Pampers and Paklava

Cue the squash

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cue ball zucchiniMost gardeners whine during squash season. “Too much squash,” they complain.

Here in Seattle, as we head into mid-August of the summer-that-never-was, too much of anything is not a garden problem we face. That’s why I was excited to see two cue-ball zucchini squash ripen at the same time. They may be the only two cue-balls we get to eat this season (just like the one-dinner’s-worth of French beans I got this past weekend from my measly bean bushes), but at least there are two. Or were two.

I picked our little, barely fist-size cue-ball squash (sometimes called eight-ball zucchini) and decided to stuff them. You can’t click your mouse without running into stuffed squash recipes on the internet, but I wanted to create a recipe using other goodies from our garden. At the ready, we had: a few ripe cherry tomatoes, basil and a variety of herbs, and Walla Walla sweet onions.

cue ball zucchini-stuffingHere’s how I put together our cue-balls:

1.  I slice off the top of the cue balls first, just like I would with a Halloween pumpkin.

2.  Then I scooped out the inside of the squash with a spoon (again, like Halloween, just in miniature), I chopped what I scooped and set it aside.

3.  Next I chopped a handful of cherry tomatoes (Sungold how I love thee), diced two small Walla Walla onions and cut a handful of basil into strips, and lightly sautéed them.

4.  In a mixing bowl I put the sautéed veggies with approximately 1/8 cup of bread crumbs and some of the herb goat cheese I make (log of goat cheese, mixed with a drizzle of olive oil and an assortment of chopped herbs).

5.  I steamed the hollowed out cue-balls (open side down) for about 8 minutes. After they cooled a few minutes, I packed in the filling and put their lids back on (lightly).

6.  Finally, I put them in a baking dish, inside the 350-degree pre-heated oven and let them bake for about 20 minutes.

Garden stuffed cue ball zucchiniThen we ate ‘em. Man, were they ever cute. And, tasty.

Want to round out your summer with more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

SEX in the garden!

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Now that I have your attention…

First, full disclosure: my mother reads my blog. I’m hoping she made it past the headline, and hasn’t fainted.

Squash blossomsNow for the lurid details: Sorry, this isn’t a blog post about my private life. It’s about the sex life of squash, and how to tell the difference between male and female squash blossoms.

Big Papa and I love squash blossoms. Their light, slightly squashy flavor exemplifies summer. Squash blossoms are delicious stuffed, battered and fried, or simply tossed on salads.

I used to think it was very generous of squash farmers to sell their flowers. Wasn’t each blossom a future squash? If left to its own devices, wouldn’t each lovely baby squash blossom become a full grown adult squash? It seemed like such a shame to sacrifice them for our dining pleasure. Then I learned the truth.

As it turns out, not all squash blossoms become squash and if you have a plot of squash plants running amok, brimming with flowers, guess what? You can eat most of them. Why? Well, some are boys and some are girls. That’s right, squash blossoms come in two genders: male and female.

Only female squash blossoms mature into squash. The male is just there to help the female blossoms get a bun, er squash, in the oven And here’s the beautiful thing: male squash blossoms far outnumber female flowers, which means you can pick (and eat!) male squash blossoms with impunity. Say goodbye to any fear you may have of devouring your future squash crop.

So, how to tell who’s a she and who’s a he? The females typically grow close to the center of the squash plant on low squat stalks that, when fertilized, quickly swell into squash. Male squash blossoms tend to be showy (like males of many other species in nature), numerous and grow on long stems. Plus, you won’t find a tiny squash baby developing behind the male flower head.

Here’s a picture. Can you tell which blossom is the male and which is the female? If not, I’ll tell you. The chick is on the right and the dude is on the left.

Girl squash blossom right-boy squash blossom left

It’s that simple. If you’ve got a few baby squashes growing on your vines, it means the guys and gals have already…well, you know. So go ahead and pick the boys, stuff them and fry ‘em up. My apologies guys; it’s nothing personal. That’s just the way it works with squash. Be cautious when you pick them, however. Bees, insects and other little critters think the blossoms are a nifty place to curl up and take a nap, so you could be in for a surprise.

