Savory Ham, Cheddar and Rosemary Waffles

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Ham and cheddar waffles with fresh rosemary by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

It's been a few years since I subscribed to any food mags. Back when we lived in Washington, DC, I subscribed to Food & Wine for a while but ended up dropping it because it read more like Wine & Wine and I am mostly a teetotaler. I also had a brief fling with Cooks Illustrated that lasted for a year or two. Although I liked it, I let it lapse when we moved to California.

After a year or two in Berkeley, I signed up for Sunset, which I loved. But I did NOT love the guilty stacks of paper that continually accumulated in our small apartment. So when we moved back to the east coast two years ago, I decided to cancel everything except the New Yorker which does an excellent job of filling our house with partially read magazines destined for the recycling bin all by itself...

But I kinda miss food magazines. So I usually buy one or two when I fly somewhere. The inspiration for this morning's experiment in decadent deliciousness comes from the the March 2012 issue of Bon Appetit that I bought when we went to Austin this spring - see below and please excuse the water marks on the page - I was cooking and in a bit of a hurry.

The Bon Appetit article that started it all...by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Savory waffles - what an amazingly good, simple idea! And one that had never occurred to me before, even though we make waffles fairly regularly and often add raspberries, peaches or blueberries to them. Duh!

After reading the actual recipe, I decided to leave it at "inspiration" as it seemed a little more complicated than necessary - we just went with the basic waffle recipe that we always use from the Joy of Cooking. My main contribution to this recipe is the fresh rosemary but I think it actually makes a BIG difference.

Rosemary plant by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

I've had a thing for the combination of rosemary and ham ever since our butcher back in Berkeley encouraged us to try some Fra' mani rosemary ham that we fell for instantly.

These came together pretty quickly - I grated some sharp cheddar, chopped up a sprig of fresh rosemary, and cut a couple slices of Applegate Farms ham which is hormone- and antibiotic-free.

Cheddar cheese, rosemary and ham by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Then I added it all, along with a few grinds of black pepper, to the waffle batter my husband had whipped up.

Batter for ham and cheddar waffles with fresh rosemary by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

I'd been a little concerned that the cheese might stick to the waffle iron but my husband, who is the waffle master in our family, reported smooth sailing. Check out my tip for greasing your waffle iron without wasting a ton of butter :)

Served with real maple syrup, these things just make your mouth happy; your heart is probably another story since these officially fall into the category of "fat bomb" but I feel that one must live a little sometimes...

Ham and cheddar waffles with fresh rosemary by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

We ate them al fresco on the gorgeous, live-edged cedar picnic table my husband built a few weeks ago. The combination of the crispy waffle, the smoky ham, the sharp, gooey cheese, the fresh, almost piney taste of the rosemary and the sweetness of the maple syrup is to die for. We're all looking forward to the leftovers that we froze for another (happy) morning.

Will eating waffles and memp by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

-- print recipe --Savory Ham, Cheddar and Rosemary Waffles
Makes 8-10 waffles in our small, round iron

Ingredients

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 3/4 tsp salt (original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp)
* 3 free-range, organic eggs (get pasture-raised if you can)
* 1 stick of butter, melted (original recipes calls for between 1/4 cup and 1 cup but this is what we go with)
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1/4 - 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
* 2-3 slices of ham, roughly chopped or torn into pieces
* large sprig of rosemary, washed, dried, needles removed and chopped
* several grinds of fresh black pepper

Directions

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix the eggs, butter and milk.

2. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the cheese, ham, rosemary and black pepper and stir to combine. Be careful not to overmix.

3. Cook in a greased waffle iron and serve hot with pure maple syrup (you could put butter on these if you like, it just seems like overkill to me.) Don't forget that you can freeze any leftovers (or make extra to freeze)! Just let them cool on a wire rack, then put the rack in the freezer for 20 minutes to freeze them all individually, then remove the tray and stack the waffles neatly in a large freezer bag, remove the air before sealing (closing the bag almost all the way and using a straw to suck out the air works wonders for this) and freeze. Eat them within a month or two - just reheat them in a toaster oven for a few minutes - they'll taste great.

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Rhubarb Johnnycake

Thursday, May 24, 2012

I can barely even keep track of all the wonderful rhubarb recipes I've seen lately.

