Solar Cherry Crisp....Bear-ly

Ahhh...July is upon us. Did I already mention that summer is my favorite season here at the 40th parallel north? Well, it so is. Fifteen hours of light a day, warm temps, and the fruits of summer all contribute to my exuberance this time of year. I've been busy, busy but in an indulgent, uni-tasking kind of a way. 

I've been creating a lot of stuff in the kitchen but not writing anything down. I've realized that I'm not the best food blogger. I occasionally use a recipe but far more often I am adding a little of this and a little of that and in the end I am hard-pressed to come up with a complete ingredient list, much less accurate quantities. Most things simply come out a little differently every time I make them which keeps things interesting. I expect that is the way most cooks cook but it can make it difficult to share an actual recipe here on the blog. 

I mentioned our neighbor's amazing Bing cherry tree in one of my earlier posts over the winter. This is because I was still surfing the wave of utter summer bliss that the tree (and our neighbors) bestowed upon us. In the past there has been competition for the cherries between birds, and bears, and people. Last year the tree was laden with cherries but for some reason the bear did not come to the tree and the birds left it almost alone. So last year the lucky people were swimming in cherries. Each one was like a jewel and cherished as such. The photos below will give you an idea of what the tree looked like last summer:

Me on ladder with grin

This year was a different story. The tree was again laden with cherries but before they could fully ripen a bear began to visit the tree. She or he would come at night, climb up into the tree, and gorge on the cherries. Then I imagine her back up in the woods during the day sleeping and dreaming about the juicy sweetness of her nighttime exploits. She returned night after night until every last cherry was gone and the tree stood pathetically mangled and broken. I was too sad when I saw it to think of photographing it. Rude bear. No manners whatsoever. The neighbors tried banging pots and pans and telling it in no uncertain terms to skedaddle but the cherries proved too big of an allure. One day my neighbor called to say if I wanted any cherries I better come and get some, so I did. At that point there were still thousands of cherries. I filled a large colander with almost ripe cherries. A few days later the tree was devastated. 

I made a gluten-free nectarine cherry solar crisp with a cardamom cashew custard. Mostly though, we just eat one each time we walk by them. We have a little bit more restraint than the ill-mannered bear. 

I love my Sun Oven! More about it later.

Cherry/Nectarine Almond Crisp
A gross approximation of a recipe:
Cut up about 4 cups of white nectarines and cherries and place them in a baking pan or dish. Melt about a quarter cup of butter or butter alternative (I've been using Earth Balance) in a bowl. Add 3/4 cup of almond flour and 2 T. each of white rice and tapioca flour. Add 1/4 cup of muscavado or other brown sugar. Stir well to combine. Lastly add 1 t. vanilla, 1/4 t. almond extract, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle over fruit and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. The topping crisps up nicely and tastes like marzipan. Great on its own or topped with vanilla ice cream or you can try the dairy-free custard below.
Cashew Cardamom Custard
From Whole Living Magazine, July 2012 issue
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cups, plus 1 Tbsp plain rice milk
Pinch coarse salt
1 Tbsp maple syrup
5 cardamom pods, crushed
1 1/2 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
In a blender, process cashews, 2 cups milk, salt, and syrup for 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a saucepan, add cardamom, and bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk remaining Tbsp milk and the arrowroot until smooth. Add to saucepan and thicken mixture over medium heat, whisking, 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Strain custard into a bowl and let cool slightly, then transfer to refrigerator. Serve chilled.

Enjoy the summer!

Arugula Pesto (and 41 hrs of non-parental bliss)

Where the Russian River meets the sea

My husband and I spent the weekend at the coast. We had two kid-free nights in a row. This is the longest we have been alone together since our son was born over 6 years ago! Pretty amazing when you think about it. If you would have told us back in early 2006 that it would be 2012 when we would next have 48 hours (41 actually, but whose counting?) to ourselves, I doubt we would have believed it or been able to comprehend it. We took advantage of our time together by dining at a nice Thai restaurant in Santa Rosa called Sea Thai Bistro. My favorite dish was the coconut chicken soup in which lemongrass was a powerful component. I love the flavor of lemongrass. The menu reads: Chicken Galangal Soup in coconut milk broth, crimini mushroom, cherry tomato, shallot. No mention of the lemongrass but that is what made the soup amazing. Yum!

