Lori, Author at Fake Food Free

Kilkenny, Ireland: Brewery Tours and Bakeries

July 28, 2011

Ireland is one of my favorite travel destinations! On our most recent trip, we finally made it to Kilkenny, Ireland. This is a recap of the beautiful sights and delicious food and drink!

First let me start out by telling you what we didn’t know. We didn’t know that Kilkenny was such a huge tourist attraction. Silly us, right?

What we did know was that we wanted to visit a smaller town in the middle of the country. Given this criteria Kilkenny was recommended to us so we were all for it.

When I say tourist attraction I mean that Irish residents flock there on the weekends and on bank holidays. During the week, buses line up outside the castle filled with international tourists.

Oh yeah, did I mention there is a castle?

Now, if you happen to be one that steers clear of touristy areas, do not, I repeat, do not, let this keep you from visiting Kilkenny. It is by far one the cutest, quaint, clean little towns I’ve encountered.

Yes, there are lots of people there, but the streets lined with hanging flower pots, the old churches, the architecture, and yes, the castle, is likely what most of us think of when we think of an Irish village.

Before I get to the food, let’s talk about this castle. Welcome to the location for my one and only run during our trip. My husband got in two, but mid-week jet lag hit hard and I caught an extra hour of sleep the second morning.

Kilkenny, Ireland | Food and travel recap at Fake Food Free

The grounds of the castle are gorgeous. Green space in Ireland is nothing short of perfect. It just makes you want to spend the day at the park with friends and family.

Our B&B, the Carriglea House was a two minute walk to the beautiful castle. I always say I need one Full Irish Breakfast each trip so I decided to have it here. Good choice because it was some of the best sausage and white pudding I’ve had. I managed to miss getting a photo of the pancakes which were more like crepes. This was our favorite breakfast of the trip. Well, if you take scones out of the equation.

Full Irish Breakfast in Kilkenny, Ireland | Food and travel recap at Fake Food Free

Our first impression of dining in Kilkenny was that most of the menus were exactly the same. There were also a lot of Italian and Mexican restaurants. Likely very good, we were just in the mood for Irish cuisine. However, we did end up with some delicious meals, stumbled upon the cutest little bakery and drank our fair share of Kilkenny and Smithwicks, both brewed in the city.

We ended up deciding on Matt the Millers for dinner which is located right on the water. Since the selection seemed limited from restaurant to restaurant I decided to stick with an old favorite and one that I hadn’t had until this point in the trip – Fish n Chips. I have to admit that I like the greasy, take-out version better than the restaurant version, but this hit the spot.

My husband had the roast special which screamed comfort – leg of lamb with vegetables and mash. The lamb was tender and the gravy the ideal match.

We had our first Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale at the recommendation of the waitress. I’d had this before in Dublin, but never made the connection that it was brewed here. For dessert I decided to branch out from the Irish coffee and went for a Bailey’s coffee instead. It had been a cool day in the city and this was exactly what I’d been craving.

Kilkenny beer in Kilkenny, Ireland | Food and travel recap at Fake Food Free

Bailey's Coffee in Kilkenny, Ireland | Food and travel recap at Fake Food Free

The next day on our walk to see some of the attractions we found a bakery and a very interesting bread caught my eye. It’s called a Turnover Bread. I asked the clerk about it, but she didn’t give me quite the history lesson I was hoping for so the picture will have to do.

They also had these gorgeous dinner plate-size meringues. We went back later in the day for a chocolate jam cake roll and a petite four.

I’ll also throw in here that any trip to Europe requires a doner kebab stop for us. We picked them up for an early dinner one evening. Lamb for me, my favorite. My husband always goes for chicken.

Next up is the Smithwick’s Brewery tour. This one was a lot of fun. We didn’t get to see any production, but St. Francis Abbey is on the site so the tour was full of beer history. The kind of history that draws my husband and I to it in the first place, such as stories of monks brewing beer as a means of nourishment and hydration. The most interesting to me was that Smithwick was Catholic so the beer was brewed under the cover of a non-Catholic friend. The Smithwick name couldn’t go on the label for years.

Smithwick's Brewery in Kilkenny, Ireland | Food and travel recap at Fake Food Free

We had a drink in the cellar bar, which is rumored to be haunted. Our tour guide, who was cute as could be, told us she works with guys who will never go in there at night.

She spent an exceptionally long time pouring our samples – the art of getting the head to rise above the glass without spilling over. Smithwick’s is good, but I have to say I prefer the nutty flavor of Kilkenny much better. I also love the picture of the Abbey on Kilkenny logo.

