Monhegan Island Part 1: The Settlement.

As a bit of background, Monhegan Island is a small island–less than 1 square mile–10 miles off the coast of Maine. It’s only accessible via a mail boat that runs a few times a day. After a serious bout of seasickness on the high and rolling seas, we enjoyed a day on the island.

Some of our adventures in the inhabited parts of the island…

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So you all know I went to Maine for my summer vacation (as evidenced by the lobster sightings) but I don’t know if I ever told you why.

They’re why. They are Ryan and Eli. Ryan is one of Noel’s oldest friends. Eli is his rockin fiancee wife. And they were getting married, at Eli’s family’s house in Maine. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

And guess what else? They asked us to bake their wedding cake! SQUEE! So Eileen and I packed up our mixers, 25 pounds of flour, a ridiculous amount of powdered sugar, half of the rest of our kitchens, oh, and our husbands, and headed off to Maine for the week!

Baking a wedding cake from scratch is always an adventure, but baking one in an unknown kitchen is extra fun. Like when you get there and realize you have an apartment and not a kitchen oven. That doesn’t work so well for a 14 inch round–thanks again to Sue and Jon for letting us steal their oven for an afternoon, or otherwise, this story might not have such a happy ending!

But luckily, it does have a happy ending, one full of butter, sugar, fresh, hand picked wild Maine blueberries, love, friends, and fun. Thanks to way too much overplanning on mine and Eileen’s part, the cake went off without a hitch. We had the perfect recipe, good upper arm strength, and a delightful buttercream. And it all came together beautifully.

I’m sure right now you’re ready for a picture of the cake. But you know what? Good things come to those who wait. So come back later this week to see us put it together and the final product–but as a preview, I think it may be the most beautiful cake we’ve ever made!

Lobstah Killah Edition

We’re in Maine this week with the usual suspects…so the posts may be scarce, but we’re still cooking!

Wendi–you guessed right!

All those peaches were procured as part of a jam making mission. A massive jam making mission.

We’re about to enter a particularly busy stretch in our lives where we spend a good chunk of our lives on the road. It should be fun, and hopefully not to exhausting (I’m not a big fan of long car rides).

Luckily, I realized this busy time was almost upon us a few weeks ago, right around the time when I read an article that said peach season was likely to peter out earlier than normal this year, thanks to the uber-heat we’ve had all summer. In a panic, I scanned the calendar for time to put up some peaches and settled on last weekend as the perfect time.

As luck would have it, I realized early last week that there were local places to pick your own peaches, so with the cooperation (just barely) of the weather, Noel and I were off to pick at Larriland on Saturday. Which set Eileen and I up for a lovely–cool and rainy–day for canning on Sunday. It’s so much nicer to stand over a stove with a pot of hot fruit and a canner on a cool day than on a hot one!

Three hours and 25 pounds of peaches later we had 30 odd jars of jam in two flavors–peach and peach vanilla. And we had learned a few valuable lessons about jam making. 1) Big batches take longer to cook (duh) 2) peeling peaches is annoying, even if you boil them first and 3) sometimes you can have peach FAIL but don’t let it ruin your day!

Peach Vanilla Jam
Adapted from multiple sources

Of the two types of peach jam we made on Sunday (we also made blueberry jam, but that’s a whole other story) this peach vanilla combination really was something special in my book. The vanilla bean + peach made this jam taste rich and almost decadent on the tongue. After tasting the cooled jam, I immediately wished we had made more. Guess there’s always next year!

Ingredients:

6 cups mashed peaches (from about 12 peaches–each peach yields about 1/2 cup mash)
3/8 cup lemon or lime juice
3/4 cup honey
4 1/2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder
6 teaspoons calcium water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

Directions:

In a large bowl combine mashed peaches, vanilla extract, scraped seeds from vanilla bean and whole vanilla bean. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Pour fruit mixture into a large stockpot. Add lemon or lime juice and calcium water. Bring fruit to a boil. While fruit is cooking, add pectin powder to the honey and mix well.

Once the fruit is boiling, add the pectin-honey mixture and stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes to make sure the honey dissolves. Return mixture to a boil and cook until the jam is set (ours took about another 10 minutes of cooking). Use the plate test–place a plate in the freezer to get it cold, remove and add 1 teaspoon of jam to the plate, then place the plate back in the freezer for 1 minute; if the jam wrinkles when pushed gently with your finger when you take it back out, the jam is set–to check if you jam is set.
Once the jam is set, remove the vanilla bean. Spoon into prepared jars and process.*

Allow jars to cool on the counter for 24 hours, then remove the rings to check the seals. Store in a cool dry place for up to one year.

