One Seasonal Sensation

Vegan Potato Leek Soup

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:11:00 -0500

Let me preface this by saying I am not a vegan, nor am I a vegetarian; I am an omnivore through and through. With that being said, I love this soup. You’d never know there’s no cream, no butter, no animal fats whatsoever making this soup creamy, flavorful and decadent. And what is the secret ingredient you may ask? Well, that would be the celery root, my friend. If you’ve ever seen it at the market and not been sure what to do with it, this is a great place to start.

By itself, topped with some crispy kale, it’s a real winter treat. But beyond that, this soup is a great soup base. I’ve mixed chopped turkey leftovers with a red quinoa rice blend in and it flew out of the fridge. We’ve also added some leftover roast and kale and that was tasty, too. Next I plan to try adding chicken and dumplings and see how that turns out. So you see, the possibilities really are quite endless! I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons organic olive oil
6 cloves organic garlic, minced
3 organic leeks, trimmed of tough outer leaves, carefully cleaned & sliced
2 organic Vidalia onions, chopped
8 cups organic vegetable stock
10 medium sized organic Yukon gold potatoes, or 1 ¼ pounds, peeled, cut into cubes
1 organic celery root – peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large sprig of organic thyme
3 teaspoons ‘Real Salt’ – Can be substituted with Kosher salt
1 large bunch organic kale, stems removed, cut into 1 inch strips
1 bay leaf
white pepper to taste

Directions:
Step One: Heat 2 of the tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and leeks to the pot. Sprinkle with 1-teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to caramelize.

Step Two: Stir in the potatoes and celery root. Sprinkle with 1-teaspoon salt. Add the vegetable stock, bay leaf, and thyme. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. As soon as the stock boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potato and celery root cubes are starting to break down, just beyond fork tender. Remove from heat. Fish out thyme sprig.

Step Three: Let cool for a half hour to an hour then puree’ until smooth. Return soup to pot and bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Step Four: While the soup is warming up, slice the kale into thin strips. Prepare a plate with a layer of paper towels. Place the remaining tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet over medium heat. Add the kale to the skillet and sauté for about 3-5 minutes, or until the kale strips become bright green and crispy. Transfer the crispy kale to the paper towel covered plate and set aside. Make final salt and pepper adjustments to soup. Ladle into bowls and garnish with crispy kale ribbons.

Lemon Leek Linguine

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:07:00 -0500

So, it might have been a bit ambitious of me to think I could go from not doing an entry for a year to doing several posts a week. A little more than a week after my first post, where I promised recipes with leeks, I actually get around to posting the first leek recipe. What can I say? I have blogging issues. I do promise that no matter what, I will post something each week; at least one recipe and maybe more, but for now let’s keep the goal set to once a week and we’ll go from there. Deal? Deal. Now, here’s the easiest, fastest, leek recipe ever!

Ingredients
6 ounces fresh linguine
1 tablespoon organic olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 leeks, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
juice from one lemon

Directions
Step One: Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.
Step Two: While the water comes to a boil add oil to saute pan add leeks then garlic, cooking on low-medium heat for seven minutes making sure not to let garlic brown.
Step Three: Add 1/2 cup broth and lemon juice to saute pan. Let liquid reduce by half.
Step Four: Add linguine to boiling water. Cook for three to four minutes, till al dente.
Step Five: Drain pasta then add to saute’ pan and incorporate with sauce letting the flavors meld together.
Step Six: Serve immediately.

Easy Peasy!

All About Leeks

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 00:18:00 -0500

What are leeks? Leeks are related to garlic, onions, shallots, and scallions and feature a fragrant flavor that is reminiscent of shallots. With a more delicate and sweeter flavor than onions, leeks add a subtle nuance to recipes without overpowering other flavors. Although leeks are available throughout the year, they are at their best when in season from fall through early spring.

Leeks look like large scallions and have a small bulb and long white cylindrical stalk that fades to dark green at the top where they fan out. The cylindrical stalks are composed of layers and layers of leaves that feel similar to a corn husk. When shopping for leeks, they should be firm and straight and should not be yellowed or wilted and the bulbs shouldn’t have cracks or bruises. Overly large leeks are generally more fibrous in texture, so it’s better to avoid any leek that’s diameter is greater than an inch and a half.

Fresh leeks should be stored unwashed and untrimmed wrapped loosely in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, where they will keep fresh for a week or two. Before use, leeks need to be cleaned thoroughly. Due to the way they grow, there is often sandy soil in between the layers of leaves. To prepare them, you will need to cut off the dark green tops and remove the tough outer leaves. Then, cut off root and cut the leek in half lengthwise. Fan out the leaves and rinse well under cold running water.

