CrankyCakes

I spend so much time loving the food of Vermont that I sometimes forget to pass on other good things that cross my path.  Please let me rectify that in a round-up of recent goodies from here and there.

Boloco
We got to take part in the “Pairing is Sharing” event that Burlington’s Magic Hat beer and the Boston-based Boloco burrito chain offered to introduce a new burrito and benefit the on-line mentoring program icouldbe.org.  I especially loved the Buffalo Burrito, and liked Magic Hat’s fall Odd Notion, a spicy, orange-y Belgian ale.   The Leftover Queen got much better pictures than mine, if you want to take a peek.

with The Leftover Queen & CrankyGreg

pmg's Nicole & her lovely friend

Palm Plates
As a member of the Foodie Blogroll Community, we got our hands on some Palm Plates put out by Marx Foods.  I’m pretty averse to disposable things, but liked the sound of these made-from-palm-leaf dishes.  Less manufacture, less waste, and kind of crunchy-cute looking.  We put them to the test for a variety of uses.

Breakfast:

And dinner:

We washed them & dried them and took them camping:

As a costume:

We’ve now used them so far beyond their one-use intentioned purpose that it seems ridiculous to mention that there are a few cracks in them.  When I finally am forced to call them done, I’ll throw them in the compost pile and declare victory.  I’m glad there are products like these out there to choose from when disposable stuff is necessary.  Which it usually isn’t.

What’s Cooking

I started following this cooking-natural-foods-with-kids blog on Facebook, and ended up winning a cute little prize that deserves mention on its own, beyond the great content Michelle and her family are producing.  She sent a “matchbook garden” my way.  Adorable, and totally appealed to my love of the faux and the miniature.

I’m just waiting to find a friend who’s quitting smoking and I’m totally going to give this to them, since I don’t feel up to explaining the shades of difference between playing with pretend matches and playing with actual flammable substances to E. & Z.

Penzey’s

If you’ve ever asked me where you should get your spices, chances are good that I’ve directed you here.  I love this folksy company for their earnest love of food nearly as much as I appreciate the variety and quality of their herbs and spices.  That’s why I was really worried when the fall catalog came with the words “Arizona Dreaming” emblazoned across the front.  I just didn’t want to know if these folks supported the anti-immigrant stuff that’s going on in Arizona.  With great trepidation I opened the catalog and read this letter from Bill Penzey.

(image courtesy penzeys.com)

I nearly cried.  It’s all that’s good about food, and the ties it creates and the cultures it celebrates.  I ordered some of the spice mix, though I surely didn’t need another chili powder blend.  But we love it, and I love Penzey’s even more. When it’s time to restock your spice shelf, give these good folks a try.

And now, back to our usual Vermont goodness and cranky ways.

Trying sample #2 for this article that appeared in the Living section of the Sunday, June 13 Burlington Free Press.

I’ve missed you, CrankyReader.  I was out of it there with all the working I was doing, and then last week crankyGreg said something to the effect of:

There’s something glorbity smorking about the mammary cache of the Tostito smookity-do, so we’ll have to transmogrify existing posts over to Bluehost, where we’ve already registered the dominoes and have 72 hours.

I nodded, sliding across the kitchen to reach Z., who was trying to duck as his brother was evoking piercing whines by shooting imaginary lightning bolts.  I tried to ignore, but quickly found myself shrieking, “You – the lightning bolts aren’t real!! You’re okay!  And you – your brother was not put on Planet Earth for you to whomp every time you feel bored!  And stop taking my kitchen tools!  And where the heck are your socks?”

Yep.  And then everything broke and I whined about it a lot.  And as a bonus I have tremendous blogger guilt, since it’s the day before Thanksgiving and I haven’t been able to post about the first product I’ve been sent for review in time for it to mean something.

I will admit that I have a big soft spot for Olivia’s Croutons.   They’re from adorable Charlotte, Vermont, and are a darned good product.  Once I spotted them in a Wild Oats in south Florida and squealed so loudly the woman next to me dropped her seitan.  (Ok.  I’m making up that last bit.  But I did get kind of excited to see them there in the tropical heat.)  When I got an email from someone at the p.r. firm who’s now handling their marketing, it was easy to accept some of their stuffing to review.

(Total disclosure: I’ve had coffee and baked goods and sometimes network with Nicole from pmg.)

If you’ve been reading along with me, you know that I believe that the job of cooking is primarily to use what you’ve got.  In this spirit, it’s hard to imagine ever buying croutons or stuffing, since there’s always leftover bread needing to become something or other.

But if I were to turn into someone who bought such things, Olivia’s would get my business.   And for testing purposes, I was delighted to have an excuse to make something from Molly Stevens‘s excellent “All About Braising.” And what a delight to find that I somehow managed to have nearly all the ingredients around for:

Braised Whole Chicken with Bread Stuffing and Bacon
Adapted from Molly Stevens’s All About Braising, a cookbook you should own if you don’t already
Serves 6

The Stuffing:

In a large dutch oven, heat over medium heat:

• 4 T. unsalted butter, or mild-flavored vegetable oil

When rippling or foaming, add:

• 1 1/2 c. finely chopped yellow onion
• 2/3 c. finely chopped inner celery stalk, including leaves

Cook for a few minutes, or until nearly translucent, then place in a large bowl and mix in with your hands:

• 2/3 c. finely chopped good ham (didn’t have it: used turkey bacon)
• 1/3 c. pine nuts
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries
• 1 bag Olivia’s Stuffing, or 5 cups stale mild white bread with crusts, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• salt & pepper, to taste

Set bowl aside.
The Chicken:

Preheat oven to 325.

