CrankyCakes

I like the nutrition and transportability of a breakfast smoothie, but I don’t always want something sweet first thing in the morning.  I started making these during the heatwave a couple of weeks ago, and have been pretty breakfast-happy with them.   They’re healthy, creamy and tart, and have enough protein to keep me reasonably satisfied until lunchtime.  Plus not having fruit or sweet things in them means that the boys never, ever abscond with my cup.

Savory Super-Green Smoothie
Makes 1

• 1 c. plain lowfat dairy or soy yogurt
• 1/4 c. soy milk, whey from yogurt, or milk
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• handful of spinach or lettuce
• 1 T. tahini
• 1/2 t. spirulina powder
• 1 T. green olives or your favorite salsa
• 3 or 4 ice cubes

Stir, blend & repeat until nice & smooth.

It is day 5 of summer vacation and I have already threatened my #1 son with juvenile detention if he doesn’t stop hitting his brother.

Homemade sugary treats with purple sparkles!

He wanted to know if he could eat hot dogs if he went to kid jail.  No hot dogs, I told him.  No good food at all.

For breakfast!

Homemade Blueberry Pop Tarts
adapted from King Arthur Flour & with inspiration from Smitten Kitchen
makes about 9

Whisk together:

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 T. ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Use 2 forks or a pastry cutter to work in:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pats

Whisk together:

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons milk

Add oil-egg-milk mixture to flour mixture and stir briskly until mostly incorporated.  You can knead it a couple of times if you like.

Divide the dough in half and shape each a rectangle.  Chill in the refrigerator for 10 or 15 minutes, then roll out first one rectangle and then the other to a rectangle about 1/8″ thick measuring 12 x 15 inches (use a cutting board or baking sheet as a guide).

While dough is chilling, prepare filling by placing in a small saucepan, stirring well and heating to a boil for one minute:

• 2/3 cup blueberry jam
• 1 t. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. water

Let filling cool.  Lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside.

Removing dough from refrigerator, use a sharp knife or a pastry wheel to cut 9 approximately same-sized rectangles.  Repeat with second rectangle of dough.  Brush outline with:

• beaten egg

then place a tablespoon of filling in the center.  Put another piece of dough on top, then press and crimp edges with a fork and poke a few holes on top for ventilation.  Put each on the prepared baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 350.  Refrigerate pastries for 15 – 20 minutes, then place directly into oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove to rack to cool.

If you really want to be able to prepare these in your toaster, you probably should stop here.  But if you just want them to enjoy them without the actual use of a toaster, go ahead and make some sugar glaze and then top with colored sugar or sprinkles before eating them all in a carbo-loading festival of self-loathing and -pity at your horrible parenting surprising your little angels with them for a special breakfast treat.

“Why on earth,” my friend wants to know, “would you eat lamb’s quarters when there’s good fresh spinach in the garden?”

It’s a decent question.  Why do I compulsively seek out weeds to eat when we’ve got good cultivated foods right at hand?

There’s the thriftiness factor, with the undeniable appeal of free food.  And there’s a very pleasant satisfaction in finding food where others look out and see a wild patch of mess.   I love the unpredictability of what grows on its own, how I have to hunt for this thing that’s beyond my control.  Where I’m attempting to make a garden that conforms to some sense of order and productivity, these wild edibles are on their own trajectory.  It’s not up to me to protect them from pests or be obliged to extend their season of growing.  They come, they go, I find and use them or I don’t.

There’s some kind of lesson about gratitude and grace in this.

Here are some of the things that I do with them:

• Chop and saute them with some fresh garlic and oregano, then add to ground grass-fed beef with crumbled feta for delicious Greek-flavored burgers.

• Chop, blanch, and pack into ice cube trays for easy-portioned greens to add to soup, sautees, pasta, or whatever you like.

• Cook up with some quartered new potatoes and eggs or tofu for a great breakfast (lunch, dinner, snack).

Also in season right now: wild grape leaves, which I’ll share a recipe for this week.

If there’s a food habit I could break, it would be stealthing food into my children.

I’d so much rather have them happily eating their own vegetables to the tune of,

“Oh mama, how we do appreciate the organic local goodness you get for us, never mind the expense.  Could you pass the broccoli and sesame sauce for dipping?  It’s simply divine!”

