Romanesco and Radish and Parsnips - oh my!

(posted by Jules)

So I am not quite used to this blogging thing yet.  I get so busy and have lots of blog ideas but just can't seem to find the time to write them up and post.  Especially with the holidays upon us and preparing to go to London for two weeks as well as shopping for my husband's entire family!  Clive has many skills but a good "gifter" he is not.

Fortunately, one of his skills is gardening as you have all seen by my previous posts on the amazing tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, yellow squash, eggplant, arugula and corn he grew this summer.  Well he has now planted our fall crop.  A couple months ago actually, see I told you I was a bad blogger.

Ollie helping daddy fix the drip system

But regardless, I am very excited about all of our new veggies.  I found a company online to buy organic heirloom seeds, sustainableseedco.com and we “borrowed” a few packs from Kim, who had tons of seeds from her wedding shower which had a garden theme.

We also decided to try planting garlic, which is interesting since the garlic bulb to plant looks exactly like the garlic that you would eat.  Except the colors were exceptional, they are like little works of art.

It only took a week for the first little sprouts to grow.

Now two months on, Clive has already pulled several radishes from our garden and they are delicious, crisp and spicy like a radish should be. 

I think our winter/spring crop will be bountiful.  Uh oh, does anyone have any good recipes for broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, parsnips, carrots, beets, radishes, spring onions, sweet onions, kale, garlic and pickling cucumbers?  Because if it is anything like our summer crop, we’re in for it.

Satiated in Seattle

(Posted by Jules)

We didn’t get quite as early a start from Olympia as we had hoped to, but after a nice big cup of coffee and some delicious smoked salmon and rustic bread, we were on the road to Seattle.

We stayed with our good friends, Pete and Lisa, and their beautiful daughters, Sadie and Madeline, in West Seattle. Ollie loves staying with them since he has two playmates along with an entire basement full of new and different toys. We arrived Saturday afternoon, tossed our luggage in, had a great lunch and then headed out to Carnation for Kim and Jim’s family wedding reception. It was an amazing night, and the food my family brought for the buffet is a blog in and of itself.

The next day, Lisa and I headed out to pick up the seafood at Pete’s brother’s fish market, Wild Salmon Seafood Market, at Fisherman’s Terminal in Ballard. We bought a beautiful piece of Coho Salmon along with mounds of clams and big fresh scallops. The shop packed it all on ice for us since we didn’t have time to swing home and drop it off before Kim’s reading at the Elliot Bay Book Co. But we did have time for a margarita, chips and guacamole at a great Mexican restaurant in Capital Hill. The reading was incredible and it was so exciting to see Kim at Elliot Bay as an author not a bookseller.

After the reading, a big crew headed back to Pete and Lisa’s for the feast. My mom and dad brought along my Aunt Janice and Aunt Claudia. Kim and Jim came over with Kim’s best friend Beth, her husband Kurtis, and their son West. As well, we were joined by Lisa’s parents and also our good friends, Dave and Shana, and their two girls, Annabelle and Molly.  Last year when we were up visiting, we had a big dinner at Pete and Lisa's and all I can say is that meal was so delicious, so perfect, that is was going to be hard to top.

Wine was opened, beer was poured and we all divided up to bring out the appetizers, prep, cook, chat, watch the kids, drink and enjoy the beautiful October night. I feel I need to add a sidebar here to point out that I know "beautiful" and "October" and "night" don’t usually go together when discussing the Northwest, but we had exceptional weather our entire trip. 

The men taking over the backyard

The first culinary event of the evening was watching Kurtis unpack his paella equipment and begin to prepare his signature dish. A beautiful golden rice was set to boil on one burner and specialty sausage was grilled on another.   

As he continued to prep the rest of the ingredients, Pete placed that amazing piece of salmon on the barbecue.  With Pete, manning the grill (and the fridge keg), I think it is safe to say that Lisa took care of organizing everything else.

Then came a furious motion as the rest of the meal was prepared. There was Beth’s Caesar salad, Lisa’s mom’s fresh tomato and zucchini dish, clams boiled to perfection in a wine and butter broth, marinated grilled bacon-wrapped scallops, and Kurtis’ beautiful chicken and olive paella.  

