Old Witch's Magic Nut Cake

Last week, my unfortunate English teacher friends had to have their regular, once-a-semester workshop to calibrate the grading of placement essays. The only good part of the lengthy meeting, as I understand it, is that there's food. The budget is not large, but they manage to order some pizzas and drinks, and sometimes, a kind soul steps forward to bring a homemade dessert. I am always lucky, because I am a speech teacher and am, thus, exempt from the dreaded workshop. But my neighbor across the hall, Carey, who coordinates the event, always brings me leftover pizza and Diet Pepsi. (Thank you, Carey!) And last week, another friend and colleague, Marta, offered me a piece of homemade cake for dessert. Now, I am not a big fan of cake as a general rule (that surprises you, doesn't it...but mostly, it's because I hate frosting), so I politely declined. But then she said, "Are you sure? It's a pumpkin nut cake." And those three little words won me over. Even though the cake had those wrinkly abominations (=raisins) in it, it was very good, quite moist and flavorful. Then Marta told me the origin of the recipe, and I became all the more enchanted (so to speak).


The recipe is from the back of a children's book from the 60's called Old Witch and the Polka Dot Ribbon, the sequel to Old Black Witch (commonly known as Blueberry Pancake Witch for the blueberry pancake recipe included in that story). Marta and her son first read the book that they checked out from a library back when he was young, and I guess she's been making Old Witch's Magic Nut Cake ever since, much to the delight of her family. The book is out of print, so I haven't read it myself. But apparently. the witch wants to enter her cake at the town carnival to win the polka dot ribbon for "Most Original Cake" (sounds like my biography, except for the witchiness, of course!). As Marta told the story, the witch is worried that she won't win, so she casts some sort of spell to spoil all of the other cakes. But something I found online said that the witch's neighbor always wins the prize, so she steals the other cake and hides it under her hat so that her own cake will win. (Mind you, if this were my story, I wouldn't stoop to any kind of deception to win the special ribbon--my cake would be victorious on its own merits! Hmph!) If anyone is familiar with this epic tale, please write in and set the record straight on the particulars of the plot, will you?

In the meantime, I encourage you to make the cake. It's perfectly autumnal and very yummy. Of course, I couldn't let well enough alone, so I made a couple of changes to Old Witch's recipe (I hope she doesn't curse me with an evil spell!). First of all, you can guess that I omitted the raisins, but I encourage you to leave them in if you can tolerate the evil little things. And since the raisins were absent in my cake, I doubled the nuts. As a rule, I double the nuts (and garlic) in all recipes, but I will leave that decision up to you. Finally, I did not care for the cream cheese frosting on Old Witch's cake. It wasn't creamy enough, and it had too much powdered sugar (too sweet) for my liking, so I swapped out my favorite cream cheese icing instead. I will share both versions below and you can decide. But I should tell you, when I made the cake for my trivia team this week, it was the frosting that they ooh'ed and ahh'ed over. Here ya go:


Old Witch's Magic Nut Cake
(Source: story by Wende and Harry Devlin)

3 eggs
1 (1 lb.) can pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can swap out white whole wheat if you like)
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup yellow (one might say, golden) raisins (I omitted these, as is my way)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I double this, as is also my way, and I used half walnuts and half pecans)

Icing:
4 oz. cream cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon juice
1/2 box confectioners' sugar
chopped walnuts to sprinkle

Beat together wet ingredients, mix together dry ingredients and combine the 2 mixtures. Pour batter into 3 pans (or pound coffee cans--or I just used a 13x9). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool cake(s). Cream together ingredients for icing. Frost top of cakes and sprinkle with more chopped walnuts if desired.

My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting
(Source: Southern Living)

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 pound (16 oz.) powdered sugar, 3 1/2 to 4 cups
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy (don't use too much powdered sugar--you want it very creamy and supple!). Stir in vanilla.

Another Harvest-time Day Trip

I skipped the market last Saturday to participate in a regional open house/farm tour event. There was one farm in particular that I was quite keen to see. The gal who sells cheese at the market told me about Essex Farms and all of the neat things that they produce there. When she mentioned homemade sausage, I asked if they had a store or somewhere that I could buy some. Ruthie said no, that their products were only available to CSA members. Community Supported Agriculture is a newer model of farming that has grown in popularity in recent years. In this model, consumers interested in agricultural sustainability and safe, organic food partner with a farm by paying a seasonal or annual membership fee, becoming shareholders in the farm's operation and production. More often than not, CSA's are located near big cities so that urban dwellers can have access to farm-fresh produce. They usually pay for the season, and then each week, a big box of whatever's in season is delivered to their doorstep. But Essex Farms (in Essex, NY) does things a little differently. They provide a year-round membership (truly amazing in this part of the world where we have 6-7 months of winter!), and each Friday from 3-7, members come to the farm and take whatever they need/can consume in a week. At Essex Farms, this includes not only produce, but beef, pork, chicken, dairy, maple syrup, flour, honey, herbs, and no doubt, other things that I've forgotten. The membership is not cheap at $2400 annually per adult household member, but the farmers themselves say that they can and do live off of the things that they make or grow at the farm, with the exception of pasta, rice and oatmeal. Also, this dynamic young couple, Mark and Kristin, made a conscious (and conscientious) decision to have a economically diverse membership, so if someone can't afford $2400/year, all they have to do is talk to the farmers, explain their situation, and an arrangement will be made. After all, agricultural sustainability won't work on a grand scale if only rich people can afford to participate!

I could go on and on about all the amazing things that they are doing down there in Essex, but I strongly encourage my local readers to take the beautiful drive to their farm and check it out for yourselves. Meet the farmers and learn about their vision, and as a bonus, you'll probably make off with all the farm-grown goodies that you can eat! Our tour group got cabbage (regular and Napa), Swiss chard, canteloupe, and of course, as many tomatoes as Mark could convince us to haul away!

After the farm tour, we were tired and hungry, so we decided that lunch was in order just up the road in lovely Willsboro, NY. I had heard good things about Turtle Island Cafe, right across from the marina on Lake Champlain, and I was NOT disappointed! Turtle Island Cafe believes in featuring local and seasonal products whenever possible, prepared fresh and quite simply. We ordered several things from their daily specials board, including seafood gumbo (spicy and delicious) and the most amazing Shrimp Stroganoff! Unlike some Stroganoffs, this was not heavy, but light and very flavorful--it may have been a white wine-based sauce? But the best part was the pasta! It was homemade, and I would have happily eaten a plate of those noodles by themselves with just a little parsley, garlic and olive oil. Our meals were also served with an amazing garlic bread (little bits of minced garlic on top--YUM!), and for dessert, we had a scrumptious pecan bread pudding with homemade caramel sauce. As an interesting aside, and to demonstrate how closely connected the local farmers and the restaurant are, I noticed that one of the specials (which we did not try) was a Caprese salad made with fresh mozzarella, basil, and Juniper Hills tomatoes. I asked the waitress where Juniper Hills was, and she said it was a farm near Moriah. I had just met a couple on the farm tour from somewhere near Moriah, and I knew that they sold their produce to local markets and restaurants. In fact, I traded them a jar of my special blueberry-lime jam for the promise of some seeds for a chili pepper that the husband, a retired earth science teacher, was working on dehybridizing. And wouldn't you know, it was the same folks whose tomatoes were being served at the restaurant that we chose for lunch a couple hours after meeting them! Isn't that cool? That's how close to my food I want to be, if at all possible. If I didn't grow it myself, I want to know who did on a personal basis!

