Building the Best Fruit Salad

Yesterday was Julian's 7th birthday, which meant it was time to bring in a treat to share with his class.  When Sebastian was in first and second grade any treats had to be gluten free and vegan with no nuts and no citrus.  I never baked a treat for his birthday during those 2 years that could be enjoyed by all his classmates.  When he was in first grade I tried to make gluten free vegan brownies but the results were terrible so I made regular brownies and 2 children had candy.  The following year I made Gluten Free Oatmeal Lace Cookies, which meant only his vegan classmate had candy.  I thought that was the hardest it would ever get, until this year when I was getting ready for Julian's birthday.  This year Julian has a classmate who cannot have fat.  Fat free brownies anyone?  No, how about fat free cupcakes?  Having watched this child have to eat cereal when everyone else was happily eating a muffin for breakfast I was not going to exclude him from my planning.

However Julian threw a wrench in any easy treats when he calmly informed me he did not want his treat to be candy.  So what would Julian love that all of his classmates could share?  Well, I could bake an angel food cake, but honestly the idea had no appeal to me and I was having trouble imagining Julian agreeing.  As soon as I suggested fruit salad Julian was excited and happy.  My children know when I make a fruit salad it will be something to celebrate, not a bowl of hard fruit that you eat slowly in order from most to least boring.  When we brought out the bowl Julian's classmates looked at the contents and were just as excited and happy as he was.  They were just as excited as they would have been for cupcakes.  The child who can't have fat, he was absent.

I could share the exact recipe for fruit salad I mede yesterday, but that would only help you if you found exactly the same fruits I did.  So instead I am going to share my rules for making a fruit salad.  If you follow these rules you can always have a fruit salad worth celebrating.  One that gets you invited to potlucks on the condition you bring a large bowl.

Fruit Salad Rules:


Do not add any fruit that is not ripe and flavorful.  I know for many of you this one is obvious, but I have been served many fruit salads with unripe melon, mango, etc in giant oversized chunks.  It is better to serve less fruit salad instead of bulking it up with pieces of fruit that really should be fed to the compost.

Large fruits should all be cut into bite sized pieces

Do not use frozen fruit

A really good fruit salad will be beautiful and the colors will be well balanced.  Honestly, if you look at a bowl of fruit salad and you notice that it has predominately one color family that is a sign it will not be as tasty.

Fruits to include:
Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc), peaches, nectarines, cherries (pitted), mango, melon (watermelon, pineapple, honeydew, cantaloupe, gaia, crenshaw, etc), kiwi

No: Apples, pears, grapes, bananas (I know some folks who love bananas in their fruit salad, but many folks hate bananas and when added to fruit salad they contaminate everything around them with their flavor), fruit that is not perfectly ripe (I had a friend once serve a bowl of fruit salad, apologizing for the unripe and flavorless honeydew melon.  Ummm, if it isn't good, don't add it)

When a small amount of alcohol is not a problem (note: No, I did not do this for Julian's class!) I add 2 tablespoons of cointreau or other good quality orange flavored fruit liquor to every 10 to 12 or so cups of fruit salad.  This boots the flavor and helps to preserve the fruit.  This trick can improve underripe or flavorless watermelon, although it does not work with other melon.

If you cannot add alcohol use the freshly squeezed juice of orange colored citrus (oranges, clementines, tangerines).  This will also help with underripe or flavorless watermelon, however it will not preserve the fruit at all.

If you have strawberries that are not perfect you can cut them up and sprinkle them lightly with sugar and stir them.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes or more, until the strawberries start to release some juices.  Then you can proceed with adding other fruit.  Unfortunately this only works with strawberries.

Julian enjoying his birthday breakfast of a chocolate croissant at Mirabelles

Salted Browned Butter Healthier Rice Crispy Treats

In reality this post is a final attempt to get my blog to be featured on Foodgawker and Tastespotting while the Good Meat Cookbook giveaway entry period is still open.  Don't forget that you have until 11:59 PM Eastern Standard time on Sunday February 27 to leave a comment on the Good Meat Cookbook Giveaway post to be entered for a copy of this amazing book by James Beard award winning author Deborah Krasner.   I am not saying that these rice crispy treats are not tasty.  Nor am I saying that they are not worth your time and energy to make them.  I would have shared them eventually, but as they are photogenic I decided to share early.

My mother never made rice krispie treats.  As a woman who referred to iceberg lettuce as "junk food" and made a convincing argument for marshmallows being disgusting puffed sugar, it is really no surprise that she did not make them.  Her description of marshmallows kept me from trying one until I was eighteen.  I suppose to be completely honest I would have to say I never tried a plain marshmallow before I was eighteen.  I probably ate my weight in rice krispie treats at every bake sale at my school when I was growing up.  I never knew they contained marshmallows, but somehow they were an illicit favorite.

Now that I have children of my own it is not my mother's brainwashing that kept me from making rice krispie treats at home.  It is because marshmallows are really puffed high fructose corn syrup, not sugar.  However the other day I found vegan marshmallows which are high fructose corn syrup free.  When I brought them to the register the cashier told me how much she loves them.  Then when she saw the whole grain rice puffs she said in an awed voice, "You're making healthy rice krispie treats."  Personally I think they are less unhealthy or even healthier, calling them healthy is still a stretch.

The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and it is for Salted Browned Butter Crispy Treats.  I figured if I was going to the trouble of buying better quality ingredients I might as well start with the best recipe I could find.  While these are not health food they are rich, nutty and buttery.  Tastier then your average rice krispie treat and with at least reduced guilt when you indulge.

