April 2010

Preserving Rhubarb

29 April 2010 by local kitchen

From the archives, just in time for rhubarb season and the May Can Jam! Enjoy! . . . Today I started tackling the metric ton of rhubarb that I brought home from Maine. I started with about 4 lbs, washed everything well, trimmed off the fat stem end and a small slice off of the top (leaf) end, and started chopping. I picked out the prettiest, pinkest stalks to make Rhubarb Rosemary Jelly (courtesy of Gourmet via Garrett McCord of VanillaGarlic); I decided […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, preserving, rhubarb, spring, techniques • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb, spring

Cheddar Parsley Scones

27 April 2010 by local kitchen

Another riff on the always popular Cheddar Scallion Scones, this one with fresh, flat-leaf parsely and red onion. In this version, I replaced the scallions with 1/4 cup each of finely chopped red onion and chopped fresh parsley; swapped 1 cup of spelt flour for 1 cup of whole wheat, and added another 1/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper. I also made these into mini-scones: separate the dough into two halves; shape each half into a rectangle about 4″ […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, baking, breakfast, cheese, parsley, quick & easy, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, bread, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, whole grain breads

Asparagus Risotto

25 April 2010 by local kitchen

It’s just barely asparagus season at home in New York, but down here in Asheville it is in full swing: I picked up a bunch of local asparagus at the West Village Market on Friday, then scored two more bunches at the Asheville City Market on Saturday. Can you tell I love the ‘sperge? There are a million lovely things to do with tender young asparagus, but, while at the West Village Market I also spied a ‘forest mix’ of […]

Categories: asparagus, main course, rice, spring, wild foods, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Can Jam: Apple Cider Jelly with Rosemary & Peppercorn

22 April 2010 by local kitchen

I should have left well enough alone. After the glorious triumph of my Can Jam Lemon Lavender Marmalade, I should have known to just quit while I was ahead. Sadly, I so rarely take my own sage advice. There’s a reason why I never make jelly. Jelly is basically juice + sugar. Since there is no fruit pulp to round out the texture, a jelly really needs more sugar than a jam, or whole fruit preserve, in order to have any structure. There […]

Categories: apples, Can Jam, canning, fall, jellies, preserving, rosemary, spring, winter, year round • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Ramp & Cilantro Pesto

20 April 2010 by local kitchen

I’m down in a cold, misty, rainy Asheville this week, spending some time with Mom. On my list of things to do before I left for the week was to preserve anything in the fridge that Tai wouldn’t cook while I was gone (so, essentially, everything). After enjoying ramps in a lovely chickpea salad and a leeky-cheesey fritatta this week I still had a pile to use. Just a few days ago, I saw a recipe for Ramp and Parsley Pesto […]

Categories: cilantro, condiments, freezing, preserving, quick & easy, spring, wild foods • Tags: condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes, wild foods

Can Jam: Lemon Lavender Marmalade

18 April 2010 by local kitchen

April’s Can Jam assignment was herbs, which are, according to the Tigress “generally considered the leafy green parts of a plant (flowers, too!) while spices are derived from other parts of the plant, particularly the seeds, berries, bark and roots.” It’s a lovely category; wide open with choices, and I’m excited to see what the variety & inventiveness of the Can Jammers can deliver. Problem is, here in New York, as Marisa reminds us, April really is the cruelest month: things have […]

Categories: breakfast, Can Jam, canning, citrus, herbs, jams, preserving, winter, year round • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, recipes

Chickpea & Spring Green Salad with Lemony Vinaigrette

15 April 2010 by local kitchen

Just the thing for Tax Day: a low-stress, quick & easy, protein, fiber and vitamin-packed, cheap one dish meal. Oh, yes, and it’s delicious too! I threw this quick & easy salad together the other night, thinking I was making enough for lunch leftovers, but it was so delicious that Tai & I polished off seconds and the whole bowl disappeared in no time. Even though I’ve been doing quite well on my resolution to use dried beans, I used canned […]

Categories: beans, chickpeas, citrus, quick & easy, radish, salad, spinach, spring, vegetarian, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, quick & easy, recipes, salad, spinach, vegetarian, wild foods

Forsythia Syrup

13 April 2010 by local kitchen

When I was young, we had a huge lilac bush in the backyard, and nothing said “springtime” to me more than the heady scent of lilac drifting into newly opened windows. Here in the Hudson Valley, “spring” is all about forsythia, the yellow flowering shrub that seems to burst into color overnight, and nearly as quickly, loses its blooms and sprouts the first pale green leaves of the season. While researching recipes for this month’s Can Jam, the focus ingredient for […]

Categories: preserving, spring, wild foods • Tags: cooking, flower syrups, food, forsythia, local, preserving, recipes, wild foods

Sunday Spring Cleaning: Sweet & Soy Asian Grilled Chicken

11 April 2010 by local kitchen

Suppose you made some jam. And suppose that jam was way, way too sweet for you. But, it took three days to make, and used the Last Fall Pumpkin, and you’re a Yankee, so, you can’t just get rid of it. You can give some away; but since the jam is way (way) too sweet for you, and the people who like your jams mostly like the ones that you usually make (which are way, way less sweet), well… the […]

Categories: chicken, grill, sauces, summer • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Ramps!

8 April 2010 by local kitchen

You know it’s April in the Hudson Valley when you see ramps pop up, in the farmer’s market or in the woods. Ramps are wild leeks, an allium related to onions, shallots, garlic, and of course, leeks, and they create quite a sensation each spring when the broad, waxy green leaves start popping up in the woods. With good reason: although some think we should just shut up about ramps, there is a reason that foodniks go a little mad […]

Categories: 100% local, foraging, leek, preserving, spring, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, foraging, local, preserving, ramps, recipes, spring, wild foods

Boozy Baby Chocolate Cake

6 April 2010 by local kitchen

Because sometimes, summer is right around the corner, and you don’t want a whole cake sitting around the house for just the two of you. And because, the slices will be so virtuously small, you are perfectly justified in drowning them in booze. Happy Spring, everyone! Adapted from Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Chocolate Cake ————————————————————— Boozy Baby Chocolate Cake EQUIPMENT one 6-inch X 3-inch high cake pan (for the tall & small cake pictured here) OR one 8 or 9-inch cake pan (for a regular-sized […]

Categories: baking, cake, chocolate, dessert, eggs, spring, whole wheat flour, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

Gingery Almond Biscotti

2 April 2010 by local kitchen

I made a batch of these the other day, to send off as gifts: one as part of a belated birthday present, and another as a thank-you present to our wonderful friend Stan, who does our taxes. Of course, along the way there were several that were ‘mishapen’ or ‘too short’ or ‘too ugly’ to go in the gift packs (yet clearly not too short, ugly or mishapen to be eaten). Now I wish I had made a double batch. […]

Categories: baking, breakfast, chocolate, citrus, dessert, nuts, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes