This month’s featured dish is a wonderful dessert that brings together a traditional Italian recipe with a few tasty tropical favorites and two seasonal citrus varieties–just the thing to brighten up these short and dark winter days! Chef Debbi Dubbs, cookbook author / cooking teacher / culinary adventuress / website entrepreneur, uses her ingredient challenge items in a fruit topping that enhances the creamy texture and airy lightness of her version of Panna Cotta. Chef Deb, as she has been known by the Melissa’s family since her days as a part of the company’s test kitchen staff, gives her usual creative twist to the customary recipe that takes the dish’s normal silky-smoothness factor up a few notches!

Panna Cotta translated describes this dish succinctly: cooked cream. Though the recipe is very easy to prepare, consisting of just a few ingredients, there is a lot of culinary flexibility contained within this simplicity. As Chef Deb demonstrates, the white custard ingredients can be tweaked and there is an array of choices for the topping, which is always a part of this dish. Plus, there are presentation options of serving in or out of the container it was made in, i.e. to-mold-or-not-to-mold! This is a dish that should be a part of every home chef’s repertoire because it takes little time, and works for casual dining served in everyday ramekin crockery or, for more panache, free-standing on fine china or, as this article depicts, in long-stemmed crystal. 

Interestingly, Panna Cotta has a history that dates back to before the invention of gelatin or the widespread distribution of sugar. It evolved because of the abundance of high-quality dairy products in the mountainous grazing region of Northern Italy; apparently boiled fish bones were used for a thickening agent and root crops to sweeten the pot. Personally, I will stick with Chef Deb’s recipe! In a web search, I found no other Panna Cotta formula that used sour cream and the result, as already stated, is smoother than smooth with an extra little tang over the traditional cream-milk blend.

Chef Deb was challenged to use Cocktail Grapefruitand Neapolitan Tangerines in a single recipe. Her Tropical Fruit Compote is really the star of this dish. The supporting cast of Pineapple, Asian Pear and Papaya deliver multiple textures and flavors to every bite. While even the bit-part players — splash of liqueur, hint of mint and sprinkle of coconut — entertained the palate in subtle nuance.  Suffice it to say that there is a lot more going on in this dish than Chef Deb’s no-frills moniker, Vanilla Panna Cotta, suggests!

This is a wonderful recipe for entertaining. The Panna Cotta can be made a few days ahead of time and kept chilled. In fact, I thought that the fruit compote, left to stew for a time in its own juices in the refrigerator, developed a more full-bodied flavor.  

The cocktail grapefruit is no grapefruit at all. It was named because it looks like a grapefruit; but it really doesn’t act like one. The fruit is a cross between a mandarin and a Pummelo. It is about the size of a small grapefruit with a mottled, green-yellow, thick skin, which definitely attests to its Pummelo heritage. However, the fruit’s extremely sweet flavor obviously takes after its mandarin side. The variety is a bit seedy, which necessitates careful cleaning during the segmenting process, but the work is rewarded tenfold with a unique taste that balances well with the other fruits Deb selected for her compote.

It may be true that if you have seen one tangerine, you have seen them all, as there really are only slight visual differences between varieties. Taste is an entirely different matter and the Neapolitan Tangerine, also called a Page Mandarin, is considered the best-in-show by tangerine/mandarin aficionados! The hybrid is a Minneola Tangelo and Clementine orange mix. The Neapolitan has the same high juice content as a Minneola and the extraordinary sweetness of a Clementine, which puts the variety at the top of the most-tasty citrus chart!

This brings us to the art of segmenting citrus that is called for in Chef Deb’s preparation. Segmenting is a technique that I think was invented to torture sous chefs. Once a chef earns his or her whites this task is passed off to an assistant as quickly as professionally possible! Then, in turn, that sous chef’s own technique becomes the object of intense scrutiny until that chef earns the authority to delegate this task. For all of you without a sous chef to demand perfection from, just follow Chef Deb’s clear, *step-by-step instructions within her recipe.

If you have never attempted to segment citrus, the object is naked segments. Meaning no peel, pith or encasing membrane – just the delicate vesicles that somehow hold their shape if done right and handled with care. Start with the Cocktail Grapefruit; it is larger than the tangerine, with wide membrane lines to guide your knife in the vertical slice and each segment pops out of its membrane with little encouragement. Once you get the hang of the technique, tackle the smaller mandarin. The naked segments best absorb the tasty marmalade coating, plus the fruit color is so much more vivid on its own. I bought a few extra to practice on, because these segments really should be void of all extraneous stuff, whether there is a chef de cuisine standing over you or not! Once I got into the segmenting groove, it was a fun challenge to accomplish.

The choice of liqueur for the fruit compote is another place for a bit of individual taste preference and creativity. Chef Deb suggested Crème de Cassis, Grand Marnier or plain OJ for those preferring no alcohol. The juice gave me another ingredient idea that I happened to have in my libation cabinet, left over from January’s Guest Chef article: Aperol. This bright orange, low-alcohol Italian liqueur that is still made from an ancient recipe, that includes infusions of bitter and sweet oranges as well herbs and roots, paired well with all the fruit and just seemed an appropriate swap. So I admit to departing just two tablespoons from the original recipe, but only because I know that Chef Deb is the first one to encourage experimentation in the kitchen.

In fact, for more fun in your own kitchen, visit Debs Kitchen, via her website of the same name, for a full pantry of culinary-related information, recipes, techniques, adventures, recommendations and lore! Chef Deb is passionate about spreading the knowledge of cooking with fresh seasonal ingredients. Like her dish for this article, the site captures that commitment to good, healthy eating with creative, informative and entertaining formats that have something for every skill level, be you a bewildered novice, seasoned home chef or serious professional. I enjoyed scrolling through Deb’s multifaceted website almost as much as I did her not-so-plain Vanilla Panna Cotta – I said almost. Happy forks!

Vanilla Panna Cotta 
Serves 6, ½ cup servings

Ingredients 
1 packet Gelatin
2 tablespoons Cold Water
3 cups Heavy Cream
½ cup Sugar
Pinch of Salt
1 Vanilla Bean, split with seeds scraped
1 cup Sour Cream

Preparation 
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes, until dissolved.

Warm cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and vanilla bean in a saucepan over low heat, do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in gelatin mixture, and let cool, 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature. Remove the vanilla bean. Whisk in sour cream. Pour into individual ramekins and refrigerate until firm.

Tropical Fruit Compote Topping

Ingredients 
¼ cup Orange Marmalade
2 tablespoons Crème de Cassis, Grand Marnier, Aperol or Orange Juice
2 tablespoons Mint leaves, chopped
2 Cocktail Grapefruit, segmented
4 Neapolitan Tangerines, segmented
¼ cup Organic Pineapple Gold, small cubes
1 Korean Pear, cut into small pieces
¼ cup Papaya, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon Dried Coconut Chips, chopped
Raspberries (to garnish)

Preparation 
Melt marmalade and liqueur or juice in a saucepan, add mint and cool to room temperature.

*Segmenting citrus:
Use a serrated knife to trim the tops and bottoms of the grapefruit and tangerines. Place each fruit on a cutting board, bottom down, then make vertical cuts deep enough to remove all the peel, pith and membrane from the surface of each fruit. Hold each peeled fruit in your hand and carefully cut the fruit vesicles away between each side to remove the fruit segments.

Mix all the fruit together and toss with marmalade mixture. Top each vanilla Panna Cotta with fruit. Garnish with a few raspberries and serve.

Photos courtesy of Melissa’s Produce

Spring Central Coast Food, Farm & Wine Tour

Friday 4/20 ~ Sunday 4/22

Friday

Join Chef Debbi at Cambria Farmers Market 3 ~ 4 (optional)

Dinner Party Cooking Class

Italian Trattoria Style

Learn to make & grill pizza doughs

Prepare an Italian style farmers market dinner using fresh, local ingredients

Saturday

Paso Robles Tour

Halter Ranch Vineyard Tour

Farmer Mitch will give us a backyard tour of his biodynamic, dry farmed vineyards

Wine Tasting & Vineyard Lunch created by Chef Debbi

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Pasolivo Olive Ranch

Backroom tour, learn how olives are turned into different kinds of olive oils

Tasting and food pairing of Pasolivo’s varietal oils

Sea Salt & Herb Tasting

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Per Cazo Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Pairing

Relax under the oaks and learn about how wine pairs with Ca. Cheeses & Chocolates

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Saturday afternoon (return to Cambria approximately 4 p.m.) free

Sunday

Biodynamic Farm Tour & Lunch

Meet the farmers at Windrose Farm, Barbara & Bill Spencer

Bill & Barbara in LA Times Food Section, read about them here

Learn what biodynamic farming involves, how Barbara & Bill manage their family farm

Tour and taste the farm (walking shoes required)

Enjoy a farm lunch using ingredients that we find on the farm that day

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Transportation to and from Cambria not included

Transportation for Sat events included

Fri./Sat. fireplace rooms at Cambria Pines Lodge in Cambria

Hot Buffet breakfast at lodge included Sat/Sun

Also included:

Friday events

Farmers Market optional upon guest arrival time, please check into the hotel in time for dinner

Dinner 6:30 ~ 9:30, Private Residence

Sat. Events

All described events, Sat afternoon (after 4) is free time, dinner not included

Sun. Event

Hotel check out and caravan to Windrose Farm, farm tour and lunch included

 Great swag bags full of pantry items and surprises
 $675.00

50% deposit required for reservation

$50.00 off if paid in full by March 1st

Price per person, double occupancy

12 guest spots available

For more information or to book a space, contact Chef Debbi

We drove from So. California just as the wind was beginning to blow and missed most of the storm during the drive to Cambria on the central coast. The town was pretty quiet as we pulled in and the vacation rental company was closed so our house keys were in their lock box. I thought maybe they closed down early that day as it was ‘hospitality’ night and everyone wanted to get home early.We headed over the hill to our rental and turned to pull off the road onto our street but this tree kind of blocked the way…..

We managed to find a way around the tree and up the hill to our house. We unloaded and began to settle in when we realized we had no power, hmmm, I wonder if that tree had anything to do with it, duh! Did you see the size of that tree? Come to find out the entire town was without power. Lucky for us we stopped in Morro Bay and did a little shopping! We stocked up on wine, salad fixings, potatoes to bake for Sat. dinner. I’d brought frozen steaks and we thought we’d throw them on the bbq. I happened to find this great deal on frozen lobster claws and legs in Morro Bay and so I grabbed a bag, again lucky for us because with the town closed down and no power, the steaks were still frozen so we cooked the lobster, slice up the potatoes and fried them up in a little olive oil. Quite a candlelit dinner we had! A bit of a cold night as we couldn’t get the wood in the fireplace to burn and not one scrap of kindling.

