What's Up, Butternut?

Dating a guy who not only loves to cook, but is really dang good at it is pretty cool for a girl like me.  Even better is that he's classically trained (from the CCA) and a big science guy, so he teaches me new things all the time and can answer every one of my culinary questions. And even though he rolls his eyes a lot at the wackadoo "natural chef" stuff I tell him I'm going to cook, I know he learns from me, too.  Best of all though, is that whenever I say that I want to try making something (well, something "normal"), he's always game.

So my new fascination was homemade pasta. I told Tom I wanted to make Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce for the Farm to Table dinner at Farm Girl Nursery.  I had only made my own pasta once before in the Natural Chef program over two years ago, and had no recollection of how I made it.  He jumped at the chance to refresh my memory.  He dug out his pasta maker, his "Pasta Facile" (a motorized attachment that passes the pasta sheets through), and his ravioli molds....and away we go!

So let's start with the pasta.....semolina.  You can get some tips on making it from Tom's blog, but we pretty much followed the directions on the package::

While Tom took to the pasta (felt a little like someone else doing my homework) I set to making the filling.

I started with a simple flavor profile....butternut squash, sage, walnuts.  Then added some essentials: olive oil, half & half and apple cider vinegar.  Real food, fresh ingredients.....don't need much to make it taste great!

I roasted cubes of butternut squash and popped it into a food processor for a little go-around, until it came together into a smooth, creamy texture.  I added the sage and chopped walnuts and gave it another spin, then with the motor running, drizzled in the olive oil, half & half, and apple cider vinegar (the acid from apple cider, red wine or white wine vinegars will brighten almost anything you think needs "a little something").

Tom has these great ravioli molds.... we laid a sheet of pasta in, brushed them with a beaten egg

 (works like glue)...

... then filled them with the butternut puree...

... topped them with another sheet of pasta and used this cute little, baby rolling pin to press the pasta onto the mold, which essentially cuts the scalloped edges of the ravioli...

If this sounds like too much trouble for your busy life, I get it!  I can recommend using wonton wrappers (the square ones).  Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of a wrapper and wet the edges; top with another wrapper and seal the edges all around.  Works just as well.....but not nearly as satisfying as your own homemade pasta....but I get it, we don't all have a Tom in our kitchens whipping up fresh pasta for us.   No matter what you do, you gotta make this filling......

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli Filling

Makes approximately 2 cups

1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped  into 1” pieces

¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon half & half

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch pepper

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

·         Preheat oven to 400°.

·         Place squash on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast 20-30 minutes until softened.

·         Allow squash to cool slightly and pulse in food processor until well blended.

·         Add walnuts and sage and pulse to combine.

·         With motor running, drizzle in olive oil and half & half, and process until smooth.

·         Add vinegar, salt, pepper and nutmeg and process 1 minute more until creamy.

Tell me.....what is your absolute favorite pasta dish??????

Yum it up!!!

A Delicious Surprise

Saturday night was another Farm to Table dinner at Farm Girl Nursery.  I saw the guests beginning to arrive, so I went into full-steam mode, getting the first bite into the oven and ready to plate....

Figs stuffed with prosciutto, topped with Pt Reyes blue cheese and toasted walnut, then baked for 10 minutes and drizzled with pure maple syrup.  My culinary partner-in-crime, Tom, made these for me a few weeks ago, with the same fresh figs from his garden that we used Saturday, and I knew at first bite that these had to welcome everyone for the dinner.

Lisa, of Farm Girl Nursery, came to the kitchen door as I was racing around and asked me to come outside for a minute.  This had never happened before, so I was a little confused.  I was even more confused when I walked onto the porch and slowly started to recognize people I knew.  My brain went into some kind of weird slow motion groove.  Turns out my BFF Sue had organized a little surprise for me.  A couple months ago when I old her I was having a farm dinner on her birthday, she apparently got the idea to secretly invite some friends to come with her, and what she thought might be three or four of them turned into 14 (including my lovely sister, Michelle). 

