Lavender Raspberry Jelly

Since we've had a long, cool, wet Spring, our garden has given us a ridiculous amount of raspberries. We've had them in cereal, dessert, and dinner, so it's officially time to start preserving them for later. While I like raspberry jam, (and do make it for my husband) I am really  not a huge fan of the seeds. So, when I went outside recently after a nice "dump" of rain, I caught a whiff of both my raspberries and my lavender, and realized that nature had given me a great idea, and let me tell you, it tastes great.

Lavender Raspberry Jelly
Ingredients
10 C fresh raspberries
7 1/2 C sugar
8 sprigs of fresh lavender
2 pouches of liquid pectin
8 jelly jars with rings & lids, sterilized

Heat berries and lavender in large sauce pot over medium heat while crushing to release their juices. Bring to a boil. 

Remove from heat, and pour into a food mill set over a large bowl.

Make sure your food mill is set to use the disk with the finest attachment screen to ensure that no seeds pass through into the jelly. Caution: make SURE to wear an apron. This stage can often look like a crime scene that you don't want permanently commemorated on your clothes.

Measure 4 cups of juice (depending on your berries, this should be about what you get) and return to a clean pot on the stove, again, over medium heat. Add sugar and pectin and bring to boil. Remove from heat, skim any foam from the top, and pour into your jelly jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. 

Process in a boiling water canner fully submerged by 1-2 inches of water, for 10 minutes. After the jars have cooled, check the jars' seals by pressing the middle of the lid. If the lid springs back, it is not properly sealed, and should be stored in the refrigerator. 

Bacon, Eggs & Greens for Breakfast

This is a serious, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast and melds two of my favorite flavor combinations-- bacon, tomato and chives, and pumpernickel, eggs and dill. Put them all together with a whole lot of fresh greens from the garden, and it is an out of this world, uber-filling breakfast. This recipe yields two servings. 

Bacon, Eggs & Greens for Breakfast
Ingredients
2 strips of peppered bacon, crispy fried and crumbled
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs
1 lb of greens (I used a combination of mixed kale)
1/4 C dried tomatoes (I used some that I dehydrated last summer, but you could use store-bought, sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
2 T minced dill and chives
2 slices pumpernickel bread
salt 

Wash greens and add to a large stockpot of boiling water. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and rinse under cool running water until no longer warm. Wring out extra water from greens. Add to a non-stick skillet (I used the pan I used to fry the bacon, with leftover fat drained.) Add olive oil,  greens and tomatoes. 

If you're a tomato grower, make sure to toss some in the dehydrator this summer. They come in super handy throughout the year, and sure beat the insipid tomatoes you'll find in your local supermarket.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes until tomatoes are softened. Whisk eggs together in a small bowl, and add to the greens mixture. Add crumbled bacon and Aleppo pepper.

I swear I don't ONLY buy this brand because of the hilarious packaging, but it does help ;)

Meanwhile, toast the pumpernickel bread and set each slice on small plates. Stir and cook egg mixture just until barely cooked through. Top each slice of pumpernickel with half of the egg mixture. Top with fresh dill and chives. Makes breakfast for two.

Morel Souffle

I think I may be the only mother whose 12 year old, when asked what she wants for dinner, responds with morel souffle. Seriously, I have created a monster. I have to give her props though, she did spend many an hour picking these bad boys after hiking an equally long time. Souffles really aren't that hard though providing you have a stand mixer. If I had to whip egg whites by hand, I'd just make an omelette.

Morel Souffle
Ingredients
8 egg yolks
10 egg whites, (room temperature)
Nonstick spray
4 T breadcrumbs
6 1/2 T unsalted butter
3 1/2 T cake flour
1 C milk
1/2 C white wine
1 lb. morel mushrooms, sliced in half (no morels? Just substitute with the mushrooms you do have)
1/4 C scallions
1 tsp truffle salt (no truffle salt? Just use what you have, but the truffle salt does add a lot, so it's worth hunting down)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your souffle dish by spraying and coating with breadcrumbs. 

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a saute pan. Add mushrooms and 1/2 tsp truffle salt. Saute until nearly all of the liquid has evaporated. Add the scallions and saute for about a minute. Remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan, add the remaining butter, and make a roux by whisking in flour for about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and white wine in a steady stream until the sauce comes to a simmer (not a hard boil) and the sauce thickens. Add remaining truffle salt, egg yolks (one at a time), and the sauteed mushroom mixture. Set aside.

Whisk egg whites in a stand mixer on high until they're stiff, but not dry or broken.

Using a rubber spatula, slowly fold your egg whites into the mushroom mixture. Do not attempt to "mix" the ingredients. Spoon the mixture into the prepared souffle dish, and put into the preheated oven. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees, and bake for 45 minutes. Serve immediately

Asparagus Salad

Oh sigh...asparagus season is winding down. Kind of sad, but hey, at least that means that peas are right around the corner, right? To celebrate this delicious seasonal veggie, we're taking one more crack at it with a cold, lemony salad. 

Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
2 lbs of fresh asparagus with woody stalks removed 
1/4 C fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 hard boiled egg
2 T minced fresh chives
2 T minced fresh parsley
1 tsp minced fresh tarragon
2 T salt for boiling asparagus
1/2 tsp Maldon salt

Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook for 90 seconds. Remove from heat, and drop the strained asparagus into a sink full of ice water to stop the vegetables from cooking. 

