Kitchen Empowerment

This scone recipe comes from Savvy Vegetarian – @savvyveg
Link to the recipe: Orange Raisin Scones

This recipe came up in my twitter feed one day at the beginning of April. Here’s why I felt I had to try it:
“When I made this scone recipe for my daughter who just had a baby, she said these scones would attract nursing mothers from miles around. Fortunately none of them came over, because she ate them all! ” – Savvy Vegetarian

As a constantly hungry pregnant person, I decided this was right up my alley and went immediately into action in the kitchen. Now that I’m a nursing mother, maybe it’s time to make these again…

The Savvy Vegetarian has given me permission to reproduce the recipe here paired with the photos I took while making the scones. This is the version of the recipe that I made:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup unbleached cane sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 /2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp finely grated orange rind
• 1 cup Thompson raisins
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Juice of one orange

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Place raisins in a bowl, cover with boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain into a colander and set aside
3. Combine dry ingredients
4. Combine buttermilk, eggs and orange juice to make 1 1/4 cups liquid
5. Grate orange rind into the dry ingredients
6. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture is mealy
7. Add the raisins and liquid, mix together to make a soft dough (can even be sticky)
8. Knead dough lightly for 5 minutes on a floured surface until it forms a ball
9. Divide and pat into two 6 inch rounds and slice each into 6 wedges
10. Arrange on baking sheet and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, middle of the oven, until lightly browned
11. Slide onto a rack to cool for a few minutes

The scones were delicious. They made a perfect snack or breakfast when cut in half, warmed in the toaster oven, and buttered.

Yes, I think it’s time to try these again.

My favorite thing about Passover is getting to eat massive quantities of charoses (also charoset or haroset). I always wonder though, why do we eat a dish made with apples in the spring when apples aren’t even in season?

With Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) coming up, I started thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be too sacrilegious to make charoses now, when there are lots of gorgeous local apples just waiting to be enjoyed. After all, you’re supposed to eat apples during Rosh Hashanah too. So if you would like to make charoses Rosh Hashanah-style, I recommend substituting honey for the sugar; that way you get in both the apples and the honey.

In April, when I realized I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to attend a Seder, I decided I still needed my yearly quota of charoses. I called my grandma for a little help and she provided me with the general quantities and ingredients. I list her recipe first and then the version I made, which has more exact measurements.

Whether you make this for Passover, Rosh Hashanah, or just a snack, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Grandma Gerry’s recipe:
2-3 apples (Jonathan, fuji, or gala apples)
Pecans
Cinnamon
A little sugar
Wine (sweet, red, like Manischewitz)

My version:
3 apples (I used fuji at the time, but now I’d use something local, like a honeycrisp)
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup red grape juice
1 Tablespoon sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

I believe my grandma blends hers in the food processor, but since I prefer mine a bit chunkier, I cut the apples to the size I like. I used an OXO Good Grips Mini Chopper to chop up the walnuts, but you could also chop them with a knife.

Mix all of the ingredients together. You’ll want to adjust the amount of sugar you add based on the sweetness of the apples you use.

Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours to let the flavors meld.

Do you have a favorite charoses recipe you’d be willing to share? Please leave it in the comments!

Helpful equipment:
OXO Good Grips Mini Chopper I don’t use this very often, but when I do, I find it very useful. I mostly use it for chopping nuts.

Lori Allen made this quiche for a meeting I had at her house. I couldn’t get enough of it, so I asked her if she would share the recipe with me. It is sure to be the basis of many future quiche improvisations.

Ingredients:
1/2 recipe of Rebecca’s Savory Pie Crust or one pie crust of your choice
6 medium eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
(or just 2 cups of half and half)
1 cup grated muenster or havarti
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 dry tsp. each: basil, rosemary, thyme

1) Bake the pie crust at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.
2) Take crust out of oven to slightly cool.
3) Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees.

4) Grate cheese and put into crust.

5) Mix all other ingredients in a bowl, and beat with a fork until eggs are well incorporated.
6) Pour over cheese.

7) Bake quiche 40-45 minutes, until knife inserted comes out clean.

