Fresh Fig and Pistachio Crostata

Happy 101 blog day!! This is officially the 101st blog entry that I have written, and whew it has been fun! I have learned a lot by trial, error, and researching food as I blog. I'm a nerd. To celebrate I am going to buy a new pair of thick rimmed glasses with a matching pocket protector, AND bake with fresh figs! It's a good day.

try out the 'fish eye' setting on your camera. super fun!

I am always wanting to expand my knowledge of food. I can't get enough. I try to get out and do things like socialize or jump on trampolines (funny story), but I always just end up in deep thought about food. Yeah, I'm a real thriller at parties. Unless I'm doing the cooking. I've decided to cook all of the food for my wedding reception. The idea worries most people, but I'm really excited about the whole thing. Good food + good people = wonderfulness. I can't stop thinking about what to cook! Figs have been on my mind a lot. Tonight it's just me and some fresh figs, working it out into something delicious. Hopefully my husband will walk through the kitchen, lured by the aroma of fresh figs roasting in a tender pistachio filling, and we can drink wine while we wait impatiently perched at the oven door, for our tart to finish baking. Yeah, that's my dream date night. I warned you about my nerd power.

power to the fig!

In thinking about parties, people, nerds, and figs I decided to make a crostata. Crostata is Italian for 'free formed pie', meaning no pie pan is needed. No, you're a free formed pie! I know that fresh figs baked in a pistachio filling, all tucked into a cornmeal crust will be divine. So I went to it. This recipe is easiest if attacked in steps. Step one; make the crust, roll it out, and chill it in the icebox. Yes, I said icebox. Step two, make the pistachio filling and slice the figs. Step three, assemble, bake, and wait impatiently at the oven door. If you turn the oven light on and off a few times, I'm convinced it makes the baking go quicker. Wine at step three is optional. This crostata is impressing the heck out of my house guest (and my husband, who did meet me at the oven door with wine), and it made it to the dessert list for reception time.

roll out the dough. spread on the pistachio filling......

top with sliced figs......

fold the edges of the dough over the filling (with a lazy Labrador waiting on stand-by), and bake. 

Fresh Fig and Pistachio Crostata

For the dough:
1 cup all purpose- flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbls buttermilk, or Greek yogurt


For the filling:
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
4 Tbls butter
2 tsp all purpose- flour
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from the pod
1 pound fresh figs, stemmed and sliced
1 Tbl fresh lemon juice


1. Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea shaped bits of butter remaining. Pour in the buttermilk, and pulse until the dough comes together. Do not over mix. On a large surface, place two sheets of plastic wrap side by side. Place the dough in the center. Cover with two more sheets of plastic wrap. Roll the dough into a circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Place the whole lot, plastic wrap and dough, in the icebox to chill and keep cool.

Make the filling: In the food processor, combine pistachios and sugar and process until finely ground. Add the egg, butter, flour, and vanilla bean and pulse until smooth. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine the sliced figs and the lemon juice.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the rolled dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, removing the plastic. Spread the pistachio filling over the dough, leaving a 2- inch border around the edges of the dough. Place the figs on top of the filling, and fold the dough border over the filling, pleating when necessary.  Press down gently to seal.

Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before cutting. Serve warm or at room temp. Belly up!!!

the finished crostata.

celebrated with a local brew! happy 101!!

Mulberry Recipes

Returning back from a wonderful and productive trip to New Ulm, MN has left me re-fueled and ready. Ready you may ask? Yes, ready! Ready to tackle that landscaping project, the expand the pig pasture project, and maybe start the green house project. Mostly I'm ready to have another play date with my darling daughter and the sweetest niece and nephew a girl could ask for. Yes, New Ulm is full of wonderful things like a barber shop owner who gives killer hair cuts at a killer establishment called 'Rogers', mulberry trees that are starting to ripen, local beer and my brother's house full of beautiful children, baby kittens, and warm hospitality. Life is good. And as those mulberries start to ripen, it only gets better. Yeah, I can't stop thinking about those mulberries....

