A couple weeks ago I was invited by Stocker Farms to come out and pick some of their Early Blues variety of Blueberry at their Mountain View Blueberry Farms, before they opened to the public.  So I called up my friend Cristie (the Master Mixologist behind ThirstQuest) and asked her if she’d like to head out in the early morning to go pick some blueberries with me.  We headed out early, while the morning mists were still rising from the farmlands and fields in the Snohomish River area.  We arrived and we picked.  And we picked and we picked.  Between the two of us and a couple hours of picking we ended up with 18 pounds of Blueberries.

We also decided to head over to Stocker Farms Red Barn to pick up some Sunflower Honey and check on what other local produce offerings they had in store for us.  Mounds of Sweet Bing Cherries, glowing Golden Rainier Cherries, 1/2 flats of mixed Raspberries and Blueberries and punnets of the most delicious little Strawberries I’ve tasted all year.  So it wasn’t enough that I had 9 pounds of Blueberries, I had to pick up some Strawberries and Raspberries as well.

So when I got home and started looking at all these berries I started wondering what could I do with them all.  Pancakes, Cobblers, Crisps, Muffins, Scones, Ice Cream, Syrup, simply fresh out of the bowl… there were many days of berry enjoyment ahead to be certain.  The only problem with fresh berries is that they do not keep forever, and once a few days had escaped me I found that I still had an abundance of berries at hand and something needed to be made before they turned into penicillin.

That’s when it hit me… JAM!  Why didn’t I think of this before!?  I’ll make a bunch of berry jam and mix all the berry together for a taste that will be an explosion of summer sweetness in your mouth.  So I took my Blueberries, Raspberries and Strawberries and prepped them for the pot.  Now I’m an old fashioned girl, I like to make my berry jams without Pectin.  Why?  It’s because my Great Grandmother did it that way and her jams were spectacular.  The fruits were thick and caramelized with deep layers of flavor.  And it couldn’t be easier, no fussing with adding in things at the right time or risk screwing up your entire batch.  Just add everything in a pot, stir, boil down and stick it in a jam pot.  Done and delicious.

Summer Berry Jam

• 4 Cups Berries (Blueberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry – any combination)
• 3 1/2 Cups Organic Cane Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1/2 Lemon
• Pinch of Salt

Prep your berries by washing them.  Hull and quarter strawberries, others leave whole.  Put them into a large stock pot, add the Sugar and Vanilla and stir them all to combine.  Squeeze the lemon juice into the pot and toss the squeezed lemon in with the berries, add cinnamon stick and pinch of salt.  Stir again to combine, the berries should start releasing their juice and making the Sugar wet.

Place the pot on the stove set at Medium heat.  Stir it a couple of times, letting it roll to a slow boil while keeping an eye on it just until the mixture starts to foam.  Now turn it down to Medium-Low heat and simmer while stirring occassionally.  Your berries will go from a stage of a watery syrup like consistency with foam to a thicker syrup with less foam.  When you start seeing the foam disappear (about 20 minutes into the cooking) remove your lemon from the pot.

Now you will want to really watch the pot, stirring constantly to prevent it from scorching for about another 20-25 minutes, the stirring also helps to break up the fruit even more.  The surface of the jam will go from a glassy shiny surface to a satiny sheen on the surface, this means you are close to finished.  You can test the gel of your jam by putting some of the juice from the pot on to a saucer and sticking it in the fridge, take it out after a couple minutes and if it looks like jelly or jam and you can drag your finger through it and it doesn’t run back together you are finished.  Another method is to put a metal spoon into the juice and pull it out and if the mixture slowly sheets off the spoon leaving a thin covering of juice behind, rather than just quickly drizzling off leaving a bare spoon… you are ready.
Total cooking time is about 45-60 minutes depending on the juiciness and types of berries you mix together.

You can put the jam up into jars and use a water bath method to preserve it longer.  It keeps well in the fridge or freezer as well.

Berry Picking News Flash
Mountain View Blueberry Farms is open to the public starting today with their Big Blues ripe for the picking. Blue Rays and Concords!
No pets
Keep kids with you at all times
Cash only
Gates open at 8am, do not arrive before 8am – gates close at 5pm
Closed on Mondays – Open Tuesday through Sunday
617 E. Lowell-Larimer Road
Snohomish, WA 98296
(360) 668-3391 for recorded message

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from Stocker Farms or Mountainview Blueberry Farms for this article.
Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved

Warning: Sprinkles, Edible Glitter, Pink Frosting and Cupcakes ahead! Every Summer my Niece comes out to hang out with me for a couple weeks.  We always have a blast together.  Along with the fun I’m always looking for ways to teach her new things, while trying to keep it a good time.

