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Tag Archives: spring

Spring Green Fritatta with Heirloom Tomato Salad

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by createdforjoy in Cook

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

brunch, cheese, cook, creme fraiche, dinner, eggs, fritatta, green onions, green peas, heirloom tomato, recipe, salad, scallions, spring, vegetarian, zucchini

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Thursday nights seem caught in perpetual dinnertime limbo. There are too many leftovers to make another elaborate meal, and the end of the work week is tantalizingly close. Thursdays require something simple and quick that makes use of the extras in the refrigerator, but still satisfying enough to fuel that last push toward the weekend. A little culinary immediate gratification is a welcome sight.

All of which makes Thursday nights the ideal time for a fritatta, a sort of hybrid omelette/crustless quiche. Golden, rich, and hearty, it is a dish that comes together quickly and allows for plenty of creative adaptation based on what’s available in the fridge and pantry. This one incorporates three of my seasonal favorites: the first fresh zucchini, bright green peas, and a few sprightly spring onions. Although I used parmesan, any cheese will do here, from mild, milky mozzarella to the nutty smokiness of Gruyere. I have to say, there is simple kitchen magic in topping a hot fritatta with a freshly grated flurry of parmesan snow, white and light, melting almost as soon as it touches the eggy surface.

This recipe is vegetarian, and for me, that healthy dose of nutritious green also feels like a good fit before the weekend begins. However, you could easily add a handful of cooked bacon or ham, if your carnivorous instincts demand satisfaction. The topping is a zingy, sweet-tart salad made of yellow heirloom tomatoes seasoned simply and generously with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic. It brings a much-needed acid punch to the party, balancing out the richness of so much egg, cream, and cheese.

Feel free to substitute your own vegetable choices: mushrooms or potatoes in place of the zucchini; chard or spinach rather than green peas; diced red onion and bell pepper instead of scallions. You can also adjust the herbs; rosemary, tarragon, and dill all play beautifully with eggs and cheese. That is the beauty of a fritatta, so friendly and accommodating, spontaneous and undemanding: the perfect Thursday night dinner guest.

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Spring Green Fritatta with Heirloom Tomato Salad
makes eight generous wedges

For fritatta:
5 scallions or one large green onion, white bulb finely chopped and green tops thinly sliced
3 zucchini, preferably organic, chopped into bite-size chunks
1 c. cooked green peas (fresh or frozen, whatever you have on hand)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. coarse sea or kosher salt
3/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp. dried or 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. dried or 1 tsp. fresh thyme
juice of half a lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
10 large eggs
1/2 c. creme fraiche, all-natural sour cream, or heavy cream
1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan (or other cheese of your choice) plus more for topping/serving

For tomato salad:
1 very large or two medium heirloom tomatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2-1 tsp. coarse sea or kosher salt (adjust amount to taste)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
sliced top of one green scallion
1/4 c. olive oil, preferably extra virgin
3 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar (if using unseasoned rice vinegar, add 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar to salad to balance tartness of vinegar and highlight natural sweetness of tomatoes)

Oven 450F. In large, nonstick sauté pan with curved sides, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, onion, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and cook until zucchini is tender but still crunchy in the center, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and drain off extra liquid released from zucchini. Stir in lemon juice, nutmeg, herbs, and cooked peas.

While veggies are cooking, beat together eggs, creme fraiche (or dairy product of your choice), remaining teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper in large mixing bowl. Whisk until mixture is creamy yellow and evenly combined. Stir in cheese.

Return pan of cooked veggies to medium-high heat and pour over egg mixture. Stir briefly, just enough to distribute veggies evenly in egg. Allow to cook on stovetop until edges are just set, a quick minute or two, then immediately transfer to oven. (Quick tip: if your pan has plastic handles, wrap them with a double layer of aluminum foil before baking.) Cook for 20-25 minutes, until center is set but not firm, and top is golden brown. Remove from oven and grate on more cheese as desired. Allow to cool 2-3 minutes, then gently slide fritatta out on to serving platter. (You may have to loosen the edges slightly before removing from pan — just arm yourself with a spatula and proceed confidently.)