I feel better now that we’ve had this little chat, don’t you? Go forth and multiply…your squash.

Want your pick of more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

La vie en rose (Life in rosy hues): Cooking with rose-scented geraniums

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rose geraniumRose geraniums have graced my back deck for the past two years. I walk past them and brush my hands across the leaves to smell their sweet rosy fragrance on my fingertips. And, I cook with them.

Last year I infused geranium petals in milk to create a divine Rose-Geranium White Chocolate Ice Cream. This year, I layered the petals in sugar to make Rose Geranium sugar. I also used the petals to make simple syrup. Put the rose sugar, the rose simple syrup together with some fresh muddled lime, 10 Cane Rum, a splash of soda water and what do you have? Delicious Rose Geranium Mojitos. Nothing says summer quite like a sip of rose!

Note: Scented geraniums aren’t “true” geraniums. The scent comes from the crushed leaves and can be lime, rose, nutmeg or any number of scents. This recipe would work with any scented geranium.

Rose geranium Mojitos

ROSE GERANIUM MOJITO

Ingredients
Rose Geranium Syrup: (makes 1 pint)
10 fresh rose geranium leaves
1 pint simple syrup (2 cups sugar dissolved in 2 cups water)

Rose Geranium Sugar: (makes 2 cups)
5 fresh rose geranium leaves
2 cups sugar

Assemble
3 sprigs fresh mint (optional)
3 fresh rose geranium leaves, plus more for garnish
3 wedges fresh lime
2 ounces 10 Cane rum
1½ ounces rose geranium syrup
Club soda
lime slices

How to

Rose geranium simple syrupRose Geranium Syrup:
Combine the rose geranium leaves and simple syrup in a pot. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Strain and let cool.

Rose Geranium Sugar:
Put the rose geranium leaves and 1 cup of the sugar in a food processor and mix on liqueRose geranium sugarfy; make sure all the leaves are pulverized. Remove and fold in with the remaining 1 cup sugar.

Serve
Muddle the mint, rose geranium leaves, and fresh lime. Add the rum and rose geranium syrup and shake hard. Pour into a large rocks glass with a rose geranium sugar rim. Top with club soda water and garnish with a slice of lime and a rose geranium leaf.

Want to sip on more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday.

A dish inspired by–a dish: Tajine

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tajineTwo years ago, on my birthday, Big Papa and I spent three heavenly days in a yurt by the ocean. On “my” day we had dinner, on the deck at Treebones, overlooking the Pacific. And what a dinner it was! Moroccan tajine served our own individual clay tajine clay pots. Sweet fruit and nuts melded with North African spices mixed in couscous to create a dish to remember—in every sense of the word.

So, when I stumbled onto a tajine pot, ironically at the Alhambra Warehouse, an outlet store where I typically shop for travel clothing not kitchen ware, I just had to buy it. It’s been  sitting patiently in my cupboard waiting for just the right moment and that moment arrived this week, when our favorite market sausage seller, Vashon Island’s Sea Breeze Farm, happened to have Merguez sausage on hand. Merguez is the perfect sausage for tajine as it is lamb-based and features many North African spices.

Our dinner was, in a word, WOW! The aromas that filled our kitchen, as I cooked, hinted at the flavors that would soon grace our mouths: apricots, pistachios, fennel, olives, market-fresh chick peas, artichoke hearts, Mustapha’s (from Seattle) Harissa spice and preserved lemon, plus a few fava beans that needed a place to hide.  And, of course, the Merguez. I didn’t cook our meal in the tajine as is traditionally done; the tajine pot I’d purchased was too small for the amount of food I made. But I did use it for a serving dish.

