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Recipe of the Week: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

8/7/2015

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I almost can't believe I'm about to post yet ANOTHER zucchini treat recipe. But there you have it - I love zucchini! In sautes, with eggs, spiralized and used instead of pasta, and shredded into all manner of baked things. This recipe, though, is really not my fault. First, my crew keeps sending me zucchini cake recipes on pinterest and facebook because they know I'll make them for lunch. And second, my good friend and farm member Isabella, gave me some lovely mini-Bundt pans last week during a work day and they were just begging me to bake zucchini in them.

So this recipe is a combo of many lovely things - a basic Joy of Baking recipe for Zucchini Bread, a facebook link to a recipe for Raspberry Chocolate Cake, and a giant bag of Craisins that appeared in my pantry  when my eldest son was recently moving from one apartment to another.  I think it turned out great, the crew agrees, and we'll see what our neighbors think when I sample them at market this Saturday. Try it out and let me know how it goes. 

I made these without the dried cranberries for a special visitor I'm having at the farm tomorrow, because I'm going to serve them with some Aronia Berry Sauce drizzled over and some of our very first ripe raspberries arranged in the dent on top.  I will tell you that the visit is going to be televised on PBS - more info on that soon! And I will also tell you that you are going to get Aronia berries in your box very soon - from our good friends and neighbors at Barham Gardens. Bon appetit, farm friends!

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

1 1/2 c shredded raw zucchini (Lately I've been shredding zucchini ahead of time for baked goods, and leaving it in a colander for a few hours to drain.  I squeeze the moisture out before I measure it.)

1/2 c white whole wheat flour
1/2 c buckwheat flour
1/2 c almond flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c olive or coconut oil
1/4 c yogurt or buttermilk
3/4  c sugar
2 lg eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/4 c dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray grease a round cake pan, a loaf pan or one pan of mini-Bundt cakes.  This also works well for muffins. Whisk together dry things in a medium bowl. Blend wet things in your mixer.  Fold in zucchini, chips and cranberries.  Gently add the dry mixture until just mixed. Bake about 10 minutes for mini-cakes, 45 minutes for a loaf pan, 30 minutes for a cake pan. Watch carefully! Cool for about 10 minutes on a rake, then gently remove to cool completely.




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Market Recipe of the Week:  Spiced Zucchini Olive Oil Muffins

7/18/2015

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Every week for my tiny-town Farmers Market, I make veggie muffins. Friday is my baking day and whatever crop I've got a lot of in the walk-in cooler is a potential ingredient for the Saturday morning muffins. As you can imagine, this is a project that makes me immensely happy, since I'm a girl who can't decide what I like better, cooking or eating. Baking is a special treat, since we don't bake for our daily meals. Luckily, between monthly field-to-table dinners, weekend bed-and-breakfast guests and Saturday markets, we now how quite a few reasons to bake!  But I am always experimenting and no two projects are quite the same. This morning I came up somehow with an incredible recipe that I think I absolutely must make again and again. Mainly, my experimenting has to do with using up seasonal ingredients, but I am also always trying to cut out sugar and fat to the smallest necessary amount that still satisfies.  I think these Spiced Zucchini Olive Oil Muffins nail that balance perfectly and also come out fluffy, moist and incredibly complex in flavor.  Even if they weren't a veggie muffin, I'd still crave them! And the amount of requests I got for the recipe at market this morning heartily echoed my own assessment. These are a quite healthy breakfast option, but I will be making this recipe into a Spice Cake to serve at next Saturday's field-to-table dinner with goat ice cream or cream fraiche dolloped on top. I see no reason why something should have to be loaded with fat and sugar to be considered dessert - see if you agree. Bon Appetit!