Since they’re related to onions and garlic, leeks are a great food for your cardiovascular system. They’re also an excellent source of immune-supportive vitamin A and anti-inflammatory vitamin K. And here’s a cool thing I learned while researching this entry; apparently, if you leave allium vegetables such as, leeks, onions and garlic sit for at least 5 minutes after cutting and before cooking it enhances their health-promoting qualities!

Now you have all the information you need to go out into the world and buy some leeks for the recipes I’ll be sharing with you. Hurrah!

Hello, Is It Me You're Cooking For?

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:32:00 -0500

It’s been almost a year since my last post. A year! This is largely because I started finding more steady work as a freelance photographer— which is great. The other part of the equation is that I have poor time management skills and seem to be incapable of accomplishing anything outside of what I’m absolutely required to do— it’s a problem—but it’s a new year, and that means I’ve made resolutions; one of them is to stop procrastinating and revitalize this blog.

I’ve been thinking about it, and I really want to go back to the way I had originally imagined this blog; I want to feature one ingredient that’s in season each week with a few recipes. So, that’s what I’m going to do, or *try* to do, as I’m not known for being the most faithful blogger. See: Previous entry date.

I’m also going to be doing baked good recipes less often. I know everyone likes a good dessert and I’ll share one every once in a while, but I realized there’s a disproportionate amount of sweets on the blog and there are much better ways to incorporate seasonal fruits and vegetables into your diet than putting them in a batter and topping them with icing.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be sharing what this week’s ingredient is, some information on its health benefits, what to look for when shopping, how to clean/prepare them, what they taste like and a few recipes for you to try. It’s how I always envisioned this blog and I’m really going to try to bring that vision to fruition. So stay tuned, fresh food’s coming!

Garlic Herb Linguini with Roasted Butternut Squash, Red Onions and Spinach Sauteed with Garlic

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:51:00 -0400

So it’s Meatless Monday again and somehow I still had a butternut squash as of last week. This meal was a result of a leftover butternut squash and some of my favorite vendors at the Countryside Conservancy’s Winter Market; fresh garlic herb linguini from Ohio City Pasta and fresh spinach and garlic from Morningside Farm. It’s a simple dish, but the flavors meld nicely and it’s easy to savor every bite. Hope you decide to try it!

Ingredients:
12 oz fresh garlic herb linguini from Ohio City Pasta or a similar fresh pasta
1 organic butternut squash ( about 3 pds), cut into 1 inch cubes
16 oz organic spinach
1 organic red onion (large), chopped
4 cloves organic garlic ( I used the Musik variety from Morningside Farm), minced
3 tablespoons organic olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
Step One: Preheat oven to 375. While oven is warming up, cut up your butternut squash. I like to treat them like pineapples— kind of. I cut the very top and bottom off so with a sharp chef’s knife so I have a flat surface to work with. Then cut it in half. Then I shave the sides off with my knife. After that I remove the seeds with an ice cream scoop and cut the halves into rings and then into cubes.
Step Two: Put squash in a medium bowl with chopped onion. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, two cloves minced garlic and one tablespoon olive oil. Toss and place on foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes.
Step Three: When squash is done remove it from oven. Start a pan of boiling water.
Step Four: Heat a large sautee pan with two tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add spinach in small bunches adding more as it wilts and allows space. When last bunch is added add the two cloves minced garlic. Reduce heat and cook till garlic is fragrant. Add roasted squash and red onions. Keep on low.
Step Five: After adding the garlic to the spinach and reducing heat, add your fresh pasta to the boiling water. Cook for two minutes. ( If you are using dried pasta, just follow the directions on the boxa). Strain.
Step Six: Add strained pasta to large sauté pan. Toss, distributing squash, onions and spinach throughout the linguini. Remove from heat and let it sit for a few minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve immediately.

Garlic Herb Linguini with Roasted Butternut Squash, Red Onions and Spinach Sautéed with Garlic— simply delicious!

Herbed Spaghetti Squash with Spinach and Mushrooms

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:59:17 -0400

Well, obviously I haven’t posted in awhile. I’ve been pretty busy working with a few new clients so I’m just now getting around to going through my back log of pictures and recipes I’ve been meaning to post. So, the season may have passed by a little, but it still might be possible to make some of these tasty dishes and this one was especially tasty. So, I bring to you, after many weeks without post, a Meatless Monday must— spaghetti squash!