We headed out for Paso Robles and our olive curing fun in the morning where group of about 30 ‘press club’ members gathered at the ranch and began sorting through the just picked olives. In the beginning one is very careful about which olive end up in the ‘good’ bucket. You want to discard any olive that has any blemishes or ‘bad’ spots, any leaves and any debris go into the compost bucket destined for….you guessed it, the compost pile!

Rinse, and repeat and repeat and repeat. Mix up the water and lye and add to the olives for 8-10 hours, we chose overnight.

Ciro came for lunch with his wood burning oven on a trailer hooked up to his truck. He fired up the wood and whipped up pizza after pizza after pizza. If you’ve ever had Ciro’s pizza you know he makes the best pizza in Paso Robles or almost anywhere as far as I’m concerned. A simple bean salad drizzled with Pasolivo Extra Virgin Olive oil and huge chunks of Ciro’s Italian bread.

Back to the ranch the next day to check how far the lye mixture penetrated the olive. A second cure of water and lye is mixed and the olives once again rest overnight. At this point the lye has leached out most of the bitterness and we go on to the water bath. Now I might tell you too that because it’s been so cold that rinsing a 5 gal. bucket of olives/water is not the most fun. My hands were numb from the cold as you rinse the olives at least 3-4 times with fresh water before you cover them with water for another overnight bath. You get to repeat this procedure every day for 10 days and then every 3 days for another week.

BUT, if you’re really lucky-like I am-my olives finished their water bath by the 4th day and I was able to jar them with liquid and spices….

I’ll leave them to steep for a few weeks and then feast on them daily until next year!

Chestnut  Dressing

This is a variation on my grandmother’s old fashioned bread stuffing. I’ve updated it with sausage, apples and chestnuts and I bake it separately from the turkey. I can prepare it the day before and heat it while the turkey rests.

1            box cornbread mix, baked and cut into 2” pieces

1            loaf artisan bread

½         lb. chicken (or turkey) apple sausage

1            tablespoon canola oil

1            tablespoon butter

1            onion, diced

4             ribs celery, diced

1             bunch sage, minced

2             sprigs thyme, minced

3             tablespoons Italian parsley, minced

2            cups chestnuts, chopped*

1             tart apple, peeled, seeded and diced

1             egg, lightly beaten

1             cup turkey stock, or more

Bake the cornbread mix according to package directions and cut into approximately 2″ pieces. Set aside to dry out. Do not cover.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cut bread into 1″ cubes, approximately. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, toss bread cubes with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until lightly browned.

Mix together the cornbread pieces and toasted bread cubes. Do not cover while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Dry bread will absorb more liquid than slightly damp bread.

Heat a large sauté pan. Remove sausage from the casing and crumble into the hot pan; sometimes the sausage doesn’t have

much fat so you may have to add a little oil; cook until lightly browned. Set aside.

Add butter and oil to the pan and sauté onions and celery until translucent. Add the herbs and sauté until fragrant; add the chestnuts and apples; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Mix the sausage and vegetable mixture to the dry bread; tossing the mixture well, stir in the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and let the dressing cool completely.

Add the egg and enough of the stock to just bring the dressing together.

Place dressing into a baking dish, cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until lightly browned, approximately 15 minutes.

* Approximately 1 pound fresh chestnuts,

or 3/4 pound pre-cooked whole chestnuts (Check Melissa’s for store availability)

To roast fresh chestnuts with shell:

With a sharp knife cut an X on the round side of each chestnut. Spread the chestnuts in one layer on a baking sheet and bake the chestnuts in a preheated 450° oven for 10 minutes, or until the shells open. Peel them while they are still warm.

Yeah! We have 3 winners! And that’s my lot of Aquarium of the Pacific tickets!

Armida Gordon had an insider answer (she was on our vineyard tour this year) Grenache!

Brenda Birdwell was a very good Deb-ette and read the blog coming up with another technically correct answer, mostly reds in the valley because of the heat but some white varietals on the coastal slopes.

While both of them are correct and won a pair of tickets each, the answer I was looking for was a little more playful and Ariel Kidder came up with the correct one, Mitch grows his ‘rock star’ grapes so that he is able to offer a better product for the wine maker to work with.

Have fun at the aquarium to all of you! Say hi to the fishies for me and don’t miss the new Artic foxes, their home is near the Loriqeet exhibit.

Eat lotsa sustainable fish, print a wallet sized seafood recommendation card here…….Monterey Bay Aquarium.

All Photos courtesy of Armida Gordon

If you don’t find Barbara & Bill Spencer out standing in their field then you will meet them under the huge tree in the yard where the red headed woodpeckers farm their food. Bill will tell you how they, the woodpeckers, are not harvesting the acorns for the nut, but harvesting and storing the nut in their holes to attract the worms who are the intended food target.

While current agriculture, the science of soil, is about monoculture and begins with killing every living organism in the soil with pesticides, then adding chemical fertilizer to feed the plants and when the plants get sick, as they will, more chemicals are added to cure them. Our entire future of food is invested in monocropping based on a chemical addiction that by nature is not sustainable.

Whew…….

Am I glad that Barbara & Bill have dedicated their lives to growing a little of everything and are transitioning their beautiful farm to becoming completely biodynamic. I know I’ll sleep (and eat!) better.

Stay tuned for more adventures at Windrose Farm…..

The Sweet Young Coconuts appearance is much different than a traditional coconut and may scare some people away from attempting to crack this nut. But actually they are easier to ‘crack’ and faster to get to the tasty part of the nut, the liquid or coconut water and the creamy flesh. My friends at Melissa’s Produce  have this great new ‘punch’ that is so much safer and easier to use than a large chef’s knife.

A sweet young coconut will be full of sweet water that is high in electrolytes, potassium, calcium and other vitamins. As the coconut ages the liquid looses it’s sweetness and the flesh dries out; but the young coconut has a gelatinous flesh that you can scoop out with a spoon, toss it in the blender with some chopped pineapple and a scoop of frozen yogurt for a really cool treat.

Pick a coconut that is all white with no brown spots showing, you’ll find these in the refrigerated section in the produce department. They are highly perishable and should be used within a week or two. Make sure you refrigerate them as soon as you get them home. Some of the fresh coconuts may not slosh when you shake them because they are so full of water, just make sure they are heavy for their size and you’ll find them full of healthy and delicious coconut water.

Now how to crack that shell? Check this video out from Melissa’s Produce and enjoy some fresh coconut water and creamy coconut meat.

 Crack that Nut Video

Happy Halloween……

Well, my sister out-law, (she’s not really an outlaw-but I’m thinking she might find it exciting!), asked me to pick a seasonal recipe and shoot a video, uh, ok…..

So this is my first video (please be kind) but not my first recipe. It’s a quick and easy (almost) soup recipe once the squash is cooked. I like the squash roasted in the oven for deeper flavor but you could cut the rind off and actually cook the flesh in the broth. If you use a hard shell squash as I did, I used a kabocha squash, courtesy of my friends at Melissa’s Produce, it might take you as long to peel it as it would be to roast it.

Here’s the video and the recipe and check out my sister out-laws page too (she’s a hoooot)! Cool 2 Craft, Creative Play

Winter Squash Soup

Winter Squash Soup©

1                     tablespoon  butter

1                     tablespoon  canola oil

1                     shallot, minced

2                     baby leeks, chopped, white and light green parts

½                   bunch sage, minced or 1 tablespoon Italian flat leaf parsley

2                     kabocha squash, roasted*

½                   cup  dry white wine

1                      quart  chicken stock

1                      teaspoon smoked paprika, optional

½                    cup  cream

salt and pepper — to taste

seeds for garnish**

Heat a Dutch oven, add butter and oil; when hot, sauté shallots and leeks until soft and translucent. Add sage or parsley, wine, stock, roasted squash, and paprika, if using. Simmer and cook about 15 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

Add cream and season with salt and pepper, heat (if necessary).

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with seeds for garnish.

*To roast the squash, carefully cut the squash into pieces and place onto parchment lined baking sheet. Scoop out some of the seeds to toast for the garnish but leave everything else-it will come out easily after roasting. Sprinkle the squash with a little oil and season with salt and pepper, roast until tender, about 30 minutes at 350°. Scoop out the remaining seeds and filament, then scoop out the flesh for the soup.

**For the seeds, toss with some of the smoked paprika and toast lightly in a small saute pan, season with a little sea salt and set aside to cool.

/

Mitch’s Nice Ride

When we arrived at Halter Ranch for a tour of the vineyard we were greeted by farmer Mitch Weiss and Phoebe. Phoebe, is a Belgian Sheepdog and never stops moving. She herds everyone one of us the entire tour until she and Mitch returned to work.

Mitch is the farmer here and his challenge is to grow 100 year old vines, which are not unheard of, especially in Europe. His way to do just that is to use as close to organic methods as possible when growing his ‘rock star’ grapes. Mitch believes that wine is made and developed in the vineyard as the grapes are an agricultural product and the wine will reflect the farming methods and the ‘terrior’ in the finished product, not to take anything away from the very talented wine maker! Actually by growing his ‘rock star’ grapes, he delivers to the wine maker a superior product with which to work. Halter Ranch sits on limestone rocks much like the vineyards you’ll find in Bordeaux, France. They grow mostly red varietals because of the high heat in Paso Robles but also have some white varietals growing on north facing slopes. Tending to over 200, ooo vines with 20 varietals is all done by hand with pruners, nothing is done by machinery. At Halter Ranch they believe that this brings a better quality wine to the table.

A vineyard inspired lunch with lots of tasty produce from our friends at Melissa’s Produce including organic Starkrimson Pears, under the olive and walnut trees made us all long for hammocks to string up and while away the afternoon, but more wine tasting was on the schedule.

A stop at Pasolivo Olive Oil Farm was highlighted by a tour with the always lovely Suzanne and a tasting of Joeli’s fragrant oils. They now boast a ‘salt, herb & spice’ tasting bar, they suggest you taste them alone and then with the olive oils. What a treat!

Coy Barnes from the Wine Wrangler arranged for our driver, Steve (who was a riot – btw), to take us down the tree lined Vineyard Dr. to a private tasting at Per Cazo Cellars. While Lynn and Big Dave don’t grow their own grapes, they do have a very talented wine maker and as a special treat, they offer wine tasting around the pool in their back yard lined with oak trees. Each wine is paired with cheese to highlight the wines best features or as in the case of the Zinfandel, chocolate. Quite a day for our little group. Oh yes, there’s more…tune in next week for our day at Windrose Farm.

Fall is a busy time in a So. California garden. Fall is the best time to transplant or divide many plants; the temperature is still warm (well mostly-this year is so-so) but more importantly the ground is still warm. It will give those seeds or transplants the perfect temperature to really build a great root system.

