Sorrel Soup

For years I have seen many references to sorrel in cookbooks, specifically European cookbooks, but rarely in anything from America.  Nor have I ever seen sorrel for sale in Michigan.  It frustrated me to no end....

Here is a great description of sorrel from a trusted source... http://www.herbcompanion.com/gardening/herb-to-know-sorrel-rumex-scutatus-r-acetosa.aspx

On Saturdays, John takes his cheeses to local farmers markets and usually does a bit of shopping as well.  Much to my surprise, last Saturday he brought home sorrel and tiny fresh leeks!  Whoo-Hooo!!
(Saline Farmers Market, 8am-12pm, Saturdays, downtown Saline, Michigan)

I drug out a favorite cookbook from my collection "In Season" by Sarah Raven.  Sarah Raven in an English gardener/cook and this cookbook in particular is heavy on seasonal vegetable recipe but also contains and amazing amount of herb and game recipes.  Who doesn't want to try "Deep Fried Parsley"???

I have never been disappointed in anything I've made from this cookbook and it has beautiful photography and ribbon bookmarks!! (Handy to the extreme!)

I followed the recipe closely with just a few minor alterations to suit my tastes, but it was simple and quick with a beautiful, bright flavor!  I was so happy with the results and so was the family!  I also loved the fact that this wasn't a huge recipe and the leeks didn't take over the flavor of the sorrel!

SORREL SOUP
by Sarah Raven with minor alterations by me

1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 Leeks, small, finely chop the white parts only
3 Potatoes, cubed and peeled if desired, I didn't. I used small red ones, but Yukon gold would be great too!
3 cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock (I used chicken)
1/4 pound sorrel leaves, ribs and stems removed, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Heavy cream
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a soup pot over medium-low heat, melt butter and olive oil and saute shallots and leeks without allowing them to brown about 10 minutes until soft.  Add potatoes and stock.  Simmer covered 23 minutes, add the sorrel and simmer an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and place in a blender, puree until smooth, add heavy cream and check consistency.  Add additional stock if the soup seems too thick.

Garnish with fresh chives, a sprinkle of fresh chervil or a few chunks of fresh chevre!  I think the goat cheese would be SO fantastic as a garnish, it would echo the mild lemon flavor of the sorrel and still keep that fresh flavor!

Hope you enjoy as much as we did!!

 

A snowy morning photo...

I just wanted to share a photo that I snapped from a snowy morning last week.  I'm not a photographer, I just can't seem to capture the magic.  I am always intrigued by folks that can find and capture wonderful photos.

I'm thankful everyday for auto settings...that whole aperture thing really confuses me!  So I have to share ONE amazing photo I took, no photo-shopping or editor.  (And the real beauty is that the snow has all melted!!) Enjoy!  Happy March 1st!

Resolutions...all food related!

This year my New Year's resolutions are all about food!  (I'm sure you find this a surprise!)  My big plans include Capons, ducks, quail eggs, possibly an octopus or 2 and CHARCUTERIE!!!

Some resolutions are recipes and eating, others are learning new techniques and re-sampling a few things that didn't ring my bell the first time around!

On the Charcuterie note;  it's something I love and have never had the drive to really make on my own.  I believe that is one of the perils of owning a specialty store, other folks are doing a great job, why mess with it?  I feel like 2012 will be my year of pate!

I've thought about making sausages and was really inspired by http://bier-camp.com/ as they are making INCREDIBLE sausages!  I especially loved the Smoked Gouda and portabella mushroom pork sausage I had in the fall.

However, I am still scarred by the years on the farm of finding a butchered hog hanging in the cherry tree as I got off the school bus and my father making us help him stuff sausage.....lots of it.  (That was also the year he made homemade soda.  I swore I'd never do that to my children and drank a coke at every opportunity!)  It doesn't gross me out, I think it's more of a "been there, done that, no need to return" attitude.  Biercamp is doing it so, so well....why not just support their efforts?!

More resolutions to come!

Wishing you joy and peace this holiday season.  Much family friends and food to carry you into the new year.

Fresh in winter....

Sunshine, fresh oranges with leaves still attached, quince and all their possibilities.  A fine day in the midst of winter in Michigan.

Lutz Centennial Farm Celebration

John and I spent a lovely afternoon with our neighbors celebrating the Lutz Farm attaining their Centennial Farm status. 

Only about 3 miles from our home, Lutz's apples are the absolute best around!  A great combination of heirloom and newer varieties of apples, their orchards and apples are fascinating and fabulous.  They also have some quince trees that I am seriously considering renting for the next 5 years! 

