Dark Days 20 Breakfast Challenge: Indian Pudding

A continuing series on weekly meals that use sustainable, organic, local and ethical food during the challenging winter months. For more information, go here to the DDC section of Not Dabbling in Normal’s website: Dark Days Challenge.

In which I start the day and end the season with an all-local breakfast of Indian pudding and cranberries…

Breakfast in our household falls into two camps: His and Hers. His is sweet and Hers is savory. Hers (mine) is easy to make from local ingredients at any time of year, including the Dark Days, since its ingredients of choice are vegetables, fruit, cheese, and eggs. My personal favorite is a poached egg over the previous evening’s leftover vegetables, but I would settle for local apples and cheese any day of the week. My favorite beverage is herb tea from leaves that I dried last summer, especially lemon verbena and mint. 

But this is a challenge, right? His breakfast is not just a challenge: it defies local, except for milk, yogurt, honey, and maple syrup. There’s no way my homemade granola is based on local grains and seeds. There’s no way that hot oatmeal, cold cereal, wheat bread, muffins, and flour-based pancakes are fully local since our area simply does not support marketable grain production.  (We are going to experiment during the upcoming growing season, so we’ll see if we can conquer small-scale production.) And while our coffee is locally roasted from fair trade beans, that’s outside my definition of local.  

Never one to take the easy route, and challenged by Not Dabbling in Normal’s question about seeking alternatives to eggs and meat, I really thought about this problem. The pumpkin polenta that I made for the Vegetarian Challenge a few weeks ago could have worked. Then ah ha, what about Indian pudding? I recall this thrifty dish from my schoolgirl days in New England and figured I could proceed with local ingredients, other than cinnamon and salt. I consulted the ultimate Boston source, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

The recipe didn’t appear to have the right proportion of cornmeal to milk and after cooking it halfway, I changed course and doubled the cornmeal to reach perfection (which is now reflected in my recipe). I’m sure this is because cornmeal comes in all kinds of grinds and absorption rates.  I also changed the amount (less) and type of sugar, opting for local maple syrup and molasses. I topped the finished pudding with a little heavy cream and the last of the candied cranberries that I made for the Dark Days Dessert Challenge, though poached or baked apples would have been good too.

Ta da! I managed to complete the full course of Dark Days meals and learned a whole bunch in the process. Bravo and thanks to the organizers and those who stuck it out.

Indian Pudding adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

2 c milk

½ c yellow cornmeal, fine-medium grind

1/3 c maple syrup

½ c molasses

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger (or 1 tsp grated fresh ginger)

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Bring water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler. Heat 1 1/2 cup of milk in the top of the double boiler and when very hot, whisk in the cornmeal. Cook over the simmering water, covered, for 10-15 minutes until creamy and thick. Add the salt, butter and spices and mix well. Turn into a buttered 1-quart baking dish. Heat the remaining milk and pour it on top.  Place the baking dish into a shallow metal pan and pour the water from the bottom of the double boiler into the pan to reach halfway up the dish of the baking dish. Bake for approximately 2½ hours until set.

Serve with cream (or if using as dessert, ice cream).

Makes at least 4 servings.

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Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies

A Table in the Tarn, written by Orlando Murrin, is the story of two guys who left London to take up residency in an old manor house in Southwest France, turning the stately building into a charming bed-and-breakfast that is apparently a gastronomic destination.  Part memoir and part how-to, the book contains numerous terrific recipes, including this one for rosemary pine nut cookies. I tweaked the recipe (and rewrote it) but the basics are all here. On another occasion, I will substitute lemon zest for the ground ginger. I will also use regular granulated sugar instead of superfine, which Murrin called for, since I thought the cookies didn’t need to be quite so sweet. What attracted me to the recipe was the possibility of developing a savory biscuit based on this, and I think it will eventually work. In the meanwhile, these are easy to make. I threw them together on a weeknight while I was preparing dinner on top of the stove to stop my husband from lamenting about the cookies that he accidentally left behind in the store.  

Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies adapted from A Table in the Tarn

2 tbsp pine buts plus extra for decorating the cookies

2 tsp chopped rosemary plus extra for decorating the cookies

1 1/3 c all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp ground ginger or ½ tsp grated lemon rind

1/3 c soft butter

½ c sugar plus addition for sprinkling on the cookies

1 tbsp olive oil

1 egg yolk

1½ tbsp heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Slowly toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan over low heat until light brown. Remove to a food processor. Add the rosemary, and lightly chop the mixture to the texture of coarse meal. Pour into a medium bowl. Soft the flour, baking soda and ground ginger into the rosemary pine nut mixture and mix well. (If using lemon zest, add it now.)

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and add the olive oil. Slowly add the flour, stirring to combine. Combine the cream and egg yolk and stir into the batter, mixing well.

Shape the dough into ¾-inch balls and place 1½ inches apart on the baking sheet (they will spread). Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 13 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove and decorate with pine nuts and rosemary sprigs, Makes 3 dozen.