We have many things in common, one of them being a love for the almighty Cupcake.  Usually, we make it a point to head up to our neighborhood Cupcake Royale or another little cafe across the street called Coffee to a Tea, which also houses the Sugar Rush Bakery, to have ourselves a cup of Joe and a couple tastings of the mini Cupcakes.  Since we didn’t get around to our usual trip, I had an idea while watching Cupcake Wars on Food Network.  Why not have a friendly “Cupcake-Off” right here at home?

So I ran the idea past her and it turns out that one of her favorite things to make is Cupcakes.  We decided on a single basic batch of Yellow Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting as our base.  We divided the Yellow Cake batter in half, then each of us took a half and divided that into thirds.  We did the same thing with the Cream Cheese Frosting.  Our end goal – to each create 2 Cupcakes in 3 flavors  with a tasty frosting to go with it, for a total of 6 Cupcakes each.

We ransacked my pantry for cupcake decorations, dried fruits, food coloring and flavorings and came up with quite an impressive selection of possibilities.  We then set to work creating our masterpieces.

The great thing about this little project was not just the fun of it, but that I was able to teach her a little bit about the science of baking.  As we worked at our stations side by side, we talked about the limits of adding too much liquid or dry ingredients to the base batter and that the outcome could mean a crumbly dry Cupcake or a soggy Cupcake.  We talked about flavor combinations, what tastes good with what and what doesn’t.  I  let her just discover the flavors and make her own choices about how she wanted her Cupcakes to taste, it was a really fun experience for the both of us.  Creativity never tasted so good!

Some of the flavors we came up with were: Lime, Honey & Ginger – Lemon & Saffron – Cinnamon Maple Rum – Dark Chocolate Nutella – Cinnamon, Coffee & Chocolate – Coconut, Lime & Rum

This is a really great activity to do as a couple, with friends and especially with the kids.  It doesn’t take that long to put together.  You can use store bought boxed cake mix and frosting if you want to and the prep will go even faster.   Here’s a partial list of things to get you started:

Cupcake Decoration Ideas

• Dried Fruits (whole or sliced into slivers) – mango, pineapple, papaya, raisins, dried cranberries, banana chips, etc
• Candy Pieces – chocolate chips or  the hard candy shell kind with centers of chocolate, peanut butter or mint
• Color Sugar – available at most grocery stores in a rainbow of colors
• Edible Glitter – available at specialty shops and online
• Dragees/Edible Pearls – available at some grocery stores, specialty shops and online
• Nonpareils, Jimmies, Sprinkles & Hundreds-and-Thousands – little sugar based decorations that come in all shapes
• Savory – herb sprigs, sea salt and chili
• Citrus – Zest or lemon, lime or orange peels

Cupcake & Frosting Flavorings

• Spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, pepper, chili, ginger, etc.
• Flavorings – vanilla, rum, almond, lemon, etc.
• Fresh Citrus – Juice and/or zest of lemons, limes, and oranges
• Nuts – pistachio, coconut, peanut, almond, pecan, walnut, etc.

Useful Things

• Spatula or knife to spread frosting
• Piping Bag with decorating tip (you can find these in most grocery stores near the cake decorating supplies)
• Apron
• Cupcake papers

It is best to set everything out that is “up for grabs” within reach and view.  It makes coming up with creative flavors much more inspiring.

Basic Yellow Cake Base

• 2 cups Flour, all purpose
• 2 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2/3 cup Butter, unsalted, softened to room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325º.  Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside
Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl until light creamy and fluffy.  Add in your eggs one at a time, beating between each one until well combined.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients, alternating with a little bit of the milk at a time (this alternating method helps create a smooth batter).

In a muffin pan, line it with paper baking cups or lightly grease and flour them.  Fill baking cups to 2/3 full.

325º degrees for 14-17 minutes, let them cool completely before frosting.  Yield should be about 12-14 Cupcakes
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8oz brick of Cream Cheese
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Pinch of Salt
2 1/4 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted

Combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt and mix until creamy.  Add in Powdered Sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it reaches a consistency you like.

