Elemental Stitches

A Week in Instagram & The Coming of Fall

It is the third week of August and I have felt the first signs of Fall.  While walking Brae to her first day of school I noticed the early morning fog has a deeper wetness to it.  The clouds threaten rain even though we shouldn't have a drop until Halloween.  By mid morning the fog is burned off by the sun, who seems to have realized the coming of the dark half of the year, and is burning hotter then ever to make up for the cool summer we have had.  By nightfall the wind picks up, cardigans are slipped over bare shoulders and flipflops are traded for socks.

A couple nights later while I was figuring out dinner I had a sudden craving for a warm and hearty potato leek soup.  Not something I would normally make in the summer.  It's a soup firmly anchored in my fall and winter menu.

Then last night, while sitting in bed, a craving for apples hit me so hard I had to go downstairs and eat one immediately.  My first apple in at least 6 months.  It just so happened that I saw beautiful apples at the market earlier that day and was drawn to their beauty like a moth to a flame.  I bought a few for my daughter's lunch, but never intended to eat one myself.  Apples are my fall & winter thing, they taste the best in season.  Fresh from the fridge it was cold, crispy and sweet. 

If I were still living in the high desert I would be looking for the first sign of fall in the scent of the north wind.  It has a wet earth, deep forest smell.  One of woodsmoke, falling leaves and the faintest hint of arctic ice.  It appears in September right when my Mom's apple trees are ready to harvest.  We could guesstimate the start of Fall by the ripening of those apples. 

I imagine it takes at least a decade to get to know a place that well and I have yet to learn the first sign of Fall here in the SF Bay Area, but I am guessing it also begins with a craving for apples.

Photos - All taken by me on my new and amazing iphone using the Instagram App.  Links and descriptions for each photo are below.

1.  Summer Flowers  2.  Banana Almond Butter Shake. 1 c milk, 2 tbsp nut butter, 1 banana, ice.  Blend until thick & creamy.

3.  My friend's cat was over for a visit.  He really liked the chickens.  4.  Swing Socks, recently finished.

5.  Deep Chocolate Brownies  6. Everyday Lunch - Avocado, turkey, tomato, lettuce, and cucumber on whole wheat bread.

7.  What natural dye should I use for the Kalajoki socks?  8.  The garden.  Over 40 lbs harvested so far.

9.  We have 2 new quail, a boy and a girl.  Thinking baby quail and eggs.  They need names.  Any suggestions? 10. Darwin, my favorite chicken but probably a rooster.  Bummer.  Check out the adventure.

11.  My first ever home raised organic free range chicken egg laid by Ladyhawke.  12.  I am freezing loads of tomato sauce this year.  Recipe from Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis.

Last Week in Pictures

 

This past week I...

Said goodbye to Tom for 2 months.

Made doughnuts.

Found chickens eating tomatoes.

Hung herbs to dry.

Bought some yarn from Knitpicks and Soulemama's new book.

Dragged a resentful daughter to the Renaissance faire, which she loved.

Took the light rail downtown for the first time.

Tested a new cookbook.

Savored an old favorite for lunch all week.

In the Kitchen

Cooking everyday in the winter is essential at our house.  The oven keeps the downstairs living areas warm during cold rainy weather.   We also need hot & filling meals to give us enough energy to get through a long cold day outdoors.  The past couple weeks our kitchen has been full of spicy Indian curry, pear and apple galettes, recipes with roots and no knead bread. 

I love sweet winter pears.  They are only in season for a short time and I don't want to miss out so I started making galettes with them and its pretty easy.  Roll out some homemade or store bought pie crust into a circle on parchment paper and spread sliced fruit in the center leaving about 1 1/2 inches around the edges.  My favorite recipe is the tart/pie dough from Alice Waters cookbook The Art of Simple Food.  Probably one of the best cookbooks out there.

Sprinkle everything with cinnamon, sugar and a little flour.  I added a little cheddar cheese because it brings out the apple flavor.  Fold over the edges and baste the whole thing with apricot jam.  Slide the whole shebang to a cookie sheet and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Let it cool about 10 minutes before digging in.  We ventured outside to enjoy a rare semi warm day while the galette cooked and mine got a little darker then it should be, but it still tasted great.

Sweet potato fries are also another winter favorite of ours.  I slice these, toss with olive oil and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.  I sprinkle a little more brown sugar before I scarf down half the plate.  This is one of the only ways my daughter will eat them.

I also rediscovered my favorite bread recipe this week and we made it together.

It was finally warm enough to go out back and gauge the yard.  Its going to need lots of work come spring.  My veggie garden has been hibernating for the winter.  I didnt really plan it that way, but I haven't had enough dry days to work outside.  All my seedlings died in our first series of rainstorms, probably drowned.  The only plants still hanging on are the mint, rosemary and oregano, all of which I am still enjoying every time I can squeeze them into a meal.

What's cooking in your winter kitchen?

Technical Difficulties

I am trying to recover from a string of inconveniences this week.  Starting with car registration problems (my car needs expensive repairs) and finishing the week with my computer's power supply fizzling out leaving me without a computer that can handle photo editing.  The computer I have left is an ancient slow emergency backup that is literally driving me bananas.  I am trying not to complain, but a person can only fix so many things in one week.

