Food Find: Salt + Time

I'm guilty of not posting lately. Sorry to be absent. I don't want to slide into the realm of TMI, but suffice it to say that I've been unraveling the mystery that is my digestive system for awhile and haven't been eating or cooking much. But I have been experimenting with some new things that I'll share as soon as I can get the recipes where I want them. Until then, I've been trying out some new food finds in Austin.

Last weekend, we went to the Hope Farmers Market in East Austin in search of some grassfed beef that my soon-to-be-backpacking husband wants to make into jerky for his upcoming trip. (The adventures of jerky-making, coming soon!) While we were there, we ran across a new vendor, Salt + Time from Niederwald. They make salumi, pickles, relishes and jam. We picked up some of their Tuscano salumi, pancetta, and their smoked pimento chile sauce — a taste sensation. I love this sauce. They told us they smoke fresh pimento peppers (they even showed us one) and then blend it into this smooth, intriguing sauce. It's just the right amount of smokiness with a little zing, but it isn't spicy hot.

I'm usually a mustard girl, but we tried it with the porky goodness of their salumi and it made the perfect accompaniment. We also put some of the sauce on some shredded roast chicken. It was so good, I stood at the counter eating it before I could pop it into a corn tortilla for a quick dinner. I think this sauce would also be a great match with a big bowl of beans and cornbread. Now I wish I'd gotten two of those bottles.

Find Salt + Time on Sundays at the Hope Farmers Market in East Austin. And check out their blog too.

Raspberry Oat Bars

During our visit to Seattle, we didn't make it to all the places on our list that we wanted to eat. But one place we did get to try several times was Macrina Bakery. With three locations around town, Macrina is a Seattle favorite for brunch, lunch and baked treats. Everything we tried there hooked us from the first bite. If we lived in Seattle, we'd be regulars.

When we got home, I wanted to try some more of Macrina's treats, so I picked up their cookbook, Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook. It includes a wide range of their recipes from breads and muffins to pastries, cakes, pies, cookies, and brunch items. The newest edition has an additional chapter on their most-requested recipes.



The recipe I wanted to try first is an easy one, they call them fruit and oat bars. You layer a sweet almond dough in the bottom of your baking pan and bake it. Then top with raspberry preserves in the center and an oat crumble sprinkled on top. They make for a beautiful dessert, snack or even an indulgent breakfast treat.

These will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. You could probably make them with a little less sugar in the crumble topping if you want them a less sweet. I love that they are rustic and very comforting. The raspberries have a tartness that balances well with the almond dough. They would make a beautiful holiday treat too.

Note: I reduced the almond extract a bit. The first time out it was a little strong for my taste. (The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon. Make it as you like.) Don't be intimidated by having to make the almond dough separately. It's easy and it's worth it. It makes for a flavorful base.


Macrina's Raspberry Oat Bars

sweet almond dough:
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted


Toast the almonds on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they start to turn golden. Let them cool completely.

Grind the almonds in a food processor (mini-processor works great here) until finely ground. I did this in pulses. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the ground almonds and place in a mixing bowl. If you have any left over, save it to sprinkle over your oatmeal.

To the almonds, add sugar and flour and stir together.

In another small bowl, stir melted butter and vanilla and almond extracts. Pour this into the bowl with the almond mixture and stir together until a crumbly dough is formed. You want the dough to stick together when you press it between your fingers.

If you want to do this step ahead, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

If you're ready to go now, get out your tart pan. The recipes calls for a 13x9x2 inch pan. I used two smaller tart pans because I wanted the fluted edge they provided. This made for a little thicker crust on the bottom, which I liked. It made the bars easier to handle when cut. Use what you have. To do it all in one pan, I will probably use my 9 1/2 inch square brownie pan next time.

