It's Salad Season! 100 Days of Recipes: Day 35

It's Salad Season!

Salads of some sort are in season year-round, but in my area, the Tailgate Markets are starting to overflow with wonderful greens and veggies, as well as similar bounties from farmers bringing eggs, cheeses, poultry, meat, and fish. Omnivores and vegans alike will find endless options!

As noted in yesterday's blog, I loaded up on good salad fixings to add to the goodies I get from Mudluscious Gardens every week. I'm also trying to better prepare myself for studio workdays - as much as I love having 12 Bones BBQ and a daily food truck behind our studio, I love cooking and preparing my own meals, too!

Two days of salad yumminess!

Today's lunchbox will include a lovely jar o' salad: salad greens, walnuts, mushrooms, carrots, roasted sweet potatoes, baby turnips, baby beets, and kale. I also have some of the garlic scapes and spring onions finely sliced in some balsamic vinegar and salt, a nice 6 minute egg, and some avocado. I've got a nice dinner planned for tonight inspired by the book I mentioned yesterday, and leftovers from that will no doubt find a place on tomorrow's salad!

Baked Polenta with Ramps. 100 Days of Recipes: Day 3

Although I've been too busy to go forage in the woods or at the Tailgates, I'm starting to hear of the annual appearance of ramps, the distinctly delicious wild onion that once was a rare find, and now seems to be almost ubiquitous in markets and restaurants. Even so, it is a great marker of Spring, happily has not yet gotten to being in markets year-round.

And while Spring is coming and flowers and trees are blooming, the weather still has fun surprises in April. Day 1 of this Challenge was sunny and 70 degrees. Yesterday was grey, cooler, and rainy, ending in rolling thunder storms. In the nearby mountains, snow is predicted by the weekend. Welcome to Spring in Asheville! It being on the cooler and more dreary end of our weather scale while I pondered today's recipe, I was thinking comfort foods, and so offer this for Day 3.

100 Day Challenge, Day 3

Baked Polenta with Ramps

1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped kale leaves & tender stems
1/2 cup ramps, cleaned well and sliced across the leaves & bulbs
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper
optional: fresh grated Pecorino Romano

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a 10" cast iron pan, heat olive oil over med/low heat, and saute the kale and ramps until wilted, but not over-cooked, adding just a pinch of salt and pepper while you cook them. Remove the pan from the heat, but leave the greens in the pan. In a small bowl, combine the beaten eggs with the broth and water (you can use all broth or all water if you like). 

Add the cornmeal, liquid mixture, salt, and cayenne to the pan, and stir to combine. Cut up the butter and sprinkle over the top of the pan (it will float), and if adding the Pecorino, sprinkle over the top to lightly cover.

Bake, uncovered, for about 45-60 minutes, or until the dish becomes puffy and then feels 'set' in the middle (not soupy/soft). Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

*disclaimer: I have a habit of wanting to try a new recipe and pouring through cookbooks and perusing online to get ideas. So it was, some years ago, when I came across a basic 'baked polenta' recipe, and on a whim I tried a 'half' quantity recipe as it was just for me, and added some leftover saute-ed veggies, so the amounts on the veg are my approximation, as is the estimated pan size. As long as you can fit it all in the pan, go for it! It's also great with diced sweet potatoes, onions, and mushrooms. And bacon. It's kind of like a cross between a frittata and cornbread dressing. Very comfort-foodie, and if you already have the leftovers, it's almost a one-dish preparation. As much as I love messing up the kitchen for a recipe, stirring everything in one pan and baking it is a nice way to go, too.

Homemade Guest Series: Spring Brunch pt. 1

Spring has arrived, the Tailgate Markets are opening, and the Homemade Guest Series begins! I'll be joined each month by one or more guests: chefs, food professionals, and massively passionate home cooks. Together we'll explore one of our many local Tailgate Markets, and once fully stocked and inspired, our guest cook will plot a meal while I collect some beautiful handmade pottery for its compliment.

Each Guest Series will appear here in two parts. Part One will be the Market visit, and Part Two the making of the meal, including recipes. And for those who are used to my rambling, narrative suggestions of recipes, prepare yourselves as we'll be presenting actual recipes (but I reserve the right to liberal use of the phrase "to taste"). Let the seasonal, local eating begin!

April Guest Series: Spring Brunch

This month, my guest is Matt Clark, co-owner of Bittersweet Cottage & Suite in Asheville with his partner, Stephen DerMargosian. Matt has always had a love of good food, and while he honed some skills working in catering, his natural abilities, along with his passion for food and for cooking, are what makes an invitation to his table highly coveted by all who know him. Bittersweet Cottage & Suite is a peaceful, private, and romantic getaway tucked away on Elk Mountain Scenic Highway and yet just minutes from downtown Asheville. Learn more and see how lovely it is HERE.

Spring Brunch, Part One:

We visited the Wednesday afternoon Tailgate Market at the

 French Broad Food Co-op, and found all sorts of goodies for inspiration:

We found tender kale among lots of green goodies in the Jake's Farm booth

Lori from MiLo Acres showing off the quail eggs we just bought.

Could not pass up a crusty baguette from Simple Bread!

Spring Brunch just wouldn't be right without ramps! Also from MiLo Acres.

Lamb sausage from Dry Ridge Farm completed our shopping.

Our Market haul, with some walnuts and sunflower sprouts from the Co-op
and a jar of Matt's homemade pickled beets & onions.

Stay tuned to see how these luscious, local ingredients came together to make a beautiful brunch. One final teaser - here was the view from our brunch table on the patio outside Bittersweet Cottage:

aaaaaahhhhhh!

Spring Teaser...

A quick snap of some of the new test pieces out of the last kiln. A bad photo that hopefully speaks to my excitement about soon putting good, homemade foods in each. What would you put in them? Stay tuned, and soon you'll see all sorts of inspired dishes from very talented chefs and cooks. Guest Chef Series begins in April!