Fall soups and harvest

With the weather turning cooler and the leaves starting to change, I've been happy to have on hand a number of soups tucked away in the freezer from spring. It's so nice to be able to warm up a quick bowl of soup for lunch — particularly when you are fighting off a cold from all the wacky weather shifts. I've shared a couple of the recipes with you already, like this one for cauliflower soup. But surprisingly, I haven't posted one of my favorites — the Witches' Brew Soup from Southern Living circa 2001. It was one of the first soups I cooked that made it into my regular rotation.

Witches' Brew Soup
Adapted from Southern Living, October 2001

• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Toppings: shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions, cooked and crumbled bacon

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add chicken and next 3 ingredients, and saute 10 minutes. Stir in broth and next 3 ingredients.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in 2 cans of beans and chiles.

Mash remaining can of beans in a small bowl. Whisk together flour and milk, and stir into beans. Gradually add bean mixture to soup mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in cilantro. Serve with desired toppings.

In garden balcony news, we harvested our little corns this past weekend. Here is the boy cradling two of our youngins like a proud new papa. Unfortunately, they weren't youngins enough. I think we picked them about three weeks too late. We had two baskets growing and decided to sample one ear from each to compare since the plants in each had progressed quite differently. Well, we each took a bite of our respective samples, quickly spat them out and passed on sampling the second ear. Pure starch and really hard. They looked so much like real, yummy corns that we let them keep growing hoping they would reach a fuller size. Ah well, it just goes to show that size doesn't matter. The experiment continues and notes have been taken.

I also decided to pull out all the carrots. After months and months, here they are. True baby carrots. Again, note taken. Common sense: it is difficult to grow a good-sized root vegetable in a shallow box.

Hope you all are enjoying the crisp air. It's making me want to bake and knit, so stay tuned for more updates!

M.I.C.E. at the Market

I'll be at the Ann Arbor Artisan Market this Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is "M.I.C.E. at the Market" Day, so you'll be sure to find some of your local Etsy favorites. Come on down and visit!

Really. I haven't forgotten you.

I have been thinking about you all along. Really. I'll be in touch soon. The DIY Street Fair in Ferndale this past weekend had such a good feel: happy people, interested in art and music. Such fun. I met many wonderful people both shopping and vending. I did get a bit run down though and my body is angry with me — acting out with aches and a scratchy throat. Doesn't it understand that I have things to get done? Like catch up on the blog among other things… sigh. Soon enough. I'll be back in the kitchen with some new recipes to share and I already have a backlog of new items to post in the shop and share with you here. Stay tuned… really!

I'm Smitten with …

Swan boy by I'm Smitten

I have to admit that while at Renegade, I barely ventured away from my booth to see the wares. I had fantastic helpers on hand, but felt the need to stay put. Lucky for me, I didn't have to go far to see some terrific things. Today I thought I would share with you one of my favorites: I'm Smitten.

Elephant girl by I'm Smitten

I only had a quick peek Sunday morning while she was still setting up, but let me tell you these online images don't do the art justice. They are so rich in person, but I think you'll get the idea. Ashley Alexander is the artist behind I'm Smitten and her drawings are available on handbags, t-shirts, stationary and as prints. Her web site has a wonderful blend of drawing and eerily charming photography. The opening flash page is also the image from her business card and I find it incredibly compelling. Check it out!

Home again, home again

Good morning! OK, so it's not really even close to still being morning. Yet here I am in my pjs at 1 p.m. after a fantastic weekend in Chicago at the Renegade Craft Fair. I had a wonderful time and am eager to update you all, but am simply wiped out. We got back in the wee hours of the morning and I am taking the day to rest a bit. I'll give you the brief recap: gorgeous sunny, warm weather, huge crowds, helpful friends, rockin shoppin and fun all around. Major highlight: mention on Readymade blog naming Sloe Gin Fizz best shop name for day one Renegade roundup — yippers! Thanks so much to everyone for their warm wishes last week, to the terrific customers at the fair and stay tuned for details…

Bird houses on the FP

Thank you to the lovely Sigmosaics of Portugal for including my Bird houses print in her stunning treasury that graced the front page yesterday afternoon. View a clickable version here.

P.S. I know I promised another cucumber soup recipe, but with this rainy, damp weather, it just seems not quite right… perhaps if we get another warm spell!