SPICED ZUCCHINI OLIVE OIL MUFFINS

1/2 c. white whole wheat flour
1/4 c. buckwheat or other flavorful flour
1/4 c. roughly ground flaxseeds (I blitz them in the coffee grinder for about 6 seconds)
1/4 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp each cinnamon, ginger, allspice, mace, nutmeg and cardamom
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 c. finely grated, drained and well-squeezed zucchini
2 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 TBSP vanilla
sliced almonds and raw sugar for tops

Oven at 350. Muffin tins lined. Toss all dry ingredients, add zucchini and toss. Be sure to squeeze the juice from the zucchini. Mix all liquids with eggs. Add liquids to solids and mix just until combined. Light hand.  Fill muffin cups to about a centimeter from the top. Sprinkle a few sliced almonds and a little sparkly raw sugar on top. Bake until fragrant - check at 15 minutes. Tops should be set-up but not really browned.





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Box 4 Recipe of the Week: Yeasted Chocolate Zucchini Waffles

7/15/2015

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Did you catch me on TV last week? Well, since I was only on for 2 minutes and 40 seconds, I was easy to miss! I appeared on WKOW's Wake up Wisconsin on July 9 at 6:35am and plated my Sunshine Skillet recipe.  You can watch me here,  and find the recipe on my previous blog post.  I will be on Madison TV again, later this month, July 28, on NBC15 at 6:10am. This time, I'm going to cook and plate up these Yeasted Chocolate Zucchini Waffles, since now we've got zucchini coming in! All of this media buzz has to do with the Soil Sisters Tour which is coming up July 31 thru Aug 2, on my farm and 20 other women-owned farms in the Green County area. Check us out here and be sure to come and play with us that weekend!
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I love the bubbly surface of yeasted batters! This one was actually moving when I took the picture. It's alive!
Yeasted waffles are a staple of my bed-and-breakfast buffets. They work well because I can do the preparation the night before and simply let the batter warm up in the morning while I make coffee, wash and chop fruit, make eggs and visit with my guests! I make a lot of different versions of this recipe, depending on what veggie is in season that I can grate into the batter - some are more savory and some more sweet.  (I only use cocoa with zucchini, though!) All of them turn out crispy on the outside and wonderfully moist inside. These are 100 percent whole grain, and can easily be made gluten-free by using almond flour instead of white whole wheat.  They are very low sugar, since I assume folks will enjoy them with a syrup of some sort.  With the dark, bittersweet chocolate flavor of these, I like to use a tart fruit syrup. Local (and native!) aronia berries from Barham Gardens in Blanchardville make a terrific counterpoint to these slightly sweet waffles, and they'll be available at HyVee stores and the Dane County Farmers Market starting in late August.  You'll also get them in a September CSA box! Alternatively, you can buy frozen aronia berries from Bellbrook Berry Farm in Brooklyn, WI, at Willy Street Coop.

Overnight Rise Yeasted Chocolate Zucchini Waffles

1 cup milk (almond milk can be substituted for the whole amount of dairy, you'll lose a little puff if you omit the cultured milk, below)
1/2 cup yogurt/kefir/buttermilk
3 TBSP butter, melted
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 c. white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa (or rolled oats, if I am using a vegetable other than zucchini)
1/4 cup ground quinoa (I blitz whole quinoa in my coffee grinder for about 10 seconds)
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 cup finely shredded zucchini, drained and squeezed (or carrot, beet or sweet potato)
1/2 cup mini choc chips (Optional - but good if you want a sweeter waffle.  I like Lily's Dark Chocolate Baking Chips, they are small and sweetened with stevia instead of sugar.)

Start at least an hour and up to 24 hours before you want to cook these waffles. Whisk liquids and sugar with eggs. Mix all dried ingredients together in a large bowl, with yeast. Toss zucchini (and chocolate chips, if using) with dry ingredients. Add liquids and mix just until combined, then cover and let rise for an hour in a warm place.   Make waffles immediately, or put in fridge until ready to use, for up to a day. Remove from fridge and allow to warm up before baking in pre-heated waffle iron. Waffles will take a few minutes to cook - allow steaming to subside before removing. Serve hot from iron, or leave in 250 degree oven on cookie sheet until ready to serve. I serve these waffles topped with syrup, yogurt and whatever fresh berry I am able to pick from the garden or forest that morning.

