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Whole Foods is selling my family's toffee for $15.99 a pound! I am in the wrong business...

Aficionado or J'aime Manger des Petits Gâteaux or Caboodle Cupcakes Come to Town

In the interest of fairness, I have tasted a lot of cupcakes. Ask anyone who travels with me, dines with me or reads this blog and they will tell you I have eaten a lot of cupcakes. I think it's only right, because how are you to know a good cupcake when you taste one if you haven't eaten a lot of cupcakes. Baked a lot of cupcakes. Dreamed about cupcakes!

And at bigYELLOWbowl, we try to bring you all of the important news on cupcakes, which despite the predictions of some publications, are not going away anytime soon. And for that, we are ever so thankful.

My credentials:
  1. Last spring, I made 102 cupcakes in four flavors for my friend Melissa's opening. It was me vs. the cupcakes.
  2. I have eaten at cupcakeries from Chicago, IL to Madison, WI to Dallas, TX and Long Beach, CA times two.
  3. I watched every minute of Martha Stewart's cupcake week and read her cookbook on the subject. She is the queen.
  4. I have been to the temple of cupcakes, Sprinkles of Beverly Hills and lived to tell the tale.
  5. I Made dozens of tiny chocolate cupcakes.
  6. I have even made a cookie tribute to cupcakes...
Satisfied? I love cupcakes.

What do I look for in a good cupcake?
  • The perfect size; not too large and not too small (Unless it's supposed to be small, of course.).
  • Ratio of frosting to cake.
  • Crumb of the cake.
  • Texture of the frosting.
  • Originality of the flavors.
It is very much like judging a beauty pageant. So, you can imagine how exciting it was last summer when Caboodle Cupcakes appeared at the downtown farmer's market. Rumor had it that local artist and cupcakista Susan Tingley (check out the beautiful exploding pots) was opening a temple to cupcakes right here in Terre Haute, IN. But, could she make the transition from small-batch baking to churning out miniature masterpieces day in and day out?

I am pleased to report that indeed, she can. I got to talk to Susan the other night at a party and she said business was going very well--they are selling out almost every day! Caboodle Cupcakes offers a variety of rotating flavors and also does special orders. And, has a very cute pink and green shop right on south 7th street.

This week, I finally got to visit 'la source' with my friend Mary and I was thankful she was willing to go splitsville so I could try two flavors: cinnamon and pumpkin. They were both divine, but the pumpkin won. I could have eaten three of them! Susan said she was working on a new flavor while we were there, sweet potato which she decided to top with a brown sugar frosting. That touched my southern heart! A sweet potato cupcake. If you become a fan on Facebook, you can get updates on what special flavors and offers they have in-store.

I'm also pleased to report that Caboodle Cupcakes are some of the best I have had, hands down. The cake is perfectly tender, but not too soft. The frosting is complementary and in my opinion, perfectly proportionate. And with both classic and experimental flavors, Caboodle Cupcakes is on the way to winning the heart of this city.

Caboodle Cupcakes
3419 South 7th Street
Terre Haute, IN 47802-4016
(812) 232-5551

Sugar Rant

It's true, I'm an old lady and I love sugar cubes. Do you keep them in your cupboard? Do you use them? Do your kids even know what sugar cubes are? Do they get those, 'one lump or two' jokes from cartoons?

Next time you're at the market, check out the sweetener section of your store. I won't even call it the 'sugar' section, because as I think you'll find: there are more things there that aren't sugar than are. Every kind of artificial sweetener you can buy.

Now, I have nothing against artificial sweeteners. I know they're very important, especially for diabetics, and keep people healthier. I'm thankful there are more choices out there and that some of the newer choices are made from natural sources and processes. But, to edge out sugar? To the point where there aren't even sugar cubes on the shelves?

That's just wrong.

