Growing Garlic

Hard neck German Reds

   I grow some fresh veggies and mushrooms in and around the house mainly for health reasons and cost. This year is my second year for garlic.
    The unusual thing about growing garlic is that you plant in the fall and wait until June or July to pick. In my zone (6b) you plant it in October.
    It's a fairly easy plant to raise. I use a raised bed, tilled the soil, added some compost, and then planted each clove separately with the pointy end up, about an inch below the soil and about 3 inches apart. You then water and keep the soil nice and moist. During November I pile on the leaves and water one more time and then wait for the magic to happen in May. This year I did one soft neck and one hard neck garlic.
  

 The soft neck was California early. I had a terrible time with this garlic. It sprouted two weeks after I planted it, it's not supposed to sprout until June, and I had a poor crop because of it. The bulbs were really small and I lost quite a few due to the early sprouting. I was able to save these few by piling extra mounds of leaves on top of them.

California Early "crop"

  You should add leaves in the fall to the garlic for warmth but they shouldn't sprout. They shouldn't do anything until May.
    The German Reds, however, came out great. They sprouted in May and I left them in until July. I got about 18 bulbs compared to about 6 of the California Early. You should get at least one bulb for every clove that you plant.
      In June I got garlic scapes from the German Reds!
These are small bulbs that grow from the center of hard neck garlic. If not picked they will turn into a beautiful flower and cause your garlic to be smaller. Being pretty doesn't always add up.

Scapes galore!

The scapes are very pungent and are a nice preview to what the garlic might taste like. Some people like to make pesto from it or I like to just use them as garlic cloves in cooking.
   So now I have about a years supply of garlic and them some for roasting!

Coconut Lemon Bars

      I love the recipe for Lemon Ricotta Bars on Food52 , it's just that sometimes when I want lemon bars I want them a.s.a.p instead of waiting about a day. The crust alone is delish but you have to refrigerate it for 30 minutes then bake it for 30 minutes, and then you have to bake it again for another 30 with the custard, lastly the hardest part is waiting 2 hours for it to cool. This is not including draining the ricotta which takes about 24 hours.
     So, instead for tonight to cure my lemon bar craving I headed back to the good old trusty Alphabakery cookbook and made the lemon bars with coconut with a few minor adjustments. I used all the regular ingredients except for the flour I used Dolmata gluten free flour and less of it because it's rice based and soaks up quite a bit more liquid than the wheat based flours. I also add a lot more lemon and lemon peel because I like that little extra sourness, and as an added note I only use organic lemons because I don't like "edible wax" on my lemon peel. And lastly on the lemons, I am sure you are getting sour about all my lemon comments, I really, really, hate and I mean really hate pulp and seeds in my lemon bars so I double strain the juice. 

I SAID NO PULP!!

I also add lemon peel to the crust, like in the lemon ricotta bar recipe, but just 1 teaspoon for an added punch of sour.





Coconut Lemon Bars
For the crust;
3/4 of flour
1/2 cup of  melted butter
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon peel
   Preheat oven to 350°. Mix flour, buttah, powdered sugar, and lemon peel. Then Press in the bottom of an 8x8 pan, do not grease the pan, until even. Then bake for about  20 minutes. While it is baking make the custard.
For the custard;
3/4 cup granulated sugar, or a cup if you like it sweet.
2 teaspoons of lemon peel
6 tablespoons of lemon juice, or just two if you like it sweet. I'm sure you're really sweet.
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs beaten up pretty badly
1/2 cup of coconut
      Whisk all the ingredients for the custard together, if you dare you can taste it to adjust the sourness to your liking. At this point I put the mix in the refrigerator and clean the kitchen a bit while waiting for the crust to finish baking. Wait what's that beeping noise, it's the timer telling me the crust is done!

Now it's time to add the frothy topping with the coconut mixed in while the crust is still hot, hmmm listen to the sizzle of the crust as the cold, frothy, topping is poured on. I know what you are thinking, you pervert. Because that is not what I am thinking. Stop thinking and start doing.
   So anyway you put it back in the oven for about 25 minutes and when it's firm in the middle and a little bit brown on the edges it is done!
    So I like to think this is a good substitute for the lemon ricotta bars when I am in a pinch for something sour but doesn't take a few days to make.
Yummy sugary sourness.