I was happy to find purple asparagus at the Farmers Market, but sadly, it only remains purple until it's cooked

Refrigerate the asparagus while you mince your herbs, and grate your egg (yes, I said grate your egg) but if you don't own a microplane, feel free to finely chop the egg or put it through a ricer. I just didn't have one. I was also pretty convinced that I could fake my daughter out, and make her think the grated egg white was cheese, but no dice.

Make a dressing for the asparagus by adding the lemon juice, oil, mustard, herbs and egg to a small bowl (I just used the measuring cup I used, which happens to be my Grandma's so I like to use it whenever I can.) 

Remove the asparagus from the refrigerator and place into the serving dish of your choice. Top with the dressing and a sprinkling of Maldon salt for seasoning and crunch. I do believe this salad tastes just like Spring should.

Simple Breakfast: Raspberries and Cream on Oatmeal

Sometimes we just need a reminder to keep it simple, stupid. Sometimes, ingredients are so spectacular, fiddling with them too much just gunks them up. Case in point: fresh raspberries. Last year I was given a small start from a friend's raspberry plant. This year that little start grew into a heaving, healthy bush FULL of berries. Few things will ever rival the deliciousness of just-picked berries on top of an equally healthy-sized glob of fresh cream (or better yet, raw milk, if you can find it) on a bowl full of oatmeal. Wash it down with a piping hot cup of coffee, and you are starting your day off right. No recipe required.

Garlic Scape & Walnut Pesto

If you are a CSA subscriber, if you shop at your local farmer's market or if you grow garlic, you know that right now is prime garlic scape season. These pretty, curvaceous little shoots are abundant, vibrant in color and flavor, and therefore, a prime candidate for pesto "fixins". Because we're fans of using what is on hand, we've paired our scapes with walnuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese, all pretty darned accessible ingredients, and a nice counterpoint to the scapes' pungent, overt "garlickiness." Note: garlic scape pesto is NOT mild. If you're looking for a pesto with just a hint of garlic, this is not the recipe for you. Try a good traditional basil pesto instead.  But if you love garlic, and want to add a Spring-y punch to your pasta, sandwich or salad dressing, give this recipe a whirl.

FYI: scapes are only available in Spring from hard-necked garlic varieties

We used walnuts in our recipe, but you could certainly substitute what you have on hand. I bet hazelnuts (aka filberts) would be tasty too. 

Add your pesto to al dente pasta with a little extra pasta water--YUM!!!

Garlic Scape & Walnut Pesto
Ingredients

10 fresh garlic scapes
1/2 C walnuts
1/2 C parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt

Add roughly chopped scapes, walnuts and parmesan to food processor. Pulse until well blended. While processer is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil and juice. Stop and taste. Season with salt to taste and thin with water if necessary. 

Morel Mushroom Spanakopita

My daughter is a Spanakopita fiend. While she'll pick through her salads like they're infested with bugs, she'll gladly put away a half pan of Spanakopita, taking in over a pound of greens in one sitting without batting an eyelash. So, needless to say, when I've got lots of greens, this is a great bait-and-switch technique to get the greens in the girl. Along the same lines, we are ALL huge fans of the elusive morel mushroom in our house, and any opportunity to feast on these rare finds is out and out gluttony. Sooo, after picking over two pounds of mushrooms on my way home from spending the day in the city with Alex, and finding that all of the greens in my garden went bonkers over the weekend, the concept was born--marry the two into one meaty, all-in-one-dish-dinner. Don't worry if you don't have access to morel mushrooms, by the way. Just use the mushrooms that you can find. 

Morel Mushroom Spanakopita

Ingredients

2 lbs. fresh greens (I used a combination of spinach and kale, but spinach is traditional)

1 lb. morel mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped

1/4 C olive oil

1 large onion, minced

3 garlic scapes, minced (if you don't have scapes, just use 2 cloves of garlic)

3 eggs, beaten

4 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temp.

8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 C chopped, fresh dill

1/4 C chopped, fresh parsley

1/4 tsp mace

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 box of phyllo sheets, thawed

1/2 C melted butter

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Thoroughly rinse and drain your greens. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop greens into the boiling water and allow to cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and strain into a colander under cold running water to stop the cooking process. 

Greens should be bright green 

"Wring out" your greens to remove as much excess water as possible. Roughly chop them and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan, over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, add garlic scapes and saute for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, and saute until all liquid is cooked out--about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

In a large bowl, combine cheeses, eggs, spices and herbs. Add chopped greens and mushroom/onion mixture until combined. Begin to layer phyllo sheets into buttered 9 x 13 baking dish, adding one layer of phyllo, brush with butter, add another sheet, brush with butter , and add another--3 sheets total. Add 1/3 of the filling and spread evenly over phyllo. Add another 3-sheet layer of buttered phyllo. Add second 1/3 of the filling. Add another 3-sheet phyllo layer, followed by remaining filling, and final layer of phyllo on top. 

Butter the top of phyllo and fold the edges inward, adding extra butter as needed. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until golden and flaky. 

Remove from heat and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.