After we had refreshed ourselves at the Turtle Island Cafe, we headed to Peru for the annual Applefest at St. Augustine's Church. There was a shocking lack of apple products at the Applefest this year, save for a ton of apple pies, all with soft crusts from being frozen before the event. But I did manage to procure some homemade dill pickles. I know, I know....I have 21 quarts of them at home, but I couldn't resist. Plus, the pickle-maker was so proud, and he and I had a nice chat about our methodologies, which were quite similar. And then, on the recommendation of one of my students, I bought the last loaf of the infamous Applefest beer bread. Well, let me tell you, that stuff was dee-licious, and it made the best toast! So of course, I had to learn to make it for myself. I scoured the internet for a recipe, and the first one I tried yielded a completely inedible loaf. We dubbed it "Bitter Beer Face Bread" because of the revolting aftertaste. I actually had to throw it away it was so awful! And the texture was also not the same as the one I bought at the Appelfest. So it was back to the drawing board. I did some more research and found what seemed to be the definitive recipe on Allrecipes with lots of tester comments recommending an increase in sugar and adding some melted butter on top to make it nearly identical to a product from a company called Tastefully Simple. I guess they must be kind of like Pampered Chef, and their Bountiful Beer Bread is apparently quite popular. But at five dollars for the mix, the product is prohibitively expensive for some. And you still have to add your own beer to it! So why not make your own for a mere fraction of the price? And it couldn't be easier, requiring only three ingredients, and no kneading or rise time! Here's the recipe:

Beer Bread
(Source: http://www.allrecipes.com/)

3 cups self-rising flour (or 3 cups AP flour + 1 tablespoon baking powder, + 1 1/2 teaspoons salt)
3 tablespoons or up to 1/3 cup sugar (I like mine sweeter, but I think I would use 1/4 cup if making it for others)
12 oz. beer (can or bottle, any kind, though I prefer a lighter brew for this)
2-3 tablespoons melted butter, optional

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and sugar. Add beer and continue to mix using a wooden spoon or spatula just until evenly moistened. Batter will be sticky. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan. Top with 2-3 tablespoons melted butter, if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees ) for 50 for 60 minutes. The top will be crunchy, and the insides will be soft. Serve topped with butter or cheese spread.

*This bread would only be enhanced by the addition of herbs or carmelized onions, and especially, lots of cheese!

After the Applefest, we headed over to Rulf's Orchard to take our traditional horse-drawn wagon ride through the apple orchards and buy a half dozen ears (that's 7 ears at Rulf's!) of the last of the sweet corn, some still-warm cinnamon sugar cider donuts, and a ginormous bag of utility Cortlands. So it's gonna be apple desserts for awhile around here! I started with this one, an apple spice cake with caramel drizzle to take for a trivia night treat for my team. The cake was very moist and flavorful, and it looked pretty, even though I cheated and used Smucker's Dulce de Leche Sauce for the topping. Also, I got carried away peeling and chopping apples, and I ended up with four cups of apples instead of three. Rather than wasting them, I just threw the extra in the batter, figuring, what harm? And I think I'd purposefully make the same "mistake" when making this again in the future!
















Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Sauce
(Source: www.marthastewart.com)

Serves 10

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour (I swapped out white whole wheat for this)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 to 4 Granny Smith apples (I used Cortlands and I also peeled them), cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups--I used 4)
1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional--I say they are mandatory!)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

caramel sauce (homemade or good-quality ice cream topping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside.
Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow. Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated. Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack. Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel sauce (recipe follows).

Caramel Sauce

1 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened to desired consistency.

The Last Batch (?)

This might be....I said MIGHT be...the last batch of canning recipes for the season. Then again, you never know. Every time I put my big canning pot away, I end up dragging it out and fillin' 'er back up again! I know I need a 12-step program, but I just can't help myself when I come across something wonderful at a farmers' market. Like when we went to Jean-Talon and I found these sweet little carrots about the size of your finger, I decided that they must be pickled at once. And now that the peppers are in their full glory, I decided to try another recipe that is much talked-about over at the Harvest Forum, a roasted red pepper spread from the Ball Blue Book that I feel should rightly be called Winter Bruschetta. And though Cyd may strangle me if I show up at home with one more tomato, how can I be expected to turn and walk away from all the big boxes of "canners" for five or, at most, seven dollars? So a few pints of good old-fashioned tomato sauce seemed in order, too. However, I am not going gung ho on tomato sauce until one day I can afford the Villaware tomato strainer (the metal, motorized one--not the cheap plastic thingy). After all, when 45 pounds only yields 7 quarts of sauce, you need some help processing those little suckers! Hey, do you think I could I use the meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid? Does anyone know? I should try it, just for shiggles! (Oh dear...Cyd's gonna kill me when I come home with yet another box of Romas! Good thing I left the canner on the stove. Tee hee.) Here is a picture of the pickled carrots and the roasted red pepper spread. I forgot to take a photo of the tomato sauce, but then again, the jars just look...red. And as always, the recipes follow.


Pickled Baby Carrots
(Source: adapted from Small Batch Preserving by Topp & Howard )

3 tablespoons dill seed
12 super chili peppers (whole)
12 cloves garlic, peeled
3 pounds peeled baby carrots (I didn't peel mine, just gave them a good scrub)
6 cups white vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups water
4 teaspoons canning/pickling salt
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed

1. Remove hot jars from canner and add 1/2 tablespoon dill seed, 2 super chilis, and 2 garlic cloves to each jar, then fill each with carrots, leaving 1/2 inch head space.
2. Meanwhile, combine vinegar, sugar, water, salt, red pepper flakes, and mustard seed in saucepan and bring to a boil.
3. Pour hot liquid over carrots to within 1/2 inch of rim. Wipe down the rims, fix the lids and caps on the jars, and process 15 minutes for pint jars according to standard BWB directions.

Makes 6 pints.

