Any Given Sunday

"Waste Not, Want Not" Never Goes Out of Style

I've been racing back and forth between Santa Fe and Santa Barbara quite a lot lately, which means there are many half-used food items in my fridge or pantry or cupboard at any given moment. And since I have officially decided to make 2010 the year of making everything from scratch and to not waste anything, the situation has led to some unexpected culinary treats. Here is one of the most simple solutions - turning stale bread into delightfully flavorful (and useful!) breach crumbs -- and you also get to use whatever herbs you have in the bottom of your crisper drawer too!

 

Using a stale half loaf of rosemary lemon bread from a local bakery that we left in our bread drawer all week, and some fresh sage, rosemary and thyme that was left in the fridge, I was able to put away two loverly pint-sized jars of breadcrumbs for later use over potatoes au gratin or a homemade soup.

Just cut the bread into 1" cubes and place in a large bowl.
Chop all of the herbs into tiny, confetti-like pieces
Sprinkle bread cubes with salt and pepper to taste and all the herbs
Drizzle all ingredients with a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil and toss by hand until bread is well coated but not too moist
Place herbed cubes on cookie sheet and bake in a 350 oven until slightly browned and crisp
Allow cubes to cool, then pulse in a bowl of a food processor until they become crumbs
Store in an airtight jar (like a canning jar) for up to two weeks or freeze until you need to use them.

 

Apricot Jam

Thanks to our friend, Jane Handel, who brought us a big basket of apricots from her tree when she visited for dinner last night, we now have 4 pints of apricot jam all put up and ready to eat (well, we actually have three and a half jars left — we ate quite a lot of it for breakfast today). Just peel fruit, remove the seeds, cut into small chunks and cook in a heavy bottomed pan with about 1 cup of sugar for every two pounds of fruit for 45 - 60 minutes. Place cooked fruit into sterilized canning jars and follow manufacturers (or other) canning instructions. Nothing could be easier!

 

Slow Roasted Oven Tomatoes

When the Roma tomatoes become plentiful in summer, I find as many ways to make them last as I possibly can. In addition to make my Nana's marniara sauce with them (in the archive of this blog), I love slow roasting them in the oven. They last a week or so in a sealed container and are great to eat on salads, on bread, or in soups. Enjoy!

  

Slice 20 to 24 plum tomatoes in half lengthwise.
Using your finger, remove all seeds and inner membrane so just the meaty part remains.
Lay them cut side up on a parchment lined baking sheet large enough to hold them all.
Drizzle each tomato with extra virgin olive oil and a tiny amount of balsamic vinegar.
Then sprinkle with salt and pepper and a teaspoon or so of sugar.
Sprinkle again with finely minced fresh garlic, then bake at 250º F for 45 - 50 minutes.
Eat warm or allow to cool and then store in an airtight container in the frig for up to one week.

Tonight's Dessert

Sometimes, the very best desserts are those you leave alone, get out of the way of, and just eat. That is certainly the "recipe" for tonight's figs — we'll drizzle a few tiny drops of balsamic and will slice off a few chards of parm - maybe...

 

Homemade Bouillon

I owe the inspiration for this recipe to Heidi Swanson, who adapted it from the River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin (the US version of which, just came out last week). We make a lot of soups in our house and usually make and freeze a lot of stock but now are in love with the idea of making homemade bouillon. It is very easy to make and each batch makes a lot, so feel free freeze what you won't use right away (and, of course, to give some away). Thanks Heidi and Pam!

 

Homemade Bouillon from 101cookbooks.com by Heidi Swanson

This recipe requires a food processor. I have a 8-cup / 2 liter / 2 quart model, and needed every cubic inch of it. I found the best approach if you are tight for space in your food processor is to add a few of the ingredients, then pulse a few times. The ingredients collapse and free up more space for the next few ingredients. If you don't find yourself using much bouillon, I will suggest making a half batch of this. And for those of you wanting to do a version with no salt, freeze the pureed vegetables in small amounts - say, ice cube trays, just after pureeing them. Introduce salt in whatever amount you like later in the cooking process.

5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed

7 ounces / 200g fennel bulb, chopped

7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped

3.5 ounces / 100 g celery

3.5 ounces / 100g celery root (celeriac), peeled and chopped

1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes

3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled

3 medium garlic cloves

9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt

1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped

2 ounces / 60g cilantro (coriander), loosely chopped

Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so they get chopped. Mine tended to want to stay on top of everything else, initially escaping the blades.

