The Charmed Kitchen

I will be at the Coit Road Farmers’ Market this Wednesday from 10-1 and on Saturday from 8-1 selling ramps, my cookbooks and seasoning mixes. Since ramps have a short season be sure to get them while you can.

So after 3 months of not going to the grocery store I am shopping again. I was pretty good at first. Just buying fresh produce and a few other items. Then I went to see Martha in Winchester, Virginia. A new store had opened recently that specializes in international  foods. Let’s just say the pantry is full again. I picked up Hispanic, Indian, Chinese and Caribbean. I’ll be cooking leg of lamb with Amy Mcwilliam  later this week with pomegranate molasses. Recipes will follow. Thanks for all the feedback and support.

These are some Caribbean soup mixes I bought. Can’t wait to taste them!!

For the ramp lovers out there I will be doing a harvest soon. They will be available for sale at a reasonable price. Let me know so I harvest enough.

After 3 months ( 91 days) of not going to the grocery store I ended the challenge on Sunday. I actually felt sort of odd about it. I was still far from running out of a lot of stuff and felt like I could have gone on longer. The initial plan was to go a month or a little longer. It soon became obvious to me that there was not much challenge in that for me. So I decided to go for 2 months and then 3.  So many of you have commented on what that first grocery store trip would be like. I think the image would be of me grabbing several carts and loading back up. I actually thought that would happen, too. It didn’t.

To celebrate the end of my little experiment I was invited to Amy McWilliam’s house. We enjoyed Indian take out and fresh fruit. By Sunday morning- after a very late night I got a call to go out for lunch. We went to a favorite Chinese restaurant where I was treated to Mongolian Duck and fried lotus root. Special thanks to Jonathan for that one. So now it’s Sunday afternoon with stores all around. I just picked up some oranges and a few other things.

It was strange. Like a prisoner let out who doesn’t know quite what to do with the freedom. I think part of it was the way I had been living for the past three months. I learned not to take anything for granted and not to waste.

Well, its not quite all I did. I went to a bakery outlet near my house. I love baking bread. Heck, I’m teaching a bread baking class tomorrow and 4 loaves are rising as we speak. Still, I got tired of having to bake bread whenever I wanted it.  So I went to the discount bread store and got 2 loaves of 100% whole wheat. I do have freezer space now. I also saw a sign that if you bought 2 loaves of rye bread you would get a third loaf free. So I bought 3 loaves of rye bread. There I was with 5 loaves of bread!!!! Do you have any idea how long it takes me to eat 5 loaves of bread?

By the time I got to the store to buy other stuff I realized that I only NEEDED some fresh produce and eggs. I didn’t need to go crazy and stock up the house. I know that sounds odd, but its true. I think I’ll shop differently from now on.

I do think we all need to be prepared and have food reserves. I can, freeze and dehydrate as a way of preserving seasonal foods and taking advantage of sale prices. But I also don’t want to buy so much of perishable foods that I end up tossing them.  I want to enjoy the foods of the seasons, too. The foods that are fresh and local.

So for now I will take a look at what I have and what I need. I’ll shop smarter and waste less. It will also mean spending less and that is a good thing. I look forward to the various farm markets that I frequent. I will forage more for sure. We are expanding my garden at Dona’s house so I will be growing even more of my own food. Also inspired by Mari Keating and her group Food Not Lawns I am planning on making even more of my landscape edible. Every little bit helps and adds up.

I have more to say about all this but for now the bread is in need of baking. Thanks to so many of you for your support and feedback. Love you all.

Lemon cake with candied violets

This was one of the desserts from last night’s dinner. The lemon cake was baked in a tube pan then cooled and frosted with lemon glaze and candied violets.   I used violets from my yard.

Candied Violets

Clean, dry pesticide-free violets (not African violets)

Powdered , Pasteurized egg whites

water

extra fine sugar*

Reconstitute egg whites according to package directions. Using a small brush paint the blossoms with the egg whites and then dip them into the sugar. Place on clean surface and allow to  dry. This will take a couple of days. Store in a cool, dry place. I actually store mine in the freezer. Use to decorate cakes and other pastries.