Beautiful rhubarb stalks by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

From this amazingly inspirational round-up on Punk Domestics to several recipes in Marisa McLellan's brand-new cookbook, Food in Jars (including pickled rhubarb stalks - don't that sound interesting?), to this gorgeous rhubarb crusted crumb pie from Apt. 2B Baking Co. and this uber comforting milk and honey pudding with stewed rhubarb from Autumn Makes & Does, I've been thoroughly overwhelmed by good ideas.

Sliced rhubarb by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

There are so many that I've been at a loss as to where to begin (not to mention that I've had limited time and limited energy -- this whole pregnant with a toddler and a job deal does kinda take it out of you...)

Rhubarb with sugar and ginger by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

But then I saw this recipe for rhubarb johnnycake pop up on The Hudson Valley Food Network's Seasonal Eating page and I sprang into action!

Local sourcream, local eggs by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

You see, I have been wanting to make this simple yet scrumptious cake since I tasted it at the Woodstock Farm Festival committee meeting a few weeks ago.

Cake batter and macerated rhubarb with ginger meet by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

The recipe comes from Cheryl Pfaff, an excellent local cook and caterer who has served as the farmer's market manager here in Woodstock for the last few years. Check out her blog, At The Farmer's Market for tons of mouth-watering recipes that feature local, seasonal ingredients. My only complaint was that she did not make two of these cakes since we were fighting over the slices at the meeting...

Rhubarb Johnnycake by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

For those of you in this neck of the woods, don't forget to come out for the first Farm Fest of the season next Wednesday, May 30th in the Houst parking lot - 3 PM 'til dark. There should be plenty of fresh, local rhubarb for sale!

Rhubarb Johnnycake by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

As John Hodgman would say, "You're welcome." Enjoy.

Rhubarb Johnnycake
By Cheryl Pfaff of At The Farmer's Market

Ingredients

* 2 cups sliced rhubarb
* 3 Tbsp raw sugar
* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 1 cup corn flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup raw sugar
* 1 stick of unsalted butter – softened
* 2 eggs (use local, free range, organic if you can get 'em)
* 2 Tbsp sour cream
 * 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9” springform pan.

2. Toss the sliced rhubarb with 3 Tbsp of sugar and the ginger. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the corn flour, baking powder and salt.

4. In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 cup sugar with the butter until creamy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

5. Add the corn flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just enough to combine. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Arrange the rhubarb slices on top of the batter and sprinkle the top with a little sugar.

6. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve. Goes great with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

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Red Cabbage, Carrot, Cilantro Slaw (With An Asian Slant)

Friday, May 18, 2012

I had half a head of red cabbage and a ton of fresh cilantro left over after making shrimp tacos last week so I decided to make something with them. My first thought was this divine little slaw I made up last winter but when I went in to grab the veggies, I noticed not one, but two bags of organic carrots cooling their heels in the crisper (no doubt the result of my faulty memory last time I bought groceries.)

Cilantro, carrots and cabbage by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

So I changed course from a Mexican-inspired to an Asian-inspired slaw, pairing the veggies with sesame oil and rice vinegar instead of lime juice and honey.

Shredded red cabbage by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Survey says... YUM! Carrots, cabbage and cilantro are a rather magical combo - crunchy, sweet and fresh. And mighty purty to look at, too.

Carrot Cabbage Cilantro Slaw by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Here's the simple recipe.

Red Cabbage, Carrot, Cilantro Slaw
Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients

* 2 cups grated or finely shredded carrot
* 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage (I used my handy-dandy mandolin - makes it a breeze!)
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, washed, dried and chopped
* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (also known as just rice vinegar - they're the same thing but they're NOT the same thing as rice wine or mirin which is good stuff, but something else, altogether)
* 1/2 tablespoon sugar, maple syrup, or apricot jam, to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (you can also use peanut or olive oil)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

Combine the carrot, cabbage and cilantro in a bowl. Mix the other ingredients together and stir to allow the sugar (if you use sugar) to dissolve. Toss it all together and stir to combine.

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Garlic & Herb Skillet Croutons

Sunday, May 6, 2012

My big brother and I developed a taste for croutons at a tender age. Crunchy, salty, garlicky, herby -- what's not to like? We'd eat them straight from the bag...

