Monday, July 27, 2015

26 July 2015
















What a week! On Wednesday, I became a Great Uncle, once again. This time around, my darling niece, Kelly Keaton, delivered Sweet Caroline via an emergency C-Section around 7:30 pm. After some scary and anxious conditions, both are finally home and doing well. Caroline is adorable, and Kelly and her husband, Josh, are going to be wonderful parents. Congratulations to both of them, and I just wish my late sister, Stacy, were here to hold her beautiful granddaughter. I guess it will be my job to spoil her enough for both of us!

On Saturday, I had the distinct honor of being one of the judges of the annual Tomato Sandwich Festival at the Canton Farmers Market, so I hit Cannon Park bright and early to do my shopping. What a great selection of wonderful produce, fruits and handmade items! I came home with farm eggs, ground cherries, sage, parsley, potatoes and even a "Locally Grown" Onesie and Burping Cloth from Whim-Wham Art Farm. My bounty also included okra from Great Scott Farm, bacon from Joyful Noise Acres, two varieties of heirloom peaches from Pearson Farm, and of course, a delicious cup of coffee from Cup Up! The Farmers Market is truly at the height of the season, and it was great to see such a crowd out supporting our local farmers and Main Street program.

After hauling my items home and doing a couple of chores, I returned to the gazebo in Cannon Park to join my fellow judges, Mayor Gene Hobgood and Rep. Mandy Ballinger, for the Tomato Sandwich Festival. As usual, Roy Taylor did an excellent job with this event in celebration of our local community gardens, and there was a great turnout. We judges a nice variety of tomatoes and homemade bread. After the winners were announced, attendees lined up for all the tomato sandwiches they could eat. Events like these and the people in our community that volunteer for them are just more reasons why I love Canton so much.

Sunday began with breakfast at Keithsburg Cafe and lots of work around the house. After a little time cooling off in the pool, I began to put my Farmers Market purchases to good use in the preparation of Sunday Supper. I was really fascinated with the ground cherries from Whim-Wham, and my research revealed they are an obscure and almost forgotten seasonal gem that are in the same genus as tomatillos and same family as tomatoes. They are small, covered in a husk and savory with a slight sweet taste. It was really fun experimenting with them, and I used them in two dishes: heirloom tomato and ground cherry salad with basil olive oil and Smoked Hawaiian Sea Salt and in my dessert – a sweet corn and ground cherry muffin, grilled Pearson peaches and marscapone cheese with agave nectar. Both were interesting and delicious, one savory and one sweet. For the protein, I celebrated my Grand Niece by making Pulled Chicken with "Sweet Caroline" vinegar BBQ sauce. Jeff made some awesome dill zucchini pickles with the squash from the Victory Garden, so I served it with the BBQ. The sides included okra chips and roasted potatoes with sage and garlic. The locally-sourced Sunday Summer struck the perfect note on the Side Porch at One Britt, enhanced by the late July musings of the Cicada Symphony.

Here's to the promise of new life, tomato sandwiches and the farmers who feed us.


The Menu:

- Pulled Free Range Chicken with Sweet Caroline BBQ Sauce and Dill Zucchini Pickles

- Heirloom Tomatoes and Ground Cherries with Basil Olive Oil and Smoked Hawaiian Sea Salt

- Okra Chips

- Roasted Potatoes with Sage and Garlic

- Sweet Corn and Ground Cherry Muffins, Grilled Peaches and Marscapone Cheese with Agave Nectar


The Recipe – Sweet Corn and Ground Cherry Muffins with Marscapone Cheese and Agave Nectar

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup finely ground cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

Kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 1 1/2 ears)

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons honey


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the buttermilk, agave nectar and melted butter. Whisk in the dry ingredients, then fold in the corn kernels and ground cherries, if using. (You can leave them out and just have sweet corn muffins.)

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Let the corn muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small bowl, whisk the mascarpone with the agave nectar. To serve, split the muffins in half and toast with butter (optional). Top with the marscapone mixture and grilled or fresh fruit, if desired.




Monday, July 13, 2015

12 July 2015










Summer is in full swing, and the local produce is at its peak! Our plot at the Victory Garden East is beginning to produce a variety of tomatoes, squash, peppers and even some red okra. I had my eye on around a dozen ears of beautiful corn in the garden, but it appears the deer got to them first. Luckily, the local crops are now coming in, so it was easy to find. In addition to the Victory Garden, the Canton Farmers Market is in full swing, and the locally grown fruit and vegetables are selling fast these days. If you haven't visited the Farmers Market, now is the perfect time to check it out on Saturdays from 8 AM until Noon in Cannon Park.