Candied Violets

*Note: If you don’t have extra fine sugar you can place granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse several times. Be careful not to process too long or you will have powdered sugar!

Note: Other edible flowers and flower petals can also be candied. I like to candy rose petals.

Foraged salad

It is hard to me to believe it’s been almost 3 full months of not going to the grocery store. Entertaining is the most challenging. Friday night’s fish dinner is officially the last dinner for me during this moratorium on shopping.

First I have to thank Melanie and Bob Novak, Kathy and Randy Sposito, Carl Skalak, Sue Larick and Parker for making the evening great. Special thanks to Melanie and Kathy for doing the dishes. Thanks, too for the flowers!!

I have had fish dinners the last 3 Fridays and I must say this one was a grand finale. For appetizers we had Spinach quiches in phyllo cups and a pizza cheese dip. I managed to make a salad totally from plants harvested for m my yard.

The salad included hosta leaves, dandelion, lovage, fennel leaves, violet leaves and flowers, mint, lemon balm, chard, ramps and tulip petals. Yes, tulip petals. They taste a little like Bibb lettuce. I dressed the salad with chive blossom vinegar and olive oil. Hats off to my guests for being open enough to try it. They also enjoyed the salad!! We also had pickled beets, line caught Atlantic Cod and Haddock, scalloped potatoes with caramelized onions and purple asparagus fresh from Blue Pike Farm (thanks, Carl.)

Dessert was a cobbler made from apples and pears and a lemon cake decorated with candied violets. I’ll be posting recipes soon.

Thanks to all of the people who have been reading my blog and commenting on it.

I needed barbecue sauce for last night’s cooking class in Mentor. I decided to whip up a batch. It was a big hit and I got a number of requests for the recipe. I made it spur of the moment so I will try to put down what I did as best I can remember.

Easy Barbecue Sauce

1 (15oz.) can tomato sauce

1/2 c. cider vinegar

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. dried minced onion

1 t. dried minced garlic

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 T. molasses

2 T. honey

hot sauce to taste

1/2 t. cinnamon

Simmer all together until thickened.  Adjust seasonings to your taste. Makes 2 cups.

It is without a doubt one of my favorite vegetables. This beautiful variety of asparagus is purple and cooks to a dark green color. I was lucky enough to get some of the first of the season, no doubt in part due to warm weather. Carl Skalak from Blue Pike Farm gifted them to me when he came to dinner. Thanks Carl. These beauties were actually grown at Carl’s farm on E. 72nd Street in Cleveland. If this is any indication it is going to be a great year. For me just steamed for a few minutes is all I want to do with asparagus. What is your favorite recipe?

This is a great dessert when you don’t want to cook. Usually think of it as a Summer dessert but with all the warm weather lately it seemed like a good idea. I am having friends for dinner tonight and needed a dessert. Since I haven’t been going to the grocery store I have to use what I have. Back in January I froze whipping cream left over from the holidays. You aren’t really supposed to do that and I don’t recommend it but I thought it would be better then tossing it. For the recipe the cream has to be whipped. That’s the problem with freezing whipping cream. It breaks apart and won’t whip up.  I decided to try anyway. It did sort of whip. The flavor and texture were fine but the volume left a lot to be desired. So I decided to change the method for making the cheesecake. I whipped the cream as best I could then beat in the cream cheese and eventually the sweetened condensed milk. It worked! Since I assume you’ll be using fresh whipping cream just follow the recipe as written.

Frozen Mocha Cheesecake

1 ¼ c. chocolate cookie crumbs

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. butter or margarine, softened

8 oz. cream cheese

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 c. chocolate syrup

2 T. instant coffee crystals

1 t. hot water

1 c. whipping cream, whipped

Combine crumbs, sugar and butter and press into 9-inch springform pan. Chill. Beat cheese until fluffy and beat in milk. Stir in syrup and dissolve coffee in water. Add to cheese mixture and fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared crust and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours. Garnish with additional cookie crumbs if you like or with shaved chocolate. Keep leftovers frozen and use within a week for best flavor.