The color is perfect, isn't it? I wanted to drink this while I was shooting!

This is honey from my dad’s bees. They live on the grounds of the American Legion Post in Downers Grove and have been getting a free ride for about three years. This year, my dad harvested the honey and I missed the filtration and collection process because I had a job somewhere else that morning. I was quite sad to miss it, but I’m hoping to catch them next time. The following photos are from when we first set up the hives in 2008.

This is my dad setting up the first bee hives in 2008

My dad has been raising bees as a side project to his massive garden and it is nice to see some results! We’ve gotten loads of wax from the bees, which is nice for candles, but we really wanted the honey! So through a few swarms and one hive death Dad and his thousands of bees have emerged triumphantly! The honey is clear, delicately flavored and has such a beautiful color.

Bees before they are installed in the hive, 2008

The idea is to sell the honey to raise money for a scholarship that Dad started for graduating seniors at Downers Grove North High School. The scholarship fund is called “Bee Green” and requires the seniors to write an essay about conservation.

He got 61 pounds of honey, so that’s 61 jars and he sold out in less than three days! Each jar is $10 and all the money goes directly to the scholarship fund. The amount available will vary year to year based on what the bees are doing I think, but it is such a great idea! Dad’s thrilled with the honey and is pleased with how quickly he sold out!

Dad putting the bees in the first hive, 2008

Now, if you want to buy pure beeswax candles, let me know! I can make them shaped like a skep, a poinsettia or just plan votive candles and all the money from the candles goes to the scholarship fund too. I make the candles all the time so if you want one, let me know and I’ll email you prices, etc. They make good holiday/birthday gifts!

I hope you enjoy the photos and I hope there is enough honey next year so some of you can order a jar! Here are two photos of the candles too!

Skep

Poinsettia

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Winter Squash Galette

My favorite holiday of the year is approaching quickly: Thanksgiving. This incredible day celebrates everything I hold dear, food, family, and friends. Thanksgiving also happens to be when the weather changes and deeply fragrant dishes grace tables across the county. To celebrate this perfect holiday I make one of my favorite cold-weather dishes. The cheese and sweet squash make an intriguing combination, and a yeasted dough is easy and delicious. This is a recipe from Deborah Madison’s cookbooks.

I made this dish for Thanksgiving last year and it was so delicious I will be making it again this year. I am only getting around to posting my Thanksgiving photos from last year now because I shot the dinner for Saveur magazine. These little galettes are visually pleasing and look fancy enough to steal the show from the ever-present turkey at this year’s meal. Don’t be intimidated by the tart dough, it is easy and TOTALLY WORTH IT. The winter squash galettes reheat well so don’t feel like you have to eat all of them in one sitting.

I’ll be posting several recipes over the next couple days that would work for Thanksgiving dishes! Enjoy!

Winter Squash Galette

Serves 6

• Yeasted Tart Dough with Olive Oil (see below)
• 2 1/2 pounds winter squash, such as butternut
• 1 small head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for the squash
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 12 fresh sage leaves, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan
• Salt and freshly milled pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

Make the dough. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds, and brush the cut surface with oil. Stuff the garlic into the cavities and place the squash cut side down on a sheet pan. Bake until the flesh is tender, about 40 minutes. Scoop out the squash and squeeze the garlic cloves. Mash them together with a fork until fairly smooth, leaving some texture.

Warm 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sage and cook until the onion is soft and beginning to color, about 12 minutes. Add it to the squash along with the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roll out the dough into a 14-inch circle and spread the filling over it, leaving a border of 2 inches or more. Pleat the dough over the filling, then brush the edges with beaten egg. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.

Yeasted Tart Dough with Olive Oil

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups flour, as needed

Makes one 9-, 10-, or 11-inch tart, pie or galette, 6 to 8 individual shells

The egg contributes to the strength and suppleness of the dough. If you don’t eat eggs, leave it out and add an additional 3 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon oil.