Merguez tajineAs I closed my eyes and enjoyed my first bite, the taste of tajine took me back to the lovely weekend we spent together touring Big Sur, just as I’d hoped it might. The only thing missing–the smell of ocean breezes and a view of the Pacific.

Big Papa and I paired our tajine with a Zinfandel (2007 Lockshaw Vineyard) from our absolutely favorite winery, Foxen. The fruit and spice in the wine was dreamy with the fruit and spice in the Merguez tajine. We both had seconds and wanted thirds. It was one of those dinners: so good you don’t want to stop eating, even though the fullness in your belly tells you otherwise.

Tajine with Merguez Sausage

Note: Tajine (and this recipe) can easily be made vegetarian (vegan, in fact) by omitting the sausage and using vegetable stock to prepare the couscous. If going veggie, add more vegetables to the tajine. Eggplant would be particularly good with the flavors in this dish.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 minced onion (I used two small shallots)
  • 1 T. paprika
  • 1 cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon)
  • 1 T. crushed cumin seeds
  • 3 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 c. chicken (or vegetable) stock
  • Couscous (I used the larger, rounder Israeli couscous – 1 c. dry)
  • ¼ c. preserved lemon (can be found at Whole Foods or other specialty grocers)
  • 1 tsp. Harissa, and more for serving (again, can be found at Whole Foods or other specialty grocers). You can substitute hot red pepper/cayenne, if you can’t find Harissa.
  • ½ c. toasted pistachios
  • ½ c. sliced dried apricots (preferably Turkish)
  • (optional – and, if so, use 1 cup apricots) ½ cup raisins (I used white raisins)
  • 1 lb. Merguez sausage (I remove the casing before cooking so that it’s easier to chop and into ground-style for cooking). Note: you can opt out of meat or, as some recipes call for, use 6 boneless chicken thighs.
  • (optional) 1 fennel bulb, diced
  • 1 c. orange juice
  • 1 cup dry chick peas – or one 12 oz. can (the dry chick peas are much better but they do take about 1-1/2 hours to cook ahead of time)
  • One 12 oz can fresh artichoke hearts (you can also get fresh marinated hearts at Whole Foods)
  • * (optional) ½ c. prepared  fava beans
  • ½ c. minced parsley

How to

1.  If using dried chick peas, pre-cook (about 1-1/2 hours)

2. Remove casings from sausage, dice and then brown (or cook chicken) in olive oil in a large Dutch casserole. If using fennel bulb, add to sausage and cook until slightly tender. Reserve.

3. Saute onion, spices (cinnamon stick, paprika, cumin seeds), garlic and add couscous to toast. Add a cup of stock, and the orange juice. Bring to a boil. Continue adding stock, as needed, until the couscous is soft (if using traditional North African couscous, cooking time will be shorter than if using the larger Israeli couscous).

4.  Add preserved lemon, fennel, pistachios, raisins, apricots and Harissa spice to sausage and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Stir in parsley, and serve on top of couscous with more Harissa to spice as desired.

5.  If using a tajine pot, the final cooking can be done with the pot in the oven. Here is a link to advice on using, and buying, a tajine.

Want to dish on more deliciousness?  Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

The possibilities of pesto

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chivesMy herb garden is very happy this time of year and, with an abundance of fresh goodness, so am I. Sage, thyme, parsley, mint, chives are among the many herbs that call our planter beds home. For me, there is absolutely no comparison between cooking with dried herbs versus cooking with fresh herbs. If herbs are right outside the back door and free for the taking, well, why wouldn’t you?

When I’m faced with a bounty of herbs, one of my favorite things to do is make pesto. The tangy, spicy, right-out-of-the-garden flavor makes a good accompaniment for just about anything: layered with goat cheese and served with a baguette, resting atop sliced tomatoes, stuffed inside roasted mushrooms, and of course the uber classic, tossed with pasta.

