a new purpose…

Okay, hi, I’m back.  I’ve kind of wandered off and returned with a new purpose here.  I’ve been diagnosed as gluten intolerant and I’m having to adjust my diet.  As I’m mentioned, I loooove bread.  But apparently bread hates me.  A lot.  And it makes holes in my gut and makes me sick.  So a fie on bread.  I’ll spare you my new zealotry about gut health and the importance of gastrointestinal testing, but if you want to know more, drop me a line.

What that means here is that I’m going to be on the prowl for GF veggie places to eat and checking out a lot of products.  I know that the key to my health improving is to eliminate the vast majority of processed foods from my life.  I also know that I NEED some for convenience and sanity.  I was on the Eat To Live diet when I started this blog and it was, coincidentally, largely gluten free.  I felt really good on it, but my laziness and love of bread sent me back to the processed food.  Sure, they were the crunchy granola “clean” products from the Common Market and MOMs, but still.  As was pointed out in the very cool blog “Little House in the Suburbs,”  it’s better to eat a pesticide-ridden conventionally grown peach than to eat organic bunny crackers.  good to remember.

That said, I miss some of my convenience foods.  Pizza, for one.  Tonight we had home-made pizzas on Kinnikkinnick personal pizza crusts.  The family’s primary gluten-free bread-winner is out of town, so the 4-to-a-package size was perfect.  They were good!  Even the kids liked them.  The company makes GF donuts, too, so I kind of love them.

I like sausage on my pizza.  In the past, that was no problem as veggie sausage is easy to come by and pretty yummy.  It seems to be the easiest fake meat to make tasty.  I was mad for Field Roast’s Apple Sage sausage.  But of course they are wheat, wheat, wheat.  Gardenburger USED to make a GF sausage, but when Kelloggs bought them, they added wheaty evil.  Bastards.  So I tried making my own.

I used this recipe:

http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-recipes/entrees/breakfast-sausage.htm

I ended up mixing the spices and tomato paste into the bean and flour mixture, AND I used sorghum flour b/c I only had potato starch and not potato flour.  The texture is not at all sausagey.  It’s kind of…sawdusty.  But the taste is actually pretty close.  I crumbled some up on my pizza and while it didn’t give me the nuggets of chewy, it did give me the sausage taste.  I’ll mess around with the recipe, I think, see what I can come up with.

Meanwhile–any GF vegetarians out there with a great veggie sausage lead?  Leave it in the comments…

Happy New Year

Here’s to a year of good grub!  We rang in the New Year in our traditional fashion–fondue and board games.  This is our third year of fondue.  I made one pot of traditional Swiss, one pot of “pizza fondue” (from my guilty pleasure Taste of Home–it’s just a jar of spaghetti sauce and a package of grated Italian blend cheese.  Almost criminally easy and the kids practically climbed into the pot to get the last bite), and a pot of Bagna Cauda (I made it vegetarian by using sundried tomatoe paste instead of anchovies).   We paired the meal with Rodney Strong’s 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was fantastic and I was crushed to have a slightly queasy stomach that prevented my overindulgence.

Desert was one pot of chocolate fondue and one of butterscotch, served with fruit and gingersnaps for dipping.  Yum.  And then I vowed never to eat again.  That’s why we only have fondue on New Year’s Eve.

Mmmm….butter…

Inspired by last weeks “The Splendid Table” radio broadcast, I decided to make butter today.  I got a pint of cream from South Mountain Creamery in Middletown and a pint of cream from Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, PA (well, I got it at the Common Market).  I followed the instructions on the Splendid Table’s website and soon had two nice-sized lumps o’ butter.  We had a tasting.  The butter made from South Mountain had a bit of the dairy smell to it, if you know what I mean.  A back of the nose smell/taste that reminded me of the dairy.  Which, honestly, is a bit stinky, but it came of as slightly cheese-y in the butter.  The Trickling Springs butter just tasted super clean.  Like just pure dairy goodness.  As you might guess, that was the prefered butter all the way around.  I think I will add salt to the South Mountain one (cracked sea salt so I get little crispy chunks now and again) and leave the TS one pure.