Salted Browned Butter Healthier Rice Crispy Treats
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen just by upgrading the ingredients

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag vegan no high fructose corn syrup marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups puffed whole grain rice cereal

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8 x 8 x 2 inch pan (mine was pyrex).

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Continue to cook the butter over medium heat, stirring often, until it becomes golden brown and smells nutty, about 5 minutes.  Don't walk away while you are browning the butter because butter can go quickly from browned to burnt.  As soon as the butter is browned and fragrant turn the heat off and add the marshmallows, stirring them in well.

Turn the heat back on to low and continue to stir until the marshmallows are completely melted and smooth.  When I made them at first the marshmallows did not want to melt at all and I began to panic that healthier marshmallows don't melt.  Eventually the mixture became melted and smooth.

Once the marshmallow butter mixture is completely smooth turn off the heat and add the cereal and salt all together.  Stir well and quickly spread in the buttered pan.  Press the top down firmly with a spatula to make sure it is evenly spread in the pan.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

The Posts I Cook From: 2010

I have been reading all sorts of round up posts over the last week as bloggers summarized their year in blogging.  Most were a list of the tops posts based on page views or number of comments.  Perhaps I am just more cynical then some but I don't fully trust my statistics or their significance.  I know that largely my most popular pages are the ones that are featured on Foodgawker and Tastespotting.  Comments seem like a more accurate method, although even then it could just be most controversial, heart wrenching, timely, or just the ones with the most visits, or the best photos.

So instead I decided to give you a list of the posts I actually refer when cooking.  As an added bonus this means I know the recipes work as written. These are the posts I actually pull out my computer and cook from, the ones where I have to refer to what I have written to get it right.  Originally I was going to include 2009 as well as I never thought to do this last year.  However the list complied form both years was far longer then I was expecting, so I will save that for a another post.

Sesame Glazed Baby Bok Choy

My CSA has not grown bok choy for the entire time I have been a member (this summer will be our 12th season) so it is not one of the vegetables I am constantly looking for new preparation methods for.  Maybe if we had it more often we would grow tired of this recipe.  So far we all still love it (okay, I admit it, Julian as refused this dish every time I have made it.  So we all still feel the way we did the first time I made this).  The leaves have a concentrated umami, earthy flavor while the stalk is tender and almost melting and juicy.  If our CSA adds bok choy to the rotation I may need to search out other recipes, but for now we are happy.

French Crepes

These crepes have been a regular weekend breakfast for several years now.  Sebastian and Julian would much prefer they were served on the weekdays as well.  If my week day routine allowed for either Lewis or myself to spend the time at the stove making them everybody would be happy.  The recipe is for a true french crepe, taught to me by a lovely french women.  Most of the time we serve them with an array of jams, although I have been known to make chocolate ganache or warm up some Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce to spread on them.  They also work beautifully with savory fillings.  On the rare occasion there are any left after breakfast I have created delicious dishes just by filling them with leftovers.

Sour Cream Banana Muffins

The more I make these muffins the more I appreciate them.  Which is a good thing, as they are on the menu for the preschoolers breakfast so I am making large quantities of them once a month.  I have started to use Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and only 1/4 cup of white flour.  I plan on trying it with all white whole wheat next time.  The first time I made them at work I baked 12 extra for the staff to share.  However they had a little trouble sharing properly, with some people helping themselves to a second muffin before other folks even had one.  I received this e-mail about them recently:

Hi Robin,

I thought you'd be happy to know that this year, as holiday gifts . . . I baked banana bread using your recipe for banana bread muffins. Anna, Tavi and I had a loaf for brunch today and it was delicious. I consider that to be a testament to the recipe more than the chef as I am a strict instructions follower. In fact, I was terrified to see that the bread hadn't cooked through after twenty minutes. Tavi had to talk me down, reminding me that muffins bake through much faster and that I would probably have to wait an hour.

Best,

David

Banana Cocoa Pancakes

These have not usurped our regular pancakes in our normal breakfast rotation but they sneak in every now and then.  I just made them again yesterday morning and had the inspiration for this post as I pulled out my computer and used my own blog for reference.  They have a heartier taste then a standard pancake with a pronounced sweetness from the banana (or maybe that is the maple syrup I generously pour on top).  They also reheat really well for later enjoyment.  The flavor profile is mostly banana, I know one readers husband was disappointed that the cocoa was not more pronounced

Oatmeal Lace Cookies (can be gluten free)

Since I posted these they have quickly become my favorite cookie.  They have a subtle flavor with a pronounced vanilla flavor.  Crisp in a delicate shattering way.  Most of the time I prefer chewy cookies to crisp ones but they are still delicate and tender in their texture.  Plus they have a sweet nutty flavor from the oats that may even convince you they are health food.

Rhubarb Apricot Jam

When I first created this jam I had a moment of panic that we would never have enough to last the whole winter.  At the rate it was disappearing I was not even sure we would have enough for the summer months.  When friends who live by a Trader Joe's came to visit I requested the California apricots I needed to make more (okay, I may or may not have threatened denying one of my visitors, who is known to spread obscene quantities of jam in any breakfast item, a taste of the new jam if they did not bring some).  We now have a healthy stock pile and I feel confident we have enough to last until spring. However our love for it is still strong.

