Yes You Can! (A White House Victory Garden)

So as I always do I ran across this story about first lady Michelle Obama and her message to the nation about eating healthier and being conscious about why we are eating what we are eating and I thought I'd share it with you!

Rarely has a giant sweet potato, a muddy knee and a stubbornly rooted fennel plant caused such a stir. But when First Lady Michelle Obama led groups of District of Columbia fifth-graders Thursday afternoon in the fall harvesting of the White House Kitchen Garden, much oohing, giggling, cuteness and shutter-clicking ensued.

The students, White House kitchen staff and representatives from Miriam's Kitchen — which feeds the homeless and was the main beneficiary of the vegetable haul — gathered on the South Lawn around picnic tables draped in red-and-white checked tablecloths and topped with baskets of apples.

White House assistant chef Sam Kass divided the kids into groups of three. A trio of girls from Bancroft Elementary School were paired with the first lady, who initiated a contest to see which kids could dig up the largest sweet potato. Obama noted that she and her daughters already had harvested a particularly hefty one. "They're huge," she said, underscoring the size of the potatoes by holding her hands about 12 inches apart. "They're huge!"

The first lady — dressed in jeans, a purple cardigan and purple sneakers — and her team of students — dressed in yellow Bancroft T-shirts — produced a basket filled with impressive tubers, which she presented to the assembled photographers and reporters for documentation.

Obama noted that already 740 pounds of food have been harvested from the garden,
which cost less than $200 to plant.

For fall, in addition to the sweet potatoes, the children gathered wheelbarrows full of carrots, lettuce and enormous fennel plants, one of which required the full weight of the first lady and her team members to extract from the ground. "You're going to eat your vegetables, right?" Obama said in the way in which parents turn a question into a decree.

After all their hard work and before settling in for an afternoon snack of apples and cider, the young farmers gathered for a group photograph, proudly posing with their vegetables, the first lady and her one very muddy knee.

By Robin Givhan
The Washington Post

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Ahi Tuna with Lemon and Herb Pasta

OK so the same day I grabbed the Halibut that I wrote about in the previous post I picked a couple fillets of some wonderful tuna which i also love. I was kinda playing with the pasta dish and thought this would be wonderful for friends that were coming over for dinner. So I cooked these just a touch pass med rare with this wonderful lemon and herb pasta which I paired wth a wonderful Pinot Grigio and it paired wonderfully and all plates were clean, which is the kind of plating that really matters!

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How about Halibut!

So as you guys know I love fish and I espcially love what I consider to be meaty fish like Escolar, Monk fish or Halibut. I got some this weekend because it was on sale at the local fish shop and decided to play with some flavors like vanilla, nutmeg,lemon and white wine and some chinese five spice. I think the flavors mesh well but I think I'll omitt the five spice in the final rub recipe i'm working on. I plated it with some simple parmesan mash potatoes and some wonderful mixed greens ( swiss Chard, baby spinich, beet greens)from my garden,which I wilted with some bacon and herbs, yup still getting some stuff out of the garden. I'll keep you posted on that rub recipe!

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Veggie Pasta with Herb Butter and Parmesan

Talk about simple. This pasta is full of flavor and takes just a few minutes. You can use any veggies you want, but I find the pre-packed bags of vegetables at the grocery store makes this recipe a snap. For this pasta I used broccoli, cauliflower and baby carrots along with some celery and capers I had in the fridge.

The ultimate flavors come from my recipe for herb butter. The herb butter has Italian spices and of course fresh garlic. To begin, I put a sauté pan on medium-low heat and used the herb butter to sweat and steam the veggies. You don’t want the heat too high or else the butter will burn and the veggies won’t get a chance to cook properly. You can also steam the veggies separately before adding them to the pasta.

Once the veggies were done (tender, but still with a little bite), I turned off the stove top and sprinkled some shredded parmesan over the top. I then added the pasta and mixed all the ingredients together in the pan as the parmesan quickly melted. Just transfer to a plate with tongs and you’re done.

I love this recipe because it’s fast and simple. The aroma of garlic from the herb butter along with wonderful, gooey blobs (is that the right word?) of parmesan. The celery seems to be best at soaking up the flavor of the herb butter and the little, salty capers fit right in.

This is one of those recipes you don’t really need exact measurements. The pictures above could probably feed two, even though I scarfed it down myself. :-)

I used about a one inch circumference of angel hair pasta. In the sauté pan, I just added a nice handful of veggies and used two hefty tablespoons of the herb butter. 1/2 to 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan should also do the job.