While I still find the store-bought kind fairly addictive, I've since been exposed to something even tastier and undoubtedly a bit healthier- the homemade kind!
Homemade garlic & herb croutons by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

So when my husband pointed out that the nice loaf of sesame seed-covered Italian bread I'd bought a week ago was still sitting out on the counter in its paper bag and had gone completely stale, it seemed like a good opportunity to make some of these hand-cut beauties.

Stale bread for croutons by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

The process is quite simple and fairly quick. Consider this your recipe since this is not really the kind of thing you need exact measurements and proportions for.

You can use any kind of bread as long as it is stale (or you make it stale by toasting it in the oven or toaster.) Start by chopping the stale bread into 1-inch cubes.

Cubing the stale bread by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Then chop up a couple cloves of garlic and whatever fresh herbs you plan to add - parsley, basil, oregano and thyme are all lovely options. Rosemary would be nice, too but it has a more assertive flavor that may not pair well with everything.

Fresh herbs by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Heat a couple teaspoons of olive oil in a big skillet and sautée the garlic over medium heat until fragrant (but don't burn it!) then add the herbs, a generous amount of sea salt, many grinds of black pepper and the bread cubes. Toss well to coat and sautée for a couple minutes, stirring often.

Toasting the croutons in the skillet by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

If you'd like your croutons even a bit crisper and drier than they get in the skillet, you can broil them briefly (and I do mean briefly -- depending on your broiler, 30 seconds might be plenty of time -- it's very easy to burn things to a crisp under the broiler...), turning once to ensure even browning and prevent charring. Or you could also turn them out onto a baking sheet and bake them for 15 or so minutes, too (but I'm not going to recommend this approach because then you'd have one more thing to wash and I am lazy...)

Homemade garlic & herb croutons by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

These definitely make a salad special and help turn it into a real meal. I used some of mine in this salad of the first baby arugula and spinach from our garden, shredded carrot, sliced cucumber, dried currants, and hard boiled egg with a citrusy vinaigrette. Delicious!

Homemade garlic & herb croutons in salad by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

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Cooking With Your Kids

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

As a little girl, I loved sitting on the kitchen counter while my mom cooked. While I kicked my feet against the cabinets, she taught me how to peel an onion efficiently and how to crack an egg and use my index fingers to get all the white out before tossing the shells into the compost bin. And I still vividly recall the excitement I felt over the beautiful, golden, sesame seed-studded  loaves of braided challah we baked in my second grade class at the Woodstock Children's Center - they were like some kind of miracle...

Childhood is such an important, impressionable time of life when the vast majority of our lifelong habits are formed, or at least pointed in the direction in which they'll head. That's why my husband and I want to introduce our son, Will, to growing and cooking food alongside us.

First ripe cherry tomatoes in our garden by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

Will, who is just shy of three, watches and "helps" us with our container garden where we grow tomatoes, greens, peas, beans and herbs. At this point, it mostly means he digs in the dirt but he's learning.
Will really digs dirt by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

He had the heady experience of drinking cold, clear, slightly sweet maple sap straight from the spile (was this a new vocab word for you, too?) during our first foray into maple sugaring last winter.

Maple sap dripping out of the stile by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

And we brought him with us to forage for ramps a few weeks ago (although we confined his enthusiastic excavation efforts to a patch of ground that was not home to this fragile delicacy.) We've also gone strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and apple picking as a family - all activities we plan to repeat on a yearly basis since we all enjoy it. 

Will LOVES Berry Picking by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

We've taken him to local farms and friends' houses to gather eggs so fresh you have to chase the hens off their nests to pick them up. In addition to teaching him where his food comes from, it's a great way to kill an hour or so that does not involve us having to play with digging machines. We have not yet taught him about where the meat we eat comes from, both because we don't have a great local source and we're also both a little wimpy about exposing him to something so bloody at a tender age (or to being exposed to it, ourselves, at our not so tender ages...)

My husband sometimes plans baking projects in their hours together. At this point, Will's attention span is still remarkably short so he mostly just enjoys the idea of helping and participates in the "dumping" portion of the experience where he moves pre-measured amounts of flour, sugar, nuts, raisins, etc., into the mixing bowl. Then he gets bored, climbs down from his stool and runs off to do something else.

It takes about 2-3 times as long to bake something when Will is involved and is inevitably messier and more work but not only are we laying the groundwork for future cooking projects and appreciation of real food, we have also noticed that our notoriously picky eater is MUCH more likely to eat foods he has helped prepare in some way (score!)