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2-3 min each waffle
Yields 4 Belgian or 8 regular waffles


Aronia Jam from Roberta Barham of Barham Gardens
(This is a low-sugar jam so if you heat it gently, it will easily turn into a nice syrup.)

10 cups frozen Aronia berries (chopped)
3 cups sugar
1 package low or no sugar Sure Jell

Add package of Sure Jell to ¼ cup sugar.  Stir into chopped berries and heat to a rolling boil.  Add remaining sugar and return to a full rolling boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  Ladle into sterilized jars and water bath for 10 minutes. 
Roberta, who is a close neighbor and fellow Soil Sister, adapted this jam from a recipe in this newly published book by the Midwest Aronia Association.  Get it on Amazon now and you'll be ready for September when you'll receive Barham Gardens aronia berries in your CSA box!
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I served Chocolate Zucchini Waffles to my farm crew this week with Aronia Jam, plain yogurt and a mix of mulberries, gooseberries and blackcaps.
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Box 3  Recipe of the Week: Sunshine Skillet

7/2/2015

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This is the recipe I demonstrated - for two whole minutes! - on Wake Up Wisconsin (Channel 27/ABC) Thursday morning in Madison. For the show, I had to make a real recipe, with amounts and ingredients and numbers and such, but here's the way I really make it. We use this at all times of day and it is a great, and quick way, to savor the bounty of vegetables you get in your box each week. Adapt it to the season (right now I'm using a lot of kale and chard), the meal (the picture above is breakfast, with poached eggs on top), and your time frame (this can be as simple or complicated as you like). Bon Appetit!

FARMER KRISS' SUNSHINE SKILLET SAUTE


This veggie dish is more of a template than a recipe – it’s got lots of moving parts so you can plug and play YOUR way! That’s how it works here on the farm, we cook based on ingredients we have at hand, rather than choose a recipe and then go find or buy ingredients. The Sunshine Skillet is a breakfast, lunch or dinner dish we use daily – it is our go-to meal and the template idea makes it easy for us to cook a terrific nutritious meal, even on a crazy busy day for a big farm crew. We recommend this sort of dish to help our CSA members use up all of their beautiful veggies in a low-stress fashion. Think of it as peasant food, not fancy, but delicious, practical and often very beautiful.  Like a composed salad in a skillet!

Supplies to have at hand:
- Well-seasoned cast iron skillet, scaled to your cooking needs. We use big ones here.

- Flexible METAL spatula, plastic spatulas will melt in contact with the hot skillet.

- A lid for the skillet. I like a glass one, so I can see through it and not have to lift a hot cast iron lid multiple times during the meal prep. You will want to inspect your progress.

Ingredients to consider:
- Onions, sweet or spicy are both good, depending on your taste.

- Canned tomato juice. We use last season’s tomatoes canned into juice, but purchased tomato juice, without salt or flavors, works just fine.

- Several carrots, and/or a big red pepper, and/or a yellow summer squash and/or a sweet potato. These add flavor, nutrition, and most importantly, COLOR to your dish. I use what I have in the field or fridge.

- Several bunches of large-leaved cooking greens: kale, collards, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli raab, arugula, mustard greens, turnip greens, beet greens.  You get the idea – big leaves of whatever you’ve got growing. Even cauliflower and broccoli leaves are tasty if you take the smaller ones from the middle of the plant and not the big old outer leaves.

- Salt, pepper and dried spices. I use fenugreek and thyme in most dishes, in addition to liberal sprinkles of ground pepper and salt. But often curry is what I crave, or a nutmeg/allspice blend. Go with your gut here.

- Fresh leafy herbs. Whatever you have or love: parsley, cilantro, mint, lemon balm, oregano, lovage. Taste and see what works. I add a big handful of chopped leafy herbs to the top of everything I eat, except fruit!

- Cooked grains, about ¼ cup per person you will serve. I really love farro and other chewy grains like bulgur, barley and quinoa, but we do brown rice sometimes, too.