Tomato Orange Marmalade

Tomato Orange Marmalade became a kitchen responsibility the first time I made it.  A preserve my family suddenly needed to have around that could not be found in the store.  Happily it is also one of the canning projects I find the most satisfying.  It bubbles away on the stove for a long time looking nothing like a cohesive preserve.  Instead it looks like a pot full of liquid with random citrus peels floating in it.  Then there is a moment when everything comes together and looks like one thing.  All year long we happily spread it on toast, peanut butter sandwiches and crepes.  It does not taste like tomatoes, instead it has a mellow bright flavor without the usual bitterness of marmalade.  The taste is good enough that when I offered the Burlington Free Press photographer a taste when he was here for an article on canning he could not keep himself from double dipping.  I did think of killing him, but instead I gave him a jar.

Pumpkin Pie with a No Roll Crust

I have probably baked more of this recipe then any other I have mentioned here.  After preparing it with the preschoolers I taught folks how to make it in a cooking class.  The following week I added to my tally by baking over 25 of them for the Family Room's Family Supper.  Even when baking it in quantities that involved pouring several quarts of heavy cream and 36 eggs in a large vat some people said it was the best pumpkin pie they have ever had.  Then for Thanksgiving my boys and I baked it with a friend I used to babysit for when he was a baby.  It was his contribution to a pot luck Thanksgiving.  I have also used the crust, without the sugar and cinnamon, on quiche.

Annie's Salsa

This recipe is not one that I have tweaked or played with for several reasons.  The first one is safety, it is safe as written, so I change how spicy it is by swapping hot peppers for mild ones or vice versa, however the basic ratios and amounts all remain the same.  The other reason I don't play with it, putting my own personal flavor profile on its established framework, is it is perfect, as written.  My friend Annie put in all the work finding the right balance and then having it tested for safety.  Now I just receive the compliments.

Soy Braised Cabbage

I just prepared this again the other night using only soy sauce (no Bragg's) and green instead of red cabbage.  I asked Sebastian to take a taste from my plate and he screwed up his face in disgust and then obliged.  He chewed, thought for a minute and began making place on his plate.  "I'll have some of that." Pretty good from someone who does not like cabbage.  However this recipe does not have the bite of raw cabbage or the flavor of most cooked cabbage.  It is darkly rich and savory and one that most people would never think was cabbage.

Triple Chocolate Triple Layer Peppermint Bark

The only reason not to make this recipe is you have a New Year's resolution not to eat sweets.  I gave some to a neighbor when she was out walking her dog and she told me she ate all of it before she returned home.  I am not usually a fan of white chocolate but this one only serves to make the peppermint smoother and contrast with the other chocolates.  The holiday season may be over but this recipe still deserves to be enjoyed.  If you need an excuse, make it for Valentines day.  Although if you make it now you will need a new batch long before February.

Pumpkin Pie with a No Roll Crust

When I was twelve years old I made my first pie crust.  An ornate lattice crust for a blueberry pie made  in anticipation of my mother coming home from the hospital.  I removed the pie from the oven and happily cut myself a slice.  The filing was perfect, the crust however could barely be sawed with a knife and took considerable time and effort to chew and swallow.  I did not grow up in a household where pie crust was ever made so I did not have any idea what I did wrong.  I left my doorstop crust pie on the counter and went out to have lunch, my brother told me he would stay home and just have a slice of pie for lunch.

I had lunch with my mother's old physics professor and he explained the science of crust making.  As he told me pastry has to be handled as little as possible to keep it flaky and tender I thought of the hour I had spent watching "The Price is Right," as I rolled and rerolled my crust.  I left lunch knowing that my next crust would be better and at least my mother would enjoy the filling in her welcome home pie.

I still remember how my pie looked when I returned home, 2 slices neatly cut out and the insides scraped completely clean.  There was not even a trace of blueberry filling remaining.  I am sure that a screaming argument resulted, however I do not remember that part.  What I do remember is my mother, who told me she loved the pie crust I made for her.  Then every night after dinner she cut herself a slice of crust until she had eaten the whole tough monstrosity.  That memory is one of my definitions of love, as well as a reminder to have a light hand when making pie crust.

So you can imagine my thought process as I looked for a pie crust recipe to use in the preschool at work.  The crust I ruined that very first time became my favorite crust when handled carefully.  However I do not feel a group of overly enthusiastic three and four year olds would be best suited for preparing a delicate crust.  I do believe in process over product for many things in the preschool setting, but food prep is not one of them.  So I searched for a crust you can smush into the pan with no rolling.   The crust I found calls for oil and all you do is stir it before pressing it into the pie pan.  Skills that seemed perfectly suited to preschoolers, I figured the results would be better than a crust that might be rolled for 20 minutes.

I was very happy with the crust we made, it was better then any I have found in the freezer section, although I feel a need to point out every bite of crust was filled with pumpkin pie, so really my results are skewed.  However I am now thinking quiche could be a fast weeknight meal utilizing a crust that is stirred and smashed before filling.  I have already told my boys they can make the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year.  The filling was also just what I was looking for, although part of that is starting with pie pumpkins instead of a can.  One coworker remarked, as she took her fourth piece, "I don't even like pumpkin pie, but I love this."  I am guessing she never had a pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin before.  When I entered the classroom with the baked pies one little girl enthusiastically asked for a piece of pie.  As soon as she was done she was asking for more.  I asked her to please wait until everyone had a first piece.  She sat quietly down and slowly licked her plate clean, and to be honest I don't blame her.