Butter, cheese and pasta don’t sound very health conscious, but at least you’re getting your veggies.

 

Technorati Tags: vegetables,veggies,pasta,herbs,herb butter,easy,recipe,capers,parmesan

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Back For More!!

Okay so I've been away for a while concentrating on work and school and the summer stuff like my gardens and home projects. I am happy to report that I will be back posting hopefully on a regular basis and with a whole new outlook on food and the Food of Love movement! I hope you all will join me again as I continue to share ideas , recipes and so on! I have missed you all greatly! Here's a picture of my new place in Saint Paul, Minneasota , I'm so excited with all the possibility it has.

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Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk

Don’t you hate it when you have every possible ingredient for a recipe except one thing that requires a trip to the store. Well it turned out I had four ingredients to make the one thing I needed. Who knew sweetened condensed milk was so easy to make at home? And this is no stretch of the truth, it tasted just like the famous Eagle Brand.

Amazingly I have a couple boxes of nonfat dry milk which is the prime ingredient for this recipe. All you need is a little sugar, butter, water and a blender and you’re done. I did find that the water may not be enough. Use the amount listed and if needed, add a little more water until it reaches the consistency like that from the can.

I could eat this stuff all by itself. When I was kid we used sweetened condensed milk for snow ice cream. Freshly fallen snow (we lived in the mountains) mixed with some of the sweetened condensed milk became instant ice cream flavor.

Printable Version

Ingredients

1 c. nonfat dry milk
1/3 c. boiling water
2/3 c. sugar
3 tbsp. melted butter

Directions

Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Makes the equivalent of 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, about 1 1/3 cups.

Technorati Tags: homemade,sweetened condensed milk,easy,recipe,eagle brand,copycat

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Pumpkin Brioche Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

During my trip to Ketchum, Idaho, I tasted some wonderful pumpkin brioche bread pudding at the Ketchum Grill. It was so good I knew I had to try making it at home.

Little did I know, my first big challenge was finding a bakery with Brioche. I made a few phone calls and was shocked some “bakeries” didn’t even know what brioche was. I made a mental note to avoid going to their shops in the future. Finally I found Rustica Bakery in Minneapolis, which bakes fresh brioche on Tuesdays. So that would be my day.

Brioche is a rich yet light bread made with ample amounts of butter and eggs. It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust from an egg wash applied before and after proofing. The crust is a little too tough for bread pudding, so you’ll have to slice it off. But the texture and crumb of the bread is great to soak up the cream, milk, sugar and of course pumpkin. You can also use white bread, but I wouldn’t use a dense bread like Pepperidge Farm or Brownberry. This is where good old Wonder Bread is your best bet.

The bread pudding itself is very moist but not runny like some bread puddings (thank goodness). The pumpkin flavor is not overpowering, but it’s definitely pumpkin. It’s a great flavor for the fall and through the holidays. But the homemade caramel sauce really ties it all together with a rich sweetness alongside some refreshing ice cream.

Hopefully you have a full house, to share this with because it’s addictive. I had leftovers the next morning and it reminded me of French toast. I wondered if I could cut a square in half and fry it up. Sounds like a good breakfast worth trying.

Printable Version

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Granulated sugar for dusting the pan
7 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
7 cups of cubed brioche or white bread (crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes)

Caramel Sauce (here’s my post about this awesome caramel sauce)

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Prepare pan: Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 13x9 baking dish. Dust with granulated sugar.

Prepare and Bake Bread Pudding: Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the 1/2 cup sugar.  Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until steamy but not boiling. Turn off the heat and add the pumpkin puree, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and salt.  Stir to mix. Slowly, pour over the egg yolks/sugar mixture while whisking. Gently fold in the bread cubes. Transfer the pudding mixture to baking pan.  Bake until nicely browned and set, about 40 minutes.

Caramel Sauce: Combine 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, salt and cream of tartar in a small saucepan. DO NOT STIR. Bring to a boil and cook until the caramel browns. When the caramel is medium brown, carefully add 1 cup of cream and simmer.

Serve: Cut bread pudding into large squares or just spoon onto a plate. Spoon a layer of caramel on top. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm. Serve alongside caramel swirl ice cream or even better, some salted caramel ice cream.

 

Technorati Tags: bread pudding,pumpkin,ice cream,brioche,recipe,dessert

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