The Charmed Kitchen

Freshly harvested ramps

Ramp Soup

Ramps, or wild leeks, are celebrated as a sign of spring in Appalachia. This creamy soup captures the briefly flourishing vegetable’s essence: Cooking the oniony plants brings out their sweetness, and bright green stems lend a cheerful color.

1 lb ramps

1/2 sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil1/3 cup dry white wine

3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Garnish:extra-virgin olive oil

Trim roots from ramps and slip off outer skins if loose. Cut green tops from ramps and coarsely chop enough greens to measure 3 cups (reserve remainder for another use). Thinly slice ramp bulbs, including pink stems. Cook ramp bulbs, onion, white pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add wine, then boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until evaporated completely. Add broth and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until onions and ramps are very soft, about 20 minutes. Stir in ramp greens and boil 1 minute.Working in batches, purée soup in a blender until very smooth, about 1 minute per batch (use caution when blending hot liquids), then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heatproof bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. Return soup to cleaned pot and bring just to a boil. Whisk in cheese and butter until smooth. Season with salt. Serves 4.

One of my favorite recipes using dandelions is  dandelion gravy. There are a lot of recipes out there but the idea is the same. Bacon is cooked, sometimes onions are added and then dandelions are added and wilted down. After flour is added and then liquid- usually milk but you can use stock, water or even use sour cream or some wine the mixture is cooked until thickened and served over boiled or baked potatoes. The addition of dairy helps cut the natural bitterness of the dandelions. Here is a recipe I use and like a lot.

Dandelion Gravy

4 strips bacon

3 T. flour

1 c. water

1 lb. dandelion greens, washed and chopped

½ c. sour cream

1 T. sugar

1 T. vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot boiled or baked potatoes

Fresh chopped parsley, optional

Chop bacon and cook in skillet until crisp. Leave bacon in the pan. Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat and stir in the flour until smooth.  Add water and dandelion greens and cook over medium heat until greens are tender- about 5- 10 minutes. Add more water if mixture is too thick. Turn off heat. Combine sour cream with sugar and vinegar and stir into dandelion mixture. Adjust seasonings. Spoon gravy over potatoes.

Serves 4.

It’s funny when you think about it. People spend tons of money to eradicate dandelions from their lawns but will go to an upscale restaurant and pay good money for a salad with mixed greens including dandelions. Dandelions were not considered a weed at one time. In fact immigrants brought the seeds to America as a vegetable. While the greens can be bitter they can also be tamed when paired with certain ingredients. Combining dandelions with tomatoes, vinegar, cheese or other dairy products and bread or cereal products will make them less bitter when eaten. They are also packed with nutrients and if you don’t spray your yard with herbicides you can likely find them under your own feet. Free, tasty and nutritious. Sounds like a win all around. The plant is pretty much edible from top to bottom. The leaves for salads, soups and other dishes. The flowers are used for wine, jelly and the burger recipe at the bottom of this page. The roots are roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. If you haven’t eaten dandelions before my only question is, what are you waiting for?

My Friend Mari Keating sent met his recipe for a frittata  that she made last night.

Mari’s Dandelion Frittata

Mari Wrote: I sauteed greens in olive oil and garlic, poured scrambled eggs over, sprinkled with feta cheese, let it set over low heat, then popped it under the broiler to “poof” – an amazing frittata. Amounts are variable to taste, as is cheese used (or not). The greens are a wonderful addition to salads, raw or wilted with a hot vinaigrette and today I’m making dandelion pesto.  Google abounds with recipes. My variation is that I use walnuts instead of pinenuts, because I’m cheap.

She said it was wonderful.

The next 2 recipes come from Dr. Peter Gail my mentor and dearly loved friend.

Dandelion Pita Pizza

Pita bread, toasted English muffin, or toasted bread
Spaghetti or pizza sauce
Fresh dandelion greens of any age, chopped fine
Grated cheese (any kind)
Cover bread with sauce, add chopped greens, top with cheese, and toast in oven until cheese
melts. For a more sophisticated treat, chopped dandelion greens may be sauted in olive oil with
onions, mushrooms and several cloves of crushed garlic, and then spread on the pizza and topped
with cheese.

