Keeping Christmas. It’s a personal thing, what does that mean to you?
As I think back on childhood Christmases ,it was about family traditions like dressing up and going to church, decorating the house, actually, everything. We loved baking Old Country goodies with Grandma Marad from Austria, traveling to see relatives who lived waaaay out in the country and enjoying their Penna. Dutch ways, and nights at home watching Walt Disney specials with Dad’s arm around me on the sofa. Or maybe Laurence Welk, Christmas edition, with Grandma Reigel, cuddled up on the big rocking chair. Alvin and the Chipmunks records come to mind, suburban parties with little friends (in the rec room, natch) where Dad had buffed the waxed floors to a shine.
No one ever brought up the fact that half my family was Christian and half were Jewish. It was a complete non-issue that I only figured out by looking back on the cuisine we shared as a family. What deliciousness!
I remember certain Christmas gifts that gave my growing years a kind of structure….a Little Genius doll by Madame Alexander when I was seven, a Peter and the Wolf recording, in order to learn the orchestra at ten, “the last bike that Santa would ever deliver to me”, given to me at ten, my first Beatles LP at eleven or twelve ( Beatles “65, I still know all the songs in chronological order ).Then the first cherished gifts from high school sweethearts, like a necklace, ticket to a rock show or love letter. Slightly later an illicit bottle of Mateus, the wine of many beginning wine aficionados, intended to make shenanigans even more heightened!
Most of the players who make up my holiday memories are gone today. The spirit of love and acceptance remains, as do the recipes handed down and made time and again, shared with others. Gathering in a spirit of good cheer and gratitude as we experienced growing up remains in my repetoire . So does helping others . Consider some community outreach and helping the less fortunate…there’s always time to volunteer, anytime of year.
To me, bringing in this sort of mindful practice of attention and kindness everyday…that’s keeping Christmas. And the wonderful thing is that you can do it everyday of the year.
Marshmallows and chocolate are a match made in heaven.
One way to elevate the experience for winter is to make them yourselves and add a few to that steaming mug of goodness you’ll want for winter warmth.
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp. White vinegar
1/3 cup agave or honey
1/2 cup water (for syrup)
1/2 cup water (for blooming the gelatin)
2 TB gelatin powder
GOOD Vanilla to taste
Instructions:
Bloom the gelation.
Place 1/2 cup water in mixing bowl.Sprinkle in gelation and stir to moisten. Set aside.
Make the syrup:
Place sugar and remaining water in a pot. Add vinegar honey, stirring gently. Heat and swirl until the sugar dissolves.
Bring to a boil , cover and simmer for 2 minutes . After 2 minutes check the pan for any sugar crystals. If none, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
Cook until the temp reads 242 degrees. (hard ball stage)
Prep the pan:
Using butter, grease a 9 by 9 inch pan.
Set aside.
Mixing:
Place the bloomed gelatin in a mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed for a minute to break it up.
Add a pinch of salt.
While the machine is mixing on medium to med low, slowly and carefully stream in the sugar syrup-, adding along the wall of the bowl (not on the moving whisk!)
The heat of the syrup should dissolve all the gelation.
Increase mixer speed to high for 5 minutes. You should have a fluffy, glossy mixture similar to meringue. Add the vanilla and mix another minute.
Getting it into a pan:
Spread into the prepared, buttered pan while still warm, using an offset spatula to smooth down the top.
Curing:
Let the marshmallow set for 6 hours at room temperature.
After that, turn the marshmallow out onto a counter to cut., any size you like. I choose a 1 by 1 inch square, and use a buttered knife for a clean cut.
Dusting:
Use cornstarch to dust them with.
These keep for quite a while in an airtight container….as long as there are no children in the house!
We’ve struggled through October’s “Pumpkin Spice” moments, eaten muffins, cake, quick breads and coffee flavored like pumpkin.
Let’s give things a savory twist just in time for Thanksgiving. How about a silky, rich Pumpkin Bisque, scented with local cider and freshly ground nutmeg?
A bit of white wine, or coconut milk rich, homemade chicken stock and plenty of roasted pumpkin rounds things out.
I use celeriac in mine, which is celery root and usually found in a natural foods store at this time of year.
Puree all with a stick blender and you get something wonderfully satisfying and comforting. Easily makes a meal and also freezes well.
Another of this recipe’s virtues is that it can easily be made Vegetarian or Vegan. A show stopping first course served individually in a small pumpkin for Thanksgiving dinner!
