Archives for January 2013

Potato Leek Soup

January 30, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

This past week on the mountain here in Oregon has been snowy and cold. The ski resorts here on Mt Hood received up to 5 feet of snow the past few days. So what do we eat to keep warm, hearty potato leek soup. Leeks are Fresh From Oregon this time of year and I had three in my refrigerator from my last visit to the Portland Farmers Winter Market. This is a quick soup you can make in one hour. The secret ingredient that gives it extra flavor is bacon. This soup is so hearty that all you need to have with it to make a meal is a nice roll. The recipe makes about 6 servings but you can easily double it. I had some extra so I just ladled the soup into a plastic container and placed it in the freezer for the next cold day we have here on the mountain.

Potato Leek Soup
3 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
5 cups chicken broth (3 cans)
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces bacon, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped (garnish)

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat then add onions and leeks. Cook, stirring, until onions are limp and just slightly brown.

Add sliced potatoes to saucepan then pour chicken broth over the potatoes. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Using a potato masher or immersion blender mash potatoes until creamy. Add the heavy cream, salt, pepper and bacon, stir until mixed. Cook 15 minutes more over low heat. Stir frequently because the soup is thick, it will create bubbles and may splash and burn you.

Leeks have a mild onion-like taste and can be eaten raw in salad, fried, broiled or used in soups. The white part and light green parts of the leek is what you want to use, discard the top dark green part.

National Chocolate Cake Day – Two Cakes are Better than One!!

January 27, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

Today January 27 is “National Chocolate Cake Day”. I woke up planning on making my friend Kathy P’s recipe for Texas Sheet Cake and then decided I would make it as well as a 3 layered Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake.

The Texas Sheet Cake is a very simple and fast cake to make. Making it brought back many memories of seeing this chocolate cake with its creamy icing and nuts at recent family gatherings and reunions. The thin layer of chocolate cake is finger licking good and easy to eat right from your hand no fork needed!

For the second cake you need to plan on a little extra time to make the delicious caramel filling and fudgy icing, it is worth the extra time. I got this recipe from a food blogger I have been following for years, Annie’s Eats. She has some of the best recipes I have ever tried so go check her blog out. I think she helped inspire me to start my food blog.

Cake
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill white flour
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup butter
1 cup water
4 tablespoon cocoa

Icing
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup walnuts (use hazelnuts to give it a Fresh From Oregon taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 x 18 x 1 inch baking sheet, set aside.

For the cake, mix together the flour, eggs, sugar, salt, baking soda and sour cream in the bowl of a stand mixer. In medium saucepan bring to a boil the butter, water and cocoa. Add all at once to the mixer and beat until combined about 30 seconds. Pour cake batter into the baking sheet and spread out evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. Make the icing while the cake is baking, you need to spread it on the cake while it is still warm.

To make the icing bring to boil in a medium saucepan the butter, cocoa and milk. Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla and nuts and mix to combine. Spread over the warm cake evenly.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake from Annie’s Eats

Around My French Table in Oregon!

January 25, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

I finished this week with my last meal from the Cook to Books Challenge from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. I made the Short Ribs in Red Wine, Corn Pancakes and Brown-sugar Squash and Brussels Sprouts. I enjoyed taking my family on a trip to France through my cooking from this great cookbook. Everything I made was a combination of fresh flavors and so easy with all the things I could buy Fresh From Oregon to make everything. I especially enjoyed the Brown Sugar Squash and Brussels Sprouts and ask my mom, I do NOT like Brussels sprouts. But I made this dish and yes mom, I ate the Brussels Sprouts and did not need two glasses of milk to get them down. When I read this recipe so many other combinations of fresh vegetables and fruit came to mind that I can do throughout the year as different things come into season. I was very lucky that Brussels Sprouts are in season now in Oregon and got some last week at the Portland Farmers Winter Market.
Here is how you can make your own bundle of sweet vegetables Fresh From Oregon. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cut four squares of foil about 12″ x 12″. In large bowl combine 1 pound of butternut squash that has been peeled and cubed with 16 small Brussels Sprouts that have been cut in half. Add 1 apple (I used a sweet one) that has been peeled and diced. Toss with 4 teaspoons of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Divide the mixture between the four pieces of foil and top each with a teaspoon of brown sugar, I used a heaping teaspoon of brown sugar. The original recipe calls for a fresh piece of sage on top of the brown sugar but since my sage plants were covered with snow I skipped adding one. Draw up the edges of the foil and seal making a little package. Place on baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. I am already thinking that the orange, yellow, white and purple carrots I also got at the winter market will be my next combination with some fresh thyme!

Celebrate National Pie Day with Coconut Cream Pie

January 23, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

January 23rd is National Pie Day and what better way to celebrate the day than a delicious Coconut Cream Pie. This creamy pie has another surprise a layer of chocolate on the bottom.

Here is the Wikipedia definition of a pie: A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients.