*If this is your first time canning, I suggest you read the USDA guidelines here, because I’ve glossed over a lot of details in the instructions above!

See those little flecks of vanilla? AMAZING! Especially on cornbread, as shown here!

My new happy place!

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On this past cloudy Saturday, Noel and I had a little adventure.

We headed west out of the city into the green Howard County farmlands. Our destination–Larriland Farms, my favorite pick your own spot. Although Larriland is just 22 miles outside of Baltimore, it feels like a different world out there.

I had only ever been to Larriland before to pick apples, which is one of the things the farm is famous for. During apple season, the farm is packed, and they have a month long apple festival set up at their barn, where they sell apple turnovers, cider, the works. I think there are even hayrides. It’s a happening apple place.

We went on Saturday on a mission for peaches, and on such a cool cloudy day, the farm was very calm and peaceful. Only a few other cars were in the lot when we arrived, promising a day of quiet picking. I had read a rumor online that Larriland still had some blueberries hanging around–a rarity in mid-August. And when I saw the blueberry sign up on the board at the farm Noel had to keep me from running to the field!

Yeah, the blueberries weren’t super plentiful, and they were a bit small, but they tasted delicious. After about an hour of effort Noel and I had about 4 pounds, more than enough to make another batch of my beloved blueberry jam.

After blueberries, it was on to the main event–peaches! It took us a few tries to find the right field, but after we did, the peaches were plentiful and the picking was good!

This sign shows the best thing about pick your own–the prices!!

There were so many ripe peaches on the trees, the fruit was literally FALLING off. Noel kept wanting to pick up the ones on the ground, and I kept making him leave them. Needless to say, with fruit like that, the peach picking went MUCH faster.

So it was a very fruitful trip out to the near west(ern) counties. Noel was a little skeptical about what we were going to DO with all of this fruit, but in the end I think he was amazed with the results!

Come back on Friday to see what happened to all of that fruit! Any guesses?

Since my junior year in college–after the ill-fated first year of college and the dread freshman 15 + the bonus sophmore 15–and the need to work it off, I’ve been kind of a fitness nut. Some even like to use the term gym rat, although as a person who has had actual real life encounters with rats and at least one nutria, I take offense at that label.

Lately, I’ve been getting into running. I needed something to mix up my workout routine and I didn’t want the constraints of a class setting at the land of the beautiful people Merritt, and I certainly couldn’t afford a regular trainer. So running seemed like a natural fit, especially since for the past few years I’ve been fascinated with the Baltimore Marathon, and dabbled with the idea of trying to do a half marathon myself. I know, it’s possibly crazy, but as you may have guessed from reading this blog, I like to attempt the possibly crazy.

The funny thing about running is that after a typical 4 mile run I’m either one of two things–insanely energized or totally exhausted. Weird right? I could see being somewhat tired or totally exhausted, or even slightly energized or high octane, but such totally opposite reactions? To any runners out there, do you have this same reaction, or is my body just strange?

After my Monday night run this week, I was in the zooming place. I was chat, chat, chatty during dinner. I was cleaning. And I wanted to bake. So when I spotted these muffins in the new King Arthur catalog as I flipped through it during dinner I was hooked. I had everything in the house to make them and they seemed deliciously healthy–low oil, carrots, zucchini and whole wheat flour. I was not dissapointed and neither was Noel–who although skeptical at first–has been eating these for breakfast all week.

Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Adapted from the King Arthur Catalog (the page with PJ, one of my baking heroes!)

I changed a few things from the catalog, mainly to fit with what I had in my pantry and because I don’t really care for nuts. I also doubled the recipe (to the size you see below) to make a full 12 muffins. But still, they were delicious. A totally satisfying way to get a few more summer veggies in your daily diet, disguised as a sweet!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup dried fruit (I used craisins)
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 and line muffin tins with paper.

Whisk together the sugar, oil, salt, and eggs. Add the grated veggies and the dried fruit.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients in another bowl. Add to the veggie mixture and stir until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the cups, then let the muffins rest for 10 minutes before placing in the oven.

Bake the muffins until the edges are browned and they feel firm if gently pressed, 18-25 minutes. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then complete cooling on a rack.

Wordless Wednesday Valencia edition, compliments of my good friend (and usual suspect) Carlos del Valle!

