Universal Studios 11/11/09

Kanan in a Phone Booth

Joe with Jason Bourne & his favorite tiny car

Gotta love an airstream!

Korean Tacos!???

Mr 3-D

My boys with Chuckie. ewwww! Scary!

Raspberry Balsamic Martinis

So, at my favorite foo foo restaurant, Cafe Firenze in Moorpark (yes, Chef Fabio from Top Chef!)....they make a Martini that is very different & interesting... a Strawberry Balsamic.

I've enjoyed one on several occasions, an the other night, I thought I'd try to replicate it. After all, I went to bar tending school (who cares that it was 15 yrs ago!) I should be able to conquer this!

So I made a reduction of Balsamic Vinegar & Organic Sugar. Let that cool, it was too thick, so I added a little water & reheated, it was still very thick, but better...I was thirsty! No more waiting!

I put in into an old Agave Nectar bottle so I could decorate the frosty martini glass with it.

Ah! Purty!

Then into the shaker went ice, a handful of frozen Organic Raspberries, 360 Vodka, Citronge & a squeeze of Lemon. Shake Shake Shake!

Pour out into the chilled purty glasses & garnish...Voila!

Girls in the Kitchen

Well.....another fun & successful Girls in the Kitchen Night (sans one girl)....we did homemade Limoncello:

My sister, Kirstin, zested 69 lemmons!

We divvied it up between 4 bottles of vodka, some were 100 proof!

She didn't draw blood until lemon #61! So, after applying a Bacon Bandage to her finger, I finished the job. ;)

We (myself & Anna, below) also made a Sprouted Grain (mixture of Soft White Wheat & Kamut) Pasta:

The pasta had a really nice texture & was SUPER easy! We jsu used Sprouted Flour instead & it was great - didn't even taste "healthy"! Honest.

Lemon Verbena

So, not sure if you were up on that Kombucha Challenge I somehow roped myself & Anais (from Urban Homestead, Pasadena) into a couple weeks ago... it was quite comical. She had pans to make a Lemon Verbena Flavored Kombucha, and since I had vague plans to go to their monthly potluck/movie screening a couple weeks later, I suggested a friendly competition... The comical part is that I couldn't find Lemon Verbena ANYWHERE in my county. Anais kept offering some of hers, but Pasadena is about 40 minutes away & I just felt that was not an eco-responsible thing to do... (I had already done a special trip down there for figs recently...)

Surely it would turn up somewhere...I kept looking....

But my window of opportunity finally ran out, so I sheepishly told Anais that I had not been able to locate the LV... and she graciously let me off the hook, saying to come down anyway & bring whatever Kombucha I had on hand & we'd just taste them... no big deal.

So, I went to the screening & during dinner, Anais found me & we tasted, and shared with other folks at the table & talked Kombucha until the movie started. It really surprises me that so few people really know about it.

Anyhoo, after the movie, I bought some figs & Anais clipped some fresh lemon Verbena sprigs off the enormous bush in the front yard. The scent filled my car, making the car smell wonderful! I WISH smell-a-vision was a real thing because unless you've sniffed this gift of GOD, you cannot truly grasp what a wonder it is! It's herby & lemony & fresh. (wow, great description!) Words simply cannot describe it. Gonna hafta get some for yourself!

Go. Now. DO IT! GO!

So, what does a person do with it?, you might be asking.... well, it was past my bedtime already, so I did the obvious and dried it. Then I crushed it (the smell was intense!) and found a jar to keep it in. Every now & then, I just open the jar & sniff. **guilty look** What?! It's cheap therapy!

Today I decided to make simple syrup from it to flavor a future batch of Kombucha or ice cream or (fill in the blank).... It's pretty simple:

1 cup filtered water

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 cup dried Lemon Verbena leaves

Bring to a boil, lower heat & simmer for 10 minutes. Cool. Strain into a jar & store in fridge for up to 2 months. I am looking at this site to find some more ideas..