Ingredients:
1 organic spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
3 tablespoons organic unsalted butter
2 cups, organic spinach
1/2 pound organic mushrooms
4 organic garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh organic thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh organic rosemary leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh organic parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Step One: Roast your spaghetti squash to get 6 cups Roasted Spaghetti Squash.
Step Two: While your squash is in the oven clean and remove the stems from your mushrooms, wash spinach, tear parsley and dice rosemary and thyme leaves.

Step Three: In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until softened, 7 minutes.
Step Four: Stir in thyme and rosemary and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
Step Five: Add spinach, cook until wilted, 5 minutes.
Step Six: Add squash and toss to combine. Cook until warmed through.
Step Seven: Stir in parsley and Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

Makes a great main dish or an excellent side. Let me know how you like it!

Cheesecake Brownies

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:41:00 -0500

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I bring you cheesecake brownies. I made these for my nephew’s birthday since he loves cheesecake and brownies and these are the best of both worlds. The whole family loved them, almost alarmingly so. After my sister’s first bite she asked me to make them for her birthday— her birthday’s in July. So, that should give you some indication about how good these cheesecake brownies are. If you’re looking for a way to your sweetheart’s heart, this is it. Unless they don’t like chocolate, which in that case, why are you dating an alien from another planet?!

Brownie Ingredients:
1 box organic brownie mix ( Ignore the directions, just follow my steps here.)
1 stick organic butter
1 bag organic chocolate chips ( 10 - 12 oz bag)
2 organic eggs
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Step One: Fill medium pot with small amount of water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer. Put chocolate chips and two sticks butter into a bowl or double boiler that will fit into the pot of water. Make sure the water is not touching the bowl. You want the steam to melt the chocolate and butter. When butter and chocolate chips have melted and combined add one teaspoon of vanilla, stir and turn off heat.
Step Two: Pour brownie mix into medium bowl. Add 3/4 of the chocolate to the brownie mix. Reserve 1/4 of chocolate sauce to marbleize the top cheesecake layer.
Then add each egg one at time stirring after each addition.
Step Three: Spray 8 by 12 inch glass baking pan with organic cooking oil. Then pour brownie mix in pan. Use spatula to even out batter layer.

Cheesecake Ingredients:
2 8oz packages of organic cream cheese cut into cubes ( Let come to room temperature before mixing, very important to the cheesecake’s texture.)
2 organic eggs
2/3 cup of organic sugar
2 tsp organic vanilla extract
2 tbs organic all purpose flour

Step Four: Preheat oven to 325
Step Five:In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until ingredients are smooth and combined. Turn mixer off add flour, mix again.
Step Six: Carefully pour cheesecake mixture on top of brownie mix and spread out to form an even cheesecake layer.

Step Seven: Make sure your reserved chocolate sauce is warm enough to drizzle. Make chocolate lines on top of cheesecake from one side of the pan to the other. Then use the knife to create a marble design. Go horizontal across vertical chocolate lines, vertical if your chocolate line are horizontal.

Step Eight: Bake at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove when cheesecake has set and is starting to brown on edges or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Step Nine: Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate the brownies until they are firm enough to cut into squares (at least two hours).
Step Ten: Cut into small squares. Let sit for ten minutes before serving.

Just looking at this picture makes my stomach growl. There’s nothing better than a rich fudgey brownie topped with tangy, creamy cheesecake. Happy Valentine’s Day!!! Enjoy!

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Apples and Fennel

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:15:00 -0500

I tried fennel for the first time when I made the Rice with Fennel and Golden Raisins for the Great Grapes dinner party. I read that fennel was great when paired with chicken and apples and I started using fennel instead of celery in a lot of recipes. I made our Thanksgiving apple cider sausage stuffing with fennel instead of celery and when I made turkey salad with the leftovers I used fennel again. Leftover cranberry sauce with turkey, fennel, apples and pecans made a delicious salad. I now make cranberry sauce just so I can make this salad. I use chicken instead of turkey and have a take on chicken salad many have never seen, but once you try it you won’t want any other.

Ingredients:
1 cup organic pomegranate juice
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
12 oz organic cranberries
2 cups cooked organic chicken ( about 2 breasts), shredded
1 organic fennel bulb, diced
1 organic onion, diced
2 organic gala apples, diced
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/2 cup dried organic cranberries
1/2 cup organic or light mayonnaise made with olive oil

Directions:
Step One: Add pomegranate juice, brown sugar and cranberries to sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and continue to cook until cause thickens and cranberries burst, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sauce cool.
* You want to make sure the cranberries have burst because otherwise they don’t absorb the sugar and you’ll get a rather sour surprise.

