The Leftovers

First off, thank you to everyone who reached out to me about Monday's post.  I received so many supportive comments, here and on Facebook, some about standing up for ourselves in difficult social situations, some about being a better person to the people in our lives that truly matter, and worrying a little less about the feelings and perceptions of total strangers.  It's that part that I'm really thinking about right now.  In that spirit, here's a little post about spending time with the people that matter, and making something sweet together. 

Jasper is home from school for a few more weeks, so he and I are trying to fill the long days with projects and adventures.  On Monday we did some baking, using up the ends of berry containers in fun combinations with our new biscuit recipe from the tomato cobbler which resulted in a kind of farmer's market scone. This is so easy to do and the ingredients are limited to your imagination/what you have on hand.  We split the recipe into 3 parts, added about a cup of fruit to each batch.

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter or vegetable shortening (I love this brand)
1 1/3 cup milk or plain almond milk 

2-3 cups berries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter/shortening, then stir in milk.  

Portion out 1/2 cup dollops onto a lined sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes until crispy at edges, toasted on top, and soft at center.

Stone Fruit Salad

I'm a little late getting today's post up, but I had this first grade play about the rainforest to attend, and might I say the jaguar had an excellent performance.  Earlier today I had a breakfast meeting with my friend Pete who is helping me finish my first video post (up next Monday!).  I went to the market and picked up some of the season's first stone fruit and berries.  I get so excited when I start to see peaches and cherries make an appearance, but this early in the season is hit or miss in terms of flavor. It's a good time to use stone fruit and blueberries in a salad, because right now they are more crisp and slightly tart.  I always toss the fruit with a simple lemon-honey dressing to keep the fruit from browning, plus it brightens up the flavor.  We ate our way through this bowl with vanilla scones and my favorite Cole Coffee from Oakland.  You can order that here.

Kale Chips

So that little garden we planted a couple of months ago has been fruitful. I have more lettuce than I know what to do with, the strawberries are growing like weeds, and the Dinosaur kale that I was worried we were planting too late is ready to harvest! Kale is one of those vegetables that can be a real turn-off for kids.  Kale is green and leafy, and not so sweet, but it's oh-so-good for you, with a ton of vitamin C and vitamin K, and a decent dose of calcium.  Since Jasper can't get his calcium from dairy products, I try to make sure he eats plenty of these dark green leafy vegetables. There are a few ways to make kale chips, and I've tried them all.  Here's my success recipe, which involves baking kale tossed in olive oil at a lower temperature to dehydrate it, without scorching the leaves. This makes for a nutty, crispy snack, and with a little sea salt (or truffle salt if you live in my house) the kids not only eat it, they like it! For a more grown-up version, toss with a little hot chili oil, or lemon juice before baking.

Kale Chips

Ingredients

1 bunch Dino/Tuscan Kale
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Rinse and dry the kale. It's crucial that it be completely dry or you will steam your kale. Lay it shiny side down and use a pairing knife to remove the stem, then slice into thirds.  Toss the kale with olive oil and lay on a sheet pan, taking care not to overlap the leaves too much.  Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and let cool on a rack to keep the crisp.  Sprinkle with salt and serve.

My Little Corner of the World

I love to take day trips to the small towns that scatter Western Marin County, the Russian River, and Sonoma County.  It used to mean an hour or two in the car without traffic, but now I am right here in the middle of it all.  Last weekend we met up with all the cousins in Pt. Reyes Station for farmer's market and a quick trip to Cow Girl Creamery.  It's no secret that I love a well put together market, and this one might be the most idyllic I've ever been to.  Highlights were Brickmaiden Breads, grilled cheese sandwiches, scaling bags of manure (yes, that's right), and the unbelievable pressed Gravenstein apple cider.  The market also had a cooking demo for kids featuring refrigerator pickles, a great offering of organic produce, live music, and the requisite pour over coffee stand. Every Sunday 9am-1pm from June through November.