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in a medium bowl and let stand until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Add the oil, egg, and salt, then stir in the flour. When the dough is too stiff to work with a spoon, turn it onto the counter and knead until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Add more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking. Set the dough in an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to an hour. Turn the dough out. Roll it into a thin circle and use it to line a tart or pie pan or to make a free-form galette. (For individual tarts, divide it into 6 pieces, shape into balls, and let rest under a towel for 15 minutes before rolling them out.)

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Date and Apricot Muesli Square or a fancy granola bar

First, I added a feature at the bottom of the posts that is allegedly going to make “if you like this, you might also like…” recommendations. I’m not entirely clear on how it picks recipes because at the moment most posts have the same recipe suggestions. It might take it a couple days to figure out keywords and what not, but I’m hoping that will be a useful tool for people.

Back to the recipes: Nick and I are always trying to come up with new and more interesting foods to take with us for lunch. We’ve been eating a lot of granola bars lately and they are a bit pricey at the store and most are full of high fructose corn syrup or trans-fats. Some weeks the organic, less processed bars are on sale, but if they aren’t, it seems like a waste of money. So, after thinking about it awhile, we’ve started to make these little bars for lunches instead! They are easy to adapt–you can use whatever dried fruit you have on hand–and quick to make. I found a lot of recipes for granola bars, but this one is my favorite so far. I’m not sure where I got the original recipe, but this is the one I’m using currently. Does anyone have a different recipe they like to use for granola bars? or muesli squares if you like that name better? Mark Bittman has a couple good recipes for bars in his books…perhaps we should do a taste test in the coming weeks.

Date and Apricot Muesli Squares

20 minutes prep

35 minutes cook time

Ingredients

¼- ½ cup sugar–brown or white, I prefer brown.

2 tsp lemon juice

¼ light evaporated milk

1 c chopped dates

½ c chopped dried apricots

½ c muesli

¼ c rolled oats

4.5 oz reduced fat cream cheese

½ c whole wheat flour (or ¼ c flour and ¼ c soy flour)

1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

finely chopped candied ginger to taste–I think I added about a tablespoon

Pre-heat oven to 350

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon together. Fold through flour and milk. Fold in remaining ingredients and press down into a greased 8×8 pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

These bars are soft and chewy rather than crunchy which makes them seem more like a combination dessert/snack. Enjoy and let me know if you try them!

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We had our cherry party a few weeks ago, but I’m just getting around to posting about the party now. We had a lot of adventures since the Cherry Party, thus, the delay. But now, without further delay, the photos and the recipes!

First, the drinks. Katie, Nick, Katie’s sister and her boyfriend, really out did themselves here. We had this party on a Sunday afternoon so we didn’t drink as much as we would have on say a Saturday, but one of these drinks was completely gone at the end of the party.

Sour Cherry Lemonade

Sour Cherry Lemonade
*Note from Katie: the lemon juice was not strained, giving the drink a pulpy orange juice consistency; straining the lemon juice would result in a lighter, fizzier drink.

2 lb fresh or thawed frozen sour cherries (1 qt), stemmed
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups vodka
2 to 3 cups chilled seltzer water

Blend cherries (including pits) in a blender at low speed until skins have broken down enough to brightly color liquid (some of pits will be coarsely chopped). Pour through a sieve into a 2-quart pitcher, pressing on and discarding solids. Add lemon juice and sugar (to taste), stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Top off with seltzer water.

The other drink was a massive punch bowl of Aviations.

1 part maraschino liqueur,
2 parts lemon juice,
3 parts gin

Note from Katie: In retrospect [the drink] was a bit overzealous for an afternoon gathering. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed your bowl of gin, Nick.

Black Cherry-Habanero Salsa

Aarti made a Black Cherry-Habanero Salsa that was absolutely perfect. It should also be noted that Aarti had to make quite an effort to find tortilla chips for the salsa because apparently, gas stations and convenient stores do not carry them. Weird, no?