Will eating a slice of pumpkin bread by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

Will also enjoys using the salad spinner to dry greens and cutting food (cucumbers and tofu are perfect!) with the adorable toddler knife Rahm got him recently after being inspired by this Slate magazine piece by Nicholas Day on the topic of cooking with pre-schoolers. And he LOVES sitting on the counter smelling and identifying spices (cinnamon is his favorite; cloves and star anise rank second and third.)

I recently made him a child-sized apron to help him feel at home in the kitchen and, hopefully, keep him slightly cleaner, though it's a bit of a lost cause at this point in his life. I chose the fabric (called "Dig It" by Michael Miller, in case you're curious) since he is 100% obsessed with digging and construction machines and I thought I should go with something he's already into.

Will baking cookies in his new digger apron by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

We figure that laying the groundwork now will not only encourage him to appreciate good food, eat more healthfully, and enjoy growing and cooking his own food from scratch someday, but if we're really strategic about it, in a few years, we might even get him to cook meals for us! If you are shaking your head in disbelief, check out this NYTimes piece by Leslie Kaufman, who got her two sons (ages 10 and 14) to each cook dinner for the family one night a week.

One thing I love about Kaufman's article is that she does not gloss over the challenges inherent in giving up control in the kitchen -- she squirms in discomfort when a  flame is left on too long for her taste and has to repeatedly battle her impulse to step in--something she unthinkingly does early on in the experiment that backfires - her son storms off to his room and misses the meal he'd prepared altogether, despite her apology.

As a perfectionist (fine, I'll just say it, I'm anal) who views cooking as somewhat of a devotional, semi-meditative practice--I like to clean up as I go and put everything in its place so that there's no mess left at the end--this kind of letting go is very HARD for me! I think it's good to be realistic about the fact that this is not an easy process - it requires a lot of patience, faith in your child, and a willingness to spend more time and do more cleaning up than you would if you just handled it all on your own. But the end result should be worth it.

Will picks the first ripe tomato in our garden by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

If this sounds appealing to you, I've compiled some resources to help you in this journey.
Please add your own thoughts and any recommendations you have on approach, books, tools, etc., via comments.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Savory Ham, Cheddar and Rosemary Waffles

Ham and cheddar waffles with fresh rosemary by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

It's been a few years since I subscribed to any food mags. Back when we lived in Washington, DC, I subscribed to Food & Wine for a while but ended up dropping it because it read more like Wine & Wine and I am mostly a teetotaler. I also had a brief fling with Cooks Illustrated that lasted for a year or two. Although I liked it, I let it lapse when we moved to California.

After a year or two in Berkeley, I signed up for Sunset, which I loved. But I did NOT love the guilty stacks of paper that continually accumulated in our small apartment. So when we moved back to the east coast two years ago, I decided to cancel everything except the New Yorker which does an excellent job of filling our house with partially read magazines destined for the recycling bin all by itself...

But I kinda miss food magazines. So I usually buy one or two when I fly somewhere. The inspiration for this morning's experiment in decadent deliciousness comes from the the March 2012 issue of Bon Appetit that I bought when we went to Austin this spring - see below and please excuse the water marks on the page - I was cooking and in a bit of a hurry.

The Bon Appetit article that started it all...by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Savory waffles - what an amazingly good, simple idea! And one that had never occurred to me before, even though we make waffles fairly regularly and often add raspberries, peaches or blueberries to them. Duh!

After reading the actual recipe, I decided to leave it at "inspiration" as it seemed a little more complicated than necessary - we just went with the basic waffle recipe that we always use from the Joy of Cooking. My main contribution to this recipe is the fresh rosemary but I think it actually makes a BIG difference.

Rosemary plant by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

I've had a thing for the combination of rosemary and ham ever since our butcher back in Berkeley encouraged us to try some Fra' mani rosemary ham that we fell for instantly.

These came together pretty quickly - I grated some sharp cheddar, chopped up a sprig of fresh rosemary, and cut a couple slices of Applegate Farms ham which is hormone- and antibiotic-free.

Cheddar cheese, rosemary and ham by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Then I added it all, along with a few grinds of black pepper, to the waffle batter my husband had whipped up.

