The Flexitarian Table

Here is a link to the cookbook from which I got the salad I made last night. I don't know if anybody will be enthusiastic about it, since Cate said the salad was "interesting," but maybe you will want to read it. I can lend it to you. I actually really like it, especially since it's arranged in a vaguely seasonal fashion.

remember these?

Par-tay

Not planning to attend, but this invitation made think of you, RSO (emphasis added):

Party Time this Friday!!!

Just a quick reminder that this Friday, April 25 from 7:00 PM until we're done is our end-of-planting season party, the Root Ball. We'll have food, drinks music, dancing, a big fire and fun. All we're missing is YOU! The party is here at TreeFolks World Headquarters.

Don't feel like you have to bring anything UNLESS you have access to some of the millions of loquats ripening around town and some clever way to prepare them do that.

Please RSVP to scott@treefolks.org.

Plantain Lasagna

Okay folks, here goes!

Ingredients:
5 or 6 ripe plantains
Olive oil for frying

Sauce:
5 tomatoes
chipotle pepper
1 smoked tomato
1/2 cup cashews
1 head garlic
pinch of sugar
salt
fresh cilantro and oregano

Black beans:
1 cup dry beans
2 onions
garlic

Oaxaca string cheese
parmesan

On a skillet or in oven, roast tomatoes, and garlic till blackened on each side. Roast cashews in oven till golden brown. Blend to make tomato sauce. Add cilantro and oregano to taste. Set aside.

Cook black beans with whole onion (preferably in clay pot). When beans are cooked, remove and discard onion. Cut up second onion and sautee in pan with oil. Strain beans into pan and squish them how Raquel taught you with the bottom of a jar or a mug. Add salt to taste.

Cut up plantains diagonally and fry on both sides in oil of your choice ( I like olive oil). Make sure that they are browned on both sides.

Layer lasagna starting with sauce, then plantains, cheese, beans, etc. Bake till it's all melty and browned.
I experiment with it so I am not sure about ingredient amounts, but I think it's a pretty forgiving recipe.

Chickens = loquats

I am obsessed! Now I am looking up recipes for loquat jam, and even ordered a cookbook of Bermudan cooking which was advertising recipes for loquat stuff. If I had better Photoshop skills, I would put a little tiny picture of a loquat in place of the chicken in this photo, to illustrate my great desire and love for the yellow fruit.

Chicken Chase

Here are some photos from the Great Chicken Chase of February 08.

Who are you calling a tart?

Here, as inaugural post, is the recipe for the loquat/strawberry tart! From Bon Appetit, via Epicurious, with edits by moi.

Tropical Fruit Tart

Bon Appétit | January 1996

Serves 8. Crust 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar (I used turbinado, no problem) 1/4 teaspoon salt 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, but into small pieces (see separate post on the Good Butters) 1 large egg yolk 3 tablespoons whipping cream 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (Note: Overall, I had too much dough - I think 3/4 of the recipe would have been okay) Filling 1 cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat) (I used cream, just to live up to Cate's expectations) 3 large egg yolks 1/3 cup sugar (again, turbinado) 2 tablespoons cornstarch (seems gross but turned out ok) 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger 2/3 cup ginger preserves (I didn't buy these, because it seemed too expensive for this purpose, but they do carry them at CM - I used half apricot, half fig - since you strain this syrup it doesn't really matter how chunky or smooth the preserves are) 2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy 3 kiwis, peeled, thinly sliced 1 papaya, seeded, peeled, thinly sliced 1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled, thinly sliced (obviously, I used loquats and strawberries, and just cut up as many as would fit on top) Fresh mint springs For crust: Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk egg yolk, cream and vanilla in small bowl. Add to flour mixture; process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 4 hours. For Filling: Pour milk into heavy medium saucepan. Bring just to simmer. Whisk yolks, sugar and cornstarch in medium bowl to blend.

Gradually whisk in hot milk. Return mixture to same saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to boil. Boil 1 minute. Pour pastry cream into medium bowl. Stir in minced ginger. Press plastic onto surface of pastry cream. Cover; chill until cold, about 4 hours. (Dough and pastry cream can be made 1 day ahead. keep chilled separately. Let dough soften slightly before pressing into pan.)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 11x7 1/2-inch rectangular or 11-inch round tart pan with removable bottom. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides of crust are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust is golden, piercing with fork if bubbles form, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely. Remove sides from pan.

Combine preserves and Cognac in small saucepan.

Stir over medium heat until preserves melt and mixture is thick, about 2 minutes. Strain syrup into another small saucepan; discard solids. Brush half of syrup onto bottom of crust. let stand at room temperature until set, about 5 minutes. Spread pastry cream evenly over. Arrange fruit over pastry cream. Rewarm ginger syrup. Brush over fruit. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill.) Garnish tart with mint.

Gradually whisk in hot milk. Return mixture to same saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to boil. Boil 1 minute. Pour pastry cream into medium bowl. Stir in minced ginger. Press plastic onto surface of pastry cream. Cover; chill until cold, about 4 hours. (Dough and pastry cream can be made 1 day ahead. keep chilled separately. Let dough soften slightly before pressing into pan.) (Note: It gets really hard so you will have to let soften for more than "slightly." Like half an hour or so.)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 11x7 1/2-inch rectangular or 11-inch round tart pan with removable bottom. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights (note: or stones from your driveway). Bake until sides of crust are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust is golden, piercing with fork if bubbles form, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely. Remove sides from pan.

Combine preserves and Cognac in small saucepan.

Stir over medium heat until preserves melt and mixture is thick, about 2 minutes. Strain syrup into another small saucepan; discard solids. Brush half of syrup onto bottom of crust. let stand at room temperature until set, about 5 minutes. Spread pastry cream evenly over. Arrange fruit over pastry cream. Rewarm ginger syrup. Brush over fruit. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and chill.) Garnish tart with mint. (Which I didn't do, but it was all okay.)