Tips for making your own flavors for cupcakes & frosting:

• Divide the batter or frosting into small batches.
• Add flavors, colors and additional ingredients a little at a time.  It’s easier to add more flavor in than to take flavor out.
• When adding in flavored dry ingredients to the batter, you may need to add in an egg yolk or a little splash of water to keep the consistency right.
• When adding in flavored wet ingredients to the batter, you may need to add in an extra teaspoon of flour so the batter is not runny.
• When adding in flavored dry ingredients to the frosting, you may need to add a splash of milk/water/coconut milk/soy milk to loosen it up to be spreadable.
• When adding in flavored wet ingredients to the frosting, you may need to add back in a little more powdered sugar to firm it back up.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment, have fun and encourage each others creativity!

Bow down & be humble before the overall taste winner (Cinnamon Maple Rum with Vanilla Bean Frosting) – The Almighty Princess Cupcake by my niece TC.

Full Disclosure: I have received NO compensation from Coffee to a Tea, Cupcake Royale or Food Network for the mentions in this article.
Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved

Summer is that magical time of year that heralds the arrival of colorful, plump and delicious berries.  There is no way in the world that I could just pick one single berry as my favorite.  I love them all, each with their own unique flavor profile that dances delightfully on my tastebuds.  Right now your local area Farmer’s Markets are offering up these sweet little treasures.  Summer is the best time of year to enjoy their nommy goodness, so make it a plan this weekend to visit a Farmer’s Market – I’ve even put together a list for you.

I’m going to step back in time a bit to share a berry memory.  I grew up in Puyallup, home of Daffodils, U-Pick Berry Farms and little unattended roadside Farmer’s stands – the kind that had an old MJB coffee can to hold the money and your honor to pay for that forearm sized zucchini.  I also grew up in the 70′s with gas lines stretching for blocks, job shortages combined with  a recession meaning trouble for a lot of folks.  Our family was no different and my Father ended up out of work.

With my Dad tirelessly looking for work and struggling to find anything, my Mom went job seeking  to help and found work at Valley Packers, working the conveyor line sorting out the cruddy berries from the good ones.  She used to wear this heavy white rubber apron that she would scrub down every night.  It was stained red with the berry juices and I LOVED the way it smelled, I know… I’m weird.  Every once in a while she would slip a couple  super plump, super sweet berries in the apron pocket at the end of her shift and bring them home as a little treat for my Brother and me.   This is my first memories of the taste of berries and I haven’t found a berry as sweet as they were back then.

So I managed to pick up 4 different kinds of berries and as I was standing at my kitchen counter sorting through them I absentmindedly put my finger to my nose and inhaled… I was 5 again and picturing my Mom in that red stained white apron gathering us around close with her hands behind her back while we eagerly awaited the reveal of what sweet little treasure she had to share with us.  So this recipe is for my Mom… sweet, a teeny bit tart, a little crusty around the edges and all put together…. absolutely beautiful.

Recipe notes: If you don’t have all 4 varieties of berries you can mix and match, or make this with just one kind of berry as long as the measurement is the same.  And also… don’t be frightened of the Black Pepper as a spice, it plays beautifully with berry fruits.

Crispy Berry Crumble

Preheat oven to 350º
Filling

• 1 Cup of each – Strawberry (quartered), Blueberry, Raspberry & Blackberry
• 1 1/2 Cups White Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Flour – All Purpose
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cornstarch
• 1 Vanilla Bean (insides scraped out) or 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper – finely ground
• Zest of 1/2 Lemon
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Combine and mix together in a large bowl, being careful to not crush the berries too much.  When thoroughly mixed pour into an 8″x13″ baking dish – or something close – the fruit filling should fill the baking pan 1/2 way up the side, do not overfill the pan as it will result in spillover during the baking process.

Crumble Topping

• 1 1/2 Cups Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Cup Flour – All Purpose
• 1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
• 1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
• 3/4 Cup Butter – unsalted, cold and cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• Pinch of Salt

Put everything into a large bowl and using either a pastry cutter or your hands, start mixing until the butter is incorporated.  Do not use a food processor as it will pulverize the oats and almonds leaving this topping with an unpleasant graininess. You will know the topping is ready when you can pinch a large finger full and it holds together.

