Lavender Lemon Cake

What gift do you get for the most amazing sister in the world?  Someone who really needs to celebrate...a new baby girl, beautiful new home, an amazing smoker that produces the most mouth watering smoked salmon you will ever taste....CAKE of course!  My mind went directly to Red Velvet...the southern classic (Bloody Armadillo Cake anyone???).  I have loved this cake for years and even served it at my wedding.  Since then it has become a family mainstay.  Alas, I am feeling a bit of ennui for this old favorite...I mean seriously...I can't believe Yoplait made it an actual yogurt flavor.  Gross!  Like the sagas of the Kardashian clan, this cake is a little played out.  Fear not!  What better substitute for an old has-been than a tart new star...Lavender Lemon Cake.  I like lemon to take center stage in my lemon cake.  A lemon cake should be tart, slightly sweet, moist, and rich.  This cake is bright with lemon juice and lemon zest combined with soothing dried lavender.  I would say you could use less sugar (a little too sweet for me) and more lemon in the recipe (I updated the recipe accordingly).  Since my plan was to ship this cake I chose to make it in 4 mini spring form pans.  Personal and MUCH easier to ship!  Let's hope it made it in one piece.  Happy Birthday Jen...you have really set the bar high for next year! I Love You!

Romesco Cauliflower

T and I went to Spain last May and I have been in love with the cuisine since, especially Andalusian Gazpacho.  Thickening sauces with bread and addinging an acidic punch with a splash of Sherry Vinegar...you can do no wrong.  Low and behold one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, brought me back to Spain with recipes for delicious Romesco Potatoes and Spinach and Chickpeas.  Of course I made them both!  Instead of using Country White Bread as a thikening agent, I used my other obsession Sprouted Grain Bread...more on that later.  Instead of potatoes I opted for roasted Cauliflower and Broccoflower with salt, pepper, cold pressed olive oil, garlic and sprigs of thyme.  Sadly I think I scored a zero on local ingredients for this meal (the coffee and buckwheat fig scone was too good to rouse me from the couch and send me forth to the farmer's market).  Though not very local, it was delicious with Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes and my lovely sprouted wheat bread (truly a labor of love).  Regardless the combination is amazing...so good we made dinner of it!  The next best thing to being in Seville, sipping wine in a little tapas bar on a warm summer evening....

Green Grazing Resurrected!!

Green Grazing is officially back!

Spring has officially arrived in Houston. Plants are peeking their little green heads out of the ground and so, finally, is this blog. So what could have happened in the year plus that I have been away?? The Bluestar CSA sadly is officially dead, along with an ample chunk of my change, but alas it is spring, new beginnings, and time to move on. We are lucky to FINALLY have a wonderful little farmer's market nearby in Clear Lake Shores. Tasty goat cheese, farm fresh eggs, Atkinson farm, Froberg's to name a few... Tons of cooking, baking, eating, but unfortunately none of it documented...(that should change!).

So more recipes, gardening, and dining to come.... Welcome back!

Christmas Candy: Maple Almond Brittle

Nothing says Christmas like an indulgent edible gift for family and friends. Pecan Pralines (for my Louisianna born relatives) and a layered white and dark chocolate Peppermint bark are becoming main-stays, but each year I like to reach out and try something new and interesting (to me). This years theme has become candy making. Tonight I tried my hand at Divinity (clouds of airy sugary bliss) which turned into a giant blob of goo on my cookie sheet. Reading some articles on this treat I found that apparently EVERY southern woman knows that you don't make devinity when it is humid. I live in Houston!!! When is it NOT humid?? (5 days until Christmas and I was finishing up my shopping in a t-shirt, skirt and flip-flops.) Being a Texas transplant I guess I have a lot to learn.

In my atempt to save the evenings .goal of making a sweet treat, and inspired by my recent trip to Montreal and new found love of maple syrup, I decided to make Maple Almond Brittle . (Humidity be damned!). I used Montreal Maple Syrup and lacking the proper amount of almonds, I used an almond and pecan mix.

Maple Syrup, Sugar, and Corn Syrup bubbling away...

Brittle Cooling

Recipe (from Gourmet Magazine):

Maple Almond Brittle
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups sliced unblanched almonds, toasted lightly
Directions
In a heavy saucepan combine the maple syrup, the corn syrup, the salt, and the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the side with a brush dipped in cold water, and boil the mixture, undisturbed, until it registers 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Stir in the almonds quickly and pour the mixture onto an oiled marble slab or a baking sheet lined with foil. Spread the mixture as thin as possible with a metal spatula and let it cool. Break the almond brittle into serving pieces.