I’ve seen children like this.  I see the looks their parents give me when I tell them what my #1 son’s food repertoire consists of.  Oh yes, I see the looks they exchange with their friends, smug and sure that their superior parenting skills have produced adventurous eaters.    I’m sure they’re right, and not for one minute do I wish anything unpleasant upon them, like maybe a child who develops a midnight yodeling habit or becomes possessed by the spirit of Vlad the Impaler.

I try.  I put the vegetables on the table in a casual way, and when the caterwauling begins I nonchalantly suggest they try one bite.  Then, while they’re convulsing on the floor and crying, I shrug.  I say, “It’s up to you how you get your three healthy choices.”

But I want them to eat vegetables.  So it’s squash in this and spinach in that and carrots in some other thing.  Like these scones, which embellished a King Arthur mix that someone had given me at the holidays.   They would have been good on their own (though I’d prefer that King Arthur leave the “natural flavoring” out of their mixes and just let real ingredients shine through), but the additions made them really yummy indeed.  And healthy enough that I fed them to the boys for dinner while guests were here this weekend, all of us happy that we had gotten away with something.

Carrot Cake Scones
Makes 8

Preheat oven to 425.

• 1 mix or basic recipe for 8 scones
• (please consult recipe for the amounts of butter, milk, etc. you’ll need for that)

Add to the mixed batter:

• 1/2 c. pureed pumpkin or butternut squash
• 1 c. shredded carrots
• 1/2 c. yogurt raisins (it’s what I had around – use what you like)
• 1/2 t. each ginger, cardamom

Press the dough into a circle 8 – 9″ on a baking sheet.  Cut nearly through into 8 pie-wedge type pieces.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Frost with anything, or nothing.  I had some cream cheese frosting around from cupcakes last week, which was pretty darned good.  In fact, that was the only part Z. ate, proving that I just can’t win.

We were out to dinner the other night and a friend pulled a couple of crinkly plastic bags out of her purse.  She had a share of a wild-crafting CSA, and declared that she needed some help “appreciating” the coltsfoot and sedum with which she had been gifted that week.

We nibbled at bites, furrowed our brows, and concluded that frying was the answer.  Definitely frying.

Two days later, Z. and I were having our usual Monday at home and it was time for breakfast when I stumbled on the bags in the fridge.  Fritter time.

So I beat together until smooth:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c. white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 t. kosher salt

And then stirred in a cup or so of the mixed wild stuff.

Then heated up in a large skillet until it was slightly rippling:

• 1 T. butter
• 1 T. olive oil

Then poured the whole mix in, and let it sit until the underside was set and the top was starting to bubble, when it got flipped.

Then I cut it into wedges and ate half of it. It was really good – the coltsfoot has a sort of cumin-like taste that I found delicious.  The sedum tasted most like wilted thick spinach, pretty green but unoffensive.

And this is when the really startling thing happened.  Z. was watching Sid the Science Kid when he started wrinkling up his little nose and said, “I smell something yummy, Mommy!”  Hmm.  I asked if he wanted some.  I gave him a little slice, which he promptly devoured.  And then he ate the rest!  Hardly picking out the greens at all!

Truth be told, I’m still a little stunned.

The spring greens are up and I am a weed-picking fool.  Would you join me please?  Seriously – just go outside and pick a pile of dandelion greens before the flowers bloom and leave thgreens terribly bitter.  Then you’ll wash them very carefully.  Maybe even a soak in a water-bath with 1/4 c. of white vinegar in it.  Keep rinsing and soaking until they’re clean enough for you. (Over here, that was 4 times.)

Then you can go ahead and make yourself a breakfast worthy of a spring celebration.

Dandelion Greens, Potato, & Egg Breakfast, with or without Bacon
Serves 2

Wash repeatedly until clean:

• 4 – 6 c. dandelion greens

If you want to eat bacon, cook until desired crispness and then remove from pan:

• 4 strips of bacon (preferably something excellent like Vermont Smoke & Cure)

• (For a vegetarian version heat 3 T. olive oil until rippling)

Cut:

• 2 large potatoes into medium cube.

Saute in oil or cook in bacon grease over medium high heat, until browned, then cover pan with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes or until done.

Add to pan and cook until greens are wilted:

• those dandelion greens you washed so well
• generous sprinkle of kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Scramble and then add to pan:

• 4 large eggs

(Vegan? Mash up and add  1 package of firm tofu instead.)

Cook until eggs are done (or tofu is heated through).  Scramble together.  If using bacon, crumble and mix in.  Serve with your favorite hot sauce.