Buttermilk Pancakes

So I'm reposting this as part of Wardeh's Tuesday Twister Blog Carnival and also because we've enjoyed these pancakes at least 3 times since I tried the recipe conversion the first time. It's SO easy & tasty. Especially with chocolate chips! (I buy Trader Joe's, which although they have Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, apparently theirs is Non-GMO). They are great as leftovers too, to pack for a to-go breakfast.

I am also working on a Sourdough starter & planning to render my own Milk-fed Heritage pork fat into lard. Stay tuned!

Good Morning! How about some scrummy blueberry pancakes?

The key to fluffy pancakes is not to overmix the batter; it should not be beaten smooth.

If serving these pancakes with bacon, reserve half a teaspoon of bacon drippings to grease the griddle instead of butter.

(Can you believe MS said that?!?!?!)

Ingredients

Makes nine 6-inch pancakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Directions

1. Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.
2. Heat oven to 175 degrees. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess.
3. Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
4. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

I used the Martha Stewart Buttermilk Pancakes recipe, but of course, I changed out a few key ingredients: homemade raw buttermilk, farm fresh eggs, organic sugar, kerrygold butter, and sprouted soft white wheat...

I had Organic Blueberries in the freezer, Cascadian farms (from Costco! believe it or not)

We like our pancakes, less cakey & more crepe-like, so I added a splash of raw milk to thin the batter & also poked a whole in the center (after flipping) to sort of deflate....

You seriously could not tell these where whole wheat, or 'healthy' in any way, they were SO tasty! We served with more kerrygold butter, real maple syrup or homemade blackberry jam.

Soaked Oatmeal Cookies Pt. 1

This is a NT-Style adaptation of Martha Stewart's fabulous "Oatmeal Raisin Cookies"....

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Any dried fruit can be substituted for the raisins. Be sure the cookies are completely cool before storing in an airtight container.
INGREDIENTS Makes about 3 dozen. 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup packed light-brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 3 tablespoons milk 2 large eggs 3 cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup raisins	DIRECTIONS In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter with both sugars, and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, milk, and eggs, and mix well. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Remove bowl from the electric mixer, and stir in oats and raisins. Place dough in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, and shape into a ball; place on one of the prepared sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing balls 3 inches apart. Press down to flatten into 2-inch diameters. Transfer to the oven, and bake until golden but still soft in center, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans between oven shelves halfway through baking. Remove from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week First published Copyright 2009 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ok, so obviously I had to try to change a few things... and I'm seriously interested in your input in case you have other ideas on how to convert these even more....(like "can you really just use rapadura instead of Brown Sugar?" Seems like a texture issue...)

• I used Sprouted Soft White Wheat Wheat (freshly ground) that I order from Azure.
• I used Craisins (gotta use them up, then when they are in season I plan to make my own!) sad to say I bought at Costco.
• I ground the cinnamon fresh (in the coffee grinder, after cleaning!) I got it from Azure, not organic.
• I made my own Vanilla (it's SUPER easy!
• My eggs are farm fresh (Healthy Family Farms) & a tad on the smaller side this week, but I figured that was better because of the extra liquid on the oats...
• 2 nights prior, I soaked the oats in the smallest amount of buttermilk I could to just "wet" them. (Homemade RAW Buttermilk & Organic Oats, of course!) This way they were not sopping wet, just a tad fluffier than when originally dry.
• I omitted the milk. (But the Buttermilk was made from Organic Pasture's Raw Whole Milk.)
• I also added Crispy Pecans, about 1/2 cup, chopped. (From Azure)

I put in tupperware & refrigerated overnight...
Another thing I like to do (if I have the time, like on a Saturday morning) is to drop the cookie dough onto a sheet pan, covered with my precious Silpat or Parchment as if I'm going to bake them. Cover tightly in plastic wrap (optional I guess) & freeze. Once frozen, I put the frozen balls of dough in to Food-saver bags & vacuum pack (quickly) and re-freeze. (Don't forget to label it so you know where to find the baking instructions!)

I'll have to do a Part 2 to let you know how they come out...

Stay Tuned! (Ain't I a tease?)

