The Houndstooth Gourmet

What a fantastic couple of days these have been. Once again on Friday I was at the Kingstowne farmer’s markets reveling in the produce, breads, jams, artisan cheeses and ice cream. Although the temperature read 81, the air was clear and the wind threatened to raise the canopies as their ropes strained against the intermittant gusts.

To update, corn (albeit small) and tomatoes are still here! I scored a dozen ears of corn for $3.50, which is quite the bargain in this neck of the wood. Tomatoes were $1.99 a lb. and taste just as good as they did last month. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t buy cheaper seconds in bulk this week. My hope is to do this sometime soon so I can make several more quarts of tomato sauce.

Along with the perfunctory tomatoes and corn, I bought zucchini and yellow squash, and these.

Can you guess what they are (besides ugly)?

Now, a slight miscommunication with my better half last week left me without a pint of my newly rediscovered favorite ice cream flavor: mint chocolate chip(we’d bought a pint the week before and absolutely loved it). Let’s see, it went something like this:
“Oh look, she (the Middleburg Creamery and Country Store) has that chocolate truffle thingy ice cream and mint chocolate chip!”, I said to Frank as I pointed to the sign in the truck window.
“OK, let’s head over there after Allenberg Orchards”, he remarked.
OK…..so far we’re on board. We lined up for the ice cream and “Oh, there’s Smita at Crackpot Gourmet” I said, excited to introduce myself to her.
I visited with Smita and joined up with my husband, who was holding a cold white bag. Yes, the ice cream.
We got home and Frank put the bag on the kitchen island and unloaded the chocolate truffle thingy ice cream. I told him to put both pints in the freezer downstairs.
*blank stare* “I only got one”, he remarked gingerly as if waiting for a forehead slap from yours-truly.
“OMG!! you didn’t get the two I mentioned?” Huff..huff…huff.
“Ah, um….no”
“Ack! We like need, I don’t know, couples counseling! We just don’t communicate!” I bemoaned, as if my world were teetering on a very thin edge of mint chocolate chip ice cream-less misery.
“I’ll go back”, Frank offered
“It’s OK” I spoke a little more softly, reigning in my insanity. “I’ll buy more next week. But why oh why didn’t you get the mint chocolate chip?” *whiny tantrum over*
(Men put up with a lot of hormonal garbage, admit it ladies)
Moments later, with restored sanity and steadied nerves,I saw we still had plenty of berry sorbet in our kitchen freezer. Tragedy was averted and the world was good again.

This week at the alter of delicious ice cream goodness, I got myself 3 count’em 3 pints.

French Vanilla Espresso
Mint Chocolate Chip
Pumpkin

Saturday morning started with loading Tucker and Cole into the Boobaroo and taking them to the groomer. Our groomer (Pet de Lite) is a lovely woman with whom conversing is pleasant if not a bit “lost in translation” due to English being her second language. With trepidation I told her that I wanted Tucker’s hair just trimmed on his body, but to really clean up his face and legs. “No summer cut”, I said hoping that ESP would have her seeing the picture of Tucker in my head if I concentrated hard enough. Not Yeti, but not like one of those Persian cats who has bad allergies and gets shaved so they wind up looking absolutely ridiculous. Don’t laugh. He’s been snickered at before. She intently entered all instructions into her computer. Cole could get the usual puppy cut with a snowball head. We left the dynamic duo in good hands and headed back home to pick up Daisy and spend the morning in Old Town.

Our first order of business was breakfast. Old Town seemingly has more and more breakfast options and King Street Cafe is one of them. They make a good, cheap breakfast sandwich that is all I need to fuel me up for a nice walk and visit to the market. Saturday’s al fresco breakfast was enjoyable in the shady coolness.

Farmers Market- Part 2

I haven’t been to the market in Old Town in forever. I’ve looked down on it, to be truthful. I’ve seen it with mostly crafts and very few true farmers and artisans. But yesterday, the market was bustling with vendors and market goers alike. What struck me most was the amount of baked goods, jams and honeys. Savory biscuits were popular as were products using Virginia ham. The produce was beautiful and I felt as though I was in sea of apples, corn, pepper and leafy greens.
With my appetite for market goods not sated with my Friday market visit, on Saturday I bought shitake mushrooms, a savory scone and small raspberry loaf from Maribeth’s Bakery, and a bag of Lapsang Souchong tea (which I want to cook with).

If anyone has tried smoking and cooking with Lapsang Souchon tea, please share your experiences!

 Enjoy a slideshow of Old Town!

[slideshow id=576460752318702306&w=426&h=320]

Tags: Alexandria, farmers markets, Virginia by Ramona
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Plums had been showing up at my local farmers markets and their aubergine beauty drew me to them.

I dabbled in a plum upside down cake yet still had a handful leftover. They were beginning to look a little sad and shriveled so “what to do with them?”, I thought. It’s fall and I begin to think about roasts and turkey married with delicious fruits. “Ah, a sauce!”.
Here’s a recipe for a sauce using plums and savory herbs. The flavors compliment meats such as pork, chicken, turkey and veal.

Enjoy.

What you’ll need:

For the sauce.

Ingredients:

8 prune plums or 2 black plums halved, pitted and sliced
3 Tbsp. raspberry jam
1 Tbsp. butter
1 shallot diced fine
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped fine (or 2 tsp. dry)
1 Tbsp. fresh sage chopped fine (or 1 tsp. dry)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add herbs and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and plums. Simmer in covered pan for 10 minutes, until plums are completely softened. Add jam and balsamic vinegar. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add butter, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate.

This sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead, or frozen and gently reheated when ready to use.

For the pork.