Reading a Cookbook

Veggie Planet

When I get a new cookbook I usually dive right in and start cooking. I glance through it noticing the little side notes but lately I've been reading the book. I've noticed tips about pressing tofu, I prefer to dry fry, cooking spices, how to select produce, and much more.

Small food processor

                                          I am writing this post because of one of my favorite cookbooks, Entertaining for a Vegetarian Planet, has a lot of side notes in it as well as a guide to unusual ingredients. She, Didi Emmons, writes about all sorts of party planning with tidbits about brunches, cakes, cookies that wrappers can be set on fire to create rockets, "snacks in a flash", flavored ice cubes, menu planning, and other items.  One particular note, she calls it a "thumbnail recipe", that I like is a recipe for granola topping that can also be used as a muffin topping or in cake batter. It calls for cranberries, almonds, sugar, and cardamom. You put all the ingredients in a food processor and run it until they are chopped. I have a small food processor so I  stirred in the cardamom after processing the frozen cranberries, almonds, and sugar.

       To the left is a picture of it on granola,  it resembles cranberry sauce in tastes and looks but could probably be changed easily by using different fruit and spices. I think the hard part would be finding a fruit that is able to keep it's shape like the cranberries. For example apples, walnuts, and cinnamon might be a good combo. Or may a stone fruit, like a peach, that isn't too ripe with cardamom and almonds. I think frozen blueberries or raspberries might just make a purée and more of a sauce than a chunky topping.
     One last note she suggest putting milk (i.e. cows, almond, soy) on the granola with the topping. I prefer mine dry.

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bourbon Soaked Cherries

That is a lot of bourbon in one cookie but it's so tasty and delicious, and now I will tell you how to make them.
    The first step takes the longest but is the simplest part, the bourbon soaked cherries. You only add eight cherries to the recipe but you should make a lot for drinks,like Manhattans, or maybe a bourbon soaked cherry milkshake ( let me know how the last one turns out because I haven't done that yet), or even just pop them in your mouth when you need a quick pick me up. Just kidding... maybe...err yeah.

Cherries, Mason Jar, Bourbon

    All you need is a mason jar with a lid, some bourbon (I was using four roses yellow but decided to go all fancy on the blog with Buffalo Trace), and cherries. I went with frozen cherries due to price point and fresh cherries just aren't available right now. I have also tried this with dried cherries and my advice is to just don't do it. They came out looking like prune fingers and pretty chewy. JUST DON'T DO IT.

thawing cherries

    The first step is to pour the cherries in the mason jar and wait for them to thaw out. This takes about two hours, then you pour the bourbon over them and place the lid on the mason jar and refrigerate for a day or so. I always wait at least one day. I know it's hard but you can do it. Just think, in a day or so I can make some really tasty cookies!

Bourbon poured on cherries

 In case you've already been drinking the bourbon here are some visualizations.
And now it is time for the cookie recipe.
   As I have stated before I am a big fan of the Alphabakery Cookbook made by Gold Medal Flour. Just to clarify I like the cookbook not the flour.  The chocolate chip cookie recipe from there is good but I like to add vanilla, bourbon, bourbon soaked cherries, and I make a few minor adjustments.
I will now write out the recipe because I know you didn't come here for my candor.
Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bourbon Soaked Cherries
1/2 cup of evaporated cane sugar
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter, or one stick of butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of bourbon
1 1/4 cups of gluten free flour, if you are using regular flour then 1 1/2 cups
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 bourbon soaked cherries quartered
6 oz of chocolate chips

 1. Melt butter in a double boiler, then add sugars, egg, vanilla, and bourbon. Mix well.

cold cookie dough

2. Add flour, baking soda, and salt to the butter mixture. Mix again. Add quartered cherries and chocolate chips, stir, and then put in the freezer.
3. Heat the oven to 375°
4. After the oven has heated place spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Then cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Baking in the oven

5. Take the cookies out, and place the cookie pan on a wire rack and wait to cool.
Yeahh cookies!










     

Granola Bars

After weeks of making granola from several recipes found on line I finally gave up and decided to try granola bars.  I made this recipe not too sweet and not to decadent so it can be eaten at breakfast. It is also very pliable.  It can be made gluten free, vegan, and you can add other ingredients pretty easily.      

