Amy Artisan

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Category: Kitchen Time (page 5 of 7)

Summertime Blues

July 27, 2009 / / 5 Comments

Chicago is known as a blues town. This summer, I’m experiencing a different twist on local blues. I’ve mentioned numerous times that one of my favorite parts of summer is the fresh produce – whether it’s attempting to grow a few things on my deck or my weekly treks the farmer’s market on Saturday morning. This summer, I’ve added another fresh produce option into the Artisan Kitchen. Earlier this summer, I came across a new take on a CSA share – the opportunity to “own” a blueberry bush for the summer & then go pick the berries.

Blueberries

Joe’s Blues is a “new” farm of 50 year old Jersey blueberry bushes in Bangor , MI. In addition to being able to order cases of blueberries, you can own a blueberry bush for the summer and then come pick at least 12 pounds from your bush during berry season.

I'm Amy's!

I knew that I didn’t have the freezer space for all the berries so I invited my friend Elaine to join me in owning the blueberry bush. We looked forward to a day trip later this summer to load up on berries. A couple of weeks ago, the farm emailed me with a picture of the blueberry bush that had been tagged as mine.

Ready to Pick!

This past Saturday, it was time to go harvest our blueberries. It was a beautiful day for a road trip! A little over 2 hours after leaving Chicago, we were meeting Joe and Frank and walked towards my blueberry bush.

All boxed up!

In no time at all, Elaine & I had filled our buckets with the sweetest blueberries we’ve ever tasted. We boxed them into 17 pint clamshells to bring home with us. We could have gone back out for some more from the bush but as it is, we have quite a lot to process. Many blueberries will be frozen to enjoy when summer days are a distant memory during winter. And in the coming weeks I’m sure I’ll be trying all sorts of blueberry creations. In the interim, a bowl of “my own” blueberries is about the sweetest snack around!

Hibernation

January 11, 2009 / / 2 Comments

All last week the forecast was showing that new snow would be here for the weekend. On Thursday, the forecasted snowfall totals for Friday/Saturday were stepped up a bit. It quickly became evident that this weekend might be a good one to hibernate at home. Friday morning’s commute was a bit longer than normal because the first round of snow was coming in. Thankfully, the rest of the snow held off until I was back home before dinnertime.

(click the picture for details)

I woke up on Saturday morning to quite a bit of snow on the ground and it kept falling all day. The neighborhood soundtrack throughout the day was filled with shovels scraping the pavement, wheels spinning in the snow/slush and the whir of snow blowers. Before long, lawn chairs were out in the street as parking spot placeholders.

My “goals” for the weekend were simple.

  • Never ending pot of coffee: The french press was in constant use all weekend – the It’s a Grind Winter Blend is my current favorite. A bit of Italian Sweet Cream creamer & my sheep mug made it perfect.
  • Finish holiday cards: Umm, I had good intentions of getting cards out at Christmas and then life got in the way. So I’m going with a “New Year’s” approach instead. Signed, sealed & ready to go in the mail tomorrow.
  • New knitting project: I cast on a for a new “big” knitting project & have been making great progress on it. As the inches of snow increased, so did the inches of blue garter stitch. More details later this week.
  • Order 2008 pictures for scrapbook: It’s January – time for a scrapbooking retreat in 2 weeks, so I had fun going through the past year & figuring out what pictures to be ordered.
  • Catch up on Netflix: Ladies in Lavender and The Ballet Shoes were perfect knitting flicks.
  • Make a pot of soup: At the grocery store on Thursday evening I decided that I was in the mood for a pot of cauliflower soup. I found a couple of good recipes on a few food blogs & ended with my own hybrid that hit the spot (roast the cauliflower, onions & garlic before going into the pot, add some walnuts in with the ‘normal’ ingredients – blend it all together- yum!). Since I had the big pot out from the back of the cabinets, today I decided to make a big pot of chili for this week & the freezer.
  • Read: Between Christmas gifts and library books I had no shortage of reading material. This weekend it was The Reverend Guppy’s Aquarium and The Lace Reader.

I had hoped to head over to Jen’s for a bit of knitting this afternoon; however, I feel like I’m fighting off the start of a cold so I’ll continue to hibernate. (And be very grateful for a building mate who shoveled my side of the garage!) The snow is definitely getting old this winter – there have been too many long commutes in the snow, slush & slick. It was nice to enjoy this snow storm from inside my cozy home.

To Market…To Make…

July 27, 2008 / / 6 Comments

One of my favorite summer activities is visiting the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings. At my first apartment here in Chicago I would take the bus down to the market, fill up my tote bag & come home with all sorts of goodies for the week – when the gladiolas were in abundance I would frequently be toting 2 large bunches of them back on the bus in addition to the produce.