Batter for ham and cheddar waffles with fresh rosemary by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

I'd been a little concerned that the cheese might stick to the waffle iron but my husband, who is the waffle master in our family, reported smooth sailing. Check out my tip for greasing your waffle iron without wasting a ton of butter :)

Served with real maple syrup, these things just make your mouth happy; your heart is probably another story since these officially fall into the category of "fat bomb" but I feel that one must live a little sometimes...

Ham and cheddar waffles with fresh rosemary by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

We ate them al fresco on the gorgeous, live-edged cedar picnic table my husband built a few weeks ago. The combination of the crispy waffle, the smoky ham, the sharp, gooey cheese, the fresh, almost piney taste of the rosemary and the sweetness of the maple syrup is to die for. We're all looking forward to the leftovers that we froze for another (happy) morning.

Will eating waffles and memp by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

-- print recipe --Savory Ham, Cheddar and Rosemary Waffles
Makes 8-10 waffles in our small, round iron

Ingredients

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 3/4 tsp salt (original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp)
* 3 free-range, organic eggs (get pasture-raised if you can)
* 1 stick of butter, melted (original recipes calls for between 1/4 cup and 1 cup but this is what we go with)
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1/4 - 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
* 2-3 slices of ham, roughly chopped or torn into pieces
* large sprig of rosemary, washed, dried, needles removed and chopped
* several grinds of fresh black pepper

Directions

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix the eggs, butter and milk.

2. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the cheese, ham, rosemary and black pepper and stir to combine. Be careful not to overmix.

3. Cook in a greased waffle iron and serve hot with pure maple syrup (you could put butter on these if you like, it just seems like overkill to me.) Don't forget that you can freeze any leftovers (or make extra to freeze)! Just let them cool on a wire rack, then put the rack in the freezer for 20 minutes to freeze them all individually, then remove the tray and stack the waffles neatly in a large freezer bag, remove the air before sealing (closing the bag almost all the way and using a straw to suck out the air works wonders for this) and freeze. Eat them within a month or two - just reheat them in a toaster oven for a few minutes - they'll taste great.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Rhubarb Johnnycake

I can barely even keep track of all the wonderful rhubarb recipes I've seen lately.

Beautiful rhubarb stalks by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

From this amazingly inspirational round-up on Punk Domestics to several recipes in Marisa McLellan's brand-new cookbook, Food in Jars (including pickled rhubarb stalks - don't that sound interesting?), to this gorgeous rhubarb crusted crumb pie from Apt. 2B Baking Co. and this uber comforting milk and honey pudding with stewed rhubarb from Autumn Makes & Does, I've been thoroughly overwhelmed by good ideas.

Sliced rhubarb by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

There are so many that I've been at a loss as to where to begin (not to mention that I've had limited time and limited energy -- this whole pregnant with a toddler and a job deal does kinda take it out of you...)

Rhubarb with sugar and ginger by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

But then I saw this recipe for rhubarb johnnycake pop up on The Hudson Valley Food Network's Seasonal Eating page and I sprang into action!

Local sourcream, local eggs by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

You see, I have been wanting to make this simple yet scrumptious cake since I tasted it at the Woodstock Farm Festival committee meeting a few weeks ago.

Cake batter and macerated rhubarb with ginger meet by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

The recipe comes from Cheryl Pfaff, an excellent local cook and caterer who has served as the farmer's market manager here in Woodstock for the last few years. Check out her blog, At The Farmer's Market for tons of mouth-watering recipes that feature local, seasonal ingredients. My only complaint was that she did not make two of these cakes since we were fighting over the slices at the meeting...

Rhubarb Johnnycake by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

For those of you in this neck of the woods, don't forget to come out for the first Farm Fest of the season next Wednesday, May 30th in the Houst parking lot - 3 PM 'til dark. There should be plenty of fresh, local rhubarb for sale!

Rhubarb Johnnycake by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

As John Hodgman would say, "You're welcome." Enjoy.

Rhubarb Johnnycake
By Cheryl Pfaff of At The Farmer's Market

Ingredients

* 2 cups sliced rhubarb
* 3 Tbsp raw sugar
* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 1 cup corn flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup raw sugar
* 1 stick of unsalted butter – softened
* 2 eggs (use local, free range, organic if you can get 'em)
* 2 Tbsp sour cream
 * 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9” springform pan.

2. Toss the sliced rhubarb with 3 Tbsp of sugar and the ginger. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the corn flour, baking powder and salt.