Press the dough into the pan using your fingertips. At room temperature, it will spread out easily. Just be sure to press it firmly into the corners and about 3/4 inch up the sides. When the dough is evenly pressed into the pan, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the chilled crust from the fridge and line it with parchment paper. Fill the bottom with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for about 25 minutes until the edges start to turn golden brown. Remove the parchment and weights and put it back in the oven to bake for 3-5 more minutes until the bottom is no longer moist. Let cool.

This is a good time to make the oat crumble topping.

For crumble topping and bars:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1 to 1 1/4 cups brown sugar (depending on how sweet you'd like it)
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 cups raspberry preserves

Cut the butter into 1/4-inch pieces. Place them in a food processor with the sugar, flour and oats. Pulse the processor for 2-3 seconds at a time until the mixture turns into a clumpy and crumbly dough. Set aside for a moment.

Spread the preserves evenly over the cooled almond dough.

Sprinkle the oat crumble over the top of the preserve layer.

Bake for about 30 minutes. To get a nice golden brown on top, I turned the broiler on for just a moment before removing these from the oven. Be sure to stay with them if you want to do this so you can pull them out at the right moment.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into bars. You can cut these into squares or rectangles depending on your preference. I liked the way they looked in long strips. How many bars you get depends on how you cut them. But these are big on flavor, so small servings are fine.

Adapted from Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook.

Super Bowl Snacks

Looking for ideas for Super Bowl snacks? Here are a few from the archives...


Guacamole


Cheese Straws


Brent's BBQ sauce


Roasted Potato Salad


Tacuba Enchildadas


Chocolate Almond Bars


Chewy, Gooey, Chocolate Chip Cookies


Caramel Cake


Amond Butter Crispy Treats

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Despite temperature gauges in Austin reaching 99 today, tomorrow is officially the first day of fall. And, just in time, a "cold" front is due to drop our temps into the 80s tomorrow. This is the time of year when I just have to have faith. It will cool off. Eventually.

So even though temperatures here are not exactly appropriate for warm, comfort foods, I like to pretend. It gets me in the mood for fall. While it's not very green of me, I just have to crank up the a/c and turn on the oven.

I have one more San Francisco recipe to share with you from our adventures in June Taylor's conserve class. I'll post that soon, but I just got my hands on a copy of the newly-released Big Sur Bakery Cookbook by Michelle and Phillip Wojtowicz and Michael Gilson. I love Big Sur and the rugged coast of California. I've never been to the bakery, but this book makes me want to eat everything they offer. It includes not only delicious, tummy and soul-satisfying recipes, but also shares the stories of the people who source their provisions. Makes me want to live there in a big way.

This cake is the first recipe I've tried from the book. It's big, warm, rustic, and comforting flavors lured me in. Instead of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla are used to compliment the apples and it's a nice change. The nutmeg flavor is big here though, so I scaled it down just a wee bit so as not to be overpowering. I added a little more vanilla too, since I love the combination of apples and vanilla from my favorite apple bomboloni recipe so much.

First, you make a quick apple sauce or apple butter to use in the cake. The recipe called for making double the quantity you need for the cake. It's yummy stuff. You could use the extra in oatmeal at breakfast. But next time I'll just make what's needed for the cake, just to make the apple peeling go a little faster. So I'm cutting the quantities in half below to give you just what you'll need.

Then you make an easy caramel and roast apples in it.

Add the cake batter, bake, and flip. The flip is the trickiest part. Be sure you have a plate or platter larger (by at least a couple of inches all around) than the pan you're cooking the cake in. I made the mistake of not looking for a platter until the cake was in the oven and I didn't have one big enough. We ended up using our largest cutting board. Note: the caramel may run a bit after flipping, so be careful. It's hot stuff.

This makes a luscious cake. It's one of the most comforting desserts I've ever had and it's the perfect thing for fall. The caramelized apples in the bottom (that end up on top after you flip it) turn a burnished golden color that looks like the color of fall itself. If colors could have flavor, this is what deep orangey golden richness should taste like.



Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

apple butter/sauce:
1/2 vanilla bean
3 apples, (I used Granny Smiths)
juice of half a lemon
1/8 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 cup sugar

caramel apples:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 apples

cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour

First, take out your butter to soften to room temp.

Make the apple butter/sauce: Split the vanilla bean half lengthwise and scrape out the beans with the back of your knife. Put the beans and the vanilla pod into a saucepan. Peel the apples, core and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes. Add them to the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, apple juice, nutmeg, and sugar. Stir together. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the apples are soft enough to mash with the back of a spoon.

Remove the cover, turn down the heat to low, and continue cooking to let the moisture evaporate. Stir frequently. Remove from heat and let cool. Then remove the vanilla pods.

Now, make the caramel apples: preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and core the apples for the caramel apples. Then cut each apple into 8-10 slices.

Spray or oil a deep oven-safe skillet (about 10 inches). Set aside for use in a moment.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer for a couple of minutes. Turn out into the prepared skillet. Cook the sugar and butter on medium heat until it caramelizes to a deep golden color. This should take 7-10 minutes. Add the sliced, peeled apples. A fan pattern is pretty here. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the apples are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool while you make the cake batter.

Make the cake: cream the butter, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and vanilla in a mixer. Add the egg and 1 cup of your apple sauce/butter. Mix to combine. Add the flour and mix on the lowest speed until just before it's all incorporated. You don't want to overmix it here. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir gently to finish incorporating the flour. Pour out the batter into the pan with the caramel apples and spread it evenly with a spatula.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Place a platter or plate (larger than the cake pan) over the skillet. Pick up both platter and skillet at the same time using oven mitts and quickly flip the cake over, holding on tightly to both. Set the platter down on a table or counter and then gently lift off the skillet. If any apples remain stuck to the skillet, you can take them out with a spatula and replace them on top of the cake.

Let cake cook for 20-30 minutes before cutting and serving to allow to rest, like a steak. This would be really good with some vanilla ice cream or just a spoonful of whipped cream, but we ate it straight up and loved it.

Adapted from the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook by Michelle and Phillip Wojtowicz and Michael Gilson.

Almond Butter Crispy Treats

What is it about "back-to-school" that brings to mind peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks and Rice Krispy treats? When I was visiting Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco, I spied some peanut butter crispy treats dipped in chocolate at the checkout. Talk about an impulse buy. But I think I deserve some credit for making it all the way home with that treat to share with my husband. Ever since, I've been craving them like mad.

After a little experimentation, here's my version. You could really make these any way you want. I tried regular marshmallows, minis, vegan marshmallows (no gelatin), even marshmallow fluff, regular Rice Krispy cereal, organic brown crisped rice cereal... you get the picture. I liked the mini marshmallows with crisped brown rice cereal best. The minis melt faster and the brown rice cereal seemed a little more substantial. You can also make these without marshmallows subbing a caramelly base instead. But for me, it was all about that elastic quality that the marshmallows give.

You could do this with any nut butter. I really like it with the almond butter, but cashew or peanut butter would give it a stronger flavor. I also tried these with more nut butter proportionally, but they came out a little too pasty.

The chocolate dip gives them a little contrast. You get one end with chocolate and one without so you can experience the spectrum of flavors. Toasted almonds add a little crunch. You could spinkle them into the mix with the bar, if you like, but I think they might get pretty smashed up by the mixing.

While I won't pretend that these are in any way healthy, they do make a fun indulgence every once in awhile. They'd be great for a Halloween party too.

Almond Butter Crispy Treats

cooking spray
4 tablespoons butter
16 ounces mini marshmallows
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 ounces crisped rice cereal
1 cup 60-70% bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted


Prep a 13x9x2 casserole/baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Spray a large saucepan with cooking spray. Melt butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the marshmallows and stir while those melt. You can let them sit a few seconds between stirring, but don't leave them for long. The bottom will brown and the tops will sit undisturbed.

