Figs

I had the most amazing fig a few weeks ago and I've been keeping my eye out for figs. The incredible thing about figs is that every fig tree tastes different depending on the conditions the tree grew in. I was excited when I saw figs at Whole Foods. They looked under ripe and not that great, but I couldn't help myself.

Compulsive buy.

I've wanted to make pizzas for a while and I thought it'd be wonderful to use figs as a starting point and go off that. I choose a danish blue as my cheese, and I love drizzling it with this spicy (almost cinnamony) mesquite honey a friend gave. The sweet and savory. Of course I had to also use prosciutto. (Figs stuffed with gorganzola wrapped in prosciutto is one of my favorites!) I rolled out a whole wheat dough from Whole Foods and brushed it with olive oil. Crumbled the danish blue (do it when its cold) all over the pizza, arranged wedged pieces of fig and dropped loose balls of prosciutto all over. Finished it off by drizzling it with mesquite honey. Bake. Pizza one done.

I had gotten a second dough in case the Jew decided he wanted to make a pizza, but K suggested using some of the fresh squash blossoms from the garden. We threw together an amazing squash blossom pizza with cherve and drizzled balsamic. OMG amazing.

Here's a pic of a dinner that followed. With prosciutto on the pizza. We made a kale salad and quinoa with anchovies and sweet peppers from the garden.

June Gloom

I live in Sunny San Diego where it is perfect every month of the year except for June. The coastal areas of San Diego is plagued with overcast. Usually it burns off by noon, but today it hung out all day.

June gloom effects our mood and our gardens. Everything in the garden grows slowly and its never hot enough. Perfect for winter vegetables such as lettuce, greens, turnips and herbs. I've been struggling with peppers, squashes, tomatoes, corn, melons, cucumber, and eggplants. I started my garden in late April and everything's been growing really slowly. Last year my garden stayed stagnant from late April through mid July, then BOOM everything exploded. Lucky this year I got a lot of good days before the gloom came along.

At the NC Garden my Dragon Tongue Beans were putting off handfuls of beans and the cucumbers were producing at least one a week. The heirloom tomatoes are bursting with flowers and lots of baby tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes are turning brilliant red. Unfortunately, the squash and the melons are still struggling to grow.

The situation is pretty similar at the Surf Club, but the volunteer cherry tomatoes that popped up in February are exploding. The herbs that were transplanted into 50 gallon tubs are look amazing. The winter greens are doing really well also. The salad bed of mixed lettuces, mizuna, cress, arugula, wild rocket arugula, mustard greens, and orach.

So I had a grocery bag full of beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and greens. But the weather made me crave something heartier. I went to the store looking for ingredients and left with cans of white beans, white kidney beans, garbanzo beans, white corn, new potatoes, and a big can of diced tomatoes; 1.5lbs of beef and a huge block of extra sharp cheddar. (I wished I had white heirloom tomatoes to make the stew... but I had to do with canned tomatoes.) On the way out I grabbed a fresh loaf of Kalamata Olive Bread.

I came home and diced up a large red onion and sauteed it with plenty of olive oil. When they start softening add the ground beef and brown it. I added 1 tablespoon of garlic salt and cumin. Right before the juices of the meat completely evaporated I added half a cup of Sauvignon Blanc. Cooked it for a minute then began adding the cans. I added the corn, tomatoes and two cans of white beans w/ juices, white kidney beans, garbanzo, and potatoes without juices and brought to a boil then reduced the heat to simmer it all together. Add a few sprigs of rosemary and oregano. I kept stirring it to keep the bottom from burning. Then added at least four cups of grated cheese into the soup. It was a cheesy bean soup.

With all my fresh produce I tossed together a simple salad. I mixed in fresh basil and cilantro with my homegrown mesclun mix, added chopped cherry tomatoes and cucumber, diagonally sliced beans, and home made goat feta and tossed it together with a bit of olive oil and balsamic.

It was fantastic. I served the salad and soup with toasted slices of the olive bread. The flavors came together really well, each dish supporting the other.

Taco Tuesday

Taco Tuesday is my favorite event of the week. I almost treat it like a religious holiday that must be observed weekly. I've been so busy I've been going out a lot, but this week was Roberto's last Taco Tuesday before going away to Italy so I wanted to make something good. I knew I wanted shrimp, black beans, and rice. Something simple and fast. And this turned out to be one of my fastest Taco Tuesday ever!