- Crumbly cheese, or grated cheese, about 1 tbsp per person. We make goat chevre from our does every other day, so that’s what we tend to use.  When I don't have does in milk, I use  Wisconsin’s Landmark Creamery’s amazing Petit Nuage, a fresh, French-style sheep milk cheese that is creamy, tangy and has a sweet finish. The cheese buyer at Whole Foods, Julia,  recently told me it was her favorite cheese of the moment, and it just won a gold medal in the U.S. Cheese Championships. Also, I know the Annas who own the creamery, and they rock!  But this is also a great way to use up any little piece of whatever you’ve got in the fridge to grate.

- Eggs, beans, meat or tofu, should you want more protein or a different one than cheese.

- Nuts and seeds, whatever you’ve got. I use a lot of  flax and hemp seeds. Toasted oatmeal also works great.

Prepare:
Heat your seasoned skillet – there should be a skim of shiny oil in it, but not a puddle, to medium high and toss in a chopped onion or two. Cover and leave be for several minutes. This is hard to do, but you want a little bit of browned or even burned onion to be the base of your broth. Without turning the onions, add a few finely diced carrots, and/or peppers, squash, sweet potato. Turn heat down slightly, cover and cook for several minutes. Lots of moisture should be released from the veggies and they’ll steam in their own juices. Sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper and fenugreek. Pour about ¼ cup of tomato juice over the veggies. It will bubbly, de-glaze the pan, and immediately create a lovely caramelized sauce. Chop greens roughly – perhaps in 2-inch pieces – and throw on top. Fill the pan as high as you can, salt and pepper again, and cover. When greens have softened and turned a bright green, remove the lid and use the spatula to scrape all of the caramelized onion off the bottom of the skillet and incorporate everything together. Salt, pepper, spice to taste.  If you are using eggs, simply break them on top, cover and poach to your desire. You can also steam cooked meat, tofu or beans in this way, if you want them warm.

Plate:
To compose the plate, fill the bowl of the plate with the skillet veggies. Then, mound about ¼ cup of grains on top. Salt and pepper to taste.  Place a handful of chopped fresh green herbs in the middle of the grains. Sprinkle the entire dish with crumbled cheese, focusing mainly in the middle, and garnish with nuts, seeds or toasted oats. A few edible flowers is a nice touch, and if you use nasturtiums, you get a lovely peppery bite as well. Pass with some siracha or malt vinegar and enjoy!

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In The Box 2 Recipe of the Week: Dark Chocolate Rhubarb Cake

6/18/2015

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A couple of farmer friends and I have started a bi-weekly Farmers Market in our little town. Since there are reliably only a handful of us that will set up on any given week, I realized that I was going to have to offer more than just raw veggies for sale. I mean, some people in a rural community will need to buy veggie, but a lot will grow their own. What people really show up for in my town is BAKED GOODS. So, poor me, I've been baking with my garden extras.

Of course, what is happening right now is a lot of yummy rhubarb, so I got busy on the Pinterest and fished around for some good rhubarb treats. I found a ton, and they are posted at the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page. I ended up taking Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins with rhubarb, carrots and strawberries, Rhubarb Fudge and Rhubarb Scones. But what really really knocked my socks off was a Dark Chocolate Rhubarb Brownie recipe that I modified to make a cake batter that I cooked up in muffin tins. I will be making this incredible cake for the first Field-to-Table Dinner on June 27. We'll have it with Salted Caramel Cajeta Ice Cream. But you can make it at home tonight!

Dark Chocolate Rhubarb Lava Cake

2 c rhubarb, sliced thin ( I used a food processor blade) and macerated for a few hours in 2 tbsp sugar)
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c melted coconut oil
2 lg eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat and buckwheat)
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 and line an 8by8 pan with parchment (DO THIS - the cake is very gooey). Better yet, use a springform 8-inch pan if you have one. This is a very moist cake, almost flourless. Whisk together sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs. Whisk in another bowl the dry ingredients, except chocolate chips. Combine just until moist. Stir in rhubarb and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread til even. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean. Do not overcook. This is a LAVA cake! Remove and let cook for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm if possible - but this is good whenever!

