six

It's funny to realize that our little household, as established as it is, is still relatively young.  During the holiday season, everything that we've done once or twice seems to be "a tradition."  For instance, spiced pecans.

To be fair, I grew up with spiced nuts at Christmas.  There's a passed-down recipe in the family recipe box at my parents' house and everything.  I don't particularly recall eating them during the holidays, though--cookies seem to play a bigger role in my childhood memories, for some reason.

In recent years, though, I've been experimenting with different spiced pecan recipes.  I don't think I've settled on one "traditional" recipe yet, but when I do, this one will definitely be in the running.

It's Martha's, of course, so there isn't a lot of explanation required.  I did use a locally-made honey chipotle chili sauce--which complemented the chipotle chili powder I tossed in, I think.  I'm also of the opinion that you could get away with less salt than the recipe calls for, but that's just me...

I made a few batches of these yesterday to share with some of our favorite neighbors, but now that I've given them all away, I'm realizing that I should probably make more, just because.

kale

My man made pesto yesterday.  This, in itself, isn't a big deal.  In an average summer, we're probably making some kind of pesto every other week or so.  Yesterday, though, was the mother lode, pounds of basil and a nice pile of homegrown garlic magically transformed by the food processor into about a dozen jars of goodness that will get tucked into the freezer.  We'll dole them out carefully over the course of the winter, each jar a reminder of the basil-y goodness of summer.

We have other ways of bottling the season.  I'll probably be making a batch of refrigerator pickles this weekend, with the giant pile of cucumbers that have taken over the bottom drawer of our fridge.

I'm a champion of pickling, curing, freezing, canning, and doing whatever is necessary to preserve the bounty of the summer and autumn, in order to eat well the rest of the year.  On the other hand, I'm also a proponent of cooking up whatever's in season.  And right now, one of those things is kale.

I'm making kale chips tonight.  They're tasty and easy and the end result feels--snacky.  Decadent.  Kind of like junk food.  Which they are, I suppose, but at least a snack food that started its life as an easy-to-grow, good-for-you green.

You can find kale chips recipes all over the place, and honestly, you might not even need one.  

Just preheat the oven to 350 F.  Wash a bunch of kale, and then pat it all dry with a clean dish towel.  Cut out the thickest of the kale stems.  Drizzle some olive oil over things, add some salt and pepper, and toss it around.  Lay the kale leaves in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until things are crispy, about ten or fifteen minutes.

I have a busy weekend planned, but with the chilly almost-fall weather and a bit of cold, I'd really rather just curl up at home.  Here's a to do list for a weekend of not-doing-much-at-all...

Make your own notebook.

Tour a tiny house.

Cozy up to your teacup.

Look at books.

Be really bad for no good reason.

Stay in bed and cuddle.

Happy weekend, everyone!

checklist

Nothing glamourous to share today, but I do feel the need to gloat about a fairly productive afternoon.  In the course of just a few hours, we managed to:

-finalize our shopping list for Saturday's big party
-arrange for the use of a vehicle (other than a Metro bus) to lug things around that day
-borrow coolers from our fantastic neighbors
-locate and purchase compostable cups and plates
-acquire sixty-some thrift store forks
-accomplish various other small things

The event is going to be a potluck.  While that might sound kind of--um--cheap, I really like potlucks because they're always such a great combination of community and food.  I love seeing everyone show up with potato salads and cake carriers.  It reminds me of the church suppers and family holidays of my childhood.

And besides, we've already done our share of cooking for dozens and dozens of people this summer.  It went well in June, but I'm not really inclined to tempt fate by trying it a second time.  We are providing sandwiches for everyone, along with drinks and at least one dessert.  (I absolutely have to bake a cake so I can share our little cake toppers with our Washington crowd...)

I'm trying to dress the sandwiches up a little bit.  We'll have Mama Lil's, of course.  And maybe some roasted veggies, if I can get my act together.

I'm also thinking of mixing up some fancy condiments, like this Mojito Mayonnaise, from Jean Kelley's cookbook, Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes.

Mojito Mayo

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Mix everything together and put it on a sandwich.  Preferably one with pig on it.  Preferably at a festive, sunshiny potluck at a beautiful waterfront park on a fine August day in the Pacific Northwest.*

I've managed to make myself incredibly hungry just now, thinking about fictional pork sandwiches.  It might be time for me to take a dinner break...

I'll be back on Wednesday, though, to celebrate the--gasp!--100th post on The Stubborn Sparrow.  See you then!

*The ingredients are Kelley's, but I did adapt the recipe, just a bit...

dinner

I'm not going to lie.  By three o'clock this afternoon, I'd already decided that we were having leftovers for dinner.  I was tired, it was hot, and I just didn't feel like cooking anything.

But then, I came home and looked in the fridge.  With our CSA box showing up every week, it doesn't take much dinnertime slacking to leave us with a crowded refrigerator and more than a few pounds of vegetables to eat.  So I figured I'd throw something together after all.