      I used butter (which could be subbed with earth balance or margarine), sugar, honey and molasses (or just molasses),  vanilla (optional), gluten free quick cooking oats,  ground pecans,  unsweetened coconut, and chocolate chips or some sort of fruit.

Mixing all the ingredients

 The first step is to melt the butter, sugar, honey and molasses together. Then add the vanilla, oats, nuts,coconut, and chocolate chips to the mix. Next you put the mixture into a prepared pan, pressing evenly, and bake for 22 minutes, then wait five minutes to cut into the bars and then another hour to cool and break apart completely. After that they can be stored on the counter in an air tight container. They don't last even a week around these parts!

Pressed into pan

Finished baking

Cut into bars

Here is the recipe !

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of honey

2 tablespoons of molasses

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups of quick cooking oats

1/3 cup of ground nuts

2 cups of unsweetened coconut

1/3 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 º and prepare an 11 x 8 pan by buttering and then layering with parchment paper, once lengthwise and once crosswise.

      Then melt the butter with the sugar, honey, and molasses. Add the vanilla and stir. Add the rest of the ingredients. It will look dry but will be some what sticky. Then pour the ingredients into the prepared pan and press evenly. Sprinkle with extra coconut and chocolate chips and put in the oven for 22 minutes. Take the granola bars out and then let sit for five minutes. After five minutes cut into 14 bars. Then let sit for about an hour before removing the bars from the pan.

Simple syrups

I like to make simple syrups. They are easy to make, and add different flavor dimensions to drinks and other foods. A simple syrup is usually equal parts sugar and water with some sort of flavoring. I like to use a bit less of sugar and lots of spices. The two I have give here as examples are a lavender syrup and a chai syrup. Other ones that I have made are a rosemary and sage simple syrup and a juniper berry and sage simple syrup.
The first syrup for this blog is the lavender simple syrup.
I used one and a half cups of water, a half cup of sugar, and one and a half tablespoons of lavender.

I combined all the ingredients and heated it on the stove until the sugar dissolved. I then bring it to a boil and then simmer it for 15 minutes. After that it steeps for another 15 minutes. Once it cools I strain the lavender out and pour it out into a mason glass.
This syrup is good in mixed drinks, lemonades, and with earl grey tea.

Another syrup I like to make is the tealess chai syrup from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Didi Emmons. I make chai tea and sometimes add it to my mixed drinks from time to time.
I use raw honey, cloves, star anise, cardamon pods, and fresh ginger, mix it with water, stir it and then bring it to a boil. Then it simmers for an hour, making the whole house smell like a big cup of chai tea !
 After it cools I strain it into two mason jars .

Not as Dense Brownies

The last brownie blog that I posted was, admittedly, a very dense brownie which some people like. Others prefer a less dense brownie, so this blog post is for those who like the slightly fluffier brownie.

This recipe is a variation from the Alpha-Bakery Gold Medal Flour Cookbook found under F is for Fudge Brownie.

This recipe is simple and only uses one pan for prep and one for cooking. I follow the recipe, except that I add about 1- 2 Tablespoons of Cocoa, depending on how "chocolately" I want the brownie to be.
The ingredients are a half a stick of butter, I use unsalted, 6 oz of chocolate chips, sugar, flour, vanilla, baking powder, salt, eggs, and chocolate chips and nuts if you want.
As a note, I tried using Sunspire chocolate chips in this recipe, but it made it have an odd texture so I suggested just using Hershey's or Nestlés for these.

The first step is to melt the chocolate chips with the butter at a low heat, then after it melts  take it off the heat and add all the other ingredients and stir.

 Scrape the batter into a buttered 8x8 pan and bake it at 350° for about 20 minutes. Let sit for about a half hour, and then you may have a less dense brownie.