It Ought to be Enjoyed

My family had a walnut ranch, so growing up - at least for me - meant raising walnuts.  We were lucky and got to have all sorts of livestock and all the other items you'd think of on a farm.  But the main crop was walnuts, English walnuts...that had been grafted onto a Black walnut tree base.  I remember driving a tractor and not having enough weight to push down the clutch so having to jump off the driver seat and hope that all my weight would be enough to push the clutch down enough so I could shove the tractor into the next gear.  I was the first of my family that left the ranch, but now we all have but my parents still get to collect some of the walnuts that are still harvested...not off our trees but off the trees from my grandparent's ranch.  

There have been a lot of years since we had our farm, and even more since I was having to help take care of it. But every year I seem to have the good fortune to be able to simply open up a freezer door and see neatly stacked (and solid as a brick,since Mom is very diligent with the vacuum sealer) a connection to what sometimes seems very far away, home.  So, while I don't cook with them often enough, it is very nice to know that a piece of my past is waiting for me.

So, while the flan was not my favorite...it was comforting to make.  And I have to admit, some of the lack in the recipe may have been my own failure to add enough salt.  When salt was added the flavor definitely popped much more.

So, rather then being witty and writing anything lengthy, I'm just going to pat myself on the back for managing to make Marie Helene's Apple Cake this week as part of the French Friday's With Dorie.

Very homey.  Not sure if it is my favorite cake ever, but it is very simple to throw together and is a nice comfortable cake to have a slice of.

And, I was lucky enough the past weekend to get to go to an Open House for some friends' new business.  Yay Santosha Center!  It was great to get to celebrate that with them, and see what a cool space they managed to find.  Since it was a wellness center, I did feel obligated to bring Vegan Gluten Free cookies.  Which I think came out okay.

Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies...

And with that...good night, all.

And of course...the obligatory pictures.

(which I don't think I've mentioned in awhile, but you can click on them and see larger versions)

It was a long week this week.  A bit heavy on the cold and a bit lean on the comfort.  But there are little things that no matter what else is going on, can be enjoyed like coming home to a dog that is excited and happy to see me walk through the door.  

But that has nothing to do with this week's recipe.  A chicken noodle soup.  A very simple chicken noodle soup.  One has to be thankful for easy chicken soup recipes.  However I could not find dried red chiles anywhere...went to four different stores looking.  So, since we had made three pots of chili the day before I used a dried chile from one of those recipes (it was our annual Fall Chili Party, sadly no pictures since the chili was only done by the time all the guests had arrived and was being eaten before any pictures were taken).  So...new mexican dried chile does not adequately replace a dried red chile.  The first bowl was bland.  As in "wow this is a disappointing recipe for something called Spicy."

However, the next night...when I added some red chile paste while re-heating.  Perfect.  Everything changed and rather then a bland soup, it was spicy, tart, lively, and very very satisfying.  Can't wait for a cold, rainy day.  Curled up with a good movie and a big bowl of soup.

Although I do think that there was a good excuse as I was up to almost midnight making chili con carne.

But this isn't about chili, although hopefully there will be a picture of the chilis that we are making posted a bit later.  Rather this is Gerard's Mustard Tart...via Around My French Table.  

First...why, whenever I need to make something does the recipe call for exactly the equipment I do not have.  An 8-inch tart pan, yes.  A 10-inch tart pan, yes.  What does the recipe call for...9 or 9-1/2 inch tart pan.  So, I opted to make an 8-inch version, and will hunt down a good 9-inch pan to add to the overflowing collection of cooking paraphernalia.  

Second...super easy tart crust recipe.  Thank you Dorie and food processor.  I still can't help but think I have screwed up every crust I make.  Even after it has come out okay, I look at it and think, I must have done something wrong.  

Next...as someone who does not use Dijon mustard frequently, I do think I have now discovered the it loses potency with age.  And I didn't want to go and buy special mustard so instead of buying moutard l'ancienne, I used some of my housemate's grainy deli mustard.  As such, I'm not sure if the mustard flavor was exactly what the recipe planned, but it was still tasted.  Just a very muted mustard flavor all in all.  One comment was "I didn't even realize it was mustard I was tasting until you said there was mustard in it."

Oh, and while laying the carrots and leeks in a pleasant looking wheel spoke pattern, may sound like a great idea, the implementation without practice was challenging.  Therefore what started as well-ordered became a celebration of the beauty of free-form chaos.  

And I guess with that, the only thing to say is...it was a tasty little tart.  Makes me want to get in the habit again, like Logan, Kristen and I did in college, of making a tart on the weekend and having it as an easy dinner throughout the week.

Not that excuses need to be made, but 'wow' this past two weeks have been a whirlwind at work.  Given that, I'm not even going to try and be witty or thought provoking in what I am going to write.  Although I will say that the change in jobs was a good, good decision with many thanks for the universe nudging me in the right direction (just next time...universe, I'd like a shorter commute.  grin)

So, this weekend - I did make the first recipe for French Fridays with Dorie (FFWD), which are something I should have made ages ago.  They were very tasty and really simple.

Gougeres

I went the traditional route with Gruyere...but I really want to try making them with some Cypress Grove Midnight Moon.  To the extent that I'll probably make another batch this month.

So, I'd had the ingredients for this in the house for ages...and will probably take a jar into work and keep a jar for our Fall Chili Party.

And sort of last (I say sort of because I did get caught up on the FFWD recipes, but will post that next Friday)

And sadly, these were not the most successful.  They were much more dense then what I was hoping for, and I pulled them out of the oven probably 5 minutes too early.  But for a first attempt at gluten free baking, I think I did okay with them.  They were very moist, lots of pumpkin flavor.  I'd say they need more spices, and less sweet potato flour.

And that is about it for this weekend.  Other than that, lots of errands and chores and still not all of them finished.  

So perhaps there will be lobster cookies in the future, or perhaps crustaceans covered in sugar are beyond my means.  But the intent was there, and the birthday wishes hopefully still will get conveyed.

My goal has been trying to bake at least one item a week.  Definitely haven't been posting that frequently but have been trying to at least catalog so when I do get to play catch-up, it will all be ready to go.

A couple of weeks ago I made a Whipped Cream Cake from Rose's Heavenly Cakes.  I have to say that I think it was one of my favorite cakes I've made recently.  Not exactly an angel food cake, but enough similarities that hit all the right spots.  The part of the recipe that caught my eye was that it didn't use any butter or oil in the cake batter.  The whip cream itself was sufficient.

Luckily the New Year started with getting to spend time with friends.  Conversation, laughter, and catching up on what everyone has been up to.  Hopefully a good sign that the new year will have plenty of time set aside for just that.

I got to break out one of the multitude of new cookbooks and tried my hand (again) at an upside-down cake.  It seems that having a pan that actually is non-stick goes a long way in making the upside-down part of the cake...feasible.

So here is a Chocolate-Banana-Caramel Upside-Down Cake

It was a very light caramel, so you could still taste the banana.  And the cake was very light, and since it was made with buttermilk had a nice tang to it.  A good combo.

Sadly, not everything in the morning that needs to get done always gets done.  But I have been pretty good about the breakfast part of it, and have even been trying to be better about the breakfast that I make.  It tends to almost always be an Odwalla, yogurt, and granola.  Lately I've been trying to make my own yogurt and granola, with some decent success.

The nice thing about homemade granola is that you can make it chock full of just the things you like.  And I've found a really great local honey that I've been using to sweeten it.

Now, if I could just make sure and make time for the walk every morning.