Here’s the recipe:
24 fresh Bing cherries, pitted and chopped
1/2 to 1 fresh Habanero chili pepper seeds removed and minced
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice(about 1 large)
1/2 sweet red pepper, finely diced
12 tiny sweet tomatoes, halved and sliced
1/2 small Vidalia onion,chopped finely
1/2 cup loose pack Italian parsley leaves, minced
>1/2 cup loose pack fresh cilantro leaves, minced
1 clove fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 + teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

The best way to make this salsa is to chop everything with a knife rather than in a food processor. Get all the ingredients prepped, then further smash the habanero and garlic with a mortar and pestle or the back of your chef’s knife. Combine all the ingredients, taste for salt and pepper and that’s it! Letting it macerate for an hour helps the flavors blend, and by the next day it will mellow in flavor, but also will be very balanced in sweetness, tartness and heat.

“Cherry Pork Wraps” = “Delicious”

Kathy and Martin made a delicious main dish. It was called “Cherry Pork Wraps.”

2 cups cooked brown rice (we used Lundberg Farms Jubilee blend)
1 pack seitan, cut into thin strips
2 Vidalia onions, chopped
1 Serrano pepper, thickly sliced
2 big cloves of red garlic, thinly sliced
a big pinch of dried basil
a fair amount of spicy smoked paprika
some garlic salt
some sea salt
some fresh-ground black pepper
3 cups pitted sour cherries from the now-defunct tree in our backyard
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
1 chopped Anaheim pepper
a bunch of shredded fresh basil
maybe 2 cups of shredded baby spinach
8 flour tortillas

We cooked the rice with some olive oil and a little veggie broth. While that transpired, we browned the seitan a little more oil, set it aside, and sautéed the onions till they were somewhat brown; then we added the garlic and Serrano pepper, then the salts and spices, and then we threw the seitan back in.

While all that was happening, we chopped 2 cups of the cherries in food processor. Once the flavors of the onion, seitan, et al. had, like, combined or whatever and the garlic had softened up, we threw the chopped and whole cherries in, along with most of their liquid. (The NW cherries wants you to not really cook the chopped cherries, but they’re using sweet cherries; our sour cherries were mostly juice, so we needed to cook some of that off.) Once the mix had thickened a little, we dumped in the cooked rice and the grated ginger and the Anaheim pepper cooked it awhile longer until the texture seemed pleasing.

Then we let everything sit overnight in some Tupperware. In the AM we warmed it up again and added the shredded basil. Immediately prior to serving, we wrapped the filling up in warmed and moistened (ick, nasty word) flour tortillas along with some of the shredded spinach. (The NW growers recommend shredded Romaine lettuce rather than spinach, which probably would’ve been better, but we had a bunch of spinach we needed to get rid of, so there you go.)

We had two awesome guests in from the Twin Cities for this party, thanks Sudha and Evan for coming! You guys made it even more fun.

I am simply including the link on these because the post is getting crazy long.

They made two salads:

Goat Cheese and Mesclun salad

and

Lentil and Rice Salad

Both salads were fantastic!

“Charlie’s Potato Trees”

Nick and I made these, though, they really didn’t turn out like trees. They would be super cute for Christmas.

2 1/2 lbs. potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbs. shredded onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup dried tart cherries, chopped
1/ 4 cup Parmesan cheese
Yellow pepper, few dried cherries

Grease a large rimmed baking sheet.
Have ready a large pastry bag or zip top food bag fitted with a large star-piping tip.

Cook potatoes in large pot in water until tender. Drain well. Return to a large bowl. Add sour cream, butter, onion, salt, seasoned salt, pepper. Beat until smooth.Add egg and beat until well blended.Stir in dried cherries. Spoon potatoes into bag with piping tip. Pipe about 16 mounds on the baking sheet, each about 2 1/2 inches wide at the base and 3 inches high. Sprinkle with the cheese. Heat oven to 450º. Bake 15 minutes or until potatoes just begin to brown.Remove trees with a wide spatula to serving platter.Cut stars out of yellow pepper and top each potato tree with a star and add a couple of dried cherries around the star and top of potato.

These would be really really cute for Christmas. Our potatoes didn’t turn out like trees because the potatoes were not stiff enough. I’ll probably reduce the sour cream next time. They were tasty though!

