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1. devil's food cake in Alex's grandmother's copper mold 2. Alex's sweet sriracha garnish for our lunch quesadillas 3. Lil's heart shaped lunch in my new Fiesta bowls 4. Lil dressed as a 'mail girl' delivering cards 5. 30 before 30 gift to my sister: 30 cans of cat food 6. delivery number 3 of 10 7. delivery 10 of 10 8. father daughter nerf gun gifts
Do you remember the secret project I hinted at this fall? It's finally time to introduce you to the Tayse Family Cookbook!
Download the .pdf ebook for $4.99 right here on Hounds in the Kitchen.
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In the fall of 2010, I tried to think of the perfect Christmas gift for my extended family and happened upon the idea of a cookbook. I started taking photographs and writing up family recipes but quickly realized that I couldn't make all our family classics in the time before the holidays.
I decided to take stealth photos of all our favorite foods for the entire next year. I photographed Dad's Christmas potica, our rhymes-with-ham Easter dinner, Mom's pies, not-tomato salsa, and more.
Then I tested and typed recipes. I added header notes, stories, and an introduction. I enlisted my friend Susan McGowan to edit the work.
I attempted to print the book but wasn't satisfied with the print quality for a price I was willing to pay. I finally settled on the next best thing to a physical book - an ebook.
It is my greatest wish that everyone enjoy the love of good food that my family shares. I hope that by sharing Tayse recipes, I can spread a bit of inspiration for your family and friends to grow closer over a meal. Enjoy!
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The urge to make scones hit me in early January. I wanted a perfect-for-me scone: not greasy, not overly sweet, full of whole ingredients, and easy to pull together in the morning before breakfast. I made many batches of scones and finally came up with this recipe.
Alas, Alex doesn't think they are scones. He says they are more like muffins without the shape or biscuits without the fluff. Out the other side of his scone-crumbed mouth he admits that it doesn't matter what I call them so long as I keep making them. Done and done!
These scones are a breakfast or tea time treat. Lil likes them with chocolate, so I use fair trade dark chips, the healthiest chocolate choice. With whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and less fat than most recipes, enjoy my real food interpretation of scones.
Makes: 6 Time: 30 minutes 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 cup white whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup cultured buttermilk 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips or a combination thereof
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Mix flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl. 3. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until mix resembles fine meal. 4. In a liquid measuring cup, measure buttermilk. Add egg and beat lightly with a fork. Pour vanilla into this liquid measure. 5. Mix together liquids into flours, stirring just until mixed. Add dried fruit, nuts, or chips and stir to distribute evenly. Do not over mix. 6. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Dough will be sticky but use floured hands to gently form into a round. 7. Cut round into six equal triangles. Place each on a silicone- or parchment-lined baking sheet. 8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned on top. Serve warm.
Added to Simple Lives Thursday.
1. I like to make jam but I rarely eat it.
2. Same with pickles. Hence, my pantry is overabundant and I give many jarred gifts.
3. I failed at worm composting last year. I so don't like squishy creatures that I hated tending the box and turned the wigglers lose in my compost bin in the summer. I am keeping my awesome One20 Farm composter with the hopes that someday I'll get over my fear or convince Lil to tend worms for me.
4. I don't like the way I look on tv or in pictures. Thankfully this video segment on local news about moms who blog with Mikaela Hunt included beauties Amy Turn Sharp, Diane Davis Lang, Susie Owens, and Wendy Hondroulis to counter my awkwardness.
5. Alex is a better cook than I. He makes sauces, garnishes dishes and attempts recipes that I simply do not take time for.
6. (Bonus because I had to share the picture!) I take unwarranted pleasure in bathing the little dog. She hates it but Lil and I smirk as we wash her filthy body.
Earlier this week, we were slated to bring a soup to family dinner with Alex's parents. I spied our last local pie pumpkin languishing on the counter and thought of squash soup.
I typically make winter squash soup by oven roasting the squash, sautéing onions and garlic in oil, and then pureeing everything together. This time I was exhausted from another bout of sinus pain. I didn't feel like dicing the onion and happened upon another thought - what if I roasted everything together?
The lazy girl's inclination turned out to be a stroke of brilliance. Pumpkin halves, onion, garlic, and parsnip bathed in an oil-rubbed sauna for about 40 minutes while I put my feet up and watched a football bowl game. On the second rack of the oven, I roasted the pumpkin seeds.
Then I simply scraped all the slightly charred, softened vegetables into a pot and added stock from the freezer and herbs from the backyard. I whizzed the soup smooth with the immersion blender and topped with roasted seeds. The resulting soup is earthy and rich with caramelized flavors from the roasted vegetables.
I've been at this home cooking thing for a long time and I don't usually change much about the way I make traditional dishes. But sometimes the simplest thing surprises me. I'll never make squash soup the old way again.
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Added to Simple Lives Thursday #77.
Seasonal foods are hot and heavy in the spring, summer, and fall as we eat our way through herbs and asparagus to peas and beans to tomatoes and squash.
What about winter? Hot houses do produce fresh food in Ohio but there are only so many ways to eat greenhouse-grown lettuces and greens. Even homegrown squashes and potatoes are starting to scream "get me out of storage and eat me now!"
I expand my local circle a little south and look for seasonal foods elsewhere. 500 miles to the south are pecan farms sending up buttery fabulous-fresh nuts. Travel a little further and citrus orchards are ripe with fruit.