4. In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 cup sugar with the butter until creamy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

5. Add the corn flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just enough to combine. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Arrange the rhubarb slices on top of the batter and sprinkle the top with a little sugar.

6. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve. Goes great with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

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Friday, May 18, 2012

Red Cabbage, Carrot, Cilantro Slaw (With An Asian Slant)

I had half a head of red cabbage and a ton of fresh cilantro left over after making shrimp tacos last week so I decided to make something with them. My first thought was this divine little slaw I made up last winter but when I went in to grab the veggies, I noticed not one, but two bags of organic carrots cooling their heels in the crisper (no doubt the result of my faulty memory last time I bought groceries.)

Cilantro, carrots and cabbage by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

So I changed course from a Mexican-inspired to an Asian-inspired slaw, pairing the veggies with sesame oil and rice vinegar instead of lime juice and honey.

Shredded red cabbage by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Survey says... YUM! Carrots, cabbage and cilantro are a rather magical combo - crunchy, sweet and fresh. And mighty purty to look at, too.

Carrot Cabbage Cilantro Slaw by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Here's the simple recipe.

Red Cabbage, Carrot, Cilantro Slaw
Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients

* 2 cups grated or finely shredded carrot
* 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage (I used my handy-dandy mandolin - makes it a breeze!)
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, washed, dried and chopped
* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (also known as just rice vinegar - they're the same thing but they're NOT the same thing as rice wine or mirin which is good stuff, but something else, altogether)
* 1/2 tablespoon sugar, maple syrup, or apricot jam, to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (you can also use peanut or olive oil)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

Combine the carrot, cabbage and cilantro in a bowl. Mix the other ingredients together and stir to allow the sugar (if you use sugar) to dissolve. Toss it all together and stir to combine.

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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Garlic & Herb Skillet Croutons

My big brother and I developed a taste for croutons at a tender age. Crunchy, salty, garlicky, herby -- what's not to like? We'd eat them straight from the bag...

While I still find the store-bought kind fairly addictive, I've since been exposed to something even tastier and undoubtedly a bit healthier- the homemade kind!
Homemade garlic & herb croutons by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

So when my husband pointed out that the nice loaf of sesame seed-covered Italian bread I'd bought a week ago was still sitting out on the counter in its paper bag and had gone completely stale, it seemed like a good opportunity to make some of these hand-cut beauties.

Stale bread for croutons by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

The process is quite simple and fairly quick. Consider this your recipe since this is not really the kind of thing you need exact measurements and proportions for.

You can use any kind of bread as long as it is stale (or you make it stale by toasting it in the oven or toaster.) Start by chopping the stale bread into 1-inch cubes.

Cubing the stale bread by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Then chop up a couple cloves of garlic and whatever fresh herbs you plan to add - parsley, basil, oregano and thyme are all lovely options. Rosemary would be nice, too but it has a more assertive flavor that may not pair well with everything.

Fresh herbs by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

Heat a couple teaspoons of olive oil in a big skillet and sautée the garlic over medium heat until fragrant (but don't burn it!) then add the herbs, a generous amount of sea salt, many grinds of black pepper and the bread cubes. Toss well to coat and sautée for a couple minutes, stirring often.

Toasting the croutons in the skillet by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

If you'd like your croutons even a bit crisper and drier than they get in the skillet, you can broil them briefly (and I do mean briefly -- depending on your broiler, 30 seconds might be plenty of time -- it's very easy to burn things to a crisp under the broiler...), turning once to ensure even browning and prevent charring. Or you could also turn them out onto a baking sheet and bake them for 15 or so minutes, too (but I'm not going to recommend this approach because then you'd have one more thing to wash and I am lazy...)

Homemade garlic & herb croutons by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

These definitely make a salad special and help turn it into a real meal. I used some of mine in this salad of the first baby arugula and spinach from our garden, shredded carrot, sliced cucumber, dried currants, and hard boiled egg with a citrusy vinaigrette. Delicious!

Homemade garlic & herb croutons in salad by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Cooking With Your Kids

As a little girl, I loved sitting on the kitchen counter while my mom cooked. While I kicked my feet against the cabinets, she taught me how to peel an onion efficiently and how to crack an egg and use my index fingers to get all the white out before tossing the shells into the compost bin. And I still vividly recall the excitement I felt over the beautiful, golden, sesame seed-studded  loaves of braided challah we baked in my second grade class at the Woodstock Children's Center - they were like some kind of miracle...