Treasury time!

Just nabbed a spot for this lovely treasury! Haven't put together one in quite some time, but was feeling the vibe this morning. Enjoy!

Garden balcony update

Hello! Summer is flying by and as you can probably tell by my lack of posts, I've been swamped getting ready for a full round of fall craft shows. I thought I would check in with everyone with a small garden update. Let me say, I'm pleased as punch.

1. The Corn

The ears are still a bit small, but growing away.

2. The Basil
After our latest harvest of 22 cups, the boy's new dream is to be a basil farmer. This is all from one window box! It quickly became pesto that should last us through the winter.

Pesto
3 cups basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
Throw all in the blender and puree. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Jalapenos
We've harvested one jalapeno so far, but after the short heat wave we had a few weeks back many more have sprouted. There are now about seven or eight coming along.

Stay tuned for another cucumber soup recipe — it's chillin' in the frig right now, so I'll post it when I can. If it's not before the weekend, cheers and have a great Labor Day!

In the kitchen: Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

With the raspberry harvest winding down, I'm trying to get my fill. Despite being an easy cake, this one was groundbreaking in our kitchen. The boy came with a Kitchen Aid. Can you believe my luck? But for almost a year I have been toiling away with the good old-fashioned hand method. Call it intimidation, but I couldn't breing myself to use it. Not so anymore. I finally broke down, wiped off the dust and mixed away. The result: this tasty cake June's Gourmet that I highly recommend:

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
Adapted from Gourmet, June 2009

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

The tardy bird catches the corn

Last weekend I wanted to get to the farmer's market for some corn, but got so wrapped up in things during the day that I had to rush to make it before they closed at 3pm. Before I even got there, I was feeling disappointed at what would be available so late in the day — everyone knows that true market shoppers get there at the crack of dawn for the best choices. Not so! There are good choices to be found late in the day. As I raced up to my favorite corn farmer, he announced that he was having an end of the day special: $5 for a full shopping bag of corn. Sold! I walked away with about 20 ears of corn. So instead of corn on the cob, we feasted on poblano corn pudding. I had never made it before, but had an idea of what I wanted and knew it had to have cheese. After an extensive search, this is what I found:

Poblano Corn Pudding
Adapted from Guy Fieri's show, "Guy's Big Bite"

• 3 poblano peppers
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
• 4-6 ears corn, shucked and kernels removed, about 4 to 5 cups
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs

Roast the poblano peppers under the broiler, turning often with tongs until all of the skin is blistered, about 10-15 minutes. Put the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam for about 10-15 more minutes. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board, peel the skin off, remove the seeds and stems, dice, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350º.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and the salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes, and then set aside to cool.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it starts to simmer, about 3-5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and then slowly add the scalded milk. Whisk in the sour cream and then fold in the cheese, corn, peppers, onions, herbs, cayenne. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the mixture to a 9 by 13-inch buttered baking dish and set aside.

Put the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the panko. Toss to coat the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper. Pour the bread crumbs over the pudding and bake in the preheated oven until the bread crumbs are golden, the pudding is set and bubbling around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes to brown up the bread crumbs. Remove from the oven and serve.

It makes a lot so be sure to invite some friends!

New drawings and prints

Hi all! As promised, I have not been posting as often this month while I focused on some new drawings and designs. I thought I would share three new prints I posted to the shop this past week.

The Found Chair

This drawing is actually a detail from a larger piece that I started years ago. I had rented a studio space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for about six months or so and the larger drawing was about the only thing to come out of it. That said, I absolutely love the drawing even now, years later, and have continued to work on it here and there. This is one of my favorite parts of it, so I thought I would pull it out and play with it some more.

My dearest friend

I've also been working on some drawings of my favorite things around the house. Without my coffee, mornings would be quite scary for everyone involved.

The air between us

And, last but not least, a drawing from my sketchbook that just seemed to happen.

I'm having a lot of fun trying some new things and playing around. I also have some new paper goods planned for the next week or two, so keep an eye out. Hope you're having a great summer and making the most of the sunshine. Cheers!