On our final morning, I got a great surprise. It just happened to be Thursday, the day the Farmers Market sets up outside the castle. I had an informative conversation with the owner of an organic farm. He had such a unique spread of produce including these Mirabelle Plums from France, cherries from Italy and my husband’s favorite, the Zespri Gold Kiwi.

He was so excited for me to try these after seeing them at a trade show and reading a case study on the company earlier in the year. I have to say, I like them even better than the green variety. They have such a sweet, mild flavor. We’ve heard they carry them at our Fresh Market here, but we haven’t come across them yet.

We snagged a bag of fruit for our train ride and balanced things out by getting some amazing fudge as well. This little truffle and fudge shop was amazing. We tried the Orange Chili Dark Chocolate Fudge, Cranberry Walnut Vanilla, Vanilla Cinnamon and the Ginger Lemon. I think these may be calling for a recreation in my kitchen.

So after our first impressions, I think we managed to find some great food (and drink) in Kilkenny.

I think we may have eaten a little too much this trip. Still not done sharing our finds – Belfast and Dublin to come!

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes or images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Food and Travel: Cork and Kinsale

July 26, 2011

A travel recap for Cork and Kinsale, Ireland — where to go, what to see and what to eat and drink!

As I start this mini-series of posts about our recent trip to Ireland, I have to admit I typically don’t travel there with high expectations for food. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like Irish food. I do. There are also specific types of foods and drinks that I always look forward to having – scones with clotted cream, brown bread, Irish coffee, the perfectly poured pints of Guinness.

It’s just that we often find it difficult to get out of the touristy areas and find something truly outstanding. There have been exceptions, but in general I don’t view my own foodie travel to Ireland as a mission to find new, creative foods, but rather to enjoy some expertly made favorites.

I’m happy to say that my expectations were blown out of the water this trip. Among a growing number of restaurants using amazing Irish ingredients, we also stumbled upon food creativity that inspired me. This year we had some of the best food we’ve experienced during any of our trips to Ireland.

I have so much to tell you about that I thought it would be easiest to share our adventures separated by the different areas of the country we traveled to this time. We set out to explore a few new spots including Cork, Kilkenny and Belfast. In each place we found markets, delicious food and even new ales and stouts.

We arrived in Dublin on a Sunday and immediately hopped on the train to Cork. We stayed in a quaint little B&B there with the friendliest of hosts, the Fernroyd House. We don’t have much experience with B&Bs because we tend to enjoy the amenities of hotels, but we decided that it was a good time to try out this type of accommodation.

Irish Scones | Fake Food Free | A trip to Cork and Kinsale, Ireland

We were greeted with freshly baked scones which we also had each of our two mornings there. These are 100% worthy of all the compliments they receive by previous guests. I later learned they use the recipe from Ballymaloe Cookery School, a place I really wanted to visit, but it was just too far out to fit it in this trip. They also source their jams locally. One variety we got to try was Blackberry Apple.

I might also mention that the rest of our breakfasts were equally delicious – Savory French Toast, Poached Free Range Egg over brown bread with Ballymaloe tomato relish, Porridge with Irish Honey and Full Irish Breakfast. Unfortunately a photo of the scones was all I got. One morning we had a minor malfunction with the camera card and the next day I forgot to bring it down.

We had some great dining and sight seeing suggestions from the B&B owner, Tony. One of them being Scotts on Caroline Street which we found to serve wonderful, locally sourced food. We both enjoyed the Seafood Chowder which included local seafood and Cork salmon.

White Chowder | Fake Food Free | A trip to Cork and Kinsale, Ireland

A trip to Cork and Kinsale, Ireland | Fake Food Free

I’m pretty sure my talk about my next course didn’t stop for two days. I ordered the Bruschetta, but this was unlike any other I’ve had before. This version included toasted baguette with red onion marmalade and a large, slightly warm slice of local goat cheese. It was outstanding and I can’t wait to recreate it.

Irish coffees were on special the day we were there so it was impossible to pass one up for dessert. Not only is this one of my favorite drinks, but I always love how neat they look in the glass.

Irish Coffee in Cork, Ireland | Fake Food Free

I knew that the English Market had to be a stop on our list and we made it there the next morning. It was full of so many beautiful foods – cheeses, fresh seafood with a special emphasis on Irish salmon, breads, marinated olives and meat, meat and more meat.