Since then I have had the chance to cook one more time with the preschoolers.  I escorted a small group of them to a local farm where we picked kale.  Then we returned to the classroom and made my recipe for kale chips.  When we sat down to taste them most of the children excitedly gathered around ready for their turn to taste them.  One little boy made a face and looked at the bowl with disgust, although he did cautiously take one from the bowl.  He bit into it and then quickly ate the whole thing.  He said, with wonder "I didn't think they would taste yummy, but they taste really yummy."  Then all but 2 children proceeded to devour the whole bowl.  Personally I am still doing mental cartwheels of joy over the whole thing, 3 days later.

No Roll Preschool Friendly Pie Crust

Adapted from allrecipes.com no roll pie crust

I added sugar and cinnamon to the recipe so it would balance better with the filling.  If I was making a savory pie I would leave out the sugar and cinnamon and add a finely chopped herb such as sage, basil or thyme and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup oil (we used safflower oil, another good neutral oil would be grapeseed oil, for a quiche olive oil would be wonderful and if there are no allergy concerns try roasted hazelnut oil where the nutty sweetness would be appreciated)

1/4 cup ice water

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375°

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  We chose to divide the dough into 2 balls before pressing them into pie pans.  We had just enough dough for a thin crust in each pie without an extra lip of unfilled crust.  Line the pie with foil and fill with about 1 cup of dried beans or pie weights.  Bake the unfilled pie crust in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Remove and fill with desired filling and bake according to filling recipe.

Pumpkin Puree

2 pie pumpkins (you can also use any winter squash)

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350°

Split the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.  If the pumpkins are very hard to cut through use a large chefs knife or cleaver and a mallet or hammer.  Just place the knife on the pumpkin as sharp side down and tap it with the mallet to slice the pumpkin in half.  Rub all the cut surfaces with olive oil and place cut side down on a cookie sheet.  Bake until tender when pierced with a knife through the skin.  You can scoop out the insides now or place in the fridge until needed.

Use a spoon or grapefruit spoon to scoop all of the pumpkin flesh into a bowl or pot.  Use an immersion blender to puree or place in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Any puree not used in the pie can be used in muffins, pumpkin waffles, soup or frozen for later use.

Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Gourmet November 1999
(We filled 2 pies with this even though the original recipe states it fills 1.  I tried it at home to fill 1 pie and had leftover batter)

2 cups pumpkin puree from pie pumpkins or 1 can pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375°  Whisk all the ingredients together and pour into crust that has been blind baked for 20 minutes (baked without its filling).  Pour filling into single pie pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until filling is set but still jiggles when you shake the pan.  Allow to cool on a rack before serving to allow filling to set fully.

Watermelon Creamsicle

On the morning of September first I climbed into bed with each of my children and hugged them.  "Good morning first day of third grade boy." I whispered to Sebastian.  Next I curled up with Julian and again, whispering, said, "Good morning first day of kindergarten boy." Julian happily answered back, "Good morning first day of work mama."  On the first day of school I became the "Healthy Food Coordinator" for the VNA Family Room, which means in one fell swoop everything is different.

Before I tell you about this job, let me say, I am not one of those people who believes everything happens for a reason.  In part this is because my brother liked to walk around New York City, in the eighties, talking to homeless people.  Hearing the stories of why people became homeless sort of kills the possibility that the world will work out for everyone.  There is also that small thing of my mother dying when I was 12 and becoming a type 1 diabetic when I was 13.  So with my lack of Pollyanna feelings about the world established, let me tell you about my new job and the organization I am working for.

The Family Room has been in our lives since Julian was an infant.  At that time I was struggling to figure out how to care for a newborn and keep an overactive, curious, outgoing preschooler occupied and happy.  I quickly learned that our days went better if I could just get us organized enough to get out of the house and to the Family Room, at least on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they have family play.  Family play is a drop in play program with staff and food.  However that does not really explain the role the VNA has had in the lives of my family for the last 5 years, or the feelings of grief I was having as I tried to figure out how I was going to graduate with my children from there.

However this last fall I had come to the realize I did not need to work just because Julian would be in school all day.  Taking care of my family and what we eat is still important work and finding some meaningless, low paying job was not going to make me happier (although it might have made us more financially stable).  If I was not going to work, I would have the time to volunteer at the Family Room, teaching cooking workshops to the participants and helping with food.  So comfortable with my choices I started to look forward to the free time I would have to cook more, blog etc.

Then in  May or June I heard that the Family Room's Americorps Vista position was going to be available and the position was, "Healthy Food Coordinator."  I am going to skip over the brief period when I thought the position was already filled and just say, "Wow!"  This position is even more, "meant to be," if you believe in that kind of thing, as now I am working 3 blocks from the boys current school.  This is only amazing when you realize we decided in April to move the children to a school that is 2 miles from our house, instead of the one Sebastian attended for the last 3 years, that is a mile away.

I have now been doing my job for one week and I feel very confident in saying, I can tell you at the end of the year exactly what I am doing.  One thing I have not had to do is spend time getting to know my coworkers or the programs they offer.  I know I will be teaching cooking workshops, helping to source more local foods for all the programs with a focus on the preschool and developing menus for the preschool ready for them (probably me to start with) making their own meals.  I will be using the skills and relationships I have been developing in the kitchen and with food here in Burlington.  Some of my children's pickiness will help inform what I do, but really much of Sebastian and Julian's opinions about food are uniquely their own.  Take last week and the watermelon popsicles I made when Sebastian declared he was tired of eating the melon from our CSA.