Pasteria Lucchese squid ink tagliatelleArmed with a package of farmers market fresh black squid ink tagliatelle from Pasteria Lucchese, I imagined the perfect pesto pairing: chive pesto. Dark ribbons of flavorful pasta decorated with a contrasting sprinkle of purple chive blossoms.

I asked Big Papa to pick up a half-pound of squid (tubes and tentacles) which I planned to lightly sauté in olive oil, butter and a splash of dry vermouth. First I prepared the pesto and set it aside. Then I boiled the water while I put together a side salad of arugula, pea vines and edible flowers. When the water for the pasta hit a rolling boil, I plopped in the squid ink tagliatelle while sautéing the fresh squid. Both called for exactly 3 minutes of cooking time. Genius.

dining al frescoRight before we picked up our plates and headed outside, a few generous tablespoons of the pesto were tossed into the pasta along with the cooked squid. For the final touch, I grabbed a handful of chive blossoms and tossed them, casually, on top.

It was a lovely Friday evening, perfect for sitting in the garden, glass of sparkling rose wine in hand, my sweetie sitting beside me, a fresh salad at the ready and a bowl of squid ink pasta and chive pesto in our laps. And just as I’d envisioned, those chive blossoms couldn’t have been any cuter.

Chive Pesto

(Note: Vegetarians can easily use this pesto on any dish without meat or fish)

chive pestoIngredients

  • 3/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
  • 1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh flat-leaf  combo mint, parsley, basil
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts (or chopped almonds, walnuts, etc.)
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ~ 1 cup finely grated fresh parmesan cheese and/or pecorino (I used a combination of both)
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Squid ink pasta with chive pestoHow to:

Combine herbs, nuts, and garlic in a food processor (if you don’t have one, finely chop ingredients by hand). Pulse until finely chopped. With machine running, gradually add remaining oil and process until incorporated. Transfer chive pesto to a small bowl. Stir in lemon juice, grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. If pesto is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons water or more lemon juice.

Want to dish up more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Say cheese

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Finger Lakes Farmstead Bier Meck cheeseOne of my fondest food memories growing up in upstate New York is the cheese. And my favorite cheeses, even as a child, were those with a good kick. Place a sliver of sharp, aged cheddar on top of a slice of crisp Empire apple, and I’m transported to snack heaven. I like my cheese assertive, sharp enough to make my lips tingle.

Whenever I go back to visit, I try to bring home a bite from my past: cheese. During our recent trip to visit family, Big Papa and I took a side excursion to the Ithaca and the Finger Lakes. The Finger Lakes, like much of upstate New York, is home to a lot of cows, cows who provide delicious milk that’s ideal for making delicious cheese.

Bier Meck was the cheese we carried back across the country with us. It’s a gouda-styled farmstead cheese soaked in brine made from Ithaca Beer Company’s Gorges Smoked Porter Ale and then aged for at least 60 days. Bier Meck is one the cheeses made by Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese. They make raw milk cheese from their family-owned Holstein cows in tiny Mecklenburg, New York. In fact the ‘Meck’ in Beir Meck refers to Mecklenburg, which is a located about twelve miles west of Ithaca.

All Finger Lakes Farmstead cheeses are made from raw milk that is free of growth hormones or antibiotics. Their cows are always in pasture, in season and during the winter they dine on winter forage grown on the farm. The cheeses are called “farmstead” because they are made from the milk of one farm only.

Maggie and Bier Meck cheese, Finger Lakes Farmstead CheeseJust as Memorial Day weekend was getting started, our replacement bottle of Seneca Drums gin arrived. I mixed up a couple of gin and tonics for me and Big Papa before taking the cheese out of the fridge.

Maggie, our cat and cheese aficionada, was beside herself with ecstasy before I even got the package of cheese open. Her eyes opened wide, and her head bobbed and weaved as I sliced it up to put on crackers.

I can’t imagine a finer pairing. The creamy-in-the-mouth cheese had a touch of smoke and nut-like flavor which perfectly balanced the fresh juniper and herbal notes in the Seneca Drums gin. Let’s just say that the cheese didn’t last long.

