CrankyCakes

This scheduled episode of Monkey Menu Monday will appear next week, since those cool guys over at Foodie Fights drew crankycakes out of the hat for their 10th battle: Peach and Tarragon.  The timing was perfect since my BFF was up visiting this weekend along with her beautiful-but-already-22 daughter.  Here they are at the wonderful Burlington Farmers’ Market on Saturday.

Can I deviate for a moment to just say how much I love my friends?  They dropped in to our shower-less small house, to all the dirt and noise of two little boys, and were just the loveliest guests.  We laughed and reminisced and ate cheap sushi and visited Magic Hat for a tour, and they shrugged off the fact that they couldn’t bathe and amused themselves when I was busy.  And even though I’ve only seen Jessi a few times in her life she still calls me, “Aunt Cheryl.”  I love how old friends can show up and make everything seem okay.

But still, Battle 10 loomed. So, while wandering and doing tourist stuff, my mind was churning.  Peach cheesecake with tarragon in the crust?  Peach and goat cheese terrine?  Peaches poached in dessert wine infused with tarragon?  What did tarragon really taste like on its own anyway?

I grabbed the tarragon sprigs from the farm bouquet where I had stashed them at our CSA pick-up:

Suddenly, the idea of panna cotta appeared.  I adore this creamy eggless custard that’s made with cream and gelatin and sugar, with everything else optional.  I thought we could maybe add a little subtle flavor, top it with a peach syrup, and it could be awfully nice.

I do have to admit some dubiousness (why can’t dubiosity be a word?).  Neither peaches nor panna cotta need any of my special help to become any more delicious.  But the challenge was before me, and off I went to the market, where I found this from the Charlotte Village Winery:

Then, because the panna cotta requires a few hours to set, I got to work early in the afternoon.

I took 3 T. of peach juice (the juice from canned peaches, the only fruit Z. will currently eat) and sprinkled gelatin (of course vegan friends could use the vegetarian version) over it.

While the gelatin softened, I brought just to a boil:

• 1 1/2 C. cream (for vegans: coconut cream)
• 1 C. whole milk (or coconut milk)
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 2″ sprig fresh tarragon

After removing the vanilla bean and tarragon and taking the cream mixture from the heat, I stirred the softened gelatin in very well to dissolve it completely, then poured the custard into lightly oiled custard cups to cover and refrigerate for three hours (the minimum time it should take to set, but 4 – 5 hours is better).

At this point, Z. wandered into the kitchen to ask what I was doing with his canned peaches.  “With CUSTARD!?” he howled.  “That’s WASTING FOOD!”

He left.

So I sliced 3 of the great Pennsylvania peaches we’ve been getting, while I put in a saucepan:

• 1 T. butter
• 1/4 C. granulated sugar (I wanted honey but was out)
• 1 3″ sprig of fresh tarragon

Stirring as the butter melted, I added:

• The sliced peaches, stirring to coat, and then:
• 1 C. of white wine (any not-too-sweet white would be fine, though if you go for something truly dry you  may end up wanting to up the sugar a bit).

And brought it all to a boil:

I removed the tarragon sprig after a minute or two of boiling since I had no idea what sort of flavors the alcohol would pull out of the herb.  (Some flavor compounds are water soluble, some are fat soluble – but alcohol extracts both.)

There was more liquid than I wanted for the finished dessert, so I used a slotted spoon to remove the peaches and boiled down the syrup until it was reduced and had thickened a little.

Three hours later, the custards were barely set but my friends were ready to leave and I started flying around grabbing my extra tarragon sprig and attempting food styling so we could capture the picture and they could help me taste test.  Here’s what I got:

And the taste?  Creamy and a little melty, like things with gelatin can be, peachy, lightly sweet, a little kick from the wine in the syrup.  Z. wouldn’t touch this travesty of canned peaches, and E. said “No Mommy, it’s NOT pretty good,” but we adults thought it was lovely indeed.  The tarragon does seem to add a light background sweet licorice note, and the peaches and custard worked nicely together.

If you agree it’s a good idea, I hope you’ll visit Foodie Fights on Tuesday or Wednesday and vote for crankycakes.  And you could leave a comment telling my friend to move to Vermont, just to help nudge her along.

Enjoy!