Sugar cubes are important for several reasons:
  1. They're just a more civilized way of serving sugar for coffee or tea. Some little tongs; plop, plop, stir and tap the spoon on the edge.
  2. Sugar cubes allow you to have the same amount of sugar every time you use it. Spoons differ in size and so do scoops. Maybe you're more aggressive one day and less another. This equals different amounts of sugar in your drink. Not with sugar cubes. One sugar cube is one sugar cube on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
  3. Two words: champagne cocktail. Champagne cocktail!! You cannot make a Champagne cocktail with a packet of sugar, a packet of Truvia, a spoonful of sugar or a packet of Equal. You must have a sugar cube. You must place it in the bottom of your glass and douse it with a few drops of bitters. You must top it with your favorite bubbling wine. You must watch the bubbles stream from the cube to the top of the flute. You cannot do it any other way.
  4. What are you going to feed that horse that is leaning over the rustic fence on the idyllic country rode with tall trees shading the lane and a brook running along one side? You can't feed him a spoonful of sugar you pulled from your pocket, I know that much. And she sure doesn't want you to give her a packet of something that used to be sugar or was processed from a leaf of a plant in Mexico. She wants a sugar cube.
So what do we do? Two of the three stores I visited last weekend did not stock sugar cubes. You can buy them on-line and I'm going to get some of those fancy French sugar cubes. What great packages!

Talk to your store manager. Write your congressman. Most importantly, buy, use and serve real sugar cubes. Before it's too late. Before they are....extinct. And you'll have to make your own.

Lovely Dinner

I rarely repeat table decor, but this is one of my favorite place settings:
a Metlox Shoreline dinner plate;
a blue salad plate with a white glaze underneath that shows on the rim from Target;
and a small white bowl from Crate and Barrel that I think look like Baroque pearls.

We had the opportunity to entertain friends in Terre Haute the weekend after Thanksgiving, in addition to some out-of-town guests they brought along. It was a very fun evening and I did a Spanish-inspired dinner with my favorite potato soup--it has forty cloves of garlic in the broth. Roasted, of course!

There were some restrictions though: one guest was gluten-sensitive and another was allergic to olive oil. Luckily, my menu was fairly gluten free. I just substituted a gluten-friendly flour blend in the Manchego pie (it only has a small amount as a thickener) and that was that.

But, as I'm always up for a challenge, I also made some gluten free flat breads that I served between a duo of salads. Since the garbanzo salad had mint, lemon and other strong flavors in it, I used a neutral salad oil for it. But, the green salad was just a simple Spanish salad of greens and cucumbers, so I used walnut oil in my vinaigrette which gave it a delicious, nutty taste and aroma.

The Manchego pie was served as a starter and is simple, delicious and adaptable to almost any menu you would like. A fun evening of food and friends!

Recipe: Manchego Pie
I adapted this recipe from one in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers. Her's used feta and dill, for a Greek flavor, but I substituted Manchego, the classic Spanish cheese to go along with my menu. Not quite a crust-less quiche, the ricotta is a smooth, neutral flavor that carries the bold, rich nature of the Manchego and thyme. This is great cut into thin slices and served as a first course. Likewise, you could bake it in a square pan and cut into small cubes to serve as an hors d'oeuvre. It's also perfect with a salad for a simple luncheon!

Experiment with different cheeses and herbs depending on what suits your mood. Whatever you choose, just make sure you use the best quality you can find as the cheese will be the primary flavor. Since I was creating a gluten-free dinner, I substituted a gluten-free flour mix in this recipe, which worked just fine. Madison baked her pie in a cast-iron skillet, but you can just as easily use a pie plate or a springform pan. I used my silicone springform, which worked just perfectly.

1/2 pound Manchego cheese, coarsely shredded
1 pound low-fat ricotta cheese
4 eggs, cracked and lightly beaten
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix three-quarters of the Manchego with the ricotta in a medium bowl, without worrying about getting it perfectly smooth – you’ll want some chunks. Beat the eggs into the cheese, then add the flour and milk. Season with salt, pepper and dill.

Grease a 9 inch pie plate. Pour in the batter and crumble the remaining cheese over top. Bake until golden, 35-40 minutes. Cut in to wedges and serve.

Recipe: Barb's Chutney Dip

Monday, I had a little lunch for the Swope staff and it was quite a fun and relaxing afternoon. I prepared a meal of Indian flavors (not necessarily food), but a comforting and yummy lunch including my favorite curried cauliflower soup, a salad with lime-tamarind dressing and Barb-a-licious' famous chutney dip. I had to make Barb's dip because it's something she often serves for parties and I always enjoy. It's great on a cracker and perfect on a celery stick! Some olives, breadsticks and pickled okra; appetizers are done.