Step Two: Add shredded chicken to cranberry sauce and stir. Add mayonnaise and stir. Add fennel and stir. Add onion and stir. Add apples and stir. Add pecans and stir. Add dried cranberries and stir.
Step Three: Put chicken salad in tupperware with lid and place in fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Step four: Eat on bread, toast or in a salad. ENJOY!! Let me know what you think!

Photos by Sara Graca. ©Palamedes Photography 2012, All rights reserved. Please contact us for usage rights. www.saragraca.com

Mandarin Orange Creamsicle Cake

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:58:16 -0500

I made this Mandarin Orange Creamsicle Cake to celebrate the Chinese New Year with my family. During the Chinese New Year, Mandarin oranges and tangerines are considered traditional symbols of abundance and good fortune. So, although this recipe may not feature local ingredients, I hope you’ll enjoy it all the same.

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups organic all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Step One: Combine dry ingredients. Stir.

Creamy Ingredients:
13 tablespoons organic butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cup organic sugar
3 organic eggs

Step Two: Mix butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy.
Step Three: Beat in eggs one at a time.

Wet Ingredients:
2 tablespoons organic orange juice concentrate
1 cup organic milk
1/3 cup organic vegetable oil
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
2 tsp organic orange extract

Step Four: Combine wet ingredients. Stir. Mix half of wet ingredients into creamy mixture. Stir. Then add half off the dry ingredients. Stir. Add remaining wet ingredients. Stir. Add remaining dry ingredients stir.
Step Five: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Step Six: Line two 8 inch circular cake pans with parchment paper. Spray sides with non-stick cooking spray. Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Filling Ingredients:
8 oz neufchatel cheese at room temperature ( you could use cream cheese as a substitute, but neufchatel has less fat and calories)
1/4 cup organic orange juice concentrate
2 cups organic powdered sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 organic mandarin oranges, zest only

Step Seven: While cake is cooling use mixer to combine ingredients for filling. If you find the filling to be runny, refrigerate and let stiffen.
Step Eight: Once cake has cooled put the filling inbetween the two layers. I had a little extra so I put some on top too. Don’t worry, it’s all gonna get covered up with fluffy sour cream and whipped cream icing. Mmm.

Icing Ingredients:
1 cup organic sour cream
1 cup organic powdered sugar
10 oz Tru Whip (if you can make your own with a good stiff peak, more power to you. I haven’t mastered making my own whipped cream yet and Tru Whip is 70% organic.)

Step Nine: Stir powdered sugar into sour cream. Once combined fold in whipped cream.
Step Ten: Using a piping bag or storage bag, put icing into bag and cut corner of bag. Pipe on icing starting at the top and working your way down.
Step Eleven: When you have the cake covered, spread icing out with spatula, smoothing out the icing and making the cake more presentable. Remove excess icing from plate with a wet paper towel.
Step Twelve: Cover cake and place in refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. (The picture below shows what happens if you don’t— runny filling! But it still looks good!) Use mandarin orange slices to decorate each slice. Return to fridge after serving.

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!!! 2012 is the year of the dragon and is supposed to be a year of great prosperity. Here’s hoping! (Don’t forget to vote for me in the Celebrate with Organic Blogger Contest everyday until the 31st and tell your friends.)

Shopping list: flour, kosher salt, aluminum-free baking powder, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, frozen orange juice concentrate, oil, vanilla extract, orange extract, powdered sugar, neufchatel cheese, mandarin oranges, sour cream and whipped cream.

Goat Cheese Garlic Chive Cavatappi

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:54:00 -0500

So, I’ve been having a bit of a love affair with goat cheese lately. I can’t help it! It’s just so creamy and delicious. As a consequence of my recent addiction, there are currently three flavors of chévre in our fridge; one of them being garlic chive chévre from Mackenzie Creamery. Since my friend Laura recently did a piece on the creamery for WKSU’s new Quick Bites segment, I decided I should create a recipe that features Mackenzie Creamery’s chévre and my friend Laura’s visit to their farm. You know, since I like to do the whole farm to fork thing.

I got my inspiration from a recipe I found while planning the cheese theme for the dinner party club. The recipe featured goat cheese, rosemary, garlic and roasted chicken and was created by chef Michael Symon for his restaurant Bar Symon. In my head, I replaced rosemary with chives and thought, “I know exactly what to make with this chévre!”

Since I realize not all of you have access to Mackenzie Creamery’s garlic chive chévre the recipe below will just use organic goat cheese, organic garlic and organic chives. This recipe is delicious! Even in leftover form. I’d recommend making this when you’re having company, it’s simple, tasty and can feed at least eight people comfortably.

