Since the lilacs are in bloom I decided to preserve some of them and make lilac vinegar. As long as they are grown where chemicals haven’t been sprayed lilacs blossoms are edible. I just place clean blossoms in a jar and cover with red wine vinegar.* Put a lid on the jar and store in a cupboard for 10 days or longer. When ready to use, strain out the blossoms and discard them. Pour the vinegar through a coffee filter to get out any remaining plant material. Use in salad dressings and marinades. You can transfer the lilac vinegar to a decorative bottle. It can be stored at room temperature but will hold its color longer if kept cool, even refrigerated.

* always use vinegar that is 5% acidity. You can use white wine vinegar, cider vinegar or whatever vinegar you like.

This is one of the cheesecakes we will be having in my cheesecake class in Mentor tonight. No baking so a great dessert choice for summer.

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.

I love the taste of homemade pasta but I don’t make it often enough. I particularly like the colors and tastes of veggie pastas. Some tine back I would make a variety of veggie pastas and then take small bits of each and roll them together with some plain pasta. Veggie pastas are sometimes a little softer than egg pasta and benefit from being mixed together for strength and ease of rolling.

As you roll the dough out the colors blend together and create what I call rainbow pasta. Use sheets of the dough to make rainbow ravioli. The students in last night’s class really made some lovely pasta with the assortment we had. As usual I got so busy I only took a few pictures.

I often use a food processor to make pasta dough, especially the vegetable pastas because I am using vegetables that need to be pureed, pretty much. I have a small one which is perfect for small batches, no more than 1 cup of flour. I often use my stand mixer for larger and for plain dough. Always best to make pasta dough at least 30 minutes ahead and let it rest. even make it the day before and chill until ready to use.

Basic Homemade Pasta

 3 c. flour, more if using electric pasta machine. See note.

1 1/2 t. salt

4 eggs

Water, if needed

 

Mix flour and salt and stir in eggs, kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be very stiff. Add a little water if needed to hold dough together. You may wish to mix the dough in a mixer or food processor. Cover dough and let rest 15-20 minutes before rolling. Under kneading your dough will result in coarse, crumbly pasta. This batch makes about 1 pound. Serves 4-6.

Roll dough out on well floured board or in pasta machine (non-electric) until desired thickness in reached. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into strips or whatever shapes are desired. You might want to let the noodles dry 1-hour or more before cooking, but this is not necessary. Pasta can be hung to dry or separated and allowed to dry flat on a table. When pasta is not hanging to dry it must be turned occasionally to dry evenly.      Although you may hear otherwise, homemade pasta, even when dried, should be frozen for long term storage. Storing at room temperature can lead to spoilage. Fresh pasta can also be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Note: All electric pasta machines vary slightly and you should use their recipes as much as possible. Still, for most models, adding 1/4 c. flour for each cup in a hand rolled recipe works the best. Also recipes that contain seeds and vegetables may clog an electric pasta maker. Follow your manufacturer’s instructions.

These are smaller batches which can be mixed in a processor or by hand. If you want to mix a vegetable based pasta by hand, puree the vegetables first.

                                                                 Whole Wheat Pasta

 1 c. whole wheat flour

1 egg

1 t. oil

1-2 T. water, if needed

 

Sesame Pasta

These are great in Asian dishes.

1 c. flour

1 T. sesame oil

1/4 – 1/3 c. water, as needed

Curry Pasta

1 c. flour

1 t. curry powder

1 egg

1-2 T. water, if needed

Carrot Pasta

 1 c. flour

1/2 t. dried dill

1/3 c. carrot puree

1-2 T. water, if needed

   Beet Pasta

1 c. flour

1/2 t. dill

1/3 c. beet puree

1-2 T. water, if needed

Spinach Pasta

2 c. flour

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, cooked, drained, reserving some of the liquid

Mix this dough as for other pastas, but don’t be too quick to add reserved liquid. While kneading you’ll get water out of the spinach. May require more kneading and rolling than other pasta doughs. Be patient, it’s worth the work.

Broccoli Pasta

1 c. flour

1/2 c. broccoli puree

 Ravioli Filling

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2/3 c. ricotta or cream cheese

1/3 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Combine all ingredients well and chill until needed.

Roll a batch of dough into  a rectangle, 18×12 inches and 1/16 inch thick. Arrange well rounded teaspoonfuls of the  cheese filling two inches apart on the pasta sheet. Roll out additional dough into an 18×12 inch rectangle. With a pastry brush moisten bottom sheet of pasta around edges with water. Place second sheet of pasta on top, using fingers to seal the dough around the edges of the filling. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut between the ravioli to separate them. You should have 24 ravioli.

 

 

On Thursday, May 9^th I’ll be doing a cooking demonstration on New Day Cleveland. It’s on channel 8 (Fox)  and airs from 10-11 am. Still working on the recipe I will be making that day.

If you are looking for a fun and easy salad recipe for dinner here is one I really like. It is a cornbread salad. Tasty and easy to make it has another perk- it is a way to use up day old cornbread that may be a little too dry to just eat.

Cornbread Salad

 

4 c. crumbled cornbread or corn muffins

1 c. shredded mild cheese

1 sweet red pepper seeded and diced

1 c. diced celery

½ c. diced green onion

4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped

¼ c. chopped parsley

1-1 ½ c. mayonnaise or salad dressing, sometimes I use potato salad dressing or even slaw dressing 

2 c. diced fresh tomatoes

1 c. toasted pecans

paprika for sprinkling on the top, optional

 

Place cornbread and next 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in dressing until desired moistness is achieved. Chill and stir in tomato and nut just before serving. Sprinkle with paprika if you like. Serves 6.

Note: You can add whole kernel corn also if you like.

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.

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.

 

 

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.

Free is good, right? I will be at the Blue Pike Farm Open House tomorrow (May 4) and I will be giving away pink Lily of the Valley. That’s right- free. Wanted to thin them out and thought this might be a way of finding them new homes and to say “thank you” to those who attend. It will be held from 10-2 at Blue Pike Farm which is located at 900 E. 72 street.  I’ll also have some free food samples.  For sale will be my books including the new edition of The Charmed Garden (perfect for Mothers’ Day), herb seasoning packets, some jellies and baked goods. Baked goods will include chocolate beet cake (big hit last year), zucchini bread, Swedish Limpa Bread (rye) and Whole Wheat Herb Braids. Depending on the time crunch I also plan to have the pumpkin scones everyone seemed to like last season. I will also have ramps. Carl will have plants and trees for sale along with honey, honeycomb, eggs and more.There will also be some new faces this year. So stop on by and say hello and don’t forget to get your free plant!!

 

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.