So I had this moment of inspiration to make watermelon cream popsicles, which would be a riff on a drink I used to get on vacation.  The drink was called a watermelon cream and is made by blending fresh watermelon juice with vanilla ice cream.  However rather then make vanilla ice cream I decided just to use milk, cream, sugar and vanilla extract and then freeze the mixture in popsicle molds.  Both Sebastian and Julian were so excited when I told them the idea and hounded me until I got popsicle sticks to make them.  Lewis, Julian and I all love them.  Sebastian, the child who was tired of watermelon, declared that they are not what he was expecting and he doesn't like them.  Apparently, he said, he was expecting them to taste like a wonderfully ripe slice of watermelon and they don't.  Perhaps because his mother intentionally made them a little different from the flavor of watermelon because he was tired of it!

Watermelon Cream Popsicles

2 1/2 cups watermelon puree (make watermelon puree by whizzing watermelon chunks in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. You can remove the seeds if you want but it is not essential)
3/4 cup heavy cream (you can substitute half and half, whole milk or any milk substitute such as soy milk)
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%, use whatever you keep in the house, even soy, rice, almond etc)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients and combine well using whatever machine you used to puree the watermelon chunks.  Pour into popsicle molds (or paper cups with a stick handle) and freeze until hard.

Bay Laurel Ice Cream

This week marks another first for Julian.  For  the first time he can finally attend science camp with his brother.  This is the third year that Sebastian has attended, so for 2 years Julian could only hear about all the amazing discoveries his brother was making.  Julian has been excited for weeks, okay months, as he and Sebastian talked about science camp.  He sailed happily into the classroom without a backward glance, just a huge expectant smile for what was to come.  Every day when I go to pick them up Julian's smile appears before he does.

When I imagined this week I had all sorts of plans of what I would do with my time.  Many of my ideas were centered in the kitchen and this blog.  Turns out I don't have all the free time I was dreaming of.  Instead I worked my final shift at one job and I have spent more time learning about my next position, one I will share more about later.  I also did not imagine myself needing to sand my deck and teak table as a result of my little scientists!  After camp on Monday I  was in my kitchen when Julian came in, climbed on the counter and tried to head out with a box of food coloring.  I calmly removed his loot and sent him on his way, patting myself on the back for avoiding whatever catastrophe was brewing.

I should have been tipped off when Julian just went away without a battle.  Julian has never been a child who gives up easily.  When he was a toddler you could distract him from the outlet that was his goal for an hour, thinking you had won.  As soon as you stopped entertaining him, he was back at the outlet again.  My error was forgetting that I had 2 boxes of food coloring.  So the boys had the first box and were conducting their own science experiments on the deck.  When I discovered them there were puddles of water and food coloring on the deck floor, the table and spatters all over the two of them.  I am sure they learned something, sigh.

While I may not have the endless time I was dreaming of I still made a bay laurel ice cream.  I started to dream of making bay laurel ice cream after reading Molly gush over fennel ice cream on Orangette.  If the cream and butterfat soften the flavor of fennel and makes it irresistibly herbal and soft, I began to wonder if it would also work to soften the flavor and bring out the sweet under note of fresh bay laurel leaves.  The end result wasn't as subtle as Molly's description, however it is creamy and rich with a sweet herbal floral flavor that nobody will guess the origins of.  However that might be more because to most folks the flavor of bay laurel leaves is muddled into beef stew and not because it is disguised.  This ice cream tastes nothing like stew, instead it has a sweet flavor that lingers in the mouth as the ice cream melts on your tongue.

Let me be clear that this should not be made with the dried bay laurel leaves you have gathering dust in your cupboard.  I am lucky enough to have a bay laurel tree, if you aren't you can substitute another favorite herb, or buy a bay laurel plant.  If you live locally, Red Wagon Plants is carrying them this year and should have them at the local stores that carry their plants.  Check out my post on the Red Wagon Plants blog that explains how I care for a bay laurel tree in Vermont.  Maybe working on that post explains why I had bay laurel on the brain and made this ice cream.  Whatever the cause this is a dish i will be making again.  (Sometimes you can also find fresh bay laurel leaves in the produce section of your grocery store).

Bay Laurel Ice Cream
Inspired by Gourmet's Fennel Ice Cream

1 2/3 cups heavy cream
1 fresh bay laurel leaf (as you can see my leaf was a little over 2 inches long, smaller would be fine)
1 cup whole milk (I only had 1%, I used 3 Tbsp half and half and the rest 1%)
3/4 cups sugar, divided use
1/4 tsp kosher salt
4 large egg yolks

Combine the heavy cream and bay laurel leaf and a small heavy saucepan.  Bring the cream to a simmer, remove the mixture from the heat and let steep covered for 30 minutes.  After steeping the bay laurel leaf in the cream for 30 minutes prepare an ice bath.  Place the milk, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the salt in a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a simmer while stirring to dissolve the sugar. 

Prepare an ice bath and whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar in a medium metal bowl and set aside.  Combine the milk, ½ cup sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium heavy saucepan, and bring just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Add the hot milk to the egg yolks in a slow stream while whisking.  Warming the eggs gently this way prevents them from scrambling.  Add the egg yolk/milk mixture back to the pan.


Cook the mixture over medium low heat while stirring constantly with a heat proof spatula (I use silicone).  Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan as you cook it.  When the mixture coats the back of the spatula and thickens pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a metal bowl set in the ice bath. Stir until cool, when it is cool strain the bay laurel flavored cream into the egg yolk mixture.  Continue to cool over the ice bath until very cold or just cool it in the fridge for several hours.  The mixture must be totally cold before proceeding.