The soil in spring takes awhile to warm up so by planting in fall you can get an early harvest from some of those late winter and early spring vegetables. Sweet Peas are actually best started in fall, as are poppies. They won’t blossom until early next year but they get the advantage of the winter rains and a head start on a good root system. Plant along side a cover crop so the cover crop can feed and protect them by crowding out any weeds that may pop up.

Another great reason to plant your fall vegetable garden is that the pest population is at a minimum and weed germination is slow and slow growing. If you decide not to grow a fall/winter garden this year think about a cover crop to protect and feed the soil.

One herb to plant now us CILANTRO! Yes, the most often question that I am asked is why can’t I grow cilantro? We all know how fast cilantro bolts (goes to seed); well this is a great time of year for the herb to grow. The temperature isn’t as hot as summer but it’s still warm enough for a transplant or two. We still have tomatoes coming in as well as other summer veggies that pair well with cilantro in many recipes.

Other veggies you might consider are leeks, oh so wonderful in many dishes-especially soups! Kale, lettuce, onions, parsley, shallots, spinach, peas of all kinds! Love peas and snow peas, many times they don’t make it into the kitchen! Try transplants of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Swiss chard and cauliflower. I see more and more people growing potatoes and if you haven’t tried any in your garden yet, you’ll be surprised how easy they are to grow and the flavor of a freshly harvested new potato is incredible. You can roast them with a little olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. When they come out of the oven toss them with some fresh chopped herbs from the garden, parsley, shallots or true chives and you’ll never buy a ‘store bought’ potato again!

I’ll be at The Plant Stand Sat., Sept 17th to talk about more fall plantings and cover crops. I’ll be serving a Dried Cranberry and Apricot Quick Bread; you can find the recipe on my page, Event Recipes, www.debskitchen.com/eventrecipes. Thanks to Melissa’s Produce for the luscious, plump dried fruit, the best!

It’s Hatch Chile time again! Every summer about this time we see Hatch chiles being roasted on just about every corner, empty lot, in backyards and at supermarkets. The smell of chiles waft through the air telling us it’s chile festival time. Melissa’s Produce will be out roasting chiles all over So. Cal (and across the country) at your local market. Check Melissa’s website for dates and times.

Hatch chiles, as many of you know, arrive from Hatch, New Mexico where they boast the BEST growing conditions for the flavorful chile. Since all the chiles ripen about the same time, roasters are set up everywhere to begin preserving the chiles for the season. Once roasted the chiles can be peeled and frozen for use during the year or use them right away in your favorite recipe.

Chef Debbi will be giving out samples of mild and hot chiles at The Plant Stand on Sat. 8/20 Check events page for time.

Here’s a great video of Chef Ida of Melissa\’s Produce and Hatch Chiles and my recipe for Potato and Hatch Chile Raja’s! Enjoy!

Hatch Chile & Potato Rajas

1             large potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice, cooked

2             tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1             small onion, cut into small strips

4             mild Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and julienned 

½           cup cream

½           cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

12           corn tortillas

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add oil; add onions, season with salt and pepper and sauté until lightly browned.

 Add chiles, and cream, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook 4 minutes.

Add cheese and potatoes, stirring occasionally, until just heated through. Remove from heat.

Wrap tortillas in plastic wrap and heat in microwave on low until warm.

Masumoto Farms Heirloom Elberta Peaches

Nothing says summer like a ripe fresh peach, warmed from the sun and so juicy that you have to lean over to eat it so it doesn’t run down your entire body (unless of course you want it to).

I received a very special package yesterday from my friend, Robert Schueller, produce guru for Melissa’s Produce. Several of Melissa’s associates adopted a peach tree at the legendary Masumoto Family Farmjust south of Fresno, Ca.

I opened the very carefully packed box and removed two packages of delicate heirloom Elberta peaches. The sweet scent floated out of the box and I knew I had to eat one right away. Some of the very delicate famous peaches were bruised and because I wanted to share a photo with you, I chose the most bruised peach to scarf down immediately. These are the kind of peaches that transport you back to childhood if you were lucky enough to grow up with a tree in your back yard. It’s quite hard to decide what to do with these gems, jam, tart, pie or just lean over the sink and devour them. Whatever one decides to do, there is no time to waste, they won’t hold long. By this afternoon they will be transformed into an old fashioned cobbler and be only a lingering memory by tomorrow.

David Mas Masumoto, third generation farmer and award winning author, is well known for his love of heirloom peaches as you can read about in his book, Epitaph for a Peach. To see a great video of David and his favorite peach, Sun Crest, Click here.

Sweet Dream Peaches

Eat a Peach!

French Peach Cobbler

(As seen on episode #12008 of California’s Gold with Huell Howser, a PBS television series, 2010, featuring the Masumoto Family Farm.)

This recipe was shared with me by Dee Jones, one of the “Gilbert Girls” who originally found it in McCall’s Cook Book 1963. It’s a light, simple and dessert-like cobbler that everyone loves.

Filling:
5 c. peeled, sliced peaches 
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. all purpose flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
14 t. salt
1 t. vanilla extract
1 T. soft butter

Batter:
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 T. soft butter
1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 F. Make filling: in a medium bowl, combine fruit, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, vanilla and 1/4 c. water. (If peaches are juicy, omit water… I NEVER use water with Masumoto peaches!) Pour filling into 9 x 9 x 1.75 inch baking pan. Dot fruit with butter.

Make the batter: In a medium bowl, combine all batter ingredients and beat with wooden spoon until smooth. Drop batter in 9 portions on fruit filling, spacing evenly. The batter will spread during baking.

Bake 35-45 minutes, or until fruit is tender and crust is golden brown.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

For the past month I’ve been helping my friend Renee from Fresh Ideas set up the Exhibition Promenade for the OC Fair. I’ve planted flowers, herbs and even veggies in a baby grand piano, an 8′ galvanized tub (pollinator garden), half oil barrels, gazebo’s, a row boat and even a wine garden and now we are live in Costa Mesa.

I am now performing demos on stage and appearing each week in a special area called ‘Culinary Craftsman’. I’ve been creating everything from pasta to herbal wreaths and pepper ristras. Last week Melissa’s produce marketing guru, Robert Schueller, sent me the most beautiful ‘fiery red’ peppers from Holland for the ristras. Fresh herbs from The Plant Stand and branches from our olive and bay leaf trees went into making the herb wreaths.

Canning and preserving is making a big comeback across the country and we’d like to see more people get involved, there are various contests every year at the fair from jams and jellies to preserved and dried foods, beef jerky, dried fruit and more. If you missed the water bath canning demonstrations that I did last week (I made strawberry jam and my super secret sweet pickle relish) I’ll be repeating the demo this week on Fri, 7/29 at 4:30. The demos are free with fair admission.

In upcoming Culinary Craftsman demo’s I have some unusual projects planned, I’ll show you how to make a gardeners soap from scratch, a burn balm for those of us who deal with hot ovens, speaking of hot ovens how about some apple cinnamon rolls? I have much more on the menu for you and I’ll let you know next week just what might be in season for the OC Fair Culinary Craftsman demo’s. This week I’ll be showing you how to make potato gnocchi, meatballs for the meatball eating contest, seed bombs and more. Check my facebook page and tweets for updates,

Orange County Great Park is celebrating their 6th anniversary this Sat with a HUGE party! I will be presenting two cooking demo’s making my ‘Three Sisters Empanadas’.

The three sisters is part of a companion planting method used by Native Americas, planting corn, beans and squash together helps each to grow by sharing their resources. The beans grow up the cornstalk and provide nitrogen to the soil, the squash grow around the base of the corn and the leaves provide shade to the soil to help retain moisture. Together they make wonderful dishes and I created this recipe for empanadas last year for Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens. For all the great events at the park on Sat. follow this link, www.ocgp.org.

Three Sisters Turnovers

Turnover Dough: Dough needs to rest in refrigerator for at least one hour or up to 3 days before using.

3             cups flour

1             teaspoon salt

1             cup vegetable shortening, cold

4½         teaspoons vinegar

2             egg yolks

¼           cup cold water, or more as needed

Filling: Make ahead to let cool

             olive oil

1            onion, diced

1            clove garlic, minced

1            jalapeno, minced

1            cup green beans, diced

1            large russet potato, diced

½         cup chicken or vegetable stock, or more as needed

½         tablespoon Italian spices, ground

½         teaspoon ground cumin

              salt and pepper, to taste

1            pound each, green and yellow zucchini, diced

1            cup corn kernels

1            tablespoon tomato paste

1            roasted red bell pepper, diced

1            tablespoon cilantro, minced

In the bowl of a food processor add flour and salt; pulse twice to distribute the salt into the flour. Add vegetable shortening, egg yolks and vinegar. If needed add enough water for the dough to come together. Process until the dough forms a smooth ball, remove from the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and let rest ½ hour.

On a lightly floured counter or roll mat, press the dough into a rectangle, keep moving the dough to make sure that it’s not sticking to the counter or mat. Turn the dough and lightly flour the surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle approximately 12x 18”. Fold the top third over the middle section and then the bottom third on top of that. Roll up like a jellyroll from the short edge. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hand and repeat folding once more. Flatten to about 1” thick, cut into two pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, up to two days or freeze up to three months. 

To make turnovers remove one disc of dough from refrigerator, and roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8” thick. Using a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, cut the dough into discs and place on a parchment or mat lined baking sheet. Place a small amount of cool filling onto the dough just off center. Brush the edge of the dough with water and fold over filling creating a pocket. Press the edge with a fork or fold over to seal the edges. Place baking sheet into the refrigerator until very cold, approximately 1 hr. or freeze for future use.

Preheat oven to 400°. Remove the cold pastries from the refrigerator and place directly into the hot oven baking until lightly browned. The size of the turnovers and the accurate temperature of the oven will determine the baking time.

Filling:

Heat a Dutch oven and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, sauté onion until translucent, add garlic and jalapeno, and stir for 30 seconds.

Add green beans, potatoes and enough stock just to cover vegetables and cook until fork tender. Drain and return vegetables to the pot adding the remaining ingredients stir gently and cook until softened. Add a little stock if necessary to keep vegetables from sticking to the bottom of the pot but not so much that it is soupy. Drain any liquid before filling the dough. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Let cool before filling dough.

Summer pantry

Summer is the time that I am refilling my pantry with my own canned goods, jams, brandied fruit, pickle relish, and all kinds of pickled fruit and vegetables. Some purchased items round out the summer pantry. Here’s what you’ll find in mine, ‘What’s In Your Pantry?’©

Anchovy paste – for great salad dressings and more

Artichoke Hearts – Salads, antipasto platter, or mix in pasta

BBQ sauce – for quick grilled meals

Canned or dried beans – I keep some refrigerated for tossing in salads

Canned Tomatoes and Pasta sauce – indispensible for all sorts of dishes

Chicken Stock – canned or homemade

Chili sauce – Ketchup – Horseradish – Worcestershire sauce

Crackers – Mixed

Dried Pasta – Great for cold salads and fast meals

Dried Italian sausage – for hot, hot nights, a cold platter of cheese, sausage, some pickled veggies and a hunk of fresh bread, but don’t forget the wine!

