Monday, August 26, 2013

Simple Roasted Banana Peppers {in the savory kitchen}

sometimes
my garden overproduces
at 
the most opportune time

recently guests came up to the ranch for a visit
at an hour
which isn't quite lunch
while being
too early for dinner

the time of day where one begins to feel peckish

what to do?
what to do?

i went a bit spanish
using 
the abundance of banana peppers
to 
create a delicious and simple
addition to afternoon tapas
roasted banana peppers

as many banana peppers and other fresh (smallish) peppers you can gather
olive oil
sea salt
sherry vinegar

preheat oven to 400F.  place peppers in large shallow pan.  lightly coat in olive oil.  roast until the peppers begin to blister and soften. remove from oven and immediately splash with sherry vinegar. sprinkle with sea salt.
serve warm or room temperature
simple
delicious

Thursday, August 15, 2013

browned butter berry bars {in the sweet kitchen}

this weekend past
we took a long drive
with no real agenda
except to explore
as we drove north
i began to obsess

a cookbook was given to me about a year ago
called
big sur bakery
while getting lost in its pages
i fell in love with the place
and began imagining each bite

while big sur is coastal
and
 we were on an inland route
a little jot west, wasn't too far off course
{it wasn't like we had anywhere to be}
so
an hour, and ten white knuckles later
we arrived in big sur

unfortunately
the bakery was hosting a wedding
which meant
it was closed

double dip dang-nabbit ugh

instead
we stopped at a half bad restaurant
for nourishment
not enjoyment
planning our return

and
when we got home
promptly made these
which are a variation of the brown butter rhubarb bars
from
using
berries we picked that morning
brown butter berry bars
(adapted from the big sur bakery cookbook)

 jam
2 cups blackberries and mulberries {or berries of your choice}
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup sugar
place all ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  cook on low heat until it begins to bubble and thicken.  watch closely and cook until it is thick and jammy. set aside to cool

crust
1 cup unsalted butter--melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups flour{whole wheat or all-purpose}
whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt.  stir in butter.  press into a 9"x 13" pan.  bake in a 375^ oven until it just begins to brown(15-18 minutes).  remove from oven and allow to cool.

brown butter filling
3 large eggs
 1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs unsalted butter
3/4 cup + 2 Tbs flour {whole wheat or all purpose}
1 teaspoon vanilla
place the butter in a saucepan and cook on low heat until it becomes brown and nutty, careful not to burn.  whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour and vanilla.  carefully stir in the browned butter.

to assemble
spread about half of the browned butter mixture on the prepared crust.  dollop about 3/4 of the jam on top.  spread the remaining browned butter filling and then dollop the remaining jam.  bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges just begin to turn brown.  do not overbake, (allowing the filling to souffle). allow to cool before cutting into bars. 
delicious room temperature or directly from refrigerator.


Monday, August 5, 2013

eggplant! {in the garden}

our garden got a bit of a late start
and is just starting to throw off
eggplant

i've gathered some recipes
that are both 
beautiful
and
delicious

ratatouille

eggplant parmesan


eggplant involtini

eggplant verde

...and now a question (or two) for you....
do you have eggplant in your garden?
what is your favorite way to enjoy it?

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