Cherry Date Chutney

Our other dish was an awesome (if I may be so bold) Cherry Date Chutney.

1 tbs. olive oil
1 shallot or three green onions and some garlic
1 c. dried cherries
1c dried dates
1 tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 c. cherry wine—I used cherry brandy here because I had bought brandy for the pie.

Sauté chopped shallot in olive oil in deep frying pan or saucepan until shallot is softened. Add one cup of dried cherries. Add one cup of dried dates (chopped in half or quarters) Add 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Sauté for one minute. Add 2 cups of cherry wine and simmer until liquid is evaporated (usually 30 minutes). Once the liquid is evaporated, it is ready to serve or store in the refrigerator.

We served it on sliced bread with goat cheese baked at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. It was a great appetizer.

Now for desserts!

Martin and Kathy with the Boy Bait, looking sad because the cherry tree died.

Kathy and Martin made a variation on Blueberry Boy Bait that can be found here. Kathy and Martin changed a few things. Here are the changes they made:

“You just sub in cherries for blueberries and use a whole cup plus a few more, instead of a half cup, and add a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter.”

It is also worth noting that the cherries used in this recipe were from the now dead cherry tree in Kathy and Martin’s apartment courtyard. I guess it was sick…It is a big loss, but at least they still have the raspberries!

Cherry, Cherry, Cherry Pie

Nick and I also made a dessert since no cherry party would be complete without a pie. This was an intimidating process as I have never made a pie crust before, but I think it turned out well. Maybe a little bit dry, but still good. Here’s the pie recipe. It smelled pretty boozy! I will write about the piecrust soon as it was a big process and fairly involved.

Cherry, Cherry, Cherry Pie *A cherry pie recipe using dark sweet cherries, tart cherries, cherry concentrate and cherry brandy won Sandy Barnes of Eastport 1st place in the Friske Orchards 6th annual cherry recipe contest.* And made me very happy we had an occasion to make said pie.

Double crust pie crust
12 oz dark sweet pitted cherries
12 oz tart cherries
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cherry concentrate
1 oz cherry flavored brandy
2-tablespoon butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare piecrust and roll out bottom crust, fit into a large pie dish. Chill. Mix all other ingredients exceptButter and pour into chilled piecrust. Dot with butter. Roll out top crust, cover pie, crimp edges and cut vents or make a lattice crust.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Decrease temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes.

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Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and that means, flowers, presents and brunch for most Moms out there. Our family is actually having a BBQ dinner instead of brunch, but if we were, I’d be making these! They make an ideal breakfast or brunch for a leisurely morning. The pancakes are sturdy enough for a chilly morning, but fancy enough for a special occasion. They are delicious and the texture is brilliant. I used a granny smith apple and a little more rice than the recipe calls for. They are hearty pancakes so you won’t need much else if you make these. Nick and I ate these with honey, but I think they would be great with a little apple sauce and cinnamon. Happy Mother’s Day!

Apple-Wild Rice Pancakes (from Vegetarian Times Cookbook)

2 large eggs, beaten
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup of evaporated skim milk
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 tbsp cinnamon

1 beat the eggs with the oil and whisk in the milk. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, and fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the wild rice and apple.

2. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray or veggie oil. Ladle about ¼ cup of the batter at a time onto the hot skillet. When the bottom of each pancake is golden brown, flip and cook the other side. Remove from the skillet and repeat with the remaining batter until is it used up.

Serves 5 or 6 people

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There are many reasons why I am posting a poem and a photo tonight. First and foremost, my older sister, Kathleen, left Tuesday morning for a two month book tour. She’s a talented poet and you should buy her books here. Second, last night I photographed a creative writing workshop at Maria Shelter, a safe haven for homeless and abused women… The shelter, which was a school in a former life, smells like stale air and tempra paints. I know that sounds like a complaint, but I love the way old, close spaces smell. They collect all the good and the bad elements of a place and pack them so close together that they eventually create a unique smell that can only be found in old places.