Childhood is such an important, impressionable time of life when the vast majority of our lifelong habits are formed, or at least pointed in the direction in which they'll head. That's why my husband and I want to introduce our son, Will, to growing and cooking food alongside us.

First ripe cherry tomatoes in our garden by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

Will, who is just shy of three, watches and "helps" us with our container garden where we grow tomatoes, greens, peas, beans and herbs. At this point, it mostly means he digs in the dirt but he's learning.
Will really digs dirt by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

He had the heady experience of drinking cold, clear, slightly sweet maple sap straight from the spile (was this a new vocab word for you, too?) during our first foray into maple sugaring last winter.

Maple sap dripping out of the stile by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

And we brought him with us to forage for ramps a few weeks ago (although we confined his enthusiastic excavation efforts to a patch of ground that was not home to this fragile delicacy.) We've also gone strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and apple picking as a family - all activities we plan to repeat on a yearly basis since we all enjoy it. 

Will LOVES Berry Picking by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

We've taken him to local farms and friends' houses to gather eggs so fresh you have to chase the hens off their nests to pick them up. In addition to teaching him where his food comes from, it's a great way to kill an hour or so that does not involve us having to play with digging machines. We have not yet taught him about where the meat we eat comes from, both because we don't have a great local source and we're also both a little wimpy about exposing him to something so bloody at a tender age (or to being exposed to it, ourselves, at our not so tender ages...)

My husband sometimes plans baking projects in their hours together. At this point, Will's attention span is still remarkably short so he mostly just enjoys the idea of helping and participates in the "dumping" portion of the experience where he moves pre-measured amounts of flour, sugar, nuts, raisins, etc., into the mixing bowl. Then he gets bored, climbs down from his stool and runs off to do something else.

It takes about 2-3 times as long to bake something when Will is involved and is inevitably messier and more work but not only are we laying the groundwork for future cooking projects and appreciation of real food, we have also noticed that our notoriously picky eater is MUCH more likely to eat foods he has helped prepare in some way (score!)

Will eating a slice of pumpkin bread by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

Will also enjoys using the salad spinner to dry greens and cutting food (cucumbers and tofu are perfect!) with the adorable toddler knife Rahm got him recently after being inspired by this Slate magazine piece by Nicholas Day on the topic of cooking with pre-schoolers. And he LOVES sitting on the counter smelling and identifying spices (cinnamon is his favorite; cloves and star anise rank second and third.)

I recently made him a child-sized apron to help him feel at home in the kitchen and, hopefully, keep him slightly cleaner, though it's a bit of a lost cause at this point in his life. I chose the fabric (called "Dig It" by Michael Miller, in case you're curious) since he is 100% obsessed with digging and construction machines and I thought I should go with something he's already into.

Will baking cookies in his new digger apron by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2012

We figure that laying the groundwork now will not only encourage him to appreciate good food, eat more healthfully, and enjoy growing and cooking his own food from scratch someday, but if we're really strategic about it, in a few years, we might even get him to cook meals for us! If you are shaking your head in disbelief, check out this NYTimes piece by Leslie Kaufman, who got her two sons (ages 10 and 14) to each cook dinner for the family one night a week.

One thing I love about Kaufman's article is that she does not gloss over the challenges inherent in giving up control in the kitchen -- she squirms in discomfort when a  flame is left on too long for her taste and has to repeatedly battle her impulse to step in--something she unthinkingly does early on in the experiment that backfires - her son storms off to his room and misses the meal he'd prepared altogether, despite her apology.

As a perfectionist (fine, I'll just say it, I'm anal) who views cooking as somewhat of a devotional, semi-meditative practice--I like to clean up as I go and put everything in its place so that there's no mess left at the end--this kind of letting go is very HARD for me! I think it's good to be realistic about the fact that this is not an easy process - it requires a lot of patience, faith in your child, and a willingness to spend more time and do more cleaning up than you would if you just handled it all on your own. But the end result should be worth it.

Will picks the first ripe tomato in our garden by Eve Fox, Garden of Eating blog, copyright 2011

If this sounds appealing to you, I've compiled some resources to help you in this journey.
Please add your own thoughts and any recommendations you have on approach, books, tools, etc., via comments.