For fun, I tried a few add-ins.  I plucked the last of my nasturium blossoms and chopped them up and added them in–it was radishy and tasty.  I think it would be fantastic on a potato.  I chopped up a couple frozen strawberries and added those in–terrific on toast with honey.  Finally, I chopped an apple and added some cinnamon.  Yum.  That would be great on a waffle.  The troops have requested some basil butter with the last of the basil.  I cleaned out my Square Foot Gardens today and there was just a smattering of sad basil remaining.  I think it will be wonderful.  Because, you know, butter.  basil.  I think I’ll add a smidge of parmesan, too.  What could go wrong?

As American as…

Apple pie!  A couple months ago, we saw the Good Eats episode about apple pie and it just looked soooo good.  But it required a few purchases before I could get started.  I got grains of paradise from The Spice House (don’t forget the “the” in that address or you will get a…different sort of website). I went to Amazon for my pie bird and a deep tart pan.  Then I went to Mountain Valley Orchard in Cavetown for my apples.  They have a great selection, really good prices, and they don’t spray the trees with pesticides past the blossom stage.  It’s not organic, but it’s better than nothing at all.  The Stayman are great this year.  They were my childhood favorite and I hadn’t had a good one in years.  Finally, I hit Trout Liquors for my Applejack.  I was ready for piemaking.

I used a mix of all sorts of apples, mainly stayman, gala, and fuji.  It was sort of an all-day thing, but well worth it in the end.  The apple juice reduction made the top crust super crisp.  The texture was just perfect.  And so pretty, look!

With the tart pan, you can just push it out and it looks gorgeous.  And when sliced, the apples just stay put, perfectly stacked, each coated with yumminess.

We each had a slice before bed and then a slice for breakfast…and then it was gone.  Sigh.  Guess I have to go back to the orchard…

August Cornucopia

Walking into the Saturday Farmer’s Market in August just makes me happy.  So much food!  And look at all those people!  I like to start on the far side–near South Mountain’s booth–and work my way over.  I’m not sure what farm I hit first, as they had no sign, but the guy behind the counter said that a chef from Volt had just been by.  That bodes well, I think.  Can’t wait to see if they’re offering some critter-free yumminess!

I got a LOT of food.  Beets, greens, lettuces, onions, melon, blackberries, cukes, corn, herbs, beans, potatoes, and more.   I got 25 pounds of tomato seconds for 20 bucks from Summer Creek farm.  They’re organic, so that’s a fantastic deal.  Rick Hood, the owner, said he brings 2 boxes of seconds every week, but if you want to reserve a box, to give him a call at 301-271-9399.  I didn’t get to the box until Sunday, and I only had to throw one small tomato out and cut out one bad place from another.  For “seconds,” they were in great shape and tasted fantastic.

The weather is good, so I’m canning!  We don’t have central air, so the thought of heating up the kitchen in August is usually daunting, but this is the perfect week to can.  I felt like I worked my butt off, but when I think of the shelves and shelves of food my mom used to put up every summer?  I’m a huge wimp.  I got several jars each of dill and sweet pickles,  about 4 pints of salsa, 3 wee jelly jars of pickled roasted jalapenos, 3 quarts plus 2 pints of tomatoes.  Won’t get us through the winter, but it’s still nice to see.

I will suffer for pie.

I braved the gnats and the biting flies that have suddenly appeared at my house–I harvested the raspberries. I have crazy red raspberry canes in the back yard. They are, ostensibly, contained in a fence, but anyone who has raspberries will know that they are merely amused by our sad attempts to tame them. I cut the canes back to about 6 inches in the spring, but they could now hide Brer Rabbit and all his family for 10 generations with no trouble. I was asked earlier this week, “How hard is it to grow raspberries?” I replied that it was harder to NOT grow raspberries. They’re at their peak right now, so I went down and picked about 3 lbs of them. First up–make a pie. My favorite–pictured above–is the recipe for Summer Berry Pie from Baking Illustrated. I’m not going to print it here because you need to just go buy this cookbook. Everything I have made from it has been terrific. It’s by the Cooks Illustrated people, so not only will they tell you what to make, they’ll tell you why. I love those guys. This pie is so light and summery–just perfect for raspberries. And whipped cream (yes, it’s the stuff from a can. First, shut up, it’s tasty. Second, I just ran into the corner store and it was this or half-and-half).

