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Archive for May, 2012

May 31

Apple Blossom #2 2012~Weymuller
2 Comments

Love’s Apple Pie

A lovely poem written by a friend, a recipe for love and a must to be shared…enjoy!

Love’s Apple Pie

A dozen or so apples

in a wedding gown,

peeled, cored and pared down.

A cup and a half

of sugar in a tux.

Flour, fat and water,

don’t mix too much.

Chill the pastry and the

best man is done.

Bridesmaid…sprinkled cinnamon.

Into the church at 400 degrees,

ice cream waits to be

the justice of the peace.

This walk down the aisle

will take a little while.

When the aroma fills the room

then bride and groom

are now husband and wife

awaiting fork and knife.

A happy couple now golden brown.

Windowsill honeymoon

before we swallow them down.

                                                                                                                                   ~Simplyf Jones

May 30

DSCF3412
11 Comments

Good Morning Good Muffin ~ Rhubarb Morning Delight

After all the rhubarb enthusiasm following my article “The Barb is On!“ , we thought more rhubarb recipes for our readers were in order.

Morning muffins…so easy, so tasty, and they are a joy to make.  And, speaking of that sentiment, it is The Joy of Cooking that contains the base recipe for these treats.  The opening quote affirms precisely how I feel about cooking and writing at Caramelize Life: “Joy’s soul lies in the doing.”  ~ William Shakespeare

When the children and I harvest our own fruit, make our own food and eat it with satisfaction, we find the joy in doing, and each experience is amplified.  There is no question that these muffins are enjoyed exponentially more than anything we might buy.

Bountiful Barb~

After harvesting rhubarb and making gobs of sauces, we still have some bright, baby red shoots growing like crazy.  So, with just 4 1/2 cups of fresh cut, super ripe rhubarb, we made a triple batch of this recipe.  Some for now, some for morning breakfasts this week, some to freeze for later.

Any basic muffin recipe can work for rhubarb muffins.  I reference The Joy of Cooking for such basics.  Recipes are always garunteed goodness out of the Joy and I probably use it more than any other cookbook.

Wait until your rhubarb is ruby red before harvesting. Sometimes the baby shoots are the best.

In baking, I see no reason to reduce fats.  If I am going to indulge in a pastry or bread, I want it to be delectable, a treat worth savoring.  Thus, I have no interest in the “Basic Reduced-Fat Muffins” in the Joy and stick with the full flavored buttery goodness of “Basic Muffins.”

Though I’ve never seen an actual written recipe for rhubarb muffins, it is perfectly simple to modify any fruity muffin recipe to accommodate your rhubarb.  Begin by chopping the barb into berry sized bits and coat it in sugar to stand for about 1/2 hour.  Then start your batter.

~Rhubarb Muffins~

1 1/2 cups Rhubarb, chopped in 1/2 inch peices

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk or cream

2/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

~Instructions~

1~  Combine chopped rhubarb and 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl and set aside for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.

2~  Set oven to 400F.

3~  Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla in a separate bowl.

4~  Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add the egg mixture.

5~ Mix to barely combine (the batter should look lumpy and not fully mixed for proper rising).  Fold in rhubarb, and fill greased muffin tin cups.

6~ Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7~  Let cool for a couple minutes before removing from pan; serve warm with butter.

Yeild: 12 muffins

Love from Our Kitchen to Yours!  Georgina @ Caramelize Life

Rhubarb Muffins and Honey Suckle

May 25

2012 garden spinach
13 Comments

Spring Start Salad ~ with Caramelized Balsamic Dressing, Roasted Nuts, Berries & Goat Cheese

Tough Greens Sweeten Up
!

Well, not exactly tough ~ but more hearty than the sweet lettuces of later spring.  The kale, beet greens and spinach called for in this recipe can be rather fibrous as adults, but more tender as babies.  So springs the recipe!

The spinach is currently exploding, so I’m using it in every meal.  This recipe is a favorite, loaded with the flavors of its dynamic, crowd pleasing, caramelized dressing.

Spinach, kale and beet greens, picked small as soon as you’re ready to thin, are a delectable treat. But they also hold their shape under a warm dressing very well. The slightly bitter taste of each adds to the complexity of flavors, which are plenty with the garlic, berry and honey content in the dressing.