Ingredients:
1 pound dried organic cavatappi
1 quart organic heavy cream
4 tablespoons chopped fresh organic chives
2 cloves fresh organic garlic, crushed
8 ounces organic goat cheese
2 cups shredded roasted organic chicken
salt and pepper to taste
* Note: If you do have access to Mackenzie Creamery’s products you will just need pasta, cream, chicken and 8 ounces of the garlic chive chévre.

Directions:
1. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a rapid boil.
2. While you are waiting for the water to boil, pour the cream into a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and two tablespoons of the chives to the cream and bring it to a simmer - take care not to let it boil over. Allow the cream to reduce by about half.
3. Once the water is boiling add the cavatappi to the water. Cook till al dente, 10- 12 minutes.
4. Once the cream mixture has reduced by half, add the goat cheese. Stir until cheese has melted and combined with the cream. Then add the chicken. Stir. Continue cooking till the cream coats the back of a spoon. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the sauce or the sauce to the pasta, whichever pan can accommodate both. Coat the pasta in the sauce and simmer over low heat for five minutes. Taste again. Add salt and pepper as necessary.
6. Remove from heat and let sauce thicken as it cools. Serve warm using remaining chives as a garnish. ENJOY!!!

This is really all part of my plan to get everyone else addicted to chévre. I’m generally a good food trend indicator so I think artisanal goat cheese is going to be big in 2012.

Oh and as always, remember to vote for me in the Celebrate with Organic blogger contest at www.celebratewithoganic.com/vote/6. Thanks everyone!

What's in Season in Ohio

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:02:00 -0500

What's in Season in Ohio:

Ohio amazes me sometimes. Did you know Chef’s Garden, the place where world renowned chefs order their produce from, is located right here in Ohio?! Well it is! From their produce, to their website, to their videos, to this beautiful booklet I am always impressed with their dedication to an aesthetically pleasing product.

Fried Cabbage

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:59:00 -0500

So, this entry is a break from my usual posts. I recently created this recipe card as a proposal for the type of cards I could make for a local farmer’s market. They ended up not being able to use it so I decided to share the card and recipe with you. Plus! It features bacon again! I like to share multiple recipes for one ingredient so you get lots of ideas of what you can make with your seasonal ingredients!What do you guys think? Would you like to see cards like this more often? Or should I stick to my usual style? Let me know!

Bacon Wrapped Arugula and Shallot Frittata with Roasted Red Potatoes

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:57:00 -0500

Few things make me happier in this world than bacon. So when I found organic bacon at our farmer’s market, I was ecstatic. Literally, ecstatic. Picture a kid receiving a puppy for Christmas and that’s me jumping up and down in the middle of Old Trail School over organic bacon. The Sara - Erin Dinner Party Club has been planning on featuring bacon in the future, so I have been on the look out for local organic bacon. I haven’t made a farm visit yet, but I did take the bacon out for a test drive. I’ve been holding on to this recipe for at least two years, but making it into an organic blogging contest has encouraged me to share it with you. It’s a shameless attempt to use bacon to win votes, I’ll admit, but I had to find a special way to highlight the most delicious of meats anyways. So friends, I bring you a true seasonal sensation. Vote for me; visit your local farmers market and enjoy!

Ingredients:
10 slices of organic bacon
3 organic eggs
1/4 cup organic milk
1/2 cup organic arugula, chopped
2 organic shallots, chopped
1/4 cup organic cheddar, shredded
2 cups red potatoes, 2-4 potatoes peeled and chopped
2 cloves organic garlic, minced
2 teaspoons organic olive oil
2 tsp organic paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bacon on baking sheet for ten minutes or until bacon has just started to curl and shrink.
Step Two: While bacon is cooking melt butter in large skillet on medium heat, when butter becomes fragrant, reduce heat to medium-low and add diced shallots and shredded argula. Season with salt and pepper.
Step Three: Cook until argula has wilted then remove from heat and allow to cool.
Step Four: Toss cubed potatoes in olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt, ground pepper and paprika. Once evenly coated place on foil lined baking sheet.
Step Five: Combine eggs, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper in medium sized bowl, whisk until frothy.
Step Six: Once bubbles have formed in mixture fold in half of the shredded cheese. Once combined fold in argula and shallots from cooled skilled.
Step Six: Coat inside of ramekin with thin layer of olive oil. After removing as much grease as possible from bacon apply slices to the sides of the ramekin. Once the sides are covered, cover bottom of the ramekin and join sides to bottom— forming a bacon cup for the fritatta mixture.
Step Seven: Pour equal amounts of fritatta mixture into each bacon lined ramekin and top each ramekin with a pinch of the remaining shredded cheese.
Step Eight: Place ramekins on baking sheet with potatoes. Bake for twenty minutes or until fritatta has reached the desired consistency and potatoes are golden brown. About 30 minutes.