Here are a few facts about the pie:

The pie is America’s favorite dessert
The average American eats six slices of pie a year
Pie has been around since the ancient Egyptians
Pie came to America with the first English settler

Coconut Cream Pie with Chocolate

Coconut Filling
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1 baked pie shell
14 ounces coconut milk
1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Topping
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut, toasted

Spread chocolate on the bottom of the baked pie shell and set aside.

Bring coconut milk, milk, ½ cup shredded coconut, ½ cup sugar and salt to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to ensure sugar dissolves.

Whisk egg yolks, cornstarch and 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisking constantly, gradually ladle about 1 cup hot milk mixture over egg yolk mixture; whisk well to combine. Whisking constantly, gradually add remaining milk mixture to yolk mixture in 3-4 additions; whisk well to combine.

Return mixture to saucepan and cook until thickened and mixture reaches a boil, whisking constantly, about 1 minute; filling must boil in order to fully thicken. Large bubbles should quickly burst on surface.

Off heat, whisk in butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla until butter is fully incorporated. Pour hot filling into pie shell and smooth surface; press plastic wrap directly against surface of filling and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.

Just before serving, beat heavy cream, 2 Tbsp sugar and ½ tsp vanilla with electric mixer until soft peaks form about 1 ½ – 2 minutes. Top pie with whipped cream topping and then sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Pears, Blue Cheese and Hazelnuts do I need to say any more?

January 22, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

Here is another recipe I adapted from the Cook to Books January challenge from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. The original recipe was a Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche and to make it a Fresh From Oregon taste I made it with pears and an Oregon blue cheese and added hazelnuts to the crust. I was at the Portland Farmers Winter Market this past Saturday and picked up a few really nice ripe pears. If you want the best blue cheese in Oregon then you need the Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese. It has a high price per pound but worth it and you only need 2 ounce in this quiche and you will taste the difference. I decided to make this for lunch yesterday and serve to my husband and son and was ready for the reaction “Quiche” is not a man’s meal. But to my surprise they both enjoyed it and ate every bite. I served it with a mixed greens tossed salad and dried cranberries and my homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette and topped it with some candied walnuts. Enjoy my version below and let me know how you like it.

Pear and Blue Cheese Quiche with Hazelnut Crust
Hazelnut Tart Dough
1 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill white flour
2 Tablespoon hazelnuts, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoon butter, cold
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon water, cold

I made my dough in the food processor really quick and easy. Place flour, hazelnuts, sugar and salt in bowl of food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse a few times to mix, add the butter in small pieces and pulse again to make smaller pieces. Add egg and water and pulse until the dough holds together when pinched. I found I needed to add another teaspoon of cold water since I added in the hazelnuts. Dump the dough onto the counter and gather together into a ball and flatten to a disk shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, I refrigerated my dough over night. To bake the dough I lightly floured my counter and sprinkled some flour on the top of the dough and rolled it out to slightly bigger than my tart pan. Place the dough in a 9-inch tart pan and gently press into the bottom and up the sides taking off any extra dough along the side. With a fork prick the bottom crust in several places. I lined the crust with foil and added beans to keep the bottom and side in place while it baked. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, remove foil and bake another 3 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

Pear and Blue Cheese filling
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
1 pear, peeled and diced small
2 ounces Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs, (I used 1 more egg than the original recipe used)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add the onion and salt & pepper to taste. Cook until slightly brown, about 5 minutes. Spread the onions in the bottom of the hazelnut tart shell. Evenly spread the pears and then the blue cheese over the onions. In small bowl beat the heavy cream and eggs, season with salt and pepper, pour over the pears and blue cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until brown or a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Set on rack for at least 5 minutes to set the eggs completely. The Fresh From Oregon Quiche is ready to serve, enjoy.

Recipe adapted from: Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

Cook the Books! A Cookbook Challenge!

January 21, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

So you ask what is Cook the Books? It is a year-long challenge of cookbooks, each month for the next 12 months focuses on 12 different cookbooks. The idea was dreamed up by two bloggers Grow & Resist and Oh, Briggsy, way to go girls! This is a way for me to explore 12 new cookbooks throughout the year, make new recipes and give a Pacific Northwest twist to the recipes I make. Towards the end of each month you will come along with me in my blog and explore a new cookbook.

The book for the January challenge is “Around My French Table” by Dorie Greenspan. I bought the digital version and downloaded a copy to my computer and started exploring the book. At first I thought french cooking would not be something I would do. But as I read the recipes and saw the use of fresh vegetables, fruits and salmon in many of the recipes I realized that this is what cooking Fresh From Oregon is all about. I bookmarked the recipes I wanted to make and thought about how to give them the Fresh From Oregon taste. The first thing I started with was the “Sweet & Spicy Cocktail Nuts” and to give it an Oregon flavor I used hazelnuts. Enjoy the nuts below with your favorite drink. I even added them to my salad for dinner last night!

Sweet & Spicy Hazelnuts

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 /2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch cayenne pepper or 1/4 teaspoon if you like them spicy

1 large egg white

2 cups Hazelnuts

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. I placed a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet for the nuts so I could clean easily when done.

In a small bowl mix together the sugar and spices. Use a fork and a medium size bowl and beat the egg for about 30 seconds to get it a little foamy. To give it that Fresh From Oregon taste I used hazelnuts. Stir the hazelnuts to coat them with the egg whites, then add the sugar and spice mixture and mix until all the hazelnuts are coated. I thought they would be spicier so if you want a real kick add at least 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne pepper. I wanted the easy way out so I poured the mixture on the parchment paper and separated them after they cooled. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the hazelnuts are browned and the coating is not sticky anymore. Watch the last 5 minutes, they really start to cook and brown quickly. I cooled for 15 minutes and just broke apart each of the nuts.

Adapted from: Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

Portland Farmers Winter Market

January 20, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

What is the best way to know what is fresh in Oregon this week?

Just head down to the Portland Farmers Winter Market at Shemanski Park. That is what my husband and I did this past Saturday. The winter market is open every Saturday from January 5th through February 23 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Winter Market is located in the South Park Block at Shemanski Park between SW Salmon and SW Main street.
As we entered the upper end of the market I could not believe the fresh piles of fruits and

vegetables at Groundwork Organics. I started picking out some fresh leeks, potatoes and onions for the potato leek soup I will be making this week. Their big display of brussels sprouts were perfect for the new dish I am making with the butternut squash and apples I had at home. It was a cook’s dream at every booth I passed. The broccoli, kale, chard, fennel, cabbage, turnips and parsnips made me dream of more soup in the future. If you did not stock up on your favorite squash last fall there were all kinds to choose from including pumpkins that would make the best pie.

Thinking of pie my favorite apple place, Kiyokawa Family Orchard had a large selection of apples and pears and some great looking Honeycrisp my number one apple for everything. Carrots, did I tell you they had orange, yellow, white and purple I had to have some of each. The farm fresh eggs were stacked on tables and if you wanted some fresh meat there was pork, beef, chicken and salmon. One also can not resist the fresh bread vendors and of course handcrafted cheeses. I got some delicious samples of Irish Cheddar and Gouda from Jacobs Creamery. They also had some

hand churned Irish butter, churned on Friday and I could not hold myself back and now there is a tub in my refrigerator.

So if you need some of the freshest items in Portland a trip to the Portland Farmers Winter Market should be on your list for next Saturday.

Skillet Apple Pie

January 6, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

It is the first week in January and it is time to sort the apples I bought this past fall. If you get the right type of apple you can keep them stored in your refrigerator for 4 to 6 months. I am coming up on the 4 month mark and need to use up some apples. I pulled the rest of my Winesap, Empire, Granny Smith and Pinova apples out and had enough to make two apple pies. I have been wanting to try the Skillet Apple Pie I added to my Pinterest page last October so I pulled out my 12″ cast iron skillet (10″ is a normal size). I also made a small 8″ pie for the local fire department to enjoy. I had just pulled two hot apple pies from the oven as my husband walked by my kitchen, I think he smells them coming out and the only words he said was that is a giant pie! So clean out the refrigerator of your mixed apples or visit some local farm markets that still have a few apples left and make a skillet apple pie!

4 pounds of mixed baking apples
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
pie crust for a double crusted pie
1 egg (optional)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º. Peel apples, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Toss apples with cinnamon and 3/4 cup granulated sugar.

Melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat; add brown sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and place 1 pie crust in skillet over brown sugar mixture. Spoon apple mixture over pie crust, and top with remaining pie crust. Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape.

I am not a big fan of egg and sugar on top of my pie it makes it a little hard and sweet but if you like it that way do the following. Whisk egg white until foamy. Brush top of pie crust with egg white; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly, shielding with aluminum foil during last 10 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream.

Source: Southern Living – September 2011 – Mrs. James Wright, Chattanooga, Tennessee

New Year’s Resolution 2013

January 1, 2013 · by Carrie Trax ·

So 2013 is here and today is the day to set my goals. I have mentally given myself goals before but have never written them down or put them on the internet for all to see so here we go…

1) To do more blogs on my site “Fresh from Oregon” and share all the wonderful things that are grown here in Oregon like: Pears, Hazelnuts, Marionberries, Razor Clams, Salmon and the list can go on.

2) To start my cookbook and get the first chapter finished by the end of February.

3) Learn how to sew and use the new sewing machine my husband bought me for Christmas. See my picture above on the start of my sewing…

4) Learn to take better pictures with my camera and learn more than the auto button.

5) To work collecting more family history and pictures about my family and my husband’s family for our family tree and share with my family that I know now and to find more family I have never met here in the US and other countries. I believe I have the word family 6 times in the sentence above so that is an important resolution.

6) To discover the mountain, with my husband John and dog Sage, where we live and all the beautiful trails and breath taking views it has to share.

7) To have no more than 6 resolutions so I have time learn and share my life with others!