And then there was the bread: "Daveman’s bread," as Pete refers to it. Dave decided a while back that he was going to learn how to bake bread. Now he didn’t just read a few recipes and try out a few loaves, he dived into the process with so much gusto that he actually cultivates his own yeast for the bread. How in the world do you even do that?? Well, regardless, his bread is amazing. Four beautiful loaves of sourdough and olive bread. Four! That meant there were going to be leftovers for the rest of our stay.

Oh – and I forgot to mention my Uncle Jim’s smoked salmon dip. He had made it for the reception and fortunately like every Fay, he made gallons of it so there was an entire container left that he sent home with me. This dip is divine, and as you might remember from my experience at Son of a Gun, smoked fish dips are my favorite these days ... and my Uncle Jim’s is delicious. It's made from salmon he caught and smoked himself!

When dinner was served we opened the Candor, from Hope Family Wineries. It is now a tradition that whenever we come up to Seattle to stay with Pete & Lisa, we send ahead the troops to pave the way – and by troops, I mean four bottles of Candor from our friend Joel’s winery in Paso Robles.

We piled our plates high and tucked in. What a feast! We ate until we thought we couldn’t take another bite and then somehow we all found the strength to carry on and eat more.  

Pete had mocked Lisa and me for the amount of seafood we bought and it was all devoured. Every dish was wiped out. Barely a crumb left. 

Then we sat back, happy and sated, enjoyed more Candor and nibbled on the gourmet chocolates that Shana brought. 

Well, I didn't think it was possible but we managed to outdo ourselves from the dinner last year.  Thank you Pete and Lisa for opening your home for an amazing meal with my friends and family - life doesn’t get any better.  

The rest of the trip was relaxing and exactly what I wanted and needed. A day in Seattle having lunch at Ivars, walking along the waterfront and wandering Pike Place Market.  

A meal out with Pete, Lisa, Kim, Jim, Beth and Kurtis and all the kids at a wonderful neighborhood restaurant, Angelina’s.  Then a day at Woodland Park so Ollie could see the lions, but not before lunch at Saigon Boat (I crave the vegan banh mi sandwiches they serve). As well, we enjoyed a deliciously decadent diner breakfast at the Chelan Cafe.

Goodbye Seattle – hopefully it won’t be long before we come again.  Watch out for the Candor, and you know we won’t be far behind!

Olympia - It's the good life... and a lot more.

(posted by Jules)

I spent the last week in Washington, my home state, and had the most amazing time. My husband, my son Ollie and I went up there for many reasons: the wedding reception my sister and her new husband organized for our family, my sister’s "Map of Lost Memories" book reading at her literary alma mater -- Seattle's Elliot Bay Book Co. -- and a reading and Q&A for Kim at my friends’ photography studio, The Steam Plant, in Olympia during the city's big Art Walk. As well, we haven’t had a holiday since our trip to London last Christmas, so it was time to take a few days off work and relax.

We arrived at Sea-Tac on Thursday afternoon and headed down to Olympia to stay with our close friends, Cortney and Philip, and their youngest son Emmett.  

          Fall colors speed by                        Uh oh, our navigator fell asleep

They have a charming house right off downtown with a beautiful little garden and chickens freely roaming the yard with Ruby, the dog and their two cats, George and Koz (literally the fattest black cat in town). Ollie was in heaven. 

 

Pearl, Gertie, Rosie, Honey & Ginger
(not exactly sure which one isn't in the picture)

We spent our first full day there wandering the town and going to the Farmer’s Market. I love Olympia. I had a great conversation with a woman at the Blue Heron Bakery stall in the market about how wonderful it is that the food trend these days is organic, farm to table, local, fresh, etc. but how funny it is since that is the way everyone in Olympia has always shopped and eaten. I can attest to that truth since I spent some time living here right after college in the early '90s. 

As a matter of fact, I would stop at Blue Heron Bakery on Mud Bay Road on my way into town to visit Cortney and Philip in their first charming house by downtown that sadly was (and still is) painted a bright yellow and red, a la McDonald's. I would pick up whole wheat berry-filled croissants, and Cortney would provide coffee from the local roaster, Batdorf and Bronsons, for our many yard sales or just days spent hanging out and cooking and playing with Cortney and Philip’s firstborn, Austin. He was only a toddler back then, and this visit he wasn’t home because he has graduated from college and was off on a ski weekend with his friends. My how that makes a girl feel old!