Hearts of Palm – antipasto platter or salads

Italian Tuna in olive oil -

Potatoes – Small fingerling type for salads, frittatas and roasting

Rice – Bomba (for paella), Carnaroli or Arborio (for risotto) and Jasmine for everything else

Tapenades – unexpected company? easy appetizers

Nuts – almonds, pine nuts (fresh pesto anyone?), walnuts

Oats – for yummy cobblers, muffins and fruit crisps

Olives – Can you tell I love antipasto platters?

Cold Pantry

Cheese – cheddar, jack, mozzarella, fontina, Swiss and blue

Pizza dough (in the freezer, of course), quick to defrost and throw on a grill topped with anything!

Frozen fruit – from the garden or the farmers market. Freeze individually then place in a quart-sized bag, for fruit tart, crisp or pie

Don’t forget your pantry basics either:

Flour, Sugars, Baking Powder/Soda, Baking mix, Cocoa powder, Cornstarch, Honey, Molasses, Vanilla, Vinegars, Yeast, Olive Oil………………

For more pantry stocking ideas, check my book ‘What’s In Your Pantry?’©

Here is one of my favorite summer salads,

Summer Nicoise Salad

Remember, the quality of ingredients that you use are directly reflected in the finished dish, therefore buy the best that you can afford. I use Italian tuna in olive oil; I love the Genova brand from Italy. Please don’t use all white tuna packed in water, as it has no flavor, better to leave it out. I drain most of the oil from the canned tuna, reserving it for use in making the salad dressing.

Another way to dress up the dish for a hot summer evening entree is to grill some fresh tuna or shrimp from your fishmonger. This recipe makes a beautifully plated salad for a buffet table but can be individually plated as well.

Be creative and use what you have on hand.

Serving Size: 6

Salad:

2         cans  Italian tuna — packed in olive oil, drained and flaked with a fork

salt and pepper — to taste

¼       pound  haricot vert, or any green bean — blanched, cooled and dried well

4         Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes* — blanched until fork tender

1         pint cherry tomatoes — cut in half

3         eggs, cooked*

½       cup  nicoise olives

4         cups  mixed greens

Vinaigrette:

¼      cup red wine vinegar

1        tablespoon Dijon mustard

1        small shallot — minced

1        tablespoon Italian parsley — chopped

salt and pepper — to taste

1/2    cup  olive oil, approximate (use reserved oil from tuna first, then use bottled olive oil to taste)

For the salad:

Blanch the haricot vert in boiling salted water, drain, and chill.

Cook the potatoes in salted water just until they are tender through, about 15 minutes. Drain and cut into wedges.

Drain tuna, leaving a small amount of oil clinging to fish.

Make the vinaigrette:

In a large bowl make the vinaigrette by whisking together the vinegar and

Dijon mustard. Add shallot, parsley and salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil, while whisking into vinegar mixture. Re-season if necessary.

To plate:

Toss greens with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Plate salad by putting a mound of tuna in the center of the mixed greens and surround with remaining ingredients, serve extra dressing on the side.

Save any remaining vinaigrette and store in glass jar, refrigerated for up to 4 weeks.

*Dutch Yellow Potatoes courtesy of Melissa’s Produce.

*To cook eggs:  Place eggs into a saucepan and cover with room temperature water. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Turn heat off, cover pan and set a timer for 15 minutes. Remove from water and slightly crack eggs, place into a bowl with ice water and let cool before peeling. It’s always easier to peel and egg that is a little older, and if you start at the large end of the egg you may find it easier to remove the shell.

The first week of June is the perfect time to get in a crop of any gourd or squash for fall harvest. This will give your heirloom pumpkins and gourds plenty of time to ‘cure’ for Halloween. It’s also a great time to plant another crop of beans, corn and late season tomatoes. The weather has warmed up and so has the soil. It’s not necessary to make a mound to plant squash seeds of any kind unless your soil doesn’t drain well. If that’s the case I recommend a good amount of compost should be dug into the soil before planting.

Plant the seeds about 1 1/2 – 2″ deep and water well, I like to sprinkle the soil every day until the seeds emerge. As the plant begins to grow you’ll want to water less often, let the soil begin to dry out, and water deeply when you do water. Keeping the leaves dry will help prevent many diseases such as powdery mildew which can have an adverse affect on the production of the plants and fruit.

It’s easy to keep the soil from splashing up on the plants if you mulch around them. I put down a thick layer of newsprint, black and white parts only, and then I cover that with straw. This is a great way to prevent weed seeds from sprouting and to help keep moisture in the soil. The worms love the newsprint and they will help to aerate the soil as well.

A general fertilizer and compost will keep your plants healthy as the gourds start to grow. Small pumpkins, gourds and squashes can be plant on a trellis to save room. The large pumpkins have vines that can run for 30 feet or so; before fruit develops or when it’s very small, wrap the vines around the base of your corn plants or sunflowers.

If you like to pick the blossoms for cooking, pick the males flowers as there are many more of those than the female ones that produce the fruit. The male flowers will have a straight stem coming from the vine while the female flowers have a little bulge around the base of the flower, which turns into the squash or pumpkin. All squash flowers can be used in cooking, be careful when picking that you don’t accidently take a bee into the house. Open the flower very gently and the bee should fly out to another plant. I have never been stung in all my gardening years by a bee! In fact I plant lots of flowers throughout my garden to attract them, bees pollinate a whopping 1/3 of our crops so they are essential to the garden. Don’t use any chemical sprays in the garden to avoid killing beneficial insects. Pick off beetles or squash bugs and drop them in a bowl of soapy water. If you do have to spray for any pest use an insecticidal soap such as Safer brand or Dr. Earth. Plant sunflowers along with the squash/gourds and the bugs will have a tendency to stay on the sunflowers rather than the squash. Ladybugs are wonderful for snacking up all of the aphids in the garden too!

While your pumpkins, large squash or gourds are small, place them on the straw to prevent them sitting directly on the soil, this will help to prevent rot on the bottom. Also keep an eye out for critter damage, scratches on the surface or gnaw marks from their teeth. I cover my fruit with floating row cover to keep the critters out but let the sunlight in. If you have children or grandchildren have them scratch their name or a simple design lightly onto the surface of the pumpkin and watch it grow as the pumpkin does.

When the vines start to die it’s a sign the pumpkin or gourd is getting ready to harvest. Let the stem near the gourd dry completely and let the shell start to harden. If you can press the outside and the skin ‘gives’ a little, it’s not quite ready. When it is cut the vine leaving a good amount of the stem attached and pick the pumpkin up from the base, never by the stem.

Store your squash, pumpkins and gourds out of direct sunlight and in a cool area. Many times pumpkins and gourds will last for long periods of time, I had a few that lasted more than a year! Hard shelled squash will store quite a long time, just remember the softer the shell, the less shelf life it will have.

I think the sugar pumpkins have the best flavor for use in recipes but I like to grow a variety for fall displays and of course for All Hallows Eve! The pumpkins I use for decoration I cut up and save the seed when I’m done and place the chopped up squash in the compost pile. Dry the seed on a parchment lined baking sheet until completely dry and then store in a dry, cool place such as your pantry.

And now that your summer crops are all growing along very well, it’s time to think about planting a fall garden, the best time to grow in Southern California, if you ask me!

Mangia!

The last few weeks in the farmers market has seen the beginning of what is to be a roller coaster ride of stone fruit. The cold weather and late chill will take it’s toll on some of our favorite fruits this year, making them late to market or creating a short season so get them while you can. And speaking of canning, it’s easy to whip up a small batch of canned fruit with a little simple syrup. We’ll talk about that later….

Last week in the market I found beautiful ‘poppy cot’ apricots from Naylor Farms in Fresno. They tell me they’ll have them for a few more weeks but their supply was definitely smaller this week. They had a small offering of white peaches with more to come next week.

‘Brooks’ cherries are the first to hit the stands and this year the hybrid cherries are as sweet as any ‘bing’ I’ve had. The ‘brooks’-'bings’ of the world are great for eating out of hand and making a sauce for that duckling or a little cherry jam but wait for the sour cherries to bake that cherry pie.

Robert Schueller of Melissa’s Produce tells me that the black sour cherries are smaller and the best for baking. They’ll be available in about three weeks for a very short period of time. They hold their shape much better in cooking and even though they start out tart, they tend to sweeten up when cooked. Plan on using or canning your cherries within a day as they are extremely fragile and won’t hold well, refrigerated or not. Why not make a (small) batch of canned sour cherries for your pantry? Tart cherries are easily dried and make a great addition to your pantry as well! Add these to salads, cooked rice, couscous or eat right out of hand.

Robert believes the sweetest cherries are the ‘rainier’ also considered to be the premium of cherries. Rainiers are large, firm and have yellow and red blush coloring. They may also have some skin discoloration, slight scuffing or brown spotting which often indicates high sugar content. ‘Rainiers’ follow on the heels of the ‘bings’ pretty quickly so quell your cherry fix this season!

Canned Cherry Pie Filling

4             cups sour cherries, washed and pitted

1             cup sugar

1/3         cup cornstarch

1 1/3      cups water

2             tablespoons lemon juice

Sterilize and prepare your jars and bring the canner*, filled 2/3 with water, to a boil.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and plunge the cherries in to blanch for one minute.

Drain the cherries.

In the same pot, combine the cornstarch, water, sugar and lemon juice in a pot, and heat them to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for two minutes.

Add the cherries into the mixture, stirring well.

Spoon the cherry pie filling into the glass jars. Leave a 1/2-inch allowance at the top of each jar. Place the lids onto the jars and screw the outer ring on only finger tight.

Place the jars into a canning bath filled with enough water to cover all of the jars by 2 “. Bring back to a boil for 20 minutes.

Remove the jars to a towel lined baking sheet and allow to cool before storing.

*If making a small batch of canned fruit, use a deep stock pot with a towel or rack placed at the bottom for the jars to sit on. Make sure the jars will be covered by 2″ with water when placed on the rack.

Simple Syrup with Grand Marnier

I use this to can pitted or non-pitted cherries for a variety of uses, sauces and jams that I want to make at later dates. This recipe is enough for one pint of cherries, but can be easily increased. These will hold for up to a year, so imagine cherry pie in Jan!

1 1/4             cup sugar

1/2                cup water

1                     tablespoon Grand Marnier or other cognac

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup of the sugar and water to a boil and dissolve the sugar, turn down to a simmer and blanch the cherries for 2 minutes. Remove the cherries and add the remaining sugar, bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Stir in the Grand Marnier and turn off the heat.