My man and I have developed a fall-back dinner option that we've resorted to countless times over our years of cooking together.  It originated as a MSL recipe that called for green beans, potatoes, and basil pesto, but over the seasons, it's turned into this:

1. Roast some vegetables:  Maybe it's potatoes, but we've tried just about everything.  Carrots and beets are common.  We've also done turnips, rutabagas, fennel, broccoli, garlic, onions, shallots, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting right now.  Just chunk them up into something approximately bite-sized, throw the chunks on a baking sheet, toss them in olive oil, flavor with salt and pepper and any other spices that grab you, and roast them at 385 or 400 degrees.  (My man goes higher, but that's up to you...)

You'll probably want to open up the oven and scoot things around once or twice.  If you're me, the veggies are done when they're making lovely sizzling sounds and they cut easily with the tip of a spatula.  If you're my partner-in-crime, the veggies are done when they've turned into little fried cubes of crunchy goodness.  My way takes about thirty or forty minutes.

Tonight, it's carrots and beets, because that's what we have.

2. Steam something green:  I like green beans or peas for this, but you could use broccoli or chard or kale.  Again, bite-sized pieces are a good idea.  Steam things until they are just done, maybe even a little under.

It's snow peas for us today.

3. Make some pesto:  If it's basil season--like it is right now--you can make fresh pesto by throwing a clove or three of garlic, a few handfuls of basil leaves, and about half a cup of pine nuts in a food processor.  Puree until things look pretty mashed up, then, while the food processor is running, add about a quarter cup of olive oil and run the processor until your pesto looks like--um, pesto.  Add some salt and maybe pepper, too.

I got this basil at the farmers' market the other night.  I paid two dollars for a giant bouquet of it and it smells amazing.  When we're not lucky enough to have cornucopias full of fresh basil, we use pesto from the freezer.  My man makes a huge batch of it every summer and it almost always seems to last from one summer to the next.

You can make any kind of pesto you want.  Arugula is good for this.  You can use walnuts or pumpkin seeds instead of pricey pine nuts.

4. Make some pasta: Tonight, I'm combining the dregs of three different bags of pasta.  We'll see how that goes.  I like fusilli for this, but anything that holds a little sauce should work.

5. Toss everything together: It will be green and gooey and if you're using fresh pesto, it will smell freaking amazing.  I usually do this with the stove turned off, but sometimes, my man likes to warm things up a little bit.

This is the point where you add extra things.   Like cheese.  We usually grate some hard cheese on top.  We also add a can of chopped olives, because we add a can of olives to about 75% of the things we make.  Sometimes, we sprinkle some more pine nuts in, just for crunch.  And usually a little more salt and pepper is a good idea, too.

6. Serve it and eat: If you're lucky, you'll have leftovers for later in the week.  This reheats well.  If it's a little dry the second time around, drizzle a little olive oil on top.

This might not be a traditional recipe format, but I think it just might work.  If you decide to try making our pesto-veggie-pasta thing, let me know how it goes...

Have a great weekend, everyone.  I'll see you on Monday!

party

After a long, crazy week, we have a long, crazy weekend coming up.  A little travel, lots of family and friends, and to top it all off, our annual block party.  There's a potluck, a kiddie "parade" up and down the street, and after dark, we sit in someone's driveway and watch a movie.  If it sounds like I'm excited, it's because I am.

I really want to bring a dessert to the potluck.  People will always eat a dessert.  If all goes well, I'll be baking a plum cake in our cast-iron skillet tomorrow morning.  I've got a recipe already, but I'm starting to lean towards something a little more like this.

I'm definitely in a party mood right now.  If you are, too, you might enjoy this.  Or that.  Or maybe this is more your speed.  In any case, I hope your weekend brings you whatever you're hoping for.  See you next week!

soup

We are having soup for dinner tonight.  This is kind of a big deal.  My man does not like soup.  It's not something I can begin to explain, and I certainly can't identify with it, but that's just how thing are.  Which is why I get excited when we stumble across a soup he actually enjoys.

The recipe is adapted from one our CSA farm sent along with a box of produce a few years ago.  I like that it isn't fussy.  You just chop everything up and throw it in a pot.  The ingredients are pretty straight-forward, too, unless you're someone who's still afraid of a pine nut.  Oh, and there's pesto--one of my favorite, non-fussy ways to really fancy up a meal.

I've never really posted a recipe before, so I hope you'll trust me and give this one a try.

Carrot-Fennel Soup with Dill Pesto

For the soup:

2 tablespoons butter

1 bunch thinly sliced carrots

2 bulbs of fennel with some of the green, ferny tops, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 1/4 teaspoons dill seed

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

For the pesto:

1 cup fresh dill, chopped

3 tablespoons pine nuts

2 tablespoons olive oil

heavy cream or creme fraiche

Melt the butter in a big soup pot over medium heat.  Add the carrots, dill, onion, and dill seed and saute for 10 minutes, or until things begin to soften a bit.  Add the stock, bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and let things simmer for half an hour.  Transfer to a blender and puree in batches. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the pesto, either rinse out the blender or drag out a food processor and add the dill and pine nuts.  Blend until smooth and then, with the machine still running, add the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

To serve it up, ladle the soup into bowls and plop some pesto into the center of each one.  Splash a little cream or creme fraiche in, as well, and use a spoon to swirl the pesto and cream into the soup.

And then you eat it all up.  Enjoy!