Recipe: Barb's Chutney Dip

Barb usually uses an apple chutney which is delicious. I used a mango chutney, but not a super spicy one. Whatever you usually enjoy will be perfect.


8 oz. cream cheese

½ cup chutney

1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

½ tsp each of curry, cumin & coriander (the three Cs!)


Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and combined. Transfer to the serving dish of your choice; cover and chill for a couple of hours or overnight. Mangez!


Thanks Barb!

Perfect Salad Dressing for Fall

I made this the first time to dress a salad I was serving alongside big bowls of chili. The sweet and tangy dressing was the perfect counterpoint to the spiciness of the chili. As I was eating it, I kept thinking how it was the perfect salad dressing for fall. I usually just whip up a basic mustard vinaigrette in the bowl before I add in the greens and other accompaniments, tossing it all together just before serving. But, a container of this delicious dressing in the fridge could be an entirely new path to follow: it's creamy, but not overly so; it's sweet from the maple syrup, but not cloying; and the vinegar brings it all together with a little punch.

Consider it topping:
  • Baby mesclun with pear, blue cheese and almonds.
  • Salad Greens with roasted sweet potatoes and toasted pecans.
  • Roasted root vegetables, white beans and celery.
  • Spinach salad with dried fruits and slices of Granny Smith apples
The ideas are endless and completely up to you, but consider trying it as the weather turns cooler and your thoughts turn to cheesy casseroles, hearty stews and spicy chilies.

Recipe: Maple Vinaigrette
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or other white wine vinegar
1/2 cup walnut oil (adds a nice, nutty balance to the syrup, but vegetable or Canola oil also work just fine)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small yellow bowl, combine the mayonnaise and maple syrup and whisk until combined. Add the vinegar and whisk until combined. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking until the dressing is completely emulsified. Taste and add salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

Kitchen tip:
It's important to toss salad just before serving, but that doesn't mean everything can't be ready to go. I put my dressing in the bottom of the salad bowl, top with the green and then add the other ingredients. You can chill the bowl for an hour or so at this point, and when you're ready just toss to combine everything--and none of it will be limp or wilty.

Likewise, if you're packing a salad for lunch, don't put your dressing in a separate container. Just put enough in the bottom of your salad dish and pack everything on top of it. Shake to get the vinaigrette on every piece of your salady goodness.

Leftovers!

Thanksgiving was a quiet and relaxing day, which was just fine by me. Little fanfare, but don't worry: we still ate well!

If you are going to eat all day, you have to start off with a good base: breakfast tacos! Since you can't buy them in Indiana, we made them with fried potatoes, gently scrambled eggs, a sprinkle of cheese and some of my favorite salsa from Herdez. People who have never had a breakfast taco say, "Oh, like a breakfast burrito?" Um, no. While the ingredients might be essentially the same, the perfect bite and ratio of ingredients is, I believe, found in the taco version. Burritos are just too much; tacos are balanced. Regardless, they were delicious and were accompanied by a Danish from the store. And coffee!

After that it was TV time, then an early showing of "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which was as promised, fantastique! Movie popcorn and a special treat, Coca-cola.

Our Thanksgiving was basic, but scrumptious: Tofurky (faux turkey!), roasted garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, Brussel sprouts and a special cranberry relish. It was all delicious and I can promise you I won't wait another year to prepare a Tofurky roast. Delicious! It's been too long...

And leftovers? You know I love leftovers. So what to do with the Tofurky and mashed potatoes? You know what makes anything that already taste good taste even better? I bet you think I'm going to say, "fried egg." Not this time: puff pastry! That's right, I took some all-butter puff pastry I had in the freezer from Trader Joe's, put down a little mashed potato, topped that with some Brussel sprouts and then some thin slices of Tofurkey. Closed it up and baked it for 15 minutes. Perfection! I could eat it once a week. At least.

What did you do with your leftovers?

Cupcakes Are So Last Year

Cupcake-shaped cookies are the new black! That's right, cupcake-shaped cookies. Or simply: cupcaked cookies. Yes, we took your favorite cookie and replaced it with one in the shape of a cupcake. Pleasantly surprised, weren't you?

