August 28th, 2009 / comments
It has been too rainy for tomatoes and potatoes to thrive but the patty pan squash plant in my garden has been working hard to keep my spirit up.
It is often used as a “pan for baking a patty” therefore the name – patty pan. It is also called sunburst squash, scaloppini, button squash or patisson.
The feminine name and demure behavior of my plant cause me to think of it as a she. Certainly less insistent than her Italian cousin zucchini, she doesn’t overrun other plants with exuberant vines or produce so many squash that I have to resort to late night squash deliveries to unsuspecting neighbors. Blossoms with long stems, (the male flowers), are plentiful and a tasty treat, either as an addition to an omelet or stuffed, battered and fried to be served as an appetizer.
Small squash, the size of quail eggs, are lovely roasted with potatoes, carrots, oil and garlic. Medium squash, up to six inches in diameter, blanched in boiling water for five minutes, stuffed with a mixture of sauteed vegetables and cooked rice, topped with cheese or seasoned breadcrumbs and baked, are a perfect vegetarian main course.
Patty pan squash larger than six inches star in my favorite carrotless carrot cake.
note: If you think patty pan squash is a strange ingredient in a cake, take a look at this recipe on my friend Drick’s blog by clicking here. I’m amazed!
Here’s how I did it. … read more
August 24th, 2009 / comments
Some days, nothing works. This is a perfectly normal watercolor painting of a basket of blueberries. When I painted it, and when I scanned it, the basket was shades of yellow and brown and the berries were BLUE. Somehow the upload went wrong, a promise of things to come.
It’s a great summer for blueberries. I have fresh blueberries in a bowl in the refrigerator, blueberry muffins on the counter, and bags of berries in the freezer. I thought that I had harvested my share until I saw a friend at a community picnic. She announced the she had picked thirty-two pounds – I had only picked six pounds. Not only had she picked more than me, she had made a blueberry pie, canned blueberry sauce and dehydrated blueberries. I don’t think of myself as competitive in the kitchen, but, if she can dehydrate blueberries why can’t I? To raise the ante, I would do it without a food dehydrator.
… read more
August 23rd, 2009 / comments
When friends come for a visit and spend the night breakfast often goes on for an hour or two. We start with cups of tea and coffee, sharing the paper and considering how to spend the day. Breakfast is a cooperative affair, I cook, volunteers set the table and pour the juice, and conversation begins in earnest.
When making breakfast for more than two people, I’d don’t make a traditional breakfast like pancakes, French toast, or individually cooked eggs. Often I make a frittata, a savory Italian omelet, in a cast iron skillet. For breakfast when there are berries in the market, a Sweet Yorkshire Pudding is perfect.
A combination of eggs, milk, and flour, the batter is made in a blender or with an electric mixer and can wait until everyone is awake, showered, coffee’d and ready to eat before it is put into the oven to bake. Half an hour later – Breakfast is served.
August 17th, 2009 / comments
Although many cooks use a food processor or blender to make a uniform soup I like the taste and appearance of hand cut vegetables. Here’s how I did it: … read more
August 14th, 2009 / comments
It has been a busy, busy week for me. We picked blueberries, I sold an oil painting, friends came for a short visit, the tree man came and took care of our huge sugar maple, I saw and loved Julie & Julia, I submitted my first newspaper article and am working on my first food magazine article.
All good things – some stressful. I’m trying to figure out how to balance the write, paint, cook, play, parts of my life.
My garden is lovely, (I’m not looking at the weeds), and was the source of potatoes, parsley, patty pan squash and squash blossoms, for a breakfast frittata before our friends, Annie and Andy, headed home.
The goat cheese, eggs, tomato and onion came from the farmers’ market – everything else I needed was in my pantry.
This is not a recipe with exact amounts or ingredients. Here’s how I made it: … read more
August 6th, 2009 / comments
This salad is one of my favorites because it is easy to put together and travels well. Here’s how I make it: … read more
