Saturday, October 23, 2010

Chanterelle me about it...


Fall, she is a fickle time of year. Warm and sunny during the day, crisp to downright chilly at night, windy windy windy, unanticipated storms followed by double rainbows, mornings muted by fog, and explosions of fiery crunchy leaves...

Over the past few years, I have come to realize that I tend to emulate the seasons as they change. Fall, although my favorite time of year, is often a tough one for me; as daylight fades and the moon shines brightly, I begin take more time to reflect. All this reflection, albeit insightful, makes for somewhat of a fickle and frenzied mind. I like to think the fury of reflection is my way of preparing for the quiet, comforting, and indulgent winter.

That said, I find myself spending lots of time in my kitchen--a place that often quiets the chatter in my mind and stimulates my other senses in a slow and intentional way. I take my time to chop, measure, and stir. I like to mix chunks of butter into a bowl of flour with my fingertips. I like to take fruits, vegetables, and fungi from the world outside and pay homage to the time and energy that they've taken to grow and ripen.

Last night, I pulled out the bag of chanterelles that I collected with my friend, Andy, last weekend and set my intentions on cream of mushroom soup. But, one can't have a bowl of creamy soup without a hunk of bread.

I have to say, bread and I have been battling lately...I just want to bake a loaf using solely Nash's wheat that doesn't end up weighing more than a newborn child. I grind it fresh. I give the yeast time to procreate. I try to follow recipes word for word. But I always end up with a brick. Arg!

For some time, I've heard murmurs about incorporating "vital wheat gluten" into such loaves to help retain some of the gas necessary to make them light and fluffy. I've shrugged it off and stuck to wanting to do it the traditional way. Well, yesterday, I tried it. Guess, what? We had hunks of soft, fluffy, warm bread to go with our soup. You know what else, it was easy. I'm getting my bread confidence back--I just might attempt a loaf of sourdough in the near future. Thank you, vital wheat gluten. I guess you are pretty vital.


Honey-Wheat Bread a la vital wheat gluten



aren't they the color of fall?


Cream of Chanterelle Soup
adapted from smittenkitchen.com

small bundle of fresh sage and rosemary sprigs
3 leeks, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2-3 lbs. of chanterelles, sliced
8 c. vegetable stock
1/2 c. cream

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil to medium and add herb bundle to infuse for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add leeks, onion, and garlic; saute until leeks are transparent.
3. Turn heat to high and add salt, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes until mushrooms have lost their moisture and gotten much smaller.
4. Add veggie stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Turn of heat, add cream, and puree the soup in a blender in small batches.
6. Return soup to its pot and simmer on low until you serve it up. Enjoy--I promise you will.



Other Recent Kitchen Therapy

Apple-Cheddar Biscuits


Pumpkin Tart from our own sugar pie squash

Beignet - delicious fried dough mix all the way from New Orleans, complements of Justin's parents!

Justin and Andy enjoying beignet during sunday morning football -- Go Steelers!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Playing Catsup...

Tell me what to do with all of these green to semi-ripe tomatoes. Please!


So, you may have noticed my absence in the interweb world lately... Okay, perhaps I'm being a bit proud to expect that you faithfully check my little ol' blog for food inspired puns and up close shots of my dinner--but a girl can dream!


Anyway, I am in the final (!) stages of completing my thesis and being a full fledged master--according to the Evergreen State College. As a result, I've been quite absent from here and as a friend in the real world. My sincere apologies to all affected parties. After November 15th, I promise to make up for it in puns, posts, letters, phone calls, baked goods, crafts, hugs, and fiddle lessons (but that's more for me). I can taste the freedom!


That said, I have been taking a little time to enjoy the onset of fall. I spent the first weekend of October at home in the breadbasket of Illinois visiting with my lovely lovely family. It actually turned from summer to fall while I was there.


Last weekend, Justin and I grabbed our bikes and passports and caught the ferry to the great city Victoria in the exotic country of Canada. On the ferry, we even won free passes to the Royal BC Natural History Museum. So, we spent the weekend as tourists--well-fed tourists. And on Sunday, I ran the city's marathon. Justin was a great support staff; he biked to various points along the route and offered shouts of encouragement. It was a beautiful course and I felt quite strong. Good weekend.
We had mammoth of a time, but Justin was too afraid to turn his back to creature to pose for a photo.


Not a bad view to enjoy while trying to ignore leg cramps.


And now for the real CATSUP!

A few weeks ago, I had an inspiring new friend over to process 30 lbs of tomatoes from a local farm. I've had visions of trying to make my Grandma Arlene's catsup for some time now...its happened. 15 hours of a house scented in mysterious spices and hot boiling tomatoes later, we had 4 whole pints of Arlene's finest. Her recipe called for "mixed spices", which I assumed was code for her secret blend, so I threw in a combo of cumin, paprika, and turmeric. After a conversation with Grandma, it turns out, "mixed spices" is an actual blend sold in most grocery stores. Oh, well. The hardest/messiest/most fun part was smooshing the hot mess through a sieve. The result is a tangy delight!

CATSUP
inspired by Grandma Arlene from The P Family Reunion Cookbook

4 quarts of quartered tomatoes
2 c. vinegar
3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. red pepper
2.5 TBS salt
2 TBS "mixed spices"
1 TBS ground mustard seed
1 TBS cinnamon
2 large chopped onions
3 TBS cornstarch or arrowroot powder

Combine above ingredients (except cornstarch) in a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 hour. Sieve. Boil one hour longer. Thicken with cornstarch. Seal in jars.