Saving Those Fresh Herbs

I can't recall the number of times I have experienced complete disappointment because my fresh herbs have gone to waste.  Frances has shared with many of us that in attempt to preserve her fresh herbs for later use, she freezes them in muffin tins.  I came across this article and thought I would pass it along to my fellow home chefs.  I ended up chopping up my leftover cilantro I used in a dish over the weekend and placing it in mini muffin tins with chicken stock.  They froze quite well.  I took them out of the tins and placed them in a plastic bag for later use.  So far so good!

Here is the link to the article, http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/5-tips-for-saving-fresh-herbs.htm

The Perfect Autumn Vegetable

Autumn has been a little shy this year so far in southern Indiana. It may be mid-October, but most of the trees have been modestly holding on to their summer green. Except for the sassafras. Those brazenly red sassafras trees have no shame.

Strahl Lake, Brown County State Park (Brown County, IN)

Anyway, I went to the Bloomington Farmers' Market this weekend to pick up some supplies for my favorite game: What is that Vegetable & How Do I Cook It? (In the past, I've discovered such gems as lemon cucumbers and this menacing horned melon which I absent-mindedly threw into my produce bag, failing to notice that it had gored the last of the August peaches until I felt their viscous juice dripping down my arm.) As I meandered through the farm stands, I picked up a butternut squash, some beets, some yellow squash, and a few late summer radishes. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Just as I was about to give up on finding something new (because that aforementioned squash was really heavy), I spotted something I'd never seen before. To my great joy, I discovered what just might be the Perfect Autumn Vegetable.

(drum roll, please)

Purple green beans!

Do you think they have extra vitamins because they're purple?

Yes, they really were that purple. The eggplant was shocked (but a little bit flattered) by their imitation.

Maybe you're thinking, "Ok, so they're purple. That's weird, but how could they possibly be in the running for the title of 'perfect autumn vegetable' when there are so many colorful roots to choose from? They're not even in the squash family!"

Well, here's why:

Wait for it . . .

They actually change color!

Ta da!

Ok, so maybe these beans kind of missed the memo and got it backwards. Instead of changing from green to purple as the temperatures got colder (like their non-edible vegetative brethren), they went from purple to green as soon as they hit the hot blanching water. But close enough.

Way to be festive, purple beans! You win.

________________________________________________________________________________

Purple Green Beans

• Purple green beans, ends snapped
• bacon
• garlic
• purple onion, thinly sliced
• salt & pepper, to taste

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the beans to blanch for a few minutes, then drain.
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon over medium heat in a dutch oven. When crispy, remove bacon and set aside to drain, but leave the grease.
3. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant (30 seconds). Add the onion and stir until soft (a couple minutes). Then add the no-longer-purple green beans and cook until desired level of tenderness is reached (five to seven-ish minutes).
4. Serve with crumbled bacon and Parmesan cheese.

The Best Banana Bread Ever

• If I was stuck on a desert island this would be my food of choice. This banana bread never gets old. I love to eat a slice for breakfast with my morning coffee or after dinner with a cup of tea. Every fall/winter, I memorize the recipe and whip this bread up at least once a week. I buy bananas and wait for them to brown just to make this bread! 
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted 
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• Cooking spray 
• 
  
• 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
• 2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until combined.
• 3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through ground allspice). Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool completely. 
• Side Note: I don't even use an electric mixer. I just whip everything up with a spatula and it comes out just fine. I also use Greek yogurt and double the amount of bananas the recipe calls for. The extra bananas makes it even better! 
• From Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2010 ("Basic Banana Bread")

Christy Jordan's Mandarin Orange Cake (aka a Sunshine Cake)

I am going to a end of summer/TX Independence Day celebration this weekend and I was asked to bring the dessert. One of the desserts will be Christy Jordan's Mandarin Orange Cake (aka a Sunshine Cake).

 

A little history about how this cake became a go to recipe for me. Two Easters ago, the parents of a good friend of mine invited Mr. and Mrs. K, Mrs. K's sister, my roommate and myself to their house for Easter. My friend told me how his parents were looking forward to what I would contribute to the meal since he had apparently told them about every meal I had cooked for him (and our other friends) over our 10 year friendship. No pressure to meet, or more importantly exceed, 10 years worth of compliments. /end sarcasm/

 

With Mrs. K joining us, I wanted to bring a lactose free dessert. Especially since I knew she couldn't have the Lemon Meringue Pie I was making for Mr. K and my friend's dad because it had sweetened condensed milk in it. So I turned to my cooking hero, Mrs. Christy Jordan.