Salt and a slight tang in the goat cheese tops the flavor combo…to the point that I’d love to have this salad as a main course regularly ~ if my family would agree.

The balsamic vinaigrette tends to wow guests. Sautéed garlic combines with honey, balsamic and dried fruit to caramelize into a thick, warm syrup.

Caramelizing honey, balsamic and olive oil requires a full boil.

I first tasted a version made by Julie Libby, former chef and now owner of our local book haven, Trail’s End Bookstore.  (Some of our favorite cookbooks from Trail’s End are featured on the righthand sidebar.)  I’ve modified the recipe with honey rather than sugar, added some dried berry options and expanded from spinach to a variety of tougher greens.

Healthy spring garlic ~ carefully roasted, the garlic in this recipe’s caramelized dressing works to enhance all other flavors.


~Caramelized Balsamic Dressing~

½ cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup dried cranberries, huckleberries or blueberries

1/2 cup honey

Salt and pepper to taste

1~ Sauté garlic in a small saucepan in 1 T olive oil until slightly browned and fragrant.

2~ Mix all other ingredients well and add to garlic on medium-high, stirring frequently.

3~Bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to a lively simmer, stirring constantly. Do not let boiling or stirring cease.  Allow to thicken until caramelized, about 5-7 minutes.

4~ Let cool for 10 minutes or until just warm and serve. Top each salad with prudent spoons of dressing, tossing lightly with each spoonful (it is very flavorful, so be careful:)

~ Use this dressing as soon as it is cool enough to pour and save the rest to reheat later.  It can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and reheated for additional meals.

~Spring Start Salad~

Spinach, Kale, Beet Greens  (full sized salad bowl, filled)

½+ cup roasted almonds (or substitute walnuts or peacans)

½+ cup crumbled goat cheese

1~ Roast slivered or chopped nuts for 5 minutes or until just brown. Set aside to cool.

2~ Tear greens in ratio to your liking.  This recipe can be made in one bowl, but we recommend plating individually because of the warm dressing ~ the presentation is better and it holds shape in smaller portions. To prepare individual salads: make a bed of 1 ½ cups mixed greens on each plate.

3~ Drizzle ¼ cup warm dressing over top and toss~barely; top with 2 Tablespoons each, cheese and roasted nuts and serve.

A little sprinkling of each topping is all that’s needed for this salad of full bodied flavor.

NOTE:  This salad can be made all year long with standard spinach and kale as well. Try experimenting by substituting different roasted nuts or other tough greens to fit your family’s fancy.

Love from our Kitchen to Yours ~ Georgina @ Caramelize Life

If it’s not time to grow your own greens, local producer’s in our Methow Valley are easy to find at METHOW NET’S DIRECTORY, or look for organic goodness at your local farmer’s market.

Kale, like spinach, grows  quickly in cool spring weather.  If your garden is populated with kale, it can be used solely for this salad, or check out a different take on tough spring greens on Sassy Radish.  The Tuscan Kale Salad with Pecorino looks divine.

We love to use SUNNY PINE FARM’S Chèvre.  Not only do we love the families who tend and milk the goats, but the product is out of this world! Thank you Vicki and Ed Welch for your amazing farm!

Logo

Sunny Pine Farm serves the local community with high quality, healthy, organic products.  Ph:(509) 997-4812

Up north, the Larkhaven Cheese Farm is superb as well.  Their goat and sheep combo feta is mouth watering and would go very well with this recipe.

Larkhaven Farm  (509) 486-1199.


May 23

Lucy in the Garden with Diamonds
10 Comments

Mutual Giving

Of all that I love of writing about food at Caramelize Life, topping the list is the opportunity for mutual giving.

When we began this venture of writing garden to table recipes from our heritage and kitchens, it was blissful in itself. Making life a little sweeter through cooking with family and friends is naturally full of joy.

Limoncello, made with love and sunshine by the Weymuller family

The happy bonus is sharing with all our wonderful readers and fellow writers across the world!  The very nature of cooking blogs invites us to support one and other.

In giving our ideas, feedback and support to each other, everyone benefits.  Rather than competition, it is collaboration ~ active, mutual giving that leads us all towards more knowledge and happy success.

