For Mother’s Day this year, I will be spending the day remembering Amy Merrick McWilliam. Friends and family will be gathering together to celebrate her life, her spirit and her love.

She was a dear friend, like a sister to me. She was  a wonderful mother, wife, sister, aunt and friend. Her loss was sudden and unexpected, just a few weeks ago. I still find myself thinking of things I want to tell her. Still miss her a lot.

I’d like to share some things I will always remember about her.

Amy was one of the most generous and caring people I  will ever know. She was always there to help, if needed. She was there for family, for her friends, for anyone who needed a hand. If someone needed help, she would drop everything to step in.

It is fitting that her final party be on Mother’s Day. Amy was a great Mom and loved her boys so much. She was always there for them, in good times and bad. She never faltered in her determination to raise two wonderful young men. She did that.

Amy was brilliant. She could talk to you about almost any subject. You would never be bored chatting with Amy. She always had interesting things to say.

Amy was creative. She could design kitchens and jewelry. She had an artistic sensibility that was amazing.

Amy loved music. Her party will be filled with music today, just as she would have wanted.

Many of the dinner party pictures and recipes I shared, were because of Amy.  She was my partner in crime. We spent many happy hours discussing what ingredients we had, and what we would do with them. Sometimes she would call me from a local farm market, to discuss the produce she was getting.

Amy became so good at plating the food. I can’t tell you how many times I was about to take a picture and she would stop me. There was something she wanted to add. Some subtle tweak she felt the food needed. She would have me pick which serving pieces to use. No detail was too small. She had everybody trained to ask if the pictures had been taken, so they could start eating.No one set a prettier table, especially for holidays.

Our dinner parties were about more than food. They were about friendship and sharing and laughter. Lots and lots of laughter. Evenings spent with the people who could make you laugh so hard, you could barely breathe.

No one told a story better than Amy. She had a way of bringing her stories to life. They were often quite funny, often at her own expense. Amy could laugh at herself and bring you along for the ride.

So today, I will spend time with the people who loved her. We will share stories and listen to stories. We will laugh and we will cry. Amy would want more laughter, than tears, so that is the goal.

I love you Amy- now and forever.

 

 

If you hear green or yellow split peas- do you think of soup?  You probably do. But when cooked until just tender, split peas make a great salad ingredient.

This is one of the dishes we made in class last night. Fresh and colorful, it was a big hit. It you are looking for a new salad to take to summer parties, this one is a great option.

The salad uses both green and yellow split peas, along with black beans, butter beans, red lentils and assorted veggies. It is a great combination of colors and textures.

You can scale back the amounts- it does make a lot. The dish was inspired by my nephew  Danny’s love of sand art and the layered salads of my youth.

 

  Layered Bean Salad

 1 c. each green split peas, yellow split peas and red lentils

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can butter beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. diced sweet onion

1 c. diced sweet pepper

1 c. grated carrot

Cook split peas and lentils separately just until tender. Split peas, both green and yellow will take 20 minutes. Red lentils will take about 8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse each under cold water when done and set aside until ready to use, or you can cook them a day ahead and keep chilled. Each will yield about 2 1/2 c. cooked.

In large glass bowl, place the following ingredients in this order.

Black beans, butter beans, green split peas. yellow split peas. onion, red lentils. carrots and peppers. Pour over dressing and chill several hours or overnight. Serve on a bed of greens.

Dressing *

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. vinegar

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2-3 T. sugar

1/2 c. parsley or cilantro

1 t. each chili powder, cumin and salt

dash hot sauce

Combine in a blender or food processor until smooth.

*Note: Any bottled dressing you like can be used. Balsamic works very well. In class I served it with Italian dressing.

 

These cupcakes are full of chocolate flavor and the crunch of pecans. Topped with a silky chocolate frosting, they are a treat for any of the chocolate lovers in your life.

I toasted the pecans first, for more crunch. I just placed the pecans on a baking sheet and baked them in a 3oo degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Watch so they don’t burn. Cool before adding to the batter.

You don’t have to toast the nuts, but it adds a wonderful texture and a stronger pecan flavor.

You can also top the cupcakes with a few chopped pecans, if you like.

 

Chocolate Pecan Cupcakes

 

4 oz. semisweet chocolate

1 cup butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups chopped pecans, toasted if you like

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In the top of a double boiler, combine chocolate and butter. Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm.

Sift flour and sugar together into a large bowl. With mixer on low speed, beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in chocolate mixture, vanilla and pecans. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Do not over bake. Tops should be shiny but give slightly when touched. Makes 24.

 

Chocolate Silk Frosting

 

4 ½ c. confectioners’ sugar

1 cup butter, softened

3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons milk

In a medium bowl, blend confectioner’s sugar, butter, melted chocolate and vanilla on low speed. Increase speed to high. Gradually add milk; beat until smooth and fluffy.