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Dark Days 12, Part 2, Valentine’s Day Challenge: Lemon Verbena Ice Cream, Cranberry Sorbet and Maple Candied Cranberries

A continuing series on weekly meals that use sustainable, organic, local and ethical food during the challenging winter months. For more information, go here to the DDC section of Not Dabbling in Normal’s website: Dark Days Challenge.

In which I pull out the stops to make an all-local delectable fancy dessert, much to my surprise

Happy Valentine’s Day! Getting ready to satisfy sweet expectations, I succumbed to the Dark Days Challenge to create a second all-local V-day dessert. The first one, a pumpkin flan, was totally in bounds for my challenge but did include a few non-local spices. This time, everything was sustainable, organic (as much as cranberries can be), local and ethical. I formed the ice cream and sorbet using cookie cutters so that my red and white presentation was perfectly themed. And oh so schmaltzy. All I needed was a rose between my teeth. But at this time of year, for this challenge, it would have to have been dried. Hmm. The photos don’t do this justice. The sorbets were the same exact colors as my antique plate from Holland . 

My husband’s first remark about the ice cream was to say that I cheated by using lemon juice. Not so, as he should know by now given the volume of lemon verbena tea that I consume. I infused milk with dried organic lemon verbena from our CSA and combined it with local honey, eggs and cream to make the base for a delicious ice cream. I had made this with fresh lemon verbena in the fall, which I prefer because I love its grassiness. But dried was perfectly fine and added a slightly different taste dimension. Definitely lemon.

Second, I still had local cranberries from the holidays, and saw some at a farmers’ market a couple weeks ago so I knew I could give my self a second chance if I blew it.  Most of the berries were combined with water and maple sugar from eastern Pennsylvania to make sorbet, which I spiked with local Tomasello Vineyards cranberry wine to cut any potential iciness in the sorbet. Finally, I candied cranberries in simple syrup made with water and maple sugar, coated in more maple sugar, and used them as a garnish.

Lemon Verbena Honey Ice Cream – Local Style

1½ c milk

½ c honey

1 c loosely packed dried lemon verbena leaves

4 large egg yolks

1½ c heavy cream

Warm the milk and sugar over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon verbena leaves and heat until the milk is nearly boiling. Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep for an hour.

Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl.  Remove the lemon verbena leaves from the milk and discard the leaves. Reheat the milk. Add a little milk to the egg yolks, whisking or stirring to warm the yolks without cooking them. When the yolks and milk are combined, return the mixture to the saucepan and cook gently, over medium low heat, stirring, until custard forms and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Meanwhile, place the cream in the bowl and put a strainer over it. When the custard is done, pour it into the cream. Let the mixture cool and refrigerate until well chilled.

Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Cranberry Sorbet — Local Style

2 c fresh cranberries

1/3 c water

1/3 c maple sugar

2 tbsp Tomasello cranberry wine (or 1 tbsp vodka)

Pick over the cranberries to remove any stems inferior berries.

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the cranberries and cook them until they pop and turn into a puree. There may be a few skins in the mixture. Srt aside to cool. When cool, add the wine and refrigerate until well chilled.

Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Cranberries Candied in Maple Sugar

½ c – 1 c fresh cranberries

¼ c maple sugar

2 tbsp water

Additional maple sugar for coating

Pick over the cranberries to remove any stems inferior berries and place them in a shallow bowl.

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan and cook until it starts to form a light syrup. Set it aside for a few minutes before pouring over the berries. (You don’t want the berries to split open from the heat.)

Set aside to cool and then refrigerate them for several hours or overnight. (This allows the syrup to penetrate the berries.)

Sprinkle additional sugar on a plate, drain the berries (save the liquid for the sorbet or for a sauce), and roll them one at a time in the sugar to coat. Set aside, not touching each other, on a plate, to dry for several hours. They will turn into slightly crunchy, almost hard candies. Store in an airtight container.

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Dark Days 12, Valentine’s Day Dessert Challenge: Pumpkin Flan

A continuing series on weekly meals that use sustainable, organic, local and ethical food during the challenging winter months. For more information, go here to the DDC section of Not Dabbling in Normal’s website: Dark Days Challenge.

In which I caramelize local maple sugar and bake a yummy pumpkin flan for dessert

Looking forward to Valentine’s Day, this week’s Dark Days Challenge is to make a special dessert from local ingredients according to the rules that we each set up in the beginning of the season. At first I thought this would be really hard, but it turned out not to be once I realized that I would use dairy ingredients and either local maple sugar/syrup or honey as a sweetener. I decided to make a pumpkin flan (with permitted spices) rather than a plain one since I needed to clean out my freezer and use up the pumpkin puree from the holidays.  I still have more fresh pumpkin and squash so I’ll be happy to have the freezer space.  Especially since I have another Valentine’s Day dessert coming up!

Pumpkin Maple Flan adapted from the Boston Globe online

For the caramel:

¼ c maple sugar

1 tbsp water

For the flan:

¾ c milk (I used non-fat)

¾ c heavy cream

½ c pumpkin puree

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of salt

3 jumbo eggs

½ c maple sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 4-6 ramekins, each holding ¾- to one cup, in a shallow roasting pan with 2-inch sides. Heat some water in a teakettle (which will be for the pan when you’re baking the flan). Place a small bowl of cool water and a pastry brush near the stove. Get all of the ingredients measured and ready, and set out the equipment.