**Update**

I baked a dozen on 2 separate occasions & the flavor is great, but they are super soft & crumbly.... So after some research & consultations with other bakers, I've determined to try it again, this time adding 1 more egg & more flour. Stay tuned to another update...

Girls in the Kitchen

So, we've started a thing. We call it Girls in the Kitchen. And we love it.

The first Wednesday of each month we all rush over to my place as soon as we can after work & we hang out in my lovely little kitchen & create. And laugh. A lot. And learn. And Share.

Tonight was our third time. In past nights, we've done sprouted whole grain bread, sprouted crackers (which we liked so much we did again tonight)....dang, I'm getting old! Can't remember!

Anyhoo.... tonight we did Thai Coconut Soup for dinner, Sprouted WW Crackers (in the oven, not dehydrated - much tastier! And we also did Strawberry Freezer Jam. 2 Batches, one with sugar & one with honey. For each we also filled a couple jars & then added a jalapeno because we are partial to having a spicy jam with our standard Cheese, Crackers & Wine. We used Pomona's Universal Pectin. I can't wait to see how it came out, and I sure loved not slaving over a hot stove stirring & stirring....

GOOD TIMES!

Fast Food

So, times are tough & we are trying to avoid eating out. Here are two of our common standby's:

Omelet:

Made with HFF Fresh eggs with a splash of raw milk, inside are raw cheddar & raw pepper jack, topped with sliced avocado & salsa (Herdez).

Quesadillas:

Made with Rudi's Organic Spelt Tortillas (YUM!), raw cheddar & jack, pan fried in Pastured KG buter, topped with homemade Guacamole & salsa (Herdez).

A Vegetarian Meal

So, umm....my last post was about Carnitas so I think you all know that I'm not a vegetarian. Far from it! So when we had my dear friend Kahroline over recently, I had to really think.

ok, so a salad is pretty obvious!

this ended up being a lentil, carrot potato stewy thing that was pretty tasty. I had veggie broth.

My sprouted wheat bread (it has yeast, which I found out later she can't have - so my new challenge is a yeast free sprouted grain bread for her!)

And, of course, sauteed green beans with a little garlic & EVOO tossed with toasted pine nuts.

Voila! A well rounded yet completely vegetarian meal.

The next time she came over, I saved my CSA box & had her help me unpack it. It was like watching a kid at Christmas! (Well, actually I am like that every week too!) But she was SO impressed with the contents of my box that she joined up a few weeks later & I now get to see her every Saturday at the meeting place! So cool...

Carnitas

Who has ever eaten Mexican food, I mean REALLY good authentic Mexican food & doesn't LOVE Carnitas? I don't really know anyone who could say "me!". So our new friend, Leslie who we met at a Slow Food LA event last month, came up from Santa Monica this weekend to hang out! As she was leaving, she said, I'm going home to eat Carnitas with my husband. And I thought, YUM! I should make those! So I said to her, I have a pastured pork Butt Roast from AHO in my freezer. And she said, that is exactly what you use! And so I did! Well, first I actually researched recipes, and found this one by the oh-so-talented David Lebovitz formerly of Chez Panisse! (I actually got to TA a chocolate class he did at WCI ages ago. Lovely man.) So this is my take on his method.

Sorry I didn't take before snaps! It was frozen solid. I rubbed it all over with Safflower Oil, poured a tons of Kosher Salt on top & rubbed that in, placed in a Stainless saute pan (don't ask me about my roasting pan, ok!) And stuck the whole thing under a hot broiler to brown...about 15 minutes each of the 4 sides. Then I cut it all up into large chucks, placed in a glass pyrex, added some beer, half a cinnamon stick, about 2 cloves of garlic, just smashed to release flavor, chili powder, paprika, cumin all over (best guess: 4-5 Tsp) pepper & bay leaves (you need enough liquid to cover about 2/3rd of the meat). Tossed it all around together & placed back under the broiler about 10 min, flipped, another 10-15 min. Reduce oven heat to 300 & let bake uncovered for about 3 hours. Flipping every now & then to keep moist. I think I had to add more beer after awhile so it didn't dry out completely.