English Market in Cork, Ireland | Fake Food Free

Salmon at the English Market in Cork, Ireland | Fake Food Free

We didn’t get to eat at the well known Farm Gate restaurant at the market, but we did grab a bite at the café next door – a cheese sandwich (surprisingly tasty) and cappuccinos. There is just something about a good cappuccino in Europe. I have yet to have one as delicious, creamy and expertly made in the States at any location. We ordered many throughout our week, while also enjoying tea with milk and sugar from time to time.

Travel to Cork and Kinsale, Ireland | Fake Food Free

We hadn’t researched much on what to do while in Cork and were surprised to learn we had so many options. We chose to head out to the coastal town of Kinsale (about a 30 min bus ride) to see Fort Charles and eat at the well known Fishy Fishy.

Fort Charles in Kinsale, Ireland | Fake Food Free | Travel

The Fort was beautiful and historically intriguing. In addition, it was a long and hilly hike up so we worked up an appetite for our meal at Fishy Fishy.

We ordered the seafood chowder to start. It was delicious and very different from our first version at Scott’s. This used a tomato stock and was flavored with tarragon and coriander.

Kinsale, Ireland | Fake Food Free | Travel and Food

We followed this up by sharing the Steamed Local Mussels with basil and lemon butter and the Warm Salad of Chili Seafood with monkfish, shellfish and salmon. The salad also had fried potatoes and homemade potato chips on top. The mussels were very good, but still didn’t beat the mussels we had in Howth on the east coast on a previous visit. I enjoyed the seafood salad, I just wish the chili dressing had more of a spicy kick to it.

After a great meal of seafood we just had to stop at a place advertising ice cream made with milk from an Irish dairy – Baldwin’s Farmhouse Ice Cream. We both settled on Caramel Fudge. As far as ice cream goes, it doesn’t get much more perfect than this.

Lastly, I can’t forget to tell you about the stout. We had never heard of Beamish until we arrived in Cork. Apparently it is the original Irish Stout for the area and it’s still brewed there. We both agreed that it doesn’t have the same distinct flavor as Guinness, but it was still a very good beer.

Beamish Irish Stout | Fake Food Free | Travel in Cork and Kinsale, Ireland

As our B&B owner pointed out, it was also 80 cents cheaper than Guinness which meant we would always find locals drinking it. We ended up finding a bar or two in Dublin City that carried it on tap, but there and Cork were the only places we saw it. It seemed to be very unique to that area of the country.

As you can see, I most certainly was not lying about new and exciting food experiences this trip. The mix of old favorites and new finds in Cork and Kinsale exceeded my expectations!

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Summer Travel: Ireland

July 24, 2011

If you’ve wondered why there has been such an absense of posts, well I have good reason. My husband and I were traveling Ireland last week! I tried so hard to get a post up before we left, but you know what it’s like when you are preparing for a trip. Time got away from me and I just had to wait to post until I returned. And I have returned!

This was my third trip to Ireland and my husband’s fifth and this time around we had some of the best food of any of our trips. Fresh Irish ingredients, food markets, scones, chips, seafood, chocolates, ales, stouts and whiskeys. I’ve definitely got some great material for posting. I’ll even throw in some scenery as not to overwhelm you with food. I also picked up a Rachel Allen cookbook, hot and sweet smoked Spanish paprika and plenty of Butler chocolate.

Until I have a chance to sort through all the photos, I’ll leave you with a few to suggest what is yet to come.

The Scotch Egg with a free range Irish egg and pastured pork sausage – Dublin

Traditional take away Fish n’ Chips with curry sauce – Bushmills

Seafood chowder with local seafood including West Cork Salmon – Cork

Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale – Kilkenny

Blueberry and Raspberry Yogurt scones from St. George’s Market – Belfast

Baking with Coconut Oil: Gooseberry Pie

July 12, 2011

Gooseberries are one of those fruits that we always had growing in our backyard, but that no one else outside our family seemed to know anything about it. To me it seemed that gooseberries to others were like currants to me. They knew of them, but had never had the opportunity to experience them.

It didn’t really hit me how unpopular gooseberries were in our area until I came across them in Brazil. Not the fruit, though, the flavor. We started seeing groselha flavored popsicles and juices. There was even a groselha beer, also a bit of a girlie beer, where they put a shot of groselha syrup in the mug.

Thanks to my trusty translating book I quickly learned that groselha was gooseberry and it was something I’d known most of my life.

My parent’s gooseberry bushes are the red variety and when I was visiting recently I brought a small container back with me. A gooseberry is difficult to describe. Its flavor isn’t very distinct to me, just sweet. The skin and flesh are like that of a commercial grape, but the seeds inside are more like a blueberry. They are very difficult to pick due to the large thorns, but with gloves we managed to get a container full. Taking my mom’s advice we mixed both the purple/red and the ones that were still a little green.

