I just discovered grape seed oil in the bulk section at the market. Initially I was attracted by its green color. What a surprise – a painter attracted by color! It is greener than any olive oil I have ever seen.

High in antioxidants, and bio-flavonoids, a polyunsaturated oil containing the highest amount among any oil or food source of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid that the human body can not produce, it is healthier than olive oil. One tablespoon provides nearly the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin E.

Grape seed oil has a relatively high smoke point and can be safely used to cook at high temperature for deep frying as well as in stir-fries and sautéing. Its light, nutty taste makes it perfect for salad dressing, as a base for flavor infused oils, and in homemade mayonnaise. Although sometimes referred to as a vegetable oil it is actually fruit oil.

Grape seed oil is widely used as a base for skin care products, is used as a carrier for aromatherapy and makes great massage oil.

Surely with all of this to recommend it, you can find space in your pantry for a bottle of it.

Tonight we celebrate Anne’s birthday with a cake.

Strawberries Chocolate Raspberries

Rather than spelling out the details of a two day baking process – I’ll give you the essentials and trust that you will be able to sort out the more mundane elements.

This cake had seven layers, (eight if you count the plate).
Whipped Cream
Berry MousseCake
Berry Mousse
Meringue
Whipped Cream
Cake
Plate

To make two layers of the richest, most dense chocolate cake flavored with expresso, rum, and Callebaut chocolate, I adapted Susan G. Purdy’s recipe for Marvelous Mud Cake from my chocolate spotted edition of her book, A Piece of Cake.

The meringue was made with four egg whites, a quarter of a cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of vanilla and cup of sugar mixed with two tablespoons of cornstarch.

It’s a simple process, the egg whites are beaten with the salt and lemon juice until foamy, the quarter of a cup of sugar is beaten in gradually until the egg whites have formed stiff shiny peaks, then the vanilla and sugar/cornstarch is folded in. Using a cake pan I drew a circle on a piece of parchment paper, spread the meringue onto the paper and piped small meringue kisses with the rest.

The meringues baked for two hours at two hundred degrees, and spent the night in the turned off the oven, protected from humid air and any mice passing through the kitchen.

The berry mousse I made was a mixture of raspberries, strawberries, cassis, gelatin and whipped cream. Your favorite recipe will work – it can be as simple as sweetened fruit folded into whipped cream or complicated enough to make Julia Child proud.

In Vermont whipped cream begins with cold, heavy cream, in a glass bottle from a local dairy and is not ultra-pasteurized. The cream is beaten until stiff and that’s it. No sugar, no vanilla, no additions necessary. I used three cups of cream.

The party was a delicious event, the cake remained intact for the drive up the beautiful but rutted dirt road and after an amazing dinner, we tried to dance off calories with songs like Rock Around the Clock.

Happy Birthday Anne!
notes – The cake I made took a lot of time, but there are a number of options that will shorten the time considerably. Make a simple chocolate cake, substitute room temperature coffee or espresso for some or all of the liquid in the recipe, use rum or bourbon to replace a quarter of the liquid required, ask a baker if you can buy a cake without frosting, use softened ice cream flavored with berries or strawberry ice cream instead of mousse and you will have an ice cream cake, no one will know if you decide to leave out the meringue layer. You can use real cream in an aerosol can BUT—-if you use whipped topping the cows, the farmers and I will be very disappointed.

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As a vendor at the farmers’ market I arrive before the market opens and that means that I don’t miss wonders like wild mushrooms even if there is a very limited quantity for sale. As I was setting up my paintings my neighbor was arranging punnets of foraged chanterelles.

I had heard about chanterelles, about the amazing flavor, the ideal recipes – it always seems to include butter, the joy of foraging and the determination to never reveal the location of the hidden chanterelle patch; this was my opportunity to eat chanterelles.

I decided to celebrate these beauties in a simple soufflé. Yes, you can use the adjective ‘simple’ to modify the noun ‘soufflé’. This soufflé has two components – an egg yolk enriched, chanterelle flavored sauce and stiffly beaten egg whites, not any more complicated than an angel food cake. Here’s how I did it:

… read more

Quinoa is the seed from a plant related to beets, spinach and tumbleweed. Who knew? Tumbleweed makes me think of Gene Autry singing ‘… rolling along with the tumbling, tumbleweed’, but quinoa originated in the Andes Mountains where it has been an important food for more than six thousand years.

A gluten free, complete protein it was called the ‘mother of all grains’.

With all of this to recommend it, I decided to add it to my pantry. My first quinoa creation was a resounding failure – a mushy mixture that tasted like wet laundry, (Actually, I have never eaten wet or dry laundry, but that’s the best description I can come up with).

Clearly, it is important not to overcook it and to add flavor at each step of preparation.

My second try, a salad inspired by the fresh flavors of tabbouleh, was a great success with no resemblance to wet laundry. Here’s how I made it.

… read more

Salade Nicoise has been one of my favorites since my first date with Charles. We met for lunch on a pleasant spring day at a small French restaurant in Georgetown. Charles ordered crepes morvandelle and I ordered a salade Nicoise

The conversation was more carefully considered than my salad that consisted of cold boiled potatoes, tuna and green beans from tins, a few nice olives and slices of hard boiled eggs, all dressed with a simple oil and vinegar dressing.

I cannot remember if there was a lone anchovy on top or not.

In spite of the minor shortcomings of the salad the date was an unqualified success – we just celebrated our thirty-first anniversary.

Since that lunch, I have reconsidered the salade nicoise many times. I made a list of possible ingredients – tuna, potatoes, olives, green beans and anchovy are a must; supporting players include beets, onions, carrots, capers, parsley, dill, tender lettuce, and a vinaigrette. This recipe and presentation requires a fair number of bowls and steps but the results are worthy of your fanciest dinner party.

Here’s how I did it. … read more