Final Assembly and Baking
Using your hands start sprinkling the topping mixture over the berries you’ve poured in your baking pan.  The ideal thickness is about 1/2″ to 3/4″, you are likely to have a little leftover topping, so save this for topping your next batch of muffins.
Place the baking pan into your 350º oven and bake for 45 minutes, until the top is a nice toasty brown and the edges of the topping have bubbling fruit peeking out.

Let it cool down for about 15 minutes.  Then when you can comfortably (and carefully!) touch the side of the baking pan for 5 seconds, it is ready to be served warm.  Top it with fresh whip cream or a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

U-PICK NEWS!
Wanna pick your own Strawberries?  I just got notification from the folks at Stocker Farms that their U-Pick Strawberry Field is open!
Located at  8203 Marsh Road, Snohomish WA 98296
1 mile West of Highway 9 or 1 mile East from the bottom of Seattle Hill Road
Look for the yellow building to the North of Marsh Road.
U-Pick is open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Sunday
Price per pound for Strawberries is $1.80
No pets
For more information visit Stocker Farms website.

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from Stocker Farms for this article.
Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved

Today it was the lowest tide it will be all year, so we went on down to the area of Alki Beach near Mee-Kwa-Moos Park (which is one of the most awesome places in Seattle to view the sunset)  to have a peek at skittering baby crabs, spurting clam holes and tickle some anemones in the tide pools.  It was an absolutely beautiful day for a little beach exploration, but it left me not only hungry but also pretty worn out and not wanting to go all crazy preparing an elaborate dinner.

While it’s nice to be able to make everything from scratch, there are just times when that is not a possibility.  This recipe is PERFECT for those times.   It also has the added benefit that you know every ingredient that is going onto your pizza and you don’t have to tip the delivery guy.  Store bought crusts do fine in a pinch, but if you are so inclined you can make your own pizza crust dough and use it.  Just be sure to pre-bake them for this recipe, as the fresh mozzarella has a tendency to make the center soggy with a crust that is not pre-baked.

And so with a quick peek through my pantry  I found a couple pre-baked pizza shells and I was struck with inspiration!  I had some nice juicy heirloom tomatoes, fresh Arugula we picked up at the market along with some fresh Mozzarella and a couple left over slices of cooked Hempler’s Bacon so a BLT Pizza seemed to be the next logical step.  Here you go… 15 minutes to nommy nom deliciousness!

15 Minute BLT Pizza

• 2 – small sized Pre-Baked Pizza Crusts or 1 large
• 1/2 Cup Pizza Sauce (see below)
• 2 ovalini sized balls of Fresh Mozzerella (sliced very thin)
• 1 Tomato, sliced thin
• 2 slices of Bacon, cooked & roughly chopped
• 2 Cups Fresh Arugula
• 1/8 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shaved
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• Olive Oil, to drizzle

Preheat the oven to 425° F.  If you are doing two small pizzas at once layer them side by side to make sure that you evenly distribute the ingredients between them, if you are doing one big one just layer it all on as follow:  Crust, Sauce, Cheese Slices, Tomato Slices and Bacon Crumbles

Bake in the oven for 10-13 minutes, just until the cheese it starting to bubble and brown at the edges.  Remove from the oven and top it with the Arugula, Parmesan Shavings, Salt and Pepper.  Drizzle your favorite Olive Oil on top as the finishing touch.

Now sit back and enjoy your evening!

This is a great recipe to have the kids help you make!

Quick Pizza Sauce

• 1 small can of Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon dried Oregano
• 1 Teaspoon Water
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

Mix together and use. This will keep up to a week tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator.

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from Hempler for this article. I like several different brands of bacon, Hempler’s happens to be what I had on hand and I like to give props to local products that I enjoy.
Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved

Hummus is one of those dishes that carnivores and vegans can agree is a little chunk of heaven… in a dippable and spreadable form. I’ve been known to make a pretty mean and delicious Hummus (aka houmous, hommus, or humus). Everytime I get asked for the recipe people freak out that it is so easy to make. Around these parts to buy a small 10 oz. tub of Hummus dip will run you about $4.00 – $7.00 depending on who you get it from and how fancy shmancy the label is. This is bad for an addict of Hummus, like myself, so years ago I set out to find a recipe. I searched and searched and finally I found one, but after making it I was sorely disappointed in the results. So after having tweaked and twisted the recipe I came up with something that makes my eyes roll back in my head everytime I eat it while I literally sit here and go NOM NOM NOM.

