Rosemary Cheese Bites and The Winner Is....

So, my dear friends, I have a bonus post for you this week...weekend...whatever you want to call it. Katie Goodman, who is the author of the beautiful blog, GoodLife Eats, asked if I would do a guest post for her while she was taking some time off to spend with her sweet hubby. Of course, I said, "Absolutely...."

What you will find when you hop on over there is a little bit of musing...of course...and a recipe for Rosemary Cheese Bites that are like a grown-up Cheese-It. I can't tell you how good they are. You won't be able to stop eating them and no, they don't have any butter in them. None at all. They are calorie free. They aren't at all like a savory shortbread cookie. :)

Click here to hop on over to Rosemary Cheese Bites


And the Winner Is.....
Thanks so much all of you who entered to win the National Pork Board Giveaway I talked about on my last post. I wish I could have given it away to all of you but since I only had one, and to keep me honest, I let the Kindergartner choose the winning "ticket" and here's how it went.

The Kindergartner is stirring up the names.

He's pulling out the winning ticket.

He's opening it up.

And the Winner Is....

Amy M., I have your email address and will be in touch to gather all pertinent information. Congratulations!!


Organizing Project
The only kind of organizing getting done these days is what I have now coined as:
Drive-By Purging and Organizing: Creating Calm Out of Chaos

It's when your To-Do list has you so overwhelmed you simply abandon it and then, grab a paper sack and start throwing things in it to be donated without any thought. And even when you are loading it into the car, you are still looking around the garage saying to yourself, "What else can I throw in here? Oooo, small army man on the ground, you are a goner."



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Tis the Season for Herbs

"There's a few things I've learned in life: always throw salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can." - William Shakespeare



Ever since I started having herbs in my garden it has made all the difference in my cooking. Being able to walk out the door and snip a few sprigs of oregano or a few sprigs of rosemary as opposed to getting in a car to buy a bundle makes me search for reasons to cook with fresh herbs.

What types of herbs to plant in your yard or in a pot on your back porch can take a little bit of "trial and error." Figuring out which herbs you actually use or which ones grow fairly easily in your yard can take a few seasons but it's worth the effort.

If I could only choose one herb to plant, I would choose rosemary. The deer won't touch it, it's fuss-free and it has endless uses. An herb workhorse, indeed.

The herbs that I use year-round and that usually make it through the winter in pots are: rosemary, thyme, and oregano. I also plant sage but I don't find that I use it very often.

The herbs I plant in late spring that will last until late fall are: Italian parsley, cilantro (lots of it) and lemon verbena only because I love how delicious it smells.

And then later, when it warms up a bit, a pot of basil. No herb garden should be without.

Just curious, what are your favorite herbs to plant in your yard? If you could choose only one, what would it be?



PS: I had a few friends asking me about keeping herbs in pots watered. I have yet to set up any kind of drip system and the self-watering pot inserts that I've tried haven't worked very well but I did stumble upon these "hydro-mats" last season and it made a huge difference in cutting back the amount of watering I had to do during the summer. I used it for my herbs as well as for my flower boxes.


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

Tiny Bits of Hope Wrapped Up in Goat Cheese Love

Yes, it's absolutely true that it rains here. I mean really rains. As in November through May you can expect a 50% chance rain on any given day which is most days. Half the year. Half the year with gray skies, wet shoes and saturated, moss-filled lawns.

There's a large percentage of us who welcome the start of the rainy season in the fall. We're ready to head inside. To have some quiet time of introspection. To pull out wool scarves, down jackets and rain boots. To make soups, pots of chili and braised meats. I am one of those people. As a matter of fact, being a native of this wet world, if I go too long without rain I start to get itchy.

Of course, fall leads into winter which is welcoming in its own stark way. A lack of clutter. A time to clean our mental house. To take blank sheets of paper and write out our goals, our dreams, our hopes for the new year.

Which brings us up to the last moments of winter, just days from the start of spring. Those days when I know we still have at least 3 1/2 more months of rain but when I am ready to have this heaviness lifted from my mind. To see my family in bright, clear detail as opposed to dim, hazy light. To trade in the movies on the couch for bike rides along the river. To retire the soup pot and fire up the grill. To see the outside world decorated in something other than neutrals.