Key Lime Chevre on Organic Graham Crackers

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:53:00 -0500

My parents bought me this chévre from our local farmer’s market for Christmas. It suddenly occurred to me that if I were to spread the key lime chévre on graham crackers it might taste something like key lime pie. And it did. And it was good. Lake Erie Creamery’s Key Lime Chévre on organic graham crackers. Try it! It’s delicious!

Empty plate = proof of deliciousness.

Middlefield Original Cheese

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:09:00 -0500

If you read my Broccoli Cheddar Soup entry then you know that even though there was no dinner party, I still tracked down some local organic cheddar for the occassion. I had hoped to visit a dairy farm and get pictures of a farmer milking his cows and follow the process of milk to cheese in some way. But this is what happened instead.

I found the Middlefield Original Cheese on OEFFA’s website. I tried to find a farm from the Co-Op I could visit and take pictures of, but this proved problematic. Despite having a website from which you can order their cheese, and a fax machine, the Co-Op is a collective of amish farmers. The Amish religion prohibits posing for photographs and if you ask an Amish person for permission to take their picture, they will often say no as this could be construed as a willingness to “pose.” So none of the farmers felt comfortable having a photographer visit their farm.

Despite not being able to find a farm to visit, I drove out to the Co-Op. It is a popular tourist destination in Geauga County and I thought at the very least I could buy some local organic cheddar for my soup and at the very most I could find a farmer willing to let me visit their property.

The ‘cheese house’, as Nelvin called it, was not what I had pictured. One of the first things you notice when you walk in, aside from the coolers upon coolers filled with cheese, is a large window where you can watch the cheese being made. I had pictured cheese cloths and milk curds maybe a few cheese molds… Nope. There was a large machine turning a large batch of cheese curds as four workers worked to salt the curds and move aging cheese blocks into tighter molds.

Nelvin made me agree not to photograph any Amish workers and allowed me to tour the ‘cheese house’. I even wore a hairnet— the white kind— just to clarify how committed I am to my documentary food photography.

Not everything defied my expectations though. I did see old-fashioned milk cans.

So, that was my trip to Middlefield Original Cheese. I hope you enjoyed this tale and that you might even make the trip to the ‘cheese house’ for yourself one day. I never did get anyone to agree to let me visit their farm, so if you know of a local organic cheddar producer who would be willing to have their farm photographed be sure to let me know : )

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:43:00 -0500

My favorite soup has got to be broccoli cheddar soup. Hands down. Since the dinner club party is on hiatus— everyone has been busy with the holidays and our gracious hostess, Erin, is still swamped as she prepares for her own gallery showing at Bay Arts! Eep! Go Erin!— November’s cheese dinner themed party had to be rescheduled. So, since I had already made my monthly farm visit or at least I attempted to. More on that later. I had quite a bit of cheese to go through. Luckily, I love cheese.

I made my first batch of broccoli cheddar soup in Novemeber from a recipe I found online and it just wasn’t what I wanted. So, I threw out the recipe and went rouge. And I think I have created the best broccoli cheddar soup ever created—just saying. I tried to cut down on the fat and calories by using extra sharp cheddar instead of processed cheese (ick) and by using broth instead of milk ( milk’s not a bad guy, he’s just not gonna be missed at this party.)

See I even let the carrots come to the party in my tummy. What’s up, Yo Gabba Gabba!

Ingredients:
2 tbs organic butter
1-2 organic onions depending on size, chopped
1- 4 qt container or 4 cups of organic chicken stock
1 - 8 oz. package of organic cream cheese, cut into cubes
2 1/2 cups organic sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ( or 1 1/2 cups extra sharp cheddar and 1 cup mild cheddar)
1- head of cauliflower ( 1 cup cauliflower stems and pieces)
1 head of broccoli, 2 cups stems and pieces (Optional: 1 cup florets)
salt and pepper to taste

Optional:Decorative carrot peels, but you know they want to come to the party.

Directions:
Step One:
Heat large, deep sided pot on medium heat. I do everything inside my stock pots when I’m making soups. One pot cooking anyone? Add butter to the pan of your choosing. Once butter has melted add diced onions. Sprinkle with pepper and a bit of salt and cook for 10 minutes or until tender.

