,I am on a bit of a lavender kick. 
These were born out of a busy bnb week with a beautiful farmers market morning looming on the horizon. I knew I needed lots of baked goodies to make the most of the walking traffic on a cool, sunny summer day in my tiny town, but I also had to make food for a houseful of guests the morning of the market. Shortbreads were something that would still be amazing, perhaps even improve, if I made them the night before. And of course, as a farmer-baker, I always like to showcase an herb or fruit or something else that comes out of the gardens. And so this. 

I loved the results. Lavender smells more than tastes, but then when the bite is finished, it lingers on the tongue and coats the mouth, with a hint of vibration, almost like mint. Cocoa has a similar effect, and the result is that the shortbread is a bit of a stimulant. Lavender in aromatherapy is generally used for calming, but in larger doses especially, is understood to be a circulatory and immune stimulant. These cookies are medicine, if you need a bit of a pick-me-up,  and just might banish a minor bout of anxiety as well. I thought they'd be a bit bitter-chocolate and unsweet for children, but the kids as the market came back for seconds. 

1 cup butter, softened 
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups  flour
1 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoon baking cocoa
2 tbsp dried lavender flowers or 3 tbsp chopped fresh leaves
Coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 F.  In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, then add vanilla & mix well. In another bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa and lavender, then add to creamed mixture, beating just til dough holds together. Divide dough in half, setting each on a square of waxed paper. Shape, by turning, flattening and adjusting sides, into 2 circles 1/2 inch thick. Chill briefly, 10 min, or wrap and keep for up to a week in the fridge before continuing. Using a large heavy knife, or a bench scraper, cut each disc into 8 triangles. Move carefully, using a spatula, to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, leaving an inch between cookies. Prick each shortbread several times with a fork. Sprinkle each shortbread with coarse sea salt. Bake 20-25 minutes or until set. Watch carefully so as to not dry out. Set sheets on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then remove shortbread to wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle sparingly with thick vanilla glaze. (1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, heavy cream dripped in to achieve consistency that drips slowly off the whisk.)

I have baked my Lavender Lemon Sunshine Shortbreads so many times for TV cameras in the past month, I can just about do it in my sleep! But sometimes a cake is more dressy and formal than a cookie, and this is a great moist slicer for when something a bit fancy is required.  I served this to guests last night with a chilled rose and dressed it up with a tiny dollop of rhubarb goat cheese.  The bright yellow and blush pink were a lovely picture with some lavender flowers sprinkled around on the flowered China plates. And yummy, too! 

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup goat cheese, or thick Greek plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbs. dried lavender
Glaze: 
1/4 cup powdered sugar (more or less, depending on desired consistency)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
lavender to sprinkle

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease  9x5 loaf pan and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each until fully incorporated. Add goat cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice, mixing until incorporated. (I use the zest and juice - divided between cake and glaze - of one large lemon.)

Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat on low just until blended. Gently stir in the lavender. 
Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake for 30-35 minutes until the edges begin to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the loaf pans for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
​
for the glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice and stir until well combined. Adjust. Drizzle over cooled cake and sprinkle with lavender. 

At our farm stay bed and breakfast, we are always looking for quick, tasty ways to showcase seasonal produce from the fields. This scone hits the spot in early spring when the rhubarb is abundant and there isn’t a whole lot else coming out of the gardens. Beautiful color, lovely texture and terrific with a little pat of grass-fed butter and a stiff cup of tea!
 
 
 1 cup rhubarb, cut into ¼-inch slices
½ cup granulated sugar, divided, plus more for sprinkling
2½ cups flour
! tablespoon baking powder        
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, chilled and cubed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
​Granulated sugar, for sprinkling
 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Place the sliced rhubarb in a small bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the sugar; set aside.
 
Place the remaining sugar in a large bowl.  Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cubed butter and, using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is the texture of coarse sand and there are no pieces of butter larger than the size of a pea remaining. Stir the rhubarb and ginger into the mixture, making sure that everything is evenly coated in flour.
 
Pour the heavy cream and vanilla into a well in the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, gently stir until all of the cream has been absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to bring the dough together.
 