A gift from Mama Rachelle ~ her home made vanilla extract

Sharing our knowledge and methods about food is as ancient as we people are. Rachelle and I are happy to have gleaned knowledge from our mothers, grandmothers and friends, and we’re purposefully sending out the secrets.

But in sharing with an extended network of food growers, chefs and producers, our joy and knowledge is multiplied more than we ever could have imagined.

Picking spring asparagus

Learning from Mama Gina how to make rhubarb sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our connections as people are within the food we eat, and the way we feed our bodies creates our lives.  So, as we at Caramelize Life share of heritage, food, family and community, we invite you to feel the joy.

Here’s to growing bountifully, cooking beautifully and making life sweeter together!

Love from our kitchen to yours!  Georgina @ Caramelize Life

May 21

Misty Fjord Salmon 2012
6 Comments

What’s for Dinner?

 Misty Fjord’s Wild Salmon

  Seasoned with garlic, onions, dill and olive oil.

  Olive tapenade, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nut orzo pasta.

 And fresh sautéed  garden asparagus.

A quick and easy dish that is balanced and scrumptious too!

Wild caught salmon is the best, both in flavor and nutrients. Having worked in the Alaskan fishing industry in my 20′s I know it’s not an easy job and am thankful to be able to stock up on quality salmon each season.

Our mountains are not quite close enough to the ocean and inlets so we stock our freezer like squirrels in the fall with all things good. That’s when I place an order with our neighbor Fran, owner of Misty Fjord Seafood who I’m pretty sure is actually Super Woman. I end up guesstimating how many filets and pieces of fish we’ll need until the next season, and if we end up with extra we have it smoked so that we can enjoy it on hikes with a little goat cheese and good bread.

If you’ve got freezer space I highly recommend stocking up. Having it on hand makes dinner a snap!

Ingredients:

1 wild salmon fillet
3 pressed cloves of garlic
1 sliced onion
1 lemon (half sliced and half for juice)
a handful of asparagus spears
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1 teaspoon dill weed
3 tablespoons of quark, sour cream, mayo or LEMONAISE®
3 cups of orzo
2 tablespoons olive tapenade
sun-dried tomatoes (a jar or 9-10 from your pantry chopped)
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/2 parmesan cheese (optional)
dash of white wine for sauteing

~preheat the oven to 400f

~Defrost the fillet in its packaging (it is recommended to do so in the refrigerator but under running water has worked in a pinch. You can save the water and use it to feed your plants).

~Next prep the garlic, onions and dill sauce

Dill sauce:
~combine the quark, sour cream or mayo with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice, dill weed and mix. Omit the lemon if using LEMONAISE®
~Once defrosted place the fillet on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet for easier clean up.
~Drizzle olive oil onto the fillet, sprinkle dill weed and add slices of the onion, garlic and lemon (squeeze the slices just a bit) and cover with foil.
~Bake for 15-20 minutes checking for done-ness = when the salmon flesh turns to a light pink.

Now, prepare the orzo while the salmon is baking.
Orzo is quick and a favorite with our kids. To make it an all around hit I add a little color and flavor with sun-dried tomatoes, keeping it quick and easy I use a pre-made olive tapenade that I have on hand for easy appetizers. If you have time and can make your own I am sure you’ll be rewarded. Another crowd pleaser and healthy addition, is to add pine nuts.

Next, prep the asparagus. This is fun because it is fresh right now and in the backyard, easily gathered by the kids and they love it.

walking with scissors

~Once the asparagus is washed, then saute it with a little white wine until tender and set the asparagus aside.

~By the time the orzo is finished, your salmon should be done as well.
~warm plates if you want
~mix the olive tapenade, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts into the orzo and add the parmesan cheese.
~serve right away with a small dollop of dill sauce on top of the salmon.

serves 4-5

More salmon recipes here

Plan ahead
I love to make enough for leftovers. Extra orzo is great for lunches, add pesto to change it up or make it into a salad. It’s perfect hot or cold.
Leftover salmon is nice for morning egg scrambles, add chevre, chives and spinach for a healthy start.

Learn more
If you are interested as to why I choose wild salmon over farmed raised there are a number of reasons and it is important to know why and what you are putting into your body. I don’t think we can trust that someone else will be looking out for our best interests.  I feel it is important to educate oneself and spread the word on sustainable practices that benefit all. If your curiosity is piqued, then please check out the following links and make your own choice.