Fill jar with cherries and cover with syrup, release any air bubbles in the jar by sliding a plastic knife or chopstick down the sides of the jar, top with lid and screw on the ring band only finger tight.

Place jars into the water bath making sure the jars are covered by 2″ with water, bring to a boil for 15 minutes. Remove to a towel lined baking sheet and let cool before storing.

Cherry Clafouti

from my book ‘What’s In Your Pantry’

Filling:

2            tablespoons sugar

2            tablespoons butter

½          vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1            pint canned fruit, drained

Batter:

1             cup flour

½          cup sugar

pinch of salt

3             eggs

1             egg yolk

1 ¼       cup milk

Preheat oven to 400°.

Filling:

In a 10” ovenproof pan, melt butter and sugar. Scrape the vanilla bean; add seeds and pod to the pan. Add the fruit and cook on low until sugar thickens slightly.

Batter:

Mix together dry ingredients. Whisk eggs, egg yolk and milk together and stir into flour mixture.

Pour batter over fruit and bake for 15 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

Originally from China, the first commercial production of California apricots dates back to the late 1700′s. At home growing in the Mediterranean climate of the San Joaquin valley, apricots can also be found growing well in the northern part of the central valley known as the Sacramento Valley. The central valley of California is one of the worlds major agricultural growing areas and the first of the ‘stone fruit’ to arrive at the markets are apricots.  This week I found ‘poppy cot’ at the Long Beach farmers market from organic grower Naylor Farms in Fresno. These ‘poppy cots’ are large, sweet meaty fruits blushed with orange and swashes of red.

You’ll find apricots in the market for about 8 weeks beginning with ‘poppy cot’, ‘early cot’, honey cot’, ‘Blenheim’ and more. The farmers seem to have a different variety each week so try one out before you leave the market and buy them up if you find a favorite. Apricots don’t hold well so I like to prepare a small batch of preserves and brandied apricots for later in the season. It’s easy to do small batch canning and I will be at the Orange County Fair this summer showing just how easy it is. Look for dates and times on my website, www.debsitchen.com/events.

Choose apricots that a slightly firm, these can be ripened on the counter, fruit will never ripen in the refrigerator, so place them in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple for a few days. I actually just put them in a fruit bowl and they started ripening in a day. The flavor of fruit is always better at room temperature but after ripening, refrigerate to prolong longevity. Apricots are a good source of fiber, potassium, vitamin A and C. Eat ‘em up, they won’t be in town long, Naylor Farms are bringing in white peaches next week.

Brandied Apricot Butter

Makes 4 pints

5            cups apricots, chopped roughly

3/4        cup apricot nectar, no sugar added, not from concentrate

1 1/2     cup sugar

1             tablespoon lemon juice

1             tablespoon butter

1/4         cup brandy

Place chopped apricots in a medium saucepan with apricot nectar, you can use water but the flavor will be better with the nectar. Simmer until the apricots are very soft, about 15-20 minutes. Pour mixture into the bowl of a food processor and process until almost smooth but with small chunks in it, place it back into the saucepan, add sugar, lemon juice, butter and cook for 25 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, it will burn easily. The butter will help to keep it from foaming but if it does, you can just skim the foam off. After it thickens add brandy and cook another 5 minutes.

Pour butter into prepared sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes or let cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. The butter can also be frozen for up to 3 months in proper containers.

Occasionally I like to be adventurous ….

and wander around local neighborhoods discovering new and old ‘foodie’ type places. So instead of just having lunch with my two assistants, The Debettes, as they like to call themselves-(Sandra & Judy as many of you know them)-we geared up for a day of tasting treats and went wandering.

At our first stop, Venissimo Cheese shop in Belmont Shores, Ca, Lisa Albanese treated us to any cheese we wanted and suggested a few based on our tastes. Since April was Grilled Cheese Month I wanted to try and duplicate the fabulous grilled cheese sandwich that Hog Island Oyster farm serves up in San Francisco. They use a combination of Mezzo Secco, cave-aged Gruyere and Fromage Blanc served on local ‘Acme’ made bread.

In LA we have Breadbar Bakery that produces artful artisan breads by skillful hands and lucky for us Venissimo carries Breadbar breads. Lisa helped us through the cheese decision making process for our grilled cheese sandwich and the end result was Golden Bear, a classic Sonoma dry jack from Vella Cheese; Pleasant Ridge Reserve, a cow milk cheese that is aged old world style by Uplands Cheese and tastes faintly of peanuts and bacon; and one of my favorites, Fromager d’affinois, a double cream brie from France (of course!). A loaf of ciabatta and I was set for dinner.

But we needed a cheese sandwich for our travels so a fromage d’affnois baguette sandwich and a crispy apple later, we were on our way to Naples Gourmet Grocery.

Naples Gourmet Grocery recently merged with Kitchen Outfitters, of course both owners are brothers, Sean and Ryan McIntyre and together they make a great team. They also have a great selection of sandwiches, coffee drinks and gourmet goodies and we decided we had to try the traditional Rueben sandwich made with Angus choice brisket, Swiss and sauerkraut on rye and while it is a pedestrian sandwich there was nothing pedestrian about this sandwich! It came with a nice little field green salad so we shared the rueben and the fromage d’affnois sandwiches, fresh garden salad and crisp green apple for a perfect picnic at the beach.

On to our last stop, Temecula Olive Oil shop on Main St. in Seal Beach. While the shop is new to Seal Beach, we all were familiar with the buttery olive oil that comes from this family owned business. Debbie led us through a tasting of unique olive oils and vinaigrettes and it was a tough choice for all three of us but we came away with different oils for a variety of cooking projects.

Temecula Olive Oil company also produces creamy rich bar soaps with scents such as bay rum, gardenia, lavender and more. They have moisturizing olive butters, stick lotions and lip balms as well but unfortunately the store didn’t carry any of the honey that is produced on the farm, however beautiful carved olive wood gifts, herbs, dips and spreads are all available to take home or ship. Stay tuned for a day trip in the fall to Temecula Olive Oil Farm with Debs Kitchen & The Debettes!

Have a delicious week!

Debbi

This past weekend I taught a water bath canning class at The OC Fairgrounds; it was to inspire people to can their own jams, jellies, pickles and the like to enter into the contests during the summer fair, July  15  - Aug 14.I haven’t canned anything since fall and even though that wasn’t so long ago, it seems ages. I always forget how much fun it can be, creating new recipes and upgrading old ones. Several recipes never change like my Sweet Pickle Relish, however, depending on the cucumbers and the peppers the taste can vary slightly year to year.

I made a strawberry jam recipe infused with vanilla bean that I enjoy from ‘Food In Jars‘ even though the strawberries aren’t quite as good as they should be, the jam was very good and it’s inspired me to get creative with canning again. Strawberry jam as well as other fruit jams take quite well to the addition of flowers, vanilla beans and the like. At this time of year I have beautiful blooming thyme and of course lots of lavender. I like to make lavender sugar to use in the jam and also to infuse the fruit overnight with some crushed flowers and stems.

It’s easy to create small batches of jams and pickles so try different recipes and be creative, you can always make more!

Lavender Infused Strawberry Jam

4            large baskets strawberries, 5-6 cups approximately

3            cups sugar, divided use-lavender or other flower infused*

1            lemon, zested and juiced (Meyer lemons are preferred)

1            package powdered pectin

Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar with the pectin and set aside for later use.

Cut the strawberries and mash slightly; add 1 cup of the lavender sugar, cover and refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.

Place the berries, lemon zest, juice, and the sugar/pectin mix into a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, (when the entire surface of the jam is bubbling and it can be dissipated by stirring), and boil for 1 minute. Add the remaining sugar and skim off any foam that accumulates, boil for 1 minute.

Let the jam ‘rest’ for 5 minutes, stir to distribute the berries evenly or they will float to the top of the jar and you’ll have what one of student’s grandsons calls it ‘jam-jelly’. Jam at the top and jelly at the bottom, kind of clever though!

If you plan on using the jam right away, you can ladle into hot sterilized jars, let cool and refrigerate, using within a few weeks. There are also freezer jam jars available from homecanning.com, ladle the jam into the clean jars, label, date and store in the refrigerator. You could also can the jam for dry storage following basic water bath canning methods, freshpreserving.com.

*To make lavender sugar, crush some lavender flowers and pieces of stem, mix with a few cups of sugar and let it sit for at least two weeks, longer for stronger flavor.

If you happened to miss our ‘Pepper-Tomato‘ chat last Sat. at The Plant Stand, here is a quick guide to how to treat those babies in the garden! Oh boy did you miss the fabulous Bloody Mary’s that Kelly made! mmmm…..And I offered up a quick ‘pantry’ type crostini with roasted red peppers. For the recipe you can click here…….Red Pepper Dip.

Peppers and tomatoes are in the same family, nightshades, so you really want to make sure to rotate them each year in your garden. Don’t plant peppers where you grew tomatoes last year and vice versa. Many diseases remain in the soil, even if the plants are healthy, and can be transferred to next years plants. It’s best to practice a three or four year crop rotation on all annual vegetables. We’ll talk about crop rotation and companion planting in another session but two really outstanding books to read are, ‘Carrots Love Tomatoes’ and ‘Soil Mates’.

Companion Planting for Peppers/Tomatoes:

Plant nearby for happy plants, basil, carrots, parsley, nasturtiums, marigolds, thyme and lemon balm.

Temperatures for fruiting:

Peppers like temperatures between 60°-70°, tomatoes aren’t so fussy, anything above 55° and below 90° will make them happy. Soil temperature should be around 60° for planting to encourage the roots to start growing right away. If you like to plant early make sure that you protect your plants from possible frost, wind and rain damage.

Choosing plants:

Choose healthy, stocky plants with no flowers or fruit. If the plant you really like has either on them, pinch them off before planting. You want the plant to put it’s energy into building a good root system not fruit, at least not yet. Don’t worry you’ll be rewarded later on with plenty of fruit, yes peppers are fruit as are all plants that produce seeds. Okay, so check under the leaves for any harboring pests, if one plant has them many times the nearby plants are infected as well. Buy the tomato plant that is small with a thick stem, about the size of a pencil if possible. Avoid any plant that is tall and leggy; the leaves should be a beautiful green color with no yellow or purple showing.

Planting:

Red or black plastic directly atop the soil is supposed to help in keeping the soil warm and is said to speed the ripening of the fruit. Does this work? I’ve used both and really not noticed much of a difference either way, however, it does cut down on any weed seeds that may sprout. I like to use the ‘trench’ method to plant, giving the tomato a real head start. Pinch off all leaves but the top two or three branches. Plant the tomato horizontally in a shallow trench and cover with about 3″ of soil while carefully holding the top of the plant above soil level. This will encourage the little ‘hairs’ along the stem to sprout roots giving your plant a better root system and able to hold up the plant that is destined to become very big! Place the plants about 3′ apart and stake with a cage or a stake. You want to do this at planting time so as not to disturb the roots later on.