Freeze in your ice cream maker and then place in the freezer to harden before serving.

Oatmeal Lace Cookies: Gluten Free

When Sebastian began preschool I could only send in treats that were peanut free, when he entered kindergarten I had to avoid apples when baking for his class. The following year the list of allergies, food intolerances and chosen eating requirements meant any treats for all his classmates needed to be vegan, gluten free, with no nuts and no citrus.

I have a memory of being in the kitchen of my friend Cheryl's house shortly after her oldest sons birthday. She offered me a taste of the gluten free vegan "goodies" she had sent in to preschool to celebrate his birthday. Perhaps I should have been wary when she mentioned that the previous year (when there were no restrictions on what she created) there were no leftovers to come home while this year she received a whole tray back. I took a bite and swallowed the whole chalky mess before asking, "Do you really hate me that much?" From previous experiences in her kitchen I knew it wasn't her cooking ability.

With that memory in my mind I discussed our options with Sebastian. Sebastian's teacher told me I could make what I wanted because she kept a stash of treats for the children with eating restrictions. However my son really wanted to share with everyone, and he wanted brownies. So I followed a friends vegan no gluten brownie recipe. She has a lot of experience with cooking with food restrictions and promised it would be wonderful. After I baked them my whole family agreed, they would have been great, IF I had used wheat flour, eggs and butter. I sent in my regular brownies and the teacher had candy for 2 students.

This year I was going to make brownies again, that is until I tried the Oatmeal Lace Cookies from Dinner with Julie. Sebastian took one bite, asked for another cookie and promptly decided he wanted to bring them into school for his birthday. I loved the recipe the first time I made them but they were a little fragile for bringing to school. I had visions of arriving at Sebastian's classroom with a container full of crumbs and suggesting the teacher give everyone a spoon. So I played with the recipe until they had the same flavor profile but held together better. While I was experimenting I tried substituting rice flour for the wheat flour to make them gluten free. The only problem I had when I made these was sending almost all of them away.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Adapted from Dinner with Julie

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/2 cps gluten free rolled oats

1/4 cup rice flour (If you don't need them to be gluten free you can substitute white whole wheat or all purpose flour)

1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 350° Melt the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium pot over low heat. Turn off the heat and add the flour and oats to the butter sugar mixture in the pot and mix well. Allow the batter to cool for a few minutes before adding the egg to prevent cooking the egg. Add the egg and stir well to combine.

Prepare baking sheets either by spraying with cooking spray or lining with parchment of a silpat. Drop 1.5 - 2 tsps of batter 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. This goes much faster if you use a cookie scoop*. Use the back of a spatula to flatten each cookie out to a diameter of approximately 2 inches.

Bake for 10 to 18 minutes, rotating tray positions midway through baking, until the cookies are golden brown and look set. The original recipe says to allow cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheets, I needed to reuse the sheets so I waited a minute or so to allow the cookies to set and then slid the parchment onto cooling racks and then gently transferring the cookies to cooling racks from the parchment so I could reuse the parchment.

*If you buy a scoop, or anything else, from Amazon through the link provided I get a tiny credit to use at Amazon.

Strawberry ShortCake

On the morning of my fortieth birthday Julian, my five year old, ran in to the room and asked, "When are the Gathers getting here?" Children are so funny about secrets and surprises. Up until that moment both boys had been doing an okay job of keeping our friends visit a surprise, only allowing comments to leak out that I could ignore, or pretend did not mean anything more then how much we all missed our friends. But that comment was so blatant, spoken by a child who was having trouble keeping what he knew bottled inside, and needed an answer.

Turns out the answer was lunch time, our friends would be here at lunch time. The Gathers are friends who were forced to move away last summer for an Ear Nose and Throat Residency 3.5 hours away. They are a family with a close friend for each of us plus a bonus 2 year old. Malcolm, the 2 year old, is strong willed in a remarkably similar way to Julian. A lesson every day to his mother, Katherine, for ever marveling at Julian and my ability to cope. She made the mistake of commenting on it when she was still planning on having one more child.

I have always been hard to surprise, even before I had children to tell me out right. Lewis is often amazed and horrified at how little information I need to make accurate conclusions.

I have had 2 attempted surprise parties before in my life and I figured out both of them. There is often too much maneuvering to the time and destination. Both previous attempts involved outright arguing, one about when I would return from going out with another friend. My surprise 12th birthday party my friends asked if I could have a birthday party (my mother was very ill and I could not have one) who would I invite. When they argued with me about the guests for my fantasy party, I knew something was up.

As my friend Katherine tried to guide us to my husband's office to meet him for lunch my suspicions were aroused. So I quietly changed my shirt, grabbed my camera and stopped arguing about where we should eat. Then in case I doubted my own instincts, Sebastian turned to Julian as we left and said, "Don't worry, the party is at Daddy's office and there will be food there."

And there was food, wonderful food that Lewis had chosen with local caterers, all simple but delicious and fresh. There was also a room with some of my favorite people. At one point there was a row of children, whose families do not eat processed foods, happily drinking florescent orange gatorade. The only thing missing was cake, Lewis could not decide on a cake that would be right so he decided on none. So a few days later, I made my own. A strawberry shortcake made with a spongecake base instead of biscuits.

Strawberry shortcake was a specialty of my mom's, and in honor of my mother I used one of her spongecake recipes. I used the one where she rewrote the steps, whited out what she wrote and then rewrote the steps again. I am not sure this is the best sponge cake recipe ever, but I just love the audacity of the white out in my mother's cookbook, something I can not bring myself to do.