Why salmon is worth the fight- video

Salmon Aid

David Dobs describes the life of a wild salmon and the confusion between wild and farmed in his 2008 article in Eating Well named The Wild Salmon Debate  “He [the salmon] eats with an open mind—other fish, mollusks, and lots and lots of krill and other planktonic crustacea that have feasted on red algae. This diet turns his flesh pink and rich in omega-3 fatty acids.”

Now what’s for dessert?

Cheers!
Rachelle @ caramelizelife

~

May 14

Carrot love
8 Comments

Garden Love: Kids & Carrot Soup

Kids love to garden ~ as long as we elders help that love along:)

How can we as parents hook kids on growing their own food for life?

The main ingredient for kids of any age ~ FUN!

This spring, my daughter was given a single bean to plant inside.  She named the beloved bean–ready for this–”Beanie,” much to our great shock.  She labeled Beanie, watered her and put her in a sunny window.  She invested much in Beanie, singing to her, fanning her, telling her stories.  Now Beanie is about 5 inches tall and needed a home, so a bean teepee was built for Beanie (methods below).  Now, one of her favorite places to be is camped out, making “salad” in the bean teepee.

It’s in this–determining what is really fun for your child–that hooks them on gardening.  Here are some other ideas.

Grow What They Eat

The first vegetable my daughter wanted to eat out of the garden was a sweet pea.  Imagine that.  A sweet pea wanting to eat something as sweet as she!

She proclaimed “these pea pods are just little sacks of sugar!”

She told all her friends in case they hadn’t discovered that definition:)

The first veggie my son loved was the carrot.  We looked up different carrot varieties and he got attached to the type called “short and sweet.”  From 4 years old to the present, he is in charge of the carrot patch:)

Carrots! Easy to grow with children, wonderfully sweet to eat fresh.

Read for Inspiration

Books about families gardening self sufficiently are wonderful introductions as well.  My all time favorite is Oxcart Man.  It teaches about the cycle of the seasons and all the family does to make their own food all year.  Here is how the beautiful tale begins:

Ox-Cart Man, a beautiful description of self-sufficient living in poetry.

“In October he backed his ox into his cart

and he and his family filled it up

with everything they made or grew all year long

that was left over.”

Another great one for kids is Carrot Soup.  Not only is it a hilarious, creative story of a carrot obsessed bunny and his collective of gardener friends, it has a good carrot soup recipe for you and kids to try at the end.

A bean teepee for Beanie:)

Make a Space that Kids Love

If you set aside a corner or two for your little ones, they will love taking ownership of it.  Even a 1 x 3 ” plot is enough for a child to grow food they’ll eat through the summer.

Give them a choice of seeds, and help them decide by thinking about what they like to eat.  Consider an edible flower to enhance the experience ~ my kids are fascinated by any pretty flower to safely consume.

Consider a bean pole teepee.  It sets apart a space that can be just for kids.  They will learn to be careful of planted beds and delicate seedlings, and know that they have a sanctuary where they can also creatively play.  After all, encouraging kids to love the garden through work is not going to be the most effective ~ that comes later!

Include play space in the garden and your kids will join you:)

A bean teepee can be anything you like, but we like to use skinny lodgepole downed in the forest.  Dried river wood offers some wonderful shapes.  The teepee itself can be a work of art in your garden.

One thing I did this year that I will now do every year is to save and dry our sunflower stalks for the following year.  Those long fibrous stocks dry to rock solid by spring.  I leaned them against the garden fence so they wouldn’t rot and let them stand all winter.  In spring they were hard as can be and I cut them to make a criss-cross trellis around the teepee.  (Beans need stalks smaller than lodgepole to climb:)

We planted three varieties of beans and my daughter took up immediate residence in the teepee.  She even asked to sleep there.

Pick the Fruits of Your Labor ~ Together

No matter what, involve your kids in the harvest!  The satisfaction of eating off the vine or picking the fruits of your labor is tough to beat.

Encourage the chillins to set up a little veggie stand if your family has extra, and show them the value of home grown food–for belly and pocketbook.  Rachelle has a great post about involving kids in local farmer’s markets, FIND YOUR MARKET.

I’ve found that the single most powerful way to encourage your kids to love to garden is simple: eat what you love, and grow what you eat!