I made lemon garlic shrimp and scallop tacos with the meat laying in a warm corn tortilla w/ a mescalin mix salad and fresh cucumber slices topped with a glob of sour cream. Served with cilantro brown rice, and black beans.

Miss. Texas came over and made a superb guacamole. She is the sweetest thing ever... and not a hick. When she started making the guac the avocados were far from ripe but after working her magic and Roberto's expert mashing it came out to be delicious. (I think her choice of serrano chili was the secret.) Ken D made a "rustic" salsa out of home grown cherry tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, red onion, and lime juice.

Cheese (follow up)

Out of 2 gallons of goat's milk I got back about a gallon and half of whey. I used some of it to brine the cheese, but most of it was gonna be wasted. I looked up another recipe using the whey to make ricotta. Of course like all cheese making there's time that's needed to prepare the liquid, coagulate it, and straining it. So the total time was ~ 4-6 hrs.

I tried rushing through the process so that we'd have ricotta made before dinner with Emily... and that's where I messed up. The boiled whey had not cooled down before I tried to fish out the fat particles, then when I was trying to strain it, the liquid wouldn't strain very well through the cloth I was using, and finally as I was trying to tie the corners to hang I dropped a corner and I lost most my cheese. I did manage to get about 1/4 cup of ricotta from the whey. It had an excellect texture and consistency, but I did not like the flavor of it. It was too strong and slightly more acidic than I had anticipated... but such is goat's milk.

The first batch of feta did come out wonderfully. The instructions for the recipe recommended I let it sit in the brine for 2-4 weeks before consuming, but I had to try some. I had Emily over for dinner and I served it on a cheese platter with some water crackers, figs, strawberries drizzled with balsamic, and Parmesan. Emily brought over this AMAZING ancho chili jam that went beautifully with the fresh feta. The feta had a chance to sit in the brine for a few hours and it came out creamy, slightly salty with LOTS of flavor yet still mild.

It was great seeing Emily, she's probably the only chick foodie I know that can appreciate complex flavors. Not to mention she's SO funny! The rest of the feta from the cheese platter went into a lettuce salad with dried cranberries and toasted macadamia nuts drizzled with balsamic and olive oil. Dinner was breaded pork chops, bulgar wheat w/ cranberries and carmelized onions, and flash fried black kale. Unfortunately the bulgar wheat came out to be more creamy then expected... so I went with it.

Recipe found at:
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Ricotta/RICOTTA_00.HTM

Cheese

When we got back from spring break, my friend Emily was excited about having learnt how to make cheese. She was super excited and wanted to get together to make some. Before we knew it the quarter system had swallowed us both. So week 8 and we're supposed to meet up Sunday to make the cheese, but I jumped the gun. I started making feta tonight so that when she's over for lunch we can cut it and brine it. Emily's leaving for Colorado to join her bf as soon as school gets out, I'd like to send her off with something. (She's responsible for putting ideas into my head!)

I found a great recipe for feta on the University of Cincinnati Clermont College site. Click here for site> I'm trying to make feta with 2 gallons of fresh goat's milk and a liquid rennet instead of the tablet rennet. I went to four different stores before finally finding the rennet at Whole Food's in the baking section.

Homemade Feta

1 gallon fresh goat's milk

1 Tbl fresh yogurt

20 drops of liquid rennet

1+ gallon pot with lid

1 long blade knife

cheese cloth

strainer

cheese mold

1. Warm the milk to 30C or 86F, stirring regularly to make sure the bottom doesn't burn.  I put my pot inside a bigger pot with some jar lids under it to create a large double boiler and it worked really well
2. Mix 1 tbl of yogurt with equal parts of milk to blend, stir the mixture into the warm milk.  Cover and let the inoculated milk sit for an hour at room temperature.
3. After the inoculated milk has sat for an hour, stir in the rennet.  Mix throughly.
4. Let the inoculated, renneted milk sit overnight at room temperature.
5. The next morning, the milk should have gelled.
6. Cut the curd by starting in the middle and cutting it with a sharp knife from one side to the other.  Continue to put parallel to the first line in 1/2in intervals slightly cutting larger towards the base.  Then rotate the direction 90degrees and repeat.  Rotate and repeat again if the curd pieces are not at least 1/2in small.
7. Allow the curds to sit with occasional stirring for 10-15 minutes until the curd is somewhat contracted.
8. Decant the whey into a jar for brine.  Wrap the curds in a cheese cloth or napkin and allow it to drain.
9. Break up the curds and place them into a bowl, mix in a 1/2tsp of salt.
10. Press into the mold overnight.
11. Prepare pickling whey brine (12.5% salt) 20oz of whey + 5 tbl salt.  Stir to dissolve.
12. Cut the cheese into cubes and place into a wide mouth jar.  Pour brine over the cover.  Let it cure in the fridge for several days.  Rinse before use to remove excess salt.