The next day we did a leisurely 6 or 7 mile hike from the edge of the Pacific over the bluffs to a lush redwood grove and back. There were views of the Russian River flowing into the sea as seen in the photo above. There were ferns as tall as us and interesting plants like this lily: 

I consulted my fellow Quincy blogger, naturalist Joe Willis, who posts prolifically here: black oak naturalist, to find out what it might be. Here is his response: It's definitely a lily. Probably a species of Clintonia. Probably Clintonia andrewsiana which has red flowers and blue fruit. So there you have it. Anyway, it was a lovely day full of uninterrupted conversation, synchronized hiking, and quiet moments.....


Back at home, I've been making arugula pesto like mad and freezing it for next winter. I've made it 3 ways so far and will share my favorite. Pesto (from the Italian pestare: to crush, grind, or pound) consists usually of nuts, oil, garlic, salt, cheese, and leaves of an herb. The most typical combo is basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, salt, and parmesan cheese. But let your imagination be your guide. You can use sundried tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, or arugula in the place of basil. You can use any kind of nut. You can use any kind of hard cheese. You can play around with different oils and salts. The possibilities are endless. I experimented with walnuts, pistachios, and cashews in my 3 different versions of arugula pesto and the cashew version was, hands down, my favorite.

Cashew Arugula Pesto
3/4 cup raw cashew nuts
1 clove of garlic
1 to 2 oz. of dry cheese cut in chunks (I used an aged dry Monterey jack)
a large bunch of arugula
1/4 cup of olive oil (or more depending on the consistency you like)
salt to taste
*****************************
Place garlic, cashews, and cheese in a food processor and process until crumbly. Add the arugula leaves and the oil and process again until it looks like pesto. Open the lid and scrape down the sides with a flexible spatula and sprinkle in some salt. Blend again. Adjust salt and oil to your preference. Done! *********** I've been eating it with rice crackers and on spiral rice pasta; husband has been slathering on sandwiches. The little bit of hard cheese doesn't seem to upset my tum-tum :-) And again, it freezes well.


Enjoy!!

The Panacea

The potatoes are liking their home in the re-purposed stock tank

Since cutting gluten out of my diet 3 months ago I've experienced some remarkable changes. I lost the 10 pounds I've been wanting to lose for years. My wrinkles have smoothed out. My gray hairs have been replaced by brown. My singing voice has become amazing and I am thinking about joining a band.

No, not really.

Okay, now for real, these are the changes I have noticed: I've lost 5 of the 10 pounds I've been wanting to lose for years. My back feels better. My gums which were a bit inflamed aren't anymore. My gut feels good. My skin seems clearer. My lifelong affinity for sweets has abated (but hasn't disappeared). So that's pretty good, even without the singing voice.

More on my back.... My mid-back has been giving me problems for years. There seems to be just one activity that aggravates it: doing the dishes. I think our sink is too low for my 5'9" stature. I actually enjoy washing dishes so its not psychosomatic. (I enjoy washing dishes so much that although we have a dishwasher I have never used it. I've actually never used a dishwasher in my life and truth be told, I am a bit intimidated by them. I always feel like there is some secret to loading them and that I should have a dishwasher training session before I can be trusted to do it correctly.) A few dishes didn't bother it but every time I finished a whole sink-load, I would have to ask my husband for a crack. This meant he would stand facing me and embrace me with both arms around my mid-back and squeeze. This invariably produced several loud cracks that immediately relieved my discomfort. I even trained my 6 year old son to crack it by walking on it. As I spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and doing dishes, I would need cracking anywhere from 1 to 3 times a day, every day! I knew it wasn't a good situation but I really didn't know to rectify it.

Well, a couple months into the gluten-free experiment, I realized that I hadn't felt the need for a crack in a long time. Now another month has passed without a request for a crack! So it appears that something about eating gluten was causing inflammation in my joints, gums, skin, and belly. 

I went ahead and had a blood test done to test for celiac disease indicators recently, but from what I understand those mostly come back negative. I haven't received the results yet. It would only be interesting to me if it were positive, which I doubt. I just think I am one of the growing number of people who develop an issue with it and/or realize how much better their body feels and functions without it.