Now aside from the control you have of making your own Hummus and flavoring it the way you like, the other advantage is that it only costs you about $2.00 to make about 2 1/2 cups worth of this delicious dip, even LESS if you do it from dried beans. It’s really good too if you make one of the variations like the Roasted Garlic or the Sun Dried Tomato and use it as a veggie dip for your crudites.

Hummus

• 3-4 Cloves Raw Garlic
• 1 1/2 cups of rehydrated, cooked Dry Garbanzo Beans or 1 15 oz. Can of Garbanzo Beans
• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive
• 4 tablespoons Tahini Paste
• ¼ teaspoon
• Sea Salt
• Juice of Half a Lemon
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Water (add more or less until desired consistency)
• Pinch of Cumin

Time to whip out your handy dandy food processor. Throw your garlic cloves in there and pulse them until they are minced up good. Now just throw the rest of the ingredients in and pulse it until everything is blended smooth. Make sure to dip in there and give it a taste and adjust to your liking Garnish it off with a sprinkle of Paprika or Parsley.  Serve it with a drizzle of Olive Oil, little squeeze of Lemon and Pita Wedges.

Roasted Garlic Variation: Replace the Garlic with about 8 cloves of Roasted Garlic.
Sun Dried Tomato Variation: Replace the Garlic with 1/8 cup oil cured Sun Dried Tomatoes.
Kalamata Olive Variation: Add 1/8 cup pitted Kalamata Olives.
Low Fat Variation: Cut the Oil back to 2 Tablespoons and increase the Water to 1/4 cup.
This stuff is awesome with pita wedges, falafel or even use it as a spread on a sandwich like you would Mayonaise. It is really delicious. Enjoy!

I’m going to share with you a secret little imported food haven that a friend of mine shared with me last year. Down by Safeco Field is a little hidden gem of a place called Big John’s PFI. It’s tucked away in the bottom of a brick building on 6th Avenue and it is the place to go for imported foods like tahini paste, pomegranate molasses, exquisite olive oils, halloumi, big pearl cous cous, pastas… I could just go on and on with the selection of items they have here for great prices that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. They have a selection of bulk dried peas and legumes, as well as an impressive selection of bulk spices, which make it the perfect go to spot for this recipe, you can pick up your tahini, olive oil, cumin and chick peas all in one stop! Don’t forget to sample their extensive selection of cow, sheep and goat’s milk cheese from around the world. It’s a specialty food lover’s delight in there!

Oh the blushing, ripe and supple Mango, with its soft orange flesh just dripping of sweet nectar.  It is hard to contain myself… Mangoes are delicious, succulent and down right sexy.  I do not think I have ever met a Mango I did not like.
*thinking*
Nope.  I can honestly say I have been fond of every Mango that I have met.  Mango and I have met over Margaritas, shared a salad together, played with sticky rice and chilled out with ice cream.  And everytime Mango… well Mango has been my friend.

I wanted to make something that was worthy of my dear friend, Mango.  Something homey but with a little flair.  Something that didn’t need an excuse to mingle with other foods later… something playful, colorful and with a little zazz.

Mango-Lime Preserves

• 3 cups Ripe Mango, pitted and diced
• 3/4 cup White Sugar
• 1 Lime, zested and juiced
• scant 1/8 teaspoon Red Chili Flake
• 1/8 cup Water

***Zest the limes before juicing
***You may wish to hold back half of the Red Chili Flake, adjusting to your taste.  Please note that the Red Chili flavor will intensify as the mixture cooks down.

Combine all of the above ingredients in a large saucepan.  Cook over Medium-High heat for about 30-40 minutes stirring constantly.  The mixture will begin to break down and look something like thick applesauce, that will be when it is done.  As it cools it will thicken up just a little more.

This is an amazingly, delicious condiment.  Here’s a few serving suggestions for you to try:
-Serve it with Pork Chops, instead of applesauce.
-Stir-fry Shrimp, Onions, Peppers, Pea Pods and add it in as the finishing touch.
-Toast an English muffin, top it with the Preserves, Ham and Egg.
-Put it on Ice Cream!
-Put it in your yogurt with some pistachios
-Eat it straight out of the pan because it’s that good!

Looking to gain favor with the Easter Bunny this year? Well, I’ve got a little treat in store for you and it is even Gluten Free. Oh yes, my GF friends I have some springtime cookie love that is right up your alley.