I did receive a true surprise in the end as Katherine and her children stayed in my tiny house with Sebastian and Julian while Lewis and I went to stay at their condo at Sugarbush. I have been pining for weeks for a chance to eat without anybody whining and sleep as late as I want without having to worry about anybody. So this gift was perfect, especially as I really missed my children as I tried to go to sleep in a building they were not in. I guess I am not one of those mothers who is destined to take a long vacation from her children.

Strawberry Shortcake

Sponge Cake

Adapted from James Beard and my mother

4 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

4 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups of sugar (divided use)

3/4 cups hot water

grated rind of 2 lemons

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

4 egg whites beaten until stiff, but not dry

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

Melt the butter slowly in a small saucepan over low heat. When the butter is melted whisk in the 2 Tbsp flour. Brush the flour/butter mixture on the insides of two 8 inch cake pans and set aside, not next to the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°.

Beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon colored (this is much easier with the best quality eggs, which I happily gather from my own chickens). While beating the eggs slowly add 1 cup of sugar. Mix in the hot water, lemon rind, lemon juice, salt and baking powder and the rest of the sugar.

James Beard says to fold in the beaten egg whites. Once the egg whites are thoroughly incorporated sift the flours over the batter and fold it in. My mom said to fold in the flour first and the egg whites second. I will leave the choice up to you.

Pour the batter into the two prepared cake pans and bake in the center of the oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans on a cooling rack.

Topping

Heavy/whipping cream

Organic strawberries (in season I will happily use local non organic strawberries that I know are not sprayed at all once the fruit is set).

Put the whipping cream in a bowl and whip using an electric beater, stand mixer or immersion blender to until soft peaks form. Remove the cakes from the pan by inverting on to a plate or cake stand. Spread the bottom layer heavily with whipped cream and cover with sliced strawberries. Spread the strawberries with more whipped cream and then place the top layer on the cake. Spread the top with more whipped cream and place sliced strawberries on top. Serve at once

Refrigerate any leftovers (Ha)

Kosher for Passover Brownies

I grew up in Manhattan in a predominately Jewish neighborhood and attended a school were most of the students were Jewish. I am not sure when I first realized that this was not the case for the rest of the country, or even the state. I do remember in 10th grade one of my history teachers, Mr. Gatch, told of a time he subbed for a 7th grade history class. Midway through the lesson he realized that the class believed the majority of U.S. citizens were Jewish. So after taking a poll of the class where students said they believed the U.S. was 90 to 95 percent Jewish he told them about the town in Ohio where he grew up.

He told them about the one Jewish family in the whole town. "Imagine what it would be like to be the only Jewish family in your town. Imagine how you would feel if you and your brother were the only Jewish children in your school". Mr Gatch just stood there for a minute to allow the students to try to picture what he said, try to place themselves in the shoes of Mr Gatch's classmate. Then one boy in the back raised his hand and asked, "Mr Gatch, what was it like for you being the only Jewish family in your town?" My whole class laughed at the inability for this student to even comprehend that their teachers were mostly not Jewish. Our laughter was stronger because of our faint chagrin that we only recently (some while Mr Gatch told his story) learned otherwise ourselves.

Now 24 years later I am living in Burlington, Vermont. My children do not go to a school that is predominately Jewish. This time of year it feels like every adult who talks to them asks what the Easter bunny is going to bring them. They never get asked what gift they received for the Afikomen or how their seder was. Everyone here seems to assume children are part of the predominant culture, waiting expectantly for the Easter Bunny.

This is the first year since Sebastian was born that I have not hosted a seder this week. We are going to wait to have a belated seder with family in New York the last week of April. Vermont seems to have an independent streak when it comes to school holidays, so our April break does not coincide with Passover and Easter as it does in most states. Last year we took Sebastian out of school for the week of Passover so we could celebrate with my family. However it felt like we came home just in time for April vacation. This year we will wait to have our seder, we could have celebrated with local friends, but my boys like this opportunity to celebrate with my family. I think they like feeling like one of many Jews at the Passover table, or maybe I am just projecting.

It feels really weird not to be marking this week, not to have gathered with either family or friends to read through the Haggadah I have written. It feels strange that I have not slaved in the kitchen for 2 weeks to prepare for our seder. I will still make my family crazy with the smells of brisket braised for hours only to be sliced and placed in the freezer for the future, just not yet.

In the midst of this weirdness I read an article about the White House Seder. I love the story of the start of the new tradition, a box of matzo and a bottle of Manishevitz after a long day. The Jews at the seder unable to answer all the questions asked by those new to the holiday celebration. I have to admit I also love the idea of gefilte fish being served on white house china. My non Jewish husband has embraced all other Jewish foods but draws the line at gefilte fish. I wonder what the Obama's think of it. This gathering really sounds like the best Passover seders have to offer.

So perhaps in recognition of what most other Jews (and the Obamas) are doing this week, I made Kosher for Passover brownies. My boys are all ecstatic to have brownies. These brownies don't taste of struggle or matzo, instead they are rich and chocolatey. The first year I made them one of the children at my seder, who is not Jewish and did not comprehend the matzo slight of hand that makes it possible to be so creative at Passover, asked me to teach her mother how to make brownies. Somehow I have lost my original recipe and had to play around and create my own. I was not happy with my first attempt, so I adjusted the recipe and made another half batch. Everyone agrees that the second batch is much better. However I am not worried that the first batch will go uneaten, it just needs to wait its turn.