Roasted Red Pepper Spread (or Winter Bruschetta)
(Source: Ball Blue Book)

6 pounds, about 8 large red sweet peppers (um, try 12-15! and I swapped out a few of the sweet peppers for some hotter varieties)
1 pound Roma tomatoes
2 large garlic cloves (I used 12, I think!)
1 small white onion
2 tablespoons minced basil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt (I think I used more like a tablespoon!)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Roast peppers under broiler or on a grill at 425 degrees until skin wrinkles and chars in spots. Turn over and roast other side. Remove from heat. Place in a paper bag, secure opening, cool 15 minutes.

Roast tomatoes, onion, and garlic under broiler or grill 10-15 minutes. Place tomatoes in a paper bag. Peel onion and garlic. Finely mince onion and garlic. Measure 1/4 cup and set aside. Peel and seed tomatoes and peppers.

Puree in food processor or blender. Combine in a large pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stir to prevent sticking. Reduce heat, simmer until spread thickens.

Ladle hot spread into hot jars, leave 1/4 inch headspace. (I used half-pints and got six jars from the batch.)

Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Seasoned Tomato Sauce
(Source: another Ball Blue Book classic--of course, I made a quarter of this recipe, as that's all my stock pot will hold!)

45 pounds tomatoes
6 cups chopped onions
12 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons oregano
6 bay leaves
1/4 cup salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
Bottled lemon juice or citric acid

Wash tomatoes; drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters; set aside. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large sauce pot. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, salt, black pepper and sugar. Stir in crushed red peppers, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves. Press mixture through a sieve or food mill; discard seeds and peels. (I used my fingers to remove the gel and seeds but did not bother with the skins. I just pureed it all in the food processor.) Cook pulp in a large, uncovered sauce pot over medium-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce volume by 1/2 for a thick sauce. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid to each quart jar. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid to each pint jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. (I included a sprig of fresh basil in each jar as well.) Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, in a boiling-water canner.

Yields about 14 pints or 7 quarts (I got six pints from quartering this recipe...hmm, must be from leaving the peels on? Well, the fiber is good for you.)

OOH! This has nothing to do with canning, but I just remembered a great tip for my local readers. Then again, maybe this is a nation-wide sale? Anyway, if you need a new blender, RUN, DO NOT WALK, to your local Starbucks! They have the much-ballyhooed Waring Pro blender on sale for 60 bucks (that's half-price)! They're refurbs, but they come in a tasteful brushed chrome finish, unlike the crazy green color that I bought earlier this summer. AND you won't have to pay for shipping as I did! Seriously, you will thank me for this information. And while you're there, try their new Joya del Dia Blend coffee. It's SOOOO good, with undertones of cocoa. Crazy good! Why are you still sitting there? GO, GO, GO!!

Autummer in Montreal

There are not enough words to describe how much I love this time of year, when the harvest is in full swing and the weather is turning crisp. It's no longer summer, but you don't need your coat just yet (a sweater will do) and the leaves have barely begun to turn. It's AUTUMMER, and nether can I express how much I enjoy Quebec at this time of year, from Labor Day to the first snowfall. But I'm jumping ahead as usual. We begin our story back in good old Plattsburgh.

Last weekend, I worked at the farmers' market, which was practically pointless. I didn't make enough money to justify the additional labor added to my already busy week (not to mention, my physical and mental health!). Oh, there were lots of people walking through, mainly due to the Battle of Plattsburgh celebration downtown, but I guess no one wanted to buy anything and then have to haul stuff back to their cars and let it sit in the hot sun all day during the parade and other festivities. And boy, was it ever HOT and humid, reaching 90 degrees and breaking records. I felt very sorry for all of the historical re-enactors in their heavy, layered garb. But since I was already downtown, and I had never fully experienced the Battle of Plattsburgh (and it has really grown over the years), I decided to check it out after the market closed. Now, celebrating war is generally not my cup of tea. Still, I saw most of the parade from my vantage point at the market. Then I drove over to the historical Kent-Delord House for a tour and to walk through the authentic encampment on the grounds which was quite fascinating. They had, among other things, a doctor, an apothecary (who bought a loaf of maple oatmeal bread from me to serve at tea!), seamstresses, and other kinds of vendors from that period (books, food, etc.). I even spotted a few of my teacher friends along the way, dressed up and occupying some of the tents.

After exploring the big event downtown, I made my way over to my friends, Steve and Lee Ann's new house (they've just moved into town from Saranac Lake which is close to an hour and a half from Plattsburgh, so I'll get to see them more often--yeah!). It was their daughter K's sixth birthday, and she is my long-time buddy. Plus, it was a Harry Potter theme, so I wouldn't have missed that! K actually had two cakes--Harry Potter's face made from a mold and that one looked great, but also an amazing Hogwarts Castle cake carved from rice krispy treats with upside-down ice cream cones for the turrets. So cool!


By the time I got home from throwing down with the six-year-olds, it was already 8pm, and my roommate said that she would completely understand if I just wanted to crash on Sunday. But there is no rest for the wicked at this time of year! So we decided, as we so often do, to point the car toward Montreal and see what we might see along the way. Of course, we had to hit the little farmstands along our route through Napierville and Sherrington. One sign in particular caught my eye, advertising autumn strawberries for sale. Isn't that an oxymoron? (But a darn tasty one!)

Once we hit Montreal proper, we did a little clothes and shoe shopping, then decided we needed a snack. I have always wanted to check out the Big Orange right off of the Décarie Expressway (15N) called Orange Julep Gibeau. Cyd has always made fun of me for this, but I wasn't taking no for an answer! We enjoyed a ginormous, frothy and fresh-tasting orange juice and a big plate of deliciously goopy poutine, and we then had the strength to make it to (and through) the Jean-Talon Market, which is my tabernacle, especially at this time of year. By the time we found parking and a working ATM machine, it was very late, so we had to sprint through the market. And we weren't the only ones in a bit of a dither. The frenzy to preserve as much of summer's bounty as possible before the season ends was palpable.

An older woman and her daugher rushed by us with a HUGE box of canning tomatoes that neither could carry alone. Another man was carting two shopping bags full of red peppers, and I asked him what he was going to do with them. He shrugged his shoulders in that Gallic way and said, "Phfff! I have kids! They'll eat through one of these bags in a week." I was quite surprised, but he said he roasted them with olive oil in the oven, and the kids ate them with everything. Hmmm...while our kids are eating Doritos, theirs are eating roasted red peppers? We could learn something from those folks, eh?

We hurried through the market, seeing many wonderful sights and buying many wonderfully fresh veggies (see a few more random pictures below). Then we paused for some gelato at Havre Aux Glaces (espresso and dark chocolate--YUM!) and also bought some Romanian hamburgers and fresh kraut to take home and make on the grill.


Before we departed Little Italy, I had to try and take some pictures of the beautiful gardens that surround Jean-Talon. The apartment buildings have courtyards the size of postage stamps, but the Old World residents manage to do magical things with them.