Texas Turkey

Starting with my first year away from home in a quest for higher education I have dreaded the flight home to visit my family for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving used to be my favorite holiday...family, great food, and no present stress...until I moved away from home. The stress of Thanksgiving travel and high ticket prices coupled with more than one unplanned night spent in a random U.S. city en route to my final destination have soured me on the experience all together. Hence the initiation of Friends Thanksgiving, and the beginning of the fried Turkey tradition (drawn from my husband's Louisiana roots).
This year we decided to extend our thanks to the local farmer and seek out a Texas free range Turkey to share with our friends. Shockingly, this became a bit of a task. Local farmer's markets were selling local free range Turkeys for as high as $6.75/lb to a slightly more palatable $3.75/lb. Still...$88 for a 13lb Turkey? We love our friends...but maybe not THAT much...we could practically switch to Fillet Mignon for that price. Slightly angered at the elitist nature of the locavore movement, I almost opted for the free Kroger Turkey with a $50 purchase when...Co-Op to the rescue! Fran's Fryers, our normal supplier of chicken and sausage, carries Turkeys for $1.87/lb. We were floored at the price, with frozen Butterball Turkeys running $1.47/lb. We have 2 Turkeys on their way, local Thanksgiving is saved! :)

Veggie Claus Returns!!!

It has been quite awhile since we have received fresh veggies at our doorstep. We were starting to think Veggie Claus wasn't real. After Ike, the CSA had a hard time getting back on its feat, and to top that off, the CSA's computer crashed, leaving the member lists jumbled and some delivery lists lost. So after Ike, missed deliveries, and rain delays, the prodigal veggies are FINALLY back, and there was much rejoicing!!! :)
What we found on our porch:

• 1 Dozen Eggs
• Pie Pumpkin
• Summer Squash (yellow and green)
• Turnips
• Radishes
• Kale
• Long Beans
• Sweet Potatoes
• Green Onions
• Roma Tomatoes
• Grapes

Veggie Status

It has been a LONG time since I posted about the container garden. Some success, some failure. BIG lesson learned is to properly place seeds and thin out! The radishes and arugula completely failed. The sugar snap peas are still growing but are definitely being challenged. The swiss chard is struggling, but still alive. The good news is that the pepper and tomato plants are doing really well! The Black Pearl budded and has a new crop of little green tomatoes. The pepper plant is going strong as well and has 2 peppers growing...1 in the budding stage and one half grown! How exciting...I can almost make 1 WHOLE salad from this fall's work ;)

Eat Local Challenge - Anniversary Mark's

So Monday the 6th was my husband and I's First Anniversary! I can't believe that a year has already gone by...a new house, a hurricane, a challenge :). I thought my husband had to work that evening so I had already cozied up to my new favorite food...the homemade chocolate pudding I posted about earlier...when the doorbell rang, and there he was! SURPRISE! I put down my pudding, and we were off to dinner at Mark's American Cuisine. We have been celebrating relationship milestones at Mark's for a few years, and we definitely consider it a special place. Over the years we have seen Mark's grow, but the high quality of the service and the food has not changed. I had the Eat Local Challenge in the back of my mind as I perused the menu, but I had already given myself a freebee for the night...it WAS my first anniversary, and we WERE at my favorite restaurant. Alas, Mark's prides itself on its seasonal fresh cuisine and the chefs seek out the freshest produce throughout the country when creating their menu. They typically list the source of all of their menu items; including the state and farm where it came from. The nights specials included Texas Kobe beef served as boneless ribs and sliced flank steak...LOCAL! I was in, if only to stay true to the challenge :) We toyed with ordering an Inwood Estates Tempernillo to keep the local Texas theme going, but at $75 a bottle, we were not feeling that glued to the challenge...I have my limits. We were a bit annoyed at the wine list in general. When we first started going to Mark's we were truly impressed with their wine list. It offered a range of wines from the high 20's up to the reserve/cult wine category, with attention to quality and variety at each level. With their new sommelier, that is no longer the case. I think it is ridiculous that a restaurant would not be able to find a decent red wine that they could offer for under $50. Off the soap box. The dinner was amazing, and we finished if off with some delicious French Press Coffee and a trio of desserts featuring American Whiskeys as a common ingredient...kind of local. The desserts included a chocolate brownie, pecan pie with mint mojito ice cream, and an amazing creme brulee. Yum!! So despite the ever increasing prices at Mark's we will continue coming back for the beautiful food, local flavor, and romantic atmosphere...