Ollie enjoying his gluten free ginger cookie from Blue Heron Bakery.  His choice, however,
no matter how many times I told him, I think he still thought it was a giant chocolate cookie.

On Friday night Kim’s first event of the week was at Cortney’s photography studio, The Steam Plant, in downtown Olympia.  It is an amazing old brick building with beautiful light and so much character. 

 

Ollie driving the vintage car before the space was set up for Kim's reading

  

Cortney went all out, bringing in a local food truck, AllFed Up. Their “fromage a trois” sandwich (named by my clever brother-in-law Jim) was to die for. Philip picked up a keg from the local brewer, Fish Tale, and proceeds from the beer garden went to a local art outreach program, POSCCA. There was also a local musician, Terry Holder, playing throughout the night.  

Kim’s reading was excellent and Cortney did a fun and interesting Q&A, ending with her asking the 10 questions James Lipton always asks on Inside the Actors Studio.  My favorite response was to "What profession, other than your own would you like to attempt?"  "CIA agent" she replied.  She was devastated when she found out you have to be under 35 years old to apply.  Guess that option is out.  Orca books, a great local independent bookstore, kindly supplied the books and overall it was a smashing success!

Next stop Seattle ... However, I know we will be back to Oly soon since my husband fell in love with this quirky, organic-oriented, farm-to-table, local-business-supporting town! 

Son of a Gun

(posted by Jules)

So I love food and I love eating out. Unfortunately my British husband is more of a “food is fuel” type of man. He would happily eat a batch of what he calls his "10 Day Curry" ... for literally 10 days in a row. In desperation to save my gastronomical senses, I enlisted the girlfriends who appreciate food as much as I do to hit the city’s best restaurants.

It wasn't too hard to convince my sister Kim and my friend Jenny once I told them the basic outline of a monthly splurge on amazing food and amazing wines at fabulous eateries. We haven’t come up with an official name yet for our unofficial dining out club, but on our first, and slightly booze-soaked, venture we tossed around “Marmalade and Moonshine,” which I love but don’t really think it has anything to do with our club. “Circle of Trust,” only because we used the meal as a bit of a therapy session. And “Twirly Birds Special,” a play on the fact that we will probably always end up dining around 6:30 pm since it is right after I get off work and we should be able to get a table, even at the most popular places since no one in LA dines that early. We thought "Early Birds Special" made us sound old, hence the “twirly.” Anyway, it is obviously a work in progress, but regardless, our first meal was a smashing success.

 Jenny started with the Buggy Whip Punch and I went with a Moscow Mule

I picked the first restaurant and so we went to Son of a Gun on Third Street in Los Angeles.  I have been wanting to go there for awhile and was not disappointed. The place is small and welcoming. The staff was incredibly friendly, especially our waitress who offered great suggestions, let us try out wines to see if we liked them, and didn’t rush us off, even as the restaurant started to fill up. And how was the food? Divine. It is a fairly small menu of small plates with a variety of culinary origins.

We started off with the Smoked Mahi Fish Dip with Celery, Radish and Crackers. It was amazing, especially since smoked fish rillettes and dips are my favorite right now.

Smoked Mahi

After that, the plates just kept rolling out: Gem Lettuce with Pickled Beets, Creme Fraiche & Bread Crumbs (the crunch of the tiny breadcrumbs made the dish); Dungeness Crab with Daikon, Melon & Yuzu.

Dungeness Crab

Blackened Rock Fish with Tomatillo Salsa and Crema:

Blackened Rock Fish

Fried Chicken sandwich with Spicy B&B Pickle Slaw & Rooster Aioli (the chicken was so tender and the sandwich was so tall, we almost didn't know how to eat it); Uni with Burrata, Button Mushrooms & Yuzu. Yes - I tried Uni which I now know is sea urchin. It was interesting, especially with the Burrata since it has the same texture. Not sure if I will have it again, but I am glad I tried it once and the flavors were very good.