[4/8/10 -- This picture was included in the march of gorgeous spring holiday food over at Photograzing.  If you too are a lover of food-porn take a look!]

I’d like to nominate deviled eggs for the next food craze.  They’re cute, only slightly naughty, portable, adaptable, and individually sized.  What’s not to love?

For our annual Easter brunch-egg hunt extravaganza, I wanted something simple, special and spring-like and this is what we got.  They went fast, and I think I’ve found my brunch potluck standby for the season.

Do remember that the freshest eggs are harder to peel.  If you have time to think ahead, get the eggs you’re likely to want for this a week or so before you make them.

Deviled Eggs Three Ways
yield: 36 halves

Boil eggs your favorite way, or else try this technique that allegedly preserves more of their protein and other nutrients.

Place in cold water to cover by at least an inch:

• 18 room temperature eggs

Bring water just to a boil, stir vigorously once or twice, then cover and turn off.  Let sit for 20 minutes. (I’ll admit that I often let them sit for an extra 5 to ensure they’re done.)

Prepare a platter by rinsing and arranging:

• about 4 c. torn lettuce or mesclun salad on a large platter

Cool the eggs by plunging into a bowl of cold water with some ice in it.  Peel, cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out the yolks into a medium bowl.  Add to the yolks:

• 3/4 c. mayonnaise
• 2 T. yellow or other fairly mild mustard

Beat with an electric mixer until very creamy and smooth.

Using a spoon or pastry bag, fill 24 of the egg white halves with the yolk mixture.  To the remaining yolk mixture add:

• 2 – 3 T. pesto (I used the local Bella Pesto I picked up at a recent winter farmer’s market, which was incredibly fabulous), depending on how strong and green you want the flavor and color.

Fill the remaining 12 egg halves with the pesto mixture.

Slice or rip into 12 small square-ish pieces:

• 1 1/2 oz. good quality smoked salmon

Curve into a small roll and tuck next to the yolk mixture in 12 egg halves.  Place next to each salmon piece:

• 1 caper per egg

Serve, and watch ‘em go.

They let you have some of each.

Bruce Martell from the Ag. Dept. relieves Sam Cuttings, Jr. at the evaporator

This is Brian's 16th year staffing the griddle.

Husband & wife team Paul & Lori cooking up bacon and sausage.

Power tools for mixing vats of pancake mix.

Their pancake breakfasts and sugar-on-snow parties are going on for the next three weekends.  Wouldn’t be spring without going to at least one.

Filed under the category of “Things My Children Ought to Have Liked but Instead Were the Cause of Great Consternation and Caterwauling” are these wraps that were yummy, simple, adorable, healthy, made with nearly all local ingredients, and a fun twist on St. Patrick’s Day. Dangit.

I had meant to make Green Eggs & Ham for Dr. Seuss’s birthday earlier this month but never seemed to have all the ingredients at the same time.  Then fresh spinach arrived from a friend’s CSA share, and off we went.

Green Egg Wraps with Bacon
Makes about 6 wraps

Place in a blender and puree the heck out of:

• 2 cups of fresh spinach leaves, well washed, stems removed
• 2 eggs

Pour the egg-spinach mixture into a medium bowl and beat in:

• 4 eggs
• salt & pepper to taste

In the meantime, cook:

• 8 strips of bacon (a couple of extra never hurt)

And warm up:

• 4 or 6 whole grain wraps

I do both of these in one easy, lazy step by placing the bacon on a rack on a broiler pan that fits in my convection oven and broiling it for 10 or so minutes, until it’s as crispy as we like.  At the same time, I place the wraps on top of the oven.  They end up just warm enough and I’m not fussing with extra dishes or labor.

While the bacon’s going, cook the eggs in a skillet until set.

Into each warm wrap, place:

• 1 slice of cheese (we used Muenster)
• 1 piece of bacon
• a couple scoops of green eggs
• favorite add-ins: tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, hot sauce, jalapenos, whatever you like.

Then wrap ‘em up and serve.

For dessert we made Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Guinness Cake.  It was great, and I even lucked out and found some cream cheese frosting in the freezer to thaw to put on the top.

However, I would note that when a recipe calls for a 9″ springform pan, it really and truly doesn’t mean an 8″ springform pan.  Not that that’s a mistake you would ever make.

Banana-squash muffin with cream cheese frosting.