Eat Local Challenge: Weekend's Eating

Saturday night was St. Arnold's Pub Crawl...can't get much more local than that! 5 local bars took part in the ramble: McGonigels Mucky Duck, The Hobbit Cafe, Mezzanine Lounge, and finished off at Stag's Head. St. Arnold's Oktoberfest was the featured beer. Great beer and a well run event. St. Arnold's does a great job supporting Houston events, and is dedicated to giving

back to the community.

Inspired I guess, St. Arnold's seemed to be the theme for Sunday's cooking.

Hatterman's eggs for breakfast, then I went to work baking some Beer Bread with St. Arnold's Divine Reserve #7, a Weizenbock beer. I grabbed the recipe from another blogger...quick and easy.

Here is her recipe:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour (I used half Stone Ground Wheat (from Texas!) and half St. Arthur's Organic Unbleached Flour)

1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

12oz. Beer

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

Egg Glaze:1 egg & 2 tsp (10 ml) water, beaten

Heat oven to 375F. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick. Spread in a greased 8-inch loaf pan, brush with egg glaze if desired, and bake until golden brown and a tooth

pick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Will keep for 1 to 2 days stored in a plastic bag or airtight container. May be frozen.

A St. Arnold's Inspired Dinner:

Chicken Burger with Sauteed Greens

The Ground Chicken came from Fran's Fryers. My husband mixed

in some local Texas-Texas Salsa and onion to keep the meat moist, since chicken is so lean.

We topped the burgers with our local Cheddar made with....St. Arnold's Divine Reserve 5, a Russian Imperial Stout. The flavors came together well. We topped the burgers with some Texas Mustard and Salsa. The Beer bread made for an excellent bun. The malty meizenbock added a wonderful richness to the bread...I can't wait to try some variations on this recipe.

Eat Local Challenge - The Weekend Farmer's Markets

This weekend was dedicated to scoping out the local farmer's markets.
My employer offers a Friday farmer's market in the main lobby of their building. They bring produce in from Froberg's Farm in Alvin, Texas. I was able to pick up some red potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and some frozen cream peas and black-eyed peas.
With this I was able to pull together a Shepherd's Pie using the chicken from last night's dinner. Following the letter of the law, I was not able to use any carrots, garlic, onions... My husband loved the dish, but I am not sure we will make it a month without garlic and onions.
Saturday we headed downtown to the farmer's markets:
Bayou City Farmer's Market had some great items to offer including a wide array of summer squash (globe, pattypan...), Hatterman's Free Range Eggs, Bok Choy, Jams to name a few. Airline Farmer's Market off of 610. This market mainly has supermarket fare at reduced prices, but I was able to pick up some local items: 5lb bag of Pecans (they are in season and delicious!) and stone ground flour and cornmeal from Brazos Bottom Mills in Angleton, TX. I am on a quest to determine whether the wheat is actually from Texas or just milled here...all I can find on-line is the Texas Wheat Farm Association. Anyone know the answer?

Day Two: Eat Local Challenge

Last night we received our order from Fran's Fryers (located North of Houston just outside of Dallas)!! Whole Chicken, Steaks, Chicken Breast, Ground Chicken, Turkey Breakfast Sausage and Link Sausage. All free range, antibiotic free, natural meat and poultry. I think we are set on protein for the challenge! I find that is one thing Texas has an ample supply of...local meats, poultry, fish and dairy products, and at a reasonable price.

Today's Local Menu:

Breakfast:

Kefir, Figs, drizzled with Texas Honey and some Texas roasted Katz's Espresso

Lunch:

Went out with Friends to Neptune's Subs. Sadly no Texas items, so I just had a small salad and some Ozarka Texas water (they weren't serving tap water). Neptunes is located in Seabrook...an area hit hard by Ike. Though not eating local food (not really any restaurants in Clear Lake that serve local food), I supported the local community, and the few restaurants that have been able to open back up.

Snack:

Homemade Central Market Wheat Tortillas (one of the best parts of living in Houston...widely available homemade tortillas...I can't remember the last time I had the prepackaged version) and some Houston Dairy Maid's Redneck Cheddar.

Dinner:

Fran's Freyer's Whole Roasted Chicken

Delicata Squash

Some leftover Purple Fingerling Potatoes (not local, but leftover from pre-ELC...we didn't want to waste the few pre-ELC items we still have left in our fridge)

Dessert:

My new favorite thing!!! Homemade Chocolate Pudding

I grabbed this recipe from another blogger "Eggs on Sunday" she has more great recipes I'd love to try. I made this with 1% milk (from CM/Organic from regional cows), Sugar from Sugarland, Texas, and my exception...Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder (San Francisco..not SO bad). I leave out the chopped chocolate, though I will start experimenting with other add-ins. I promised my husband peanut butter chips.