After a day of errands and chores, we treated ourselves to a last minute event in Atlanta on Saturday night to see Anthony Bourdain at the Fox Theater. His live talk included stories from his culinary travels, social commentary on trendy food movements, and some entertaining banter about some of today's celebrity chefs. He also did a Q&A with the audience at the end, and he was quick on his feet, intelligent and very funny. Before the show, I finally got a chance to check out Illegal Food in Virginia Highlands. It was worth the wait for one of the best hamburgers I have had in Atlanta. Check it out if you have a chance.

On Sunday, our first stop was Cherokee Market to celebrate the one year anniversary at their new location in Lathemtown. As you may recall, their previous location, the Historic Bell's Store on Highway 20, was demolished to make way for a Flash Foods convenience store and gas station. Sadly, the plans were abandoned after the demolition, and the lot stands empty today. However, Cherokee Market was buzzing with customers, local food vendors, bluegrass music on the back porch and Scott Boys BBQ out back! We had lunch with some great friends and picked up some supplies for Sunday Supper. Congratulations to Lisa Meyer and her team at Cherokee Market for their success and perseverance!

The summer heat and promise of fresh corn created a craving for real Mexican food, so I had to visit one of my other favorite shopping destinations on Sunday afternoon, Carcniceria Ramirez on Marietta Road. This authentic Hispanic grocery store is such a delight, and they never disappoint. Their produce, meats and bakery items are amazing, and of course, you can find any ingredient you need to prepare home cooked Mexican food. I loaded up on everything I needed to cook my Mexican dishes from scratch, including corn tortillas, salsa and guacamole.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen preparing fresh salsa, chunky guacamole, grilled Mexican corn, and marinated flank steak and chipolte chicken tacos on handmade tortillas. Yes, tacos sounded like a simple idea to begin with, but cooking everything from scratch took some time and effort! In the end, it was all worthwhile and delectable. There is no replacement for making everything yourself from locally sourced or grown ingredients. Some may find the process a bit tedious and obsessive, but it's just another Sunday Supper for me.


The Menu:

- Chunky Guacamole with Homemade Tortillas and Salsa

- Grilled Flank Steak Tacos with Roasted Poblano Rajas

- Chipolte Chicken Tacos

- Grilled Mexican Corn with Crema, Cheese and Chile


The Recipe – Grilled Flank Steak Tacos

Ingredients:

2 medium white onions, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

4 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/3 chopped cilantro

1/2 Tbsp salt

1/4 Tbsp pepper

1 pound flank or skirt steak, trimmed

3 medium poblano chiles

Vegetable or olive oil for brushing

Lime wedges for serving

12 good quality corn tortillas, warmed or, better yet, homemade!

Directions:

Combine 4 of the onion rounds, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper in a food processor. Process to a smooth puree. Place the steak in a non-aluminum baking dish and smear the marinade over both sides. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

Heat gas grill to medium-high or let your charcoal grill burn until the coals are covered with gray ash. Turn the burners in the center of the grill to medium-low or bank the charcoal to the sides of the grill for indirect cooking. Lay the chiles on the hottest part of the grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until the skin is blistered and blackened uniformly all over, about 5 minutes. Be careful to only char the skin, not the flesh. Remove the chiles from the grill, and cover them with a kitchen towel or place in a brown paper bag to steam.

While the chiles are steaming, brush the remaining onion slices with oil, and lay the whole rounds of onions on the grill in a cooler spot. When they start to soften and are browned, about 10 minutes, use a spatula to flip them and brown the other side. Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish and break the rings apart.

Rub the blackened skin off the outsides of the chiles, then pull out the stems and seed pods. Rinse briefly to remove stray seeds and bits of skin. Slice into 1/4 inch strips, stir into the onions and season with salt.

Remove the steak from the marinade and gently shake off the excess. Oil the steak well on both sides, and lay it over the hottest part of the grill. Grill, turning once, until richly browned and done to your liking, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side for medium rare.

Cut the steak into 3-4 inch sections, then cut each section into thin strips across the grain. Mix with the chiles and onions, season with salt and set on the table, along with the limes wedges and hot tortillas to make into soft tacos. Makes 12 tacos. Serves 4.


The F&H Burger from Illegal Food!