Spring, Comfort Food, and Bubbly-Making Activities
Sunday, April 12, 2009 by Lindsey
Currently Reading
Uglies (Trilogy)
Scott Westerfeld
It's been far, far too long since I've posted. The past month or so has been a crazed frenzy of up's and down's. Mostly up. Lots of people in and out, from Mom's team meeting (and a fantastic dinner for 16!), to my sweetheart visiting from California, to the past ten days spent enjoying the company of my Grandparents. Now the house is silent, unnaturally so because three of the children are gone for a few weeks.
The weather has been glorious, which has caused me to try to become the outdoorsy person I'm really, really, not. The wind in this area still bugs me greatly - but it's been enjoyable to take pictures of the fresh cherry blossoms, and enjoy the breeze when the wind dies down. Plus, the changing of seasons always allows for fun new culinary experiments. Different fruits and vegetables come into season, and different flavors and textures seem fitting for everyone's demeanor. I've decided to try and adopt a more natural view of culinary arts. Rather than trying to buy ingredients to make certain dishes - it makes more sense to buy the fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season, and what's on sale, and make something fresh and different out of it. This methodology, I have discovered, is widely accepted in Italy --- particularly Tuscany.
"I once asked a local what he did when he wanted strawberries in December
and he looked genuinely puzzled. His reply finally was that he wouldn't,
because strawberries come in May." - Tessa Kiros, on life in Tuscany.
and he looked genuinely puzzled. His reply finally was that he wouldn't,
because strawberries come in May." - Tessa Kiros, on life in Tuscany.
Seems a much more natural way to do things, God provides us with strawberries in the springtime, root vegetables in the fall and winter, and watermelons in the summer. My favorite comfort-food at the moment has to be artichoke pancakes. Cheesy, whole grain rounds full of garlic, onion, chives, with the subtle taste of artichoke hearts. It pairs nicely with citrus flavors, and doesn't take much to be satisfied.
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Sun-Dried Tomato & Artichoke Pancakes
• 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes, marinated in oil
• 3 canned/jarred artichoke hearts
• 1/3 c. water
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
• 1/2 white onion, minced
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Pepper
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Havarti, Extra-Sharp Cheddar, or Goat Cheese
Preheat oven to 350ยบ. Combine artichoke hearts, water, and eggs in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Drop in sun-dried tomatoes, and run the food processor for just a few seconds to make sure they're chopped and combined into the batter. Pour artichoke mixture into a bowl, and add flour, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and thyme.
In a small stainless steel mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into artichoke batter.
Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium until very hot, then coat the surface in oil. (Oil spray works as well.) Spoon the batter into the oil, 1-4 Tbsp. at a time I prefer "mini" pancakes, but you can make them whatever size you like. Let cook until the edges are stiff and golden, then flip and cook through. The result should be golden-edged pancakes, these can take from 2-5 minutes to cook through depending on your range, and how hot your skillet is. Remove to a foil-covered baking sheet, and lay out in rows.
When the batter is used up - place slices of cheese over the pancakes, and put into hot oven for 2-4 minutes until cheese is melted. If you decide to use goat cheese, I recommend blending the goat cheese with crema (pronounced CRAY-ma) or light sour cream with a 1:1 ratio. I would imagine this recipe would also pair greatly with feta cheese. I made mine with a 3-year aged extra sharp cheddar that was fantastic.
Serves 2-3 as a main course, 4-6 as a side.
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I'm very excited because my sweetheart, Nathan, who was here visiting about a week and a half ago just found out that he was accepted for an internship with NPR this summer, here in the area. I'm looking forward to having him here for a few months, since we typically maintain our relationship across a continent. (With him in California, and me in Northern Virginia.) His time here has motivated me to experiment with lots of new dishes, because he doesn't eat particularly well at college, which makes him incredibly open-minded to new and different dishes. I'm looking forward to testing some ethnic, and culturally-diverse dishes on him over the summer as well as some honey-sweetened cakes, and meat dishes for people who don't love meat. (Me, for one.)
I guess that's about all for now, I'm off to enjoy my book - and enjoy the lovely weather. More to come soon, I hope!
-Lindsey
• 3 canned/jarred artichoke hearts
• 1/3 c. water
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
• 1/2 white onion, minced
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Pepper
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Havarti, Extra-Sharp Cheddar, or Goat Cheese
Preheat oven to 350ยบ. Combine artichoke hearts, water, and eggs in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Drop in sun-dried tomatoes, and run the food processor for just a few seconds to make sure they're chopped and combined into the batter. Pour artichoke mixture into a bowl, and add flour, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and thyme.
In a small stainless steel mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into artichoke batter.
Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium until very hot, then coat the surface in oil. (Oil spray works as well.) Spoon the batter into the oil, 1-4 Tbsp. at a time I prefer "mini" pancakes, but you can make them whatever size you like. Let cook until the edges are stiff and golden, then flip and cook through. The result should be golden-edged pancakes, these can take from 2-5 minutes to cook through depending on your range, and how hot your skillet is. Remove to a foil-covered baking sheet, and lay out in rows.
When the batter is used up - place slices of cheese over the pancakes, and put into hot oven for 2-4 minutes until cheese is melted. If you decide to use goat cheese, I recommend blending the goat cheese with crema (pronounced CRAY-ma) or light sour cream with a 1:1 ratio. I would imagine this recipe would also pair greatly with feta cheese. I made mine with a 3-year aged extra sharp cheddar that was fantastic.
Serves 2-3 as a main course, 4-6 as a side.
---
I'm very excited because my sweetheart, Nathan, who was here visiting about a week and a half ago just found out that he was accepted for an internship with NPR this summer, here in the area. I'm looking forward to having him here for a few months, since we typically maintain our relationship across a continent. (With him in California, and me in Northern Virginia.) His time here has motivated me to experiment with lots of new dishes, because he doesn't eat particularly well at college, which makes him incredibly open-minded to new and different dishes. I'm looking forward to testing some ethnic, and culturally-diverse dishes on him over the summer as well as some honey-sweetened cakes, and meat dishes for people who don't love meat. (Me, for one.)
I guess that's about all for now, I'm off to enjoy my book - and enjoy the lovely weather. More to come soon, I hope!
-Lindsey