And just when I can't take the gray and rain one more day and feel like I'm going to start scratching the ceiling....

The days grow longer. And while not sunlight per se, it is light...later. And that light bekons me outside where I welcome the chance to do even that never-ending chore of weeding...in-between rain showers.

And while I'm outside I start to look around and notice that there are little bits of color waiting to be found.

Little nubs on trees.

New shoots poking their way past rain soaked leaves.

Chives that have filled in with their long, slender green leaves. Leaves that are just waiting for me to snip and use in a recipe.

And overnight it seems, those lovely daffodils raise the curtain on their spring spectacle. The viewing of which does wonders to lift the spirits.

And even though these are all but tiny hints of what's to come, they help. Somehow the gray sky doesn't seem nearly as oppressive. The rain not nearly so inconvenient since the air is warm(er). The mind somehow less foggy.

And it is my dearest hope that all of the people in Japan who have lost so much after the terrible wreckage and destruction of the earthquake and tsunami may start to see tiny hints of hope. Fragments of color. Something, anything, that can help to lift the extraordinary sense of loss and despondency they must surely be feeling.

Hints of Hope
Here are some folks trying to help out. Trying to send a tiny hint of hope to our friends across the ocean.

Portland's own Wieden+Kennedy designed a print to raise relief funds. The first run of posters already sold out but a second one is in the works. Click here to see their lovely creation.

Here is another beautiful print designed by Los Angeles artist, Nan Lawson, to raise relief funds for Japan as well.

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Tiny Bits of Chive All Wrapped Up in Goat Cheese Love
I cannot get enough of this goat cheese spread. I make it year-round with whatever kind of fresh herbs are available in my garden. For the past few months I've been using rosemary...that winter-hardy herb...but I'm delighted that I can give good ole rosemary a rest and snip some fresh chives. In the summer, I love to use basil. Of course, you could use a medley of any of your favorite herbs. My daughter and the 5-year old love this spread as well and are always thrilled to find it set out on the table along with some flatbread crackers, dry salami and cucumber slices. My 3-year old nephew will inhale an entire 8 oz portion of this spread if left alone with the bowl. Needless to say, it's a winner, unless of course, you don't like goat cheese but then I can't really help you out. Sorry...

Ingredients
8 oz plain goat cheese, softened
3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped: rosemary, basil, chives, oregano, thyme or any combination of these

Directions
In a small saucepan, heat your olive oil over medium-low heat. Add your garlic cloves and let "simmer" for about 3-5 minutes or until the garlic is soft and fragrant but not brown, stirring often. Careful not to burn your garlic. Turn down your heat if necessary.

If I'm using rosemary, I usually add it in with the garlic cloves and let it simmer as well to help mellow its flavors. You can also do this with any of the other herbs. 


Once the garlic has finished cooking, remove the pan from the heat and allow the oil to cool to room temperature. After that, remove the garlic from the pan either by straining it or doing like I do and just picking it out with a fork. (Goodness knows, I don't want to have to clean a strainer.)


Put your goat cheese in a medium bowl. Add in 1-2 tbsp of the garlic infused olive oil. I usually add in 1 tbsp and taste it and then add more as I desire. Using the same fork I used to pick out the garlic, I stir up my cheese and oil. Then, I add in my fresh chives and gently stir to evenly combine.

Spoon your delicious spread into a lovely bowl. Top with a few sprigs of the herb you used. Set out with some crackers, cucumber slices and dry salami and Voìla!...an appetizer to impress. (Although I've been known to eat it out of the container, standing at the counter, with no one to impress but myself and it's still good.)

Enjoy.....

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AM Northwest
Spent Wednesday morning down at AM Northwest as part of their Pacific Disaster Relief fundraiser. I was on hand to talk about what you should have in your pantry.


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St. Patrick's Day
In case you're looking for a little inspiration for St. Patrick's Day reveling, here are a couple sites to check out:

One of my absolute favs, They Draw & Cook, has a collection of 6 recipes for a Happy St. Patrick's Day currently on their home page.

Something I'd never hear of before...Colcannon....a classic Irish potato dish you'll find over at Food for my Family.

Some Lucky Green Velvet Baby Cakes that Jenny has whipped up over at Picky Palate.