Dandy Burgers

1 cup dandelion flowers, green removed
½ cup flour, any kind
1/4 cup onions, chopped fine

½ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp pepper
enough milk to make thick batter.
Peel dandelion flowers and put in 4 quart mixing bowl. Add onions and mix together. Blend
flour and seasonings together, add to the flowers and onions, and blend thoroughly. Add milk
slowly, blending it in until you have a thick batter.
Heat Olive Oil in frying pan to cover bottom. Make batter into golf-ball-sized balls. Place in
oil, and squash down flat to make a 2″ diameter patty. Fry till brown on both sides. Remove and
serve on rolls as you would hamburger patties.

Lavender Shortbread

Lavender Shortbread

 1 c. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 c. butter or margarine

4 c. flour

2-3 T. lavender blossoms

Cream together the one-cup of sugar and butter. Stir in the flour and lavender blossoms. Press mixture in to a greased 9×13 inch-baking dish. Cut or score into small squares, or on the diagonal for diamond shapes. Sprinkle with extra sugar and bake in a preheated 300-degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Re-cut the squares as soon as you remove the shortbread from the oven. Cool before removing from pan. Make about 100 small squares.

Grilled Purple Asparagus

I was given some beautiful purple asparagus yesterday from my friend Carl Skalak from Blue Pike Farm. I wanted to respect the ingredient but didn’t think I wanted to just and steam and eat it like I normally do. I asked for ideas and I got them. Lots of them. I ended up using a grill pan and incorporated a lot of what friends had suggested. I heated up the pan and drizzled the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkled it with coarse pink sea salt.  Because they were so big I waited to add sliced garlic. I didn’t want the garlic to burn before the asparagus was cooked.  I also grated some lemon zest on them. As they cook, purple asparagus turns green so I had an easy indicator for done-ness. I wanted them to still be crisp so I stopped cooking them when they were still a little purple. In a small pan I fried an egg I had also gotten from Carl. I used butter and did it over low heat. Once the egg was done I plated the asparagus and slid the egg on top. The asparagus was warm all the way through, but still was crisp. When I broke the egg yolk and it drizzled over the asparagus it was simply wonderful. Thanks for all the ideas. Divine!!!!

In the grill pan

Starting to change color

Finished off with a fried egg

Rustic Herb Braids

Since I have been baking for as long as I can remember and I love herbs it is inevitable that I combine the two sometimes. One of my favorite recipes is this one for braided herbs breads loaded with herbs, shallots and garlic. I’ll be doing a talk tomorrow with the Master Gardeners on Cooking with Herbs so I made this bread for them to taste. I’ll also be making this bread for my cooking demo at Earthfest on Sunday. If you love to bake and love herbs this might be a bread you’d like to make, too.

Judi’s Herb Braids

5 ½ -6 ½ c. flour- white, spelt, whole wheat or a combination*

2 packages quick rising yeast**

¼ c. sauteed shallots or onions

2 T. each dried marjoram and parsley

1 T. each dried oregano and minced garlic

1 T. honey

2 t. dried thyme

2 t. salt

¼ c. olive oil

2 ¼ c. hot water

 In a mixing bowl combine 2 c. of flour with the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. Beat with electric mixer 4 minutes then add 1-cup additional flour and beat 1 minute longer. Stir in flour ½ cup at a time until soft dough forms. Turn onto surface and knead, adding flour gradually until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly greased bowl and turn to cover. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Turn dough onto surface and cut in half. Cut each half into thirds. Roll each piece of dough into an 18-inch rope. Loosely braid three ropes together and repeat with the remaining dough. Place on greased baking sheet and cover until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped lightly. Makes 2.

 Variation: Try adding ¼ c. of wheat germ, oat bran or 2 tablespoons of seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, etc.)

* Whole wheat flour will require a longer kneading time.

**Regular yeast can be used, but rising times will be longer and water should be warm, not hot.

Roll dough into ropes

Braid loosely and pinch ends.

Bake once loaves have doubled in size.

I have pink Lily of the Valley plants that I am thinning out. Let me know if you would like some. Pulling them out early next week.