Having the gooseberries to use up gave me an opportunity to try out a new pie crust. I’d wanted to try to make one with only virgin coconut oil for a while. Given the season and that my oil is in the fridge right now to prevent it from being a liquid, using it for the pie was quite the task.

I set the jar in warm water until it softened just a bit and then I had to do some serious digging to get it out and at the right texture. I wanted it to be firm enough to cut, but somewhat soft like butter. After a lot of work, I finely got it the way I wanted it and got working on my pie.

I had planned to make the pie all gooseberry, but I had just a few blackberries and raspberries that were threatening to go bad so I threw those in as well. I knew the berries would be good so the real test was the pie crust.

I’m going to go ahead and claim success. We really liked it. It was nice and flakey with that mild sweetness you get from coconut oil. Any combination of flours would work. I just happened to have white whole wheat and buckwheat around so I gave them a try. This crust is a nice break from an all butter version. It makes for a hearty, whole grain pie.

Gooseberry Pie with a Coconut Oil Crust

Crust: (enough for a 9-inch, two-crust pie)

2 cups white whole wheat flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup virgin coconut oil, cubed (about the texture of cold butter)
½ cup cold water

Filling:

3 ½ cups gooseberries (or any mixture of berries)
¼ cup raw sugar
1 ½ tbsp white whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, mix the flours and salt. Add the semi-solid coconut oil and blend with a pastry blender until the oil is incorporated with pea-sized pieces.

Slowly add the water a little at a time and mix by hand until a dough is formed. Divide into two equal parts, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap to the appropriate size for your pie pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, combine the berries and toss with the flour and sugar until all the fruit is well coated. Stir in the vanilla.

Place the bottom crust in your pie pan and prick gently with a fork. Add the berry mixture. Cover with the top crust and cut slits in the top for baking. Sprinkle the top with about a teaspoon of raw sugar if desired.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The crust should begin to brown and be firm and the berries should be bubbly. Remove, let sit for about 10 minutes and serve or allow to cool to room temperature. Serves 8.

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This post is a bit of a two-part because I have another fun recipe to share with you. My friend Jada, who is going on 10, developed a newfound interest in all things Abraham Lincoln this past school year. So this summer, Jada did a great presentation all about his life and included Abe Lincoln’s favorite cake. She consulted me, the food blogger, to find out if I thought the recipe was as good as she did. Oh, yes it is.

Jada made the cake with her family this week and her mom brought me some to work. I promised to photograph it and share this beautiful, and mighty tasty, cake with you. So here you go, and if you are interested in the recipe, quite a few bloggers have featured it. Obama Foodorama and Frugal Housekeeping are two of them. Thanks, Jada!

Cucumber Watermelon Salad with Honey and Mint

July 9, 2011

Have you ever come up with a new idea only to realize, well, it’s really not a new idea? That happens to me a lot when I’m making food in my kitchen. This is kind of how it goes down in my head.

This ingredient would work so well with that. This one I’m not sure about, but let’s throw it in anyway. Oh wow, it does taste pretty good. Let’s get a photo and put it on the blog.

Then, feeling pretty proud of myself, I sit down to write the post. Most of the time I Google my recipe combinations (after I’ve made them) because I want to know what is already out there and never want it to look like I am claiming another person’s work as my own.

So I Google, and there it is. Lots of other people have thrown this combination together before, some within the last few weeks. Sigh, slowly the balloon begins to deflate.

Take this watermelon salad for example.

We bought a watermelon for our BBQ last weekend and barely any of it was eaten so it has been taking up valuable space in my fridge all week. My husband and I aren’t huge watermelon fans so I’ve been trying to find creative ways to use it.

Then these massive Asian cucumbers we planted began to ripen in the garden. Look at these things! They are as long as my forearm. They just happen to taste amazing as well with a unique sweetness.

I’ve seen the watermelon salads with things like tomatoes, feta cheese and onions around the web, so I thought why not throw in some cucumber.

Rest assured many people thought of this great idea before I did.

But with every recipe comes a little different twist. With this one I love the way the sweet honey and savory green onion work together along with the sea salt. The mint adds a little burst of unexpected flavor making it even more refreshing.