This pie crust recipe is the one I make for savory foods. I use it for quiches and other vegetable pies. It can also be used for a sweet pie if you have an extra crust. The difference is a little more salt and no sugar.

Pie crust:
13 Tablespoons cold butter
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold water
1 3/4 cup flour

Mix together the 1 3/4 cups flour, and 3/4 tsp. salt.

Cut in 13 Tablespoons of butter. Add the 1/4 cup cold water and quickly work together with a fork.

Switch to working with hands and as quickly as possible make the dough come together and knead briefly just until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Divide dough in half and on a lightly floured surface begin rolling out the dough. Roll it out until it forms a relatively even circle.

To transfer the dough to the pie plate, fold it into quarters and position the inner corner at the center of the pie plate, then open to fill the pie plate.

Form an edge by folding over or removing and/or repositioning any excess and pressing down with the side of your thumb to form a ribbed edge. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Makes two crusts.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve made any new blog posts. Our baby, Ariella, was born on May 19th and with her birth the blog really went out of my mind. I can’t believe she is almost four months old now. The individual days seem long, but the weeks keep flying by.

This morning I saw the blog of a new mother-friend (Simply Bike), and I remembered how much I enjoyed telling friends and family about the things going on in our kitchen. Honestly, I don’t cook too many exciting things these days, we seem to eat a lot of lentil soup and pasta with zucchini, but if I do make something a little more interesting I will try to capture it here.

In the meantime, I have a number of entries that I didn’t get around to creating at the end of the pregnancy, so you can expect a few more pre-baby recipes to be coming your way.

Ariella loves her stuffed carrot. Hopefully this will transfer to a love of real food sometime in the coming year. I can’t wait to feed my baby!

I’ve been reading this great book called Cooking for Gracie: The Making of a Parent from Scratch by Keith Dixon. A foodie writing about the birth and growth of his first child is a perfect combination, and speaks to me particularly at this period in my life.

Now to figure out what to call my blog now that I’m not pregnant. Any suggestions?

Stay tuned, and please keep the comments coming!

Ingredients:
100 g flour
1 pinch salt
1 large egg

Use 100 grams of flour, 1 egg, and 1 pinch salt per person you are making pasta for.

Clean table or counter well, and pour the flour onto the surface.  Form a well in the center of the flour.

Add the salt to the well and crack the eggs into the center.  Make sure the egg does not escape over the sides.  I sometimes do this in a bowl, because my eggs have a tendency to spill over.

Begin gently beating the eggs with a fork and slowly incorporate some flour from the sides of the well.  Continue to slowly incorporate the flour.

Once enough flour has been incorporated that the mixture begins to get stiff, switch to working the dough with your hands.  Continue to bring in the flour from the sides and knead the dough.  Add more flour as necessary to prevent the dough from becoming too sticky.

Knead the ball on the counter for about 15 minutes, creating a uniform and smooth dough.

Cover the ball with a bowl and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.

At this point I use a pasta machine to roll out pieces of the dough and cut it, but you can also roll it out with a rolling pin and cut it by hand.  The key to rolling it out by hand is to make sure you get it really thin.

Let your pasta dry and then move to a bag or container and keep in the freezer.  Even when frozen, the pasta cooks in boiling, salted water in just a few minutes.

Helpful equipment:
A pasta machine: Marcato Atlas Wellness 150 Pasta Maker, Stainless Steel
This pasta machine is the one that I have, and I love it!

A pasta drying rack: Norpro Pasta Drying Rack
I chose to buy this drying rack, because it was inexpensive and functional.  Pasta drying racks come in a wide variety of forms and prices, so pick the one you like best.  You can also dry your pasta on a floured baking sheet.

Kitchen scale: Salter Digital Scale – Extra-Precise
This kitchen scale is a rather expensive one recommended by Lynne Rossetto Kasper from The Splendid Table.  Any reasonably accurate kitchen scale will do though.

The rhubarb in our garden was ready for harvest, so I decided today was a good day to make up a recipe for rhubarb pie.  The pie is a bit tart and perfect with vanilla ice cream.  I love the flavors of the orange and cardamon.