Freshly rolled marshmallows

As promised here is the recipe for making marshmallows. I’ve used this recipe for ages and what I like about it is that it is super easy and still gives you yummy marshmallows. I’ve seen more complicated versions- but why make life harder than it already is? The recipe calls for packets of gelatin. If you want to use sheet gelatin instead, which I did, the adjustments are in the directions. Ether works fine.

                       Marshmallows

1/2 c. cornstarch

1/2 c. powdered sugar

small amount of butter

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin, or 6 sheets of gelatin*

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. water

2/3 c. corn syrup

1/2 t. vanilla

Combine cornstarch and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Butter an 8x8x2 inch-baking pan. Sprinkle with some of the cornstarch mixture. Reserve the rest of the mixture for use later on. Combine the gelatin, granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved.** Pour gelatin mixture into a large bowl, adding the corn syrup and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 15 minutes. Be precise on the timing. The mixture will be thick and fluffy, marshmallow cream, actually. Pour mixture into the prepared pan, spread evenly and refrigerate overnight. The next day, sift some of the reserved cornstarch mixture over the marshmallows. Sprinkle some more of the coating mixture on a work surface and turn the marshmallow out onto the prepared surface. Cut the marshmallows into 1-inch squares, coating as you go. The marshmallows are very sticky until completely coated. Allow to dry on a rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. Makes about 4 dozen candies.

You can swap out flavorings- using maybe mint or lemon in place of the vanilla. You can also add a few drops of food coloring, if you like. Oh, and when you are at the rolling the pieces around in the cornstarch and powdered sugar stage of the process- don’t wear black. You’ll thank me later for that.

* Note: 3 sheets of sheet gelatin= one packet (1 tablespoon) of powdered gelatin.

** Note: If you are using sheet gelatin place it in the pan with COLD water and stir until dissolved. Then add the sugar and just cook, over medium-low heat until just warm, stirring often. Don’t let the mixture get too hot or the gelatin will not work.

Dissolve gelatin in water

Cook with water and sugar until warm

Combine with remaining ingredients in mixer

Mixture after 15 minutes of whipping

Spread in prepared pan and chill

Cut into squares

Roll in cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

I wanted to make a broccoli salad for dinner tonight but didn’t have quite enough broccoli so I decided to use cauliflower as well. It turned out great and was easy to do. I like to steam the cauliflower and broccoli for a few minutes. I still want them crisp but just like to take the edge off the “raw” ness a little bit. I added sweet pepper, bacon and shredded cheese. You can add other veggies, too. Sometimes I add chopped sweet onion or water chestnuts.  If you are looking for a different salad or a different way to serve cauliflower and broccoli I highly recommend this salad.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

1 small head cauliflower, trimmed and broken into bite- sized pieces

2 broccoli crowns, cut into bite- sized pieces

1 sweet pepper, seeded and chopped

1 c. shredded cheese- I used a sharp cheddar

8- 10 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

1/2 cup of mayo – or more according to your taste

salt and pepper to taste

Steam the cauliflower and broccoli until just tender/crisp. About 5 minutes in a microwave steamer, 6 minutes in a conventional steamer. Place in a bowl to cool down then combine with remaining ingredients and stir to combine well. Adjust seasonings, if needed. Serves 6-8.

Combine veggies in a large bowl.

Add cheese and bacon

Add mayo, salt and pepper and stir to combine

Parker on squirrel patrol

First let me say that I love squirrels. I think they are cute, although I’ll admit they can be quite destructive. Parker does his best but even a dog needs a rest from the constant barrage of squirrels. Besides, he is not as young as he used to be.

One of the problems I find this time of year is that as I start to put out container planters the squirrels love to dig them up. I planted some lettuce seedlings yesterday in planters for a continuous fresh salad harvest. I awoke this morning to find them dug and scattered. I managed to save some of the plants but they are looking pretty sad. Solution? Cayenne pepper. I dusted the planters heavily with cayenne. This should keep the squirrels from digging them up. I’ll add more after heavy rains until the plants are bigger and out of danger from the squirrels. This also works to keep squirrels out of the bird seed and birds are not bothered by the cayenne.