Cucumber Watermelon Salad with Honey and Mint

2 cups watermelon, cubed

1 ½ cups cucumber, peeled and cubed
2 green onions, greens and partial whites sliced
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp sea salt
Pinch of black pepper

In a bowl, combine the watermelon, cucumber, green onions and mint. Add the olive oil and honey. Stir to combine. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. You can eat it right away or refrigerate it for up to a couple days. As it sits more juice will form from the melon and cucumber. Serves 3 to 4.

Campfire Cookery: A Cookbook Review

July 6, 2011

I’ve become more familiar with campfire cooking over the years, but when I first reviewed this cookbook, Campfire Cookery, it was all new to me! This book remains one of my favorites and I love making this recipe during tomato season!

Other than hot dogs and S’mores I can’t say I’ve ever taken advantage of a campfire for cooking. My husband likes to tell me stories of his Boy Scout days and all the great foods they used to make – biscuits, cobblers . He promises they tasted amazing.

It seems that the campfire cooking theme is big this summer so when I found out about Campfire Cookery: Adventuresome Recipes and Other Curiosities for the Great Outdoors by Sarah Huck and Jaimee Young I couldn’t wait to get a copy. If there is one cookbook that is not on my shelf, it is certainly one about campfire cooking!

This cookbook is all kinds of fun! You’ll learn everything you need to know about campfire cooking from splitting wood to the appropriate temperatures for cooking to suggested campfire songs. Then there are all the great recipes that are anything but your standard pork and beans. Proof is in the Scape Risotto with Cured Ham, Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Dates, and seven varieties of S’mores including Honeyed Chocolate Orange!

If you don’t think you’ll find yourself out in the forest for dinner anytime soon, no worries. There are plenty of recipes that don’t require a campfire and even those that do can be modified for kitchen cooking. However, if you have the opportunity to do any campfire cooking consider this cookbook your strongest ally.

When I turned to page 152, I could not wait to try Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin à la Clark. I have to admit, there were no campfires to be found or the opportunity to create one so I made this recipe in the kitchen in a 375 degree F oven. It would have worked well on our ceramic grill, though, too.

Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin à la Clark from Campfire Cookery on fakefoodfree.com

I know it’s hard to believe, but I don’t have a cast iron skillet. I know. It’s on the list. However, this recipe gave me the perfect opportunity to use my soap stone pot that I got in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. It worked out so well and I was happy to put that pot to use.

This tarte tatin smelled absolutely amazing when it was baking. I knew it was going to taste so good. I used unbleached all-purpose flour for the crust and it turned out light and flaky. Our cherry tomatoes are just now coming on so I had a few of those, some San Marzano tomatoes chopped and I even threw in a couple tomatillos.

The tomatoes and caramelized onions are so sweet and there is just enough salty, buttery flavor from the crust to offset the sweetness. This is one recipe I will be putting to use all summer. Once our cherry tomatoes come on full force I’ll likely be baking it to take to friends as well. If I’m lucky, maybe I can do the real thing and try it at the campfire.

Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin à la Clark
Reprinted with permission from Abrams Books
Provides 4–6 portions

From the book: Our friend, the gifted food scribe melissa clark, inspired this dish. She prepares a similar version in the oven and tops it, decadently, with a puff pastry crust. Alas, fire cookery has its boundaries, and unfortunately, puff pastry pushes them. Here we’ve substituted her brilliant pie crust recipe, which is equally divine. When summer comes, and ripe, sweet tomatoes drip from the vine like gems on a countess’s décolletage, do not overlook this recipe. It is a worthy use for Nature’s bounty.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons plus 1 pinch Demerara or raw sugar
1 1/2 pounds mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes (4 to 5 cups)
1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 large pinch each kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
1, 10-inch pie crust (the book refers to Melissa Clark’s Pie Crust
Unparalleled, page 78)

Prepare a medium-high-heat fire, with the flames occasionally licking the grill grate. Let it burn steadily until it begins to form glowing, ash-covered coals and embers, about 45 minutes. Then use a coal shovel or like implement to scrape a bed of embers off to the side of the fire pit. Nestle the skillet’s lid into the flames to heat.

Place the skillet upon the cooking grate. Add the butter and melt completely. Stir in the onions and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are dark golden and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, in a bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, thyme, olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Stir the tomato mixture into the skillet with the caramelized onions.

Quickly rake hot coals from the embers of the fire to form an even bed at the side of the fire pit (be sure to save some coals for one’s lid).

Place the skillet atop the bed of coals. Unwrap the pie crust and arrange it neatly on top of the tomato mixture, tucking the edges into the sides of the skillet. Using a knife, cut several vents in the pastry lid so that steam may escape. Remove the hot lid from the fire and place it on top of the skillet. Generously heap additional red coals onto the lid. It is important that the coals on the lid remain blazing hot during baking; should they cease to glow, heap on a fresh batch. Bake until the crust is golden and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.

