Friday, August 28, 2009

I could get used to this.


Meaning I could get used to only buying flour, butter, milk and eggs at the grocery store. It is profoundly satisfying to pick your dinner and then put it in the pan. Chardfest 2009 continues, and we aren't sick of the stuff yet, somehow. I made Green Tomato and Swiss Chard Gratin this evening, and it is fantastic, I don't mind saying. It seemed like a bit of a travesty to pick some of my tomatoes early, considering how few we actually manage to grow ourselves, but it was worth it. Yes, I know my photos are embarrassingly amateurish, but it's all I've got until a new camera falls into my lap. I really wish they looked like the ones in NYTimes... Also -- I should have taken a picture before I dug in, but it wasn't until I'd had some that I knew how good it was! I call this one 'Still life with the things I didn't take out of the shot'.
Also popular this week 'round the urban homestead, Peach Ginger Hand Pies. I had been somewhat intimidated at trying pastry from scratch, but the kitchn writers pointed to Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee recipe which uses a food processor, and I couldn't believe how easy it was. Aside from getting flour on every surface within a two metre radius, but that probably had more to do with my rusty rollin' skills...

5 comments:

nicole said...

Alice Waters has a bunch of brilliant recipes for swiss chard. The Art of Simple Food is a favorite cookbook. Ms. Waters is the grandmother of California Cuisine and is all about seasonal cooking. The other day I made a great swiss chard dish where you take a bunch of leaves and boil them for a couple minutes. Drain and chop. Drain again and then saute in butter and add parmasean cheese. Delish.

Julie said...

Chard fest - now that's a party!! Love it!!

Anonymous said...

thanks nicole, I'm going to have to look her up. I have heard of her but didn't know much about her cookbooks. The parm idea sounds simple and amazing..

Anonymous said...

Photo interestingness - you can do it on the cheap. Step One: Bring livingroom lamp to kitchen and remove lampshade. Lean lamp on its side. Turn lamp on. Voila, interesting lighting! Step Two: Bring up the contrast in a photo editing software. Tah dah....

Cheryl Arkison said...

I swear by that pate brisee recipe, and hand pies. But I do add about a teaspoon of vinegar into it with the water. It helps make the dough tender to work with but still keep it flaky.