Normally I am not a dessert orderer, but since these nights are going to be about trying something new and fully experiencing the menu, we figured that we would have to indulge in dessert. Especially since they had something on the menu called an Italian Hamburger, which is a scoop of hazelnut ice cream covered in caramel on a sweet brioche with a dusting of Maldon sea salt and powdered sugar.  

Italian Hamburger

Needless to say, we practically licked the plate clean. (and I am sure this dish would have even lured my husband out of the house).

It was a fantastic night, the start of many wonderful meals. Thanks to my dining companions for helping me indulge in my foodie side.

Plum and Mascarpone Pie

(posted by Jules)

I have been craving pie and recently I cut out a beautiful looking plum pie recipe from Bon Appetit. When my sister and I were growing up, one of our favorite fruits was plums, and since they are in season right now, plum pie seemed like the perfect Sunday afternoon activity.

Full disclosure: I didn’t make my crust. Have I made crusts before? Yes. Did I want to make a crust when it was 95 degrees out and I only had time to make the entire pie during my son's nap?  No. So I used store bought. However, my goal this fall now that I have conquered canning (or at least figured out the basics) is to perfect the crust. Another Fay family talent that I will not let pass me by.

Sugar Plum Fairies

I followed the directions exactly, which I don’t always tend to do, and I would suggest cutting back on the sugar. It made the plums very sweet, and I think the best part of a plum is the tartness. It would have been nice to have that come through a bit more. The mascarpone & crème fraîche filling was excellent, and I plan on using that as a base for many other fruit pies!

Ready to roast

Satisfied customer

PLUM & MASCARPONE PIE
Recipe from Bon Appetit, August 2012

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 pie crust, homemade or store-bought 
• 4-5 pounds firm ripe plums (20–25 plums), halved, pitted (with skin)
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I used 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
• 8 ounces mascarpone
• 1/3 cup crème fraîche
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Whipped cream

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
A 9" pie dish

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line pie dish with crust; crimp edges. Fully bake pie crust according to recipe or box instructions.

Place plums in a large bowl; add 1 1/2 cups sugar and lemon juice. Scrape in seeds from half of vanilla bean; toss to coat. Divide plum mixture between two 13x9x2" glass baking dishes, arranging plums cut side down and overlapping slightly. Roast until juices are bubbling and slightly thickened and plums are tender but not falling apart, 40–60 minutes (cooking time will depend on ripeness of plums). Let cool slightly.

Using a slotted spatula, transfer plums to a rimmed baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill. Pour juices in baking dishes into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened and reduced to a scant 1/2 cup, 4–5 minutes; set glaze aside.

Combine remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar, mascarpone, crème fraîche, and honey in a medium bowl. Scrape in seeds from remaining half vanilla bean. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until mixture holds firm peaks (do not overbeat or mascarpone may curdle). DO AHEAD: Plums, glaze, and mascarpone cream can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill.

Spread mascarpone cream evenly over bottom of crust. Arrange some chilled plum halves tightly (but not overlapping) in a single layer over mascarpone mixture. Starting at edges of pie crust, arrange remaining plum halves on top of base layer, overlapping tightly and forming a spiral to cover. Pie should dome slightly in the center.

Using a pastry brush, spread some of glaze over plums (if glaze has firmed up, gently reheat, adding 1 Tbsp. water and whisking to blend).

Cut pie into slices. Top with whipped cream and drizzle with more plum syrup.

Canned Crushed Tomatoes

(posted by Jules)

It has been a crazy few weeks. Work is super busy, lot's of events on the calendar, trying to keep up with my three year old and then trying to keep up with the bounty from our garden. That alone could be a full time job! Since I didn't want any of those beautiful tomatoes to go to waste, I decided it was time to claim my birthright and learn to can.

My grammy, aunts and cousins are all amazing cooks, bakers, canners, etc. so I knew it was in me. But having never done it before and I was very lucky that my sister offered to walk me through my first time. I arrived at her place Wednesday night after work, and she had already peeled the tomatoes so we were ready to go.

