Salty Honey Pie....Just make it.

I first had salty honey pie around this time last year.  Don't ask questions, just make it.  You won't regret it.  Find the recipe here:  Salty Honey Pie.  I did shed a few tears when I thought I ruined the crust, since baking is not my claim to fame, BUT, it turned out great somehow, despite a slightly slumped crust.

Salty Honey Pie, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie

We picked up this bird from a farm near Jason's hometown in Massachusetts..Stillman's At The Turkey Farm. This ain't no heritage turkey, folks, it's a broad-breasted white, but raised well and very tasty.  We brined the bird for about 12 hours before cooking.

The Bird

And while we were in Mass hanging out with family, we got about 9" of wet, heavy, beautiful, tree-bending snow.

My Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe

When you are ready to use the dough, take it out of the fridge and turn the oven on to 475 degrees F with a pizza stone preheating in it.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces.  Flour a work surface and pat out the dough with your fingertips into a pizza-shape.  Let rest 5 or 10 minutes and then roll with a rolling pin from the center outwards.

Make dimples with your fingertips in the crust to avoid air bubbles while baking.  Brush with olive oil and top with toppings.  Slide onto pizza stone (sprinkle w flour or cornmeal right before sliding on pizza).  Bake for 12 minutes.  I don't have a pizza peel so I use parchment paper on top of a wooden cutting board with flour dustings to roll out the dough and then slide onto the stone.

Yum.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Scapes are the flower stalks of the growing garlic bulbs and they are tasty in many dishes as well as good for pickling and sauces. To harvest them, tug or snap them as soon as they appear, while they are still small and tender. Most people cut off the flower bud and use the stalk. Here is an easy recipe for some pesto:

1 lb scapes: bud removed and stalks chopped
1-2 cups olive oil (adjust as needed)
salt
basil, if available
1 1/2 c fresh grated parm or asiago cheese
1 cup almonds or pine nuts
salt

Process in food processor and store either with a thin layer of oil on top or plastic wrap pressed against surface.

The photos show garlic growing at Garden Dreams in Wilkinsburg, PA, where I work, as well as the scapes after they were cut and the pesto making. I am also trying some lacto-fermented pickles with some of the scapes and if those work out okay I will definitely post the recipe. I am growing garlic for the first time in my own garden this fall and have gathered some information on growing below (mostly from Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening)...

Growing Garlic:

Garlic is usually planted in the fall but can also be planted in the spring. Garlic from the grocery store will grow but may carry disease or be poorly adapted to where you live. You can order garlic from seed supply companies or sometimes buy it at nurseries that carry onion sets or seed potatoes. Most grocery store garlic is softneck (it doesn't flower so no scapes to eat!) and is good for braiding. Hard neck garlic produces a flowerhead. Plant individual cloves (pieces from a broken up bulb) 1" - 4" deep (less in heavy clay soil which is definitely Pittsburgh soil). Space 7" apart for block planting or 4" x 12" in rows. Most cultivars need at least a month of cool weather (soil below 50 degrees) to produce a good size bulb. Harvest garlic when leaves begin to brown but before all foliage has died back (july-ish for fall planted garlic). Dig up carefully and hang or place on slatted shelves or sceens to dry.

Simple Pasta

4 servings (About 1 lb)

2 c all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Make a well in the flour and pour eggs in. Beat, mixing with a little flour. Hand mix all ingredients and add a little water or flour if too stiff or dry. Knead for 10 minutes by hand or with a dough hook in a mixer. Divide into four and rest for 1 hour wrapped lightly in plastic. Roll out as thin a possible, stretching and pulling dough as you roll. Let rest 20 - 40 minutes, until leathery but not stiff. Slice on floured board and let rest 1 hour before boiling 3-5 minutes in salted water.

Curried Turnip Apple Soup

This soup is delicious! Anyone who has disdain for the turnip might want to give this one a try! The recipe is from "Sally's Place" by Sally Berstein. Click the title link to go to her website. I made a probably inauthentic curry powder from 80% turmeric and cumin plus 20% ground mustard seed, coriander and bay leaf. The ingredients I used are not from our garden but they are from local farms and The Apple Festival that I frequented last weekend in Highland Park. Delicious!

Curried Turnip and Apple Soup
serves 6

3 tablespoons butter or oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 pound turnips, peeled and chopped
2 small tart apples, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 cups chicken stock (I used water...didn't have stock on hand...
vegetable stock would make a vegetarian version)
1/3 cup raw rice
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh chive

In a large saucepan, heat the butter. Add the onion, celery, turnip, and apple. Cook until wilted. Stir in the curry powder and parsley; cook for another minute. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and add the rice. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Tomatoes and Eggplants and Beans (For Dinner!)

Blackened beans, fried eggplant, tomatoes and polenta. Delicious!

Herb Butter

Below are some pictures of herb butter before it is herb butter, and then herb butter after it is mixed on up and ready for the freezer. To make, just chop the herbs fine and mix 'em with the butter, or throw the whole lot in a food processor if you have one. Roll into a log on some plastic wrap and then freeze. Slice off a pat with a warm knife when you need it. A simple fix from the amazing recipes in the cookbook In Season by Sarah Raven.