Now, it should be understood, most Montrealers (and Quebecers at large) take great pains to have a nice yards and lovely flowers, even if they just have a tiny apartment and some windowboxes on the balcony. But I love these old Italians best because they value edible gardens! And since their space is so limited, they grow everything vertically, and anything nailed down has some sort of vine growing on it, be it a tomato or squash or what have you! It's truly amazing to see! (Look closely at the next picture and note the dangling gourds toward the back that someone has grown using a trellis made of tall stakes and some kind of fencing anchored to a staircase...ingenious!)

And another resident (not pictured) even has a small orchard in front of his or her apartment, and it was hard for me to restrain myself from stealing a few ripes pear, which you know I am apt to do from time to time. However, the residences are gated off with big "keep out" and "no parking" signs (after hours, the market attracts an unsavory element), but did I let that stop me? Nooooooo! And one kind lady even invited me in for a tour! Her English was practically non-existent, and my Italian is completely non-existent. So we did our best to communicate by speaking broken French. Here is her husband, taking a break under their grape arbor, and can you see the squash vine attached to the fence behind him? These urban farmers don't waste an inch of space, and I celebrate them for it!

After the market, we picked up a dozen piping hot sesame bagels at St-Viateur's to take home, and then decided to try something different for dinner. We ate at Casa Gaucho on Parc, an Argentinian Grill. We weren't exactly sure what Argentinian cuisine might be, but we suspected that beef would be involved (after all, a gaucho is a cowboy). When we walked in and saw some the cowhides adorning the walls, our suspicions were confirmed. As my friend, June, informed me later, Argentinian food tends to be meat, meat, with a side of meat! Tee hee. The signature dish of Argentina is the mixed grill, but I became squeamish at the inclusion of kidneys, sweetbreads, and blood sausage. So we opted for the short ribs on the advice of our waitress. However, she should have advised us to get the small portion, as the TWO rack of ribs that they served us were Fred Flintstone-sized! Then again, the leftovers made for a tasty lunch the next day. We also sampled one of their delicious empanadas which were likewise stuffed with meat and olives and such. But the best part of the meal was the homemade chimichurri sauce that we ate on everything. Chimichurri is the Spanish-speaking cousin of the persillade that I am so fond of (and both are surely the descendents of pesto). It's basically a combination of parsley, oregano, garlic, olive oil and perhaps vinegar, too, used to marinade meats and as a condiment. I could practically eat the stuff straight myself, I love it so much! There was also a spicy red pepper sauce that we enjoyed, but it was all about the chimichurri on some MEAT! :-) After such a hearty meal, I could barely keep from nodding off at the wheel as we made our way back to the border. But it was a fabulous day, and a very fitting beginning to my favorite season. Get out there and immerse yourselves in some harvest-time activities...you will be richly rewarded for your pains. (And don't worry: the couch will still be there alllllllll winter!)

Wild Grapes (A Tideover Post)

So my excuse this week for not posting is that I haven't really been doing any cooking. They didn't manage to get around to refilling our fuel tank for the stove until last night (Thursday)! UGH! And then--bless his heart--our next-door neighbor, Ken, came over and got the pilot light relit for us with some effort, but it was almost 9pm on a school night by that time. So now I have to try to do all of the baking that I can do for the farmers' market in one evening (tonight)! AAARRRRGH! No sleep rule firmly in effect. :-(

In the meantime, I will share another excellent recipe for seasonal preserves with you. Ken and I tried to go berry picking the weekend before last, and though we were disappointed to have missed the blackberries, we were delighted to discover lots of wild grapes! I forgot to take a picture of them, but here's what they look like:

It is is VERY important to be able to accurately identify wild plants so that you don't end up poisoning yourself or the people you love and/or share your preserves with! There is a plant that looks very similar to wild grapes that is toxic, and it's called Moonseed (pretty name for such a mean plant!). The berries look similar, but the leaves are different. True wild grapes have leaves that are similar in shape to maple leaves, but with pointy(-er) edges. Wild grapes are insidious vines that grow over other bushes and trees (threatening to choke out other plants). You may even have them in your back yard, and I also saw some right in downtown Plattsburgh the other day, growing over a fence (next-door to the Koffee Kat on Margaret Street, for my local readers). The seeds in wild grapes are oval-shaped, whereas they are crescent-shaped in the moonseed berries--hence, the lovely name. So just be careful out there!

Wild grapes are much smaller than table grapes and very tart, but they make a delicious jelly. (I wouldn't recommend them for jam as they are too seedy.) I found this recipe online, and the jelly I made from it was quite wonderful.

Wild Grape Jelly
(Source: Recipezaar)

3 lbs. wild grapes, stemmed
3 cups water
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 (85 ml) package liquid pectin (I used Certo)

In large saucepan, crush grapes with potato masher; pour in water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until fruit is very soft. Transfer to jelly bag or colander lined with a double thickness of fine cheesecloth and let drip overnight. (I used a flour sack towel tied to a curtain rod as I did when I made the red currant jelly earlier this summer.)

The next day, measure the juice (you should have 3 cups/750 ml) into a large heavy saucepan; stir in sugar. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to full boil and boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam with a metal spoon.

Pour into sterilized jars, leaving 1/8 inch headspace. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

My Annual Oven Tribulations (Revisited)

Long-time readers of this blog may remember my months-long ordeal with a faulty oven and the subsequent tortures of trying to have it replaced with one that worked, all culminating in an emergency call to the local fire department. Well, nothing that dramatic has transpired since, thank goodness, but I did have a setback in my farmers' market preparations this week. Halfway through baking two more loaves of the zucchini-carrot bread, I ran out of propane for the range! And right before the long weekend, naturally! So I had to run the half-baked loaves over to the neighbor's house to use his oven (bless his heart!). After that, I baked two pans of brownies. I was going to give up on the rest of the things that I wanted to make for the market, but the city court judge in town comes by my booth every week to buy a blueberry pie for her husband and brownies for herself. And since I wasn't going to be able to do any pies this week, I figured she'd throw me in the clink if I didn't at least have the brownies for her!