When marshmallows are completely melted, add the almond butter and stir well until melted and completely incorporated. Remove from heat.

Add the salt and vanilla and stir well to combine. Add the crisped rice cereal and stir like mad to get the cereal evenly coated while it's still hot.

Immediately pour into prepared pan. Press into the pan with a spatula. Set aside to cool.

These are really better when you've let them cool completely and have at least an hour or so to set up. They're easier to slice that way too. But I won't blame you for carving out a little corner bit to taste.

While they're cooling, break up your chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and zap in 30-second increments at 50% power until melted. When your treats are completely cooled and set up, slice or cut them with cookie cutters (use cooking spray!!). Dip them into the melted chocolate and set on a parchment- or silpat-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds. Let cool for the chocolate to firm up.

'wichcraft's boucheron & grapefruit sandwich

I love goat cheese, but boucheron (sometimes spelled "bucheron") is my favorite. I got turned on to it at the Whole Foods cheese counter. The guy behind the counter suggested it and said he was so confident that we'd enjoy it that he gave me a big slice to take home and try for free. Smart move. We've been hooked ever since.



Apparently, a "bucheron" is a logger or woodcutter. In cheese form, it looks like a log. It is a mold-ripened goat cheese with one layer just inside the rind and another in the center. The outer layer is like goat cheese butter while the center is more like traditional goat cheese – a little flakier and with that distinctive tangy flavor. The Whole Foods guy gave us a tip – place a thick slice off the log into a skillet and heat it over medium heat until it's all melty goodness. That buttery layer on the outside melts and bubbles and transforms into something transcedent. I love it so much that way that I've had a hard time trying it any other way. Until now.

The 'wichcraft sandwich book by Tom Colicchio and Sisha Ortuzar that I wrote about in the previous post pairs the tangy goat cheese with grapefruit and crisped Nicoise olives as an open-faced sandwich. The taste combination tickled my fancy and I wanted to try their crispy olive technique. You basically roast the olives until they turn crispy, their texture transformed into something new. (Note: in a fit of impatience, I tried them halfway through their roasting time and found them bitter and unpleasant. So I put them back in and hoped they would come back out better. And they did. So follow the cooking time and have faith.) Crispy olives rock. Their texture turns from fleshy to almost crunchy and the flavor gets softer, but more concentrated at the same time, but without any bitterness. I love the texture of these things. I want to try it with kalamatas and green olives too.

I found the large serving shown in the book to be a little awkward to eat. So I cut smaller diagonal rounds from the baguette for easier-to-handle bites. This is especially important if you're serving them as a party food.

Also, given my love for gooey, melty boucheron, I tried these with the cheese melted and also as directed with it just softened. With the grapefruit and olives, I like it better just softened. The flavor of the cheese is more pronounced that way and goes with the fruit better.

I love grapefruit. I love boucheron. And now I love crispy olives. This is a combination I never would have thought to put together, but I love it. The brightness of the grapefruit with the creamy, tanginess of the goat cheese and the salty crunch of the olives is refreshing and unexpected and lovely. Can't wait to try more from this book.

Boucheron with Grapefruit and Crispy Olives

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup pitted Nicoise olives
1/4 pound slice of Boucheron goat cheese
1 large grapefruit
8 round slices from a french baguette
1 sprig fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the olives with the olive oil in an oven-safe skillet or casserole pan. Roast in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, until crispy. Turn your exhaust fan on here, it might be a little smoky.

While the olives are roasting, take the cheese out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature.

Cut the grapefruit into supremes. (Cut off the top and bottom. Sit the grapefruit with one of the cut ends on the counter or cutting board. One section at a time, start at the top of the fruit and cut down the side removing the peel and white pith. Do this one section at a time, rotating around the fruit until you've removed all the white and peel. Now pick up the grapefruit and hold it in your hand. Carefully, use the knife in the other hand to remove the sections of fruit from the membrane, cutting at an angle. If you'd like to see a demonstration of how to make supremes, check out Ming Tsai's tutorial here. It's a lot easier after you've seen someone do it.)

Remove any seeds from your grapefruit sections and set them aside in a bowl.

When the olives are crispy, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool. Once they've cooled, put them on a cutting board and crush them lightly with the back of your knife. You just want to smoosh them a little. Yeah, that's a technical term.

Spread your bread slices on a baking sheet and toast lightly.

When you're ready to assemble, spread the softened cheese on your bread. Top with a grapefruit section and a few crispy olives. Sprinkle with a few thyme leaves. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 little open-faced sandwiches.

Adapted from 'wichcraft by Tom Colicchio and Sisha Ortuzar.

Spring Rolls with Fruit

Sorry to be a bit delinquent in posting lately. I've been sidelined with a tummy bug that had me eating baby food for a week. But I'm back and wanted to share these tasty spring rolls.

Before the tummy bug, I was foraging at the Whole Foods sushi counter for lunch and ran across a fruit spring roll. This was a new offering and a delightful and hopefully, recurring, one. It was served with a light peanut sauce that was a little sweeter than usual. Their spring roll included strawberries, lettuce, carrots, cabbage and cucumbers. The strawberries brought a whole new flavor to the party that I really liked. So I decided to try some myself at home.

The main thing about spring rolls is getting the hang of the rice paper wrappers. Once you've got that, you can put just about anything in them. So use your imagination. You just don't want anything too wet or it will weaken the structure of the wrapper too much.

You can also use rice stick noodles or not. You see them often in restaurant spring rolls. They make for a nicely textured filler. Sometimes I put them in, sometimes not. It's up to you. The flavors will be a bit more defined without the noodles.

Cut and prep all of your filling ingredients first. When everything is ready to go, you dip your rice paper wrappers in water and then start assembling immediately, one at a time. The rice paper wrapper won't seem soft enough at first, but as you are assemble it, it will continue to soften.

You can also use whatever herbs you'd like to pair with your filling. Use this as a guide and think up your own combinations. You can make each roll a little different, if you like. They can also be made with shrimp, pork, tofu, or not. It's up to you.



I made these on a weeknight and had enough on my hands assembling the spring rolls, so I picked up a bottled peanut sauce. I've also had them with sweet chili sauce and a ginger lime sauce. Again, your choice.

Below, I've put together more of a guideline than a specific recipe. How many you make and what you put in them is up to you. If you're serving them as an appetizer, you'll probably want two per person.


Spring Rolls with Fruit

strawberries, trimmed and sliced in half
mango, peeled and sliced into sticks
hothouse cucumber, peeled (or not), and sliced into sticks
greens of your choice: leafy lettuce, Asian microgreens
cilantro, chopped
mint, whole leaves stripped from stem
basil, whole leaves stripped from stem
zest of one lime
shrimp, peeled, cleaned, boiled and cooled, and split in half (optional)
rice paper wrappers
rice stick noodles, soaked in hot water briefly and drained (optional)
peanut sauce, for serving
lime cut into wedges for serving

Prepare all of your filling ingredients and have them lined up on the counter ready to go.

If you're using rice stick noodles, soak them in hot water for 2-3 minutes and then drain them. Let them cool while you move on.

To assemble: I tried a few different plates until I found the one that worked best. It had higher lip around the edge which seemed to keep the wrapper from sticking as much.

Take a large bowl or a sauté pan larger than the rice paper wrappers and fill it with 1-2 inches of cool water. Set it next to your assembly space.

Take one rice paper wrapper and submerge it in the water for 3-4 seconds. It won't seem soft enough yet, but go ahead and pull it out, let drip for a second, and lay it on your plate. Arrange your first filling ingredient in a row down the center of the spring roll wrapper. Leave a good 1 1/2 - 2 inches of wrapper clear at top and bottom.