Friday we ran some errands in Indy, knocking out most of the holiday shopping. At Crate and Barrel, I couldn't resist getting a little something for myself: a second miniature salt pig and this set of cupcake cookie cutters in two different sizes. So fun.

And since this week is Hadley's first birthday and he is going to Florida for a wedding (kids today!) , we decided to make him cupcake cookies for a surprise treat at dinner on Sunday night. And he loved them. His first cookie ever, apparently, so it was fun to watch him munch on it, throw it on the floor and have sprinkles all over his mouth. Adorable!

It's also the time of year for cutout cookies and there are lots of recipes out there. Most of my baking books are still in storage, and I couldn't find the Best Recipes recipe or the Dorie Greenspan one either. So, I went to the font of all kitchen knowledge: Martha Stewart. Her recipe is here and it couldn't be easier.

Couple of tips:
1. Add two tablespoons of corn starch to the dry mixture. This will make your dough especially toothsome.
2. Don't skip the freezing step after you cutout the cookies. Freezing the dough helps it retain its shape while baking and let's face it, it's all about the shape, right?
3. Icing is good, white chocolate is better. Yes, these babies are frosted in white chocolate that has been tinted, then sprinkled with multi-colored non-pareils. Yummy!

Even though I love the cupcake shaped cookies, I have to honestly say it doesn't mean I'm over the cupcake! This craze has no end in site and we even have a cupcakery in Terre Haute now--it opened on Friday. Stop into Caboodles Cupcakes for a very sweet treat.

Caboodles Cupcakes
3419 S. 7th Street
Terre Haute, IN, 47802
Phone:
812-232-5551

Mon - Fri:
11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sat:
11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Arsenal (aka Batterie de Cuisine)

What is the arsenal? No, I do not have a gun safe or keep them secreted away behind the walls. For me, the arsenal is about entertaining or preparing food. The tools needed for making or serving something, for making the table look nice. As you all know, I love adding special things to the arsenal, things that inspire recipes or menu selections. Here are few recent additions:

Never pass up tongs. Never, ever pass up tongs on sale! These are great for pickly things, olives or other tiny bites on the table. I love bamboo tongs (I have a couple from my Grandmother's arsenal), but these stainless steel ones are fab.

More salad servers! I posted six different salad servers here almost a year ago, and that wasn't all of them. Yes reader, I was holding out on you. David sent this new set from West Elm and they look fantastic in the oddly shaped, dark brown salad bowl. I like to see something new, and these were definitely new.

Let them eat cake! And pie! I love melamine. It is one of my favorite materials, so this melamine pie and cake server set from IKEA was impossible to resist. The edges are surprisingly sharp as well. Perfect for whatever dessert you are planning to serve.

Mitchell nabbed these lovely little place card holders from the boutique at our recent fundraiser. They are glass and from Czechoslovakia. Very unique and will look fantastique on a spring table.

Jimmy and Ellie brought this lovely dish back to us from their trip to Maryland. I love it's organic qualities, plus the matte glaze is probably my favorite when it comes to pottery. AND, I had admired it at their house. Very thoughtful!

If You Gonna Fry

A couple of weeks ago, a friend dropped off a box of treasure: baby artichokes! She wondered what I would do with them, and I wondered too. Honestly, I don't mess with artichokes very often. I think the frozen hearts you can buy have a wonderful green flavor and are perfect for most dishes. I will use the canned ones as well in recipes like my artichoke dip and they work perfectly.

But baby artichokes? Okay, lest you call the People for the Ethical Treatment of Vegetables on me, these are not real baby artichokes that are raised in crates and only fed milk. These are the smaller globes which appear around the base of the plant. In addition to being smaller in size and more delicate, they don't have a choke and are completely edible. What does completely edible mean? Once you get off the tough outer leaves, you can enjoy all of what's left!

So, what to do with the 'baby' artichokes? I did some research and the most common preparation is to fry them. Simple, easy and delicious. So, that's exactly what I did. Since lemon goes so nicely with artichokes, I created a lemon salt to finish them by combining lemon zest and coarse Kosher salt.

But, fry one thing? For me, frying is a big deal. I don't do it very often because, although delicious, cleaning up after frying is a pain. What do you do with oil? How do you keep you entire house from smelling like McDonald's? So, if I am going to fill a pan (my grandmother's cast iron that she used for frying chicken) with oil and go to all of the trouble of frying, I am going to be frying more than one thing.

