Elegant Bay

The bay tree or Laurus nobilis has been around since biblical times and symbolized wealth and success. King David was so enamoured of the bay tree and its beauty that he used the wood for paneling the rooms of his home. Bay leaves are often depicted in the emblems and motifs which decorated the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Greeks and Roman made wreaths from bay leaves which they used to crown the winners of tournaments and victorious athletes in the Olympic Games. The words ‘baccalaureate’ and Poet laureate are derived from the bay laurel. It is reported that the Emperor Nero had his apartments perfumed with oil of bay during epidemics as it was thought to guard against infection. Indeed, the essential oil pressed form the berries does have fungicidal and bacteriological properties.

So next time you see a recipe calling for a bay leaf remember its illustrious history. The leaves are still woven into wreaths but are more likely to be found on the wall of a French kitchen than the cook’s head!

Dried bay leaves can be used to flavor soups and stews, vegetables, spaghetti sauce  and poultry dishes and a bay leaf is, of course, a prime component of the bouquet garni. A fresh leaf is best for this purpose but slightly more bitter than the dried variety. If you can’t smell it it’s no use! For those who are avoiding salt, a bay leaf or two added to a dish makes a fine substitute.

The best bay leaves come from Turkey where they grow in abundance around Izmir and these are mostly what you will find in the supermarket. However, the best way to get bay leaves is to grow your own plant. If you do decide to buy a plant make sure you get Laurel nobilis. Sometimes this plant is confused with the Mountain Laurel, the California Bay Laurel or Daphne.

Bays are best grown in a pot in our climate as they are not winter hardy in PA. Try and buy a plant about 6 inches high and put it in a pot about 8 inches in diameter with a good quality potting soil to allow it to develop strong root stock. It can be kept outside from May to the beginning of October after which it can be treated as a house plant. Do not overwater.

fresh from the garden: red cranberry spuds and herbs

Funny thing – spuds planted by Sonja are ready for digging about the time that herbs are ready for picking!

I had the pleasure of putting these two delicacies together in this sliced baked potato recipe thanks to my Dad!

The recipe called for one medium sized potato per person. These red cranberry spuds were planted the last week in April, in spite of the rains at that time and they were dug just a few days ago!

I learned an interesting kitchen tip from this recipe … wanting to slice the spuds thinly, without slicing entirely through them, the tip is, as you cut, to lay a spoon alongside each potato and cut only as deeply as the width of a spoon handle will allow! When I read this instruction I thought, “W-H-A-T?!&!*?” so I hope the photo helps bring home this trusty tidbit (I can see other applications when, for example, slicing a French loaf for garlic bread!)

ah-ha! here I'm using a spoon to slice partially thru a spud

Once sliced, I splayed the slices slightly and then drizzled 1T melted butter per potato over the top and sprinkled the smallest pinch of salt before adding herbs.

Herbs? I purposely chose parsley, chives and basil as they’re commonly available. I diced them finely but not too finely and sprinkled these on the potatoes before putting them in the oven at 425F (218C) for about 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes I took the pan out of the oven and sprinkled the spuds with a tiny bit of grated cheese … about 1.5T per potato. I used a blend of a hard cheese and feta. Feta has what some consider to be a disadvantage – it doesn’t melt at 425F … on the other hand – I like the contrast of a melted and unmelted cheese topping.

I returned the potatoes to the oven for another 10 minutes or thereabouts and served them alongside fish and a kale stir-fry!

I liked the potato recipe not just because my Dad shares so few recipes and this is one worth repeating but also because it’s a different and tasty way to serve a potato … and hey – potatoes and herbs? Who could go wrong!

from pan-top to table in 60 easy minutes!

 Another likeable side to this recipe is that it’s easy to vary herbs depending upon what’s in the garden! … for a more Mediterranean flair, try oregano, marjoram and basil … or cilantro and lemon thyme; fennel and mint might be nice or tarragon and chives … and let’s not forget garlic! So do try this recipe and I’d be curious to hear of explorations and variations! Thanks Dad!

Preparation time: 10 minutes (if you don’t get lost in a garden during picking!)