Divide the dough in two and pat each into a 7-inch circle. Cut six triangles out of each circle and place on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with additional granulated sugar. Bake until the scones are set and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store the scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

So, we won our little lawsuit against the State of Wisconsin. The Cookie Ban has been declared unconstitutional and we should have a meaningful Cookie Bill by the end of 2017.  We are still in a bit of a tussle with the state, which may appeal, but by July 1 home bakers in Wisconsin, like those in 48 other states, will be able to sell non-hazardous baked goods made in their home kitchens. This is great news for startups and for farmers markets in all of our tiny towns and urban neighborhoods. I made up these Maple Dunker cookies in celebration of our farm entrepreneurs in this great agricultural state ! 

These are dry and crisp, intended to be enjoyed with coffee or milk. In fact, they are based on the addictive summer treat we enjoy here in the land of milk and honey: Iced strong coffee sweetened with maple syrup and cut with whole Wisconsin milk. Not too sweet or sticky, they are a neat treat when you are sitting enjoying a farmscape from the front porch. 

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup - I used my neighbor's syrup, of course! 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lg egg yolk
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour (I use Lonesome Stone Milling all purpose)
Maple syrup and powdered sugar

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and beat in maple syrup, vanilla and egg yolk until mixture is combined well. Sift together salt and flour over mixture and fold in thoroughly. Chill dough for about 15 minutes, then roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes.  Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, but watch closely for browning on appendages, especially if you are working with a shape like Wisconsin! 

Allow to cool on racks. Mix 2 tbsp maple syrup with as much powdered sugar as it takes to make a nice, thick glaze. Drizzle over cookies and allow to set up before storing. Enjoy for up to a week in a covered container, or freeze for later use. Enjoy! 

After a nice piece on CBS Sunday Morning about the farm and my role in the Cookie Bill controversy in Wisconsin, I've been getting lots of requests for the recipe featured on the show. Of course I'll share! Cookies for all! Enjoy. 

Lavender Lemon Sunshine Shortbreads
 
This is a glorified herbal sugar cookie – snipped fresh rosemary or thyme will work instead of lavender – but my husband calls the lavender version “irresistible.” Amazing with a cup English Breakfast tea and pretty transcendent with Lady Grey.
 
​Ingredients
 
2 sticks butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup confectioners sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2 lemons, zested (save to juice for icing)
1 tbsp dried lavender (or 1 ½ tbsp. of a fresh herb)
2 large egg yolks (pastured or grass-fed will give you the great sunny color)
2 cups unbleached flour
 
1 ½ c confectioners sugar
juice from the lemons (about ¼ cup)
dried lavender, more zest
 
 
Beat butter in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add the sugars, salt, zest and lavender, beat until smooth. Add egg yolks and beat until blended. Add the flour all at once and mix until incorporated ONLY. Dough should look crumbly like wet sand. Scrape into a ball and shape into a long role (if cutting into thin wafers) or a flattened disk (if rolling out for cut-outs). Wrap in waxed paper and chill for an hour at least.
 
Preheat oven to 350. Remove dough from fridge and soften slightly, then either slice into ¼ inch wafers, or roll flat for cut-outs. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1-inch apart. Slide sheet into a freezer for 10 minutes. Then bake in oven for 13-15 minutes until set but not browned. WATCH carefully. Allow to cool slightly on sheet. Mix ingredients for glaze, blend with a small whisk and let sit while you remove cookies to rack to cool completely. Mix glaze again to remove sugar lumps, drizzle over cookies and tip cookies to cover completely. While glaze is wet sprinkle with lavender flowers and zest another lemon over the top. When glaze sets up, flowers will stick. Makes about 2-3 dozen depending on size of roll or cutter. 

So this was fun. My friend Anna Thoma Bates wrote the piece, so that explains the bit of hyperbole in there. Still, my recipe for Squash Waffles is awesome. Check it out.
 
http://www.jsonline.com/story/life/food/tallgrass-kitchen/2016/10/12/superwoman-farmer-never-sits-still/91693136/

Those of you who visit us at the Argyle and/or Blanchardville Farmers Markets know that we love to make up Veggie Muffin recipes for whatever bake-able crop is in season. And if you've been to a Farm-to-Table Dinner out here, you know we like to do the same with rich cake desserts. This week, we took our Farm Kitchen on the road - well, really just down the street - to Folklore Village outside of Dodgeville. We made the final dinner at their recent Sustainability Festival and we put this stunning dessert dish on the table for our finale!