Double-Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Bon Appetit, March 1996
Ingredients (for 2 servings)

2 tbsp sugar (note: the original recipe had 1/3 cup, but I found that a bit too much for my taste)

2 tbsp good-quality cocoa powder

1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch1 cup milk (I’ve made the recipe with all kinds - whole, 2%, skim - all work just fine.)
1 ounce chopped chocolate (I like dark, but use whatever you prefer)

1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and cornstarch. Whisk in the milk. Heat over medium heat, whisking continually, until the milk comes to a simmer (don’t let it come to a hard boil.) Once it comes to a simmer and is gently bubbling, keep whisking it for 1 minute longer. The pudding should be quite thick at this point.
Take it off the heat and whisk in the chopped chocolate and vanilla extract. Divide among two cups and cover with plastic wrap before placing in the fridge to chill (if you don’t like skin on your pudding, place the plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding.)
Serves 2.

Go Texan! Restaurant Round-up!

Well...tonight is Go Texan! Restaurant Round-Up. Local restaurants are serving Texas based menus and a portion of the proceeds go to the Texas Food Bank. I am bummed I missed it! Some of the local restaurants have events going on throughout the month of October since it is Texas Wine month!
Would have been a great way to kick-off the eat local month....

Day 1: Eat Local Challenge

As I mentioned in my previous post, with Ike hitting the Houston coast pretty hard, our CSA has been knocked out of business for the near-term. No longer do I have the luxury of beautiful seasonal fresh fruits and veggies landing on my doorstep every Tuesday morning. Alas...we decided to continue on with the challenge and venture out to the markets to stock the fridge with the starts of our local cuisine for the next month. We headed to the Houston Farmer's Market behind Rice University. Living in Clear Lake, the 36mile drive for local fare has its obvious drawbacks, but we figure we go downtown at least twice a week anyway...so that is how we justify it.
Nothing against the Houston Farmer's Market, but I have always preferred the Bayou City Farmer's Market for selection. The Houston Farmer's Market seems to cater more towards prepared foods and has a smaller fruit and veggie selection. That being said, we did find some great items including:

• Katz's Coffee (locally roasted)
• Blue Heron Farm (Goat Cheese) -located north of Houston
• Houston Dairy Maid's - Redneck Cheddar (made with St. Arnold's Device reserve!) and Bosque Blue (They always offer a WONDERFUL selection of Texas cheeses)
• Figs!!! Grown by a Houston woman in her back yard(best find every year...great to be a Houstonian)
• Plum Easy Lavender Pizzettes
• Pecans

Next stop: Central Market. They label the source of all of their products, so it makes it super easy to find local items:

Locally Produced and found at CM:

• Texas Olive Ranch Olive Oil!!
• Lucky Layla Farms Natural Plain Yogurt (Garland, Texas) I plan to use it as a starter for making my own yogurt with local milk
• Kimchee from Houston (Banyan Foods) (they also supply soy milk, egg roles, wrappers etc...to the local community with a mission to stay local)....I have been eating their Kimchee for awhile...best I have tasted
• Texmati Rice (primarily grown in Texas!)
• Texas Texas Salsa (my favorite, all natural and SO tasty!)
• Austin Slow Burn - Southwest Pasta Sauce. (yes, we should be making our own from all the great tomatoes, but we thought we'd try it)
• Fresh Wheat Pasta - made in Dallas (though I'd like to try and make it myself)

Local Veggies at CM:

• Delicata Squash (had to check to see if it was edible...it is! We'll see how it tastes)
• Yellow, Orange, and Red Tomatoes (Hydroponically grown, but very tasty)
• OKRA (I think it grows like a weed in Texas)
• Texas Baby Portobello Mushrooms (they also carry shitake, cremini...good range) from Gonzales, Texas...within 100miles. Apparently the company also sells Mushroom Compost as well...

My only concern so far....lettuce...leafy greens...I am not sure I can live without them...I'll keep up the search....

October Eat Local Challenge

My husband and I have decided to take out quest 1 step further and take on the Eat Local Challenge for the month of October.

1. What is your definition of local?

Our definition of local is anything grown or produced in Texas. We will try our best to support local producers even if all product ingredients are not necessarily local.

2. What exemptions will you claim?

Until our CSA comes back on line we will need to sort out our exemptions.

Spices (if not available locally)
Orbits Gum (don't think I can live without it)
Pantry Staples (Wheat, Oatmeal, etc) that are not grown in Texas

Tea
3. What is your goal for the month?
Our goal is to try and find local Texas producers and to support our local farmers. We also want to truly understand seasonality. We have been trying to eat local for the past year or so, joining a CSA, purchasing meats, poultry, and cheeses locally. When looking at our typical weekly groceries purchased at our local grocery store we were shocked to see how truly international our dinners were....Tomatoes from Holland, Olive Oil from Spain, Capers from Turkey...I'd love to travel as much as my food had.
That being said, we will try our best while out of town to eat local, and will not refuse dinner invitations with friends based on our local quest. We will do our best and hopefully learn something in the end!

The Great IKE Evacuation

I have always doubted a hurricane would never hit Houston...Louisiana always sucks them in. In my last 6 years as a Houstonian I was right...until Saturday, September 13th. Enter Ike. My husband and I had a family reunion planned to Palm Desert, California leaving Saturday the 13th...bad timing. Thankfully Southwest allowed us to change our tickets to Thursday the 11th, and after closing up our house and a 7 hour wait at Hobby Airport (we were taking no chances) we "evacuated" to San Diego.

I was VERY happy that I decided to start my gardening endeavor in containers...the veggies were moved into the kitchen before we left!

We decided to take advantage of our few extra vacation days and tour San Diego. We headed to the beach and sampled some of the local breweries. Pizza Port in Solana Beach, Lost Abbey, and Stone. Stone had a beautiful beer garden and a wonderful restaurant. Nice way to spend an evacuation. In keeping with the "all things local" theme of this blog, not shocking to anyone I am sure, Palm Desert is not the source of the thousands of fresh fruits and veggies we receive from California year-round. Turns out Dates thrive in Palm Desert! Apparently they supply something like 90% of the U.S. Consumption of Dates.

Our wonderful friends who stayed in Houston kept us up to date with the hurricane status as it made landfall, and were able to navigate the streets the day after the hurricane in order to assure us that our house was still standing. It turns out we had some significant shingle damage which allowed water to leak from our 2nd story down into the kitchen. Except for the tree carnage, that was about all the damage we received. Our fabulous friends also spent their "Hurrication" free time cleaning up our yard and pool. Amazing!! We joked that we might leave the state for EVERY hurricane :)

Veggies Arrive!

Our CSA has been having some problems as of late. They have been down for about 2 weeks repainting and repairing their cooler, but this morning we woke to Veggies at our door! At last :) I sampled the free range eggs this morning...yum! The eggs came in all different shapes and colors, from jumbo white to a small pointy brown egg. I could taste a difference I think :)

When Life Gives You Limes...

My friend Iona has a lime tree which has produced profusely this summer! I guess lime trees love the hot humid Houston summer... She has had the tree for a year. She transplanted the tree from Galveston, stuck it in the dirt, and a year later, picked about 200 limes.

Given the surplus, she gifted me with a bag of limes. What to do with an entire bag of limes....LIMEADE!! Well...fancy Limeade

Lavender Mint Limeade

• The juice of 9 limes



• 1 cup Lavender Simple Syrup



• Water (dilute to taste)



• Sprinkle with fresh mint leaves

I got the mint off of my mint plant, which also has taken well to the Houston climate! Deliciously refreshing for the hot Houston summer...those that survive, quench.

I am thinking about using the rest of the limes to make Lavendar Mint Lime Ice Pops. We'll see how it goes. Thanks Iona!

Snap Peas and Tomatoes

I got my first two Blackpearl cherry tomatoes from my tomato plant! The leaves are curling a bit and a couple of the leaves have died on the plant, so I am a little worried the plant might have a bug/disease. Early blight?? Let's hope not...

The Sugar Snap peas are growing like crazy...11 days since planting and they are already trying to climb. I attempted to thin the peas out a bit and installed a wooden trellace. We'll see if they climb...

Transplanting Time! (and some growth status)

8/30/09 The veggies have all sprouted and are growing like mad!
I transplanted some of the arugula and radishes into new pots in order to give them some room to grow.



Arugula Sprouts and Radish Sprouts

After the big transplant, I collected the and enjoyed some radish and arugula microgreens for lunch and dinner.

The Blackpearl cherry tomato is starting to change!

Slow Food Nation

Houston's very own purveyer of all things local, Monica Pope (T'afia, Beaver's), guest blogging for Alison cook at Slow Food Nation 08 in San Francisco.