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Blood Orange Butterscotch Duck with Sweet Potato Puree

Mosiac Cafe is considering doing more Chef’s Table dinners approximately every 6 weeks, so stay tuned or visit their Facebook page and let them know you’re interested in attending a future dinner. The cost for this first dinner was $30 per person, you can bring your own wine, Mosiac provides water, soda, tea and coffee.

Mosiac Cafe, 237 Seneca Street, Oil City (814) 676-4773 Mon. – Tues. 11am – 4pm, Wed. 11am – 7pm, Thurs. – Sat. 11am – 8pm

The average honey bee lives for only six weeks but in that time probably travels up to 13,000 miles going back and forth over a two mile radius. All this work produces about one-tenth of a pound of honey!

Honey has been known for centuries as a powerful antiseptic and antibacterial and has been used in hospitals to heal serious wounds. Honey is also an antioxidant and can help scoop up those free radicals we hear so much about.

As a sweetener honey is lower in calories than sugar and is far better for your body as it contains many essential vitamins and minerals. It is, of course, delicious, simply spread on toast or incorporated into cake and bread recipes. My personal favourite, ever since I lived briefly in Greece, is honey drizzled over fresh full fat yoghourt (In my opinion low fat yoghourt bears no resemblance to the real thing and should be banished from the face of the earth!) topped off with a few nuts and eaten with newly baked bread. Heaven!

When choosing which honey to buy get that which is produced locally without resort to chemicals and darker in colour, say, buckwheat. The properties of darker honeys are greater than lighter varities. Have a sweet day!

Mmmmmmm

Pink champagne and cupcakes — what a great idea! I’m thinking I might steal this idea for a future Girls Night Out. If you haven’t been to the Pink Champagne Cupcakery in downtown Franklin you must put it on your list of things to try, you won’t be disappointed. The original flavors are baked on-site and always moist and delicious!

I think I’ve been there about a dozen times and I’ve tried a least a dozen flavors, chocolate chipotle, mango habanero, orange creamsicle, rose pistachio, apple cinnamon, lavender, oreo cookie… you get the idea. The flavors are endless and can be found daily on their facebook page. The charming decor and friendly faces make for a comfortable place to enjoy your cupcake and maybe a steamer, green tea or coffee. Stop in and try a cupcake, mini or biggie, I dare you to eat just one! PCC is  located at 1252 Liberty Street and open Monday thru Saturday 8am – 5:30pm.

John and I went last Friday with our dear friends Leslie and Sonja for their soon to be famous Friday Fish Fry. The fish is hand battered and made to order, not that frozen stuff.  I particularly liked their coleslaw, wonderful, housemade with green and purple cabbage and if I’m not mistaken a little sour cream in it, not heavily laden with mayo or miracle whip. I had a double order.

Another reason to go on Friday nights is the open mike night. When we were there we were serenaded by a couple of guys, one playing guitar and one playing violin. AND even better…. it’s a BYO… bring your own wine or beer. Nice!!! Also, they make homemade beignets, think donuts with powdered sugar, hot and DEElicious – YUM! Give them a try. They will be closed on Memorial Day. We’ll see you there soon!

I found the following recipe in Cooking Light’s May 2011 issue and thought it sounded interesting so I made it and took it to work yesterday. Strawberries are in season and this is a fresh take on traditional salsa. Here’s my version of it:

Strawberry Avocado Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

2 tsp canola oil
6 (6 inch) whole wheat tortillas
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe avocados
1 generous cup finely chopped strawberries
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp of honey (or more to taste)
1 tsp minced hot pepper (jalapeno, serrano, habanero)
1 tbsp minced shallot or red onion
2 tsp fresh lime juice
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Brush oil evenly on 1 side only of tortilla. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges and arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. To prepare salsa, mix avocado, strawberries, cilantro, shallot and hot pepper in a medium bowl. Drizzle lime juice and honey over mixture and stir gently. Serve with chips.

My thoughts on this: it was well received by my co-workers but some people weren’t impressed with the cinnamon chips with the salsa. We found the salsa tasted better with regular chips but the cinnamon chips were great on their own. Give it a try and tell us what you think! (Photo courtesy of Cooking Light)

Buy some heirloom tomatoes, a peach tree and a big pot plant or a boutique birdhouse, try your luck at the Chinese auction, taste some goodies and meet your friends. If you have any influence on the god of weather ask for two days of dazzling sunshine.