You can plant peppers vertically about the same depth or a little lower than they are in the container.

Never plant any seedling that is dry, water the day before planting and then water once the plant is in the ground. Plant on an overcast day or very late in the day. The plant may wilt slightly but should recover well as it acclimates.

Fertilizing:

Both tomatoes and peppers like a heavy feeding of phosphorus to help fruiting. Many times I am asked ‘why is my plant not giving any fruit, it looks healthy’. If you are feeding your plant a diet of high nitrogen fertilizer it is putting it’s energy towards growing rather than fruiting. Switch to a low nitrogen organic fertilizer that reads 5-5-5 or 5-6-5 and follow directions.

National Gardening Ass.

Pruning:

You should prune only tomatoes, and pluck out suckers on only indeterminate plants. Determinate plants will only grow to a certain size, produce fruit and die; whereas an indeterminate tomato will continue to grow and (hopefully) fruit until frost sets in or the weather becomes to cold to produce flowers (fruit). Keep all leaves off the ground, prune those as necessary, and be careful not to wet the leaves which can cause diseases.

Pest Control:

For those pesky tomato worms I like to use an organic insecticide called BT which can be applied up to the day of harvest and will not harm bees or other beneficial insects. For other pests, Safer Insecticidal soap works well and there are many organic snail baits available.

At the end of the season, it is best to discard these plants in the trash and not the compost bin. They can harbor many diseases that can infect your compost pile. Do not smoke around tomato plants and wash your hands well before handling them after smoking as tobacco can harbor a virus called tobacco mosaic virus that can live in the leaves for up to 100 years, dead or alive.

Look for our ‘Tomato Tasting Event’ later this summer! Good growing…..

After reading Kim Ode’s article, ‘No need to knead’ (StarTribune, March 24, 2011), I had to try my hand at no knead ciabatta bread. Based on Jim Lahey’s ‘no knead’ method of bread baking made famous in a Mark Bittman article, NY Times 2006, I had already mastered the boule in my Le Creuset Dutch oven.

Kim adapted Jim’s recipe for the ciabatta by using a pizza stone instead of Jim’s preferred cooking vessel, a Romertopf Clay Baker. Using the recipe from Jim’s book, ‘My Bread’, Kim mixed the dry ingredients, added the water and let the whole mess ferment overnight. Sounded simple enough so I had to try my hand at one of my favorite loaves of bread, ciabatta.

Just before bed I mixed up a batch, covered it with plastic film and left it on the counter overnight. It smelled warm and yeasty and very yummy the next morning, I didn’t think that I’d made it all the way until dinner time to cook the bread. About 4 in the afternoon, I turned the very wet dough out onto a floured rolpat and with the help of a dough scraper and a fair amount of extra flour managed to fold the dough into the required square. I then let it rise for another hour, without any technique near a knead!

After an hour the dough still looked pretty wet and flat and I just knew it wouldn’t rise, I’ve had these problems before, but I persisted. So with the oven preheated to the proper 475°, I lined a pizza wheel with a piece of parchment paper, dusted my hands liberally with flour and cut the dough in half with the dough scraper. Pushing and scraping the dough with the scraper I quickly transferred the rather gooey mess into my hands and gently but quickly stretched the dough to about 12″ long and laid it lovingly on the parchment. I repeated with the second piece of dough, slide the parchment onto the pizza stone quickly and closed the oven. I had placed the required ‘steam’ pan onto the bottom rack of the oven and I now plucked the boiling water from the microwave, quickly opened the oven door, tried to gently pour the water into the pan and close the oven door as fast as I could before the steam could escape.

So now, I timed the bread for 15 minutes. I just knew the bread would be another flop, I have such trouble with dough and I am not sure why. Although everyone eats and loves my bread it is just not what I am aiming for it to be. As instructed I removed the steam pan after 15 minutes and to my surprise the bread had already risen nicely and had a beautiful brown crust, could this be possible? So as instructed I cooked the bread for another 5 minutes and removed it to cool on the stove top. It took every ounce of resistance to not cut into those loaves right away, but resist I did. After what seemed an interminable amount of time I sliced away, slathered with some butter and took a big bite…….oh, oh, yes. Only……the crust was soft, alas no crunch (which I adore) BUT the bread itself was hole-y and yeasty and wonderful.

Before I began I wondered how on earth we would eat 2 loaves of ciabatta in a day or so and I resigned myself to making croutons with the leftover….except there was none.

My last thought is this, next time I will use a Dutch oven or ceramic baker as I know it will help to create that crunchy, crackly crust I adore. Have fun, bread baking has never been so easy…

Ciabatta Bread

Makes 2 loaves.

Notes: This recipe is adapted from “My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method” by Jim Lahey. He recommends using a Romertopf clay baker to capture the steam during baking, and that makes a wonderful loaf. But a darn good loaf also is possible with a pan of water and, ideally, a pizza stone. Instant yeast is sold as “bread machine” or “rapid-rise” yeast. This recipe must be started a day in advance of baking.

• 3 c. bread flour

• 11/2 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. instant yeast

• 11/2 c. plus 1 tbsp. cool water

• Additional flour for dusting

• Boiling water, about 1 cup

Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt and yeast. Add the water and mix thoroughly until you have a wet, sticky dough, about a minute. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough has more than doubled in size. This will take at least 12 hours and up to 18.

When the dough has risen, generously dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and, with floured hands, pat and nudge the dough into a 12- to 14-inch square. Brush off any excess flour. Fold the dough in half, then crosswise in half again, into a square 6 to 7 inches on each side.

Place the dough on a floured surface (a countertop or a baking sheet) and place in a warm, draft-free spot. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise a second time for 1 hour. The dough is ready when it has almost doubled. It should hold the impression when gently poked with a finger. If the dough springs back, let it rise another 15 minutes.

Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, place it on a rack in the upper third of the oven. Place a cake pan or oven-safe skillet on the bottom rack.

When the dough has risen, place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bring a cup of water to a boil.

Using a bench knife or sharp serrated knife, cut the dough in half. With floured hands, pick up the dough and quickly but gently stretch it to about 12 inches and place on the parchment. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

Slide the parchment paper with the dough onto the pizza stone (or if not using a stone, place the baking sheet on the rack). Close the oven door. Pour the boiling water into a measuring cup then, working quickly, open the oven door and pour the water into the hot cake pan or skillet. Immediately close the oven door and set the timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the pan of water and continue baking for another 5 minutes. The bread is done when it’s a light golden color. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe is from Startribune, March 24, 2011

Ojai Pixie tangerines and Melissa’s Produce are synonymous to me. I was introduced to Pixie tangerines as a corporate chef for Melissa’s and fell in love right away. Sweet, seedless and easy to peel; you can’t eat just one!

Prior to the 1900′s Pixie tangerines were considered a ‘backyard tree’. Not producing until the trees were about 4 years old and then not much until the tree approached almost 8 years old. On top of that they are an alternate bearing crop, meaning you’ll have a heavy crop one year followed by a light crop the next. Not exactly a great commercial citrus crop.

Two Ojai growers began planting commercial quantities of Pixie tangerine trees in the early 1980′s and by the mid 1990′s other local growers decided to join in and created the Ojai Pixie Growers Association. Citrus, especially tangerines, is a crop that is super sensitive to microclimates, the Pixie found a special home in the Ojai valley and produced the sweetest, seedless tangerine around.

Melissa’s Produce* in Los Angeles was the first and is the largest national distributor of Ojai Pixie’s. Melissa’s is also the largest distributor of specialty produce in the United States and discovered the Pixie’s on one of their journeys searching for local grown produce. Pixie’s can be ordered directly from their website, www.melissas.com, and you’ll find a myriad of recipes that have been created in Melissa’s Test Kitchen. Pixie tangerines are usually in season from sometime in March through April or May.

*Join Chef Debbi & OC Bites for a private tour and luncheon at Melissa’s in Vernon (LA)! Tues Mar. 29th. For more details…….Events

Try this easy to make Pixie Tangerine Marmalade Tart that I served last weekend at The Plant Stand in Costa Mesa.

Pixie Tangerine Marmalade

2 1/2 lbs. Ojai Pixie tangerines or any sweet tangerine

1/2 pkg. Sure Jell Pectin

2 cups sugar

Reserve 4 tangerines.

Cut the remaining tangerines in half, and squeeze them to measure 1 ½ cups of juice. (Save all the tangerine peels!) If not using Pixie tangerines remove any seeds from the rest of the tangerine pulp, roughly chop it and set it aside.

Peel the 4 reserved tangerines and discard peels, chop the fruit into pieces combine with the pulp.

Place all tangerine peels into a food processor and chop until very small. Place the chopped peels into a stainless saucepan and cover with water, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Strain and return the peels to the saucepan, add the pulp and reserved juice. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Mix together sugar and pectin and add to the saucepan, stirring well, bring to a boil and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. If you use a candy thermometer, it should reach at least 210° F.

Let cool completely before using.

Makes enough marmalade for 2 -11″ tarts.

If you want to save the marmalade you can use freezer canning jars or process according to canner instructions.

Sweet Tart Dough

by Nick Malgiere,The Modern Baker

Makes one 11″ crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4     cup sugar

1         teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse several times to mix.

Add the butter and pulse repeatedly until the butter is finely mixed into the dry ingredients-you do not want any visible pieces of butter.

Add the egg, egg yolk, and water. Pulse repeatedly until the dough forms a ball.

Invert the food processor bowl over a floured work surface to turn out the dough. Carefully remove the blade and transfer any dough on it to the work surface. Form the dough into a disk about 1/2 in thick, wrap in plastic and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Roll dough on a flour lined surface until it is about 9″ circle. Roll dough up onto rolling pin and position over removable bottom tart pan. Unroll onto pan and using fingertips, press dough into the pan and up the sides creating an even surface.

Prick the dough with a fork all over the bottom and the sides. Rub the shiny side of a piece of tin foil large enough to cover the tart with cold butter and place buttered side down onto dough. Fill with pie weights or dry beans and place onto baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes, carefully remove foil and beans and continue to cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Let dough cool completely before filling.

Chocolate Ganache

9 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

3/4 cup heavy cream

Heat cream in a saucepan over low heat, be careful not to scald.

Chop chocolate pieces with a serrated knife and place into cream. Stir until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat, pour into a glass bowl and cool at room temperature.

Can be made ahead and stored with plastic wrap pressed down on top of the chocolate. Bring to room temperature before trying to spread.