Step Two: Pour two cups of chicken stock into pan. Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese cubes a few at a time stirring after each addition and letting them melt and incorporate into the stock. Once all the cream cheese has been incorporated add the shredded cheese and remaining two cups of chicken stock. Stir regularly to help cheese melt into the broth. Once the cheese has melted add 2 cups broccoli and 1 cup cauliflower, stirring after each addition.

Step Three:
Stir occasionally. Once broccoli and cauliflower is cooked through, taste soup and make salt and pepper adjustments. Since cheese has a lot of salt you really want to hold off till the end to see how much you need. Remove from heat and transfer soup to a blender. Blend well. Serve immediately OR you can return the soup to the pot and add the optional broccoli florets and repeat Step Four if you like having whole florets to sink your teeth into. That’s the way I like it personally.

Step Four: Enjoy the party taking place in your tummy. Mmm cheesy cruciferous vegetables!

Yo Gabba Gabba! (There’s a Party in my Tummy !) by Materialiste

Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:02:00 -0500

For the past two years, I have made coconut cupcakes for my family’s Christmas dinner dessert. My mom can’t eat chocolate so our yellow cake with chocolate frosting had to be revised. I had to find something that was as decadent as my family’s original dessert and that’s when I decided that our family’s new Christmas tradition would be a coconut infused yellow cake with cream cheese icing and toasted coconut. The shaved coconut added to the cream cheese icing makes these cupcakes a prize contender with our family’s original yellow cake with chocolate icing. I think. Chocolate is pretty amazing ;)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed organic shredded coconut
1 1/2 sticks (6 oz) unsalted organic butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large organic eggs
3/4 cup organic milk
2 tablespoons organic coconut extract
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

Directions
First Step: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Step Two:Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and shredded coconut in a large bowl. Set aside.
Step Three: Cream butter, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
Step Four: Add milk and coconut extract. Mix until combined.
Step Five: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 3 additions. Mixing until combined after each addition of dry to wet ingredients.
Step Six: Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
Step Seven: Bake cupcakes until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Step Eight: Let cool and assemble icing.

Icing

1 1/2 cups organic large-flake unsweetened coconut (This was the first year that I was able to find the shaved and shredded organic coconut. I found them both at Krieger’s Health Food Market)
2 8 oz packages of organic cream cheese
2/3 cup organic butter
2 1/2 - 3 cups organic powdered sugar
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Step One: Place flacked coconut on a parchment linked pan and bake in oven at 350 until lightly toasted.
Step Two: Cut cream cheese into cubes and place in bowl.
Step Three: Melt butter with vanilla and add to bowl with cream cheese. Beat until combined.
Step Four: Add powder sugar beating after each cup of powder sugar is added until desired sweetness and/or consistency is achieved.
Step Five: When cupcakes have cooled spread icing on cupcakes. Then sprinkle lightly toasted coconut flakes on top.
Step Six: Enjoy the beautiful decadence sans chocolate.

Cookie People: A Christmas Tradition

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:06:00 -0500

My family has a few Christmas traditions but there is only one I have to do every year or it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. We call them cookie people. Many years ago, my mom bought these special pans for baking gingerbread cookies, but since the pan eliminated the need to use cut-outs we replaced gingerbread with chocolate chip cookie dough and a tradition was born. Every year, we would make cookie people and decorate them with icing and leave a few for Santa. The only thing that has changed over the years is the ingredients. Well it’s the same ingredients, but they’re all organic now. Oh, and I let my niece and nephew do most of the decorating these days.

Decorated cookie people from Christmas 2010 : )

Chocolate Chip Cookies ala Sara
Dry Ingredients:
• 2 1/4 cups organic flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 oz bag of organic chocolate chips

Step One: Combine flour, salt and baking soda in small - medium bowl. Set aside.
Step Two: Preheat oven to 375.

Wet Ingredients:
• 2 sticks organic butter (softened)
• 1 cup organic brown sugar
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 2 organic eggs
• 1 tsp organic vanilla

Step Three: Beat butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla extract until creamy.
Step Four: Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Step Five: Gradually beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients .
Step Six: Stir in chocolate chips.

Step Seven: If you do not have an awesome cookie people pan that has been handed down in your family, you can go the more traditional route. Use a tablespoon to scoop dough. Roll each tablespoon into a ball. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet two inches apart so the edges don’t run into each other as they expand. Place in oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove when light golden brown. If you leave them in till they are golden brown they may as well be burnt since they will continue to cook and harden on the pan. A sad cookie truth.

FACT: A cookie taken out at the exact right moment = a happy child.

