask.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/paper-stolloween-pumpkins-update/ Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:43:23 +0000 mcc394 http://weirdowearingamask.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/paper-stolloween-pumpkins-update/

Just a quick update today..

I got back in the lab this morning and got the next step of my Paper “Stolloween” pumpkins finished.  This step was the fun and sticky “paper clay” stage.  Click on the Paper Pumpkins Project Page for details and more pics.

Como eu quase não tenho o que fazer, estou postando agora o cenário com seu início e sua produção =)

Nesse caso serão mostrados dois deles, a superfície da lua e a lua vista de longe.

picando papel higiênico (forever)

Produção do papel machê

Forrando a mesa para por o papel machê

Superfície lua em processo

bolas de isopor usadas para fazer a lua vista de longe

Lua miniatura de papel machê com os cumprimentos de Flávia 8D (ainda faltam umas crateras)

paper mache mask

qqSo after making all this very heavy food, I feel like something fresh, light and summer feeling.  This salad is perfect and so yummy!!!  This is how I make it, but you can add in any of your favorites!

Salad:

1 head Endive, washed and sliced

A couple handfuls of Mache. (If you can’t get mache, you can use watercress, spinach or whatever leafy green you like)

1 Apple, halved, cored and thinly sliced

1 handful of flat Parsley, chopped

1 handful of Gorgonzola cheese

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tsp. Pure Maple Sugar (the good stuff!)

1 1/2 tsp. Dijon Mustard

Salt and Pepper to taste : )

To Assemble: Just mix all the salad ingredients together in a bowl and whisk the dressing ingredients together.  Toss the salad and Enjoy!  Let me know what you think!