Take it out, & chop into smaller bite sized shreds & chunks.

Put back in the oven & flip every now & then until most of the liquid is gone (about another 30 minutes...). Serve however you want: with rice, beans tortillas, salsa, make it into burritos, tacos, OM! The possibilities are endless & it by far THE yummiest meat you will ever taste!

You know how when it's thanksgiving & you want to eat that one little piece of crispy skin? And some meat is stuck to it & sort of caramelized...that's how this is, except the whole outside is pumped with flavor & crisp! And the soft insides are soft & white, but not dry & flavorless, they taste amazing too!

I got 2 words for you: bon appetite!

Back Door Screen Project

So, ever since we began the remodel, Joe has always talked about turning the back door into something special. When we were door shopping we kept seeing this really great beefy castle door with wrought iron & a speak-easy. It was awesome, but super expensive, so we ended up with a really nice Mahogany door that was in our budget & 2.5 years later, Joe finally had his way with it.

So he cut out the center section of the door:

We found the Wrought Iron grate at Tuesday Morning for $99, it didn't quite fit the door the way it was, so he took some bits off & re-arranged them to make it work, he had some help from the guys at work...

We still have to put screen up, but it was special order & has not come yet.

Isn't it gorgeous? See the cool latch to keep it shut?

This is what it now looks like from outside.

Awww! So proud!

Healthy Family Farm Visit

EUREKA! I have found it! My Aunt Dorothy (the one who taught me to Jam) & her daughter Kristina turned me on to this place out in Santa Paula where you can go spend the day....so I started researching to find out more about it.... no website (yet!) no blog (yet) no nothing, except an email addy: healthyfamilyfarms (@) gmail (dot) com. So email I did! And guess what? All that stuff is coming, along with cheese making classes, pick your own produce & all kinds of other fun stuff! She's just gettin' started! Watch out, Ventura County! We got FARM.

Sharon raises milk goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, quail, ducks, pigs, Scottish Highland Beef that look a bit prehistoric & an 'accidental' litter of puppies that will be groomed into guard dogs roaming the acreage protecting the cattle from predators like mountain lions.

You can email the farm for a price list & a membership form. She has a pretty extensive list of products, including Goat Yogurt & Ice Cream. Because it's tricky to sell raw milk & some of the other items, they way it works is you basically pay an annual fee to be a member (a sort-of partial share holder) and this enables you to get a share of her products. But enough about the legal stuff! You can get farm fresh, pastured chicken & duck eggs! Fresh chicken's for roasting, necks & feet for Stock! Fresh Milk-only-Fed Pork! We bought a Ham, and did a giant family feast last night - the Ham was WONDERFUL! We did a Leg of Lamb too! We all bought fresh whole chickens & have loved a chicken dinner, leftovers & making stock - and with this crazy June-Gloom we've been having, it's perfect timing for all that!

Joe & I in front of Barn My folks

Sharon (Adult on right)

Sharon has the farm open on Sundays from 10-4 so members can come pick up what they need, fresh on a weekly basis - she doesn't sell any of the meat frozen! On Sundays, her kids & a few other Staffers are there to give you tours & talk about the farm & how they do things...

Sea J comes up from Malibu to spend weekends on the farm. She came on our tour with us photographing & video documenting all our antics (with 4 little kids, we had plenty!) She's working on the website & also documenting the progress of a passle of 'rescue chickens' Sharon got from a local 'organic' farm. When they arrived at HHF, they couldn't even walk because they'd been raised in such confined spaces! (If this doesn't convince you that just 'organic' isn't good enough, I dunno what will!) Now most can walk around the 3000 Sq. Foot Chicken Run & are looking much better, although their feathers are still pretty mangey! Poor creatures! She has all the feed made especially to her specifications, meaning not only organic, but NO SOY! Wonderful!

You are looking at one Happy Camper, er farmer, er wanna-be Farmer, er Farm enjoyer!