This cookie was born out of a need. A need for a cookie. We didn’t have any cookies laying around and the only flour I had was a whole wheat flour. I will just say this now… I was not in the mood for a healthy whole grain cookie, I was in the mood for sweet, chewy, crispy and delectable. I had coconut, I had eggs, I had butter and sugar. Most importantly, I had the desire for a cookie.

So I grabbed a bunch of cookie-ish ingredients, some nuts and dried cherries and some pink food coloring. Why pink? I dunno… I just felt “pink”. I began randomly throwing things into the mixer like a mad scientist (please imagine me wringing my hands and going “Mwahahaha” over the mixer) and from this mad experiment was the discovery of the most delicious coconut cookie I have ever sunk my teeth into.

Crisp edges that are still chewy, an inside that is moist and delectable with strands of coconut, chunks of pecans and sour cherries running through the chewilicious goodness. So get your pink nom on in time for the Easter season. Make ‘em for the Easter Bunny, your favorite Hunny Bunny or just for yourself to nom and not share. You won’t want to share… and that is ok. Eat them all with a big, fat pink coconutty grin on your face.

Pink Coconut Cookies

• 1 stick of Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 2/3 cup Baker’s Sugar (ultra-fine sugar, but regular will do in a pinch)
• 2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Cream together the Above ingredients on high for about 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar mixture looks creamy and fluffy.

• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking Soda
• 6 Egg Whites – ONE AT A TIME

Add the Salt and Baking Soda, mix for 1 minute. Now add in your Egg Whites one at a time, mixing for 1 full minute after each egg white is added.

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Almond Flour (ground almonds… more Almond Flour results in a fatter, denser cookie)
• 2 cups sweetened Flaked Coconut
• 1/4 cup Pecans, finely chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup Dried Cherries, finely chopped (optional)
• Food Coloring – pick whatever color makes you happiest

Dump the rest of the ingredients into the fluffy, eggy mixture and fold it in by hand until the ingredients are well combined.
Preheat your oven to 325º C
***You will need parchment paper or a silicon mat. Don’t try to make these cookies without one of these items. You can find silicon mats at any good online kitchen store and parchment paper is at your grocery store near the aluminum foil and waxed paper. Without this you will need a chisel or a jackhammer to pry the tasty cookies off the cookie sheet. I like to use parchment paper.
On a cookie sheet lined with parchment or silicon mat drop very rounded heaping teaspoons onto the parchment or silicon, bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes or just until the edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet.

When storing these cookies, cut small squares of parchment paper or wax paper and insert in between each cookie otherwise they will stick together. Keep them in an airtight container and they should keep for about 3-4 days.

Lately, I have been trying my hand at Danish cuisine. Why? Well this summer I will be going to visit my other home in Copenhagen for the very first time. You see I imported myself a hubby from Denmark and I have been wanting to give him a little taste of home. Also, to practice cooking Danish food so I can (hopefully)  impress our friends and family in Demark.

He has been a good sport in teaching me the ways of the Dane, including not laughing too hard when I try to speak Danish with my American accent. Except when I mispronounce words (some of them sound almost the same!) like somehow “pillow” was coming out of my mouth as “f*cking”.  We made a series of funny phrases a while back called Dare to Danish.  Head on over if you want to learn to speak some Danish.  Be warned that these lessons will probably get you some weird looks… or more likely a kick in the butt.

In the meantime, I’m going to teach you a little Danish here today.
The word Bikse loosely translated means “to throw together”
The word Mad means “food”
Put them together and you have Biksemad (pronounced Bic-sa-mel) which means “thrown together food”

Every time we cook a roast, especially a pork roast, Biksemad comes up as a possibility to deal with the leftovers.  In Denmark, Biksemad traditionally is all the leftovers bits from a roast dinner: Meat, Potatoes, Carrots, Onion, Gravy… etc. all thrown together and topped with a fried egg.  Typically sweet pickled beets are served on the side along with a little ketchup.

Last night we had a lovely pork roast, baby white potatoes and onions with a chanterelle mushroom gravy.   I thought I would give Rasmus a little taste of home with my own take on Biksemad.  I used our leftovers, put them into individual serving dishes, cracked an egg over the top, baked it and topped it with fresh herbs and a little Tuong Ot Toi (Vietnamese Garlic Chili Sauce… yes yes I know it’s not very Danish but it’s sooo good and besides this is my own spin on Viking leftovers)  This isn’t so much a recipe as it is a process of well… throwing things together.