I momentarily" lost my business" (it's rare that I am actually surprised), and when I went back into the kitchen I had to ask my crew what the heck we were serving for the first course!  Thankfully they had their act together and we were back in order.  First up: Thai Pumpkin Soup garnished with creme fraiche, pure maple syrup, and red chile strips (recipe follows)...

Next was a lovely salad:  Watercress, Asian Pear, Toasted Walnuts & Shaved Pecorino with a Champagne Vinaigrette.  This is another example of how using fresh, in-season produce elevates simple ingredients to delicious heights...delicate watercress, crisp pears, crunchy walnuts, salty cheese and a sweet dressing.  A perfect combination.

The tables got quite a bit more animated with our next course:  Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Browned Butter Sauce.  The excitement, the oooh's and aaaaah's were heard all the way into the kitchen. Tom made fresh semolina pasta sheets that we laid into ravioli molds and stuffed with creamy roasted butternut-sage puree.  We topped the little pillows with browned butter and a crispy sage leaf. (I'll do a separate post with recipes later in the week).

By the time we got to the entree, I was visiting with friends, and it escaped my camera's lens, but it was delicious...trust me!  Pork medallions marinated in apple concentrate, olive oil, thyme, Dijon, garlic and shallots.  We made a roasted pork bone broth during the week that Tom reduced down and added to onions, carrots and celery, with a full-bodied red wine to create a wonderful sauce that had everyone begging for more.  The pork loin was topped with sauteed apples and onions and served along side my cauliflower "couscous" (cauliflower pulsed in a food processor until it's the consistency of couscous, then sauteed briefly in olive oil with turmeric and curry powder and tossed with currants).

And for dessert, we revisited the pumpkin patch....pumpkin bread pudding topped with homemade vanilla ice cream (made with coconut palm sugar instead of the white stuff....YUM!)

This may be our last Farm to Table Dinner for the year (too chilly), and it was certainly one I will never forget.  Cooking for anyone makes me extremely happy and fulfilled, but cooking for people you've known and loved most of your life....now that's really something!  My cup runneth over!!

Thai Pumpkin Soup

Serves 6

2 small sugar pie pumpkins, seeded and quartered

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped basil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped ginger

3 red chiles, seeded and chopped

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup coconut milk

¾ cup coconut cream (the solid part at the top of a can of coconut milk)

1 teaspoon grade B maple syrup

2 teaspoons lime juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Crème fraiche & maple syrup for garnish

·         Preheat oven to 400°.

·         Place pumpkin slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

·         When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the skin and chop the flesh into bite-sized pieces.

·         In a medium saucepan heat oil and sauté 8-10 minutes until softened.

·         Add pumpkin, basil, tomato paste, garlic, ginger and chiles and sauté another couple minutes.

·         Add broth, coconut milk and coconut cream.  Stir to combine.

·         Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.

·         Transfer to a blender and working in batches, puree until smooth.

·         Return to pot and add maple syrup and salt & pepper to taste.

·         Garnish with crème fraiche and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Farm Fresh

Wow, been crazy busy lately and haven't had time for posting (busy is good, so I can't complain).  Couple things I want to share with you from the past couple weeks.

If you've been following this blog, you know that I started doing Farm to Table dinners with Lisa Marvier at Farm Girl Nursery last month.  You might also remember that we were brought together by food blogger extraordinaire, Karen Pavone.  Two weekends ago Karen put together a beautiful evening at Farm Girl Nursery that included nine women involved in the SLOW Food movement (think the opposite of fast food....local, seasonal, organic, real food).  She called it "The Farmanistas' Dinner," and I was fortunate enough to be among this group of wonderful women....

We each brought a dish that was grown in our own gardens, farms or from local purveyors that highlighted the season.  Not sure if the food was delicious because it was clearly made with love or because it was made with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients or because these women certainly know their way around the kitchen.....I think it was all of the above!  I ate more than I should have, and didn't regret it one minute!  We laughed, shared our stories and dreams for the future, drank wine, and made new connections and friendships...a magical evening....

How do I top that?  Well, with another magical evening..... September's Farm to Table dinner at Farm Girl Nursery. 