And Miss Maggie? What a lucky kitten: a cat-sized piece of cheese was just the right accompaniment for a bite of catnip, snipped fresh off the plant on the back deck. She lay in the sunshine, purring. We sat on the bench next to her sipping and noshing, all three of us in an upstate New York state of mind, even though we were 3,000 miles away in Seattle.

Want more to put on your cracker? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Jumpin’ Juniper: Seneca Drums Gin bails out mid-flight

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I saw the look in Big Papa’s eyes first: disappointment, disbelief. Then I saw the box. One side was caved in like a t-boned car. Liquid seeped through the cardboard as Big Papa cradled the box from underneath. The box looked like the underarm of a sweaty t-shirt. Not a good look.

Seneca Drums Gin, Finger Lakes Distilling, Hector N.Y.We were at Sea-Tac, Seattle’s airport, having just returned from our east coast trip. I was waiting for our luggage to come out the shoot at the baggage carousel, while Big Papa trundled off to the special baggage counter to pick up our special cargo: booze.

During our two day stay in Ithaca, we took a side trip to Cayuga and Seneca Lakes to do a bit of wine tasting. And, lucky us, we stumbled onto Finger Lakes Distilling while we were at it. In our box, were ten bottles of wine, one bottle of gin and a bottle of bourbon soaked pickles. From the looks of things, at least one of the twelve didn’t survive the journey.

In our six years as a couple we’ve gone on a number of wine tasting excursions, and have brought home a number of boxes, all intact. This was the first time we’d ever lost a passenger.

Returning home, Big Papa grabbed a kitchen knife, cut open the box. He opened the flaps and peered inside. The moment of truth: ten wine bottles safe and sound. Gin bottle smashed and pickle bottle in pieces.

All I can say is I pity the poor soul whose luggage flew 3,000 miles across country next to our box. By now they’re home, pondering why their polo shirts smell like a bar and their cashmere sweater smells like a deli.

“I was really looking forward to a gin and tonic,” said Big Papa somberly.

“Me too. Why did it have to be the gin? That amazing gin.” I pined.

Finger Lakes Distilling casksTruth be told Big Papa and I aren’t big hard liquor drinkers. Weekdays he’s a beer man all the way. On weekends we drink wine. But every now and then, particularly on a sunny summer day, there’s really no substitute for a refreshing gin and tonic.

This gin was a really, really good gin. In the Pacific Northwest, you can’t throw a cell phone these days without hitting a small craft distillery and most of them have gin. Hand-crafted gin (and other spirits) are popping up in Portland like dandelions in spring: Aviation, 12 Bridges, Cricket Club. Heck, there’s even a distillery five blocks from our house. Oola is slated to open any day. And I’ll bet they have gin.

The gin in our box—well, the gin that was in our box was Seneca Drums Gin from Finger Lakes Distilling in Hector, N.Y. Hector is a tiny town with less than 5,000 people, and some really good gin. In fact Seneca Drums Gin won the ‘Best New York Spirit’ award in 2010.

Distillery at Finger Lakes DistillingSeneca Drums is a London-style dry gin, distilled from local Seneca Lake grapes and blended with 11 botanicals, all from the Finger Lakes region except for the juniper which (ironically) is from the Pacific Northwest. It’s a pretty zippy gin with a bit of a kick and lovely herbal notes of citrus, cucumber, clove and anise.

A shot of Seneca Drums gin, a pour of groovy new ‘Q’ tonic water, and a squeeze of fresh lime was exactly what Big Papa and I yearned for after a long, emotionally-laden week away and a six hour flight home. It was just the ticket. Except that it wasn’t.

We both stared into that box. Then, as Big Papa cleaned up the mess of broken glass, I sat down at my computer and wrote an email to Finger Lakes Distillery with the details of the sorry end to our bottle of their finest.