Biksemad

• 4 to 5 cups of Left-overs, roughly chopped to bite sized pieces (any Roast Meat & Vegetables)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of Left-over Gravy
• 4 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons of Tuong Ot Toi – Vietnamese Garlic Chili Sauce
• 4 sprigs of Fresh Herbs, any will do I used Rosemary

Preheat oven to 350°. Start out by warming up the left over meat & veg in a skillet on the stove top or int he *gasp* microwave until warm to the touch.
You can make this in one casserole pan or by using individual serving dishes, just give them a swipe with some olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
Now toss the leftover Gravy with the warmed up leftover roasted bits of Meat & Veg until everything is evenly coated.  Pour it into the baking dish. Crack your eggs over the top and place it in the oven for about 12-15 minutes to set the egg white.  You should be left with a lovely runny yolk.
Take out of the oven and top each egg yolk with a 1/2 teaspoon of Tuong Ot Toi and finish it with a garnish of fresh herbs.

You can certainly sub the Tuong Ot Toi with Tabasco or Ketchup if you wish.

The mix of the rich yolk breaking down and coating all the rest of the ingredients adds a luxurious decadence to this dish.  The tangy heat from the chili sauce just elevates the flavor and bring the whole thing alive.  Really truly great comfort food, brought to you by your local Viking-wife.

What the heck is a Vineyard Pie!?  It’s grape laden wonderful bliss, that’s what.  Recently, I entered a pie contest for which I will share pictures and stories at a later time.  Since the contest, I have had numerous requests for the recipe of my Vineyard Pie and so everything else must take a back seat while I share the secrets of my unusual grape pie with my friends.  This recipe is entirely original and my own.

So like I was saying, this was a pie intended for a contest but for me it was really an opportunity to think outside the box and do something… different.  The contest rules stated that the fruit had to be in season.  Immediately my mind went towards things such as pears, apples, plums and the like and then something unexpected creeped into my cranium.  Grapes.  Yep… grapes.

And so I started to do some research.  Was it possible to make a pie made of… Grapes?  Well it turns out that it is, and Concord Grapes seem to be a big deal to pie makers in areas such as Maryland.  My mind was already made up.  Grape Pie, here I come!  In researching recipes I found that the process in which those East Coast pies were made, had a very “jammy” interior.

I most certainly did not want to create a pie that was a big crust covered piece of Grape Jam.  I wanted the grapes to shine, taste fresh, sweet and have a cherry pie like texture.  Upon tasting and re-tasting grapes I decided that a mix of gapes was my ticket to success.  Concords lend their characteristic grapey flavor, Red Grapes for a nice sweet tart and firm fruit and Black Grapes for their honey-like sweetness.

***photo by Rasmus Rasmussen

After putting all these grapes together it struck me that I practically had myself a vineyard of grapes at hand.  Then a light bulb went off in my head… Ooooo!  Wine!!  So I grabbed some different sweet wines from my pantry to taste along with one of each of the grapes.  I liked the flavor of the Port but I went with a Blackberry Dessert Wine from Pasek Cellars, which is a local Cellar located in Mount Vernon.  The Blackberry Dessert Wine added a lovely fruity note that was a lovely accent to the Grapes.

So now it was on to prepping and making pie crust.  My pie crust had additions of Almond Flour, Buttermilk, local Leaf Lard and homemade Butter.  This filling would taste really wonderful in just about any crust, because this pie is totally all about the filling.  This filling could even be turned into a successful Cobbler or Brown Betty as well. (I’ll share the crust recipe in a later post about the Pie Contest)

***photo by Rasmus Rasmussen

In the East Coast grape pies, they squeeze out the centers of the Concord, run it through a food mill to remove the seeds… yadda yadda.  I didn’t want grape mush, I wanted these Grapes to be berry-like.  So to prep I washed the grapes, dried them and cut them in half.  Once in half the Concords revealed their little seed and a quick flick of the fingernail the seed was history and I was left with a lovely purple plump grape.  The Black Grapes & Red Grapes were seedless, but I cut them in half anyway so the filling had a consistent mouth feel, and I didn’t want to have grapes bursting in someone’s mouth and squirting out.