Carlos just returned from his annual trip to Spain, where he was lucky enough to be for the World Cup Final! And he took these food pictures just for us–okay, maybe not just for us, but we get to enjoy them! Thanks, Carlos!

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Don’t you love crab cakes? I mean who doesn’t, unless you have a tragic shelfish allergy (hi Dad!). As a lifelong Maryland girl, I think a love of crab cakes is practically REQUIRED. It might even be a question on the Maryland High School exit exams–you love crab cakes (true or false). Answer wrong and you might be stuck in high school for another year.

So don’t you want to make something that tastes like a crab cake without shelling out (okay, I’m cracking myself up here today) for crab meat?

Enter the amazing zucchini crab cake, or zrab cake for short.

Okay, I know you’re paying attention now. Because who wouldn’t want to know how to make something as cheap and plentiful (at least during a Maryland summer) as zucchini into something as delicious as crab cakes. All it takes it a little old bay and some panko…and it’s magic!

We’ve had this for dinner twice in as many weeks, and I just can’t get enough! Noel has declared it his favorite way to eat zuchinni–which is pretty high praise from a man who just barely tolerates the stuff.

Zrab Cakes
Adapted from the Washington Post

This recipe is really simple, and really easy for a weeknight, AFTER you get past the zucchini grating. If you have an appliance like a food processor with a grating attachment, that’s the way to go. You can leave your zucchini to drain while you do something else, and then this comes together in no time at all. Instant dinner success.

Ingredients:

2 cups coarsely grated zucchini
salt
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
1 ½ teaspoons to 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, adjusted to match your love of Old Bay
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
about 1 tablespoon mayonnaise or plain yogurt
Juice of ½ lemon
vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

Place grated zucchini in a colander; sprinkle lightly with salt. Use your hand to move the zucchini around to make sure the salt is distributed. Let zucchini sit for about 30 minutes–don’t be shocked by the green juice!–allowing it to drain. Squeeze with paper towel to remove additional liquid – zucchini should be fairly dry.

Place zucchini and bread crumbs in a large bowl and mix together.

Place egg, Old Bay, Dijon, mayo, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix well.

Pour egg mixture into zucchini-bread crumb mixture, and mix gently and thoroughly. If mixture does not hold together, add a bit more mayo. Form into 4-5 patties the size of crab cakes. Heat a small amount of oil in a saute pan, and cook patties on both sides, browning well.

Serve with your favorite crab cake condiments–crackers, mustard, or in our case last week, leftover cornmeal biscuits. And eat away, because it’s only a vegetable!

Last weekend, we cleaned our alley. Okay, Noel cleaned the alley with some of our neighbors and I made these cookies for the after coffee party and chat. Details people, details.

I thought about starting this post with a picture of our alley, but then I realized some of you may read the blog early in the morning, and you really don’t want to start your day with trash and unidentified carcass. Yes, I said carcass. In fact, you probably don’t want to see those two things on this blog EVER, so I’m just going to leave it out always. But reports back from the alley indicated both were there.

Sadly, a gross alley is one of the not-so-joyous things about city living. When I was a kid and we had an alley, we rode our bikes and played back there. Maybe this is just a different type of alley, or times have changed, but the long and short of it was the alley needed major love.

And to thank those who were willing to go where I would rather not, I wanted to bring something a little special to the after party. Something that would be a good hearty snack for after the hard work these folks had engaged in, but would still feel breakfasty enough for mid-morning. After a perusal of my cookbooks, I settled on these cookies. I’ve really been grooving on peanut butter + oatmeal for breakfast recently, so no surprise that I gravitated to a recipe with both. The fact that the recipe only called for a tiny bit of whole wheat flour was a bonus.

I’m happy to report these were a hit…a just reward for my East Baltimore Alley heroes!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies

These cookies are a bit flatter and crunchier than the average oatmeal cookie because of their lack of flower, but that doesn’t make them any less delicious. These are hearty enough to be a mid morning snack or after workout treat (we did both) but still peanut buttery enough to satisfy the peanut butter and chocolate lovers in your life. The original recipe called for peanuts but I left them out since I’m not a fan!

Ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Put sugars, butter, and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture, and mix until just combined. Mix chocolate chips by hand.

Using a tablespoon or jumbo sized cookie scoop, drop balls of dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake cookies until golden brown and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. They will still look a little gooey in the middle but that’s okay. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.