Passover Brownies

These brownies can be made pareve (can be eaten with a dairy or meat meal) by using Kosher for Passover margarine, and of course you can use Kosher for Passover chocolate as well. My family celebrates Passover more as a way to connect with our ancestors and the rituals and celebrations they engaged in, so I use Callebaut chocolate and butter.

6 ozs bittersweet chocolate (Kosher for Passover if you want, I use Callebaut)

3/4 (1 1/2 sticks) cup butter (if you wish to make this pareve use Kosher for Passover margarine)

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp chocolate extract

3/4 cups matzo cake meal

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a 9" by 13" pyrex pan with butter or margarine and set aside.

Melt butter (or margarine) and chocolate in a heavy pot over very low heat (if you want you can use a double boiler but the butter or margarine will protect the chocolate from the heat). Once the chocolate is all melted and smooth turn off the heat and add the sugar. Stir until well blended. Add the eggs, salt, vanilla optional chocolate extract. Stir in matzo cake meal and nuts if using. Allow to rest for 5 minutes to let the matzo meal soak up some of the batter before spreading in the prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester comes out with little or no batter on it.

Kumquat Almond Polenta Torta

I found this recipe on the blog of Half Pint Farm. Half Pint Farm is an organic farm in Burlington's Intervale. The owners and farmers are Mara and Spencer Werston. Now that they are not spending long hours in the fields Mara is posting some of her all time favorite recipes.

This torta is her "go to cake."

Mara talks about food and recipes with a real lust for new flavors and experiences and a dedication to eating memorable food. It is clear when you speak with her that she came to farming because she loves to cook and eat. I feel this is the reason Half Pint Farm grows many items that are not grown by other local farms. During the brief Vermont farming season they have esoteric heirloom tomatoes (one of which I have fallen in love with and will be growing this summer), microgreens, artichokes, cardoons, and I am sure other unusual plants that I would know if I could attend the farmer's market every Saturday.

The torta is from Deborah Krasner's book The Flavors of Olive Oil and originally uses lemon instead of kumquats. The recipe has you puree the entire lemon, except the seeds, and add the puree to the cake batter. I found myself, with Julian, in the produce section thinking about the use of a whole lemon and other citrus fruits that might also work. I decided that kumquats would be well suited to this technique and Julian and I weighed a lemon and then figured out how many kumquats to buy where the same total weight.

If you have never tried a kumquat they are a small citrus fruit that is eaten whole. I have watched people make the mistake of peeling kumquats before eating them and then spitting the flesh out in surprise. The flesh is salty and sour while the thin peel is very sweet. Personally I love the balance of flavors and burst of freshness while eating them fresh. However I am alone in my house in that opinion.

To me it seemed a perfect substitution as the peel is thin and the contrasting flavors of the kumquat is so refreshing. Plus if I baked a cake that only I ended up liking I wouldn't have to share. Well the end result was delicious, everyone agreed on that. There is a pleasant roughness to the crumb because of the ground almonds and the polenta. The flavor is subtly sweet with the best flavor of the kumquats being rounded out by the sweetness of the almonds. This will be made often here.

Kumquat Almond Polenta Torta

(clarifying pictures are below the recipe)

Adapted from Half Pint Farm and The Flavors of Olive Oil

1/2 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta

1/2 cup all purpose flour (I did not use any white whole wheat flour but I will try it next time)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups whole almonds (7.5 oz)

1 cup sugar

15 whole organic kumquats, approximately 35 grams

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (the original recipe calls for a mild one, I only have a very fruity one right now and it was perfect)

1/2 cup milk (I used 1%, but I am sure any milk would be fine)

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp almond extract (Mara uses 1 tsp but I was afraid that would have been too much for the boys, I see no reason to change it next time as I thought the subtle almond flavor was just right with the kumquats)

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan and then place a piece of parchment paper cut to fit in the bottom of the pan and butter that (the original recipe calls for a springform pan and no parchment, rather then search for the pan I added the parchment step)

Mix the polenta or cornmeal, flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. Place the sugar and almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine and chop the almonds finely. Cut the kumquats in to 4 pieces lengthwise and remove any seeds. Add all the kumquat pieces to the food processor. Pulse to chop the kumquats finely and combine all the ingredients, about 45 seconds.

Add the olive oil, milk, eggs and almond extract to the food processor and process to combine and further chop the kumquat pieces. Add the dry ingredients all at once and process to combine well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick, cake tester or knife comes out clean. Set on a wire rack to cool of for 10 minutes before unmolding.

Serve with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. To make the raspberry sauce just heat some fresh or frozen raspberries with lemon juice and sugar to taste. (I usually use the juice of half a lemon and 2 tsp sugar to 1 cup of raspberries, But I like my sauce a little tart). When it is liquified strain out the seeds and serve. We use it on pancakes and ice cream as well.

Here are some pictures to help clarify how finely ground the ingredients have to be in the food processor. The food processor you see is over 30 years old and is decrepit, there is a crack in the bowl and I have to hold the top down to trigger the safety while processing.

Ground almonds and sugar

Kumquats ready to be pureed with the almonds and sugar

Kumquats, almonds and sugar all pureed

I am going to share this on "The Saturday Blog Showcase" which this week can be found at Thibeault's Table. To join in make a dish from another blog and post about it with a recipe and a link back to their original post. Then add the logo and a link to the showcase. Don't forget to go and see what other people have tried and shared.