Arancini! Qu'est-ce que c'est what?

Arancini are one of my favorite things to make and to eat. What are they? Small balls of leftover risotto that can be stuffed with a variety of things (or left plain), rolled in breadcrumbs and fried. Arancini is from the Sicilian dialect and means 'little orange' for the shape and color of the balls after they are fried. People always say, 'risotto has to be eaten hot off of the stove,' or, 'risotto isn't good leftover.' They're crazy and wrong. While I love risotto, I must admit that my primary motivation is to have enough leftovers to make the arancini.

So, I made a big Italian meal for friends:

Fried baby artichokes (recipe from Giada is here)
Arancini
Olives and other pickly things
Grissini

Dama Bianca

Gratineed gnocchi
Roasted winter squash with balsamic reduction

Panna cotta with pomegranate molasses and seeds
(I'm working on perfecting this recipe and will have for you very soon!)

It was very yummy and we had a fun (and fried!) evening!


Holiday Preview!

Boo has her holiday preview at the Corner Grind today and tomorrow! You can see (and sample!) all of the goodies that are a part of her fabulous holiday gift packages. Delicious cookies, wonderful food and the perfect candies. I'm helping with the fudge making the Saturday afyer Thanksgiving, look for photos then.

Chirashizushi

When we were in Madison, WI this summer, we had a wonderful meal at Kushi Bar, a Japanese-inspired restaurant that served small bites, delicious cocktails and wonderful food. I loved what they called an inari rice bowl: delicious sushi rice studded with bits of inari, vegetables and other goodies. Inari are little packets of fried tofu which are usually stuffed with rice. They are sweet and savory at the same time, my favorite flavor combination. So I could eat them by the plate full.

After seeing several references to this idea of a sushi 'salad,' including in the new Moosewood cookbook, I learned this rice bowl is a common Japanese meal and perhaps the simplest version of sushi as it requires no rolling. In Japanese it is called, chirashizushi, which literally means, 'scattered sushi.' You can top the sushi rice with any manner of vegetable, tofu and condiments, but since inari is one of my favorite things to eat, I used that, broccoli, finely shredded carrot, toasted sesame seeds and nori. All of the delicious flavors of sushi in a bowl!

Recipe soon!

Uruguayan

Friday night after the Swope event, we were out with friends at Moggers to enjoy a little food and a couple of drinks. Jimmy turned to me and said, "Name a country." Without hesitation, I responded, "Uruguay."

Why? I have no idea. I was tired and it just popped into my head. What was Jimmy asking? Inspiration for his Saturday night menu, which we were going to enjoy before catching up on Top Chef. Or course, Jimmy hadn't qualified his question and I just answered it randomly. I know if he had said, "What type of cuisine would you like to have tomorrow?," I would never have said Uruguay. Probably Thai or Chinese. Maybe something Moroccan as there has been a lot of talk about tagines lately. But never Uruguay.

Why? I've never had it and probably never will. It's meaty and about grilling, roasting and asado. Asado is the traditional grilling of beef over hot coals. Of course, since we're all vegetarians, Jimmy is not going to be doing any beef asado. But thankfully, there are other influences important to Uruguayan cuisine and he whipped up a delicious pasta with Sauce Caruso.

What is Sauce Caruso? A Uruguayan sauce created in honor of a visit to South American by the famous tenor, Enrico Caruso. After, it spread the globe and every restaurant in Uruguay is encouraged to include it on their menu. Sauce Caruso is made from cream, sliced onions, mushroom, warming spices and walnuts. It also traditionally includes ham, but of course Jimmy left that out, but added some seitan. A light purple-y color, tossed with campanelle and tossed with a little cheese, the sauce was delicious. And Jimmy sent us home with leftovers. (Just as delicious the next day!) Amazing. So, he took the peculiar challenge and won it. Five stars.

And dessert? Ellie made the traditional Uruguayan dessert of rich, delicious browning topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Seriously, they invented it and we thank them. Possibly the best brownie ever...

I'm not sure where Jimmy got his recipe from, but here is a recipe for Sauce Caruso if you are intrigued. And you should be.