First make the caramel. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. As soon as it boils, stop stirring, but lightly brush the sides of the pan with water to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Swirl the pan a couple of times and cook until the caramel turns dark brown. This will take about 3 minutes for maple sugar, about 5 or so for white sugar. Immediately spoon the caramel into the ramekins. It will harden and may not completely cover the bottom before it does.

Make the pumpkin custard. In a saucepan, whisk the milk, cream, pumpkin, spices and salt and heat it just until it starts to bubble around the edges. Pour it through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl, pushing down on the solids to push them through and create a smooth liquid (this is important if you have roasted your pumpkin and are not using canned pumpkin).

Whisk the eggs, add the sugar and continue to whisk until smooth. Add a little of the warm pumpkin mixture, being careful not to cook the eggs, and then mix everything together, beating well.  Spoon into the ramekins.

Place the roasting pan containing the ramekins in the middle of the oven and carefully pour hot water into the pan, to come about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the custard is set but the centers are still wobbly. Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before carefully removing the ramekins to a rack to cool. After they are cool, refrigerate them for at least 2 hours, or even overnight, before unmolding them to serve.

Makes 4-6 servings depending on the size of the ramekins.

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A Cookie for Circle of Women

This past weekend, I volunteered to prepare the food for a reception and art auction attended by 150+ people in NYC. It was a benefit for Circle of Women (CoW), a non-profit organization that was started and still functions as a student-run organization at Harvard with affiliates at other colleges and also high schools. There is a national board of recent graduates, which hosted the fundraiser.  CoW builds secondary schools for girls in developing countries and creates contexts for college students to learn how to run non-profits. Current and past projects include schools in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In our opinion, one school will affect one community and one community can make a world of change. www.circleofwomen.org

The menu was largely made up of substantial appetizers given that the event lasted for three hours, 6:30 – 9:30. I didn’t want to make a full dessert setting, so I opted for simple cookies. I have an all-purpose sugar cookie that is sturdy enough to withstand being made and served in volume and light enough to be snappy rather than doughy. The original recipe was a Christmas cookie intended to withstand complicated cut-outs and multiple rollings, and came from my mother, although my grandmother made a similar version. The recipe, source unknown, was so scrambled that I completely rewrote it. At Christmas, we flavor the cookies with anise and frost them with anise-flavored confectioners’ sugar icing, but at other times of year, we sprinkle them with sanding sugar or cinnamon sugar.

I had so many requests for the recipe that I’m sharing it here. Made in multiple sizes of circles and sprinkled with yellow sugar crystals (obvious reference to  CoW’s signature color), these cookies were flavored with lemon juice and lemon rind. The crunch of the sugary topping seemed to make the flavor pop.  A few people remarked they were hard to stop eating.

CoW Cookies

1 c butter, softened

2 c granulated white sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest (grated rind)

1 ½ tsp baking soda dissolved in 2 tbsp milk

4 ½ c all-purpose white flour (divided, see instructions below)

1 ½ tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

Sanding sugar

Cream butter and sugar together, Add the eggs, lemon juice and zest and the baking soda dissolved in milk.

Sift 3 cups of the flour with the cream of tartar and salt. Stir the flour into the batter. Add enough additional flour to make a dough that can be rolled. (I find that I need all 1½ cups.)  Chill the dough for at least an hour or up to two days.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Separate the dough into four sections and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/16-inch thickness.

Cut into shapes and sprinkle with sanding sugar (colored sugar crystals).

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 7-8 minutes, or until just turning golden.  Depending on the thickness of your sheets, the cookies could take more or less time but watch them since they turn brown quickly at the end.

Makes about 100 1-inch to 1 1/4-inch cookies.

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Rice Custard

On popular demand… of all of the ways to make rice ”pudding,” the one my family likes best is an egg custard with a handful of rice and raisins at the bottom. It’s more like custard with rice than the other way around.  Smooth, creamy, aromatic, warm comfort food meant for the days when the winds howl and the temperatures drop. Great for breakfast. This one is made with white rice, but brown rice and a combination of brown and white sugar create another experience. This is adapted from an old recipe, copied down from one of my mother’s cookbooks when I was a kid, but I don’t know which one.

Rice Custard

5 eggs

¾ c sugar

3 c milk (lactose free is fine, so is fat-free)

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

1 ½ c cooked rice

1/3 c raisins

Nutmeg and a grater

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 4-inch+ deep baking dish (like a souflee dish). Put a pot of water on to boil and find a pan that can hold the baking dish and 1+ inch of water.

Beat the eggs lightly, add sugar and stir to blend. Add the milk, vanilla and salt and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Place the rice and raisins into the prepared baking dish and strain the egg mixture over them. Place the baking dish into the larger pan and pour boiling water into the pan to reach about 1 to 1½ inches up the side.   Carefully place in the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes.  Stir the mixture. Grate nutmeg over the top and let bake for another hour or more, until a thin bladed knife inserted into the custard comes out clean.

Serves 6-8 or just my husband.

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