It was the girls who found them. My daughter is such a product of rural living, in a somewhat isolated village, where harvesting from the wild is common practice. I was a bit startled when the girls told me about eating not-so- delicious wild berries they found in the woods, but was relieved to find that they had just consumed unripe berries from an mulberry tree. Whew. What the heck is an mulberry tree is what my brother had to say about the ordeal. I am such a product of rural living as well, and after nerding out on plant and tree identification books, I quickly learned which plants and trees I could eat or eat from. That was really all I cared about- what can I eat out here in the wild? Can I start a fire with two sticks? No. Can I navigate by the stars? No. Can I whip you up something to eat, MacGyver style, in the wild? Probably.

Back to those mulberries. They look somewhat like a blackberry, and have a taste that is subtle and sweet. Mulberries are a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium, vitamin c, and fiber. One of mulberries greatest health asset is it's high concentration of resveratrol, an antioxidant currently being studied for it's effects on heart health. Rock on mulberries! They are delicious straight up, but I wanted to share a recipe or two, since they will soon be in great abundance for my brother and his beautiful wife. The first is a smoothie that we make a variation of almost every morning at our house, and is enjoyed by everyone. You can substitute any kind of berry for the mulberries, and alter the flavors with various juices.


Mulberry Smoothies
serves two

1 cup mulberries
1 banana
1 cup spinach or kale
1/2 cup juice (blackberry, blueberry, apple, orange...whatever you have usually works well)
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

Combine above ingredients in a blender and you're good to go. The following is one of my favorite combos. I can never get enough. Simple. Good.


Mulberry & Chevre Salad
serves two

2 big handfuls of greens. I have a mix growing in the garden now. Young kale, spinach, mixed greens of any sort....
fresh goat cheese, crumbled ( as little or as much as you prefer)
fresh mulberries ( as few or as many as you can pack into your salad bowl)
toasted seeds or nuts. Think pistachios and flax, or almonds and poppy seeds.
fresh beet, peeled and grated

Toss the above with a simple dressing made with 2 Tbl maple syrup, 1 Tbl mustard and 2 Tbls olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper. I can't get enough. Belly up!!

Summer Drinks

The weather is warming up, and I am constantly reaching for something refreshing. As my Grandpa might say, "Something to wet my whistle". I was flipping through cook books and my piles of notes and recipe cards, and I came across a refreshing water I had made for a catering a few years ago. Cucumber-Lime water. It literally is water flavored with cucumber and lime, but it is so amazingly refreshing! Here's the ratio; 1 gallon filtered water, 1 small cucumber sliced, 1 lime sliced. Place the three ingredients in a pitcher, place in the fridge overnight, and the next day you have a cold, refreshing water with hints of cucumber and lime. Serve over ice, preferably on a picnic at the beach. It keeps for days, with the flavors intensifying the longer it sits.

Another drink recipe I have been meaning to share is a strawberry lemonade. Plus, Julie gave me a food challenge on our last radio segment, and this recipe fit the profile. Julie wanted a refreshing beverage with citrus or melon. You can't beat lemonade in the summertime! As always, you can substitute blueberries or blackberries or whatever berry is in season. Play around with the citrus too. Grapefruit or limes would pair well  with the berries, so mix it up!

Strawberry Lemonade

for the simple syrup:
2 cups water
1 cup sugar

for the strawberry puree:
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 cup cold water

for the lemonade:
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup cold water
ice

In a saucepan over high heat mix together the water and sugar. Cook until the sugar dissolves and it becomes a clear syrup. Remove from heat and set aside to cool while you complete the next steps.

Add the strawberries and the cold water together in a blender. Pulse until the mixture is pureed.

In a half gallon sized pitcher add the zest, lemon juice, cold water and ice. Stir in the simple syrup and the strawberry puree. Add more water if desired. Serve over ice.


I hope you are enjoying the summer!! Belly up!