Spread chocolate into the bottom of the crust with an offset spatula. Top with the marmalade and serve. Great with some fresh raspberries and a dollop of real whipped cream!

photo by Christopher Victorio from OC Weekly

Last weekend The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Ca. hosted it’s first annual Chowderfest and Seafood Sustainability Day to bring awareness to its guests about the future of our seafood. A record number, 6700, attendees were treated to creative chowder recipes from local chefs and caterers. About 23, 000 samples of chowder such as Chef David Keller’s Voodoo Cajun Chowder from Kavikas, Carlsbad Mussel Chowder from Michael Poompan chef at The Long Beach Rennaisance or Chef Peter Lahmar’s Salmon Gravlox & Dill with Grilled Asparagus from Gladstone’s in Long Beach were tasted by attendees who were encouraged to vote online for the best chowder. There were many others to taste and chefs were happy enough to give out second and third helpings.

I made a sustainable seafood Cioppino in the Honda Theatre to about 100 guests who were interested in learning about how to choose sustainable fish from their markets. Andrew Gruel, Director of the Sustainable Seafood Program at the aquarium shared an easy tip to remember, most US fisheries are well managed and thus the fish purchased with that in mind are no threat to extinction. An easy to follow guide can be found at their website, Seafood for the Future. Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great app for your iphone at choose seafood under ‘seafood watch’. At my table in the great hall, the pixie tangerines from Melissa’s produce were a great hit with all but the kids kept coming back for more!

Take a look at Christopher Victorio’s other photo’s at OC Weekly and check out your local fish market for easy to choose fish and try your hand with my cioppino recipe. See previous post for recipe.

photo by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Every culture has some variation of a fish stew or soup, bouillabaisse, jambalaya and you could maybe loosely add gumbo to that list among others. Cioppino (chuh-PEE-noh) is said to have originated in the North Beach area of San Francisco by Portuguese and Italian fishermen somewhere in the 1800′s or 1900′s depending on who you ask and how the name Cioppino originated is almost as hotly debated as the ingredients that you use.

The name most likely came from the word ciuppin from the Ligurian dialect spoken in Genoa. It means “to chop” or “chopped” which describes the process of making the stew by chopping up various leftovers of the days catch. Some also say it can be a corruption of the of the words “il ciuppin” which means little soup. And lastly another version could be from a phrase fisherman called in port to other fishermen to ‘chip in’ some of their catch of the day for the stew.

Not only the name and the ingredients are hotly debated issues but whether the soup was made on the boats or on the docks is also up for interpretation. But everyone seems to agree on a few of the ingredients that make up this warm, succulent dish. Dungeness crab which is in abundance in the bay area, shrimp, mussels, clams, calamari and a whitefish, rockfish or the like are all included. The consistency can vary as greatly as the ingredients, some like it to be a thick tomato-y stew or a broth & wine based soup. However you like it the ingredients can be adapted to your taste but we all agree it needs to be served with some San Francisco style crunchy bread to soak up all the goodness.

This is a great soup to be made with all kinds of sustainable seafood, from the Dungeness crab to Pacific whitefish such as wild-caught Alaskan halibut or white seabass. I’ll be making this wonderful fragrant soup Sat March 12th at The Aquarium of the Pacific at 1 p.m.

*I have two pairs of tickets to The Aquarium to give away on Friday. Just tell me how you use sustainable seafood in your recipes.

This recipe comes from my book, ‘What’s In Your Pantry’, available here…..Buy Chef Debbi’s book

Cioppino

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups dry white wine

1 quart chicken stock, or fish stock

1 lg. can whole plum tomatoes with juice

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, crushed

1 tablespoon cilantro — chopped

1 lemon, zester and juiced

salt and pepper

1 pound white fish, halibut, sea bass, cut into large pieces

1 pound small clams, washed

½ pound calamari, cleaned and sliced

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 pound Dungeness crab, cut into 3-4” pieces, shell on

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup lemon zest

red pepper flakes, optional

Lemon wedges

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add oil and butter; when butter has melted, add onion and celery; sauté until translucent. Add garlic and stir briefly, do not brown. Add wine, stock, tomatoes with juice, herbs, lemon zest and salt and pepper; bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Add fish and clams to simmering broth, cover and cook 5 minutes.

Add calamari and shrimp, cook until shrimp are barely pink; then add crab and press gently to immerse in broth; cover and cook just until hot, 2 to 3 minutes.

Ladle cioppino into wide bowls and sprinkle with parsley and lemon zest. Serve with lots of crusty bread and lemon wedges.

Serves 6

Take for example, Paella, the name of the dish actually refers to the pan that the dish is cooked in. When the Romans invaded Spain they carried with them a flat, round pan for cooking called a patella, which evolved finally into paella (pronounced pah-ay-ya). It was an easy pan to use in the fields where the rice was being cultivated. Broken down the dish is just a chicken, seafood, chorizo, rice dish and it’s a great start for a ‘What’s In Your Pantry‘ type of meal. You can use what you find in the refrigerator, freezer or pantry; specific ingredients are not necessary save for a few.

La Tienda Paella Gift Basket

Chicken stock is one of the main ingredients you’ll use as it imparts a great deal of flavor to the rice. I try to make homemade stock at least once a month and then freeze it in quart bags so it’s easy to remove just the amount you need for a recipe. If you choose to purchase stock from the market, read the label, as ingredients tend to vary greatly. Avoid stock that has msg, high levels of sodium or high fructose corn syrup; look for chicken or chicken broth to be a main ingredient. Your paella will only be as good as your ingredients and the stock is a major player.

Another important addition to the dish is Spanish saffron. Government controlled standards produce a mellow flavored saffron that adds a mild color and aroma to the paella, use it if you can find it.

Most important is the choice of rice you make. Bomba and Calasparra are the preferred rice for paella, grown only in Valencia, Spain where virtually all of the varieties of rice used in Spain are grown. Both Bomba and Calasparra are short-grained rice, which contain more starch than a long grain and have the ability to absorb more liquid while each grain remains separate. Paella originated with the farmers in Valencia, cooking it in the large wide pans over hot open fires adding whatever vegetables were at hand; sometimes the dish included snails, rabbits or chicken and as the dish spread throughout the country other local ingredients were added such as shellfish, sausage, peppers and olives. Here is my ‘pantry’ version, I hope you like it.

Chicken and Shrimp Paella

Serves 8

1/4  cup olive oil, approximately

8      chicken thighs

salt and pepper

6       cups chicken stock

2       teaspoon Spanish saffron

1        onion, diced

1        clove garlic, minced

2        cups Spanish rice

1/4     teaspoon Spanish paprika (pimenton), optional

2        roasted red bell peppers, cut into strips

1        can Roma tomatoes, diced

1        tablespoon tomato paste

1        pound medium shrimp

1/2    cup peas, frozen

4-5    lemons, cut into wedges

Heat a paella pan or large sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Season the chicken on both sides with a little salt and pepper; add to the pan skin side down and cook until brown, turn and cook on the other side. If the chicken is sticking to the pan, it is not ready to turn, continue to cook for a few more minutes.  Don’t crowd the pan or the chicken will steam instead of brown. If necessary do this in batches, when finished set aside.

While cooking chicken, heat stock, crush saffron and add to stock. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down so stock barely simmers.

Add the onions to the pan and sauté until translucent; add garlic, stir briefly and add the rice and pimenton; sauté the rice until slightly translucent and all grains are coated with a little oil. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes and tomato paste, stir to mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

Add 4 cups of infused chicken stock and mix well, and re-season with salt and pepper. Bring to a medium boil and cook for 10 minutes. Return chicken pieces to the pan and arrange the shrimp around the outside of the pan. Add peas and continue to cook another 7 or 8 minutes until shrimp is pink and cooked through. If the rice is dry add a little more of the infused stock but not too much, you don’t want the rice to be mushy. Total cooking time should be 18-20 minutes. Rice should be ‘al dente’.

Season with salt and pepper, if necessary and serve with wedges of lemon.

My favorite go to soup is a vegetable minestrone with Tuscan kale, which is plentiful at the markets right now. It’s great to see the farmers growing this exceptional strain of kale since the only kale most people know about is the large tough kale that isn’t quite so delectable. Tuscan kale otherwise known as black kale, Lacinato kale, cavolo nero, nero di Toscana, palm tree kale and dinosaur kale, can be braised, sauteed or added to soups or salads.

If adding to salads, the center, smaller leaves are more tender and delicate, just snip and add to any other greens and toss with a light dressing and maybe some crispy bacon pieces. Kale can be braised by washing it in cool water and shaking the excess away. Heat a large saute pan and toss the damp kale in, the moisture left on the leaves will wilt the kale quickly. Saute until it just starts to collapse, toss with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and serve. Or my favorite way to use kale is in this Minestrone Soup, one of my go to pantry recipes.

Photo by Dennis Linden

Minestrone Soup

Serves 6

2  tablespoons olive oil, approximately

1/4  pound pancetta, optional

1  medium onion, diced

2  carrots, diced

2  stalks celery, diced

2  cloves garlic, minced

1  tablespoon Italian parsley, finely chopped

1  can Roma tomatoes, crushed, 15 oz.

2  quarts chicken stock

1   tablespoon Italian seasoning, crushed or ground

salt and pepper, to taste

2  cups cooked mixed beans, red kidney, cannellini, black and borlotti

1  cup small shaped pasta, such as elbow, cooked and cooled

1  cup Swiss chard, spinach or kale, chopped

1  lemon, juiced, add to taste, optional

1/2  cup pesto sauce and/or Parigianno-Reggiano

Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil; when hot add pancetta and sauté until lightly browned. If needed, add another tablespoons of oil and onions, carrots, celery, sauté until the vegetables are translucent, approximately 3 – 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and parsley and then add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Season to taste with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.

If using canned beans, rinse and drain them before adding to the soup. Add Swiss chard, spinach to or kale the soup and cook until slightly wilted. Add pasta and lemon juice, stir to mix well, adjust the seasoning and ladle into bowls

Swirl a little pesto on top and garnish with Parmigianno-Reggiano.

I shared this cake last week during my demo at The Plant Stand and everyone loved it so I thought I’d share it with everyone else. It’s actually a recipe from Leite’s Culinaria that I added a few ingredients to so it’s not really my own creation.

This time of year my Meyer Lemon tree is loaded with fruit and usually my lemon verbena shrub is starting to leaf out so both ingredients are perfect to use with the dried apricots and seasonal pistachio’s. It comes together quickly and stores well for a few days so….. Bon Appetit!

Apricot & Lemon Coffee Cake

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon finely minced lemon verbena leaves, optional

1 teaspoon lemon oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup plain yogurt

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups chopped dried apricots

3/4 cup (3 ounces) unsalted pistachios, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and yogurt.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in the apricots and nuts. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold right side up on a wire rack and let cool completely.