One thing that has gone well is my newest writing, photography and cooking adventure Shoots and Roots.  I have been thinking of starting a food blog for years.  I even wrote about the idea on this blog four years ago.  Reading over my posts from the last year I realized that this blog has multiple personality disorder.  Is it a crafting blog or a food blog?  I think its been equally both, so I decided to separate the two.  Now all my food posts will be over at Shoots and Roots and Elemental Stitches will be my home and craft blog.

I would love for you to check it out and tell me what you think!  I will be back on Monday!

Pretty Vegetables

I can't believe a week has gone by since my last post!  I had myself convinced it hadn't been that long.  This week has been sad.  A relative passed away unexpectedly over the weekend.  That was rough.  While waiting for hospital updates I finished my Thinking of Autumn hat.  Pictures to come.  I am always amazed by how calm I feel when I knit.  My mind is able to focus instead of flying off into a million different directions.  The relative that passed away was young, a couple years younger then me.  When someone younger then you passes away it is scary.  It brings the fragility of life smack into your face reminding me to savor every moment I have with my family on this earth.

I promise the rest of this post is full of happier things.  The other way I have been occupying my time is taking pictures of food.  I have finally picked a photography project that I cant wait to see finished.  I would like to make a family photo cookbook of my favorite and most memorable family recipes.  I will cook them, photograph them and eventually make them into a book for us to keep.  More on this in a future post.

Since I had food and photography on the brain I took some pretty pictures of our harvest.  Hope they make you hungry!

Simply Sliced Tomatoes

If you haven't noticed already, I love tomatoes.  I have had this love affair with tomatoes long before we grew them in our backyard.  I used to stuff the little ones in my mouth like cherries and I ate the big ones like apples.  After my Mom began her own vegetable garden I tasted my first homegrown tomatoes.  We were hooked!  Now that I have my own garden I only buy tomatoes in the Winter when I am craving a fresh tomato on a taco.  Unfortunately I am usually disappointed.

To find a great tomato buy the best quality you can find or better yet, grow your own.  Its very easy to grow patio tomatoes on your porch.  If you can't grow them then follow these tips for finding the perfect tomato:

- Buy them in season (Summer & Fall).  They are cheaper, travel through less countries and states, and taste a million times better.

-  Try shopping at the farmers market where they are more likely to have been picked that day or the day before.  Mega mart tomatoes are bought from farms which harvest unripe green tomatoes.  These travel several states or countries away and are eventually processed in a chamber with chemicals that turn the tomatoes red.  You are essentially ripening from the outside in, instead of the inside out.  This makes a big difference when it comes to taste.  This applies to many fruits.  If you live in a place that does not have a farmer's market (check here!) try stores like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, which I find has better tasting produce then those pithy cardboard tasting things they sell in a certain gigantic mega mart.  If you doubt me do a taste test.  One tomato from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods or Farmers market vs. a mega mart tomato.  I put all my money on the smaller stores any day.  Try this with peaches and you will notice an amazing difference in taste and texture.

-  Look for a very red (or yellow, or orange) tomato without soft spots, blemishes or holes.

-  Try organic and heirloom tomatoes which often taste better and are grown on smaller farms.  Organic fruit is grown without cancer causing pesticides and herbicides and are much healthier, not to mention tastier.

-  Never, ever, ever store your tomatoes in the fridge.  This ruins the texture of a tomato by lightly freezing it.  Tomatoes should be stored out of the bag and away from heat or bright light.  I put my ripe tomatoes on a plate in the darkest corner of my kitchen counter.  Eat them within 4 days.

The best recipe is the simplest. 

Cut into thick slices and fan the slices out on your plate.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and basil.  I love to add a drizzle of quality extra virgin olive oil and feta or mozzarella cheese, but this time I went with pure tomato goodness.

That's it!  Fast, simple and delicious!

Happy growing!

Fried Green Tomatoes - Another Recipe

Fried foods are not common in my kitchen.  I fry some things.  Like fish & fritters.  I just dont like the heavy upset tummy I get after eating a bunch of fried food. 

So when I was faced with green tomatoes I was hoping to somehow avoid the ever present FRIED green tomato.  Turns out, there isn't much else to do with them.  It looks like other then fried green tomatoes, these tomatoes are used mostly for condiments.

Chutney

Salsa

Relish

Jam

Mincemeat

I did find one recipe that was for a Tomato and Feta Tart which used green and red tomatoes.  I might make that one after I buy some puff pastry. 

I decided that if Fried Green Tomatoes were the quintessential green tomato recipe then I was going to have to start there.  I pulled out my heavy cast iron skillet, lots of oil, and got to work.  This is my own recipe adapted from the first 10 or so I read about online.  They are a little healthier then most other recipes since I used olive oil and did not deep fry them.

Fried Green Tomatoes

- 4 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

- 1/4 cup flour - on a small plate

- 1/2 cup cornmeal

- 1/2 cup Panko Japanese bread crumbs.