The next day I heard from Brian McKenzie, one of the two McKenzie men (not related) who founded Finger Lakes Distillery. A bottle of Seneca Drums was on its way. Oh happy day!

Thanks and a shout out to Brian. I’m counting the days until our gin arrives. And just in time, as the weather forecast for Seattle, is finally trending toward sunshine. G&T here we come!

I’ll stick with gin.  Champagne is just ginger ale that knows somebody.
~M*A*S*H Hawkeye, “Ceasefire,” 1973

Want a shot of more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Yakity Yak

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Mt. EverestBig Papa has an expression he’s fond of using.” I haven’t [insert phrase here] since the high slopes of Everest. For example, “I haven’t seen this many pigeons since the high slopes of Everest,” which is a true statement since we did indeed see pigeons at Everest Base Camp.

So this past Friday as we sat having lunch at Tom Douglas’ new restaurant, Ting Momo, Big Papa said, “I haven’t had yak like this since the high slopes of Everest.” And why wouldn’t he say that? Because the last time we had yak was on the high slopes of Everest.

Sitting in a Seattle café, cute as it was tucked into an historic brick building in Seattle’s gentrified South Lake Union business zone, is not like being in Tibet. And yak from the high slopes of Colorado, while tasty, didn’t hold a yak-butter candle to the real deal.

Maybe it was the fact that instead of sitting at a cozy table cradling a warm cup of aromatic Chai while waiting for a server, we had to belly up to the counter and place our order while an impatient blond staff member behind the register said snarkily, “What do you want?”

Ting Momo SeattleOr maybe it’s just the hard, cold reality that Tibetan food in Seattle is not the next best thing to being there. I know both Big Papa and I long to return to that magical place, but for the moment city yak is all we’ve got.

We each ordered momos, Tibetan steamed dumplings and a cup of Thukpa soup. Big Papa chose a can of Tibetan tea (made in Bellevue, Washington no less!) and I asked for a glass of warm Chai.

The thukpa was made with hand-pulled noodles, red pepper, shitake mushrooms and coconut milk. It was spicy with a lovely kick and tasty though I don’t remember thukpa like this when we traveled in Tibet.

I ordered the momo combo with two yak momos and two shrimp momos. Big Papa went yak momo all the way. The yak momos, in my opinion, were by far the better treat. Golden Colorado yak (yep, yak are trekking in the hills of the U.S.) were spiced with star anise, bay leaf and a cranberry on top. Cranberry? That seemed a bit odd to me. Tibetan fusion food, I guess.

Ting momo yak momoMy momos were middling. If this is as close to Tibet as I can get, I’ll visit Ting Momo again though I wish the Chai had been richer, the momos lighter and crispier, the staff friendlier. For $35, I hoped for a bit more enlightenment.

As I walked toward our car, all I could see were modern high rise buildings–there were no pilgrims circumambulating in prayer around me. Car exhaust replaced the sweet scent of burning sage hanging in the air.  And sadly, very sadly, melt in your mouth momos and the high peaks of Everest were just a distant memory.

Want more to yak about? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Carrot Confetti

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carrot confetti salad

Over my stove there is a magnet which reads: She didn’t always follow the recipe. And here’s the thing: much of the time, I don’t follow a recipe–at all. Carrot Confetti Salad which I made this past weekend is a perfect example of how I cook.

It starts like this. My eyes canvas our refrigerator and see something that needs to be used pronto; I’m in the garden and a particular edible plant catches my attention; or, I discover my inspiration while shopping at the grocery store.

Me: Hmm. We have some carrots in the fridge which really need to be used, two sweet potatoes that have been sitting idly on the counter for the past two weeks and a package of South African Boerewors sausage (with cloves, coriander and nutmeg) I picked up last week which should be eaten soon.

Then, like an intricate puzzle missing a few pieces, my mind puts together the menu: sausage, carrot salad and sweet potato fries. Carrot salad is a simple staple recipe but when I make it, there are generally a few tweaks.