But this did not solve the problem of how to make the pepper jelly that is my bestseller week in and week out at the market. And I'll be danged if I was gonna haul all the canning stuff over to the neighbor's! So I decided to try cooking the jam on the infamous hot plate that I got for nine bucks at the Wal-Mart on the last go-round with the oven. It did fine cooking the jam, but I didn't think it would support the weight of the canner once it was filled with water and the jars. So I thought I might try using the sideburner on my old BBQ grill. And guess what? It worked like a charm! It seemed to come to the boil faster, and I also didn't have to heat up the kitchen with a big bubbling cauldron. I should have thought of this long ago! And in another burst of creativity (desperation?), I used the simmering canner as a double boiler to melt the chocolate for the brownies, propping the metal bowl on top of the steaming kettle full of jars while they were being sterilized.
Am I not extremely clever and resourceful?? Tee hee. Where there's a will, the determined canner will find a way! In fact, I just made a third batch of the wonderful Annie's Salsa using the hot-plate-and-grill canning method yesterday (bringing my seasonal total to 22 pints, for those keeping count). I may never go back to using the stove, even after we get a propane fill-up! ;-)

Canning Queen (Young and Sweet, Only 39)

I'm sorry my posts have been few and far between lately. You may choose from one of three excuses:
1) School is back in full swing, and I'm crazed.
2) I am sick as a dog with the allergies and hay fever (damn ragweed!).
3) Every "free" moment I have is spent with another canning project--they never end at this time of year! And I'd like to share a few winners with you in the thick of this harvest season.


Pictured above are three faaaabulous preserving recipes that, once again, I gleaned from the wonderful GardenWeb Harvest Forum. To the left is the famous Annie's Salsa. One batch made eight pints, and man, is it good! This recipe has taken on mythic fame on the Harvest Forum, and I secretly thought to myself, how good can it really be? Well, I've already decided to make a second batch this week, if that tells you anything! It's a very basic salsa with no bells and whistles, but it's just delicious. There is another version of the same recipe where you swap out a quart of peaches for one quart of the tomatoes to make a "Peach Twist Salsa." I might try that, too, before all of the local peaches are gone.

Pictured in the center is a refrigerator pickle (no processing required) called "Tomates-Cerises a L'Aigre-Doux." That's pickled cherry tomatoes to you, but isn't it much nicer in French? If you find yourself inundated with far too many cherry tomatoes, this is a great recipe to preserve them, plus, the jars look so pretty! Just make sure to use very firm tomatoes (preferably, of different shapes and colors), and though the recipe didn't call for it, I threw in a few small onions, a few cloves of garlic, and a tiny pepper or two for good measure. Furthermore, I didn't have any fresh tarragon, so I used marjoram and thyme in mine, but you can whatever herb you have on hand and/or prefer. You can also choose from many different vinegars. I used mostly cider vinegar but with some tarragon white wine vinegar as well. Mix it up and have fun with it!

Lastly, because I was recently complaining about drowning in zucchini, a lovely gal from the Harvest Forum left a comment on my blog recommending that I try a recipe for Roasted Corn and Zucchini Salsa (pictured on the right), so I made a triple batch and got seven pints for my efforts, which I must tell you were substantial. The cutting and chopping took roughly a year and half (Annie's Salsa did, too, for that matter), but the labor was darn well worth it. The salsa is very tasty, especially if you love things limey, and I surely do (starting with my first crush as a child on Jack Wild, "Jimmy" from H.R. Pufnstuf, but that's another Oprah show)!

Here are the recipes for your canning enjoyment:

Annie's Salsa
(Source: GardenWeb's Harvest Forum)

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained (I didn't bother peeling mine, but I did scoop out the gel and seeds from each tomato before chopping)
2 1/2 cups onion, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper (I used some sort of large, mild chilies for this--the lady at the farmers' market that I bought them from didn't know their proper name)
3 – 5 chopped jalapeños (I used a mix of jalapeños, serranos, cayennes, and super chilies to make it a little hotter and give it a a slightly more complex flavor)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/8 cup canning salt (kosher will work, too, but you might need a little more of it--taste to be sure)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (this is optional if you don't like cilantro)
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar for water bath canning or 1/3 cup vinegar for a pressure canner (I used white vinegar, but you could use cider or red wine vinegar for extra sweetness)
16 ounces tomato sauce
16 ounces tomato paste

Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process at 10 lbs of pressure for 30 minutes for pints. Or in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Makes 6 pints (I got 7!)

Pickled Cherry Tomatoes (Tomates-Cerises a l'Aigre-Doux)
(Source: GardenWeb's Harvest Forum)
Makes 1 quart

1 quart water
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 pound FIRM (almost under-ripe) cherry tomatoes (round and plum varieties of all colors can be used)
2 cups cider vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar or more (to taste)
2 sprigs fresh summer savory or tarragon (or fresh herb of your choosing)
12 black peppercorns

In a large bowl, combine the water and salt, and stir to dissolve the salt. Prick the bottom of each tomato once with a clean needle. Place the tomatoes in the salt brine, cover and marinate for 24 hours at room temperature.

In a large saucepan, combine the vinegar and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring just to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and cool thoroughly.

Remove the tomatoes from the salt brine and drain thoroughly. Discard the salt brine.
Carefully place the tomatoes in a 1-quart canning jar. Arrange the herbs and peppercorns around the edges of the jar. Pour the vinegar-sugar mixture over the tomatoes. Secure the jar tightly. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3 weeks before tasting.

Serve as a pickle, or as an appetizer, with toothpicks to spear.

Roasted Corn and Zucchini Salsa
(adapted from Preserving the Harvest)

Note: The ingredients below only make two pints, so you may wish to double or triple the recipe.

3 medium zucchini, cleaned, trimmed, and diced (I used shredded zucchini)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ears yellow corn, husked, silks removed
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 large tomatoes, seeded & chopped
1 cup fresh lime juice (I used bottled as I was tripling the recipe and couldn't be bothered to squeeze enough limes to make three cups!)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 jalapeño chilies, seeded & minced (again, I used a mix of hot peppers)
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Toss the zucchini with the salt and "sweat" for 1/2 hour in a non-reactive colander. Rinse and dry.

Coat corn with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and roast on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes (until lightly browned). Cool & cut off kernels from cobs. (I cut the kernels off before roasting; it was easier.)

Combine the zucchini, corn, remaining oil, tomatoes, lime juice, vinegar, jalapeños, scallions, garlic, cumin and pepper in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1 inch head space, and cap and seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

FOLLOW-UP: Upon opening and sampling this salsa, I must confess that I found it EXTREMELY limey and too acidic-tasting overall for my tastes. However, I came up with a quick fix. Now when I open a (pint) jar, I empty it into a mesh strainer to drain off some of the liquid, then I combine the corn and zucchini salsa with one 15-oz. can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes before serving. Then it's perfectly yummy.

A fond farewell to the blueberries....

I guess the blueberries have been going strong for more than a month now, but still, I am sad to see the end of the run! I wanted to create a big blueberry finale, so I bought what will probably be my last pint for the season while at Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook, NY the weekend before last. Cyd had been bugging me to try to replicate the fantastic blueberry torte that she had from Rainbow Sweets last year in Marshfield, VT. I think the cake turned out well enough, though not exactly like the prototype, I'll admit.

