cruciferous veg

Have you ever hearrd a two year old ask for more brussel sprouts?

Yeah, neither had I. In fact, I had never asked for more brussel sprouts. But we received some little beauties from our farm share and I was forced to try them again. Dee-licious. (Have you ever seen brussel sprouts growing on their stalk? Funny looking things.)

Okay, boiling or steaming is absolutely not the way to prepare these in my opinion. Not after you've tried them roasted in a little lemon juice, minced garlic and plenty of salt (Elise's recipe here). This is much like the cauliflower recipe on the same recipe blog, which we've made a few times.

Sorry, no pictures. We ate them too fast -- and that's the honest truth.

Head on over to Simply Recipes to see 'em and make 'em.

pomegranates

Pomegranates are in the stores again. Happy day. 

You probably know this trick already, but to seed a pomegranate without getting squirted by juice, immerse the halves in a bowl of water and gently pry the seeds out while they're under water.  No mess, no fuss. 

pita crisps

I thought I had mentioned these pita crisps before, but I guess I haven't. Shame on me, because they are deserving (and so are you!) 

I prefer the British terminology of crisps for chips and chips for fries. I don't necessarily use the terms myself, but they makes more sense to me. Crisps are what they are. And these, my friends, are pita crisps. Extra crunchy.

I can attest that these are great with bean dips, with otherwise boring bowls of soup, and with a hunk of cheddar in the middle of the night.

pita crisps

pita bread

olive oil

sea salt

dried thyme, or other dried seasoning of choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve the pita bread, if it's the kind with pockets, to make thin flat pieces. Cut with scissors into strips or triangles or go wild and make free-form shapes for the kids.  Spread out in single layer on un-greased baking sheets. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and crushed, dried thyme. (Black pepper would also be good.) Bake until crispy and golden, about 10-15 minutes. Check frequently, as they burn easily. Can serve immediately or after they've cooled to room temperature. Will keep for a day in an airtight container.

brown-bread-muffin bread

I was looking for just a little something to make our faux minestrone soup go down a little easier. A couple of warm, buttered slices of this bread did the trick.

In the cookbook, this is called 'hearty brown bread.'  I was thinking it would be kind of a dark-rye, healthy bread, but it isn't really. I mean, I'm sure it's not unhealthy, but it's more brown-bread-muffin-like. It's nice and moist (apologies too all that can't stand that word) and the recipe is so darn easy -- no rising even -- I'll be making it again.

But enough talk about bread.

hearty brown bread

Albertina's, a restaurant in Portland

1 loaf

3 C whole-wheat flour

1 1/4 teas baking soda

1 teas salt

2 C buttermilk

1/2 C molasses

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Stir in wet ingredients. Pour into well-greased loaf pan. Bake until tester comes out clean, approximately 1 hour. (Mine took closer to 1 hour 20 minutes.)

for the record - 2012

Getting my annual canning accomplished this year was definitely a team effort. Jeff played zone defense with the kids while I was in the kitchen. Buying, cleaning, prepping, canning -- everything takes way longer with a baby in the house! I'm stoked that we managed to get so much done (I just won't tell you how many weekend days we had to devote to the task!) 

30lbs blueberries in freezer

bunches and bunches of fresh basil, pureed with olive oil, frozen in ice cubes

17 quarts canned roma tomatoes (from 27 lbs)

21 pints canned peaches (and one warm peach crisp from 17.5lbs) 

plum-apricot jam

blueberry-strawberry-raspberry freezer jam

9 pints spiced, chunky applesauce 

I want just one more day of canning this year  -- for plain pear-sauce and applesauce for the babe -- and then I can put away the supplies for the year. 

the theme is pumpkin

Happy Thanksgiving, to all you fellow Canucks. We kicked off the holiday weekend with pumpkin pancakes. I can recommend these spiced flapjacks, especially to those that have to wait another month for turkey and trimmings.

This recipe was scrawled on a post-it note so I have absolutely no idea where it recipe came from. My apologies.

pumpkin pancakes
serves 4

2 1/2 C flour
4 Tbs sugar
4 teas baking powder
1 teas cinnamon
1 teas ground ginger
1 teas salt
1/4 teas nutmeg
1/8 teas ground clove
1 egg
1 egg white
3/4 C pure pumpkin puree
4 Tbs butter, melted
2 C milk

Whisk together dry ingredients in large bowl. In medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, pumpkin puree, melted butter and milk. Fold wet into dry. Cook on buttered skillet.

***

Also on the menu this weekend, standing in for turkey and stuffing are my go-to roast chicken and a new wild rice pilaf. And for dessert, pumpkin ice cream and ginger cookies.

The food is prepped so all that's left to do is sit back, relax, and wait for our company to arrive. The artist among us may also want to put some finishing touches on her table decorations.

photography

I'm really enjoying a couple of photography sites right now. I know I've mentioned habit before, but have you seen dear photograph?

pazzo for pizza

Hey there, peeps. Please excuse erratic my erratic posting of late. A baby happened, summer happened, and well, you understand.

But speaking of cornmeal...

Humdrum it may be, but I have a soft spot for cornmeal. I love cornbread, swoon over cornmeal pancakes, and I can't resist a pizza with a cornmeal crust.

And so, as it happens from time to time, we've been eating quite a lot of pizza lately. My go-to crust recipe is this one from Martha Stewart (but I sub half the flour for whole wheat). I like that it freezes well. (One friend of mine uses tortillas brushed with olive oil for an even easier, crispy pizza crust.)

My simple tomato sauce is usually a few of my jarred tomatoes, a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, and some dried basil and oregano. We tend to keep toppings a simple fare of sauteed veggies, sometimes sausage, and some cheese grated over the whole mess.

Other nights we get more creative, with fresh goat cheese ricotta from our friend 'Farmer Dave', bacon, sauteed leeks and peppers, and fresh tomatoes to make it pretty.

But back to cornmeal. Know any good recipes? I'm all ears.  

tomatillo salsa

I'm loving our CSA this summer. 

Even though it's made me use way more rutabaga and cabbage than I otherwise would have, it's also provided us with the tastiest carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, lettuce, etc.  

And I used tomatillos for the first time. Tried them in this green salsa. Exciting stuff. 

wet coast wools

My friend Glenda opened a yarn store!

It's amazing, folks. I wish you could all stop by and see it (and buy something!) But hey, if you're not in Vancouver, you can shop anytime at the beautiful website. 

I've instructed my hubby to get me something from her shop for the gift-giving occasions on the calendar. There are so many great yarns and doodads to choose from. Like this ultra-soft yak yarn, or this amazing (and environmentally responsible) wool from Imperial Yarn in Oregon.  I don't own a stitch counter, I need a 16" circular, and, well, I think I'm going to just make a wish list and leave it with Glenda. 

I'm so happy for her. I swear, this city has never had such a kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and talented yarn store owner. Three cheers for Glenda!