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In The Box 1 Recipe of the Week: Rhubarb Crowd Cake

6/4/2015

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We had a ball at our Lambs and Lettuces Farm Festival this past Sunday, and very much enjoyed spending time with many of you. We made a huge sheet of Rhubarb Crowd Cake. It's a lightly-sugared thin coffee cake that makes the best of rhubarb flavor by roasting it first. Great with ice cream or yogurt on top!

  Circle M Sour Rhubarb Cake

8 cups rhubarb, washed and sliced into ½ inch pieces
½ cup sugar

Spead rhubarb evenly in cookie sheet lined with tin foil. Sprinkle sugar over top and roast in oven at 300 degrees for one hour or until reduced and juices caramelize on foil. Cool slightly then fold foil in on itself until package is lightly sealed. This will allow the caramelized juices to re-hydrate and come out with the rhubarb later.

1 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
½ cup spelt or buckwheat or other flavorful flour
¼ tsp nutmeg, allspice and cardamom
1 cup buttermilk (or yogurt or sour cream or thick kefir)
2 eggs
3 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet and barely mix with dry. Add rhubarb and juices just until incorporated. Use a gentle hand! Spread in greased and floured 9x13 pan for a very thick cake, or a bigger pan for thinner slices. If you like, combine ¼ cup softened butter, 1/3 cup sugar, ½ cup flour and ½ cup oats and sprinkle over top. Or just sprinkle raw sugar over top, or leave as is and serve with ice cream later.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 to 45 minutes depending on pan size. This is great warm, but also great a day or two later.  Bon appétit!

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Truly Healthy! Circle M Skillet Granola

5/11/2015

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This dish is a great way to start a workday out at the farm. It is one of the few recipes we'll publish that includes more ingredients sourced off the farm than on, but the nutrition and taste are so exceptional we think the recipe worth sharing. 

From our perspective, of health and wellness and sanity - granola is problematic. Even from a good source, even made at home, traditional baked granola is loaded with sugar and fat. And yet, we find it so yummy and addictive that we can't stop munching if we've got it in the house! My first approach was to remove all fat  except that used to coat the baking sheets - and use whipped egg whites instead of oil to mix and stick the granola together. I also cut the honey/maple syrup ratio way down. This made a granola that was high in protein(from the eggs whites) and low in sugar and fat,  but that didn't stick together half as much as a recipe with more sticky oils and syrups. So when I transferred the finished product to jars, all of the healthy flax and sesame and sunflower seeds, as well as oat bran, whey powder and dried fruits pretty quickly fell to the bottom of the jar.

I recently came up with a strategy that solves all three problems: the addictiveness, the high calories and the lost seeds. Skillet granola! We LOVE this stuff. Of course, we love it too much. But the first beautiful thing about Skillet Granola is that since it whips up so quickly and doesn't require the profligate use of a stove running a long time on low heat, I just make enough for ourselves and our guests to have a reasonable serving and then it doesn't sit in the sparkly Ball jar calling out to us all day. The second beautiful thing about Skillet Granola is it doesn't actually require any fat or sugar beyond what is already in the ingredients - since it's actually more like muesli or toasted oats.  Finally - this recipe can be tweaked to  incorporate ingredients that you need to take for healthy reasons (like oat bran and flax seed to lower cholesterol, for instance, or maca powder for chronic fatigue) but don't really enjoy otherwise.

I created this particular recipe as a breakfast treat for a bed-and-breakfast guest concerned with lowering cholesterol - and it's got lots of the foods recommended to scrub out gummy arteries along with a terrific amount of soluble fiber. That's all BEFORE you put it on top of fiber-rich fruits and berries. This is a stellar meal or snack to lower LDL. cholesterol. A nice bonus for the chef - Skillet Granola is quick, easy and not messy.  You'll notice I have no dried fruit in this version. Since I was sprinkling this granola over fresh fruit, it seems redundant. But if I was going with yogurt underneath, I would have added a tablespoon of raisins or chopped dates or apricots or dried blueberries.