So, for now life continues......gluten-free and happy.
Enjoy!

*Update*
December 1, 2012: Now approximately 8 months gluten-free. I have lost 15 of the 10 pounds I had vaguely wanted to lose for years. I feel lean and strong and clear-headed. I still have not once asked to have my back cracked after doing the dishes! My eye-glass prescription has stabilized (coincidence?) and gum inflammation has been reversed.

The Amazing Color of Rhubarb and a Sweet Succulent

Clearly I need to plant some rhubarb because this year I had to BUY some at the store! And then when I returned a couple days later for more, it was all gone. Now, I fear, I will have to wait an entire year to taste their unique flavor and SEE their unique color again. If you have a healthy rhubarb plant or two of your own, you likely take it for granted. They tend to get large and produce more stalks than you know what to do with. I am one who has taken them for granted in the past but not so this year. Although I don't have my own plant, my parents have a huge one and the neighbors have several and the rental I manage has a monster, so there has always been rhubarb in rhubarb season. This year the only rhubarb to pass through my kitchen were the 6 or 7 stalks I picked up at the co-op and hiked home with, their red and green canes protruding from my cloth bag.

When I got home I chopped them up and and cooked them down with ginger, sugar, red wine, and lime. This mixture was then strained, creating two products: a rhubarb butter and a rhubarb syrup.

These jars of ruby sweet-tartness didn't last long. The syrup was drizzled over homemade ice cream and used to ginger up sparkling water and prosecco. The butter/jam was eaten directly from the jar and used in a solar fruit bar thingy.

In case you'd like to try it:


Ginger-Lime Rhubarb Syrup and Quick Jam


4 or 5 cups of chopped rhubarb
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup cab sauv or other red
1 t. finely chopped fresh ginger
juice of half a lime


Place rhubarb, sugar, water, ginger and wine in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until rhubarb is very soft. This doesn't take very long but I didn't time it. I'm guessing 20 minutes of simmering. Turn off heat. Stir in the lime juice and let the mixture cool to at least warm. Pour liquid through a strainer into a jar. Press solids to extract most but not all of the juice. Put solids in a second jar. Done!


Now for this cute succulent that Leo picked out a couple years ago at the St. Helena farmers market. Each year around this time it blooms, sending out its single long tendril adorned with tiny iridescent white-pink flowers. So sweet.

Hmmm......I think I need to wash the windows

June is in full swing! 

Enjoy!

Pangaea and the Orange Dressing

I've mentioned this before. While Quincy is a really great town, we are lacking a little bit in the restaurant department. There are actually around 10 restaurants in Quincy but because there is only one that we go to, it feels like there is only one restaurant in Quincy. That's not very many..... And the next town is quite a journey away. 


But oh, how we love this one restaurant! It is called Pangaea. If it weren't for Pangaea.....I don't know. I'm not saying we would move for sure but Quincy wouldn't be the same. We don't go there a lot; maybe once a month, but the fact that it is there when we need a family restaurant fix it is huge. It is walking distance from our house (as is all of the downtown). As a popular local gathering place it is usually buzzing with conversation, music, laughter and a busy kitchen. Out of the kitchen comes delicious, creatively presented, mostly organic and local fare. They carry a variety of local craft beers on tap so many patrons saunter right on up to the bar for their evening tipple. If you've lived in Quincy any length of time you are guaranteed to see familiar faces as you enter. The atmosphere is relaxed, the service prompt and friendly. It is always a good experience which is why we will continue to return again and again. It's a gem; I can't say it enough.


We have been bringing our son there since he was a baby in a stroller, an orange BOB that now can be seen rolling around town with a new little occupant. When they bring your plated food, they also bring a 4-pack of dressings, 3 of which are house-made. One of the house-made dressings is an invigorating orange color, kind of like the stroller. It is Leo's favorite. It is my favorite. Husband loves it too. We can go through three quarters of a 12oz. bottle in one meal. It is great on rice dishes, salads, home fries, steamed veggies, wraps, you name it. It's packed with flavor and it is healthy! One of the primary ingredients is carrot. 