Increase the heat of one’s fire to high; Return the skillet to the cooking grate and let simmer until the juices beneath the surface of the pastry begin to bubble thickly through the vents and take on a jamlike appearance, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes in the skillet before slicing into wedges and serving, crust side up, or flipped, crust side down, onto a plate.

Get the book:

On a side note, can you believe this is my 500th post?!

Disclosure: A review copy of this cookbook was sent to me free of charge. I was under no obligation to review it and received no compensation for doing so. This post contains affiliate links.

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Filipino-style Pastured Pork Kebabs

July 4, 2011

It’s an interesting experience to view your country through the eyes of someone else. Looking back I’m not sure why I hadn’t considered what a highlight this would be during our time living abroad. We encountered people who were in awe of us and those who passed judgment on us, not after getting to know us, but simply because we were from the United States.

Both situations made me equally uncomfortable, and it made me very self-aware regarding how I was perceived by others. What stood out to me the most was how the US was truly seen as the land of opportunity among the majority of people we encountered.

While we were welcoming a new adventure and happily leaving the US for a while, it felt so strange to have people view my country in this way when I really just wanted to experience theirs. After you encounter these reactions time and time again it makes you begin to think – maybe I should appreciate my own country a little more.

That is exactly what happened. Although what I appreciate about it is something that I never really considered before.

Sometimes I think we fail to remember that unless we happen to be American Indians, we’re not from here. Somewhere along the line someone in our families crossed those waters and was allowed to enter this great country we now call home. That may have happened many generations ago for some, or last year for others.

Personally, I don’t wave my flag to say ours is better than others. It’s waved to say I appreciate those who fought for the freedoms of this very diverse country, a diversity that began long ago and continues to this day. What I appreciate the most is that I can live and work among people whose cultures and heritage make my life richer whether it’s rooted in the hills of Kentucky or brought with them from abroad.

All that being said you likely also know my appreciation for food culture in this country. So a 4th of July barbecue taking place at our house just had to have a bit of an international flare.

On Friday, we stocked up on a ridiculous amount of local, pastured pork from Marksbury Farm Market. The pork butt was rubbed down, smoked and served US-style with sweet and spicy BBQ sauces. The 6 lbs of pork sirloin kebabs, on the other hand, were headed in a different direction.

In college, my husband had a friend of Filipino heritage and his family would throw some amazing barbecues. I had the opportunity to attend one and the pork kebabs were simply incredible. My husband learned to make their delicious marinade and we thought it would be a great way to make our own barbecue this weekend a bit more international.

I stocked up on veggies from the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. This included potatoes for my Mustard Chive Potato Salad (although chives were replaced with dill this time and I used a lot more Greek yogurt), and colorful cherry tomatoes really brightened up the Curry Wheat Berry Salad. Basil from the garden and a good bunch of heirloom tomatoes rounded out the meal with a Caprese Salad.

It all went over well, but the pork kebabs were definitely the star for us. I won’t hide my excitement that while most of the food was gone, there were a few pork kebabs leftover. Whether you use it for chicken, pork or beef, or what the heck, even tofu, the Filipino-style marinade is outstanding.

Filipino-style Pastured Pork Kebabs

6 lbs pork sirloin, cubed and skewered
3 heads of garlic, cloves smashed and peeled
Juice of 8 oranges
4 cups soy sauce
1 ½ cups white vinegar
½ cup brown sugar

Place the kebabs in a deep baking pan. It’s best to work the marinade in two batches so divide each of the ingredients in half. Add half the garlic cloves, the juice of 4 oranges (reserve the peels), about 2 cups of soy sauce, ¾ cup vinegar and ¼ cup brown sugar to a blender. Blend on medium to high until all ingredients are mixed and the marinade is somewhat foamy.

Pour the marinade over the pork and continue with the second batch of marinade. Once all of the marinade is on the pork, place the leftover orange peels among the kebabs. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

When ready to grill, once the grill is nice and hot, cook the pork to a temperature of 160 degrees F.

Grilled Green Beans with Dill Feta Sauce

June 27, 2011

This past weekend I took a quick trip to Indiana to surprise my mom for her birthday. It was a huge success in two ways. First, she was surprised; second, I was able to take any and all extra garden goods back with me to my Kentucky kitchen.