We always enjoy a chat and bottle of honey, apples galore and whatever else Ruth or Bill have been growing!  The Lutz's have an interesting heritage in the Tecumseh and Saline areas and we were honored to be a part of this special occasion!  If you are interested in visiting them you can find them here:

Macon Rd, near Saline

Just a few of the varieties of apples Lutz Orchard grows!

Ruth

The first harvest of Paula Reds, gorgeous!

The pigs were friendly.

Fresh donuts complements of Colemans Corn Maze!  So delicious!

You can add me to the list of supporting members!

Lutz heritage and photos!

Happy Independence Day!

It's been a thrilling weekend at the Aylward household!  We have spent our days catching up on household projects and enjoying the beautiful weather in Michigan!  I've been slathered with bug spray versus suntan lotion and all is good in my life! 

I had my first garden harvest...a little odd to have both raspberries and lettuce at the same time of year!

Today I will be picking some wild blackberries to add to the raspberries and make freezer jam.  It is my favorite jam ever.  Some may not like all of the seeds, but it doesn't bother me a bit!  The wild berries are just so intense and sweet, black juice that stains your hands and lips. 

I am using the Pomona's Universal Pectin for my jam as it's a natural pectin derived from citrus and doesn't require the crazy amount of sugar usually necessary to set jam.  You can also choose to sweeten with honey, agave syrup etc. and it still sets up!

 I picked up some really nifty labels that will remind me what's inside those jars!

I defrosted my upright freezer circa 1975....I won't tell you what was stashed in the back under a film of frost.  Now it is ready for a new season of fruit and vegetable harvests!

John is always willing to rev up the smoker and with the freezer defrosting, I thawed a little roaster chicken, stuffed it with onions, garlic, salt, pepper and fresh lemon thyme!  I put it on for about 5 hours at 200 degrees with applewood chips (last month's tree trimming expedition) and some local charcoal made with any chemicals.  Here she is about 2 1/2 hours in:

This lovely little bird was a deep mahogany color when finished and beautifully juicy and crisp on the outside!  We threw the breast meat on fresh greens with black beans and colby jalapeno cheese from The Boulevard Market with tomatoes and a light maple cider vinaigrette!  So, so delicious.  I still have a couple pounds of chicken left, so I think  this recipe will be today:

SMOKED CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICHES
2 cups smoked chicken, diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
salt & pepper to taste


DRESSING
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar




Whisk olive oil into mayonnaise until fully emulsified, add vinegar and chives and whisk until blended.  Stir in chicken, fruit, celery and nuts and stir until completely coated.  Let rest in refrigerator about an hour until flavors meld.  Taste and season appropriately!  I've got a lovely baguette to go with and a cold cucumber soup! 

Happy Independence Day!   

Southwestern Chicken Salad

I had been waiting for that first 90+ degree day to whip up this favorite salad of ours!  Last Sunday was it!  John and I worked outside and soaked up the sun, relaxed with family and caught up on naps.  It was a blissfully calm day in our hectic lives.

I so enjoyed smelling the Russian Olive bushes blooming their hearts out and listened to every bee in a 5 mile radius hum a tune while collecting their pollen!  Those shrubs are forever horrid and dangerous, yet gracefully beautiful with the most intoxicating perfume that tempts you into keeping them around.
You may enjoy a "before" shot: 

We spent our day cleaning away all of the dead branches (piles and piles of the thorny buggers) trimming the weeds and all of the dead pine branches.  A previous owner really over planted this portion of our yard.  20 or so spruce and pine trees as well as the hedge of Russian Olives and some apple trees.  20 years later, with little sunlight penetrating the ground, the pines and hedges needed a massive makeover!  After shots will be coming soon-helps build anticipation right? 

For supper we needed fresh, fresh, fresh and cool, cool, cool!  I decided to make a family favorite.  John loves Mexican food, I love avacados and lime juice, the girls love crispy tortilla strips and salsa.

This is another of those "non-recipe" type salads...I just throw it together, using whatever is on hand.

The dressing is the very best part!  1/2 and 1/2, bottled Catalina or French dressing and fresh salsa!
I used romaine lettuce, drained black beans, crispy tortilla strips, cilantro, tomatoes, avacados, and chicken that I marinated in lime juice and chili powder.  Oh, and some cheese-of course!

Layer all of your ingredients and drizzle on the dressing!  So good, so refreshing on a hot day and very filling with the beans and chicken!

Vegetable Garden...

Last week I started the vegetable garden with the verve and energy that early spring in Michigan brings!  John fired up the rototiller to turn over my small patch of earth. 

