How to Make Crumpets

This little recipe is just further proof that you don’t need many ingredients to make something with a lot of flavor. Crumpets are a good vehicle for jam, go well with a farm fresh egg, or will make your friends smile when you show up for a road trip with a basket of them. Plan your morning, though, the dough must sit for an hour before cooking.

Makes 1 dozen.
2 cups AP flour
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
2 tbls. butter, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbls. honey

Prepare the batter.

1. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl.
2. Melt your butter and add it to the warm water. Add the honey to this mixture and stir around.
3. Add the wet to the dry and stir with a rubber spatula. (It will be sticky!) Stir vigorously for a few minutes.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and a dry towel. Let sit undisturbed for an hour.
   

   Your batter will be sticky and slightly elastic.

It’s time to cook.

1. A few minutes before your batter will be done, begin to heat your pan. (You can use a griddle, too, if you have one. I use a flat skillet.) Heat it over just a little bit more than low heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Prepare your rings. Non-stick biscuit rings make the job easy, but you can also successfully improvise with the rings from large mason jars. If you’re using jar lids, wipe a little butter on the inside with your finger, before you drop them in the pan. Use as many rings as will comfortably fit in your pan (probably 4.)
   

   Cooking crumpets take a little bit of butter and patience.

3. When your pan is ready, melt a little butter in it and then place the rings. Beat the batter, once or twice to deflate it. Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the batter and drop in the ring. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter out to the edges of the ring. (They will rise higher.)
4. Cake for about 15 minutes. Rings can be removed about halfway through the cooking time, if you like. Flip to the uncooked side briefly (about 1 minute.) Remove to rack to cool.

Notes:

• I usually am a believer in doing what you can to make a recipe work, but if you are someone who likes to follow strict rules, you should probably know that many recipes claim that crumpets are not traditionally flipped. I’ve tried many different temperatures and techniques and can’t figure out how this could be realistic. I accosted a lady making crumpets at the Bremerton farmers’ market and she said that she flips hers. There’s a professional opinion for you.
• Best eaten on the day that they are made, but they can be frozen with success.
• Got a crumpet craving, but no desire to make them? Stop in the crumpet shop at Pike Place Market.
• Adapted from How to Bake.

Mashed Potatoes with Spring Onions and Garlic

Usually I’m in favor of  plain and simple mashed potatoes, but to celebrate the return of onions and garlic, I couldn’t help but create this recipe for a fancier version. Making them did dirty a lot of pans, but it was worth it. We served these potatoes with roasted chicken and turnip greens.

1 lb. potatoes (about 5)
one large spring onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup milk
1 tbls. butter (+ a little more for onion)
about 1/4 tsp. salt
pepper

1. Peel and quarter potatoes. Bring a pot of water to boil, add potatoes, and simmer vigorously for about 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in another pot, add milk and garlic. Heat milk on low to impart the garlic flavor to the milk. It should be on the heat for about 10 minutes. When finished, discard the garlic cloves or save them for another use.
3. In yet another pan, melt about a half tablespoon of butter and then add the onions. Brown over medium-low, until soft and golden.
4. Drain the potatoes.  Add butter, milk, onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash well.

Notes:

• I know that everyone has his or her own opinion about the actual mashing of the potato. I feel rather strongly about the subject…since you asked. Personally, I would never think of whipping a potato with an electric mixer, but I hear that it’s done in some households. I think a ricer is way too fussy. I like to use a masher with good holes and not one of the inferior wavy types. And while I’m on the topic, don’t even think of serving those potatoes cold…

Strawberry Toppings for Any Occasion

Here ’s a link to an article that I did for Sound Food. Tis the season for strawberries!

Fried Rice with Homegrown Sprouts

My new obsession: fried rice. It makes a great lunch or dinner for one and can be a handy way to use up little bits of vegetables left in your fridge. But what is fried rice without bean sprouts? This conviction led me to look into growing my own.

Growing sprouts on your kitchen counter is not hard. I was given a little kit as a gift, and it inspired me to start experimenting. If you’re interested in learning the ins and outs of growing sprouts, I’d recommend that you check out Fresh Food From Small Spaces, a multi-purpose gardening and food book with an informative chapter on sprouting. You do not need a kit and there are few easy methods to choose from. My kit, however, came with some very easy directions: 1)select your desired sprouts 2)place them on the tray 3)rinse and drain 4)commit to rinsing and draining them twice each day Easy! For fried rice, I made the tradition choice – mung bean sprouts. If you want the blanched out color that you usually find at Chinese restaurants, grow your sprouts inside your cabinet, keeping them away from a light source.