CIRCLE M SKILLET GRANOLA

for each serving:

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon of each:
ground flaxseeds
oat bran
unsweetened coconut flakes
vanilla whey protein powder sweetened with stevia, but no sugar
sliced almonds

1 heaping teaspoon of each:
chia seeds
sunflower seeds
ground hemp seeds

pinch of sea salt

Spray a cast iron skillet very lightly with coconut or olive oil.  Turn skillet on medium high. Sprinkle larger ingredients on the bottom of the skillet, then sprinkle powders and smaller ingredients over top. Spray again lightly with oil to stick powders lightly to larger ingredients. Allow oats and other large bits to get slightly browned before tossing the mixture around. As the heat releases the toasty smell, keep tossing and watching for when the mix is slightly browned. Allow to cool slightly in the skillet before scooping out with a large broad spoon and sprinkling over fruit or yogurt. This way you won't loose the small stuff!

If this isn't sweet enough to your taste, you can drizzle a little maple syrup or honey over the bowl when you serve.
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Well, Hello, Spring! Rhubarb Custard Pie (Gluten-Free and Crustless)

4/27/2015

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This pie was born out of a Pinterest search to find a dessert I could make for our Woman's Club Bake Sale this weekend that would utilize two of the farm's main gifts to us in Spring: eggs and rhubarb.  I found a few recipes that sent me in the general direction, then I removed the refined flour, half the sugar and 1/3 of the fat. I ended up with something quite terrific, I think, and was also happy to be able provide something for the bake sale that my gluten-free neighbors could enjoy.  I'm personally not gluten-free across the board, but I don't keep white flour in the house, and I try to keep grain, sugar and fat in general to a minimum, so I do a fair amount of experimenting with substitutions and simple reductions. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but this is a good example of a dessert that doesn't really need the crust, or the flour, since it's essentially a well-cooked custard in pie form. Pies go great at bake sales! And they are always easier to take to a potluck situation than a custard that requires bowls. So this is a good recipe to have in the back pocket, if you are like me and live in a small town where bake sales and potlucks happen at least weekly.

I will also use this for gluten-free guests at our Bed and Breakfast and farm-to-table dinners.  I had a bigger egg surplus than rhubarb, so when I ran out I made an Almond Joy version with coconut, sliced almonds and a chocolate crust, a Snickerdoodle version with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a Banana Custard version. All of them puffed slightly in the pans before settling when cool, so it is best not to fill them too close to the top.

RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE

1 c. rhubarb, sliced and spread in the bottom of a 9 or 10-inch pie pan (I had a nine inch and needed to make two overflow ramekins. )

Mix all together:
4 chicken eggs or 2 goose eggs
2 c. milk (I used almond milk for the Almond Joy pie and it came out great.)
1/2 to 3/4 c. sugar, depending on your love for tart rhubarb
1/2 c. gluten-free baking mix or almond flour (don't use one that's predominantly chick pea flour - it'll be a bit bitter)
6 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil (you could probably cut this down to 4 tbsp with very little loss)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put pie plate with rhubarb on a baking sheet - the batter is very liquid and will likely be difficult to move without spilling. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Top will start to brown but don't let the bottom get dark. Custard should be set up but not entirely firm. It will firm up in the fridge.  Cool for about 1/2 hour on a rack in the kitchen before chilling in the fridge (unless you want to serve it with ice cream in which case serve within a half hour of removing from the oven).  This isn't a super rich pie and would go nicely with some whipped cream, as well.

For the Almond Joy Pie: Skip the rhubarb and sprinkle dark chocolate chips in a sparse layer on the bottom of the pan. To the liquid, add 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut, 1 tsp of almond extract and trade sliced almonds for the oats.