Newest Members of the Homestead

I thought I'd write a quick note and introduce the newest members of the homestead. I had no idea that these darling pigs would make us the hippest hangout on this side of County Road 14, but it has!! And that is awesome!! My daughter along with her cousin and the neighborhood kids have decided that farming is the greatest thing ever, er...well now that the pigs are still small and adorable. We have been having such a great time learning about the food we eat. Yes, these four guys and gals will be dinner some day, but we have the opportunity to give them a quality life with plenty of room to roam, plenty of good eats, and plenty of backside scratches! The brownish-red piggies are a breed called a 'Red Waddler', named after the 'waddlers' that dangle from their chins. The little pink fella is a Yorkshire/ Red Waddler mix, and is about 3 weeks younger than the three others. They are good looking pigs! I never thought I would ever be in possession of pigs, but my life is ever changing for the better! Here's to growing our own food!! Belly up!!

Cultured Honeydew Butter

Growing up in Wisconsin, there was an abundance of all things dairy, such as butter. My Grandmother and my Mother slathered butter on everything. I am a third generation butter slather-er. A slather consists of a generous amount of butter, no less than a tablespoon let's say. I will admit that I was a vegan once. For about five days. I couldn't live without cream in my coffee and butter slathers melting off of grilled sweet corn, warm bread, mashed potatoes, pancakes, and everything else that requires a slather of butter. You can imagine the conflict that went on in my head those five days. It wasn't pretty, but it helped me to find a more healthful balance of rations of butter and cream. My heart and general health can only handle butter in moderation. That said, I pick and choose those butter items carefully. When I came across this recipe from Heidi Swanson's website, QUITOKEETO, I knew I would have to plan accordingly. Cultured Honeydew Butter is one of the most floral, beautiful, and just darn right delicious things I have stumbled across in weeks!

The recipe is easy and old school which is something I cherish. In a world of so much factory made food, and so many food regulations, it is a nice change of pace. I could never make this recipe at work, as you are culturing the cream over night on a counter top, and that goes against all of the food safety training I've had to accomplish over the years. But at home, it's a different game. At home it's about simple pleasures; playing Frisbee in freshly mowed grass in bare feet, enjoying Sunday morning coffee outside while curled up in a quilt with my daughter, and of coarse slathering this butter. My Mother would be proud. My Grandmother would probably enjoy it too.


CULTURED HONEYDEW BUTTER

Combine 2 tablespoons of cultured buttermilk with 1 pint of the best heavy cream you can source. Leave out on a countertop for 12-24 hours. Then, if you have the time, chill the now-thickened cream. Use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to beat well past whipped cream, until the buttermilk completely separates from the butter, ten minutes-ish. The butter should come together into a ball.

Reserve the buttermilk for another use, pressing as much of it out of the butter as possible. Rinse and press the butter with ice water until water runs clear of buttermilk. Fold one part honeydew into two parts fresh butter with a sprinkling of flaked sea salt.

Hope you enjoy!! Belly up!

Grilled Ramps & Smoked Salmon with Popped Capers & Quinoa

A lot has happened since I last blogged. I will report that the homemade chick feed was a hit, and the little rascals are growing right before our eyes. I whipped up that batch of chick feed just before I hit the road for my wonderful honeymoon adventure! By the way, I tied the knot at the end of May, so a honeymoon adventure was in order. We ate bison across South Dakota, and instead of hitting our final destination, Chico Hot Springs located in Paradise Valley just north of Yellowstone, we settled on wonderful hikes in and around the badlands and Custer State Park. We climbed the tallest summit in south Dakota, wandered old logging roads past beautiful ponds stocked with rainbow trout, and lingered in the prairie until the bison roamed through. South Dakota, who knew? It was spectacular. We drank rhubarb wine at the Prairie Berry winery in Hill City and then rode burrows after we panned for gold. Okay, we didn't ride burrows or pan for gold, but the rhubarb wine is 100% rhubarb-deliciousness.

Some time ago, before the wedding and the honeymoon, and before the chicks ran out of feed, Julie stumped me with a food challenge on our Tuesday radio chit chats. Make something with grains or legumes, and use citrus fruits or strawberries, Julie said. I got this, I said. Well, actually I became really busy, and then I hit the road, and so now I've got it.