Carrot Soup

At many farmer’s markets across the country you will find carrots ~ possibly the most kid friendly veggie.

Known to granola crunching vegetarians everywhere, The Moosewood Cookbook (1977 edition by Molly Katzen) is a fabulous addition to any chef’s library.  The carrot soup here is a modification from the Moosewood.

2 lbs peeled or scrubbed, chopped carrots
4 c stock
1 1/2 t salt
1 medium potato, chopped (optional)
4 T butter
1 c chopped onion

Moosewood Cookbook

2 cloves crushed garlic
1/3 c toasted nuts (pumpkin seeds, cashews or almonds)

1/2 pint heavy cream, or 3/4 c sour cream or plain yogurt

Season with:
~ 2 pinches of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon and 1 t grated ginger.

1.  Place carrots, stock, salt and potato in a medium sized soup pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer it for 12-15 minutes. Let it cool to room temp.

2.  Saute the onion and garlic in the butter until the onions are clear. You can sprinkle in a little salt to help draw the moisture out of the onions. Towards the end of cooking, stir in the seasoning combo you choose.

3.  Puree everything together in a food processor or blender until smooth.

4.  Whisk in cream or yogurt just before serving.

5.  Garnish with toasted seeds, nuts or toasted croutons and serve.

Happy Gardening from Georgina @ Caramelize Life

Find more carrot soup recipes on KitchenDaily.com

Read more: http://www.slashfood.com/2007/08/21/the-original-moosewood-carrot-soup-recipe/#ixzz1uOeLCI5r

May 10

The barb is on!
120 Comments

The Barb is On

Rhubarb: how we love thee.  You are full of the zing of spring, yet you are humble and hearty.

And how underestimated you have been in years past!

From early childhood, my mother always made rhubarb sauce (recipe herein), pie, crisps, cobblers and froze whatever was left over for winter delights.

Farmer’s Markets right now have an abundance of Rhubarb, and likely your neighbor does too.  Our last article, Find Your Market has links to markets across the country and rhubarb is one of the most common items sold at this time.

Harvesting rhubarb is easy for kids ~ and produces tasty treats they love

I’ve often heard folks describe rhubarb as a weed or make comments like, ‘what would I do with it?’ To which I respond, ‘I’d be happy to take that off your hands so it’s not in your way.’ I’ll never say no to free barb.

Rhubarb sauce over yogurt was a staple growing up as it is in our home now. We regularly harvest, beginning now, and make sauces for breakfast dishes, lunches and snacks. If the seed stalk is kept cut back, and you trim your barb as it ripens, you can keep a plant producing all summer long.

Bring on the barb!

Kid Friendly Harvest & Recipe

This week, my son Phoenix worked the entire process, garden to table.

He harvested the rhubarb, washed it, cut it and cooked the sauce, all himself.  (Well, I did the taste testing for sugar ratio, otherwise it would have come out heavy on the sweets:).

This is a wonderful recipe to use as a tool to get your kids into gardening and cooking.  The resulting food is something kids love ~ a sweet and tangy sauce that goes well over yogurt, ice cream or, my favorite, breakfast waffles and pancakes.

Rhubarb Sauce

Fresh Rhubarb

Sugar

Water

~ Chop washed rhubarb into 1 inch chunks and fill a quart sauce pot.  Add enough water to cover the bottom with at least 2 inches.

~ Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Once the fruit starts to break down, reduce heat to medium-low.

~ Add sugar and continue stirring; once the sauce is simmering again, turn to low.  You may add your sugar to taste, but for a quart pot full of fruit, I generally use about 5 cups sugar.

~ Eat fresh on yogurt, waffles, over ice cream, or jar in Masons and freeze.

Guest Food Blogger Recipe:

Check out a delicious way to use fresh rhubarb in a fruit crisp ~ fellow foodie, Mary Miller shared this great recipe for Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp.  We recommend giving it a try:)

Mary shares good food on her blog, A Passionate Plate.  

NOTES on Rhubarb

Breakfast Treat: waffles, yogurt and sweet rhubarb sauce.

~For planting, try finding an existing plant to cut from.  The root of the barb is like one solid mass.  You can cut right through it to divide the plant.  Don’t worry about damage–this root is hard to kill.  It will grow almost anywhere.