For the Snickerdoodle Pie: Skip rhubarb and add 1 tbsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mix when done.

For the Banana Custard Pie: Skip rhubarb and slice enough bananas to cover the bottom of a pie pan. Proceed as above.

Something I did not make for the bake sale, but most certainly will make for a farm-to-table dinner this year is a Cardamom Carrot Custard Pie. I will substitute 1 cup shredded carrots for the rhubarb and 1/2 cup sliced almonds for the oats, then add a tsp of cardamom, 1/2 tsp of sweet curry,  1/2 tsp of mace and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.  I will grate some fresh nutmeg on top.  I may also put coconut flakes on top once the pie is almost finished and let them get a bit toasted.
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Mini Almond Joy Pies - with dark chocolate on the bottom!
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Circle M Sourdough Waffles: Chia and Chard

3/10/2015

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Good morning! Here at Circle M we love sourdough but we don't tend to eat a lot of bread. Waffles are a great way to use up starter when the starter bowl is a bit to full to feed.  We were in this situation yesterday, and so pulled up this basic recipe for Overnight Lemon Sourdough Waffles from Korena in the Kitchen - she's a great baker/blogger and puts up a lot of sourdough ideas.  If you don't have a sourdough starter, I think overnight yeasted waffles are almost as yummy - especially if you don't really need the tartness of the sourdough. Me, I'm all about tart. But here's a good Overnight Yeasted Waffle recipe that I use when I don't have enough starter. I'm also all about the overnight rise for waffles, breads and anything else you can ferment before baking. But if you are pressed for time or just feel like having a waffle RIGHT NOW, just use whatever mix you might have in the house - Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit Mix makes great waffles - or whip up something from that great old cookbook you've got collecting dust on the bookshelf.  The web is wonderful, but don't let those heavy hard-cover cookbooks languish. There is still something so satisfying about cooking from a book, don't you think?

I started with the Lemon Sourdough but it's the modifications that count in this kitchen. First, we used half whole wheat flour and half buckwheat - I love the taste of buckwheat in things that don't need the spring of gluten. Waffles and muffins and cookies all benefit from the nutty taste and texture of buckwheat. In addition to the zest of one lemon, I put the juice in, too.  As I said, I'm all about the tart. I also substituted maple syrup for brown sugar - all of our friends are starting to tap trees with this sudden thaw,  so I was feelin' the maple. Then I let the batter sit overnight, as directed.

In the morning, just before cooking, we added the rest of Korena's ingredients (eggs, baking soda) but also threw in a tablespoon of chia, 2 tablespoons of ground hemp seed and a 1 1/2 cups of almost minced chard. Mincing the chard was tough, but I knew it was key for the texture and fluff of the pancakes. The idea for greens in the waffles was inspired by a visit last weekend to Minneapolis' fabulous Birchwood Cafe.  I got their Kale Waffles, which were good - but sweeter and denser than mine. I really prefer an overnight sourdough recipe because the waffles get very light and airy. Mine are more like a crisp-on-the-outside, puffed-on-the-inside  vehicle for toppings, and not so much the filling main course of the meal.  But the Birchwood's were very very good, if heavy, and you can see a picture of just what I got on their website if you click through - topped with an egg and a bacon/apple chutney.
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You can see how light on the inside and crispy on the outside these sourdough waffles are.
I topped ours this morning with plain yogurt and a tart (of course) cherry balsamic syrup and micro-planed lemon zest over the top. Spring is nearly here and I wanted something light and hopeful. But these would be great with sausage and gravy spooned over the top. They'd also be great with bacon lardons and maple syrup with a dollop of butter.  You could pair with pulled pork and a side of mashed potatoes and pass bbq sauce.  Of course a sunny-side up egg would be the bomb with absolutely ANY of the savory toppings. But these straddle the line between savory and sweet and can be dressed up to pull off whichever you most crave. Or do like we do for our Bed and Breakfast guests - serve the waffles with a bar of fixin's that go in every direction. Bon Appetit! Viva Local Food!
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I love the chard paired with the lemon zest in this slightly sweet but mostly savory recipe. Chop the chard (or kale or spinach) almost to the point of mincing or it'll make the waffles soggy. Look at the bubbles on the surface of the sourdough - that's what give us such light and crispy waffles. I tried for years to achieve this by beating the egg whites separately into stiff peaks. Took forever and didn't work nearly as well. Make this batter the night before and you have practically no work in the morning when you want to serve guests.
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Box 10 Recipes