Clay soil has ever-so-slowly turned into tillable soil over the last 18 years we have gardened in this area and 3 years ago I cut my garden to 1/3 of its original size to be a lot more manageable!  I plant my necessities...haricot verts, parsnips, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, Rouge vif d'Etampes pumpkins and Long Island Cheese pumpkins.  This year I also added peas JUST to make this:

A beautiful fresh pea puree with homemade gnocci and garnished with grated Sicilian chocolate flavored with black pepper!  We had this memorable dish in Modica, Sicily and I have been wanting to create it at home ever since!  Magnifico!  I am making it with my first harvest of peas!

I marked my rows with branches and copper this year, as those small plastic tags can never be found once the plants start growing!  I like the sparkle they add!  I have a small raised bed just for lettuce as I HATE to weed and I can harvest leaves and let some grow into heads.

I found some other treasures in the yard this Spring day...

Julia's sock that Pierre had stolen and hidden behind a rock!

And then there was lunch...a lovely fresh herb butter with a bit of German mustard from our friends Helmut and Dorothee.  Beautiful and fresh, perfect for a spring day...

Lamb Kafta

One benefit of living in southeast Michigan is our enormous population of people of Middle Eastern descent that brought their foods with them.  I love the food!  I love Lamb Kafta the very most!  Grilled served with a rice pilaf, on a pita with tomatoes and garlic sauce, chopped on top of a salad or shaped into meatball size and stuck on a ke-bob with vegetables to grill.  You can serve with a bit of cucumber sauce too! 

I'm looking for simple and quick, so I buy my spices already mixed at a Mediterranean market.  15 minutes to a really delicious, healthy meal at home!

LAMB KAFTA
1 pound ground lamb
3 Tablespoons chopped onion
3 Tablespoons chopped, fresh Parsley
4 cloves garlic ground into paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tablespoons Kafta spice blend

12 wooden skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and stir to combine.  Shape meat around skewer in desired size.  Grill over high heat 8 minutes for a skewer full or 6 minutes for meatball size with veggies. 

Like most lamb, be careful not to overcook as meat will dry out.

I love to have this fresh grilled flavor in January!

Eating local in January...

Living in Michigan, eating locally grown vegetables can be a challenge in winter.  Thankfully, our area has some ingenious growers and life is tasty even in the snowing months!  I've stock piled a few veggies and fruits myself (root cellar) as well as a freezer full of vegetables, jams and herbs.  I've been contemplating throwing some lettuce leaves into an old copper fish poacher on my windowsill...5 day micro greens!

It's a good thing our family loves root vegetables!  Any which way is fine with us, but roasting is the preference.

 

This is a combination of Hubbard squash, red potatoes, parsnips, carrots, turnips, onions and thyme.  All local.

ROASTED VEGETABLES

Root vegetables, cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Thyme, ground coriander 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place vegetables in a shallow pan and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  I love ground coriander and add about a teaspoon to a 9X13 size pan and stir together.  I throw in a few sprigs of thyme, but you can feel free to use rosemary or oregano.  I always add a few extra veggies so on a weekday night I can make this:

Winter Vegetable Soup

3 Tablespoons Butter
1 ½ cups thinly sliced onions
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced parsnip
1 cup diced turnips
½ cup diced celery-preferably with leaves
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage (I used brussel sprouts)
1 Tablespoon fresh, minced ginger root
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 clove minced garlic
13-14 ounce can Coconut Milk
2 cups chicken broth-more as needed
3 cups diced Butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Over medium heat, melt butter and add onions, carrot, parsnip, turnips and celery, stir occasionally until soft, about 8 minutes.  Stir in cabbage, ginger, thyme, garlic, salt & pepper and sauté until cabbage softens.

If you would like to garnish your soup with coconut cream, do not shake can and reserve ¼ cup when opening.  Add coconut milk, broth and squash, scraping up any brown bits.  Reduce heat to low, cover and let barely simmer for 20 minutes until squash is tender.

Puree with immersion blender or traditional blender, adding more broth until desired consistency.  For a smoother soup, pour thru mesh strainer.  Season to taste.  Garnish with reserved cream and croutons.

BLUE CHEESE CROUTONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Oil baking sheet with EVOO.  Spread about a tablespoon blue cheese of choice on a ¼ inch slice of good quality bread.  Bake 10-15 minutes or until browned on bottom and cheese is bubbly.  Let cool and cut into ½ inch pieces.

I simply replace all the root vegetables it calls for and add the cabbage!  It's an awesome soup with the coconut milk but does need a bit of bite, therefore the blue cheese croutons!   

Enjoy!