This dinner was extra special; 32 guests (word got out and we stepped it up big time from the 18 at our first dinner last month!) and a very special guest, Agnes Kwenda, the founder of Precious Lives Foundation in Zimbabwe. Agnes started Precious Lives at the tender age of 29 in response to the overwhelming problem of abandoned babies in the region in which she lives.  She soon realized that there was just as great a need, if not greater need, to help the poor young women (often victims of rape, and mercilessly ousted from their villages because of that) who gave birth to these babies, but had no means to provide for them.  Here is the beautiful Agnes and my wonderful team of chefs who helped me that night, Wesley, Tom and Britt:

We started with an amuse bouche of my mushroom pate while the guests mingled and enjoyed some wine and a walked around the farm.  Once seated they were met with a panzanella bread salad,

followed by a sweet corn bisque topped with crispy shiitakes (recipe below)

 then individual rounds of my summer vegetable gratin ( my spin on Ina Garten's VegetableTian) and roasted halibut served on a bed of baby greens, juicy cherry tomatoes and crisp cucumber.

I came out before each course to a joyful group of people to talk about where the food came from and how it was prepared and answer their questions...and share their wine...they were so generous and lovely!



And we topped off the meal with my wack-a-doo Orange-Infused Chocolate Chia Pudding topped with a berry compote and a bit of whipped cream...

I was so immersed in the evening (and always a little nervous), getting the food out on time, properly plating the dishes, helping clean up and set the next course, and talking to the guests about the meal that I hadn't even noticed that all the plates came back licked clean, until Tom pointed it out to me.  That's a good night!  It turned out to be another one of those magical nights that you wish would never end.....

Our next Farm to Table dinner is scheduled for October 20th and is almost sold out, so if you're interested, email me at suzanne@cookingbythebay.com.  In the meantime try this simple, yet delicious Sweet Corn Bisque....

Sweet Corn Bisque

Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 ears corn, kernels removed from cob

½ cup chopped onion

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons vegetable broth

¼ cup half & half

Salt & pepper to taste

·         Heat oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

·         Add onions and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.

·         When brown bits begin to appear in bottom of pan, deglaze with a little vegetable broth, scraping up the brown bits.  Continue to do so until corn and onions are lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes.

·         Add vegetable broth, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

·         Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.

·         Return to pot and stir in the half and half.

·         Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Fresh Berry Tart

Last summer when I was doing cooking demos at the farmers' markets in Sonoma and Marin, I made this very simple dessert.  I probably shouldn't share it because I had people asking me if I was selling them.  (I've got dibs!!!)  But it's so good and so easy to make, that I can't keep it from you (I'm such a giver!)

The really nice thing about this is that it's gluten free and vegan; the crust is made with nuts and dates.  I usually make it with pecans and walnuts because I always have them in my freezer for salads and pasta, but I've made it with macadamia nuts and almonds, too, and that works great.  It's essentially equal portions of nuts, with about 6-8 dates and a little lemon zest.  The dates not only naturally sweeten the crust but help bind it.  No white flour, no white sugar.....who says healthy and delicious can't exist together?  Not this girl!

You can make this a raw dessert (since the crust is not cooked) by simply adding fresh berries that you macerate with a little bit of palm sugar, but I prefer to cook the berries in a little coconut oil (makes the berries glisten and has a nice little background of flavor).  Cooking the berries for about 15 minutes draws out all of the juices from the fruit (the fresher the berries, the more juice you'll get).  I add some vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg with a pinch of salt, fill the tart shell and serve warm, chilled or at room temp.  That gives you a lot of flexibility if making this for a dinner party.

Earlier this month I did a version of this for my Farm to Table dinner at Farm Girl Nursery.  I had a number of guests come into the kitchen to ask me how I made it, and one woman said she had to give me a hug.... it was that good.  So if you need a hug, bust this one out!

Fresh Berry Tart
Serves 8

1 cup walnuts

1 cup pecans

8 dates, pitted and quartered

Zest of one lemon

2 teaspoons coconut oil

1 pint strawberries, sliced

1 cup blueberries

1 cup raspberries 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons chopped mint, plus extra for garnish

·         To make crust, put walnuts, pecans, and  dates in a food processor and blend until it resembles breadcrumbs. 

