This has been a wonderful summer. And now it is the middle of August. The mornings are getting cooler and the sun rises later. In the evening the light has a golden tinge which signals the coming Autumn. An even surer sign of summer's end is the sound of children waiting for the school bus. Their laughter is such a pleasant sound to wake to although I am sure they would rather not be headed back! My tomato plants are sagging under the weight of ripening red orbs and I have eaten tomato sandwiches for lunch and dinner with an undiminished joy. But, as the summer harvest continues, even ...
Spiced Tomato Bread
My crazy summer continues. I have been doing a LOT of traveling and really enjoying myself as I explore new cities and places, and their food. I realized that while I have traveled around a lot of the world, it has been a long time since I visited many of the cities in the United States. So it has been a treat for me to do some travelling in the United States. You can follow my travels on Instagram @awomancooks and on this blog in The Adventures of an Asheville Cook. This week I returned from Cincinnati (Graeter's Ice Cream and Montgomery Inn BBQ Ribs) to find a massive number of lovely ...
SAVING SUNSHINE FOR LATER: SLOW ROASTED TOMATOES
Yesterday I slow roasted a bunch of tomatoes, packed them in oil and put them in the fridge to use next week. I had to. My garden was getting away from me. After ten years of struggling with bad drainage, soil contaminated by conifer needles and a lack of sunshine, I finally have a location where my plants are thriving. As I stood and looked at my tomato plants bending under the weight of ripening fruit; at my lush zucchini plants which for the first time have survived an early onslaught of aphids, worms and mold and are continuing to turn out squash at a steady rate; at the strawberries ...
RICOTTA FROM HOME
Here it is, Summer again and the markets are full of more fresh fruits and vegetables than one person can eat. I have written about tomatoes and squash, peaches and watermelon, fresh corn and herbs unending. Which is all very nice but I am starting to feel like a one trick pony. Isn’t there something more to say? Rhetorical question! Of course there is! The finest fresh ingredients call for the finest complements. The perfect tomato deserves the best balsamic, corn that is just minutes off the cob needs seconds in the water and the perfect peach needs creamy, slightly salty, ...
ZUCCHINI AND FETA GALETTE WITH FRESH THYME
I drove back up the mountains the other night, returning from Charlotte, the airport and another trip. The sky was clear, the light just fading and lightening flashed in the distance. I smelt the clean air and watched the temperature drop and I was happy to be home. Home means my town, my house, my cat, my friends, and my garden. And this year that garden is not going to get away from me! Weeds are not going to take over. Tomatoes will not spread recklessly everywhere, and zucchini will fight back against mold and bugs. In return the garden is gifting me with quantities of produce ...
ALASKA: MOUNTAINS, SEA, ICE AND PASTRY???
I went to Alaska on a culinary tour with Access Culinary knowing I was going to see some beautiful scenery, eat some great food, meet some great chefs and learn some new things but I was not prepared for Laura Cole and her pastry. Laura is the owner and chef of 229 Parks Restaurant and Tavern, just inside Denali National Park in Alaska. It is considered to be the finest restaurant in the state. You may know her better from Season 15 of Bravo’s series, Top Chef . It was day one of our tour and we left Fairbanks early for the two hour drive to Denali and our cooking class ...
ZUCCHINI, TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA BAKE
Zucchini “Bake”—it’s such an inadequate and clunky term for delicious layers of squash, fresh tomatoes, and lovely gooey melted cheese flavored with olive oil and salt and just a touch of balsamic vinegar. There has to be a better word! Summer is in full swing and my garden is working overtime producing fresh tomatoes and zucchini. SOOOO much zucchini! I am still at the beginning of my zucchini craze which is when I happily eat it sautéed, in salads and roasted. Shortly the glut will become overwhelming and I will need to resort to other cooking methods (along with a box on the ...
HUMMINGBIRD CAKE
We’re planning a wedding at my house and our conversations are full of flowers and ceremonies, dresses and food. Which lead my thoughts to making a Hummingbird Cake. Hummingbird Cake is a Southern tradition. Filled with ripe bananas, sweet pineapple, vanilla, pecans and cream cheese, its sweetness and light texture goes well with the hearts and flowers of a wedding. I started with the original 1978 recipe from Southern Living (contributed to the magazine by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina). This cake calls for ripe bananas and canned pineapple. Being the ...
RETURNING THE FAVOR: LEMON-LIME BARS
Dear Friend, I saw my cookbook in your car and the recipes you had marked. So, when you sent me this amazing bouquet of flowers, I knew what I needed to do, get baking! It was a dreary, rainy Friday—the start of another long weekend of rain. But I turned on all the lights, put on some music and fired up the oven. I lined my pan with foil so I could lift out the finished bars and cut clean edges (and maybe eat some of the bits I cut off). Butter, sugar and flour go into the food processor. Give it a whir until it looks like sand, pour it in the pan and pat it flat. Put ...
CHICKEN POTPIE WITH FRESH PEAS AND TARRAGON
So many things are going on in my life right now. My garden is starting to produce vegetables and fruits and the herbs are green and lush. I have been working with pastry almost on a weekly basis. And I have been meeting potters all over Asheville, talking about their products and how they can be used in baking. It all comes together in a dish that is not something I usually go for, but it just spoke to me: Chicken Potpie with Fresh Peas and Tarragon. Let’s start with the peas and tarragon. My mother used to put fresh mint in with the peas when she made them which is ...