Quick to Start

One of my favorite starters is a mushroom pâté; it's hearty, savory and delicious spread on crackers or toast points. I like to serve it with the traditional cornichon or other pickly things. It's best made the night before and chilled in the refrigerator where the flavors can mingle, but I made a batch yesterday afternoon to take to a friend's home and enjoy with an evening meal. The basic recipe is here, but I guess every time I make it there are some subtle differences. This time, I didn't have any dried mushroom, so I didn't use them. Instead, I added a little tamari (1 1/2 tablespoons) to give a depth of flavor to the mushrooms. Then, for a little brightness I included 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar. For the nut, I used a mixture of pecans, walnuts and pine nuts. I toasted all of them in a dry skillet before pureeing all of it in the food processor. I thought it turned out quite good, event without the overnight rest.

So, if you're wondering what to make to begin your Thanksgiving dinner or maybe you just need a new appetizer for you holiday cocktail party, mushroom pâté is easy to prepare, can be made in advance and is delicious to eat!

Recipe: Walnut Cheese Crackers

This recipe was in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, as opposed to the last issue of Gourmet. Sorry, still bitter. I thought they sounded delicious and have a friend who is a cracker fiends, so I made them for her birthday instead of cupcakes! Birthday crackers. I think were delicious and I'll definitely make them again.

Recipe: Walnut Cheese Crackers
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
12 ounces finely grated Swiss cheese (preferably Gruyere)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of flour
1 cups chopped walnuts

In a big yellow bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the cheese and salt, beat until combined. Add the flour and walnuts, continue to beat on a low speed until the dough comes together. Add cold water by the teaspoon if it's dry. Divide the dough in half and shape into two, 14-inch rectangular logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least four hours. Alternatively, you can wrap in wax paper, then foil and freeze.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper of Silpat. Cut the logs into 1/4-inch slices, arrangea bout 1/2 inch apart. Bake until a deep golden brown, for about 20 minutes. Then let cool completely.

You can always bake one log and freeze the other to bake for later. It should keep frozen for at least two months.



Recipe: Dama Bianca

For Halloween, we had friends over for an Italian dinner. Yes, there is no connection, but it was a fun evening to entertain and we had a great time. Of course, I love deciding what china to use and put the table together. The idea was kind of fall, but not in an obvious sort of way. And the menu was also inspired by fall, with cheesy, hearty items to match the cooler weather.

To start:
Gnocchi alla Romana (Roman gnocchi is made from semolina, not potatoes, which is cooked in milk then blended with eggs, butter and cheese. After it thickens, it's cut into circles, then baked in the oven with a little more cheese and butter.)
Unstuffed artichokes
Grissini, olives and pickled okra (I have about two cases of pickled okra in the closet, so it is served regardless of the cuisine.)

First course:
Dama Bianca (This white lady is a simple salad made with thinly sliced fennel, celery, fresh mozzarella and a delicious citrus vinaigrette. Recipe below.)

Main course:
Potato gnocchi gratin
Roasted butternut squash with balsamic reduction
Tuscan beans and onions with skillet roasted cherry tomatoes and basil

Dessert:
Chocolate cake with frozen gianduia mousse
Coffee

David sent me four sets of these super cute copper-colored mushroom salt and peppers from West Elm, so I used them for the first time and placed a set between every other place setting.

Recipe: Dama Bianca
This is a great salad for fall, with crunch and a light flavor. Everyone loved it at dinner--perhaps their favorite thing that I served. It's simple and can be done ahead of time.

For the salad:
2 medium fennel bulbs, stalks discarded
6 pale inner (white) celery stalks, leaves discarded and stalks thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella (optional), roughly torn

For the dressing:
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest (preferably from an unwaxed organic lemon)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons good-quality fruity extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
White pepper to taste

Discard the stalks from the fennel and slice the bulb in half. To me, it important to cut the tiny triangular heart at the base of the bulb. Some people don't, but I think it's usually a little tough. and easily removed. Then, use a mandoline and slice into thin pieces. Combine with the celery and mozzarella in a large bowl or platter. You can make the salad to this point and refrigerate for several hours.

For the dressing, whisk together zest, juice, sea salt and white pepper to taste. Slowly add the olive oil and whisk until it's emulsified. Drizzle over salad, toss to combine and serve.