Fried Rice (for one)

1 tbls. peanut oil
1 egg, scrambled

1 tbls. peanut oil
1 tsp. powdered ginger
veggies of your choice (bok choi, peas, carrots, diced onion are all good)

1 cup cooked cold rice (Do NOT use fresh rice. It simply will not work well.)1 tbls. light soy sauce
1 tray (about 1/4 cup) mung bean sprouts
green onion, snipped small
garlic scape, snipped small

1. Heat a wok or heavy pan over medium high for about 3 minutes.
2. Add oil and swirl. Add egg. With a wooden spoon or wooden spatula, stir egg around. Chop it into little pieces as it cooks. When it is done to your liking, set aside on a plate.
3. Add 1 tbls. of oil to wok. Add ginger. Swirl. Add your vegetables. (The key to fried rice technique is to keep the food moving, so from this point on, keep the stirring constant.) Stagger the cooking of your vegetables. Add the heartier ones (like onions, bok choi) first and then in a minute or two, add the more delicate vegetables.
4. Add your rice. Continue to cook the rice and vegetables for 4 minutes.
5. Sprinkle in the soy sauce. Add the sprouts, green onion, and garlic scape. Add back in the egg. Cook for a scant minute more. Done!

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

This is a deliciously versatile muffin recipe that bakes up moist and cake-like. It can be made with almost any fruit.  Don’t substitute for the buttermilk. It’s the reason that this recipe works so well!

Makes one dozen muffins.
8 tbls. unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 cups AP flour (+ 1 tbls. for fruit)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup strawberries, 1 cup rhubarb

1. Place paper liners in your muffin pan and preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Prepare the fruit. Rinse, hull, and cut strawberries into small pieces. For rhubarb, cut off any ugly ends and using a paring knife, peel off tough strings. Cut into small, 1 inch pieces. Toss the fruit with 1 tbls. of flour.
3. Cut the butter into pieces and, using an electric mixer, cream with the sugar and salt until it is light and fluffy.
4. Continue to beat and add eggs, one at a time.
5. Add flour and baking powder. Add buttermilk.
6. Fold in the fruit.
7. Spoon into the muffin cups and bake at 375F for 30 minutes.

Notes:
-Other variations that are wonderful: blueberry (with a little bit of nutmeg), blackberries and lemon, just plain strawberry
-Adapted from How to Bake, a wonderful baking resource.

The Fruits of My Research

So, I’m terribly greedy. Here I am surrounded by beautiful vegetables, vegetables that I’ve dreamed of all winter, and all I can think of is: FRUIT! Being a breath too late to secure some strawberries at the Bremerton farmer’s market yesterday has only made me more impatient. (The man said, as I was getting my money out and my mouth was watering, “No, you can’t buy these, they’re all sold.” Oh!)  Soon, I know that we’ll have strawberries at our home market, and I’ve heard rumor that they’re already out in the Seattle markets. To make your mission easier, here are some things that I have learned about finding fruit:

• Rob, of All One Family Farms, is taking orders for fruit to be delivered later in the summer. Check out which route you are on and make decisions about what you would like. Order forms, due June 15, are on his website: http://www.allonefamilyfarm.com/
• Tiny’s, an oft prevalent Seattle vendor, always has scrumptious organic fruit. They have stands at Pike Place Market and many other locations. They have a really handy harvest schedule on the front page of their website, so that you will know exactly when certain fruits start coming out. If you’re looking for a lot of fruit to can, you are able to make a large order. They take orders when the fruit is ripe and not ahead of time. You can arrange delivery to the closest farmer’s market.
• Soon, it will be time to forage. Salmon and thimble berries are starting to show themselves around here, and the countdown to wild blackberries begins.

Don’t forget to plan ahead. Think about how you’re going to store some of this fruit for the winter. You’ll be glad that you did!

Strawberry update: The Day Rd. farmstand is open! You can buy strawberries by the flat or pint. Look for the strawberry flag and go early.