The room we were in was surrounded on three sides by radiators that hissed and steamed so much that we had to open all the windows and the room still felt like it would on a hot summer day. This heat inspired the women in the group to write about their childhood summer days and nights. That is why I picked this image; because as I made my way home, bundled up against the fierce cold, I was thinking of the warmer times.

Here’s the poem that led to the childhood memories and thoughts of food. It’s a fun and silly poem. I find those to be the best kind.

THE CLEAN PLATTER

Some singers sing of ladies’ eyes,
And some of ladies’ lips,
Refined ones praise their ladylike ways,
And coarse ones hymn their hips.
The Oxford Book of English Verse
Is lush with lyrics tender;
A poet, I guess, is more or less
Preoccupied with gender.
Yet I, though custom call me crude,
Prefer to sing in praise of food.

Food,
Yes, food,
Just any old kind of food.
Pooh for the cook,
And pooh for the price!
Some of it’s nicer but all of it’s
nice.
Pheasant is pleasant, of
course,
And terrapin, too, is tasty,
Lobster I freely endorse,
In pâté or patty or pastry.
But there’s nothing the matter
with butter,
And nothing the matter with jam,
And the warmest of greetings I utter
To the ham and the yam and the clam.
For they’re food,
All food,
And I think very highly of
food.
Though I’m broody at times
When bothered by rhymes,
I brood
on Food.

Some painters paint the sapphire sea,
And some the gathering storm.
Others portray young lambs at
play,
But most, the female form.
‘Twas trite in that primeval
dawn
When painting got its start,
That a lady with her garments
on
Is Life, but is she Art?
By undraped nymphs
I am not wooed;
I’d rather painters painted food.

Food,
Just food,
Just any old kind of food.
Let it be sour
Or let it be sweet,
As long as you’re sure it is
something to eat.
Go purloin a sirloin, my pet,
If you’d win a devotion
incredible;
And asparagus tips
vinaigrette,
Or anything else that is edible.
Bring salad or sausage or
scrapple,
A berry or even a beet.
Bring an oyster, an egg, or an
apple,
As long as it’s something to
eat.
If it’s food,
It’s food;
Never mind what kind of food.
When I ponder my mind
I consistently find
It is glued
On Food.

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As I mentioned before, my husband and I get a vegetable box from the Growing Power farm in Milwaukee and lately we’ve been getting sweet potatoes — A lot of sweet potatoes. So to change things up a bit I decided to make a sweet potato tagine served on basmati rice mixed with a little wild rice and studded with raisins, toasted pine nuts, and shredded carrots. This recipe made a lot, but it is easy to adjust the recipe to make a smaller amount. However, it re-heats well and easy dinners during the week are hard to come by, so just make a lot and eat it later!

Moroccan Sweet Potato Tagine

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (this can be increased or decreased depending on your love of garlic)

Spices: I was generous with all these spices.
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

4 sweet potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces (or squash if you have those)
3 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup vegetable broth
14 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
14oz can tomatoes
1/2 cup raisins
dried apricots (about 10-15)
toasted pine nuts

1. In a pot, sauté onions and garlic until soft but not brown.
2. Add spices and cook a few minutes. Stir in sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and broth, and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.
4. Add chickpeas, tomatoes and raisins, and simmer, covered, until the potatoes, squash and carrots are tender (about 30 minutes).

Basmati and wild rice
1/4-½ c wild rice (cooked separately)

1 cup basmati rice*

1/3 cup raisins (soak these in warm water for about 10 minutes to make them plump)

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/2 a carrot, shredded
Preparing the rice: cook the wild rice according to the package and cook the basmati rice according to the note. Once they are cooked combine them in a large bowl. Add the toasted pine nuts, shredded carrots and the raisins.

*Wash the rice thoroughly. I rinsed it until the water was mostly clear and then let it soak for 30 minutes in cold water. For 1 cup Basmati, bring 1 1/3 cups water to a boil. Add rice. Cover and cook on very low heat for 14 min. Let rest undisturbed for 5 more. Don’t open the lid while cooking! You can also add a little ghee and lime juice or butter to keep the grains separate.

Once the rice mixture is combined, serve the sweet potato mixture over the rice.

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