If you don’t think of using herbs in drinks, maybe you should. They add a depth of flavor that can take things to a whole new level.

For a recent herb class at Graf Growers, I was asked to do a program on herbal cocktails. I must say the recipe testing was a lot of fun. We ended up sampling three drinks. We started with a classic Mojito, then followed up with two gin-based cocktails. One was made with a lavender syrup, the other, a Lemon Verbena Gimlet, includes lemon verbena syrup.

 

These are great drinks for summer, or any time, really. So here are the recipes. I hope you enjoy them. Try adding other herbs to your cocktails. You might be surprised at just how tasty they can be.

 

Classic Mojito

 

10 mint leaves, I used a variety called Mojito mint, that has a slight lime flavor

½ a lime, cut in 4 wedges

2 T. sugar

1½ oz. rum

1 c. ice cubes

½ c. club soda

In glass place mint leaves and one wedge of lime. Muddle to release juices and bruise mint leaves. Add sugar and 2 more wedges of lime. Muddle until limes are crushed. Add rum, stir well. Add ice, stir and top with club soda. Garnish with lime wedge.

 

Lemon Lavender Cocktail

 

2 oz. gin

1 ½ oz.  lemon juice

1 ½ oz.  lavender syrup (recipe follows)

splash of club soda

some ice

one lemon slice, for garnish

Pour gin, lemon juice and lavender syrup into a glass and stir. Top with club soda, add some ice and garnish with a lemon slice.

 

For the lavender syrup:

¾ c. water

¾ c. sugar

1 tablespoon dried lavender buds

 

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Add lavender and cook on low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until it starts to thicken a bit. Then set to the side to cool. Strain out the lavender and refrigerate. Yields just under a cup of syrup.

 

Lemon Verbena Gimlet

 

1 cup water

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. torn verbena leaves

¾ c. dry gin

¾ c. club soda, chilled

¼ c. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

Lemon verbena sprigs (optional)

Lime slices (optional)

 

 

Combine 1 cup water and sugar in a small saucepan. Rub torn verbena to bruise; add to pan. Bring sugar mixture to a boil, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat; cool completely. Strain mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Combine sugar mixture, gin, soda, and juice. Serve over ice. Garnish with verbena sprigs and lime slices, if desired.

 

We wrapped up the cooking camp in Hudson yesterday with a celebration of chocolate. The kid’s challenge was to create a chocolate cabbage cake. They worked in teams to produce these masterpieces. Except for giving directions- I was hands-off. The kids made them themselves. Some kids are as young as 6.

We started by prepping the “leaves”. I had melted semi sweet chocolate chips and each of the kids got their own cabbage leaf. Using pastry brushes, they coated the insides of the leaves with the melted chocolate. While the leaves were  set aside to harden, the kids created their cakes.

I had baked 6 cakes- in bowls so two cakes could be frosted together to make a round cake as the base. They frosted them all on their own- with a little guidance here and there.

Once they had their cakes frosted, the kids carefully peeled away the cabbage leaves- and discarded them. What they were left with was a “leaf” of chocolate. Then, they placed their chocolate leaves all over the cakes.

I was so proud of how well they all did. We left the cakes intact until parents came for pick-up, so pictures could be taken. Did I mention we only had an hour top do this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more details on how to create your own cabbage cake, here is a link.

Chocolate Cabbage Cake

 

 

With Cinco de Mayo coming up, I thought it was time to re-post the recipes for homemade tortillas.

If you never made tortillas because you thought they were too hard to make, I hope I can change your mind. Tortillas are pretty easy to make. They only have a few ingredients- although you can get creative and add more stuff.  The dough is simple enough. Once made, you just need to roll it out into circles. Heck, you only need to roll them into something resembling a circle. They will taste the same, even if they aren’t perfectly round.

Cooking involves a hot skillet and 30 seconds per side. The flavor and texture are so much fresher than most of what you can buy. Certainly fresher than what is at the local grocery store.

 

While it is easier if you have a tortilla press, I roll mine out by hand all the time. You could also use a pasta machine for rolling- although that will limit their width.

There is a little fat in most recipes- traditionally lard- but you have wiggle room here, too. I used coconut oil and was very happy with the taste and texture. So here are three recipes for tortillas- corn, wheat and whole wheat.