Peeled & ready to crush & boil

Since I wanted to be productive, I did not buy a bottle of wine when I stopped at Bristol Farms to pick up lemons. The second I looked at the pile of tomatoes, the enormous canning pot and all the jars I immediately wished I had a glass. Tammy to the rescue! My sister texted her neighbor and asked if she had two spare glasses of wine. Tammy came over with a chilled bottle of white and donated it to our endeavor.

Tammy to the rescue!

With a Crushed Tomato recipe from Every Day with Rachael Ray I set to work. It was so satisfying mashing and boiling the tomatoes and filling the jars. 

Carrying on the family tradition

Then watching them boil in the pot. Of course, the best part was pulling them from the boiling water, setting them on the counter and waiting for the "pop" so we knew the jars were sealed.

I am hooked! I took Kim's canning equipment home and made a tomato jam recipe from the same magazine. It is delicious – however, since it wasn't a canning recipe, it didn't seem to thicken enough. I did make sure to add lemon juice to the recipe to ensure the tomatoes reach the proper acid level. Kim is going to experiment with the recipe to get it to thicken – so stay tuned!

Canning Crushed Tomatoes

from Every Day with Rachel Ray

Ingredients:

• 6 pounds tomatoes
• Ice water
• 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2-1/2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

Using paring knife, core stem ends of tomatoes. Cut and "X" across non-stem ends. 

In large pot of boiling water, cook until skins begin to pull away from flesh, about 30 seconds; transfer to ice water bath. Discard skins, then quarter tomatoes.

In fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, press on flesh to extract seeds. In large nonreactive pot, bring tomatoes, lemon juice and salt to boil over high heat.

Ladle hot mixture into 5 hot, sterilized 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Seal the jars. In water-bath canner, process jars for 35 minutes.

Quinoa, Fennel and Pomegranate Salad

(posted by Kim)

It’s not that we were ever a big meat-eating family, but when I was growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, our fare was pretty typical: meatloaf, pot roast and pepperoni on pizza along with our Chicken Cacciatore and barbecued salmon. At one point my dad jumped on the bran muffin and alfalfa-sprouts-in-whole-wheat-sandwiches bandwagon, and sometime during high school, my sister decided to cut beef and pork out of her diet. But we were never extremists, by any means.

Jump ahead to 2011 and a health scare with my mom. I won’t go into the details of what has become a regular topic of family discussion, especially the endless conversations about the documentary Forks Over Knives. Suffice it to say, more often than not these days, as a family we are vegans. Not partial vegans, allowing butter and cheese to ooze in, but wholehearted herbivores.

When I say “as a family,” that’s because I don’t want anyone to think we’re not eating any cheese or chicken or even meat on occasion. We are just trying as best we can to create full menus of vegan dishes so that when we’re eating with my mom at the table, we can all share the same culinary pleasures.

This has resulted in a great deal of creativity with tofu and vegetables, and for me, forays into the world of grains. I’m love with all of the grain salads showing up in magazines and blogs these days. I’ve become addicted to farro, and last week I tried a black barley salad with citrus and radishes. I wasn’t hot on the recipe, but the black barley was nutty and chewy, and I plan to find a way to use it in something else.

As for the recipe I’m posting here, I’ve made it a few times – adjusting ingredients and measurements from the original in Bon Appetit – until finding just the right balance of flavors. It’s ideal for light lunch main dish or dinner side.

Quinoa, Fennel and Pomegranate Salad

adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

·         3 Tbsp olive oil

·         2 medium fennel bulbs, cut lengthwise into 1/4"-thick slices

·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

·         Juice from 2 small lemons, plus pulp

·         2 teaspoons ground cumin

·         1-½ cups quinoa, rinsed

·         4 cups vegetable broth

·         1/2 Serrano chili, seeded and finely chopped

·         1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

·         1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

·         1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 425. Toss fennel in a bowl with olive oil. Lay out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until fennel is caramelized and crispy.

2.      In the meantime, bring quinoa and vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until quinoa is cooked, about 10 minutes. Do not overcook. You want the quinoa to have a little resistance. Drain and return to pan. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

3.      Mix lemon juice with pulp and cumin into the quinoa. Add chili and herbs. Add fennel, scraping the juices into the bowl.

4.      Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the pomegranate seeds. Serve at room temperature or cold.

(photo by Julie Fay Ashborn)