Let’s eat!

My kids didn’t have a swim meet this week, so I got to the Baughman’s Lane Farmer’s Market–woo!  I like to start at the far left side, the side where South Mountain Creamery sets up.  I first bought two potted herbs–rosemary, which we all know and love and I didn’t manage to plant at a normal time, and dwarf curry, which I’ve never even heard of.  It smells like curry powder.  I know that curry powder is a mixture of other spices, so I have no idea what this little guy’s deal is, but I love him.  Herb guy said to bring it in over the winter.  Will do.  Over to Glade Link for 3 qts of blueberries.   Then I meandered around, gathering beets, kale, chicory, romaine, onions, potatoes, snow peas, and cucumbers.  Finished up at Scenic View, buying apricots and corn and two kinds of cherries.  Got home and find I’d never actually picked up the cherries. Grr.  I’ll head up to Catoctin Orchard this week and snag some more.

Fresh corn (picked that morning, they told me!) means fire up the grill.  Dinner was my favorite–just piles of fresh, unadorned vegetables.  Summer food at its finest.  Took this pic before the taters were off the grill, so add them in mentally.

 

Broccoli was the last from my OWN garden.  I’d need a full farm to support us, I think.  I remember back to my dad’s garden–it was such a pain in my rear, all that odious weeding and harvesting–and realize I’d need one the same giant size to be able to have home grown food in the winter.  Um…thank goodness for grocery stores?  I prefer to keep my canning and freezing to whim-inspired, not necessity-driven.

Farmer’s Market finds

Okay, I hit the Middletown market–Thursdays 3-6.  It’s oddly light on food.  Two different wool vendors, which don’t really seem that appealing when the temp is over 90.  There was jewelry, some plants, some other booth I didn’t get to.  I have to wonder how well people do at these things.  I know that when I go, I want to buy fresh produce.  I am not even a bit interested in jewelry or soap.  On the other hand, I love the idea of an Eastern Market-style melange of wares…no pleasing me, I suppose.  I did get some really great blueberries, some fantastic cherries, and some deeply mediocre black raspberries.  Bon Vivant bakery was there with a brioche loaf that went very nicely with the fresh chevre I got from the Caprikorn farms booth.  The man at the booth suggested getting squash blossoms at the Saturday market, stuffing them with the chevre, and deep frying them.  I did that once and it was rather tasty…might be time to do it again.  Oh, and you need to check out that Caprikorn Farms link and go see the goats.  They all have fancy show dog names, which makes me happy.  After a dinner of pesto pasta and goat cheese on brioche, we had angel food cake with fresh berries and cream.  Mmmmm…summer food.

Gettin’ pickled

Oooo, the watermelon pickles are a success!  I’ve made it possible to eat what we would otherwise throw out (and it only added oh…a bag of sugar, a lemon, and some vinegar to the cost of the $13 watermelon)!  I’m an honorary Walton.  They’re crazy sweet, but really tastey.  I’ll do it again.  And you know I have to enter a jar in The Great Frederick Fair, Inc. because winning a ribbon for pickles at the county fair would be just the awesomest thing ever (note I just assume I’d get a ribbon, not even having a idea how these things are judged, given that they don’t even taste them).

Today, I will venture out to the Middletown farmer’s market.  Stupid swim meets on Saturday mornings are seriously cutting into my Farmer’s Marketing.  Perhaps I will get a less expensive, equally yummy watermelon…

Everything but the squeal

I bought a watermelon at the Common Market today.  It was 69 cents a pound which seemed reasonable.  Apparently, I don’t know my own strength, b/c that thing cost $13.  It was delicious though, tasted just like a watermelon should–which lately hasn’t really been a given.  But thirteen dollars?  Oh, we are eating that whole thing.  The flesh was gobbled in very little time and I’ve started making a pickle of the rind.  I’ve never even eaten a watermelon pickle, but we’ll give it a go.  So far, it’s really pretty…  I felt an odd sense of satisfaction seeing that nothing went to waste but a small pile of the very outer skin–right into the compost bucket.