Cheese (Prequel)

I'd like to start out by saying, Craigslist is awesome. I find so many things on there....

I love collecting plants, and when I saw a 128 piece collection of succulents and cacti for sale on CL I couldn't stop myself. I had to go to El Cajon to meet up with Jim the Cactus Man, so I decided to go check out Danielle at Liberty Farm in El Cajon.

I've been seeing her ads for chicks, fresh eggs, and goat milk (for animal consumption) for months. I thought this would be a great opportunity to go get some fresh milk from her. (I'm working on putting together a graduation dinner for Roberto and I'd like to serve homemade cheese.) So our excursion begins. After work Ken D and I drove through an hour of traffic to acquire the collection. They are so spectacular. The succulents look like alien plants and the cactus are in full bloom. (I'll take pictures soon.)

We started headed to Liberty Farm. The wide city streets turned into a two lane street lined with big trees and homes on large lots. It was a beautiful part of San Diego I've never been in. In the hills, the air was warm and it felt like summer there. We stopped by a road side farmer's stand and the farmer's daughter sold us Hass avocados from her farm in Valley Center. A few more miles up we got to the farm. It had a long drive way lined with palm trees, goats in the front, chickens clucking, a beautiful raised vegetable garden as you drove up towards the big country house.

Needless to say, I was blown away. I walked through the back door into her large kitchen that was exploding with cans, jar, dinner cooking, dogs, children, etc. It was a vision I saw for myself. I got two gallons fresh goat's milk from her and a dozen fresh eggs. (Some still has feathers and poop clinging to it.)

By then it was dinner time so Ken D and I had to stop for dinner. We were headed to some italian place but took the wrong turn and ended up in a business shopping center with a cafe. It was 7 and we were hungry so we said, why not. We walk in and its dark and slightly dingy with outdated everything, but cheerful waitresses. I look around and everyone there's over 70. It was like senior night (and yes they had a Senior's Special). Ken D got the chicken fried steak and I got the Spagetti Meatball salad.

I was actually impressed. Their chicken cream w/ rice soup was creamy and not too thick with chunks of chicken and not salty at all. My noodles were a bit over cooked and wet, but the sauce was really good. It was the dessert (also included) that blew me away. It was a layered cake, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla pudding, whipped cream stack. WOW. Ken D's chicken fried steak was tasty also and the gravy wonderful! (Guilty of eating the gravy straight. It wasn't floury, not too peppery, and not too salty.)

Overall the next time I'm in the area, I'd go there again. Janet's Cafe

My quest for cactus and succulents took me to a part of town I've never been in buying avocados and goat milk and eating at a strange wonderful diner. Now I'm making feta.

Chocozin

I first learned to bake from a friend my freshman year of college. She taught me how to cook by making me follow recipes exactly then showed me the art of tweaking them to make them better. Today I found out she's getting engaged, and although she's broken my heart time and time I'd like to share one of my favorite recipe from her mother.

Chocozin

A wonderfully fluffy brownie squares from Isreal

1 cup butter
1 cup bitter chocolate
6 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp unsweetened coco powder
1/2 cup walnut

1. Cream butter with 1/2 cup sugar. Beat in 6 yolks and melted chocolate until smooth, and set half the mixture aside.

2. Mix 1 tbsp of flour and coco powder to half the mixture. Then add the walnuts.

3. Make a meringue with 6 egg whites and 1/2 cup of sugar. If the mixture is not stiff enough add more sugar. Fold the meringue into the chocolate mixture w/ flour, coco powder and nuts.

4. Place in 9x13 baking pan and bake at 375F for 30 minutes.

5. When the knife comes out clean let it cool, then use the other half of the butter, sugar, melted chocolate mixture that's been set aside to frost the brownie.

6. Serve with a generous spoonful of whipped cream.