~Water Rhubarb liberally.  I made the mistake years ago of thinking the wild plant on the side of the house didn’t need tending.  Not so–the barb takes a lot of water in spring and through the summer if you want to harvest repeatedly.

~ Save it for later!  If you don’t want to make sauce out of all your barb, wash it, cut it in one inch chunks and bag in the freezer.  It is just as good taken out months later for pies, sauce, chutney or crisps.

~ In the Methow Valley, purchasing rhubarb plants is possible at the Local 98856.  They also have great advice on the plant and others.

Love from Our Kitchen to Yours!  Georgina @ Caramelize Life

May 4

Spring Aspen leaves pop
7 Comments

FIND YOUR MARKET

Spring has sprung literally in the last week, here in the Methow Valley.

We’ve enjoyed the first couple of Farmers Markets held each Saturday 9am to noon. Our early spring heat wave has been kind to all the vendors and welcomed shoppers with a warm embrace.

For years I’ve been a patron to any farmers markets I can find either at home or abroad.  The market can be a unique window into local communities health and its products.  Market atmospheres are lively and festive. They celebrate our earth and what it can produce. Markets highlight and strengthen our ties to how and where our foods are processed and originate. Not everyone can live on a farm and learn from family traditions handed down each generation but most everyone can find a farmers market and take the opportunity to meet and learn from the farmers themselves.

Markets move with the seasons from the beginning seedlings in the early spring to the mounds of apples, spices, jams and jellies in the late summer harvest times.  This seasonal reminder of what our local land provides is something that becomes forgotten in the long outer isles of the mega supermarkets. I know, I love bananas in my smoothies and pineapple too.  I am not ready for a strict change but I do appreciate the fresh reminder to clean out the cob webs in my brain and love the fact that I can challenge myself to finding Saturday night’s dinner at the market.

So tempting…but no she didn’t…really.

If you would like a little help in the area of spring cleaning of the cerebral spider webs there’s an app for that! Ok, not really but if you are tech savvy and have an iPhone, sorry Blackberry and Android, you can download an App to find out what’s in season it’s called NRDC Eat Local.
Wendy Gorden of the Huffington post described the app perfectly in her blog   New App Answers: What’s in Season Near You?  it is worth the read.

I also adore the life lessons the market imparts to our children. They learn from example and experiencing the arts and local agricultural producers at a personal level is such a gift. Taken a little further and the market is inclusive allowing children to try their hand at their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Read my post life lessons a budding entrepreneur at the farmer’s market  to learn more on this topic.

Each Market has it’s own structure and set of guidelines to help it run smoothly so check in with yours before you jump in feet first.

Market Dinner or Breakfast Challenge:

Simple Scramble with Chevre and Spring Greens

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 Tbsp oil (your choice; coconut oil gives a nice change in flavor, olive or grape seed oil or butter)
1 Tbsp chevre we used organic chevre from sunny pine farms
1 cup spring greens (washed, torn or chopped and stems removed) For a fun you could forage and use Dandelion greens! (remember to properly identify the plant, make sure it hasn’t been sprayed and pick young fresh leaves. Their bitterness will mellow and blend nicely with the eggs).
1 Tbsp chopped fresh seasonal herbs (your choice; chives, rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro etc)
salt and pepper to taste

A slice from a fresh baguette or rosemary bread to toast.

Each market is unique to its region and what it can offer, when in France, I love to add olives to this scramble or capers.

Directions:

~Wash, tear or chop spring greens and herbs and set aside
~Pre-warm two serving bowels
~Slice bread and put in the toaster
~Crack eggs in a medium-sized bowel and beat with a fork until mixed. Then add half of your seasonal herbs, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
~In a preheated nonstick or cast iron saute’ pan add oil, and then the egg and herb mix. Scramble the eggs turning from the outside in.  Right before eggs are fully cooked add the chevre  and remove from heat. Then, divide into equal portions (or as much as you are hungry for)and place in your warmed bowel.
~Next, add a tablespoon or so of water and wilt greens in your saute’ pan turning constantly until wilted and then pour over chevre and egg scramble.
~Sprinkle with the second half of the fresh herbs.
~Add salt and pepper to taste

~ enjoy!

Find your Farmers Market!

