Short Reads with MFK Fisher - Random Recipes

                                                                                                                                     Image by: Carla Porter

The tree is on the brush pile and the snow is still coming down

Christmas has come and gone. I am slowly and sparingly working my way through the books that came wrapped in paper and bows. One of them, An Alphabet for Gourmets, has given me small readings that I have enjoyed before bed or first thing in the morning with my hot coffee. Its author, MFK Fisher, led such an interesting life. Fisher, the daughter of a newspaper editor, came to writing early in life and despite forays into writing for her father's paper and trying to write novels, it was her frank, witty, and sometimes sensuous descriptions of food and food culture that brought her fame and a very distinguished circle of culinary friends.

And speaking of culinary friends ....

The Random Recipe challenge this month was to open one of the food-oriented books one received at Christmas and make what one finds. Well, I happened on MFK Fisher's discussion on 'Quantity' - a lesson in discretion. Here, Fisher admonishes cooks to learn the rules before you break them. She pokes fun at her childish attempt to make Hindu Eggs, a warm variation on Deviled Eggs that have the yolk filling flavoured with curry powder. They were perfectly flavoured when she had them made by her mother. When she made them, however, her love of curry powder caused her to think 'more is better'. The lesson here is ... more (curry powder:quantity) is not necessarily better when it comes to spices, sauces, herbs, et cetera. Learning that favorite flavours become 'favorite' because of their nuanced presence in different dishes was a key experience for MFK. Later in life, though, she also learned that once one has made the recipe and perfected technique, one can experiment and she uses the old peasant dish called Roasted Kasha as an example. Her love of the grain and its subtle nuttiness leads her to heighten that flavour by roasting it longer to a nutty brown before adding broth and simmering it to slowly soften it. She loves the combination of nuttiness and butter flavours, so she added far more butter than the traditional preparation recommends. In this case, 'more is better' as far as MFK's concerned.

See the whole groats vs the mid-grind groats? MFK swears by whole groats

IHCC - You Made Me Love You ... Bulgur !

Let me introduce you to the perfect side dish ... this is a fruity, spicy dish of bulgur with sweet red peppers, sweet Vidalia onions, and a hint of tomato paste. It is such a surprise to me because I have tried bulgur in the past and it has always been too chewy, too coarse, to dry. But THIS bulgur is none of those things. Yotam Ottolenghi credits this dish to a friend - Itamar Srulovich. I fell for making it when I saw the illustration in YO's cookbook called Plenty. It reminded me of couscous and when I read the description of the bulgur needed (medium grind), I thought that I might have to try bulgur one more time.

IHCC - Ottolenghi's Asparagus with Polenta

Here is a star side dish for you ! My new friend Yotam has kindly shared his recipe for Asparagus with Polenta in The Guardian. Everything about this dish is pleasing to me at this time of the year - the bright colors of the polenta and asparagus, the lemon zest brightness that's added as a hint in the polenta and a flash of citrus to the garnish, the nutty crunch that comes with each bite.  It's Spring on a plate for me.

There's No Place Like Home ... and Nothing Like Kasha Varnishkes!

I'm back! For someone who usually posts every couple days, being away from The Spice Garden has felt like going through withdrawal! I do love cooking and blogging, but life has just been crazy of late!

My Seven Links ...

... from a small idea, much has come 

Being recognized by a fellow blogger is a big thing, but whoever thought to start this 'Seven Links' thing was really pushing the envelope. I am honored that my friend Devaki  from over at Weave a Thousand Flavors thinks enough of me that she would like to see what I think of my work.  I am, however, intimidated by the task! It's difficult being impartial. It's difficult to judge your own work, to sift through the portfolio of all you've done and evaluate ... and sometimes, it's embarrassing.

I've found myself re-reading back posts and sometimes thinking, Who wrote that drivel? Who photographed that? What was that blogger thinking rambling on about that ? Oh, gosh .... never mind! I guess the exercise here is to NOT be so hard on oneself, but instead, look at the project as a chance to slow down and really celebrate the work ... so my links ... after much kerfluffle... and some added storyline because the concept of food memory is one of the things that first inspired me to start this blog in the first place

Most Beautiful -

... a simple and elegant cake with the softest of frostings and the freshest embellishment

Making cakes with floral and herbal decorations has been 'my thing' for a long time. I have a picture of my daughter, Sara holding her birthday cake up for the camera. It's a large heart shaped single layer cake with icing this exact shade. It has a wreath of beautiful fresh gladiola flowers placed around it - flowers in shades of deep pinks and whites. Sometimes, I think, the food memory dictates the creative response to a new project. So this is my 'most beautiful' inspired by that other 'most beautiful grinning child' ...

Blackberry and Sour Apple Cake With Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

The Land of the Bean and the Cod ... and Fannie Farmer

Boston Brown Bread

Fannie Merritt Farmer's preface to The Boston Cooking School Cook Book

courtesy of Michigan State University's website

'Back in the day' is one of my favorite expressions when talking about old times, favorite memories from childhood, or past practices, rules, and traditions that are pretty much written in the stone slabs of New England granite. Living here in the heart of New England, there are a few dinners that have stood the test of time ... they're cheap, can be made ahead of serving time, keep well for a day or two or three, fill the belly with nutritious and locally produced foods and meats and fit the criteria for those things 'written in stone' -

Cold Barley Salad

Hurray! It's grilling and picnic season. Here in the States, summertime's official kick-off is the Memorial Day weekend. This is the time for the first of the family backyard barbeques, packed coolers headed for the lake or seaside, cold salads and grilled meats making a big splash at parties. Yup ... winter is conquered for another year!

I made salad for dinner this evening - a cold barley salad that has a light mustard vinaigrette and a tossing of fresh peppers, corn, onion, and herbs. It's easy, it's higher in fiber than a regular pasta salad, and it's a light side to a plate of kebabs or grilled chicken or steaks. Very versatile little dish ... a perfect healthy side for your backyard party! Enjoy!

Spelt á la Risotto ...

One can't call it a risotto because there is no rice involved, however, it sure had the creamy sauce and al dente feel. It was a 'try me' recipe developed after I had a farro 'risotto' in a small bistro near my daughter's place in Brooklyn. I couldn't find farro in the rural backwater, so I bought a cup of spelt berries from the 'bulk island' at the supermarket and brought them home to sit on my counter while I read up a bit on spelt and farro.