The torte at Rainbow Sweets, as best as we both could remember and/or tell from the picture, was one split cake layer filled and topped with pastry cream, with whipped cream on top of that, and then TONS of fresh, juicy blueberries to garnish. So I started with a basic (white) genoise from baking god, Nick Malgieri's definitive How to Bake. It came together easily and baked up beautifully; it was fluffy and tall, with an even texture and perfect golden brown color. However, it was nearly twice as high and airier than the cake at Rainbow Sweets. I was also worried that it was going to be on the dry side, as the cake had no fats in it, other than additional egg yolks. So I decided since it was a sponge cake after all (sing it: "It's a sponge cake after all, it's a sponge cake after all, it's a sponge cake after all, it's a spongy, spongy cake!") that I might do well to soak it with a simple syrup before layering on the pastry cream. And even though the original cake had only vanilla flavors (which Cyd prefers, truth be told), that a lemony syrup might be just the ticket. I LOVE lemon and blueberry together--they're MFEO (movie reference anyone?). So that's what I did, but I still found it a bit too dry for my liking, though I should tell you that it definitely improved with an additional day of rest in the fridge. Still, next time, I will try a different cake recipe, something denser with butter in it, I feel, and then perhaps no need for the simple syrup. I must consult with some of my cake-baking mentors. (Keith, you reading this? Jen, my Bakerina, any ideas?) Or maybe I'll ask one of my colleagues at school in the Financial Aid Office who makes professional-level cakes on the side. (Keri, you there? Holla!)

I also used Malgieri's pastry cream recipe which was very good. The only change I made was to add an additional teaspoon of vanilla bean paste to fleck the custard with vanilla seeds...so pretty! Then, I frosted the whole shebang with whipped cream (mind you, Mr. Rainbow Sweets only put cream on the top and left the sides of his cake bare--ppphhhffft!). Now I knew we couldn't eat the whole big cake by ourselves, so I gave nearly half of it away to my trivia team, as I am wont to do. But I knew it was still going to sit in the fridge for a few days, so I chose a recipe for a stabilized whipped cream that would also work better for piping. Most stabilized whipped creams use plain gelatin to give them more body, but the recipe I used has start by cooking some of the cream with corn starch until thickened, and then whipping that mixture with the rest of the cream. Worked great, tasted great, and it is a technique I anticipate using often in the future. Finally, I dumped most of the berries on top of the cake for dramatic effect and a few around the bottom to give it a finished look, and that was it. When I make this again, I think I would prefer to put some of the berries in the middle layer of the cake, but I was trying to replicate the Rainbow Sweets version, so I put them all on top this time. Of course, you can do as you like if you choose to attempt this confection. Here's what the cake looked like when cut, and as always, the recipes follow. If you still have access to blueberries where you live, get 'em before they're gone for good (well, at least until next year...sniff)!

Plain or White Genoise
(Source: Nick Malgieri's How to Bake)

1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup corn starch
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper.

Combine the flour and cornstarch in a bowl. Sift once and set aside. Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to the simmer. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and yolks. Stream in the sugar and then the salt. Place over the simmering water and heat, whisking frequently, until just lukewarm. Take off the heat and whip by machine on high speed until it triples in volume and forms a ribbon when the whip is lifted. (Beat in the vanilla if using.)

Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the whipped eggs and fold in gently. Repeat twice more. Gently pour into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake about 25 minutes or until firm and golden. Using a knife to loosen the sides, unmold immediately onto a rack and re-invert so it's right-side up. Peel the paper off when cool. Then for the blueberry torte, use a large serrated knife to split the cake into two even layers.

Very Lemony Simple Syrup

6 tablespoons granulated sugar
juice of 3 lemons
6 tablespoons water

Bring the ingredients to a boil for two minutes (I throw the rinds in there, too, for good measure), stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and becomes syrupy. Remove from heat, fish out the lemon rinds and discard, and then cool the syrup. Using a pastry brush, liberally soak both cut halves of the cake with every last bit of the syrup.

Pastry Cream
(Source: Nick Malgiere's How to Bake)

2 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar, divided
6 egg yolks
3 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I added one more teaspoon of vanilla bean paste--never too much vanilla!)

1. In a large saucepan. bring milk and half of the sugar to a boil over medium heat. In a mixing bowl whisk egg yolks, salt, and remaining sugar; sift in flour and whisk to combine.
2. Slowly whisk half of the boiling milk mixture into the egg mixture. Return remaining milk to a boil and slowly whisk in milk in egg and milk mixture. Continue to whisk, especially in the corners of the saucepan, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Once mixture boils, whisk 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat.
3. Whisk in vanilla extract. Scrape pastry cream into a shallow glass or stainless steel bowl, press plastic wrap directly against the surface, and chill at least 1 hour.

Use a little more than half of the pastry cream between the two layers of cake, and the rest on top. Smooth evenly with a spatula.

Stabilized Whipped Cream
(Source: Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible)

1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups cream (I used heavy cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Chill mixing bowl and beaters for at least 15 minutes, preferably in the freezer. In a small sauce pan, combine the powdered sugar and corn starch and gradually stir in 1/2 cup of the cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and simmer for just a few seconds (until the liquid is thickened like pudding). Scrape mixture into a small bowl and cool to room temperature. Add the vanilla.*

Beat the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream just until traces of the beater marks begin to show distinctly. Add the cooled corn starch mixture and continue beating until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.

**Make sure the cornstarch mixture is cooled completely ( to room temp.) before adding to the whipped cream.

Use the stabilized whipped cream to frost the top (carefully over the pastry cream!) and sides of the cake, then garnish as you please with an entire lovely pint of the summer's best blueberries. Chill thoroughly before slicing and serving.

Lizzie and Emeril: Last Day of Va-Cay in Fall River

Ok, ok, last post on our trip, and then I'll stop torturing you. (It's starting to feel like when you're forced to watch other people's vacation slide shows--although, I always liked those, even if I didn't know the people.)

The last day of our mini-break was Sunday, and we spent most of that poking around nearby Fall River, MA, the hometown of both Lizzie Borden and Emeril Lagasse. Fall River is a lovely town taking its name from the Quequechan River that flows through the city, a Native American name meaning "falling water." OF COURSE, we could not pass up the opportunity to visit one of the most haunted sites in the country. We toured the Lizzie Borden House, but I'm sad to report that neither one of us had any other-worldly encounters there. Boo hiss. Maybe one day we'll return and be brave enough to stay overnight, as it is now a working B&B. However, in the meantime, I did steal some pears (just the drops!) from the pear tree out front. I thought I might make some Lizzie Borden pear butter to commemorate our visit. Tee hee. According to police transcripts, Lizzie said she went to the barn to find some sinkers for a upcoming fishing trip and gathered some pears to eat along her way. When she got back to the house 20 minutes later, she "discovered" the bloody body of her father, having been whacked with an axe while he napped on the couch (though just eleven times, not 41!). After we left the Lizzie Borden House, we checked out Lizzie's home that she bought after she was acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother, called Maplecroft. And naturally, our Lizzie Borden tour would not be complete without a trip out to Oak Grove Cemetery to see Lizzie's final resting place.