10/17/2014

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Sweet Potato Queen's Cornbread
from The Sweet Potato Queen's Kick-@ss Cookbook

1 cup all-purpose flour ( I personally use 1/2 buckwheat)
1 cup yellow cornmeal

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar (I use 1/3 cup)

3 sweet potatoes or 1 (16 ounce) cans sweet potatoes  (I use 2 cups mashed, a little mounded)

2 eggs

6 tablespoons milk (almond milk works well)

3 tablespoons oil
(I use butter, but coconut oil would also be great)

  1. Mom's is the ultimate example of a life well-lived. I am in total awe of her. She's smart, accomplished, beautiful-inside and out-loving, courageous, and bubbling over with the sheer joy of living.
  2. It's been an easy fifty years for Dad, clearly. To further endear her to me personally, she and her friends turn out some excellent eats! Mom herself makes this sweet potato cornbread that is worth driving all the way to Mountain Pine, Arkansas, for, but you won't have to-here's how you do it.
  3. Mix together this dry stuff: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup yellow cornmeal, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup sugar.
  4. Separetely, mix together this wet stuff: 3 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (or you may use 1 16 ounce can of sweet potatoes, and in this recipe, it really is okay not to use home-cooked ones, I would tell you if it mattered), 2 eggs, 6 tablespoons milk, and 3 tablespoons oil.
  5. Then mix the dry stuff and the wet stuff, just until it's all moist (don't beat it to death), then put it in greased muffin tins and bake at 425 until done-usually about 15 to 20 minutes.


BRUSSELS SPROUTS PREP

If you haven't experienced Brussels Sprouts on the stalk yet, you may be confused about what comes next! Take a sharp knife and separate the sprouts from the stalk. Swish the little cabbage heads around in a sink full of water. Remove them and cut the small core off of the bottom. The smaller sprouts can be cooked whole, the bigger ones are best cut in half. The larger leaves that fall off the little heads can be cooked up right with everything else. We put a lot of good recipes ideas up on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page and our favorite down below.

BRUSSELS AND BACON

10 small brussels sprouts
2 bacon slices
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 TBSP heavy cream or half and half
Salt and pepper


Cut sprouts in half lengthwise. Cook bacon in skillet on med high and remove when crispy. Add Brussels sprouts to skillet and fry until they start to brown around the edges. Add garlic slices and fry 1 minute until softened. Add cream and stir til slightly thickened.  Serve hot sprinkled with bacon crumbled over the top. Salt and pepper to taste. YUM!!!

CREAMY CHORIZO POTATO SOUP WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS

8 ounces Spanish chorizo, finely diced (Brennans in Madison is a good source)
1 medium white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. brussels sprouts, finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups (about 1/2 pound) diced Yukon gold or Peter Wilcox potatoes
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
¾ cup half and half or milk or yogurt

optional toppings: shredded Manchego or Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh parsley, reserved chorizo

Saute chorizo in a large stockpot over medium high heat until cooked, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove chorizo with a slotted spoon. Reserve 2 tablespoons of grease in the stockpot, and discard the rest. (or save for breakfast potatoes!) Add onion to the stockpot, and saute in the chorizo grease for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and brussels sprouts, and saute for an additional 3 minutes or until the brussels sprouts begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth, potatoes, paprika, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. If you would like a pureed soup, blend soup using an immersion blender or stand blender. If you would like a chunkier soup, leave it as is. Stir in cream/milk and chorizo, reserving 1/4 cup chorizo for toppings if desired. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.


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