Grape Currant Jelly

Perfect late night snack

Recently got a whole bunch of fresh grapes and currants. This is a jellied jam. The currant is pressed into a juice that jellies the grape jam and it’s tartness is a perfect match to the ripe table grapes.

It is pretty awesome.

To extract juice from fruit for every pound cleaned fruit mix with 2/3 cup water bring to a boil then simmer covered for 10 minutes then cool to room temperature. Strain juice through cheese cloth and let hang to drain. If pressed causes jelly to cloud. To form a jelly for every cup extracted liquid add 3/4 cup sugar and can like jam.

Grape Currant Jelly

• 9 cups halved ripe small grapes
• 2 cups extracted currant juice
• 5 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 Star Anise pods whole

Bring to a boil all ingredients and bring to a thermometer reading of 220 adjusting temperature to keep from boiling over. Makes roughly 4 jam jars.

Semolina Plum Coffee Cake

Any pattern works as long as it looks like this

This is a great coffee cake that takes advantage of fresh large plums.

Semolina Plum Cake

• 4 plums halved and pitted
• 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp semolina flour
• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 13 tbsp butter room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1/4-1/2 brown sugar
• Salt

Mix flours and baking powder with a pinch of salt. In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until golden and smooth. Add egg yolks one at a time and beat in scraping down sides each time. Add eggs and repeat for each. Add vanilla and lemon zest and repeat again. Add flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Spoon into a greased round cake pan. Press plums into batter skin side down and cover top with sprinkle of brown sugar and bake at 350 until done about 1 hour.

Black Cod with Scallop, Fava and Porcini Sauce

Poach away little fishy, poach away

For this sauce use fresh porcini and double shelled fresh favas. Choose scallops that are roughly the size of a quarter. If black cod is unavailable, halibut, red snapper or trout will work well.

To quickly shell the second skin off a fava, place in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes then strain and submerge in ice water. Bean will then pop out of skin with a small amount of pressure.

To make truffle butter let a stick of butter come to room temperature, then finely grate a small truffle into it. Mix well, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until solid. Keeps for months.

Black Cod with Scallop Sauce

• 1 lb black cod fillets
• 8-12 scallops
• 1 cup shelled favas
• 1/2 cup finely diced sweet onion (walla walla best)
• 1 cup thinly sliced porcini
• 2 tbsp chopped thyme
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup grated romano
• 2 tbsp truffle butter

Season cod with salt and pepper. Over medium low heat melt butter and saute onions until beginning to brown. Add porcini and half the thyme and saute until mushrooms begin to break down. Add wine and deglaze pan. Bring heat to high and then simmer until wine has almost been absorbed. Add chicken stock, return to heavy simmer and poach fish until almost done, about 2 minutes per side. Remove fish to a plate and add favas, remaining thyme and scallops to sauce. Simmer until scallops are done, about 4 minutes then return cod to sauce and finish cooking, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir cheese into sauce and serve over black rice or polenta.

Rhubarb Compote

any type of cake will do

This is a good way to use up leftover cherries and rhubarb.

Rhubarb Compote

• 6 cups rhubarb chopped into 1/2″ pieces
• 3 cups cherries halved
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

Mix everything together in a sauce pan and let sit 15 minutes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until thick, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 2 hours before serving. Good on top of pound cake, ice cream etc.

 

Fava Puree

Break the hand made lavash any size you want

Again use fresh fava bean pods no longer than 4″. This works best if she second skin can remain on when grinding. The easiest way to tell is eat a raw one and see if the skin is tough and bitter or soft and peppery.

Puree of Fava Beans

• 3 cups shelled fava beans
• 2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 3-4 garlic scapes chopped roughly
• Olive oil
• Salt

Pour a little oil in a saute pan and heat on medium high. Toss in spices and scapes and toast until beginning to brown then add favas and stir to coat. Add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cook on high until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and blend with enough olive oil to form a thick paste, about 1/4 cup. Season with salt serve hot or cold with more oil drizzled on top. Can also include romano.

 

Raw Fava Beans with Romano

Shave the cheese into any size that lives your truth

Fava beans are best served raw, tossed in good olive oil, black pepper and grated romano. They can be eaten whole as long as the outside skin has not grown tough enough to require removal.  Pick pods once they reach 3-4″ maximum. To get them at this early stage will require growing the beans yourself, since most farmers wait to pick them until the beans have gotten at least 5-6″ long.

To grow fava beans, plant seeds in the fall and over winter the crop for spring. This works for any region where the winters are somewhat mild. The plants can withstand a couple heavy snow storms as long as it does not last more than a couple weeks at a time. If winter is colder, the plants can be covered with a simple tarp and cage system to protect them. The plants will flower in early spring and it is imperative that they are pollenated before the average temperature is above 80 degrees. If it gets to hot the bean pods will not set. The plants grow about 6′ tall so they will need to be tied back and supported to keep them from falling over once the weight of the beans sets.