In the kitchen: Morning Glory Muffins

A couple of years ago I worked at D'Latte, a wonderful bakery and coffeehouse in Greenport, New York. The baker, a talented Argentinian woman, created the most scrumptious scones and muffins ever, not to mention incredibly indulgent gelato. Always one of my favorites, the morning glory muffins she made are among my all-time favorite. I have always wanted to try to replicate them. Today I made attempt number one. Using a dog-eared printout of a recipe given to me ages ago by my friend BE, I made a tasty muffin, though my hunt for the perfect recipe will continue. Here is how it goes:

Morning Glory Muffins
Adapted from the Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook by Leslie Mackie with Andrew Cleary, 2003

• 1/2 cup seedless raisins
• 1/3 cup walnut halves
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
• 3/4 cup chopped pineapple
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 6 Tb unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tb freshly squeeze lemon juice
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup or less coarse raw sugar
  

• Preheat oven to 350F. Brush insides of muffin tin with canola oil.

• Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let sit for 10 minute while raisins plump, then strain and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. Set aside.

• Place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and shaking a couple of times during cooking, toast until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool, then chop coarsely and set aside.

• Sift four, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix gently with a wooden spoon and set aside.

• In a separate large bowl, combine raisins, walnuts, carrot, apple, pineapple, eggs, canola oil, melted butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract and coconut; mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

• Add the dry ingredients and continue stirring just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. It’s important not to over mix.

• Scoop batter into oiled muffin tin, filling the cups to the top. Sprinkle coarse raw sugar on tops of muffins and bake on the center rack of the oven for 40-45 minutes.The finished muffins will be deep brown. Let cool for 20 minutes, then slide a fork down the sides of each muffin and gently lift it from the pan.

Extracting vanilla

When I was at the grocery two days ago, I grabbed a big tub of yogurt as I do on a regular basis. They didn't have my favorite brand, so I chose another. Except that I picked up the wrong tub. I'm a plain yogurt kind of gal. I like to mix it into all kinds of things: smoothies, salads, sauces, dips. You name it; yogurt makes it better. But I mistakenly pulled the vanilla from the case. I didn't even realize it until I made a smoothie yesterday and took a big old sip off the straw. Uck. That awful taste of fake sweetness. Whoa is me, what to do with 26 more ounces of this stuff? Well, today I did some experimenting and found that it's not too difficult to mask the taste in a smoothie: add a tablespoon or so of lemon juice and just a dash of real vanilla extract and voila! Nothing but peach-blueberry goodness.

Flowers for you…

Zinnias 08.11.09, originally uploaded by sloeginfizz.

Just a little zinnia love today. These have always been a favorite of mine. Hope you enjoy!

One for the freezer

I couldn't resist an absolutely beautiful, but huge, head of local cauliflower the other day at the market. It sat on the counter for a couple of days. Then it moved to the fridge. It was starting to get a teeny bit of brown on it one day (I like to imagine it was still fresher than what is often on the shelf at the grocery store), so I finally had to face it. I decided to make soup. Again, short on time, I turned to the Joy of Cooking for a good, basic soup recipe.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking
Heat until melted:
1/4 c. chicken stock
1 Tb. unsalted butter
Add and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until tender, not borown, 5 to 10 minutes:
1-2 leeks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/8 tsp. gr. nutmeg
Stir in:
4 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 1/2 c. white wine
1 1/2 pounds trimmed cauliflower, coarsely chopped (if you have more, just add more stock to barely cover)
Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is tender, 15-20 minutes. Puree in blender until smooth. Return to pot and stir in:
1/4 to 1/2 c. half-and-half or milk
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
Simmer briefly and serve garnished with chives.

Taking time to see

As a change of pace, the boy worked at home one day this week and in the middle of the day, we took some time out to walk the dogs we had been petsitting. (Two matching corgis… requisite "aaawws" all around.) It felt like such a luxury to wander around together in the middle of the day. I couldn't help but look at the neighborhood in a different way. And in doing so, I found this lovely, yet lonely birds' nest that had fallen on the sidewalk. It was just asking to be taken home. Now it sits on my desk inspiring me. Here's hoping all of you find some time this weekend to look at your neighborhoods in a new, slower or different way. Cheers and happy Friday!