This pie was my great experiment.  It has been at least 10 years since the last time I made a pie from scratch, including the crust.  It is the first time I have ever invented a recipe for a pie and the first time I have ever had a grape pie tickle my tastebuds.  This pie has a light yet subtly rich flavor, not overly sweet.  The Grape flavor is not jammy, as my husband Rasmus put it “You can really taste the freshness of the grape.” and he is absolutely right.  The grapes still have a fruity pop, yet their flavors have melded together.

Vineyard Pie

• 1 double crust recipe of your favorite Pie Crust
• 1 1/2 cups Concord Grapes, seeded & halved
• 1 1/2 cups Seedless Red Grapes, halved
• 1 1/2 cups Seedless Black Grapes, halved
• 1 1/2 cups Organic Cane Sugar
• 1/2 cup Dessert Wine or Port
• 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
• Zest of 1 Orange
• Juice of 1 Orange
• 1 Egg White for brushing the pie crust (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine all ingredients together and stir to coat everything evenly.
Put your bottom crust down into you pie pan.  Ladle the pie filling into the unbaked pie crust, being careful not to overfill it.  The filling should form a mound, flush with the edge of the pie pan and rising gracefully to an inch over the rim at the very center.  If you happen to have extras, save them to make small tarts with your leftover pie crust trimmings.
Place the top crust onto the pie and crimp the edges closed.  Cut a few slits to act as vents for your filling.  If you want a shiny topped pie, now would be the time to put your egg white onto the top crust, using a pastry brush.
Place the pie onto a baking sheet, to catch any spillage.  Make a foil “tent” for the top to protect it from over browning, make sure there is at least an inch of spacec between the pie top and the foil so that the pie has breathing room.

Bake the pie for 45-50 minutes.  Remove the foil tent and finish baking the crust until it is browned to perfection, right around 5-10 minutes more.
Let this pie cool completely before serving, as the Tapioca needs time to set properly.

This is a great alternative to Apples, pears & Pumpkins and makes wonderful Fall pie, the colors and flavors… well it’s just down right beautiful.  Hope you enjoy!

***A special Thank You! to Rasmus Rasmussen for taking the shots of me in action.  You are the bestest! Biggest piece of pie is for YOU!

I am in “Hurry-Mode” today, so this post is going to be quick and to the point as I have to scoot out of here in just a few minutes… but not before I steal a moment share this recipe with you.  Although it’s fast, it has a lovely complex layer of smoky flavors.  The smoke hits you first, then the sweet of the tomatoes, then the richness of the chicken and beans and it finishes with a nice little kick of heat from the chili flake.  Quick, healthy, cheap, delicious comfort food folks!

I had to make a quick hot dish today and well it sort of slipped my mind.  So I started looking in the fridge and around the pantry to see what i had just laying around that I could throw together in less than 30 minutes.  Now before you scoff at me for using canned beans and tomato sauce… this is a QUICK meal here and well sometimes a shortcut here and there isn’t all bad.  (Besides it’s not like I’m throwing aerosol cheese in a can into the recipe… I’m looking at you Sandra Lee) This is something you can throw together on the stovetop, finish up getting things done and have it ready to serve in half an hour.  It’s gunna taste like something that has been stewing and melding all day long.  Perfect for those days when you are just too busy to be bothered.  This recipe was birthed from grab some of this and some of that and do it as fast as I can.

Smoky Chicken Chili

• 1 cup Onion, diced
• 1/2 cup Red Pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup Roasted Piquillo Peppers, chopped (can sub roasted peppers)
• 2 cups Grape tomatoes (or Cherry tomatoes cut in half)
• 1 cup  Smoked Chicken, diced (can sub smoked Turkey)
• 1 15.5 oz. can of Black Beans, low sodium
• 1 15.5 oz. can of Tomato Sauce
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Crushed Garlic
• 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/8 Teaspoon Red Chili Flake (add more if you want it spicy)

Get your large skillet or Dutch Oven type pan out, set the heat to Medium High on the stove top.  Put the Olive Oil, Garlic and Onions into the pan and quickly sweat the aromatics.  Add in all the rest of the ingredients, give it a good stir and let it simmer on Medium heat making sure to stir it every now and again.  You could certainly turn it to low for a longer simmer if you are not in a hurry.  Add some fresh parsley for garnish, if you like.

That’s it.  Crazy fast & easy!  It’s also good cheap eats!
Enjoy!