For my Carrot Confetti Salad, I decided to use rainbow colored carrots: orange, red and yellow. Instead of celery, I chose fennel bulb. In place of sugar: honey. And to bind everything together, I drizzled a bit of olive oil rather than using a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise. When I realized I didn’t have enough juice left in my lemon to squeeze a few tablespoons, I got what I could out of it and then grated some of the peel. On top of that, I added lemon thyme for an additional lemony kick. Raisins? Didn’t have any but there was a bag of dried currents in the cupboard.

My hand was sore from gardening all day, so I didn’t grate the carrots as I typically do, but instead pulsed them into little bits using a small food processor, hence the confetti-like appearance of my carrot salad. Voila! Carrot Confetti Salad was colorful, delicious and paired perfectly with the rest of our meal.

The only downfall to cooking without a recipe is that duplicating my results can prove to be a challenge, for me and for others with whom I might want to share my moment of culinary brilliance. I am somehow able to divine the right amount of olive oil drizzling relative to the spoonfuls of honey and the quantity of confetti carrots, and naturally I taste as I cook which helps the results but at times leaves me with less of an appetite at dinner.

Carrot Confetti (amounts below make about 2 cups or four servings)

Ingredients

  • ~ 4-5 carrots (get the colorful variety with red, yellow, purple and orange)
  • 1 Fennel bulb
  • 1 Spring onion (minced) or Walla Walla sweet onion
  • ~1/2 cup dried currents
  • 2-3 tablespoons honey
  • Healthy drizzle (a few tablespoons) olive oil
  • 1 Lemon (grated and juiced)
  • Several sprigs of fresh lemon thyme (or any other type of thyme, preferably fresh, not dried)

How to:

Process the carrots in a food processor until they are chopped into bitsy pieces. Do the same with the fennel bulb. Mince the spring onion (spring onions have a lovely mild garlic flavor but any sweet onion will substitute just fine). Put all the chopped ingredients in a bowl and drizzle in honey and olive oil. Mix in currants and little leaves of lemon thyme.

Want to chop up more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Life is a Cabernet

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It goes without saying that a weekend in Walla Walla without wine is–well, simply not possible. Big Papa and I sipped our way east, west and south of the city, trying a dozen grape varietals from Rousanne to Barbera at a smattering of  the (now over 200!) region’s wineries.

I normally don’t drink much during the week, and certainly never before noon. Somehow this falls by the wayside when Big Papa and I go on our wine tasting weekends. Suddenly swilling a glass of Syrah at 11:00 a.m. seems perfectly normal.

Of course, staring down a Cabernet while I still have coffee in my cup is a bit surreal. But that’s exactly what we did when the B&B where we were staying served up Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet for the “dessert” portion of our breakfast.

As if having dessert at breakfast wasn’t decadent enough, here we were dipping our spoons into a sorbet so deeply purple and lusciously flavored with wine, that I considered postponing our morning wine tasting to indulge in a few more scoops.

It was delicious, really delicious. I decided right then and there I wanted more. So guess what’s going to be on the dessert menu at our house this coming weekend?

Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet

Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet

Adapted from StarChefs

Yield: 1 pint

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup Cabernet wine
  • 2 cups blackberries
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 egg white, whipped (or product like Egg Beaters Egg Whites)

Method:

  1. In a bowl of cold water, gently clean the blackberries. Be sure to remove all debris and any soft or discolored berries.
  2. Combine the berries, water, sugar, lemon juice and wine in a food processor or blender. Process or blend mixture until smooth. Add the whipped egg white and stir until thoroughly blended. Chill mixture.
  3. Freeze (churn) cooled mixture in an ice cream machine, according to the manufacturer’s directions. Garnish with fresh  edible flowers (Violas or Pansies come to mind) or herbs (mint, lemon balm).

Want to dish up more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wendnesday!