roast beets, from the garden

I never knew how rewarding growing your own food could be until we planted our first garden last November. The golden beets from our winter planting are in their prime right now.

It's incredible how much food can be supplied from this tiny garden and it made me a firm believer that everyone should be planting something, be it herbs and lettuce in a couple of containers on your balcony or a 10 by 20 plot in the backyard full of vegetables. If you don't have a garden to enjoy, I highly suggest planting one. If you don't have the space to do so, look into joining your local community garden... that's what we did and it's improved our lives immensely.

to the beets....

My favorite way to prepare beets is simply roasting them in the oven.

Preheat oven to 350.
Trim the greens off the beets and save to saute later.
Clean the beets, leaving their skins on, toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper and place them in a cast iron skillet and cover with foil, or create a foil packet and wrap them in it.

Pop em in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Check if they are done by inserting a thin knife into the thickest part of the beet. If it slides in easily, then they are ready to come out. If the beet feels a little firm, then put them back in the over for another 15 minutes or so.
Cool slightly and remove skins.
Slice them into wedges or rounds and toss them in a salad.
It's a good idea to roast a bunch at once, then they can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days and are ready to use whenever....without the wait of roasting time.


They are really good with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, thinly sliced red onion and parm or goat cheese.


If you can't grow your own garden then please support your local farmers.

left-overs into bread pudding

I know it's not really the time of year for a warm, hearty bread pudding... but what else do you do with left-over bread? Bread pudding came about as a way to use stale unwanted bread instead of throwing it out and since I hate to waste anything I made some bread pudding from left-over everything. A couple of different kinds of bread, some honey butter, maple syrup, buttermilk, eggs, sugar.. I wish we had left over bread all of the time.


Here's the recipe I used:

1 c milk
1 c buttermilk (or use 2 c of milk and no buttermilk)
1/4 c honey butter (basically butter and honey whipped together, you could use regular butter and spoon in a TB of honey over the bread)
2/3 c brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
about 3 1/2 cups bread, torn into pieces
1/2 c chopped pecans
(addt'l ingredients could be dates or raisins... anything you like)

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 1.5 quart casserole with butter.

In a sauce pan warm the milk (not the buttermilk) just until film forms on top. Remove from heat.

Combine the honey butter and milk and stir until the butter has completely melted. Then stir in the buttermilk. This will cool the mixture. My buttermilk separated a little, if this happens use a strainer when pouring the milk mixture into the egg mixture.

Combine eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and beat on medium for about 1 minute. Slowly add the milk mixture and combine.

Place the bread in the casserole and pour the batter on top. Mix in 1/4 c of the pecans. Then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c on top.

Now would be the time to mix in dates, raisins, etc.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, until set and browned on top.

Serve warm with ice cream and maple syrup.


It's great reheated the next day... just add chocolate shavings (a lot of them) before you put it in the oven to reheat and then you have a whole new experience... chocolate bread pudding!

brown sugar lemon cake

Just the name alone made our mouths water. This recipe is out of The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater, by Nigel Slater. For those of you not familiar with this book, Nigel records a year of his culinary experiences and recipes that reflect seasonality making this the perfect cook book for inspiration.

The cake we made is from the March 19th entry, so it's something suitable for early spring. The reason I say "we" is because my husband and I tag teamed on this recipe. He started the prep, made the lemon topping, got all mise en place, then I came home and finished the mixing, baking and the sauce while he ran out for a bit. I loved that we both had a part in making this rich, delectable dessert.

My part of the deal was probably easier than his but I must say that I thought I almost lost the cake. The baking time was 45 minutes, so I checked the cake at about 40 minutes and to my surprise it looked like a loaf of melted butter. It was watery and wiggly and I thought oh no.... I've ruined it. I couldn't figure out how this cake was going to set and rise, so I actually took a ladle and scooped out about 1/4 c of melted butter from the center of the loaf. I gave it 15 more minutes before declaring it a complete disaster and when checking it again there seemed to be hope. It was firming up and rising a bit. It needed to bake a lot longer than the recipe called for (about 1/2 hour longer).

After doing some online research, my husband found this recipe listed with only 1 1/4c butter, not the 1 3/4 c that we used. So we believe there was a misprint in the book.

Anyway, this is one moist, rich and flavorful bread that stays fresh for a while. We served it with creme fraiche and fresh berries. I highly recommend it.

I have to give credit to my friend Maggie of Hello Kitchen for styling the first picture of this post and to my husband of add an egg for craving the recipe.

Brown Sugar Lemon Cake with Thick Yogurt (or creme fraiche !)
by Nigel Slater

cake
1 3/4 cups butter (I believe this to be a misprint, I would use 1 1/4 c )
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup ground almonds
3/4 tsp baking powder
large lemon
4 large eggs

topping
lemon
2 generous tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp water

syrup
2 generous tbsps brown sugar
juice of a large lemon

oven 325. line loaf pan, about 10x4x3in deep with parchment.

Topping - slice lemon thinly and put it in a small saucepan with the sugar and water. bring to a boil, then watch closely for five minutes or so, until the water has almost evaporated and the lemon slices are sticky. set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a food mixer till they are light and fluffy. You can expect it to take a little longer than it would with superfine sugar. Meanwhile, measure the flour and almonds and mix them with the baking powder. Grate the zest of the lemon and add it to the flour mixture.

Break the eggs and beat them lightly with a fork, then add them to the creamed butter and sugar a little at a time. The mixture will probably curdle a bit but don't worry. Remove the mixing bowl from the machine and gently fold in the flour, almonds and baking powder with a large metal spoon (a wooden spoon would knock the air out).

Scoop the cake mixture into the lined pan, then lay the reserved lemon slices on top, overlapping them down the center of the cake. Bake for about forty-five minutes, till risen and golden. Insert a metal skewer to see if it is ready. If it comes out clean, then the cake is done; if it has mixture sticking to it, it needs a few minutes longer. remove the cake from the oven and set aside.

For the syrup, stir the brown sugar into the lemon juice; it will only partially dissolve. Spike the top of the cake with a metal skewer, then spoon over the lemon and sugar. leave to cool.