CLASSIC PUMPKIN BISQUE/ SERVES 6-8
INGREDIENTS
1/4 C. OLIVE OIL
1 CUP CHOPPED VIDELIA ONION
1 SMALL BALL OF PEELED, DICED CELERY ROOT
1 TB. MINCED GARLIC
1 # PUMPKIN PUREE
1 QT. RICH CHICKEN STOCK, a splash each of white wine and cider
1/2 C. HEAVY CREAM OR COCONUT CREAM
MIX OF WARMING SPICES, TO YOUR TASTE: FRESH GINGER, FRESH GRATED NUTMEG, CURRY POWDER, S AND P
METHOD
HEAT OLIVE OIL IN A LARGE POT WITH A HEAVY BOTTOM. ADD CELERY ROOT AND ONION, PINCH OF SALT.STIR, COOK TILL TENDER
ADD GARLIC AND SPICES. COOK A COUPLE OF MINUTES LONGER.
POUR IN THE CIDER, WHITE WINE AND CHICKEN BROTH. ADD THE PUMPKIN PUREE. STIR UNTIL WELL COMBINED. BRING TO A SIMMER, STIRRING. THEN LOWER HEAT AND COOK COVERED, PERHAQPS 20 MINUTES.
USE AN IMMERSION BLENDER TO MAKE THE SOUP SMOOTH. ADD CREAM OR COCONUT CREAM TO FINISH AND STIR.
CHOPPED PARSLEY TO GARNISH …OR TRY Toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin oil!
PRO TIP: Looks great when served in small individual pumpkins.
Geese are heading south. The tender garden annuals have taken a hit. The leaves have changed into their final act…the burnished oranges, yellows and rich browns of the oaks, known to hold their leaves the longest.
Summer’s gone along with those 80 degree days. But I’m grateful for the oaks last hurrah!
Once the other hardwoods have given up the ghost of their summer grandeur, the kaleidoscope shifts to those mighty oaks that often grow in close proximity to the water at the coast in Maine.
The Autumn light, bright blue sky, blue waters and fanfare of remaining color all conspire with the puffy, white clouds to create a quintessential moment in time. It’s late Fall in Maine. A moment that stretches from the energy of summer and spans the gap to the solitude and thoughtfulness of winter. A time to gather, assess, reflect. Whether you’re a squirrel collecting acorns, a fellow chopping and stacking wood, out at work harvesting winter squash in the garden ,curating your reading list, or even inviting your friends in to dinner, that’s what we are essentially doing.
The Gather. A way to share… elevate… prepare.
It speaks to simple abundance and a quieter time to celebrate both the source and those we share it with.
When I purchased my little farmstead 20 years ago, the first thing I did was plant 3 Wolf River apple trees.
Photo Credit Laura Cabot
Why, you may ask? Well, when I first moved to Maine, I moved to the sleepy central Maine area, near St. Albans. I used to enjoy hiking in remote areas near there and it wasn’t uncommon back in the 70’s to find still undisturbed, ancient farmsteads, lost in time and marked only by a granite foundation, a lilac bush or three and a couple of Wolf River apple trees. The size of the apples on these old trees was astounding! I gathered a pail full and made my first Wolf River apple pie with just two. Often weighing a pound or more, these creamy fleshed apples are dry fleshed but perfectly suited for baking, with a flavor that develops in the oven. So bake I did, and the pie was unforgettable! The apples were soft and delicious, but held their shape.
Photo Credit Laura Cabot
And they’re pretty with a stripy pink blush over a greenish skin. The trees are hearty and attractive. This strain is over 150.years old. Originally found in Wisconsin in 1875 on the banks of the Wolf River, this is a cold hearty type of fruit tree and beautifully suited for a Maine winter.
Autumn is a great time to plant trees and shrubs. If you can get your hands on a Wolf River apple tree, I can tell you you won’t regret having one on your property, especially if you are a baker like me!
Imagine a double smoked pork chop, it’s fat crispy, the flesh succulent. Now imagine that bite with a drizzle of a reduction of star anise spiced cider reduction. Elevated. To be sure…and so easy. Bonus, it makes the house smell good and it’s actually easier than pie.
Here’s what I do :
Find a gallon of locally pressed apple cider
Empty it into a heavy bottomed kettle.
Add spices you like, I use star anise and allspice, 1 cinnamon stick. Maybe some lemon peel.
Let it simmer all day on a low flame.
When you get close to the bottom of the pot, now that’s the time you need to watch it. Do not let it scorch. I takes a practiced eye to get your syrup right. If you leave it too long, it gets stiff, like taffy. Just right and you’ll have a lovely syrup to drizzle judiciously over roast pork.