 

And sure enough in her refrigerator cakes post I found the perfect recipe: Christy's Mandarin Orange Cake. It was lactose free. Easy to make. And the flavors would be perfect for a spring dessert.

 

My only concern was that I had never made it before. Christy claimed in her post that it was her favorite cake. So I knew it had to be good. But there is a difference in theoretically knowing something will be good and making it for the very first time to take to people with high expectations of your abilities. But what is the phrase when it comes to taking a risk... "go big or go home?" So I took the gamble to blindly trust Christy and a tropical flavor profile that I believed would be a good combination.

 

And Christy's Mandarin Orange Cake didn't let me down. It was a light cake that wasn't too sweet. His Mom enjoyed the cake. She said it was called a Sunshine  cake many years ago and that she hadn't had one in years. My roommate loved it. (Her favorite dessert that I make is close to a toss up between this cake, a traditional pecan pie and my strawberry pie. But I think this cake edges out the pies by a slight margin.) And if memory serves me, Mrs. K enjoys it as well. (I don't think Mr. K or my friend's dad could be tempted away from their Lemon Meringue Pie, their favorite dessert, to try the cake.)

 

I've made this a number of times since then and always receive glowing reviews and requests for the recipe.  

 

Christy Jordan's  Mandarin Orange Cake (aka a Sunshine Cake)

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 (11 oz) can Mandarin oranges diced, undrained (buy the 100% juice, instead of the syrup, to cut down on the sugar)
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup oil
• Frosting:
• 1 sm. (3.4 ounce) Box instant vanilla pudding mix (you use sugar free without impacting the flavor)
• 1 (13 oz) cool whip (can use reduced fat or fat free without impacting the flavor)
• 1 -8 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained (buy the 100% juice, instead of the syrup, to cut down on the sugar)

 

Instructions

1. Mix all cake ingredients together well.
2. Pour into 3 greased and floured round cake pans*.
3. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
4. For frosting, mix pudding mix and pineapple together with spoon.
5. Fold in cool whip until well blended.
6. Frost cake.
7. Keep refrigerated. Best if made 2 or 3 days ahead and refrigerated before serving.

*Note: Christy usually makes her cakes in a 9x13 pan "just to save the trouble of fooling with the layers."

Concord Grape Muffins

Oh, well hello there, September! I didn't even notice you waltz in. I've been so distracted by the close of summer. 

August was just delightful this year, wasn't it? Full of friends, old and new (including one really new friend - - like, barely 1 month old new.)

(clockwise from top left) VA & Anderson at Emma Lou's Cafe in Louisville, KY;
AML & EDB at Pie Sisters in Georgetown (DC);
MC at the Bloomington, IN Farmers' Market;
S & Frances at Northside Social in Arlington, VA

But now that you're here, September, I suggest you pull up a chair and make yourself useful. I see you brought some Concord grapes from Grandpa Batman's garden. Wonderful. Grab a pairing knife, start cutting out those seeds, and let's see what we can do with these . . .

Confession: I ate five of these in one sitting.

Concord Grape Muffins

yields 12 delightful muffins

2 c flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 T baking powder (yes, tablespoon)

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

zest of one lemon

6 T butter

1/2 t vanilla

1 c milk

1 c Concord grapes, seeded**

coarse sugar, for sprinkling

-Preheat oven to 400. 
-Mix dry ingredients, including zest.
-Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender.
-Add vanilla & milk. Stir gently until just mixed.
-Carefully fold in seeded grapes.
-Divide evenly into muffin tins; sprinkle with sugar (if using).

**Seeding Concord grapes takes forever. Pull up a chair, and be warned that grapes can have anywhere from 1-4 seeds, so you need to pay attention. Also . . . Concord grapes are incredibly delicious, so you'll probably end up eating 2 grapes for every one grape that you seed. Factor in your own will power when planning both the number of grapes you'll need and the time it will take to seed them . . .