Fresh From the Farm

[7/2/09 Update. The pancakes won!  Thanks for voting, friends!  Oh, plus the picture of those garlic scapes made it onto Photograzing.  Hard to take credit for what a beautiful vegetable that is ... ]

My head will explode if I don’t open this post with just a couple thoughts on zucchini.  I like its flavor, its texture, its versatility, how easy it is to grow, how it’s a harbinger of summer and the harvest in full swing.  But, my friends, it has essentially no nutritional value.  If you are going to stealth vegetables into your children via baked goods, pick pumpkin puree, or chopped spinach, or shredded carrots, or tomato paste.  Eat zucchini, sure, but don’t let its presence fool you into thinking you’ve taken care of vitamins (whole serving gives only 9% of vitamin C, and less of anything else), fiber (nope), or anything but putting something greenish on the plate.

Okay then,  with that said, it’s a terrific ingredient to have to build a Foodie Fights challenge around, and it made me especially glad to be selected as one of the food bloggers participating in their sixth battle.  Even with the addition of the garam masala, the possibilities were nearly endless.

But my all-time favorite zucchini dish has got to be the classic Moosewood Restaurant‘s Zucchini-Feta Pancakes that my mother’s been making forever, from this cookbook in fact:

So that’s what I based my entry upon.

Zucchini-Arugula Pancakes with Tahini-Yogurt Dressing and Oven-Roasted Garam Masala Garlic Scapes
Inspired by Moosewood Cookbook’s Zucchini-Feta Pancakes
Serves 8

Pancakes

• 8 c. shredded zucchini
• salt
  
• 1 c. arugula, chopped
• 8 eggs, separated
• salt & pepper
• 2/3 c. whole wheat flour
• butter & olive oil for frying

Tahini-Yogurt Dressing

• 2 c. Greek-style plain yogurt, or 3 cups plain yogurt (see notes in directions)
• 1 c. tahini
• 1 T. umeboshi vinegar, or salt to taste

Oven-Roasted Garlic Scapes

• 16 garlic scapes
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1/2 t. (or to taste) kosher salt
• 1 t. garam masala

For serving:

• 2 c. mixed greens per plate, plain or dressed with a simple lemon vinaigrette
• 1 t. toasted sesame seeds per plate (toast by placing in single layer in toaster oven for 250 for 5 – 8 minutes, or until lightly golden).

Directions:

1.  First, if using regular yogurt, place double layer of cheesecloth in a colander, put colander over a deep-dish pie plate, and place 2 cups of yogurt over cheesecloth.  Let drain in refrigerator for at least one hour, or overnight.  Or you could skip this step by buying the denser, creamier Greek-style yogurt instead.

2.  Roast the scapes:  Preheat oven to 400.  Leave them whole, toss with the olive oil, salt, and garam masala, and spread on a cookie sheet.  Roast for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 and roast for 25 minutes more.  When I prepared this, I started them at 450, and then turned it down to 375.  This resulted in very browned scapes, which I rather liked, but the tasters were split on whether they were too done or perfectly crispy.  Either option will give good results – just do what you prefer.  When done, taste to assure garam masala flavor.  If you’d prefer it a little stronger, sprinkle on just a little more, then place aside.

3.  Make pancakes:

• Place grated zucchini in colander and salt lightly.  Let it stand for 15 minutes over sink or pie plate, then rinse and press out excess water.
• Preheat oven to 170.
• Combine zucchini, egg yolks, arugula, salt, pepper, and flour.
• Beat egg whites until nearly stiff, then fold into first mixture.

• Fry in large skillet with 1 T. butter & 1 t. olive oil on both sides, until golden.  Hold in warm oven until all are cooked.

While pancakes are cooking, make Tahini-Yogurt Dressing:

• Place yogurt, tahini and umeboshi/salt in bowl and whisk thoroughly until thick and smooth.

To serve:

• Gather hungry friends for brunch.

• Place dressed greens on plate, top with two pancakes, generous dollop of dressing, two scapes, and toasted sesame seeds.

• Enjoy!  Unless you’re E. (“Mommy!  I want to spit this out!”) or Z.  (“I don’t like ALL of it!),” in which case you can just have the fruit and cupcakes and some bread with peanut butter.

Check it out:  I’m going to be one of six competitors in the next Foodie Fights Challenge.

I’ll be preparing and documenting a recipe using this round’s challenge ingredients:  zucchini and garam masala.

I’ll be competing against: