On the Brownie

I've been challenging myself this year to make three items a week for the bakery case at Local Roots, usually cheese rolls of some sort, a cake, and something that falls somewhere in between in terms of sweetness. Not too many other bakers are contributing to the bakery case, so I feel a sense of responsibility to make options available to customers, but I think it's also a good personal challenge to get me to try some new things or to break out old favorites.

Here's this week's example of reviving a favorite original recipe I haven't made in a few years:


Over six years ago, I developed this peanut butter brownie bar on a visit to my Granola Girl, and it met with wholehearted approval. I made it a couple of times after that, but it hadn't occurred to me to bake it for the market until just recently.

See, I try not to bake too much with chocolate -- one, because chocolate isn't local, and while I'm not a purist, two, I don't want to go overboard with the sweet stuff, even for others. But we do have a producer who makes delicious peanut butter (again, peanuts aren't local, but the value-adding is) with just nuts and salt, and I thought it would just sing out in the shortbread base of these brownie bars.

And oh my, did it ever! Shortbread packed with roasted peanut flavor, fudgy brownie, salted peanuts -- whole wheat flour all the way through -- what's not to love? And the customers definitely approved: I had to make a second pan midway through the week!

I'm not sure yet what other treats I'll come up with for the bakery case, but it seems to me that there are plenty of riches in my past favorite recipes to bring back into the light.

You've been warned!

Stock and Awe

I've been enjoying weekly swaps with the Delighted Gardener for many months now. With her family of five children and two hard-working parents, she is more than happy to take some of my leftover bread off my hands at the end of the market week. And in return, she shares with me a variety of fresh produce from her gardens (and cold frames), lots of herbs, handmade paper, and a host of other treats.

One of her recent surprises (other than the early arrival of chickweed) was the offer of some homemade chicken stock. Although I still eat a mostly vegetarian diet, I've become what the Renaissance Man calls a "meat snob," and I will occasionally indulge in a bit of meat or meat product if I know personally where it's coming from. And since I've been to the Delighted Gardener's farm and know how she raises (and harvests) her chickens, I was pretty excited at the prospect of getting some soup stock without all the work on my part.

Boy, was that a great deal! Her chicken stock is way more rich (and fatty, yes, but sooooo good) than any I've made (not that I've made much), and it was a treat to put it to use in the dwindling days of February.


Around the same time, I'd been re-reading Full Moon Feast and getting hungry reading the recipes. I decided to try the winter minestrone recipe, using this rich stock as well as carrots, turnip, and dried beans from the garden; dried celery, canned tomatoes, herbs, a cheese rind from my food storage; and some fresh greens.

Oh wow. That was easily the most delectable bowl of minestrone I have ever made, with the perfect combination of flavors (including a bang-up combination of basil, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon) accenting the rich thickness from both the cheese rind and the chicken stock. Mmmmm... leftovers never tasted so tempting!

With the success of one recipe from the book, I decided to try another:


Stracciatella or Roman egg drop soup is a milder version of the egg drop soup you've probably encountered at Chinese restaurants. The only seasoning here was a bit of parsley-infused sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Otherwise, the flavor all came from that rich stock, an egg beaten with some local Parmesan-style cheese, and fresh kale. I've never been a huge fan of egg drop soup, but I could not stop eating this. Oh heaven!

Talk about some souper finds!

Stracciatella (Roman Egg Drop Soup)

From Full Moon Feast. I can't improve on this!

2 c chicken stock
sea salt to taste
1/2 c shredded leafy greens (kale, chard, spinach)
Parmesan cheese
1 egg
black pepper
nutmeg

Bring stock to a boil in a small pan. Season with salt. Add greens to broth.

Grate Parmesan and add to egg, beating the two together. Whisk the soup while you pour in the egg mixture. (The egg cooks immediately.)

Pour soup into a bowl, and garnish with fresh black pepper and nutmeg. Savor.

Makes 2 c

Follow My Weed

What a weird winter this has been. We've had an astonishingly low amount of snowfall -- at least in my little corner of northeast Ohio -- and the number of days with temperatures reaching into the 50s and higher has been abnormally high.

Mother Nature is seriously confused! While I'm used to seeing flower bulbs send up leaves as early as November around here, I am not used to seeing trees budding in February. And if you doubt that Spring has already sprung, take a look at this:


What's the big deal about eggs and toast? you ask? And I say, see those green things sticking out the end of my little one-egg omelet? That's chickweed.

Yeah, chickweed -- the first wild edible I can pick each year. Granted, you can usually find some when snow melts to expose the ground for a few days in winter, and this batch came from The Delighted Gardener's cold frame (so it was more protected). But what she gave me was a huge bundle of chickweed, grown large enough to start sporting flower buds.

While I'm just a little freaked out about the freaky winter -- wondering what it will do to this year's growing season, not to mention the timing of spring blossoms and all the pollinating insects needed to turn flowers into fruit -- I have to admit, I am really happy to be eating chickweed right now. It tastes so fresh, so green, so energizing, that I just can't get enough.

Spring? Yep, it's coming sooner than you think...

Heart Times?

Yes, yes, I've been quiet around here lately. Yes, business has been good -- and keeping me in the kitchen.

But in light of yesterday's holiday, I'll share a little treat with you:


Amid all my other baking tasks, I've also been testing recipes for my Irish Breakfast class at Today's Kitchen Store next month. Today's recipe to be tweaked and tested was one for raisin scones. And after cutting perfect circles with the first rolling of dough, I gathered up the scraps and shaped them into this lovely heart.

Because, well, you've always gotta have heart...

Take Tart

The bakery case at Local Roots has been looking a little roomy this month, so I've been trying to do my part by contributing a little more in the way of good desserts with local ingredients. The last two cakes I've made -- apple spice streusel and cherry-almond -- have been received so well that I had to make second cakes each week.

This week, though, I wanted to make something a little different.

Last week I had made almond croissants, and I had some almond filling left, so I thought that a tart combining the filling with some pear slices (and topped with almonds, of course) would be a nice, elegant treat. I used the crust from my tarte tatin variations (with spelt pastry flour) and ended up with a dessert that looked, smelled, and tasted divine:


Yes, I was proud of my effort. How kind of you to think so!

I had enough crust dough left for a potential second tart, but as the week progressed and sales of bakery items were a little slower than usual, I decided on another fate for it. After baking my apple strudel breads this morning, I had a good bit of apple filling left over, and the idea of combining it with the crust and the last of the almond filling struck me as not only deliciously brilliant, but also an excellent way to avoid waste.


Not enough dough remained for me to make a full lattice top, but I thought a little extra decoration would be nice. And oh! did this make a heavenly addition to morning tea time!

(Though I suppose that cutting a slice out now makes me broken-tarted...)