roasted tomato dip

sampled a “roasted tomato dip” at the farmers market. unbelievably deep and complex flavor. tried to replicate it.

-used to make roasted tomato dip, fresh arugula, and freshly baked knackerbrot sandwiches for lunch yesterday.. best thing ever-

the farmers markets accept snap here, so $4/lb tomatoes were no problem.

roasted a pound of fresh tomatoes on 450 along with a baby onion. stuck em both in the food processor along with homemade yogurt, fresh dill, a clove of fresh raw garlic, a pinch of salt, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

unbelievable. a new favorite summertime cold dip (and thank goodness; there’s only so much baba one can consume)

gjetost

gjetost recipe!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i definitely have to try making this one day. i am crazy about gjetost!

first zweibelkuchen!

what i wanted:

this is the basic recipe for my mom’s interpretation of my oma’s authentic schwarzwald zweibelkuchen.

what i did:

made this crust in the morning, rolled it into a ball, stuffed it in a plastic grocery bag, and stuck it in the fridge.

fried half a package of bacon; half “well done” and half “rare,” and reserved the grease and a few extra pieces for munching

cut two giant vidalias and a little yellow onion into skinny pieces and drench in veg stock, honey, and bacon grease on a cookie sheet with tall sides

roasted about 40 mins on 375, turning often

added caraway, salt, pepper, and nutmeg

rolled out the pie crust and shaped it to a bacon-greased cast-iron

layered a generous amount of homemade thick, sour whole-milk yogurt inside the crust (but it still wasn’t enough, so add more than seems sensible!) and topped it with the seasoned onions, another layer of yogurt, and on top of it all, whole strips of partially cooked bacon, and crumbled bits of cooked bacon.

+

IT WAS AMAZING. this is definitely just as easy as pizza. believe it or not, this was the first pie crust i’ve ever done by myself, my first high-altitude pie, and my first zweibelkuchen. it was all easy. this is definitely happening again.

sourdough crepes

first crepes, prepared after a fantastic bike ride to good people, a hot kitchen, and a cool night… they came out well. the butter, egg, and milk make it really rich.

getting them super-thin, thinner than you’d think, was the trick. small holes, much like rava dosai.

sourdough crepes

1 cup sourdough starter
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup of milk
extra butter for cooking

Whisk all ingredients in a bowl. Add milk until it reaches a very smooth, thin batter consistency, I normally use about 1/3 cup of milk but depending on the consistency of your starter, you might use a bit less or a bit more.

In a not too big, but not too small frying pan (about 8" – 10" is perfect) heat the frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add a teaspoon or so of butter, allow it to melt quickly and then immediately pour in 1/4 cup of crepe batter, tilting the pan with a circular motion to allow the batter to coat the bottom of the pan and create a circle of crepe.

vanilla chai vodka

modified from this

a capful (half-teaspoon?) vanilla extract (not artificially flavored)
1 part cinnamon
1.5 part star anise
1.5 part allspice
1 part black peppercorns
giant chunks of ginger
a large mason jar 3/4 full of vodka

shake twice a day.

EDIT 6/13: do NOT leave the spices in longer than a few days. it’s so spicy that it’s barely drinkable on its own. you may want to check this one twice a day to make sure it isn’t getting too strong. now to figure out a way to use the spices afterwards; anyone ever had luck with re-using them in anything, or does the vodka taste permeate everything?

spiced nuts – one sweet, one savory

wish i had my mom’s famous spiced nut recipes, but it was fun to wing this one. i made these “special” by request of the person who owned special butter, and the flavors worked perfectly together.

SAVORY NUTS (based on

spinach-sauerkraut soup

soup in under a half-hour with no prep? i’m down.

spinach-sauerkraut soup

250 g fresh or frozen spinach
300 g mild Sauerkraut
500ml stock
1 bunch parsley
300 ml heavy cream
salt, pepper
1 pinch sugar
100 g creme fraiche (ed: we used homemade yogurt)
(ed: a handful of beans, peas, or lentils)

1. Wash and remove stems and roots of fresh spinach – defrost frozen spinach and let it drain in a sieve so all water is gone.
2. Chop Sauerkraut; wash parsley and chop it.
3. Puree Sauerkraut, spinach and parsley with a hand mixer or in a blender; add it into a large pot and fill in the beef broth; let it simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add heavy cream, salt, pepper and sugar; let it steep for 5 minutes.
5. Serve the soup with a dab of creme fraiche.

Variation: Instead of using the whole amount of heavy cream, mix in about 100g grated gouda cheese.

edit 11/11: WOW. j made some quick-kraut (no prepared lacto-fermented stuff) with apple cider vinegar and salt and let it sit a few hours. not having a functional food processor, most of the prep time was just in chopping and washing greens. the sour kraut lent such an interesting element to the thing; it made the soup taste like it had been cooking all day. j and i both loved this! threw some urad dal (black lentils) in to make it a little heavier. i definitely recommend doing that. we topped it with yogurt. YUM!

lentil stew with spaetzle

lentil stew with spaetzle

250 g lentils (dry)
1 bundle soup greenery (carrot, celery, parsley root, celery root, leek)
50 g German Speck or Smoked Bacon
1 tbsp cooking oil (neutral oil)
broth or stock
200 g spaetzle
150 g sausage

1. Soak the lentils for at least 6 hours or overnight in cold water; drain and wash.
2. Fry soup greenery and speck in oil.
3. Add 1 l water and bring it to a boil; add stock and lentils and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
4. 7-8 minutes before the lentils are done, add the dried Spaetzle, and let them cook until they are soft. If spaetzle are homemade, they only need 2-3 minutes with the lentils.
4. Cut Kassler or sausages in slices or cubes and add them before the stew is done. Sprinkle parsley before serving hot with fresh bread.

I think it’s neat that there are so many Schwabisch recipes that call for lentils (although I don’t remember my grandmother ever making them.) I’ll be interested in experimenting with vegetarian Schwabisch recipes this fall.

ceviche

i think yesterday’s dinner was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.

+ bell’s porter (which was actually better than i remembered, very well balanced and perfect with seafood,)
+ fresh-from-the-garden salad with assorted greens like purslane and lamb’s quarter,
+ balsamic-mint pasta salad with lamb’s quarter from the garden,
+ new zealand green mussels with white wine, lemon, butter, garlic, and chives, sauteed on the half-shell for about three minutes,
+ mango ceviche

here’s basically what i did…

MANGO CEVICHE

one filet of red snapper (half-pound)
a few filets of tilapia (about a pound)
a few filets of ocean perch (about a pound)
a pound of shrimp
a red and an orange pepper
five mangos (used both kinds available here – the large red and green ones, and the small yellow ‘atulfo’ kind – atulfo are typically a little sweeter and riper, and ready earlier in the season.)
a couple avocados
a serrano
a little minneola orange
half a bundle of cilantro
juice from about eleven limes
salt and pepper and no other seasoning

the best meal of 2011 by far. happy summer!