Baked Chicken with Chestnut Mushrooms, Pea Shoots and Rhubarb Sauce

Finally a use for rhubarb aside from pie

This is a great way to use leftover rhubarb sitting around after a pie. It also makes use of fresh pea shoots and chestnut mushrooms, all of which come in season at the same time.

Strain and keep the boiling liquid from the rhubarb for cocktails.

Baked Chicken with Pea Shoots, Chestnut Mushrooms and Rhubarb Sauce

For Rhubarb Sauce

• 1 cup roughly chopped rhubarb
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil roughly

For Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts butterflied into 2 halves
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp fresh sage chopped fine
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 4-6 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• 1 bunch pea shoots separated
• 1/2 lb chestnut mushrooms cleaned and cut into 1″ long pieces
• Salt/pepper

Boil rhubarb in 2 cups water until soft, strain and place in a blender. Add other sauce ingredients except oil and blend until smooth. With motor running add enough oil to create sauce. Season with salt and pepper and chill 1 hour. Mix breadcrumbs, sage, 1 tbsp parsley, salt and pepper together and coat chicken. Place in a well oiled baking dish and drizzle with more olive oil on top. Bake at 350 degrees until done, about 45 minutes. In a large frying pan melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant then add mushrooms and saute until browned. Quickly add pea shoots and remaining parsley stir to coat and remove from heat. Do not over cook pea shoots. On a plate layer rhubarb sauce, chicken, pea shoot mixture and drizzle with a little more sauce.

Cornmeal Crusted Scallop Salad

It’s a salad so it is healthy by default

This is a perfect light dinner or first course. Make sure to use fresh scallops that are all roughly the same size. Four to five are good per person as a main or two as a starter course. This recipe will make enough for 20 medium scallops

Cornmeal Crusted Scallop Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

• 1 cup shredded kale
• 1 cup shredded spinach
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp Old Bay
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1-1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2-3 garlic minced
• 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

In a bowl mix yogurt, lime juice, garlic and finely chopped cilantro. Add enough buttermilk to bring to a dressing consistency and season with salt and pepper. Place dressing in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving. Mic shredded kale, spinach and roughly chopped cilantro together and divide equally among however many plates are being served. Mix cornmeal, paprika, black pepper and Old Bay. Toss scallops in breading until well coated. Heat 2 tbsp butter in a large frying pan over medium hear and cook until butter just starts to brown. Add scallops and fry for 5-7 minutes per side flipping once. Remove scallops to plates and drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately.

Seafood Stew

So many fishy combinations

This soup can use an assortment of whatever seafood is available, just make sure to have some shellfish and some fillets.

Seafood Stew

• 1 lb scallops
• 1/2 lb cleaned crab meat
• 1 lb red snapper fillets
• 3 ribs celery diced fine
• 2 leeks diced fine
• 2 carrots diced fine
• 4-6 potatoes diced medium small
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 28 oz can whole tomatoes crushed by hand
• 2 tbsp tomato paste mixed with 1 cup water
• 8 cups shellfish stock
• 3 lavender pods
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano
• Old bay
• 2 tbsp bacon fat

In a large stock pot melt bacon fat over medium heat and saute leeks, celery and carrots until softened. Add garlic and saute until fragrant then turn heat to high and add tomato paste. Fry until most of liquid is evaporated, add potatoes and turn heat to low. Cover and sweat for 5 minutes then add tomatoes, spices and stock. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Add raw fish and cook for 10-15 minutes then add remaining fish and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve with toasted bread.

 

Layered Irish Cheesecake

Look at the layers

This is a fun cheesecake for Saint Patrick’s day. Make sure to use homemade Irish cream. You may need to use food coloring for the espresso layer if it does not get dark enough.

Layered Irish Cheescake

For crust

• 9 oz chocolate graham crackers
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp melted butter

For espresso layer

• 16 oz cream cheese warm
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 cup fresh espresso
• 1 tsp espresso grounds
• 2 eggs

For Irish cream layer

• 16 oz cream cheese warm
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Irish cream

Grease a 9″ springform pan with butter, flip the bottom upside down and cover with parchment paper. Crush cookies and mix with butter. Pour butter over and pack into base of pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes then remove from oven and let cool. Meanwhile mix the espresso cheese layer. Start by whipping the sugar and cheese together until smooth, then add 1 egg at a time and mix well, then the vanilla and grounds and finally the espresso. If it does not get dark enough add food coloring to desired tone. Pour into pan and let set for 15 minutes. Make the Irish cream layer and pour carefully on top so that it sits on the layer below without mixing. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour, then turn off stove and let sit another hour without opening the oven. Then let it cool completely before refrigerating at least 4 hours or up to 24.