Back to basics: The Joy of Cooking

While I've been on the computer a little bit less, I've still been in the kitchen a fair bit. I found myself turning to the tried and true Joy of Cooking several times this week, mostly because I can often find a straight-forward, quick recipe when I'm short on time. I had never made my own pizza dough and was determined to this week. I had planned on making it Monday night to rest overnight, but it was late and when the yeast didn't activate on the first go round, I ditched the dough-making for the evening. The next day, I had to find a recipe that didn't require any of this overnight business. Hence, the good old Joy. Here it is in all its crunchy, chewy loveliness:


Basic Pizza Dough
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking
Makes 2 twelve-inch crusts

Combine in a large bowl & let stand five minutes:
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/3 c. warm water
Add:
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb salt
1 Tb sugar (optional)

Mix all to blend. Knead about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled — 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 475º. Grease and dust two baking sheets with cornmeal. Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll into balls and let rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap 10 to 15 minutes.

Flatten each ball on lightly floured surface into 12-inch rounds,rolling and stretching dough. Place on prepared baking sheet. Lift edge and pinch to form lip. To prevent crust from getting soggy from the toppings, brush with olive oil.

Using fingertips, dent surface of dough to prevent bubbles. Let rest 10 minutes and then you're ready to go with toppings. Bake until crust is browned and cheese is golden, approx. 12 minutes.

NOTES: I added the lesser amount of flour called for, but it was quite a wet, loose dough, so I probably added at least 1/4 cup more during kneading. Still very sticky. I didn't even notice the greasing the pan part of the recipe until I was typing it just now. I sprinkled the baking sheet with cornmeal only and it all worked out fine. No sticking. Also, I probably could have stretched it out thinner before baking since it puffs up quite a bit. Tasty!

I also whipped up a super fast sauce from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking.

Bright Red Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking
Makes 3 cups.
2 Tb. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
Saute all but tomatoes over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes until garlic is just starting to take on a bit of color. Stir in tomatoes, simmer five minutes. Remove from heat and salt to taste. I only had a can of whole tomatoes, so I chopped those up, and then threw the whole thing in the blender when it had cooled a bit. This sauce packs the perfect punch — a whole lot of flavor with some zip from the hot pepper flakes. We're planning to have the leftover sauce with chicken parmigiana tonight — yum!

Summer blogging slowdown

Happy August! I can't believe it's already August — but then again, I 'm sure I say that every year. I wanted to let you know that for this month I will be posting much less frequently than my usual weekday posts. Rather than hold myself to a self-imposed daily schedule, I've made a goal of testing out a different work schedule for the month and spending less time at the computer. I just found out today that I will be a vendor at the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago in September and have a number of other shows planned for the fall. I plan to spend this month focusing on making new products, doing lots of drawing and freshening up my Etsy shop. That doesn't mean I won't be around, just less often. So happy summer everyone and we'll chat soon…

P.S. I should mentioned that I will still be tweeting. That's right, I've quietly been sucked into the world that is twitter. It's addictive. That's all I can say. @sloe_gin_fizz

Birthday browned butter blueberry muffins

A big thank you and shout out to Joy the Baker! I have her to thank for these delicious muffins fresh out of the oven. She posted the recipe adapted from the Gourmet cookbook on her blog and I had a pint of blueberries just asking to be made into muffins. Right after they came out of the oven, our landlady stopped by and I got my June Cleaver on by offering her a piping hot, delectable treat. I think it helped me win the four-star housekeeping award she gave me before leaving. Try these muffins — you won't be disappointed! Now, I'm off to throw on my party dress — it's my birthday after all!

Balcony garden update…

As promised, here is a brief balcony garden update:

Basil. It grows leaps and bounds every hour. The boy has found his calling: basil farmer. Acres and acres of basil. Imagine the amazing smell wafting in the breeze. We've harvested several large colanders full so far with no end in sight.
We have corn people. Yes, it has emerged, and again, growing like gangbusters. We planted two bushel baskets of silver queen and one is thriving, the other got beat down by the wind, I think, and is drooping like crazy. But several of them have the beginning of buds… yippee! One day we will have at least two wee little balcony-grown corn cobs. Can't wait.

Zinnias are my favorite, so we did some mini ones and they are up and blooming like mad. Had bountiful bibb lettuce, but that's about done. Carrots… haven't done so well. Radishes were a hti, though they are about finished up, too. Mint. Can't get enough of the mojitos we've been having. Next year, an even bigger pot for it, I'd say. Several more snap peas showed up unexpectedly. All in all, great success in the garden. May do some spinach plantings for fall… but now, I'm off to water. Ciao!