Corn Tortillas

1 3/4 cups masa harina ( corn flour) it is finer than cornmeal and will give you a nicer end product
1 1/8 cups hot water

In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes.
Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high. Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of plastic wrap. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned
and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

1 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/2 cup fat, you could use lard,  shortening or coconut oil – something solid at room temp- not oil
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
flour for rolling

In a large bowl, stir together 1- cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt. Rub in the fat by hand until the mixture is the texture of oatmeal. Make a well in the center, and pour in the boiling water. Mix with a fork until all of the water is evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a bit of additional flour, and knead until the dough does not stick to your fingers. The dough should be smooth. Make balls the size of golf balls, about 2 oz. each. Place them on a tray, and cover with a cloth. Let stand for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours. Heat a griddle or large frying pan over high heat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tortilla to preferred thinness. Fry one at a time. Place on the griddle for 10 seconds, as soon as you see a bubble on the top, flip the tortilla over. Let it cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 30 seconds. Roll out the next tortilla while you wait for that one to cook. Tortillas can be refrigerated or frozen. Makes 18.

Flour Tortillas

2 c. flour
1/4 c. fat, you could use lard,  shortening or coconut oil – something solid at room temp- not oil
1 t. salt
2/3 c. warm water

Combine flour and fat by cutting in to resemble coarse crumbs. Dissolve salt in water and stir into flour mixture. Form into a ball and knead on a lightly floured surface 2-3 minutes or until it is smooth. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and wrap each in plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest 30 – 60 minutes. On lightly floured surface roll out a piece of dough into a 7-inch circle. Cook dough on griddle or in a skillet over medium high heat until puffy and golden on both sides, 1-2 minutes. Wrap in a kitchen towel and repeat process with remaining dough, stacking and wrapping as you go. Makes 12.

I am always interested in new and different ways to use my edible flowers. A few years ago, I started making jelly with my violets. I started by making infused vinegar from some of my violets. I like the vinegar for dressing salads.

Later, I decided to use some of the violet vinegar as a base for the jelly. It worked out great. The end product had a sweet taste of violets, but the vinegar added a tartness I really liked. It also came out a stunning pink color.

Since the violets are steeped in vinegar- you can harvest over several weeks- just keep adding blossoms to the vinegar. If you don’t have a lot of blossoms at once, you can harvest a few at a time over a longer period of time. The violets in vinegar will keep, so you don’t have to make the jelly right away.

I like to have equal parts flowers and vinegar for a nice strong floral flavor, but you can get by with fewer blossoms if you need.

Start with a clean jar, and put your violets in it. Pour vinegar over to cover. White vinegar or white wine vinegar can be used. Heck you could probably use red wine vinegar, too. Cider vinegar might affect the color. You can continue to add flowers to the jar as you pick them. I picked 4 cups of violets and put them in a quart mason jar. I added vinegar to fill the jar, closed it up and let the flavors blend for a week. I could have let it sit longer if I was too busy to get to it. If you are in a hurry and want to make the jelly right away just heat up the vinegar and steep the flowers.

After a week, I strained it out then poured the mixture through a coffee filter to get it really clear. I ended up with 3 1/2 cups of violet “vinegar” to use for my violet jelly. I had a basic idea of how much sugar I would need so I went from there. It worked out great and jelled perfectly.

 

 

Violet Jelly

3 1/2 cups violet vinegar*

1/2 c. lemon juice

1 box powdered pectin

5 c. sugar

Wash and prep jars and get water bath heating up. Place violet vinegar in pan and add lemon juice and pectin. Bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat. Add sugar and return to the boil. Stir often. Once mixture gets to a full rolling boil, boil 1 minute. Remove jelly from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot liquid into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes for 4 oz. and 8 oz. jars. Remove jars to cooling rack and check seals once they have cooled down. Yield: about 7 half pint jars or  13-14  (4 oz.) jars.

*For 3 1/2 cups of violet vinegar you will need 3-4 cups of blossoms and 3 1/2 cups of vinegar.

If you are looking for a recipe using hard-cooked eggs you might want to make some Goldenrod. It’s a recipe my grandmother and mother used to make every year after Easter. Very tasty and a great way to use up extra eggs. You just make a white sauce and add the chopped up egg whites. Season with salt and pepper. When ready to serve pour the hot egg white mixture over toast and then put the egg yolks in a small strainer or sieve and press them through the strainer over the egg whites. The yolks turn into a powder and the end result looks quite pretty. I like goldenrod served over English muffins but you can serve it over toasted bread, biscuits or bagels.

 

 

Goldenrod

4-6 hard cooked eggs

2 T. flour

2 T. butter

1-1 1/2 c. milk

salt and pepper to taste

2-4 slices bread, toasted

 

Peel eggs and separate whites from yolks. Chop egg whites and set aside. In saucepan cook flour and butter together until smooth. Stir in milk and cook until thickened and bubbly. Be careful not to burn the sauce. Season to taste and add reserved egg whites, heating through. Arrange toast on serving dishes and cover with the sauce. Place reserves egg yolks in a fine sieve and press through over sauce, dusting as evenly as possible. Serves 2-4.