See you there.

None of which eased my dilemma: I wanted to make fresh pickles. Thanks to Steve Brill, or Wildman Steve Brill, I was able to find a recipe for this local weed which everyone enjoyed!

Burdock (Arctium lappa) 2011 - beginning to flower, with burrs

Found growing along pastures and in waste grounds, burdock’s big leaves arise from a basal rosette. As the plant matures, it sends up a spike. When its lovely purple flowers go to seed, its pale brown burrs seem to stick to everything! Maybe you know this plant?

While I’ve often used burdock , Arctium lappa is its Latin name, for medicinal purposes, I was about to embark on my very first pickle making extravaganza! And although Steve’s recipe may not strictly comply with the formal definition of what is, or is not, a pickle, the roots of this abundant (and let’s not forget absolutely cost free) weed are delicious! Foraging is an art and a science. Knowing the plants around us, where they grow in the wild, free from contaminants is the beginning of being able to use a naturally occurring abundance as food. And honestly? I think foraging is a lot of fun and that’s why I forage!

So first? I made absolutely sure I identified my plants correctly. The burdock I uprooted was growing abundantly at the edge of the wood.

I dug and cleaned the roots, taking care that I was only working with burdock roots.

about 4C burdock root (not yet cleaned!)

Peeled, the roots are a milky mauve color and prove to have an amazing absorptive capacity! With a few minor modifications to what Steve suggested, I dug enough burdock to yield 4 cups of root, once cleaned and peeled. Digging burdock means digging deep ~ it has an amazingly long taproot!

4 C burdock root, peeled & then cut into finger-sized pieces

1 C rice vinegar (Steve suggested brown rice vinegar but I didn’t have any!)

1 C water

2 T allspice

2 T bay leaves straight off a tree outside!

1 T star anise which I got at the Corner Cupboard here in Franklin, opposite the library

2 T fresh ginger root, sliced

2 t black mustard seeds, also from the Corner Cupboard

1 t cloves from an unknown clove tree

½  t sea salt … from the sea!

Roots were left to steam, over water, for about 40 minutes (& poked with a fork to check if they were tender!). I added the drained roots to a ½ gallon jar. Then, mixed the vinegar & water and brought the mixture to a boil.

[Steve suggests putting a fork in the jar to prevent the glass from shattering when pouring in boiling liquid. It worked for me!]

I poured the hot vinegar mixture over the roots and stirred in the remaining ingredients, removed the fork, covered and refrigerated for about 15 hours (Steve suggests at least 12 hours before serving). Then, it’s simple

strain and serve! I left the mustard seeds, the fresh ginger and the star anise in with the pickles when I served them. The recipe makes 4C*!

what's left? a few pickles, star anise, a few bay leaves and some ginger & mustard - that's it. It went in a flash!

I thought these pickles were absolutely marvelous! They had a distinctive, slightly bitter, kind of tangy flavor. Indeed, one of the virtues of using burdock roots seems to be that they host all of the flavors used in this dish really nicely and we could taste the individual herbs and spices! Thanks Wildman!

Preparation time: 20 minutes & the pickles will last for weeks in the frig!

* I learned a lesson any food blogger might appreciate … take photographs before you serve … waiting means that there mightn’t be much left when a dish is to be immortalized! Still, you can get an idea from what’s left … can’t you?!

So, what to do with all of those eggs, of course egg salad, deviled eggs and peeled, with a little salt is always a delicious alternative. Another idea is pickled eggs. I had never heard of pickled eggs until I moved to Pittsburgh from Michigan 15 years ago. Such a thing did not exist. I had been a little leery of trying them until I had a shrimp salad at Leonardo’s in downtown Franklin with pickled egg wedges in it — delicious! Try this recipe from my co-worker Chris, you won’t be disappointed.

PICKLED EGGS

3 dozen peeled hard boiled eggs
5 cans (14 oz.) sliced beets
4 c.  cider vinegar
2 c. sugar

Heat beets, vinegar & sugar to a boil, heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour hot mixture over eggs in a heat proof container. Refrigerate once the mixture has cooled down a bit. The eggs will be ready in 2-3 days.

Enjoy!