Flowers

This week’s bouquet – two summer favorites: sunflowers & gladiolas.

When I received my preview copy of Comfort Food this spring, the package included a tote bag with the book cover on it. When I saw it I knew it would be perfect for my farmer’s market bag for this summer. It is “just the right size” – anything more than what fits in the bag is too much for me to handle in a week. My Saturday morning routine now is to pick up an iced coffee & then head up to the farmer’s market to pick up produce for the coming week. It is fun to see what make it into my bag & then decide what to make. My tote bag was filled with many delicious items this weekend & I had a great time in the kitchen.

Comfort Tote

In addition to weekly treats, I have enjoyed making of several batches of treats that are now in the freezer. Once the summer days have faded away & the middle of winter returns it will be nice to pull some of these goodies out of the freezer & bring a bit of summer back into the house. So far the freezer is housing: Strawberry Freezer Jam made from the last of the Michigan strawberries; Pesto that will be incorporated into all sorts of recipes.

This week’s fruits: peaches, blueberries, golden plums.

Farmer’s Market produce seems to be made for simple dishes. Sometimes I follow a recipe and sometimes the dishes are “on the fly” creations. Some favorites of this summer: Zucchini Basil Muffins (with basil from the pot on my deck, these have frozen & been thawed wonderfully); Mom’s Marinated Carrots; Grill Veggie/Pesto Pizza; Grilled Fruit Sauce over Gelato. And I never tire of putting an assortment of veggies in my grill wok.

Veggies

This week’s veggies: carrots, beets, onions, potatoes, baby portabellas, yellow & green globe zucchinis.

Kate’s publisher sent me several of the Comfort Food tote bags – so, it’s time for another contest. Between now and August 5th, leave a comment with one of your favorite simple summer produce recipes. I’ll draw 5 winners from all the entries.

A Winning Menu…

May 29, 2008 / / 6 Comments

In keeping with the metaphor of life being a full plate, my plate has been rather full the last few weeks – I’ve mentally written many blog entries – hopefully they will make their way to the site in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, thanks to everyone who submitted your favorite comfort foods and associated stories – it was fun to read through each memory. Collectively you created quite a comfort food menu – with more than enough macaroni and cheese for everyone to enjoy a big serving!

The following gals will be receiving a copy of Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs:

  • Deborah – Poppyseed chicken! It’s a yummy, not-very-good-for-you chicken casserole that my mom used to bring to church potluck suppers. It makes me think of my family and the church that I grew up in. I always serve it with sweet tea and southern style green beans on the side. It makes me feel like I’m back in small town Mississippi – life slows down and we can have a nice visit at the dinner table. Ooh, and my summer comfort food is lemon icebox pie. It’s really easy to make, but I still only make it once or twice a summer. It’s cool and refreshing, and reminds me of hot, humid summer days back home. Lemon icebox pie just looks pretty, too, and it makes me think of Southern women.
  • Casey – I love apple pie! My grandma made the best pie from scratch and whenever I was sick, she’d send my grandpa over with a pie for me! Some kids got popsicles, I got pies. I still love apple pie but I can’t eat the frozen kind from the supermarket. Sometimes I get those but I’m always disappointed. It has to have the taste of homemade. My aunt’s pies are second best only to my grandma’s but she lives a state away. I guess I should start making them myself!
  • Kris – My comfort food is “Grammy’s Bread” which is similar to babka. It is my paternal grandmother’s recipe. Over the last couple of years, I have become the one in my family to carry on her tradition of baking it. It is my favorite comfort food because tasting it brings a flood of memories of my dear Grammy each time. The act of making it, though I never made it with Grammy, reminds me of my connections to my roots and brings more memories.
  • Cynthia – I do love tea; there is something comforting on a cold and rainy day about a good cuppa tea. I also love brown rice with a bit of oil and some frozen green peas (my husband and son would say green peas are my comfort food – they always seem to soothe my nausea) when I am feeling nauseated or under the weather, which happens a lot. My other favourite comfort food is popcorn. Not too much butter but just a big bowl of traditionally made on the stove popcorn. Love the crunch and the taste.
  • Marilyn – In all seasons, my favorite comfort food is homemade soup. It can be a very fancy recipe or just a “clean out the refrigerator” kind…doesn’t matter…just warms me all over…body and soul.