Step Eight: If you made cookie people, pour yourself a glass of organic milk bite off a cookie head and then get to decorating the rest of your people. If you made regular cookies still pour yourself a glass of organic milk and take a warm, gooey bite of your cookie before it has time to cool. This is mandatory anytime you make chocolate chip cookies and we all know it. Mmmm. Heaven!

My niece always eats the head first. So to be safe, you probably should, too : )

Fun fact: My first word was cookie and it is still the hardest dessert for me to resist. Do not use this fact against me!

I'm a Celebrate with Organic Finalist

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:07:58 -0500

I was selected to be a finalist in the Organic Valley and Stonyfield “Celebrate with Organic” food blogger contest :) I am honored to be one of the six finalists. If you would like to help me take home the grand prize all you have to do is go vote HERE!!! (I fixed the link after my wonderful friend Erin pointed out it was wrong. OOPS!) Voting is as easy as entering your e-mail address and clicking submit. You can vote once a day until January 31st, 2012. By the way I had an extreme blonde moment where I thought this deadline was a year away. Actually if you can’t tell, I’ve had quite a few blonde moments today. Why am I admitting to this? Stop typing! Agh! I’m too honest for my own good! Let’s just blame excitement and exhaustion and move on!

I promise to reward your votes with diligent recipe posting. Thanks to everyone who has been following my blog from the beginning and welcome to new followers! I hope you like what you see and enjoy what I make. Love, Sara.

Aren’t I adorkable? So, just look for this colorful picture when you get to the finalists page and click the vote for Sara G. icon above it : )

Pumpkin Blondie Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing and Toasted Pecans

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:51:00 -0500

So, I made this recipe approximately three times before I was successfully able to blog about it. The first time, I made it as a small rectangular cake and it wasn’t that pretty, but it was DELICIOUS and *mysteriously* disappeared before I could figure out a way to photograph it. The next batch was another set of bars and I managed to take pictures this time, but as I finished up the shoot and topped the last pumpkin blondie with some leftover toasted pecans. From that point on, there was no going back. So I made them a third time, this time as cupcakes topped with toasted pecans and I had created pumpkin perfection. The third time really is the charm and I have no regrets; except maybe for all the pumpkin blondies I have eaten in the process. Let me know if it was worth it once you try this recipe out :)

Dry Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose organic flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons ground organic cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Step One: Combine dry ingredients in small - medium bowl. Stir until combined.

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup organic pumpkin puree ( I got my pumpkins from Autumn Harvest Farm in Wooster, OH)
1 cup packed brown organic sugar
1/2 cup organic unsalted butter ( 1 stick) ( I used Organic Valley unsalted butter. PS. I love their cartoon cow.)
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract ( I used Simply Organics)
1 large egg

Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Step Two: Combine wet ingredients in order listed above in large bowl.
Step Three: Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir only until combined! Over sturring creates leaden, dense cupcakes. Blech!
Step Four: Use tablespoon to evenly distribute batter into 12 cupcake liners.
Step Five: Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Step Six: Let cool.
Icing Ingredients:
1 8oz. package of organic cream cheese ( I used Organic Valley Farms)
1/4 cup butter, melted (half a stick)
1-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
Step One: While cupcake are in the oven prepare your icing. Place butter and maple syrup in microwave bowl. Heat on high for a minute or until butter is melted. Cut cream cheese into cubes and place in bowl with cream cheese. Stir until combined. Sift in posder sugar in half cup amounts until icing reaches desired sweetness. Let stand and stiffen before spreading cupcakes.

Pecan Topping Ingredients:
1 cup pecans
Step One: Line small baking pan with foil. Spread pecans out on the pan.When cupcakes come out of oven place pecans in oven and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant, but not browned.
Step Two: Chopped pecans into smaller pieces.
Step Three: Once cupcakes have cooled and icing has reached desired consistency assemble cupcakes.
Step Four: Roll tops of cupcakes into chopped pecans until evenly coated.

FINAL STEP:
Pour yourself a glass of chai tea, coffee, hot chocolate or apple cider (add whiskey for an extra treat.) Enjoy your piece of pumpkin perfection.

Toasty Hot Toddy:
1 Shot Maker’s Mark whiskey
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup Twining Mulled Apple Chai Tea

1) Boil 1/2 cup water.
2) Steep tea bag in hot water for 5 minutes.
3) Remove tea bag.
4) Add whiskey.
5) Add apple cider,
6) Stir : ) (It is optional to ass a cinnamon stick or an apple slice with fresh lemon juice on it. Optional, but extremely delicious.)
7) Enjoy!