The Beet-Red Velvet Brownie itself is pretty amazing - almost more like a fudge or flourless torte, though it does contain some flour. And here we floated it on a bed of Aronia Coulis and topped it with Raspberry Puree and Lemon Zest Goat Cheese. Yeah, a bit over the top - but why not!? There was a square dance following the meal at Folklore Village so everyone worked it off.

For the past few weeks our bed and breakfast morning spread has included an heirloom tomato bar - sometimes with feta cheese and basil, sometimes with blue cheese crumbles, sometimes just plain like this with a little olive oil, a good balsamic vinegar, and coarse sea salt. Wouldn't it be great if we could eat like this all year long? Alas, tomato season is fleeting in Wisconsin, even if it is rather rambunctious while it's happening. One of our recent BnB guests passed on a great recipe for preserving the juicy flavors of summer's tasty heirloom tomatoes - Jam!

I love this recipe for so many reasons - first, it's not ridiculously sweet. Second, you use ALL of the tomato, even the skin.  (you might want to remove large cores) Third, I love that it's got onions and apples in it as well. I might throw in some of the hot peppers we've got so many of in the hoophouse right now!

Many thanks to Julia for this delightful way to capture some of summer in a jar.

Sweet & Savory Tomato Jam
Makes 1 ½ pints
Just enough sweetness to tow the line between a condiment for roasted and grilled meats and a treat to slather on toasted baguette, this is a great way to preserve summer’s bounty.

3 1/2 lbs tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup finely diced tart green apple 

Put all ingredients in a 2-quart pot. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until thickened and jam-like consistency, about 3 hours. Transfer to sterilized glass jars and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks, or use a hot-water canning bath for 15 minutes for long-term storage.

One of the things I love about aronia berries is that they have insignificant seeds and skin - I most often use them raw, blitzed in the food processor with a little honey or maple syrup. This simple concoction gets served to my bed and breakfast guests over waffles, goat cheese and brie for the duration of Aronia season. But it might be nice to have some of those berries to eat when the harvest season has past.

My good friend, neighbor and fellow Soil Sister Betty Anderson helped some local farms with their aronia harvests this year, in exchange for berries. This is her suggestion for a unique, easy way to preserve these super fruits for winter eating. She got the recipe from blazerfarmz online, but says you can reduce the sugar even more, if you like. Enjoy!

Another great source for Aronia recipes is the quite excellent cookbook recently published by the Midwest Aronia Association. Look for it on Amazon, or ask our neighbor and the source of our berries, Roberta Barham of Barham Gardens to get you one.  You can also buy more berries from her!

ARONIA LIME JAM

- 4 1/2 cups crushed aronia berries

- 1 package of fruit pectin (1 3/4 oz.)

- 5 cups sugar

- 1 (tbs.) of grated lime peel

- 1/3 cup of fresh lime juice

Directions: Wash fruit and cover with water, simmer 15 minutes. Pour measured amount into a 6-8 quart non-reactive kettle such as enamel or stainless steel. Add lime juice and peel, pectin and stir. Bring to a boil, add sugar, stir, and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil exactly two minutes. Skim and pour into clean, hot jars. Seal.    Yields: 4 pints of Aronia Lime Jam.

I was going to post a recipe from the magazine this week - but there were sooo many I made and loved tat I thought it made the most sense to just tell you to go out and BUY this magazine, ASAP.  The good folks at America's Test Kitchen, who put out the lovely and highly technical Cook's Illustrated magazine each month, created this seasonal issue that is absolutely full of wonderful ideas for high summer meals that will make the most of your CSA box. GET IT you won't regret it, I promise. If you know me - or you've been to my place for a festival, field-to-table dinner or bed and breakfast stay - you know that I'm addicted to cookbooks. I even use stacks of them for end tables. I LOVE them! But I am rarely tempted by cooking magazines. My daughter Maggie was on a short visit home from college and had bought this for herself to read on the bus trip here. Lucky for me, she left it - whether it was on purpose or not I don't know because I don't want to confess that it is here yet! I've been cooking through it and can't believe how pretty, how useful, how precise, how informative and how TASTY the recipes are. Really - go get it. It'll be on newsstands until October.