- 1/2 -1 tsp each of parsley, oregano, and thyme (to taste)

- salt and pepper, to taste or about a 1/4 tsp each.

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup water

- 1/2 cup - 1 cup regular olive oil (not extra virgin which will burn easier)

- 2 bowls for dipping tomatoes

Directions

Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs, herbs and S&P together in a bowl. 

Beat egg and water together in a second bowl.

I like to make a dipping assembly line with the tomatoes, flour, egg, cornmeal and pan all in a row in that order.  That makes prep faster and with less mess to clean up later.

Get your pan nice and hot, pour in enough oil to coat the bottom.  As the oil heats start dipping your tomatoes as follows:

- Dip one tomato slice in the flour once on each side.  You need a light coating so just one quick flip is fine.

- Dip slice into egg mixture once on each side.

- Then dip this slice into the cornmeal mixture.  Cover with the mix and press gently to get those crumbs to stick well.  Once or twice on each side is usually enough.

- If your oil is hot enough then start adding your slices.  I usually make them as I fry instead of all ahead of time.  I think that if they wait too long to be fried they get soggy.

Cook for about 4 minutes or until the bottom is a nice golden brown.  Flip and repeat with the other side.  I cooked about 4-5 slices at a time in my pan making sure each has space.  You don't want to crowd them or the coating will get mushy from all the moisture in the pan.

Serve immediately to a hungry family.  We used Ranch dressing as dip, but I think these would be great with a raita.  

I still have lots more green tomatoes so expect more recipes.

In the Garden

So I forgave my sewing machine.  It really wasn't at fault for my lack of mental acuity yesterday.  That was likely caused by a lack of tea.  The needle was my fault too.  Sewing through too many layers, with a needle that was made for finer fabric, and it was old and probably pretty dull.  It was asking to be broken.  I am just happy it got caught in the fabric and didn't fall into my machine. 

What I really hated was being defeated by a pillow when I know I can sew way more complicated things.  Its like having my grammar corrected by a Kindergartner.  Of course that has happened too...

Anyway, enough about my defective sewing brain.  We are just entering my favorite time of year!  The garden is bursting at the seams.  If you look over at the column to your left you will see what has been brought in so far.  Yesterday we were at almost 14 pounds harvested.  Today my harvest brought that up to 17.76 pounds!  All organic.  Organic tomatoes at my local farmers market are selling for about $2-$3 a pound.  There is so much starting to turn red that I am starting to worry about eating it all.  Tom said that this might be the year I learn to can tomatoes.  Why yes Tom, that is a great idea!  Just remember that it was your idea when I need to buy the canning equipment okay!

My largest tomato so far was 1 3/4 pounds!  It was delicious!  We turned it into a cold tomato sauce called Checca Sauce which ended up on everything from pasta to tuna steaks.  

Many more tomatoes have been eaten on sandwiches like this one.

It is a simple turkey & ham with mayo, mustard, sliced mozzarella dipped in herb oil, lettuce, and of course a Cherokee purple tomato.

I even harvested this little knit tomato.  Must have been left by a knitting fairy.  Wink Wink.

There are two humongous tomatoes that will be ready in a day or so.  They are destined to demolish my current heavyweight record.  Any ideas on how I should eat those?

Saturday - Saratoga Farmers Market

Went to a great farmers market today in Saratoga, Ca.  I will definitely be coming back here!  The prices were fantastic, people were friendly and their was loads of local organic food.

Savory Dutch Baby Recipe

Everyone remembers their first apartment.  You know, the one in the bad neighborhood with the dingy carpet and loud neighbors.  Our first apartment was one of those.  Most everyone in the building liked us thanks to Tom, who attracts friends like a moth to a flame.

One day while sitting outside with a neighbor I mentioned that I wished I had a set of cast iron pans.  She commented that she had her grandmother's cast iron pans which my friend had brought here from Mexico many years before, but she never used them.  We began talking of other things and not much else was said about it.

The next morning I opened my door to find a beautiful set of old cast iron pans sitting on my doormat.  They were perfectly seasoned and just needed a light scrubbing.  What a perfect gift!  I have treasured them ever since. 

I've been borrowing countless cookbooks from the library and last week I picked up The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook.  I love it!  I chose to make a Dutch Baby, which I had never tried before. 

Oh, what a fabulous choice!  I filled mine with cheddar and ham.

Flaky, doughy, like a savory meat and cheese filled danish.  Here is the recipe.

Savory Dutch Baby

From The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook by Sharon Kramis & Julie Kramis Hearne

Makes 2 servings

3 tablespoons butter

4 extra large eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup chopped ham

-Preheat oven to 425F.  To make Dutch Baby, melt the butter in a 12 inch cast iron skillet over low heat.  Mix the eggs, flour, and milk in a blender on medium speed until just blended, 5 to 10 seconds.  Pour the batter into a medium bowl and add the cheese and ham, folding them into the mixture.  Pour into the skillet with the melted butter.

-  Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the top puffs up and is lightly golden, 20-25 minutes.

- When the Dutch Baby is done, cut into six wedges and serve immediately.