Mangez!

Recipe: Curried Cauliflower Soup

It has been a rainy and dreary day today, and even though I had soup for lunch (lovely potato and mushroom at the Restaurant That Shall Not Be Named, more on that later), I thought soup sounded like the perfect dinner. So, I made a pot of tea and go to work on one of my favorite, curried cauliflower!

Recipe: Curried Cauliflower Soup
1 head cauliflower (about 2 1/4 pounds), cut into florets (about 6 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 crushed red pepper (optional)
4 cups water
1 16-oz can of Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt. Roast for about 25 minutes in the oven until they begin to brown, tossing once or twice.

Meanwhile, heat the other tablespoon of olive oil and add the onions. Cook the onion until they begins to soften, about five minutes. Add the garlic, curry powder and crushed red pepper and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes, until the spices are fragrant. Add the cauliflower and four cups of water, simmer for 5 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon or spider, remove about half of the cauliflower from the pot. Add 1/3 cup of the beans and then puree in the pot using an immersion blender. (Alternatively, you can remove about half of the cauliflower and add to a blender with one cup of the broth and 1/3 cup of beans and blend until smooth.) Return the remaining cauliflower to the pot, add the remaining beans and two cups of broth. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Makes about four serving.

Mangez!

Pickling Beets

When I was growing up, my dad had a very nice garden in our backyard. He also helped my Mam-ma and Pap-pa with their garden at the house where he had grown up, about a mile and a half from our house. They had a much bigger space and it seems like between the two growing spaces, we had every vegetable you could want: beans, okra, asparagus, squash, corn, zucchini, tomatoes, melon, and so on and so on. Every year, some of these would be put up and we would vegetable to eat during the winter. And my favorite of the pickly variety? The beets.

I'm not sure if it was childhood memory or not, but pickled beets from the store just cannot compare to the thoughts in my head about the ones my dad would make. But, he hasn't put up any beets in who knows how long, so the flavor in my head has remained a mystery and a memory. Until this year.

I guess my brother and I were persistent enough in lamenting the state of pickled beets in US supermarkets because this year, Sam (dad) put in a little patch of beets in his garden. As it so happened, when I was in Tulsa in August I got to assist in the beet pickling process. And now I understand why he doesn't do it anymore! Time consuming and tiring.

Sam says that he would pickle beets every other year because it was such a long process. And his trick was/is to pull all of the beets at once and just get the thing done, not doing a small batch here and there. He also told me he would make special jars for his grandmother (and very good grandson, this one) with little, baby beets all stacked perfectly in the jar and she would give him perhaps the highest compliment from an Oklahoma farm girl, "those are pretty enough to go to the county fair." Or something to that affect.

So, here is a photographic how-to on pickling beets. I'd be happy to share the recipe with you on one condition: if you pickle beets, I get a jar. A large jar!

The first step is pulling all of beets. Dad was out and in the garden before I could even finish my coffee, so I didn't pull any beets. But, we ended up with a wheelbarrow overflowing with a giant mound of beets.

Then, all of the greens have to be trimmed (compost pile) and the root end trimmed as well. The giant wheelbarrow was transformed to two little buckets.

After they are trimmed, the beets are boiled. This cooks them and also makes it possible to remove their skins. As you can see, we did all of this outside because it is incredibly messy. Otherwise, my mother would have a blood red kitchen! After they were cooked, we tossed the hot beets into a cooler filled with ice and water. Then began to peel and trim, peel and trim, peel and trim. It took forever! I don't have a photograph of that part of process because my hands were covered in plastic gloves covered in beet juice.

After they are all trimmed, the beets are sorted to size, with the larger ones cut down. A delicious brine made with sugar, spices and vinegar is poured over them.

After that, they are sealed and are processed in a hot water bath.

From a giant wheelbarrow of beets to seven quarts. Yes folks, that is what you get from a wheelbarrow full of beets and six hours of hard labor! Seven jars of dark red deliciousness. I got to keep three of the jars which had to sit for a while before they could be opened. Finally, after all of that work and all of the waiting (years of waiting!) I opened a jar of beets and served them to friends at dinner the other night. Are they better than store bought? You betcha. More spice, less sugar and all about the beets. When I finish the jar, I'm going to make pink pickled eggs! Just wait.