5. Cut into slices to serve.

I wasn’t sure where I what I would lead with in my new blog but I’ve decided to begin in my potager (kitchen) garden where most of my cooking starts.  The beautiful fruits and vegetables have always inspired me, as I watch them grow my mind turns to the kitchen and how will I use these gems. Shall I toss them in a simple salad or side dish or along side of a roast, chicken or rabbit? I don’t believe that one can work in a garden and not think of cooking. Sometimes they don’t even make it home; I eat them as I pick (and wash) them. I suppose that I should explain. I have a community garden that is about 5 minutes from my home so it’s not quite as convenient as a true potager garden but provides the same results.

My garden is near a river channel in California and it is a flyway for migrating birds. In winter we have Canadian geese that frequently honk at me as they fly overhead. They are quite loud and will bring you out from the house to see what all the noise is. As I sit in the garden and write, the old fashioned way-with a pencil, something keeps chirping or beeping rather from the trees that line the garden. I can’t see what kind of bird it is but it doesn’t really matter, it’s a nice respite from the sounds of traffic.

We’ve had rain on and off for the last couple of weeks making it difficult to accomplish most tasks, pull a weed here or sow some seeds there. I have problems with grasshoppers, can’t seem to get rid of them even though I bait them each year (The bait is safe for the environment, other animals and birds). They seem to love the pea (legumes) family and chew up my snow peas, sweet peas and any other tasty little sprouts that may come up.

Today as I watered some newly planted seeds I noticed that my fall arugula plants (not actually mine as in planted purposely, but as volunteers) have all gone to flower. The plants are buzzing with bees that are out collecting pollen that they will carry back to their hives. I don’t know much about beekeeping but I don’t think they travel far from their hives. I’ve never been stung even when collecting berries in June. The shrubs continue to blossom through their harvest and I have learned to share with the bees. They love the warmth of the sun so I pick berries before the bees come out. Last year I had a golden bumblebee that buzzed me quite a lot, he actually chased me away a few times; caramel golden in color with large green eyes that watch you closely so I just picked my berries later.

I’ve over-wintered some of my beds with a legume cover crop to protect and nurture the soil for the planting of spring and summer vegetables. It took some time for the seed to germinate but is growing at a quicker rate now that it has warmed up some. My peach and plum tree have finally dropped all of their leaves and wait patiently for their winter haircuts. Here in Southern California winter turns to spring overnight and I should be used to that as I’ve lived here all my life. February is almost always a nice warm month in which to plant many seeds and seedlings and I’ll be working on those this month. After the hectic holidays, February always sneaks up before I know it so I’d better get busy.  I still have a few months before the garden beckons me to be more attentive.

One of my favorite past-times this time of year, typically on New Year’s Day, I peruse the new seed catalogs. They start arriving in mid December and I pile them on my desk until I have a chance to look through them. Yes, of course I love the photo’s of all the new vegetables and flowers but some of my very favorites have no photograph’s at all. This saves the seed companies lots of dollars which in turn saves me lots of dollars. All of the seed companies have websites that are loaded with photo’s and information and I usually order on line but there’s nothing like hanging out by the fire on a cold winters day paging through a print catalog.

I love to grow unusual things, weird things and things I’ve never tried before. If you tell me something won’t grow in my zone 10 climate, I’m gonna try anyway. Sometimes with success, sometimes not; but don’t ever tell me it can’t be done. This year I’m growing Snake Gourds and will donate them to my friend Denise’s 8th grade class to decorate.

One of the new varieties that I’m growing this year will be the ‘Granadero’ plum tomato from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, organic seed that has good disease resistance. One of my garden neighbors gave me some saved seed from her ‘Trombonico’ squash but we had such unusually cool weather last year, the seeds rotted in the ground before they had a chance to sprout. So one of my Italian seed companies, Seeds from Italy, has a squash called ‘Zuchetta Tromba d’Albenga’, and the other Italian seed company, Italian Seed & Tool, has seeds called ‘Squash da Pergola Lagenaria (Cucuzzi)’. No matter what they’re called they have a really cool trombone shape, light green in color and sweet flesh. I like to sauté with a little olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Of course they’re great with some chopped summertime tomatoes strewn over the top too, with a nice grating of fresh Parmigiano-reggiano. These squash plants grow much like pumpkins and other squash, they like to take over the garden but they do very well on a trellis and the gourds hanging down makes an interesting addition to the garden.

So I have many new varieties that I’m trying this year, I’ll be talking about them later in the season. What will you grow new this year? And how do you think you might cook with it? Let me know. Here is a link to my favorite seed companies with more to come, what are some of your favorites?

After cooking this huge, amazing dinner for family and friends, I managed to get the leftover ham bone from my friend Denise. I have a feeling that she didn’t want to look at another pan or cutting board for awhile. We nibbled off of it for a few days, with a sandwich here and there but I knew that I’d be making soup before long. I chose to use canned beans, YES, canned beans because frankly after all the holiday work and shopping and wrapping presents, taking care of the dog, the family and on and on and on…..I did NOT want to deal with soaking/cooking beans too. I wanted a nice steaming bowl of navy bean soup as soon as possible. So I used canned beans.

But I did pull carrots fresh from the garden, or actually I grew these in a window box, hence the crooked carrot there in the background. The window box fell from the second story patio about a month ago and I went down and retrieved it as best I could. The soil and some of the carrots jumped out of the box and those carrots were used immediately, but the others were just sort of jangled up. I tamped down the remaining soil around them and placed them near the front door meaning to use them right away as the window box itself had broken. As I got busier and busier before the holidays I realized they needed water and gave them a drink or two as the weeks went by. They kept getting bigger and bigger and to my surprise this is what I pulled up about a month after the mishap! I still had some little guys in the soil so I tamped it down around their little roots again and gave them another drink. We’ll see how they do but I expect that they’ll keep on growing.

So the next step was cutting up all the mirepoix which I love. Chopping is meditation to me, it’s why I became a chef in the first place. I could always find comfort in kitchen chores; chopping, slicing, sauteing, blanching and more. I chopped it all up into tiny little pieces and sauteed them all in a little bit of olive oil with some salt and pepper until they were just soft and translucent.

Meanwhile, I put the ham bone into a Dutch oven and added 2 qts. of home-made chicken stock that I had in the freezer. I also added a little water to almost cover the ham bone.

Since I was using canned beans I didn’t want them to be overcooked so I simmered the ham for about 1/2 hour for the meat to begin falling off the bone. I added the beans and turned the heat down to a bare simmer. I don’t want it to reduce too much otherwise it may become too salty because of the ham. And the whole purpose of using the canned beans was so that we could feast on it for dinner tonight.

I added another cup of water or so and simmered it for about another 1/2 hour. It smelled so lovely that I had to take a taste, and another, and another, finally only a bowl would do. All in all navy bean soup really has to do with the flavor of the ham and the stock and one can whip up a pot in an hour or so, mostly unattended. I guarantee it won’t last long in the refrigerator, add some cornbread on the side and a cold night and it’ll warm you right up!

Navy Bean Soup

An unfamiliar winter fruit among the produce found in the vegetable aisle, the Korean pear is crisp, sweet and juicy. Think of it more as an apple rather than a pear, it’s texture holds up well in cooking without becoming mush. The pears are round, unlike Western style pears, and they have a thin light brown skin that is edible. Typically the Korean pear is eaten cold or at room temperature, I created this dessert crepe that could be served alone or on a brunch menu as well.

I sliced the pear in half and scooped out the core along with the seeds. After slicing the pear halves into very thin half moons, I then caramelized the slices in butter with a little sugar; let them cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You might want to make a few extra so you can nibble on them while you put together the crepes. The caramelized pear slices refrigerate well so they can be made ahead and assembled at the last minute. For a quick tasty treat, top toasted bread with peanut butter and caramelized pear slices and enjoy before anyone can catch you!

Homemade crème fraiche is easy to make and much more delicious than what you can purchase; you should make the crème fraiche a day in advance, see recipe below.

If you can’t find Korean pears at your local market, Melissa’s Produce, www.melissas.com, has them available right now!

Caramelized Korean Pear Crepe

Serves 2

2            Tablespoons butter, unsalted

1            Korean Pear, cut in half, cored and thinly sliced

1            Tablespoon sugar

1/4        cup dried cranberries

2            Tablespoons toasted coconut shreds

2            Tablespoons toasted macadamia nuts, chopped

1/2        cup crème fraiche

2            teaspoons pomegranate arils

2            large crepes*

In a large, heavy sauté pan, melt the butter low on and add the pears in a single layer. Sprinkle the pears with sugar and raise the heat to medium, let them cook until slightly browned around the edges, about 10 minutes, turn and cook the other side until lightly browned. Set aside while you ready the remaining ingredients or place in a single layer separated by parchment paper, let cool and cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until ready to use.

Lay one crepe out on a dessert plate and spoon 1/4 cup of the crème fraiche onto one third of the top part of the crepe. Layer with some of the pear slices and other ingredients, fold the crepe in half over the ingredients and place remaining 1/4 cup crème fraiche and ingredients in the center of the crepe leaving enough of the crepe to fold over the filling. Top with a swirl of chocolate sauce, a dollop of crème fraiche and scatter some of the filling ingredients over the top before serving.

Crème Fraiche

From Chef Debbi’s book ‘What’s In Your Pantry’

recipe created by Brenda Hock, slocooking.com

1           cup manufacturing cream

1           Tablespoon buttermilk

Combine the cream and buttermilk in a small saucepan and heat just to lukewarm over medium-low heat. Do not let it boil. Immediately remove it from the heat and cover. Let it thicken at room temperature for 8 to 48 hours, until it reaches the desired thickness and flavor. Chill.

* About 9″ crepe or so, homemade or also available from Melissa’s Produce, www.melissas.com

All photos by Chef Louise Mellor, Art of Cuisine

Her green bean ‘casserole’ is legendary in our family and I continue her legacy with a few enhancements of my own. I have no idea why green beans were so prevalent on our holiday table as they’d been out of season for a few months, but then again in Southern California, you can grown many things well into winter, depending on our frequently changing weather.  Remember that the success of the recipe depends upon using the best ingredients that you can find or grow.

1/2 cup pearl onions, peeled (see directions)
1 pound french green beans — trimmed
2 Tb. kosher or sea salt
4 slices lean bacon — coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 tablespoon butter

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pearl onions and blanch until skin becomes wrinkled. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

Add beans and 2 Tb. kosher or sea salt to the boiling water and cook the beans until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.

Peel pearl onions by cutting one end off and pinching onion in the opposite direction. It will pop right out of the skin. Set aside.

When beans are cooked transfer to bowl of ice water; cool 5 minutes. Drain. Transfer beans to paper towels and pat dry.

Render bacon pieces in large skillet. Remove to paper towel to drain. Pour off most of the bacon grease. Add sliced almonds and pearl onions, toast until almonds are light brown. Add beans to skillet to heat, melt butter over beans, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.