You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access in the coming days, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use in the next month. Because of all the salt it barely solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer into the pot before boiling.

Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.

Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.

Inspired by Pam Corbin, The River Cottage Preserves Handbook.

Peas and Asparagus from Today's Farmers Market

Even in late spring, peas and asparagus are still abundant at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Will cook some semi-pearled farro, then will add some chopped herbs, some feta and these lovely vegetables. A simple, healthy meal that is also hearty and satisfying.

 

White Corn Polenta & Chorizo Breakfast

I've posted this recipe before but it bears repeating, especially now that I've discovered the locally grown and ground white corn polenta from Talon de Gato Farm in Dixon, NM (just a little north of Santa Fe), and that is available at the Santa Fe Farmers Market.

A hot creamy bowl of polenta with good chorizo is one of our all-time favorite breakfast meals. The polenta takes 25-30 minutes to cook but it's worth the wait.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. chorizo sausage

4 cups water

1 cup polenta or grits (preferably the white corn polenta that is local to the Santa Fe area if you live around here)

2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (or parmesan - see note below)

1 tablespoon butter

salt & pepper to taste

sour cream for garnish

cilantro for garnish

hot sauce to add heat (optional)

Cook chorizo sausage in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat until done, approximately 10 -15 minutes. Keep warm.

Cook polenta in a medium-sized, heavy bottom sauce pan by bringing 4 cups of lightly salted water to a boil, then slowly pouring in polenta while stirring constantly so that it doesn't lump. Once all the polenta in stirred into the water and the mixture has returned to the boil, turn temperature down to medium-low and let cook for 25 minutes longer, stirring occasionally throughout the cooking process so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of your pan. Cook until polenta is the consistency of a thick custard. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese. This will make the polenta quite creamy in texture. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: if you don't have mascarpone cheese on hand, you can use a good quality parmesan instead - just finely grate it and stir it into the polenta after it's cooked, just like you would the mascarpone.

Serve immediately by placing polenta into warmed soup bowls. Spoon cooked chorizo on top of polenta, then garish with sour cream, cilantro and hot sauce to taste. 

First of the season garlic at Santa Fe Farmers Market

Just picked up a lovely crop of fresh spring garlic at the market today, along with fresh ground white corn polenta from Talon de Gato!

 

Lemon & Blood Orange Curd (yes, it really is this color)!

Since maple syrup is not anywhere close to being local to Santa Barbara, we decided to go another route to top our waffles this morning. We squeezed the juice of 2 lemons and 2 blood oranges  (from the trees in our backyard), and proceeded to cook them over very low heat with a cup of super fine sugar and 6 egg yolks. Once the heat was turned off, I stirred in 3 tablespoons of sweet butter and let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so. The resulting curd was not only a delicious topping for today's waffles, it was beautiful to look at as well.

 

Ojai Biscotti for a Rainy Sunday in Santa Barbara

We have the incredible good fortune to be spending weekends together in Santa Barbara until the snow melts and it turns toward spring in Santa Fe. Here is my recipe for biscotti, adapted years ago from the Cantucci di Prato recipe that appeared in the Il Fornaio Baking Book. I call them Ojai Biscotti because of the aroma the orange zest emits when they are first baked. 

 

Ojai Biscotti



2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt 

1 cup whole raw almonds

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 whole eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the almonds, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and butter. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and lightly beat with a whisk until blended. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat until a granular dough forms.


Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for one minute. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Using the palms of your hands, roll each portion into a log about 12 inches long and one inch in diameter.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with butter. Place the logs crosswise on the baking sheet, spacing them about two inches apart. Using the palm of one hand, lightly flatten the top of each log until it is about ½-inch thick. Bake the logs in the preheated oven until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet until they can be handled, about 10 minutes. Leave the oven set at 350°F.

Transfer the logs to a cutting board and cut them crosswise on the diagonal into pieces ½-inch wide. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with butter. Arrange the pieces cut sides down on the two baking sheets. Return the cookies to the oven and bake until they are lightly toasted and the edges are golden brown, 10 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets before serving. Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to two weeks.