Our garden seems to be pouting a bit about the fact that we got it in around 3 weeks later than normal. Peppers and squash are slowly immerging from ours, but my parent’s garden is already flourishing.

This has a lot to do with the greenest thumb that exists in the world. It happens to be attached to my Dad’s hand.

I’m amazed at how tall his pepper plants are, at the diameter of the squash plants and how the cucumbers and melon plants have multiplied since our last visit over Memorial Day.

We opted out of growing our own potatoes this year, so I was happy to take all they had to offer. Kale is still growing strong there so I loaded up on a bag, cleaned the remaining raspberries off the bushes and took all the blackberries that had ripened thus far. We topped that off with a yellow squash and green beans. There were also lots of gooseberries whose recipe destiny I’m still contemplating.

Yesterday evening my husband decided he would try out some pastured pork spare ribs we got on sale from the local meat market. We were interested in tossing on some BBQ and finishing them off on his ceramic grill.

That needed to be matched up with lots of vegetables, so I decided the first of the harvest I’d tackle would be the green beans. We both aren’t raving green bean fans so I needed to find a creative way to cook them. Simply steamed wasn’t going to cut it.

Since just about everything else from the meal was on the grill I thought, why not grill the green beans too. So I slicked them up in some olive oil and my husband tossed them into a grill pan where they stayed for about 7 to 10 minutes. I took them off the grill when they were still firm, but beginning to brown and blister (in a good way).

I wanted to match them up with something slightly cooling to balance the smoky flavor. This sauce made with feta, dill and Greek yogurt was perfect. Not only did it go well with the green beans, but I think it will become my standard veggie dip from here on out.

Grilled Green Beans with Dill Feta Sauce

½ pound green beans, cleaned
Olive oil
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, sliced
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Lightly sprinkle the green beans with olive oil and stir to coat. Gently sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place the green beans in a grill pan and grill at about 325 degrees F for 7 to 10 minutes.

In a small food processor, combine the yogurt, feta, dill, chives and lemon juice. Pulse until a creamy sauce forms. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the green beans from the grill, place on a serving platter and top with the feta sauce. Serves 2 to 3.

Blueberry Almond Cake

June 23, 2011

I’ve been combing the cookbooks lately. Not just any cookbooks, but the many I have on my own shelves. I won’t say too many, because I really don’t think I could ever have too many cookbooks.

I find that when I get one, as good as it may be, I make one or two recipes and on the shelf it goes. I have no idea why because they are all filled with a lot more than two fabulous recipes. It’s like the new updated gadget comes out, the old one gets shelved even though it’s still in perfect working condition.

So I’ve been combing through them page by page on my lunch hour at work and at home in the evenings. First, for recipes to spotlight these blueberries, and second, to look at photographs.

When I took the online CreativeLIVE Food Photography Course with Penny De Los Santos a few weeks ago, she repeatedly advised that aspiring and experienced food photographers should always be looking for inspiration. In books, in magazines, anywhere there is a food photograph, study it and use it to inspire your own ideas. That tip really stuck with me so I’ve been trying to incorporate picture study-time on a regular basis.

In the process I found an almond cake I wanted to try last year, but never got around to it. It comes from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff which I reviewed last year. It remains one of my favorite books because while it focuses on canning it is filled with recipes for entrees and desserts as well.

So I took the cake as a guide, used my favorite sugars and flours, added a little, took a little away and ended up with this Blueberry Almond Cake.

I was incredibly happy with the result. The cake is sweet and slightly nutty and the berries add just a little tartness. It’s a bit of a cross between a dessert cake and a coffee cake. I only view that as a bonus because once again, cake for breakfast!

Blueberry Almond Cake

2015-07-02 09:10:30

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

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Ingredients

1 cup raw, unsalted almonds
¾ cup evaporated cane or raw sugar plus 1 tbsp and some for sprinkling (I use Demerara)
1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons fine ground sea salt
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon almond extract
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch spring-form pan.
In a food processor, process the almonds and 1 tablespoon of the sugar until they are finely ground, somewhat close in consistency to a coarse flour.
In a medium bowl, combine the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
To the bowl of an electric mixer, add the eggs and ¾ cup of sugar. Using the whisk attachment, beat for about 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy. Mix in the almond extract.
Slowly alternate adding the butter and flour mixture, blending after each addition just until combined. The batter will be thick.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly distribute the blueberries on top of the cake, gently pressing each into the batter. Sprinkle on 1 to 2 teaspoons of raw sugar.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the sides pull away from the pan. Place on a cooling rack and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the spring-form pan and cool to room temperature.