Before we left Fall River, we had to pay homage to the city's rich ethnic heritage and have an authentic Portuguese lunch at a great restaurant called Terra Nostra. We began with Portuguese soup with chorizo, kale, cabbage and white beans, and the most delicious codfish cakes. They were not unlike salmon croquettes, but lighter in texture, with a very crispy exterior, and served with a spicy, vinegar-based raw sauce for dipping. Cyd couldn't resist their crispy, rotisserie chicken for her entree, but I think I had her beat hands-down with a traditional dish of cubed pork and potatoes with steamed little neck clams, all bathed in a rich, wine-and-tomato sauce. Divine! Our whole meal, with appetizers and entrees, was only $32, and we brought half of the generous portions home as leftovers! If you're ever in Fall River, MA, I highly recommend a meal at Terra Nostra.

We headed home about 2pm, as I was on a schedule. I wanted to make it back to Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook, NY to buy more frozen pie cherries before they closed at six. Even though we got stuck in some awful traffic around Springfield (mostly NYC folks heading back from Cape Cod or wherever they were for the weekend), we made it just in the nick of time, and managed to purchase six buckets--36 pounds of cherries!--to haul back home to the freezer. (Two were for my cherry-loving pal, June, mind you.) We decided to make one final stop before getting back on I-90, a Greek pizza joint (don't ask) called Four Brothers Pizza in Valatie. We enjoyed a "small" antipasto salad with their homemade Greek dressing (between the two of us, we couldn't finish it), and a very good Brothers Combo pizza with several different meats and veggies. The crust was cracker-crisp, and it was clear that the brothers used quality ingredients at their restaurant--from the garden-ripe tomatoes in the salad to the generous amount of ooey-gooey mozzarella cheese on the pizza. We ordered a medium pizza, and still brought some of that home with us. So that's another good restaurant recommendation if you find yourself in the Albany area/Hudson region.

We arrived home late Sunday to some hyperactive dogs that were VERY glad to see us. As soon as we got them fed and settled down and the car emptied of all our bounty, we hit the hay. Poor Cyd had to be a work bright and early, but mercifully, I still have a few days to recover from our whirlwind, whole-week-in-a-weekend vacation before I'm due back at work on Friday. But I'm back at the market on Saturday, so I have some work to do at home, too. Sheesh! Vacations are never long enough, are they? But this was definitely a fun and memorable one. I hope you enjoyed the lengthy travelogue. (We will soon return to our regular programming of cooking and recipes, I promise!)

Summer Va-cay, Part Deux

After the concert in Lowell, we did another late-night drive down to Seekonk, Massachusetts on the South Coast, which is basically a suburb of Providence, RI. This was intended to get us closer to Cape Cod, our destination for Saturday. We got up at the crack and took planes, trains, and automobiles to one of our very favorite places in the world, Martha's Vineyard. When we got off the ferry at Vineyard Haven, we took another bus down to West Tisbury to attend the annual Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Fair. One of my customers at the Farmers' Market told me about this old-fashioned, family-oriented event on the Island, and she did not lead me astray. The weather was just glorious, and the fair really had a homey, yesteryear feel. When we first got there, we toured all of the exhibits--gardening, cooking, sewing, crafts, etc. They were AMAZING! Just look at some of the cooking entries....



I just thought the displays were so pretty, especially the display cases for the baked goods. And can you believe the number of entries? These people take their cooking and gardening seriously! (My kind of folks!) Each contest was broken into junior and adult categories, and there were tons of entries in both divisions. My favorite had to be the butter and eggs competition. Who does that anymore?? After checking out all of the exhibits, we had to stop for a bite of lunch, and there were all kinds of cuisines available. We started with some Jamaican food, including beef patties and spicy jerk chicken. Then we waited in the looooong line at the BBQ smokehouse booth for some pork ribs (and I have the sunburn on my shoulders to show for it!). The ribs were not quite as tender as I had hoped, but the sauce was lip-smacking good. In fact, when we went over to check out the animal exhibits after lunch, a donkey smelled the residue on my hands and bit me! Tee hee.

Speaking of the livestock exhibits, just LOOK at this beautiful, restored barn. Too often at fairs, animal exhibits are dark and airless and crowded and dingy, but not at the MV Agricultural Fair! Everything was so open and airy and clean! It was a pleasure to spend time in there, visiting the critters. Our last stop at the fair was the pig races (they race around a teeny ring for Oreos at the finish line...so cute!). But I had a hard time focusing on the pigs because I became convinced that I was standing right next to some Kennedys! I tried to take a few surreptitious pictures. Here's the best one, and it's kind of crappy and backlit (but I didn't want to be hauled away by security). Once I got home and did some Googling, I am sure I was hanging with Eunice Kennedy Shriver (JFK and RFK's sister and Maria's mom, in the pink hat on the right), her husband, Sargent Shriver (older man, blue hat), her son, Mark Shriver, a representative in Maryland (behind, far left, blue t-shirt)....and another Kennedy or Shriver yet to be identified (the one with the little boy on his shoulders). Please, readers, feel free to scrutinize the picture and give me your input. I'm also convinced the man in the red shirt with the backwards cap is someone famous, too, but I can't quite place him. Actor? Musician? He's somebody!

And I'm not done with my celebrity sightings, yet! After the fair, we made our way to the cozy fishing village of Menemsha. Unlike Vineyard Haven, Edgartown, and Oak Bluffs, Menemsha is off the beaten path and less touristy. As our bus driver put it, "The only thing to do in Menemsha is to get some seafood for dinner and watch the sunset on the beach." And that was just what we intended to do! We staked out our place on the beach, and then I walked up to the fish market to obtain lobster rolls and the best homemade clam chowder for our dinner, when WHOM should I encounter with film crew in tow? Wait, I took another stalker picture to prove my brush with fame. That's right! It was Giada De Laurentiis, no doubt filming one of her weekend getaway shows. And what was she filming, you ask? Why, getting dinner at Larsen's Fish Market and watching the sunset on the beach, of course! It really is THE thing to do. I couldn't understand why police and fire trucks were standing by, but by about 7pm, I got it. The beach was just THRONGED with sunset-watchers, and the officials were there to direct traffic and keep the crowds under control. It's a whole big scene ranging from a large party enjoying beer and a full multi-course cookout to a singleton with a nice glass of wine, a fuzzy pal, and a good book. It's got my vote for the nicest thing you can do on a trip to the Vineyard.