Rinse and pat dry:

• 1 6 – 7 lb. roasting chicken, trussed

Then sprinkle generously with:

• kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

In the bottom of a large flame-proof dutch oven or large pot, heat:

• 1 T. unsalted butter
• 1 T. olive oil

Add and cook until the onion is lightly translucent and golden spots appear on all vegetables:

• 1 large or 2 small carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

With heat on medium-low, add and bring to a gentle boil:

• 2 t. mixed fresh herbs – I used sage and thyme
• 3 strips of lemon zest, removed from fresh lemon with peeler or zester
• 1/2 c. dry wine (Stevens calls for white but the only thing I had in the fridge was an off-dry riesling so I went with a red)
• 1 c. chicken stock

Place a couple of cups of the reserved stuffing inside the chicken, being sure to leave plenty of room for it to expand.  Place the chicken in the pot, and cover, including the legs, with:

• 5 strips lean bacon (wished I still had some VT Smoke & Cure around, but was forced to use more turkey bacon since that’s what I had)

Bring back to a gentle boil, cover, and then place in the oven.

In the meantime, take the remaining stuffing and place it in a casserole dish for which you have a cover, pour:

• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock over the top, and place it in the oven.

Cook chicken for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, or until a meat thermometer reaches 170 when it pierces the thigh.  Remove chicken and stuffing from oven.  Using a carving fork and knife, or two wooden spoons, or your giant waterproof oven mitts, remove chicken from the pot and place on a rimmed cookie or half sheet pan.  Raise the oven temperature to 425.  Place the chicken back in the oven for 20 minutes, or until nicely browned.  (If you like crusty stuffing, you can scoop that onto the cooking sheet too, but cover it with foil or parchment after 10 minutes so you don’t burn it.)

In the meantime, remove any herb stalks and then puree the cooking liquid with your blender, immersion blender, or food processor, being careful of steam and splatters.  (I left in the lemon peel, Stevens removes it.  You decide whether you want it in or out.)  Pour the resulting liquid back into the pot and place over a low heat until barely boiling.  Stir in:

• 1/4 c. heavy cream, light cream, or half-&-half

and turn down heat.  Stir until thickened.  Keep warm.

Remove chicken (and stuffing) from oven and let sit for 15 or 20 minutes so the juices settle to make for better and more beautiful carving.  To serve, I placed right on top of baby spinach leaves, which got all nicely wilted and kind of pleasantly oily and were otherwise delightful.

So I finally splurged on one of those peeler-corer-slicers …

Apple Peeler Disaster Review from crankycakes on Vimeo.

I think it’s time to forgive myself for thinking of Vermont as the center of the universe of good food, ideas, and people.

I had the good fortune to have a recent peek at the soon-to-be-completed Bien Fait bakery in Greensboro with Trish & Bill Alley. Trish is the director of Greensboro Wonder & Wisdom, which serves young and old, and seeks to ” inspire lives and communities of purpose and meaning by providing intentional, innovative, learning opportunities in which people of all ages discover who they are and are encouraged to realize their full potential.“  They provide year-round and summer programming for children, and enriching programs for seniors.  Very imaginative, engaging, whole-life learning kind of stuff.

But lofty goals have to be supported by real money, and that’s where Bien Fait comes in.  Founder and chef Alice Perron has built a wonderful reputation baking delicious cakes, and was a partner in forming an L3C corporation of the enterprise.  With this special designation that allows an entity to exist to support a charity, receive grants, and is officially “low-profit”, “Bien Fait Specialty Cakes”  now gives all of its profits to support Wonder & Wisdom.  In 2008 they sold 2000 cakes, and this year they’re hoping to crest 5,000.

Half-sheet pans in the Bien Fait kitchen.

To support this, they’re nearly done with the renovation of a small house that is soon to be home to a professional bakery.  We got a tour of the bright and comfortable space, which felt like an especially spacious and beautiful home kitchen – except that there were hairnet and handwash stations at its entrance, and ovens that could bake 90 one-pound cakes at a time.

Bill opened doors to coolers, showing us where they keep the dried fruits and nuts and dozens upon dozens of eggs.  When they’re fully operational, they’ll employ four local folks to bake and ship their goods.  Every step of their process shows their commitment to quality, consistency, and personal service – from their decision to source local ingredients whenever possible, to provide a comfortable and home-like working environment for their staff, to their attention to personal customer service.  As Bill talks it becomes clear just how much he’s researched this business, and how perfectly its mission and its financial potential fit with the work of Wonder & Wisdom’s multi-generational programs.

All of which would be very nice, but disappoint terribly if the product weren’t good.  But oh friends, what I’ve tried is so very good, every last morsel.  I had intended to post a picture of a slice of Golden Jewel Fruitcake here, but this was what I was left with:

Maybe you can at least see how moist these crumbs are.

Moist and sweet and dense with fruit and flavor, crunchy with nuts.  And complex with the different sorts of sweetness and acidity from the different fruits.  Really wonderful.  But then, I’m a fan of fruitcakes, even those with the cliched, unnaturally colored cherries.  But if you’re not, you too would have loved the Lemon Berry Teacake , or the Caspian Crunch Granola that accompanied the fruitcake we went home with.  This may be the best granola I’ve had yet, richly flavored, and full of its best ingredients.

And they have so many products and flavors and permutations that there’s plenty left to work through, secure in my smug knowledge that I live in a feel-good food paradise.  Yum, yum, yum.