What the Quark?

Fresh organic strawberries from my fav. farmer at the market. Blueberries from a hand picked farm in the next stall, and fresh quark from Spring Hill Farms. What is Quark you ask? Well, check it out here. This particular brand of quark is a vanilla bean quark. (I just like saying that!) It's fantastic with fresh berries! It tastes similar to a nice cheescake filling, only slightly different. If you can get you hands on some of this fresh... I highly recommend you do!

Cheers!

Radishes, mint, chevre

Sometimes, you just need a simple salad to refresh you palette. The refreshing crispness of the radish, the rich creaminess of chevre cheese and the sharp hit of mint was just what the moment called for. A small drizzle of good Olive Oil would bring everything together nicely!

Roast lamb...

This was a boneless roast of lamb that I got an itch to make last weekend. I butterflied it out, stuffed it with rosemary, rolled and tied it, and roasted it in my cast iron skillet for about half an hour. The sauce is a madiera butter sauce with sauteed chanterelles. Frickin amazing all. 

With the leftovers, I got an idea for some lamb, chanterelle, and jack cheese burritos. I just bought some whole wheat flour tortillas for my mom when she visited for my birthday, so I decided to try them as well. The results? Well, you decide. They say you eat with your eyes...if that's true, Mine are bugging out of my head!

A gift from Central California...

 

I love chanterelle mushrooms. I found these beauties at the Burbank farmers market on Saturday. They were harvested from Buellton, just north of Santa Barbara. Can't wait to cook these bad boys up with a little butter and white wine. Cheers!

Food Porn

Braised short ribs with Campanille, Swiss chard and robusto cheese

Hum hum hummus!

The beautiful thing about hummus is, that it's so easy to make at home! Well, easy if you have a food processor and about 15 minutes of free time. I got a wild hair to make this last weekend and was amazed how good it turned out. I should probably be embarrassed at this, but I had never made it before.  So, I threw caution to the wind at just went for it.

I bought 2 cans of organic garbonzo beans, (make sure there are no "sketchy" things in there, it should just be water, beans, salt, THATS IT) two lemons, I had some good olive oil, a little water, and  S&P. That's it! Drain the beans, add to processor with a 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup lemon juice (give or take) a glug or two of good OO and start blending. And blending...and... well you get the idea. If it gums up in the bowl, drizzle in some more OO or a little more water to get it moving again, and let it go. Season with S & P to taste and adjust the lemon/OO to your liking.

The coolest thing about this is, the sky's the limit. Now that you have done the base recipe, next time you can add garlic, red pepper, whatever the hell you want to it. Now, go and make some hummus will ya!

Cheers!

Layers

It's that time of year That I love. It's getting cold outside. It's time to layer up. Not only with clothes, but with food. Great example of layering is one of my favorites. Lasagna. I do an herbed ricotta and homemade tomato sauce recipe. In the ricotta I use thyme and marjoram or Oregano. For the Sauce, I use crushed San Marzano or Centro tomatoes, cubed squash, onions, garlic, you know the usual suspects. Depending on my mood, I may or may NOT put meat in it. I know, Lasagna without meat!!!! Blasphemy! Well, sometimes you just need to go against the grain. So, As the New Year is here, and the cold continues. Layer up and make yourself something delicious! Cheers!