My sweet friend, Katie, has some Honey Marmalade Mustard Glazed Corned Beef over at GoodLifeEats. My stomach is growling just looking at the pictures.

And this recipe over by Aran over at Cannelle et Vanille isn't "Irish" per se but I thought all of the lovely greens help set the tone for ye olde leprechaun holiday.

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Organization Project
Moved bags to be donated from entry-way to hall-closet alcove. People kept tripping over them.

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PS:
I'll be back in two weeks. Spending some quality time with the family during spring break......
Cheers!



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011

The Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Chicken Named Rosie

I roasted a chicken. With rosemary, garlic and lemon. Her name was Rosie. Or at least that's what it said on the tag. I'm not sure how I feel about that but as my 11-year old pointed out, just like they do in Avatar, we gave thanks for her life so that we might feed our family.

Already, our mornings are peppered with fog and mist.

I put some boots on this morning. And then, I quickly took them off.

Our final moments at the coast, clearly heralded the waning days of summer.

Not wanting a bit of Rosie to go unappreciated, I made chicken stock. The smell of which made me think fondly of my grandma. I felt her hug and heard her laugh. Then, I thought of the holidays.

The children are back in school. The house is so quiet. So very, very quiet. A mess, from a summer of neglect....but quiet.

The sun has clearly changed. Up there in our crisp sky. A new angle. She's all glitter and sparkles.

There are leaves falling....on my neighbor's lawn.

I lit candles last night and then, looked for them dancing in the already darkened windowpanes.

Apples are in the trees. I had my first Honeycrisp of the season. A wee bit tart but a Honeycrisp nonetheless.

With Rosie's stock, I proceeded to make soup after soup. First this veggie one, then this pancetta bean one.

I find myself pondering combinations of black and red...."Oooo black pea coat with red scarf and ooo, ooo, black converse."  so that I can appropriately show my support like any good football mama. (Nevermind that my guy is on the bench with a cast on his lower arm and I haven't even been to a game because what's the point of going to a game of 5th and 6th graders if your guy isn't playing?)

Shasta Daisies have given way to Black-Eyed Susans.

The hurricanes have been filled with coffee beans.

My sweetie arrived home just the other day with the first of the Christmas gifts to stash away.

I hear the piano calling to me. Asking me to please lift the lid and run my fingers up and down the keys. Just one little tune and if not that, "Please, at least, dust us."

But despite all of this. Despite every indication that fall is here (with the holidays right around the corner), I just can't quite believe it. We must have another month of summer tucked in here somewhere. "Why?", you ask. "Why this disbelief, Carrie?" Well, I'll tell you why. Because....my tomatoes are still green. Just look at them.

Not a single red one. Not even the little guys. Trails of green globes. But no red ones. Uh-uh. Nada. Rien. Nope. Nothin'. I even went out last spring and purchased new-fangled curly-cue tomato stakes. The ones that are supposed to give them plenty of breathing room but no. This is how they repay me. Not a single ounce of appreciation for my efforts.

I recently had the fine opportunity to be at a lunch hosted by Chef Dustin Clark of Wildwood Restaurant acclaim and he told me that he has red tomatoes but he also goes out and "blankets" his tomatoes every evening. Hmmmm....the only thing that's getting blanketed around here is my 3 children.  But then again, that's why he's a world-renowned chef and I'm just....well, I'm just me.

And then, as if to slam it home for me that yes, fall is here, a monsoon blew through our fair city last night. Littering leaves all over my newly mowed lawn and blowing down my tomato plants with such force that the new-fangled tomato stakes snapped in half. (Clearly the joke's on me.) However, despite this maddening weather and all indications that summer is over, one little red fellow rolled out from under the wreckage. Who knew?

Rosemary and Garlic Roast Chicken with Potatoes

1 whole chicken, 3-lbs or so
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, halved

1 lb small boiling potatoes, red or white, cut in quarters

Additional salt, pepper and olive oil

As soon as you bring your little bird home from the grocery store, even if it's a day or two in advance, go ahead and generously sprinkle the inside and out with salt and pepper. Of course, you can only salt and pepper the inside once you've removed the little packet containing the neck and giblets which I'm sure you will put to good use later in a neck and giblet gravy. Then, you can put her back in the fridge until you're ready to roast her.