I've had the recipe for years. It traveled around the Quincy underground via emails and whispers....... But for years I didn't make it. I would say most dressings that I make average 5 ingredients. This one has 11. Every time I pulled out the recipe to make it there would be one or two ingredients I was missing. Oh well. "Does anybody feel like going to Pangaea tonight?"


This dressing is worth the effort. The recipe makes a whole quart and if you like it as much as we do, that is not too much. It keeps well refrigerated. 


Pangaea's Orange Dressing
You will need:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 cup canola oil
2 t. sesame oil
1/2 to 1/3 cup of apple juice
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup sesame seeds
a small piece of fresh ginger (~1"x1/2") coarsely chopped
5-6 peeled cloves of garlic
2+ cups grated carrot
1/4 onion cut up
3 T. prepared mustard or 1 T. mustard powder


Gathering all the ingredients is the work. Once you have them you just put them all into a blender and blend until smooth.

Ready to be drenched in orange goodness

Enjoy!
And if you ever find yourself in Quincy, California, you know where to go: Pangaea Pub and Cafe!

Spring Herbs and Fresh Mayonnaise

Egg salad with homemade garlic mayo, fresh chives and raw asparagus

Overall my diet has improved since eliminating the things that were bothering my tummy. I also notice that rather than grazing throughout the day, my breakfast and lunch are more intentional along with being more nutritious. If there was homemade bakery in the house, which was often, I tended to snack on that throughout the day and then count on dinner to supply me with most of my protein and veggies. Now I find myself cooking rice at 8AM and chopping vegetables at noon. It does require more work than slathering some peanut butter on a bagel but the results are more colorful, flavorful, and nutritionally rewarding. When I have a carb craving the only thing that seems to satisfy it is a protein-dense meal or snack. I've been eating a lot of boiled egg salads and sardines! I open a can every day or two and last time I went shopping I bought all they had on the shelf. My previous sardine consumption probably averaged once every 5 years. As an aside, there is a funny scene in an animated film we watched a couple years ago with our son. The movie is called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and features a young scientist who grew up in a town that used to be a thriving sardine port until it was discovered that "Sardines Are Super Gross". It is a big joke with our family now. I must admit that you are better off not scrutinizing your sardines as you consume them.

Because of a lack of clarity on whether grain distilled vinegars irritate the gluten-intolerant, I've begun making my own mayonnaise again. When I first learned how easy (and tasty) it was to make, I made it all the time. Gradually, as I added family into the mix, I got away from it and bought Saffola instead. As I blended some up for this lunch salad I couldn't help but notice the lovely pale-yellow color of it brought about by the golden yolks of the eggs we buy locally. It made me wonder about the decidedly white color of store bought mayo. For the acid I used a little lemon juice rather than vinegar.

Homemade Garlic Mayonnaise

2 nice fresh eggs

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 minced clove of garlic

1/2 t. kosher salt

a bottle of preferably organic canola oil with at least a cup and half left in it

(Many different oils or a blend of oils will work to make mayonnaise. I enjoy the mild flavor of canola.)

Crack the eggs into a blender or if you have an immersion blender (on my wish list) crack the eggs into a jar. Blend on low speed. While blending add lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Now begin to pour a slow stream of oil into the blending mixture. Continue pouring slowly and watch as the mayo begins to take shape. It begins to thicken suddenly. Keep pouring until it looks quite thick like mayonnaise and then stop abruptly. If you continue blending much past this point it can lose its emulsification and become liquidy again. Done!

From when you start blending it will be done in less than a minute. Some other optional additions include a teaspoon of any kind of mustard, chopped fresh herbs, or a teaspoon of wasabe powder or horseradish. Scrape into a mason jar if not already in one. Use within a week or two. I love this garlic mayo for dipping artichoke leaves! 

On another day I brought my eggs out to the garden and cut the chives directly into the bowl.

 No sardine photos....

The iris forest beside our patio

And this last, a cartoon from a recent New Yorker that my dad cut out for me. So funny! I do feel strangely trendy telling people that I am avoiding gluten..........

From a recent The New Yorker magazine

Laughter and enjoyment to you.