Layer more filling ingredients until you're ready to roll up your wrapper. Be careful not to overfill it or it will be difficult to roll up.

To begin rolling, pull up the bottom portion of the wrapper up and fold it over the filling.



Now do the same with the top portion.



Then take right side and fold it over to the left, covering the center of the roll. Like a sushi roll, you'll want to tuck in the wrapper as tightly as possible into the crease along the left side. Tighten and tuck as you roll. Roll to the left and until it's completely rolled up.



Now start again.

With these ingredients, I made two combos -- 1) strawberries with mint, cucumber, and Asian microgreens; 2) mango with lime zest, cucumber, Asian microgreens, basil, cilantro and sometimes shrimp.

Happy wrapping and rolling.

Flatbreads with Halloumi, Tomatoes and Mint

We were a little late getting our tomatoes into the ground this spring and so are just now being treated to a bounty of orange, red and green fruits. We've been eating them in everything while they last. It's really heating up out there — 106 degrees yesterday — so our tomato days are numbered since they probably won't keep flowering in this heat. While we can, we're greedily eating them like candy by the handful and in any other way we can think of. This is one of my favorite and one of the easiest ways to enjoy them, especially those sweet little Sun Golds and Sweet 100s.



Using your favorite flatbread — I usually use pitas — you can either grill or toast this little Mediterranean pizza for a perfect snack, appetizer or light summer meal. I've been making this for years, after seeing it on an episode of Nigella Lawson's cooking show. It was perfection from the first taste and I've been making it this way ever since. That same episode introduced me to halloumi cheese. Halloumi is firm, mild, sheep's milk cheese made in Cyprus. The fun thing about it is that you can grill it and it's high melting point keeps it from oozing all over the place. It is a bit salty though, so I sometimes soak it in water for a few minutes before using and that takes it right out.

You can find halloumi at most cheese counters. In Austin, I usually buy it frozen from our Middle Eastern market, Phoenicia. It's about half the price there of Central Market or Whole Foods. I buy several at a time and keep them in the freezer. They thaw in minutes. I also get fresh pitas when I'm at Phoenicia. Like fresh tortillas, they are so much richer in flavor when freshly baked.

I have a big mint plant out in the herb garden and I use it all the time. But this little pizza uses dried mint and somehow here it works magic when roasted with the tomatoes. The softer flavor of the dried mint goes all sweet when heated and really compliments the cherry tomatoes.

This is one of those things you make on the fly and don't really need measurements for. Each regular-sized pita makes enough for one as a main dish snack or two or three as an appetizer. Make as many as you like.



Flatbread with Halloumi, Tomatoes and Mint

whole, fresh pita breads or flatbreads
halloumi cheese
handful of cherry tomatoes
olive oil
dried mint

First, remove the halloumi from the packaging and place in a small bowl. Cover with water and soak for 3-5 minutes to remove excess salt. Drain and then chop or crumble into bite-sized chunks.

Slice cherry tomatoes in half and sprinkle over pita.

Scatter halloumi chunks on to pita as well.

Drizzle with olive oil. Then sprinkle with a pinch of dried mint.

Toast under broiler or place on hot grill until the tomatoes are softened and bubbly and the cheese is golden around the edges.

Slice into quarters and enjoy!

Adapted from Nigella Lawson.

Food Find: Kallari Chocolate Bars

I listen to KCRW's Good Food podcast every week. Evan Kleinman's show is always informative, intriguing, entertaining, and educational. I am tortured by the Santa Monica Farmers' Market reports. I wish we had that range of produce locally. Recently, they did a story on Kallari Chocolate. I had seen this new brand, but hadn't tried it. I brought some home recently and we discovered our favorite new chocolate.

Most cacao growers produce their beans for shipment all over the world for processing into the chocolate bars and confections we eat. As every chocolate-lover knows, good quality chocolate is an expensive indulgence/addiction. But the growers don't usually see much of that money. There are middlemen and processors. Everyone takes a bite.