And BONUS if you happen upon juice containing a lot of natural pectin, once in a blue moon you’ll get Cider Jelly, which is heavenly on toast and impossible to find in speciality shoppes anymore.
Full of flavor and just natural sugar, it works for me!
For many of us in food service, September affords an opportunity to step away from the stove and maybe take a drive to try other chefs’ food.
A busman’s holiday, to be sure…but it’s a welcome break and also informative to see something new and different. Learning and enjoyment together, it’s a great combo !
There’s only so much “gilding the lily” that’s appropriate to really good, fresh lobster meat. I’ve hit all the best places in search of ecstasy at lunch time, Red’s Eats, Claws, Sprague’s, McLoons Lobster Shack and plenty of others.
But I found it …Mecca …at Home Kitchen Cafe, James Hatch’s excellent breakfast and lunch jointing Rockland, Maine.
They put out a stacked lobster BLT that was an embarrassment of riches, so to speak. So good that I was the embarrassed one when I polished it off in record time…
I recommend the Home Kitchen Cafe in Rockland heartily. And you won’t even have to fight the seagulls for your lunch!
It’s a wonderful moment in the garden and a great time to be cooking”all the things” you planted in June. But maybe like me, at this point you can’t eat one more cucumber or tomato?
I reach for one of the many gluten free brownie mixes you can find at the local market. Buy it. Bake it. Cool it. Then destroy it!
Directions:
Crumble the whole pan of brownies into a bowl and add a bit of decent rum. Mix it gently, until it will hold into a ball shape.
Make small 2 bite balls and set them aside.
In a separate small bowl, mix cinnamon powder with a small amount of chipotle powder ( you want just a hint of heat).
Toss the brownie-rum balls in the spice dust and set aside on wax paper.
These keep quite a while in a covered plastic container in the fridge, in a single layer is best.
These dessert snacks are surprisedly good, if a little surprising.
Garlic is not hard to grow. It’s a bulb that gets planted in the fall, just like a tulip bulb and many others.
Its medicinal values are well known and documented. Plus, the Vampire thing!
What some do not understand is that you have a “head” of garlic ,but you plant the “cloves”. The type I favor, hard neck, have larger but fewer cloves so, in the kitchen, easier to peel and slice…more punch for less work. I’ve tried Russian Red, Elephant, Hard and Soft necked varieties, Magic and so many others. Siberian is said to be the most medicinal, due to it’s high levels of allicin.
It’s cultivation isn’t complicated , plant in the fall in rich, well tilled soil. I cover mine with straw to let it winter over, then when you see it poking thru, remove the straw and it grows quickly maturing into gooseneck scapes inside of 2 months. It’s important to cut off the scapes, which otherwise become a flower and go to seed, in order to direct the energy downward to the developing bulb. We want that head of garlic to grow big! And there are many ways to cook and enjoy the scapes, pesto being a favorite.
This year was an early harvest, mine’s been out of the ground for about ten days already…much earlier than last year.
Once the stems dry out I’ll clip them down close to the bulb and store them in a dry, airy spot to throughly cure.
This year I’ll try making fermented black garlic. Click to Seasonal Recipes to get the skinny!
If you decide that you love the umami of fermented black garlic, the retail cost of it may scare you away. Why not make it at home? Just get ready for some smells!
Well, let’s cut to the chase. You’ll need a rice cooker. It’s an easy way to maintain the consistent temperature and humidity that fermenting garlic requires. It takes a week or more for the garlic’s flesh to become black, dense , sweet and chewy, similar to a date.
Although relatively new to the restaurant scene, black garlic has long been a staple in Asian kitchens.
If, in fact, you’re ready to try this….Google a detailed tutorial on the subject, and give heed to these tips from a pro ( who is not me):
Be certain you know the temperature of your rice cooker…or you may get char. The ideal range is around 150 degrees.
Seal in the moisture as best you can to attain that chewy texture, wrap the garlic heads in foil and also the top of the cooker.
Make it in an outbuilding or garage so your whole house doesn’t smell garlic-y!
So, now you’ve made it. How to use it? Think of it as a way to deepen the flavor if things you already make and love….pesto, chermoula or chimichurri sauce es…hummus, etc.
It tastes great and comes with a range of health benefits too!
Keeping Christmas. It’s a personal thing, what does that mean to you?
Instructions:
For many of us in food service, September affords an opportunity to step away from the stove and maybe take a drive to try other chefs’ food.