Now, depending on your time schedule, you can also do the following a day or two in advance or an hour before roasting. Whatever your schedule allows. In a small bowl, mix up your rosemary (amount depends on how much of a "rosemary" taste you like), your garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Now, using your own, clean hands, gently lift up the skin and carefully, "spread" your mixture between the skin and the meat. You will need to do this in a few places around the chicken so you don't pull the skin completely off the bird. If you are doing this an hour before roasting, then just loosely cover your chicken and leave her on the counter. Otherwise, loosely cover her and put her back in the fridge, taking her out again an hour before roasting.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Coat your potatoes with a tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. (You can choose to use a roasting rack or not. If you do use a rack, place it in your roasting pan first.) Place your potatoes on the bottom of a shallow roasting pan or "earthenware" dish.

Brush your chicken with a bit of olive oil. Give it one last sprinkle of salt and pepper and put your halved lemon inside your bird. You can tie up the legs if you'd like or just leave them hanging out there like I did for an "extra-crispy" effect.

Put your bird directly on the potatoes or on your roasting rack and then, place in the center of your oven.

Now, you can leave her in there for 1 hour and up to 1 1/2 hours or until the juices run clear (mine took 1 hour 20 minutes) and then, pull her out, let her rest for 15 minutes. After she's had her "resting period" call someone who won't mangle the job to carve her up. OR, you can follow Alice Waters advice, which is what I did, and roast her for 20 minutes, then flip her over for another 20 minutes and then, flip her back over for the remainder of the time. A simulated roasting spit. Now, I don't know if this makes any difference or if it's just complete insanity but I have a "rawther" high opinion of Alice Waters so I went with it. Then, I did the carving job myself which is to say...a mangled one.

Now, I must tell you that the chicken was delicious and the smells in our house.....oh, the smells in our house. But it was the potatoes. The potatoes, roasting there in the pan juices, that were absolutely divine. Enjoy.



All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Herbes de Provence Goat Cheese Spread

We are of the opinion, our household that is, that the tooth fairy is an unreliable, flighty little thing. That she is prone to wild mood swings and is picky. Picky, picky, picky. Our dear children, having just survived another round of the molting process, bless their hearts, will wrap their precious little gift, carefully, ever so carefully, in a tissue. I then instruct them to place the tiny object into an envelope, carefully, which they will then seal and place under their pillows to await the arrival of the tooth fairy. More often than not, come morning, their little eyes will be filled with tears instead of joy. The tooth fairy did not come.

Just as disappointed as they are, I shrug and say, “Maybe she doesn’t do envelopes anymore. That’s what I did when I was your age but maybe now, she prefers the box.” “Which box?” “You know. The special little box that holds teeth?” So, into the box the wee bit of ivory goes. And, believe it or not, come morning, there are times when she even snubs the box. To my children’s questioning gaze, I sigh, strike the thinker pose and pause, before exclaiming, “Ah ha! Maybe you just have to leave it out in plain view. Otherwise she can’t…she can’t sniff it out. Her sniffer doesn’t seem to be working.” At which point, they become suspicious.

Say what you will about the tooth fairy, there is; however, one area in which she can be consistently relied on. If her prize is a molar, the payment to the child is always, a Susan B. Anthony dollar. Now, as the child races down the stairs to show me her reward, I brace myself in anxiety-fraught anticipation. You see, to steal a quote from a dear friend, "I should have been born Catholic I have so much guilt." And, as the child opens her sweaty palm to show me the warm coin, I have to force myself not to recoil. Not to recoil away from that face. The face with the look of disappointment on it. The stern, Susan B. Anthony face that seems to say to me, “What are you doing to further my cause? My life’s work? What? What I ask you?!” I quickly fold up the child’s hand, pat her on the head and say, “Good job, now why don’t you go put that somewhere safe.”

I have often pondered what it is I’m doing. What I’m actually doing to further the cause of women put in motion over a hundred years ago. My mood swings between the elation of being alive, at this point in history, where women enjoy freedoms not even conceivable hundreds of years ago and the despondency I feel when I hear the latest report of tragedies incurred by women around the world. And, just when I feel that bit of panic rise up my throat, that feeling of “What can I, one person, possibly do?” I turn on Pink Martini’s Una Notte a Napoli, pour myself a glass of my favorite “cab of the moment,” and start chopping. Something. Anything. Today it’s the herbs gone wild in my garden’s last push of the season that I’m using to liven up an Herbes de Provence goat cheese spread that is irresistible.