Kallari is a cooperative of growers who grow, process and produce their own organic chocolate bars in Ecuador. It is sold in the U.S. exclusively at Whole Foods. Judy Logback, an American volunteering with a foundation promoting biodiversity in Ecuador, met with the farmers in 1997. They said they wanted to find a way to succeed on their farms while facing the pressure to log, drill or mine their lands to survive. Logback helped them find their way down a long road to becoming possibly the only cacao farmers making and marketing their own chocolate. Read their whole story in this piece in the New York Times or listen to Good Food's interview with Judy Logback.

The bars at being distributed in the U.S. exclusively through Whole Foods. They come in 70%, 75% and 85% cacao for $4.99 each.

We've tasted the 70% and the 75% and really like them both. Try them and see what you think.

Great Guacamole

This is the best guacamole I've ever had. And I can't take any credit for it. It's straight from Rick Bayless, my go to man for all things Mexican. The key is keeping the crunch of the onions, but ditching that overpowering, eye-burning quality that they so often have. His trick? Chop the onions, then rinse them thoroughly in cold water. That's all it takes.

For some, Super Bowl eats might mean beer and wings, but for me, it's all about the guac.

If you're looking for more Super Bowl foods to feed a crowd beyond the usual chili, here are a few more ideas:
• cheese straws
• sopa de lima
• corn tortilla casserole with mushrooms and chard
• smoked chicken, mushroom and wild rice soup
• chocolate almond bars
• pecan pie bars
• brown butter toffee bars
• triple chocolate cookies

Happy Game Day!



Great Guacamole

1 jalapeno
1/2 medium white or sweet (Vidalia or 1015) onion, chopped
1 medium round tomato, 2 Roma tomatoes or about 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 large ripe avocadoes
salt, to taste
1 lime

Get out a large serving bowl.

Roast the chile by heating it in an ungreased skillet for a minute or so on each side until it softens and develops dark spots. Alternatively, you can hold it over a gas flame with tongs, but be careful! Let cool, then peel the skin off, remove the seeds and finely chop. Put the chiles in the bowl.

Put the chopped onion into a strainer and run cold water over it. Tap or shake it to get rid of the extra water and add to the bowl with the chiles.

Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and add to the bowl.

Add the chopped cilantro to the bowl.

Cut the avocados in half by cutting down the length of the avocado until you feel the pit. Keep cutting all the way around it until you comes back to where you started. You should be able to twist the two halves to separate them. One of the halves will have the pit in it. Use a sharp knife to whack straight into the pit and it should stick to your knife for easy removal. You can also scoop it out with a spoon, if you like.

Scoop out the flesh of the avocados with a spoon and add to the bowl.

Use a potato masher or forks to mash avocados into pulp. Leave it as chunky or smooth as you like. Squeeze the juice from half a lime over the top of the guacamole mixture. Stir it all together to incorporate everything. Season with salt to taste. You can also add more lime juice here, if you like.

If you're not serving this right away, it will keep for an hour or two in the fridge covered with plastic. Be sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the surface of the guacamole to help keep it from discoloring.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups to serve 6-8.

Adapted from Mexico One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless with JeanMarie Brownson and Deann Groen Bayless.

Cheese Straws

Looking for a tasty party snack for New Year's? These are easy, they come together in the food processor and can be prepped ahead of time. Just wrap the dough and refrigerate it until you're ready to roll them out and bake them.

This is Mark Bittman's recipe and I like that he adds Parmesan to the cheddar for a more complex flavor. These are like a deluxe version of the Cheese Nip crackers of your childhood, but much better.

These make a great party snack with a beer, but would also be good with fruit, or on the side of a bowl of soup or beans.

Keep in mind that the cheeses are fairly salty. I didn't add any salt to the dough, but did sprinkle a tiny bit of coarse sea salt over the top of them for a little crunch. If you do that, use a very light hand.



