Oregon Coast in March
May 15th, 2012 § 3 Comments
At the end of March I got to spend a few fabulously rainy days on the Oregon coast. I am constantly amazed at how wonderful it is to live in a place with such beauty. It is humbling, even when it is down right drenching. We ate good food, ate some not so good food, drank lots of beer, slept (or didn’t) in the most uncomfortable bed ever, listened to the rain falling on the roof of the car, slept very well in a very comfortable bed, and laughed until our sides hurt. My goal for the vacation was to be truly present, which resulted in my not taking very many photographs and most of the ones that I did take were on film. So, now my goal for my next vacation is to work on my ability to be present in the moment and take photographs. These are a couple of the photographs I made with my dSLR while I’m waiting to get the film developed.
Chicken Sausage Biscuits and Gravy
May 9th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day and breakfast for dinner has an extra special place in my heart. I love the sweet and the savory, the multiple beverages (mimosa!), breakfast is just plain fun. Bagels, waffles, granola, eggs, all of it. I don’t think there are any limitations on what can be breakfast. There are however a few breakfast foods I’ve been a little wary of. I’m dying to make homemade doughnuts, but am afraid to fry and for the longest time I got the chills whenever I thought of biscuits and gravy. The caloric laden, gristly sausage with bland, gloppy gravy over oily, soggy biscuits didn’t do anything for me. It wasn’t until, at the recommendation of the waitress at Skillet Diner in Seattle, that I gave biscuits and gravy a try. I figured if anyone could do it right, Skillet would be the place.
I have since woken up many a morning dreaming of biscuits and gravy, consider me a convert, all be it a picky one. Since I can’t make a weekly trip to Seattle for breakfast I decided to recreate the Skillet version.
I started with a good quality chicken sausage from Iserino’s which added nice flavor without being grease laden though I’ve also used locally raised and butchered pork breakfast sausage from Oakland Bay Farms. Then, I moved onto the holy trinity of cooking, a simple mirepoix (a finely chopped mix of carrots, celery, and onion), which places this gravy leagues ahead of its gloppy, tasteless cousins. Then all that is needed is a roux with milk (or broth if you want to keep it a little lighter).
In recent weeks I’ve realized that I love going out to breakfast, but I’m not in love with restaurant breakfast food. Perhaps I just need to get myself some lovely big white mugs for coffee, have the paper delivered, and settled down for a lazy homemade breakfast. Now if only I could figure out something to do with all the dishes…
Homemade Biscuits and Gravy
1 pound good quality breakfast sausage
1 reasonably sized carrot, finely diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
1/2 of a medium onion. finely diced
2 Tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk (plus a little extra to thin it down if needed)
fresh chopped thyme or sage
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
4 – large biscuits
Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once its brown, but not overcooked remove it from the pan and set aside. Reserve about 2 Tablespoons grease (or add 2 Tablespoons of butter if you are using chicken sausage) and the delicious browned sausage bits. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the mirepoix, sauté until the carrots are tender and the onion is translucent.
Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables, cook until it starts to turn slightly golden and has a nutty aroma. With the heat on low, slowly add the milk whisking continuously to evenly distribute the flour and get all the good bits scraped up. Allow to cook until just beginning to thicken. Return the sausage to the pan and add the thyme or sage and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve over fresh, hot biscuits.
Food Blogger Bake Sale: Sunflower Blossoms
May 6th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Last weekend during Olympia’s Arts Walk I had the pleasure of participating in a local Food Bloggers Bake Sale. Eight food bloggers and one local cooking instructor baked a table full of amazing sweets and together we raised money for the Thurston County Food Bank. Local food loving folks stopped by and walked away with arm loads of baked goods to share with their friends and family. It was wonderful to connect with local foodies, meet some outstanding Olympians and raise money for our community. You should jump over to Plum Palette for a full list of participating bloggers and more pictures.
I made Sunflower Blossoms, a nut-free version of the peanut butter classics. Growing up my grandmother and now my mother bake dozens of these for Christmas. They are a classic in many homes and it made me really happy to see so many nut-free people get excited about being able to eat them again. Sunflower butter works well in these because it is so similar to peanut butter in texture and flavor. You could try it with cashew butter or even almond butter if you wanted to get creative. Personally, I’m just totally in love with their name. Sunflower Blossoms, makes them sound like happy cookies.
Sunflower Blossoms
This is my grandmother’s Peanut Butter Blossom recipe. She typed it up on a recipe card for my mom. My mom has made her cookies from this recipe for years. I’m pretty sure it’s a variation on the Hershey recipe. I’ve made a few changes myself, like using butter instead of shortening since I’m kind of grossed out by shortening. I got my sunflower seed butter from Trader Joes, you can find it at the coop or a local grocery store with a natural food section but it is a lot more expensive.
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sunflower Seed Butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed firmly
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Additional sugar to roll the cookie in
One unwrapped chocolate kiss for each cookie (about 72)
Preheat oven to 375°.
In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter, sunflower butter, and sugars together until light a smooth. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix until combined.
Sift the flour, soda, and salt together an add to the butter mixture. Mix until fully combined.
Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, make half-dollar sized balls and roll them in a bowl of sugar. Place a few inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until beginning to crackle. Remove from the oven and press a chocolate kiss into each cookie. Return to the oven for an additional minuet or two, until the cookie is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Assembled and Ready
April 26th, 2012 § 1 Comment
I have 75 packages of cookies baked, packaged, labeled, and ready to be sold at the Bake Olympia food bloggers bake sale tomorrow evening. I’m so excited to get to meet so many food-loving people!
If you are local be sure to come downtown and say hi. If you aren’t, check back next week for the recipe!
Bake Olympia
food bloggers bake to fight hunger
at the Make Olympia street market,
100 block of Columbia
Friday, April 27th (at Arts Walk)
5-10 pm (I’ll be there from 5-7)
Bake Olympia: Food bloggers bake to fight hunger
April 20th, 2012 § 1 Comment
I am so very excited to announce that I have been invited to participate in Olympia’s first food bloggers bake sale. Next Friday, April 27th local food bloggers are teaming up to raise money for the Thurston County Food Bank. The blogging brains behind this amazing event is Jenni from The Plum Palate, you should check out her blog and the list of other bloggers participating. Later this week I will be whipping up a very large batch of cookie which I will preview for you all, just to make sure you are good and excited about all the delicious baked goods. Really, I can’t think of anything better than a food blogger bake sale because you know unequivocally the treats will be top-notch, plus you get to meet some pretty rad Olympians.
All proceeds will go to support the Thurston County Food Bank, you can bring cash or a food item to donate, and take home some of the best bake goods in town. You can also enter a raffle to win gift certificates for local bakeries.
Bake Olympia:
Food bloggers bake to fight hunger
Friday, April 27th (Arts Walk Weekend!)
at the Make Olympia Street Market
100 block of Columbia
5 – 10 pm