·         Add lemon zest and pulse to combine.

·         Form into a pie plate and set in fridge until ready to fill.

·         Meanwhile, melt coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

·         Add strawberries,  blueberries and raspberries.  Cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until juices release from the fruit.

·         Add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Stir to combine and cook an additional 2 minutes.

·         Remove from heat and add mint.  Let cool slightly.

·         Fill tart with filling and garnish with mint.  Can be served warm, cold or at room temperature.

 
Yum it up!!

Farm to Table....really!

A few months ago  I was introduced to Lisa Marvier, who had just opened Farm Girl Nursery close to my home in Marin County.  It's a beautiful little oasis tucked away in the country, where she grows tons of fruit and veggies, raises pigs, chickens, roosters, goats, ponies, bunnies, and if that's not enough, she also rescues race horses.  She is one wild powerhouse, and I am so glad to call her a friend.  We met because of a mutual interest in teaching people; Lisa teaches people how easy it is to grow your own food, no matter what space you have (I think I saw her growing something in a lunch box!), and I teach people how to cook those foods.  What started as a potential business partnership has turned into a beautiful friendship. Love that lady!

As I've written before, we started with a kids' camp, where they spend the day learning, harvesting, playing, feeding farm animals, etc.  And then I take them into the garden to collect fresh veggies and fruit for a lunch that we cook together.  It's a whole lot of fun!

Our latest venture is Farm to Table dinners: a five course meal inspired by and created from the bounty of the farm.  Last night was our very first....

This was the scene when I arrived.  In a matter of hours this table would be filled with 18 eager diners.  By the end of the evening, these strangers would become friends, and my heart would be full. 

We started with a Stacked Caprese Salad using colorful heirloom tomatoes and basil from the farm, sandwiched between fresh mozzarella and drizzled with sea salt, freshly cracked balck pepper, balsamic and olive oil.  This is a prefect illustration of what I love to tell people: when you use fresh, in-season produce, there's very little you need to do to it to make it taste fantastic.

We followed that up with a new favorite of mine, green gazpacho.  This chilled soup is a new Bauman College recipe (not sure of the origin beyond that), and it was love at first bite for me (and apparently everyone else last night!  I've made slight adjustments to the recipe (below), but it's essentially anything green and fresh: avocado, peas, cucumber, zucchini, green grapes, chile pepper, tomatillos, cilantro, mint, lime juice and coconut water (OK, that last one's not green).  Soooo refreshing, especially on a hot night like we had that night!  I garnished it with a little brunoise of watermelon radish, giving it a nice color contrast and a little spicy kick..

The next course was my creamy farrotto, made with fresh summer squash, onions, garlic and corn from the farm. (I think Lisa dug into it too fast to take a picture, but you've seen it a million times in this blog.).  That course was followed by the main dish, organic chicken breast stuffed with herb goat cheese, served over braised greens from the farm and topped with a tomato salad...

We finished with a delicious dessert (which unfortunately escaped a photograph, also... I'm going to blame the wine on that one!)  I made a free-form tartlet, with a nut & date crust, topped with berries sauteed in coconut oil with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.  On the side we served a homemade vanilla ice cream.  I'm not a fan of white sugar, so we used coconut palm sugar, which because it's natural, is brown.  This created a lovely mocha colored ice cream (just whole milk, cream, vanilla, and the sugar) with a distinct maple flavor.  I'm not a big sweets girl, but dang, that was delish!!!

It's one of those days when I am so thankful that I decided to take a big leap of faith, change my life and take up cooking.  The love and appreciation from that table warmed my heart.  And it inspires me to cook and cook and cook some more....

What inspires you?