Levels of Healthfulness

Do you consider yourself healthy? Do you eat a healthy diet? I've been thinking a lot about health lately as I navigate the process of trying to diagnose an "off" feeling in my abdominal area. I've always felt that because I don't drink soda or smoke or eat fast food that that was good enough. I eat my veggies. I love veggies! We buy mostly organic and grow and forage some of our own food. I cook almost all of our meals from whole ingredients. Our family's diet is relatively very good. But it is easy to have a relatively good diet when so many Americans eat so poorly. And as long as you eat a fairly healthy diet and feel fine, why would you worry or make a change? The same goes for exercise. As long as you are feeling fine and can still do the things you are used to doing, why bump it up a notch? Oftentimes it takes a health issue arising for us to push our eating or exercise habits to the next level. But make no mistake, diet and exercise are some of our best medicine.


We really are facing challenging times health-wise. Sometimes even our best intentions are thwarted by our exposure to toxins and pollution beyond our immediate control. Due to outdated corporation-centric laws, the burden of testing chemicals used in consumer products falls to the FDA and not the company profiting from using or producing the chemical. There are tens of thousands of chemicals in use today and very few have undergone testing to determine their effects on human health not to mention the health of the environment as a whole. In other words, we are guinea pigs in a big chemical experiment. And clearly we are suffering. Sick-care is one of the largest growing industries in the world.


It is so strange to have to tell my son that things that they sell at the store are poison or "bad" for you. "Why are they selling things that are bad for our bodies, mom?" "Because it increases their profit margin, my sweet, precious, lovely angel."


As far as my own journey goes, I have eliminated gluten and dairy from my diet but unfortunately there are still days or parts of days where my "gut" feels uncomfortable. I'm not sure what my next step will be. There is a talented acupuncturist in town. There are a variety of western-medicine type doctors. There is a homeopath. I am still in the process of discovering what my body is trying to tell me and I am proceeding with a newly revitalized commitment to being as healthy as I can be.


Alright, enough musing and ranting. How about a super healthy, bump-it-up-a-notch, raw kale salad recipe? 

Spicy Kale Salad
 You will need:
1 bunch of kale (preferably curly leaf)
1 T. sesame tahini
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. tamari
1 T. water
2 T. nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic minced
1 pinch of cayenne 


Wash and dry kale. Remove leaves from stems. Tear kale into bite-sized pieces. Blend all of the other ingredients in a bowl using a fork or whisk until it forms a thick dressing. Pour over kale and massage the dressing into the kale until all pieces are well coated. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. This salad will not get soggy or wilt. Keep covered in the refrigerator and enjoy over the course of a few days. It just gets better. Raw kale is so good for you! This dressing makes it pleasurable to eat.

Enjoy and in health.

Libations in the Sunshine

Last May it was very snowy and rainy. In fact, last year there was no spring to speak of. Winter dropped us precipitously into summer in the second week of June. Since it has been two years since last spring I am especially appreciating it now. Walking about town is like walking through one big garden. The streets are lined with lilacs and their accompanying heady fragrance fills the air. Our own yard is heavy on the spring-flower side of things so right now is about about as good as it gets flower-wise.

Promise of apples to come

It was a perfect time to invite the neighbors over to try the Stephan Way Chardonnay. We gathered in the back yard and toasted the ultimate local wine experience; and here in mountains no less. The wine was a hit. We are all hoping for another bumper crop so I can give it another go with a few hard lessons under my belt.

Our talented neighbor, Scott, made the apropos wine barrel tables. He can transform wine barrels into all kinds of amazing things. He arrived at our wine tasting party bearing the gravity-defying gift below. 

In addition to actually sitting down and enjoying the proverbial fruits of previous wine-making labors, we've opened a couple bottles of last year's mead recently to enjoy in the spring sunshine. The cherry mead made with cherries from another neighbors magical tree is a lovely thing to behold; bright and clear and cherry red. The taste of mead varies wildly from one batch to the next depending on the ingredients and proportions used. This one is on the dry side; an acquired taste and one that I have. I am thankful that both wine and mead are free from gluten and a decadence I can still partake in.

I've recently started two new batches of mead; a vanilla cardamon, and a cranberry ginger. Last year's cranberry mead was my favorite of 2011's five batches. I won't share how to make it here unless I receive a special request. But just know that it is not too difficult. If you want to make your own honey wine, you can do so without too much fuss.


Cheers and enjoy!