My chopping tool of choice today is a beautiful, perfectly sharpened, Wüsthof chef’s knife. The prized possession of my 10-year old son. Perhaps the sole reason, he skipped out the door without a single complaint the entire week of his summer cooking camp. He knew that for a week’s worth of work, he would come home with the King of Cooking Tools. The tool to trump all others. The tool for which, using his Birthday money, he purchased a locking case and into which he carefully and ever so deliberately placed his prize and had to really think about whether it would be okay for me to borrow it from time to time.

On the other hand, another possible explanation for why he didn’t complain is he’s always known that when he turned the correct age, he too would begin to go to cooking camp each summer, just like his sister before him and his baby brother behind him. Because, perhaps, furthering the cause of women is less about how I raise my daughter and more about how I raise my sons. Perhaps. Perhaps, not.

Do you think, dear friend, that if I can teach my sons to nourish themselves, to have an appreciation for the preparation of a meal, to gaze out at their yard and recognize it as the support-system from which they too can harvest herbs, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, then, maybe, just maybe, they will treat their yard, the earth, the soil a little more tenderly? Maybe they will be a little more deliberate when deciding what to put in their mouths? Maybe, just maybe, they will know the feeling of satisfaction that comes from making and sharing a meal? Of nourishing themselves and their families?

I must admit that not much cooking has gone on since the completion of his camp but occasionally, like today, he will pass through the kitchen when he sees me chopping and say, “Hey, Mom. Do you want me to do that? I really like to chop.” And, once I pass the knife over, he’ll instruct me by saying, “Now, Mom, you’re really supposed to hold the knife like this. See? With this finger like this.” I’ll try not to smile and simply be grateful that a tiny, little seed has been planted. I can’t know if it will grow but I’m just glad it’s there. And, maybe the next time I see Susan B. Anthony’s face, I’ll realize that it’s not a look of disappointment but the very real fact, that nobody but nobody smiled in pictures back then. That’s it. Plain and simple.

Herbes de Provence Goat Cheese Spread

(Adapted from Herbed Goat-Cheese Toasts, Epicurious)

6 oz. mild goat cheese, room temp

¼ c chopped, mixed herbs – oregano, basil, rosemary & thyme – heavier on the first two, lighter on the second two

1 1/2 tbls minced chives OR minced shallot

½ tsp black pepper OR to taste

a pinch of salt

1/3 c well-chilled heavy cream OR for a tangier version, ¼ c plain, yogurt

Stir together first 5 ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with a whisk until it just holds soft peaks, then fold into cheese mixture. If using yogurt, add it once the first 5 ingredients have been mixed-together. Enjoy immediately or let the flavors mingle for a day. Delicious.

“What do I do with this?” you ask, my friend. I keep mine in a little glass container in the fridge that I can serve it from whenever the moment arises. At times, I’ll set it out with our favorite seeded flatbread crackers and sliced pears as an after-school snack. Or, the other night, I set it out with sliced bread as an accompaniment to pre-made spinach & cheese raviolis topped with Dave’s Gourmet Red Heirloom Pasta Sauce, which is currently at Costco and I can’t say enough good things about it. Or, use it as a spread on my aforementioned, Heirloom Tomato Sandwich.

Whatever you do, though, take it out of the fridge at least, 20-30 minutes before you serve it. The other day I plopped it down for some friends straight from the fridge and then had to painfully watch as they politely tried to stab at it and awkwardly tried to “spread” it on their crackers without breaking them. I heeded Julia Child’s advice and did not apologize for the mistake but I had to avert my eyes from the rather uncomfortable situation.

PS: My favorite “cab” of the moment is a cheapie. Black Mountain Vineyard (Fat Cat) Cabernet Sauvignon which you can find at Trader Joe’s for $6.99 a bottle. Definitely let it breathe before drinking. And, if you happen to stash one in the back of your attic, improperly stored for say, 9 years, can I tell you that upon finding it and drinking it you will be treated to a most exquisite glass of cabernet sauvignon. Try it and let me know if you agree.

All original text and photos copyright: Carrie Minns 2009