Adapted from Adapted from Rustic Almond Cake from Canning for a New Generation

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A Summer Saturday in Central Kentucky: Blueberries and a Local Lunch

June 20, 2011

I made a vow to myself when we moved back to central Kentucky from southern Brazil. Regardless of where I live, I promised myself that I will take full advantage of whatever seasonal food I can find in the region.

Once we arrived in Brazil back in 2007, I realized right away just how much I missed berries – blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. While I grew up with many of these fruits, as an adult I had lived in Kentucky five years and had only gone blueberry picking once. That isn’t exactly what I call taking full advantage.

Sadly, I let the same thing happen while I was in Brazil. I marveled over all the tropical produce – passion fruit, guava, multiple varieties of bananas. Yet, there were weeks when I made excuses to avoid walking the 20 minutes to the feira and many unfamiliar pieces of produce that I didn’t investigate and try.

Never again.

Now that we are back in central Kentucky I will go berry, peach and apple picking one or more times a year. I will eat fresh strawberries out of our garden until I don’t think I can take another bite. I’ll continue to try new foods that I see at the market and I will plant new plants in our garden despite how many times I fail to succeed.

So as you can imagine I’ve been watching the calendar, weather and Facebook closely to learn when blueberry season would begin. For us, that was this past Saturday.

It got off to a rocky start. The timing had to work out right because we also wanted to do a farm tour in the morning and had a baby shower to attend that night. We went for our morning run and then the storms rolled in. The farm tour was canceled and I whined the whole drive home because I had really wanted for my husband and I to go picking together. It was just about our only free weekend.

Things looked up though. The big blob of green, red and yellow dispersed about 11:00 am and the picking commenced!

We like going to Reed Valley Orchard in Paris, KY, about an hour and fifteen minute drive from where we live. They have several rows of berries all covered by netting to keep the birdies out.

We picked for about an hour and a half and walked away with 7 lbs of blueberries and a couple handfuls of raspberries. I told you I was taking full advantage!

It’s difficult for me to make many things with fresh berries because I enjoy them as snacks and on yogurt and cereals so much. As I begin to freeze some of them for later use, I’m still contemplating what I might make with a few.

Our day continued with lunch. While we were in the area, we decided to stop by the Windy Corner. I had heard about this place before, but it is out of the way of my typical routine so this was our very first visit. Set in the middle of Kentucky country and horse farms you will find Windy Corner with its beautiful food inspired mural on, well, a corner.

I haven’t stopped raving about this place since we went on Saturday. It is owned by Ouita Michel one of our well known chefs in the area. I am so happy to finally find a place around here where the ingredient sources, creativity in the menu, and food quality is worth the price and (for us) the drive.

The menu boasts Kentucky without being too traditional. I love tradition, but I’m so tired of being forced to celebrate fried chicken and pimento cheese just because it’s popular here. I snapped a few photos of the menu. The paper menu shows all of the farms and companies who provide the ingredients used at the restaurant.

There is an extensive list of Po’ Boys with a Kentucky twist and the grass-fed burgers are some of the most creative I’ve seen. I will definitely be trying the nut burger with peanut sauce and coleslaw on our next visit! There are tofu options for the non-meaters out there. Even the salad dressings can get a foodie all excited with options such as Smoked Tomato Ranch, Balsamic Miso and Cider Honey Vinaigrette.

We both went for the Kentucky Po’ Boy with BBQ pork, bourbon barrel beer cheese and fried pickles on a brioche roll. There were lots of great salads to upgrade to for sides, but we decided to save that money for dessert.

My husband wished the pork had been smoked, but I happen to be one that tires of always eating smoked meat so I welcomed the change. I now feel that fried pickles should go on every sandwich. This was so good!

After finishing our sandwiches my husband announced he was getting a brownie. I decided not to object because it was chocolate after all. Look at this thing! This is a standard side plate by the way, not a tea saucer. It was huge, and amazing! It was so thick and rich in the inside, it was like eating fudge. I think we could have handled two more people to help us eat it though.

If you find yourself in the Lexington, KY area, the Windy Corner is one of my top picks for casual dining. Definitely plan to go and I’ll meet you there!

Between summer, blueberry season and a delicious meal from local farms it couldn’t have been a more perfect weekend. This is one promise that is going to be pretty easy to keep.

Reed Valley Orchard
239 Lail Lane
Paris, KY 40361-8804
(859) 987-6480

Windy Corner Market
4595 Bryan Station Road
Lexington, KY 40516
(859) 294-9338