Farm Girl Gazpacho
Serves 6-8

3 tomatillos, husks removed, and chopped
1 avocado, pitted and peeled and chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup green grapes
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
8 mint leaves
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 1/2 cups coconut water
1/4 fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

• Place tomatillos, avocado. jalapeno, cucumber, zucchini. bell pepper, grapes and peas in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
• Add mint, cilantro, chives, and garlic and process again to combine.
• Add the mixture to a blender and add the coconut water, lime juice, and olive oil, working in batches if necessary.
• Blend the soup a few minutes until completely smooth and creamy.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Yum it up!!

Kidding Around

I have been really blessed since I made the choice to leave my corporate life and enter the world of cooking.  I have met some wonderful people along the way.  There are the people in my cooking classes who bring laughter and joy into my home; the "culinary guru" that I was lucky to spend some time with, who inspired the "intuitive" cook in me to look at the "science" side of cooking; the students at Bauman who teach me as much as (if not more than) I try to teach them; my social media "whiz kid" who refuses to let me believe "I'm too old for that stuff," and then there's Lisa, of Farm Girl Nursery.

Last summer a woman named Karen Pavone, came to one of my cooking classes and asked if I minded her taking pictures, interviewing me a little bit and writing about my class.  Wishing I had spent a little more time doing my hair and makeup, I sheepishly agreed.   I began following her wonderful blog (and not just the post about me!) highlighting the farm to table movement in Marin & Sonoma County.  After a story she did on school gardens, we chatted about how I wanted to get involved in teaching kids not just about growing fresh veggies, but how to cook them in a way that they would actually eat them.  And she introduced me to Lisa Marvier, who at the time was just fixin' to open a farm/nursery.

Lisa and I met for the first time on a sunny April afternoon.  We walked through the farm, her sweet store where she sells books, starters and seeds, and I met all the farm animals: horses, ponies, chickens, roosters, goats, pigs.  My favorite remains the two little pigs that think they're dogs - they come when she calls them, just like her three pups. Although the new baby goats do tug at my heart.  Then she and I sat down to talk....and talk and talk.  We were kindred spirits from the get-go (so lucky when you find people like that in your life) and shared the same vision of teaching people how to eat and be healthy.  And we agreed that a great place to start was with kids.  And The Farm Girl Nursery Kids' Camp was formalized.  Lisa had been thinking about it for a while (she's got so many ideas jumping around in that head of hers!), but we decided to add a cooking class to the mix.

Today was our second camp together, possibly the last of the summer (though I think she's trying to figure out how to squeeze one more in while the weather's good).  The kids started the day learning from a bee keeper and a woman who raises chickens, and then after a bit of zip lining (yes, zip lining!) I take them into the gardens and we harvest fruit and veggies for lunch.  The little ones stay out on the porch to whip up a batch of ice cream (old-school style...with the ice, rock salt and a good old fashioned crank handle!), and the bigger kids come into the kitchen with me to cook.

My older little helpers, after a lesson on knife safety and under close supervision, chopped cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and basil for our quinoa pasta salad.  The younger ones, stripped rosemary sprigs to create skewers and scooped melon balls to create kebabs of watermelon and berries from the farm (great with the ice cream).  After showing them all how to quickly and easily to strip the kale leaves off the stem, I took on the task of making kale chips (big hit with my Kitchen Crew!).

Then it was time to eat!  It's so wonderful to see kids eat good stuff!  It's much easier to do it if they have a hand in growing it, picking it, and cooking it.  Give it a try.  My nephews aren't huge vegetable fans, and I never knew them to eat zucchini in their lives......until they grew some one year.  They were so proud that they couldn't wait to learn how to cook it.  No matter if you have a big yard or a balcony, you can grow something to eat.  Just look at these happy faces..... that's all the inspiration you need.

 

Cheezie Kale Chips
Serve 6-8

2 bunches dino (aka Lacinato) kale, rinsed, stemmed and ripped into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Place kale on 2 parchment paper lined baking sheets.
• Divide olive oil between the two sheets, and toss to coat.
• Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and salt.
• Bake 15-20 minutes until crispy.  Check occasionally to be sure they don't burn.

Yum It up! 
And see, no cheese; I used nutritional yeast to give the cheesy flavor.  Well, yes that was a little feta on the quinoa pasta salad, but Lisa made me do it!! :)