Cheese Straws

1/2 pound sharp Cheddar
1/3 pound Parmesan
2 cups (9 ounces) flour
pinch of cayenne
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold, cut into chunks
1 cup ice water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Grate cheese and set aside in a bowl.

Put flour and cayenne into a food processor and pulse briefly to combine.

Add butter chunks and process until combined.

Add cheeses and process in pulses until combined.

Dough will be fairly dry. Add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough just begins to come together.

Dump out the dough on to a clean counter (a silpat or some parchment makes for easier clean-up).

Knead dough by hand, adding more ice water as needed to bring it together into a dough. (I ended up using over 1/2 cup of ice water.)

At this point, you can wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until the day of serving.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface (using a floured pin) or between two pieces of plastic wrap. Roll out evenly until it's 1/4-inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or a wavy pastry cutter, cut into strips. You can then cut the strips into pieces (or diamonds if you make the second cut on an angle) as big as you'd like. I found bite-sized pieces were easier to handle for me and for eaters later.

Sprinkle tops very lightly with coarse sea salt, if you like.

Bake on a greased or silpat/parchment-lined baking sheet for 6-8 minutes until golden.

Best served slightly warm.

Serves as least 8-10 depending on size.

Adapted from Mark Bittman in the New York Times.

Trail Mix

We're headed to the mountains in a few days. Temps from the upper 20s to mid-70s... all together now... ahhh.

So I've been packing and prepping provisions. (Say that three times.) We discovered a few years ago that it's a lot easier to plan ahead and make things that freeze well to take on trips, especially for cabin time. So instead of hauling a bunch of groceries, we go ahead and make our favorite soups and stews and other saucy things that freeze well. We take those in a cooler and then all we have to do upon arrival is heat them up for dinner. No muss, no fuss. In the past, we've made things like lamb stew with mashed potatoes, chicken and mushroom soup, and risotto. So far, for this trip, we've made wild mushroom spaghetti sauce with bison meat, chicken and dumplings (a huge score to finally get the dumplings right), and we're working on a few others. Will share more of those recipes as soon as I can.

In the meantime, here's something we always take on trips to the great outdoors or sometimes just on road trips. There's a little sweet, a little salty, a little crunchy, a little chewy, a little naughty, a little healthy, something for everyone. It's our trail mix.

You can make this any way you please. The nuts are good for you and give you some protein. The dried fruits are a healthy sweet, while the chocolate is a necessary indulgence. You can mix and match these according to your own favorites or those in your group. I've included different things over the years, but the one thing I always include is Quaker Oat Squares cereal. May sound like an odd choice, but it's the perfect base. It's just ever so faintly sweet, it's oat-based, it's crunchy, it's great for high altitude challenged sensitive tummies. And it makes a great portable breakfast or snack when you need it. It's also fabulous when paired with a chocolate chip or chocolate almond. That's a good bite. (You know how you're always picking through the trail mix to get the combination of that perfect bite? There's lots to work with here for winning combinations.)

There is one tip I'll share about the cereal. You can mix the rest of your trail mix ingredients beforehand and toss them together. But wait until just before departure to add the cereal. It'll maintain it's crunch better that way.

Add as much or as little as you like of each of the ingredients or make up your own variation. Fresh roasted nuts (Whole Foods nut bar) add a lot to this. And if you're adding chocolate, use the good stuff. For chocolate in chip form, the only one to use is Ghiradelli's 60% chocolate chips. They're great in cookies too.

Happy Trails!




Trail Mix

one box Quaker Oat Squares cereal plus

1/2 - 1 cup of each of these:
roasted pistachios
roasted cashews
chocolate-covered roasted almonds
dried cranberries
dried pears
dried apples
Ghiradelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips


Ideas for additions/variations:
chocolate covered coffee beans, pretzel squares with peanut butter filling, raisins, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, sesame crackers, candied ginger, banana chips, dried mango, dried pineapple, dried berries, dehydrated berries/apples/pears