Here in the Methow we are lucky to have a few:

Methow Valley Farmers Market Saturdays 9am to noon, April through October
Winthrop Market Sundays 10am to 2pm, Memorial Day to Labor Day
Mazama Market Wednesday afternoons, during the growing season

The folks at Local Harvest. Org make it easy to do just that. Click on the link and enter your zip code or state and they will point you in the right direction. It is a great tool to use especially if you are traveling.

Here are a few more links to help you find a market near you:

The USDA Farmers Markets, Food and Wine articles on the Worlds Best Food Markets, Open Air’s market list, and the Huffington Post Photo’s of the worlds largest farmers markets.

See you at the Market!
Rachelle @ Caramelizelife

May 1

Rosemary, mortar and pestle
4 Comments

Pick & Cook: Creating your Kitchen Herb Garden

It’s so sweet and succulent to cook in the kitchen and pick fresh herbs simply by reaching out a hand. At Caramelize Life, we love to grow herbs indoors throughout the year~and as many as possible.

Not only is it extremely tasty to have fresh herbs on hand, it’s also much better than planting them amongst your vegetables. Why?  Many herbs can be prolific and take over the whole garden. I once lost 1/2 a strawberry plot to rogue oregano–super tough to kill. Squawdren herbs in pretty pots inside to keep these little soldiers under control!

Growing your indoor herbs is fairly low maintenance and is a super fun way to get into gardening with kids. My daughter enjoys stripping the the branches after we hang dry the herbs.  (Little fingers are very good at this:)

Hang dry, strip and store excess abundant herbs for soups, sauces and dry rubs.

It can take a week or two of hang drying, depending on your humidity level.  Consider grinding down your larger leaf herbs for dry storage.  It helps ensure you have removed all the moisture from the plant and makes it possible to toss right into your cooking.

I use a mortar and pestle by hand rather than an electronic device (always, whenever possible, do by hand:)  This gives more control and avoids totally pulverizing the herbs (which removes taste over time).

Dried cayenne peppers~perfect for grinding into Tai curries or dry rubs for grilled meats.

In addition to kitchen standards like basil and rosemary, this last fall, I brought in my oregano, mint and cayenne peppers that were not yet ripe.

It was a total success!

When they did redden up, I dried them in a sunny, south facing window and stored them in mason jars.  This took a good couple weeks.

The oregano, mint and basil kept producing fresh snippings through January.  It is so gratifying to look out at the snow and pick some fresh herbs for final garnishing of a beautiful hot meal.

Herbs through the winter, lovely to look at and a pleasure to pick

~Kitchen Herb Garden~

1~ Seed herbs indoors in March or April.
~ Try cilantro, cumin, basil, oregano, chives, rosemary, mint, and any herbs you use most often.  Seed stock from Local 98856 is a favorite.

2 ~ Keep consistently moist.  It is possible to over water, but pretty hard to do, except with basil which is sensitive.  Watch for browning leaves and reduce water.

3 ~ Thin to reduce spindly plants.  An herb like chives can grow in clumps, as can oregano, mint and cilantro.  Others like rosemary and basil are longer lasting plants and need inches between plants.

4 ~ Snip and eat!  If any of your herbs get gangly or start to flower, simply snip the tops and the herb plant will bush out and grow further.

5 ~ For abundant herbs from kitchen or garden, group them into 1 in. diameter bunches and tie off with twine (I use twisty ties I save throughout the year) and then hang in a dry, cool location.  Drying can take one to two weeks.  Be sure your herbs are crispy dry because if not they can mold when stored.

This summer, when the tomatoes really come on, I’ll post a fabulous version of caprese salad…using the indoor basil:)  Love Georgina @ Caramelize Life

Herbal guru Rosalee De la Foret has a fabulous website, Methow Valley Herbs, which we encourage you to read for education on medicinal herbs, growing and harvesting.  She also teaches herbal classes and posts a lot of great information on her Facebook page.

Great organic and heirloom seeds may be purchased at Local 98856.

Check out a great blog that includes herb recipes, growing methods, home made herbal salves and other products, Live In Art.

For local Methow producers of herbs, greens and other goods, check out  GLOVER STREET MARKET in Twisp, or purchase their Sowing Seeds organic seed stock onsite.

Outside North Cascades region of Washington State, go to AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, which has links to all the Master Gardener Groups and zoning information for planting time in your region.

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