This dish is more of a list of components that will really make your mouth happy when put together with a bit of love and served on a platter. Julie wanted me to use components that are more commonly  found in the cupboards of local folks. I consider my cupboard pretty down to earth, so when I came across quinoa, maple syrup, and capers I knew I was onto something. It's the cooking process that turns the quinoa and capers into something fun and unusual. When you pan fry the two, they "pop", sorta like popcorn, but way more fun, and not as much height. The maple syrup lends sweet and earthy notes to a vinaigrette, and the grilled ramps are a nice spring addition, which pairs well with the smoked salmon and the capers.

Grilled Ramps & Smoked Salmon with Popped Capers & Quinoa

1) a handful of ramps, rinsed and drained
drizzle the ramps with olive oil, place on a preheated grill, and grill until grill marks appear and the young onion is slightly softened. season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool to room temp.
2) smoked salmon, I used about a half pound, skin and bones removed
3) the "popped" capers and quinoa.
 in a saucepan of salted boiling water, cook 1/4 cup quinoa until just tender, 12 minutes. drain the quinoa through a fine mesh sieve and spread on a rimmed baking sheet to cool and dry completely. set a fine sieve over a heat-proof bowl. in a medium skillet, heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil until simmering. add the quinoa and 2 tablespoons of well drained capers and fry over moderate heat, stirring, until the sizzling subsides and the quinoa is crisp and the capers have popped, 2 minutes. drain the quinoa and capers through the sieve and transfer to paper towels.
4) maple orange vinaigrette
whisk together 2 tablespoons maple syrup ( I use grade "B" for more maple flavor), 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, salt and pepper until emulsified. this makes a little extra for later use. you could spike this with 1 tablespoon bourbon if you want to 'wow' your father in-law.
5) assemble
by now you have completed steps 1-4, and you are ready for a spectacular show of ingredients. or you've just grown really impatient and are now eating an appetizer bowl of lucky charms. if the later is true, i apologize and i owe you a home brew.

 for assembling this dish place an assortment of fresh spring greens on a platter. i used baby kale, arugula, spinach, and baby beet greens. top the greens with a few shaved radishes for crunch. layer on the grilled ramps and the smoked salmon. sprinkle the popped quinoa and capers on top. drizzle with as much or as little of the maple orange vinaigrette as you'd like. done. belly up!!

Chick Feed

I have done the unthinkable. I have allowed my daughter to be gifted baby chicks, and now I have four busy, fluffy chicks scampering around the homestead. They are adorable, at least they are now that they are no longer living in our house, as they temporarily were due to the wet and cold weather that has lingered just a bit too long this spring. They peck, scamper, and follow my daughter Addie around like, well, baby chicks. Above doing the unthinkable, I have done the craziest thing also.  From the kitchen window, watching Addie and the chicks busy themselves outside, I made chick feed. I didn't intend to pamper these young hens as such, but it has become a necessity. There is no young chick feed to purchase in Grand Marais, and after glancing over the ingredient list of the last bag we purchased, I decided that we could do better, and for less. I browsed the internet for any crucial info regarding a young chicken's diet, and found that a trip through the bulk section at the Co-op would provide me with all of the ingredients those babies need. I'll admit that our chicks are eating high on the hog now, and if I had a bigger flock, I don't know that I would go to these lengths. I have now been dubbed an over achiever, and I'm okay with that. Happy hens lay good eggs!

It turns out that there are dozens of homemade chick feed recipes online, so that means other people are making their own chick feed, right? This is what I put together, and it's so far so good, as far as those chicks chowing down their new food goes. I should mention that we let them out in the evenings and on the weekends when we are home to keep a watchful eye on them. They get plenty of foraging time to eat grasses, peck dirt, and do what chickens do. We've also been feeding them bits of veggies and fruit that would otherwise be compost. Yes, my brothers are most likely laughing at me right now, but I swear our chicks are doing well with their new hippy diet!

Chick Feed

3 cups cracked corn
4 cups wheat berries
1 cup barley
1 cup buckwheat groats
1 cup millet
1 cup quinoa
1 cup split peas
1 cup lentils
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup peanuts
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup kelp granules

I processed this mix up a bit as those chicks can't handle big whole grains yet. It  helped break everything up into a coarse mix, which the chicks can easily chow down. I never envisioned my culinary background put to use for chickens, but that is just one of the many new paths I get the opportunity to travel down and explore! Belly up!!