Pie crust:
13 Tablespoons cold butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup ice water
1 3/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar

Mix together the 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 Tablespoons sugar.

Cut in 13 Tablespoons of butter. Add the 1/4 cup of ice water and quickly work together with a fork.

Switch to working with hands and as quickly as possible make the dough come together and knead briefly just until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Divide dough in half and on a lightly floured surface begin rolling out the dough. Roll it out until it forms a relatively even circle.

To transfer the dough to the pie plate, fold it into quarters and position the inner corner at the center of the pie plate, then open to fill the pie plate.

Form an edge by folding over or removing and/or repositioning any excess and pressing down with the side of your thumb to form a ribbed edge. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Makes two crusts.

Filling:
3 cups rhubarb
2/3 cup sugar (makes a tart pie that goes perfectly with vanilla ice cream)
Zest of one orange
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. cardamon seeds
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tablespoon flour
1 pinch salt

Wash and cut the rhubarb into approximately 1/2-inch pieces.

Mix the rhubarb with the other ingredients.

Pour mixture into pie shell.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Helpful equipment:
Pastry cutter: OXO Good Grips Dough Blender
This makes cutting in the butter for the pie crust much easier and faster.

Zester: Microplane 46120 Premium Red Zester/Grater
This is the zester/grater that I decided to purchase for myself.  It works great for zesting citrus and grating nutmeg.  I occasionally use it for cheese, but I don’t find it to work quite as well for cheese as a rotary or box grater.

1 lb. dried pasta
Extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
3 zucchini
1 bunch chard
Baby artichokes, cooked, marinated in extra virgin olive oil
1 Meyer lemon
1/4 cup white wine
Parmesan
Salt
Pepper

Fill a large pot with water and bring to boil.

Add a Tablespoon or two of the olive oil from the marinated artichokes to a pan and place over medium-low heat.  Peel and slice the garlic cloves and add them to the pan, cooking them slowly in the oil.  Wash the zucchini, chard, and Meyer lemon and cut into pieces.  Slice the baby artichokes into pieces, do not use any parts that are tough.

Salt the pasta water well and add the pasta.  Stir occasionally and cook until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, add the zucchini to the pan with the garlic.  Turn to medium heat and sauté for about Four minutes.  Add the chard, Meyer lemon, artichokes, and 1/4 cup of white wine.  Stir and cover pan for two minutes, then remove lid and continue to cook.

Drain the pasta when it is al dente, and add it to the pan with the vegetables.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in some parmesan and then use more to garnish.  Drizzle a small spoonful of the oil from the marinated artichokes over the top of each bowl.

Serves 4.

Map of Nepal

Chef Mangal Tamang presents a dinner of typical Nepali food on our “live” broadcast from The Mainstay Inn this Wednesday.  Mangal is a Nepali native, graduate of the Indian Hills Culinary Program, and winner of an international cooking competition in Spain.  The dinner is the first in our planned quarterly culinary extravaganzas that will serve as fundraisers for solar-powered and listener-supported KRUU.  Here’s what we’ll be enjoying while you listen:

Appetizer

Momo (Veg/Non Veg)

Mixed vegetable /chicken dumpling with fresh homemade tomato pickle, authentic flavor from the top of the world, Nepal

First Course

Bara
Deep fried lentil patties, Plain or with egg

2nd Course

Gundruck Dhindo

A common and popular porridge-type dish in Nepal, all regions and all seasons, made with maize (corn) flour and dried and fermented mustard leaves.

Entrée

Nepali Dal Bhat, Masu,Tarkari

Basmati rice, chicken or vegetable curry, fried spinach and Nepali-style dal cooked with Nepali herbs

Dessert

Kheer
Rice pudding

Also, Pam Whitworth joins us  to share her insights about Nepal.  Pam has traveled to Nepal many times and is intimately familiar with its people, culture, and history.

Another GREAT TASTE intimately presented on the live stream at kruufm.com.  Tune in on Wednesday or catch us on the replay at 7:00 AM CST Friday.