 

Earlier in May, Kate was in town for Comfort Food book events on two evenings. The first evening a portion of my bookclub joined me for the reading & signing – at that gathering it seemed like everyone came with at least one other member of their bookclub. After the event, Kate & I hung out in the bookstore cafe for a bit catching up on life. The second evening, I met up with a friend for dinner and then we joined in the event at an independent bookstore. Both evenings were filled with great questions and conversations.

In the last month I’ve been cooking a bit more (something that I enjoy doing) and now that I’ve got the grill in rotation again I’m having a lot of fun. In the next couple of months I hope to share some of my kitchen & grillin’ adventures with you. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with my plate from a few weeks ago – the first grill meal of the summer that was definitely a comfort food plate…

Santa Maria Tri-Tip

Weekend Brunch

February 21, 2008 / / 8 Comments

When I was younger, I remember brunches on the weekend being a special thing. Since moving to Chicago, a weekend brunch with friends is a pretty regular happening. Many great restaurants in the city have delicious menus with so many options – do you pick a savory item, a sweet item, go with the buffet line. Near my church there are so many tasty places to enjoy brunch. With so many choices, it’s easy to take it for granted that brunch is a weekend meal option. When I was working in Chattanooga I remember asking co-workers for brunch suggestions when my parents would be visiting on a Sunday – the question “where to go for brunch” was met with head scratching & comments about there not being many brunch options. In the end, we enjoyed a delicious brunch while driving through the mountains.

As much as I enjoy going out for brunch, I find brunch to be a fun menu to prepare. My recipe books and recipe box are filled with many options – some are family favorites that I grew up with and some are new discoveries. This past Sunday was a chance to create a menu and share brunch with friends. (And also a chance to do some Project Spectrum III creativity with fire by cooking.)

For starters, a new variation of my winter favorite – Sunshine Salad. I peeled & segmented 2 oranges & 2 ruby red grapefruit. I dressed them in a spiced honey lemon sauce (equal parts honey & lemon juice, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, a dash of cardamon – stir over low heat till simmering). Right before serving, I topped the salad with pomegranate seeds for extra color and a bit of crunch. The other side dish was Chicken Sausage with Apples – when heating up a package of chicken breakfast sausage, I added a sliced apple to the skillet & a sprinkling of my Gateway to the North Maple Sugar seasoning from The Spice House.

The menu was completed with Blueberry French Toast Casserole. I came across the recipe several years ago & thought it sounded delicious. The first time I made it was for brunch after a breast cancer walk – I turned it on before I left for the walk & when we returned after the walk the house was filled with the delicious smell of french toast ready to eat. This time, I assembled it in the morning and then let the crock pot do it’s job while I finished getting the house ready.

Blueberry French Toast Casserole – adapted  from The Everyday Low-Carb Slow-Cooker Cookbook

1 T butter

1/2 c. soft  cream cheese (from a tub)

8 slices of stale bread, crusts removed

1 1/2 c. wild blueberries

8 eggs, beaten

2 cups light cream

1 cup Splenda

pinch salt

2 t vanilla

3/4 t cinnamon

– Grease the crock pot with the butter & leave the excess in the crock

– Spread cream cheese onto one side of the bread slices. Place the bread, cream cheese side down, into the crock.

– Sprinkle the blueberries over the bread.

– Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.

– Pour mixture over the bread and berries in the crock. The bread will start to float up. Gently press the bread down into the egg mixture. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes and then press the bread down again.

– Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. The casserole will be “poofed” and slightly browned on the edges when done.

My extras & prep notes:

– I sprinkled a bit of Chicago Old Town Premium Spiced Sugar on top of the cream cheese.

– I toasted the bread in the toaster oven to make it stale.

– I didn’t have light cream on hand so I used half heavy cream and half skim milk.

– I topped it all off with more cinnamon before putting the lid on the crock.

– I served this with lemon curd and maple syrup as possible toppers.

– Artisan Mom has baked this in the oven (assemble it in a baking dish the night before & refrigerate overnight; bake at 350 for about 45-50 minutes).

It was a gray and rainy day – which of course wasn’t condusive for taking pictures of the meal. (And really, the blueberry french toast – while extremely tasty wasn’t really being photogenic…) However, the warmth and flavor of the menu combined with the warmth of conversation and fellowship with friends was an excellent way to fight the winter dreariness.

Brunch Flowers

These flowers decorated the table for our meal and have added cheer to the house all week long.  

I associate brunch with a leisurely meal time – speed is not the object. It’s a time to linger over the coffee when you have reached your fill of tasty treats. It is a time to slow down and enjoy…the time with family and friends and the food. What brunch memories do you have? What are your favorite brunch menu items?

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