After the sunset, we headed back to Vineyard Haven. We had a little time before we caught the ferry back to Woods Hole, so we did a little shopping, mainly for an MV t-shirt for my faithful neighbor/dogsitter, some fudge at Murdick's (originally of Mackinac Island, MI fame) for Cyd to take home, and some ice cream at Mad Martha's, an Island fixture, for both of us. What a fabulous day on our favorite Island!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation (2007)

You may have inferred from my brief post yesterday that I am home from our mini-break weekend to Massachusetts. But it's taken me awhile to sort through and edit the photos so that I was ready to share. I have so many pics, I think I'll break this into separate posts by days.

We left Thursday night and did a crazy late-night drive to Leominster, MA, where I was originally going to stay for the big dog show. It was about a five-hour drive, and we just CRASHED when we got to the motel. No exciting culinary tales to tell...just fast food, I'm afraid. We slept in the next morning and treated ourselves to a big Denny's pancake breakfast/brunch. (I know that doesn't sound too exciting, but we don't have a Denny's in Plattsburgh.) From there, we headed out to tour around Concord and Lexington for part of the day. We were originally looking for the Old North Bridge and the Old Manse (as in "Moss on the Old Manse" by Hawthorne), but we overshot it a bit and ended up on this lovely, windy country road running from Concord to Carlisle. And lucky we did, as we found this WONDERFUL organic farm called Hutchins Farm. They had the most amazing produce at the farmstand, and we bought tomatoes (Sungolds), melons (Butterscotch, Charentais, and canteloupe), and the most incredible loaf of chewy, holey, garlic foccacia. Of course, between the ripe melons and the pungent bread, we had quite a fragrant car for the rest of our road trip, but it was worth it!

After we backtracked to the Old North Bridge and the Old Manse, we headed up to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to see the graves of Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau who are all buried in the same part of the graveyard. They were, apparently, all contemporaries in the local literary society in Concord in their day.



By the way, are you creeped out by the thought of visiting cemeteries for a vacation activity? Maybe I'm twisted, but I love it! When I was in Savannah, Georgia, I took the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tour, and I enjoyed visiting the beautiful Bonaventure Cemetery where many of the key characters, including Jim Williams and Johnny Mercer, are buried. Likewise, when Cyd and I were in New Orleans several years ago, we also toured Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in the Garden District, the infamous cemetery from Ann Rice's vampire books. Fun! But back to this trip...

After Concord, we were headed to Salem, but we got caught in some HORRENDOUS traffic, and didn't get to spend much time there. (We are already planning a return visit at Halloween!) But I did have enough time to buy an awesome souvenir, though, a metal lunchbox with Glinda and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) on either side asking, "Are you a good witch...or a bad witch?" As a rabid "Wizard of Oz" and "Wicked" fan, this was perfect for me, and don't think I won't be taking my sandwiches to school in it! ;-)

After that very brief shopping stint, we had to head back to Lowell where we had concert tickets that night in Boarding House Park. But we stopped at my beloved Trader Joe's along the way and filled our cooler with goodies to take with us. We chose some champagne grapes, a tortellini salad with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes, teriyaki chicken with soy-ginger-garlic noodles, some runny, double-creme Brie and a delicious smoked Jack to go with our foccacia and Sungold tomatoes. We washed it all down with a tangy Italian lemon soda and some sparkling apple cider. For a sweet finish, we had dark chocolate pretzel bites that tasted like they had a hint of cinnamon as well. The food was delicious, the concert was great, the weather held out and was beautiful, and most anywhere you sat in the park had a great view. We chose to sit in the back and put our feet up on the cement railing, listen to the music, and enjoy our picnic. Ah, that's the life, (and this was just the first day)!

Check me out!

It has recently come to my attention that I've been blogging here for a year and a half, and yet I've never shown you what I look like! I apologize. I have been remiss. Here's a shot of me on the move, strutting around town when I'm not at home, stuck in the kitchen.

One more muffin before I go...

Well, I’ve done it! I’ve thrown caution to the wind, packed my bags, and we are heading out of town for a few days of proper vacationing. I’ve worked very hard this summer, and I think I deserve at least one long weekend of respite! Actually, it was supposed to be a big dog show weekend, but then not one other dog of my breed in my region decided to show up (boo hiss….that’s 86 bucks down the proverbial crapper). So I will leave the critters with a sitter and head to Massachusetts purely for recreational purposes, just wait and see if I don’t! I’m not exactly sure what kind of trouble Cyd and I will get ourselves into, but I’m definitely feeling some beach time coming on—perhaps on our favorite Martha’s Vineyard? Someone at the farmers’ market told me about one of the oldest and most wonderful agricultural fairs in the country in West Tisbury on the Vineyard, and that’s happening there this weekend as well. Whatever we do, it’ll be nice just to get away from chores and responsibilities for a few days. That and getting to go to Trader Joe’s, of course! ;-)

But I couldn’t leave town without one last baking project. A nice woman at Cyd’s work gave us a quart of wild blueberries about a month ago from her own backyard, and all she asked in return was a homemade blueberry muffin. I have several good recipes, but there was one recently posted on one of my favorite blogs, Culinary in the Country, for a blueberry crumb coffee cake from Dorie Greenspan’s baking book that I thought I might adapt into muffins. Well, the muffins turned out delicious, very lemony with lots of zest massaged into the sugar to release all of the essential oils, and both tangy and tender from the addition of buttermilk. But the streusel didn’t stay lumped up on top of the muffins as I expected it to. It kind of melted on top of each one, and came out more chewy/crispy than soft and crumbly. And yet, that was what everyone at Cyd’s work commented on and loved about them! See? There are no mistakes in the kitchen, only new recipes. Tee hee. But if you want the streusel to remain unadulterated in its traditional form, just bake it in an eight-inch square pan as the recipe originally dictates.



Blueberry Crumb Cake (Muffins)
(Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan)

For the topping:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the cake:
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (instead of AP and WW flour, I used all white whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
2/3 cup granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups blueberries - fresh or frozen (if frozen,do not thaw)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, add butter, sugars, flour and salt. Pulse the ingredients together just until the mixture forms moist clumps. Scoop the mixture into a small bowl and stir in walnuts. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until needed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a large mixing bowl (I did this in my stand mixer), add granulated sugar and zest - rub the two together with your fingers until the lemon zest is evenly distributed and the sugar takes on a light yellow hue. Add butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, toss together the blueberries and 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour. Add the blueberries into the batter and fold just until combined. Scoop the mixture into an 8" baking dish* coated with nonstick spray. Remove the crumb mixture from the refrigerator and break it into irregular pieces all over the top of the batter - lightly press them down to adhere.

Bake until the crumbs on top are golden and a toothpick placed in the center comes out mostly clean - about 55 to 65 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

*This recipe makes 24 regular-sized muffins if you prefer. Bake them for 25-30 minutes.