While one can buy an orange any day of the year in a grocery store, fresh seasonal citrus has a flavor of its own. Oranges are floral and grapefruits more sweet during the winter when they are shipped fresh from the orchard.
The gem of the citrus season crown is the Meyer Lemon. These small, thin fleshed lemons were originally brought to America from China by an agricultural explorer in 1908. They grow on dwarf trees and are available as indoor plants for those who live in Northern climates. One of my very first Hounds in the Kitchen entries tells about our Meyer Lemon tree. It produced beautifully last winter but we have no fruits ripening yet this year.
Fortunately, Green B.E.A.N. delivery currently offers organic Meyer lemons for subscribers. I nabbed a half dozen to enjoy two weeks ago and ordered another batch this week. I spied them today while shopping at Whole Foods and Andersons for $2.99/pound. Though I have never bought them directly from a farmer, a quick internet search reveals that Naples Orchard and Four Winds offer Meyers for purchase. The Meyer lemon season ends in early February, so shop soon.
Meyer lemons have an enchanting floral scent and mild lemon flavor. With little bitter pith, whole slices of Meyers can be incorporated into baked goods. They are excellent candied and I imagine they would make a very fine marmalade. Our favorite way to preserve Meyer lemons is by transforming them into limoncello.
Homemade limoncello takes little more than half an hour of preparation and the patience to wait three or more weeks as the limoncello ages. Those who wait are justly rewarded with a tart but mellow, bright and fresh liqueur. Keep it in the freezer and nip it directly from there or mix with club soda for a refreshing drink.
Meyer Limoncello Makes 1 quart Time: 15 minutes preparation plus three months aging
1 quart quality vodka 1 cup simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar dissolved in ½ cup water) juice and peel of 5 meyer lemons juice and peel of 1 orange 1 star anise 1-inch piece of cinnamon 3 whole cloves
1. Mix all ingredients in a clean glass jar. 2. Age in a cool dark location for up to three months, tasting as you go. 3. When the flavor is as you wish, strain the solids from the liquid. 4. Keep limoncello in the freezer and nip it directly from there or mix with club soda for a refreshing drink.
Way back in August when the grass was green and the weather sticky hot, Flying J Farm opened its (barn) doors to host the Shake the Hand that Feeds You dinner benefiting Slow Food Columbus. Alex, Lil, and I attended with our Japanese exchange student Anna.
Chefs from Skillet Rustic. Urban. Food expertly cooked up much of the feast including a lingua appetizer sandwich that helped inspire our sweet heart charcuterie. The family-style meal included a whole roast pig, tomato salad, rosemary potatoes, braised cabbage, and our favorite dish of the night, sweet potatoes and kale.
Chef Casey's pairing of my favorite vegetable, kale, and nutritious sweet potatoes was a new combination to me. Every time I eat at Skillet R.U.F. I am struck by their simple brilliance and want to recreate dishes at home.
Six months after the Flying J dinner, I chopped the last of our homegrown sweet potatoes to share with family on Christmas Eve. I prepped the vegetables early in the day and cooked them together just before guests arrived. I covered the dish to keep warm during cocktails.
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Maple Cider Vinegar Kale & Sweet Potatoes Time: 15 minutes preparation, 20 minutes cooking Makes: 6 side dish servings
1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 red onion, sliced into two-inch pieces 2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced into one-inch pieces 1 large bunch kale, leaves washed well, removed from ribs, and chopped/torn into large chunks 1-2 teaspoons salt (to taste) 10-20 grinds white pepper (to taste) 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and onions. 2. When onions have begun to turn translucent, add sweet potatoes and turn up the heat. Cook for 10 minutes, tossing or gently stirring regularly. 3. Add kale pieces, salt, and pepper. Stir gently and reduce heat back to medium. Cook for five minutes or until kale starts to wilt. 4. Pour maple syrup and apple cider vinegar over the mix. Continue cooking until sweet potatoes are cooked through. Serve warm.
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PS. Need a little reassurance that summer will come again? Relive Shake the Hand that Feeds You through pictures.
Added to Simple Lives 76.
I stood over the bowl of rugelach dough, pulsing and pulsing with a growing feeling of failure. Like a flash in the pan, I realized why I dislike food processors: I cannot see and touch the food. I teach kids and adults in classes that the two most important tools in their kitchen are their hands. And it's true: preparing food is a physical activity for me.
My new-fangled safety-minded food processor is equipped with three separate locks that must be in place for operation. I fight with these stupid locks every time I use the machine. Place bowl on base, press 'on', nothing. Twist lid tighter, press 'on', nothing. Pound top funnel, press 'on', finally a little action. It's all in the name of safety, of course.
Which brings me to the second thing I despise about food processors: the blade. How does a sensory minded cook remove dough from the bowl? I reach my hand in. I've been down the road of using a sissy silicone spatula and the blade tears those up.
So what do you think happened to my finger while trying to scrape out the dough?
You can picture the next scene in my dramatic break-up with the food processor: removing the blade with a now bandaged finger, I scrape the dough into a bowl with a spatula this time. The food processor has not even done its job so I clench the spatula with the injured finger at attention. I finish mixing the flour, butter, and cream cheese into submission by hand.
I am over trying to understand the implied convenience of a food processor. My two hands are almost as good and they've never hurt each other.
Of course I didn't take pictures during this fiasco! Tomorrow I'll share photographs of the final product, which turned out beautiful and tasty.