Turn on broiler and place rack 6-8 inches below broiler.
Pat 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick boneless pork chops dry. Salt and pepper each side. Place pork chops in a pan lined with heavy duty aluminum foil.
Place pan on rack under broiler and broil on each side for 5 minutes. Turn off broiler and set oven to 425 degrees. Allow pork chops to continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees. Allow pork chops to rest for 8-10 minutes before serving with plum sauce.

For cleaning.

Ingredients:

1 dishwasher

1 Bichon Frise

* Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly event sponsored by Kalyn’s Kitchen and hosted by Ulrike at Küchenlatein this week.

Tags: sauce, Recipe, pork, fruit by Ramona
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On Saturday, I packed up my Bichon Frise, Cole, and headed to Del Ray. Looking at the slide show in this post, you can see dogs are very popular in Del Ray. While not allowed in the market proper, they are welcomed on the grass nearby. Cole got to cavort with a nice black lab while his mama went shopping.

(He was way more excited to go to the market. He gets to lick babies)

Indian Summer came on cue one day before the Autumnal Equinox. Fittingly, nectarines were still available at Toigo’s stand, as were Bartlett pears. I bought a handful of each and wandered over to the “cheese guy” from Apple Tree Goat Dairy. Based on my enjoyment of his mediteranean herb covered chevre, I bought a cheddar-horseradish chevre this time around.

Next, I headed over to the farmers from Reva, Va. (first stall on the left as you enter the parking lot). These folks are so nice and their prices are easy on the wallet. I picked up kale and a butternut squash. Finally, as I could hardly wait a minute longer, I bought a chicken saltena from Marcela’s Bakery stand. These golden and spicy stew filled savory pastries were piping hot out of the oven just up the street. It was still good and warm when I got it home and tucked into it’s goodness.

The goat cheese chevre was fantastic. At $9 for a large log, it’s truly a deal and lasts for at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator, wrapped in a paper towel an sealed in a plastic bag. Here’s my favorite new snack: chevre on toast with a slice of fresh field tomato.

Stay tuned for a recipe using the kale: Caldo Verde. Yum!

Tags: Alexandria, farmers markets, Virginia, Markets, dogs by Ramona
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A painter sees a flower and is inspired to paint. An architect sees a building and envisions how to build it. A poet experiences a powerful life event and takes pen to paper. I see fresh, available ingredients and think about their peak of flavor, how they work with other ingredients and what recipes make them shine.

Working with my farmers market purchases this week, the next recipe up is going to use the kale I got from the Del Ray market.

Caldo Verde, or Portuguese kale soup, is a delicious hearty dish that’s high in nutrients and fiber and big on taste. Served as a first course, or main dish with hearty bread, this verdant symbol of Portuguese cuisine satisfies both cook and consumer due to the ease of preparation and accessibility of ingredients. I first discovered caldo verde when watching an episode of Emeril. The colors looked great and I happened to have a bit of Polish kielbasa on hand and thought “what the heck?”. I tried it. I liked it.

Now, I’ve made caldo verde with chorizo and linguica with tasty results. Being Polish, and having kielbasa on hand much of the time, I’ve taken to making this soup with smoked Polish sausage. I find the kielbasa seasoning goes a long way in flavoring the stock. In this recipe, I use only 8 ounces of turkey kielbasa, in the name of making this soup as healthy as it is robust.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, diced into half inch squares

8 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

1 lb. kale, sliced thinly into “ribbons” after rib has been removed*

8 ounces kielbasa, chorizo or linguica, casing removed and diced fine

pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a dutch oven or heavy pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and continue to cook for an additional 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and water. Place potatoes into pot and cook at a strong simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Using a potato masher or large fork, break up about half the potatoes to release starch and thicken soup.

Add thinly sliced kale, red pepper flakes and kielbasa. Salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer partially covered over low heat an additional 20 minutes to soften kale.

Serving suggestions: Drizzle a small amount of good extra virgin olive oil over individual servings at the table.

* Chiffonade is a cutting technique which results in thin strips or ribbons. Take leaves and pile one on top of the other. Roll tightly like a cigar and cut across the roll to make ribbons. This cutting method can be used for leafy greens and herbs such as basil.

Tucker says “Good soup that’s good for you!” In dog speak, of course….

Tags: Kale, soup, Recipe, potatoes, dogs by Ramona
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OK. So I got a little silly when making tomato sauce. What’s food for if not to play with once in a while?

If you follow along with me here at The Houndstooth Gourmet, you know that I’m a big fan of farmers markets and seasonal cooking. Last week, part of my market harvest was tomato seconds which I bought to make fresh tomato sauce using Marcella Hazan’s basic recipe. It’s more like a method than an recipe with exact measurements.

First, I cored the tomatoes and sliced them in half. Using a heavy pan, I cooked them covered, over medium heat for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. When the tomatoes were softened, I ran them through a food mill and returned the strained tomatoes to the pan.

Next, I added a peeled onion, cut in half, and about 5 tablespoons of butter (see Mr. Tomato Head above). This was cooked at a low simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Discard the onion before refrigerating or freezing.

I salted the tomato sauce throughout the reduction process, being careful not to load all the salt at the beginning because the sauce concentrates as it simmers away.

Nine tomatoes yielded almost 2 quarts of simple, delicious sauce.

Note: You can use canned tomatoes for this recipe, but avoid using tomatoes packed in puree. Puree tomatoes are cooked and this detracts from the fresh brightness of this tomato sauce.

Serving ideas: This sauce is great for gnocchi and pastas such as spaghetti or linguine. How about serving it with my meatballs? (good idea!) Serve with fresh shredded basil and grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese.

Tags: tomatoes, sauce, Recipe by Ramona
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