While fritatta is baking, mix all tomato salad ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and toss well. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature until fritatta is ready. (Never purchase chilled tomatoes or store them in the refrigerator; refrigeration causes an immediate, permanent breakdown of the chemicals that give tomatoes flavor.) Taste once more for seasoning before serving.

To plate, slice warm fritatta into eighths and top each wedge with a generous spoonful of tomato salad. Serve with a chunk of crusty bread, preferably warmed and buttered, and enter Friday with a happy, full belly. :)

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Hope

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by createdforjoy in Think

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Tags

garden, hope, prayer, spring, think

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I have had a creative, messy, rewarding week, although it wasn’t spent in the studio or kitchen. Instead of paint or cake batter, my preferred medium the last few days has been soil. It says something that I had to return my brand new pair of suede gardening gloves because I wore them to shreds in less than 24 hours. After all that hard work, our front yard is full of dozens of blooms and the rich, wet-forest smell of mulch. It looks neater and more loved than it has in years, and at this point, I’m sure our neighbors think we are about to put our house on the market. :)

But this flurry of activity is about something much more significant than curb appeal. It is a tangible, exciting picture of hope. The years of neglect our property suffered were born of a home so full of illness, complications, and coping that it would have been sheer folly to expend energy on something as trivial as pulling weeds. For many slow-motion months in a row, I survived from one moment of God’s grace to the next, through multiple hospitalizations and setbacks. I needed desperately to be assured that all that pain could legitimately be called growth, that it promised to bear fruit somehow. When catastrophic flooding in 2010 washed the last of our topsoil and mulch down the hill and into the Harpeth River, it was so metaphorically appropriate as to provoke disbelief. Upon encountering the same scenario in a novel, the reader would be warranted in grumbling, “Really? Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t we?”

That’s the hard, brilliant truth of this life: it comes on strong, in heaps and waves. Our trials don’t conveniently wait in line until the trouble before has been tidily resolved. There is much hope to be found in today, to be sure: my son’s exuberant teenage smile, full of braces and potential; the smell of Banana Chocolate Chip muffins baking; a homeschool math lesson finished without angst. But sometimes my soul needs a good power-washing, to have the doubts and fears blasted away by Something That Shouldn’t Be but is anyway.

All this playing in the dirt, raking and planting, planning and doing seemed impossible a few years ago. It certainly felt out of reach last summer, lying in an ICU bed without the strength to lift my own head. It never entered my small, unimaginative mind that my body would be restored to this extent. After four spinal fractures in two years and a suggested maximum lifting limit of ten pounds, here I am hauling around bags of garden soil and digging holes? Most people talk about back-breaking work, but back-broken work is an altogether different story. I am not pain-free, but I have mud under my fingernails and the promise of springtime. For me, that’s hope.

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Ginger-Vanilla Bean Cake with Sunset Oranges and Creme Fraiche

17 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by createdforjoy in Cook

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Tags

baking, blood oranges, cake, candied ginger, cook, creme fraiche, dessert, glazed, oranges, spring, vanilla bean

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I made this cake for the first time last year to celebrate a dear friend’s March birthday, and it was so yummy that I made it again two days later when we had friends over for dinner. When citrus season rolled in early this year, I knew exactly which recipe to reach for. This is one of those desserts that instantly conveys special occasion. It is so sunny and bright on both the plate and the palate, and I love the pops of gingery heat. Normally cake without frosting is frowned upon in my household (whereas frosting without cake seems to be accepted just fine), but the fruit and cream on top are a perfect, not-too-sweet foil to the moist, vanilla bean-flecked cake below.

The glazed fruit on top is made from equal parts blood oranges and their regular navel counterparts. Blood oranges sound a bit macabre, but the name is only a reference to the deep red of the pulp and juice. Blood oranges are more tender and juicy than regular oranges, and they have a floral finish that reminds me of the scent of orange blossoms. My favorites are the ones with segments that fade from pale orange to crimson, like a perfect, edible sunset.

I first encountered the idea of pairing oranges and creme fraiche as a cake topping in the culinary memoir A Homemade Life by blogger/author Molly Wizenberg, and then happily adapted it to include blood oranges. The ginger-vanilla bean cake is my own recipe, a lighter take on pound cake in texture, ratios, and labor involved. Don’t let the ingredient list discourage you: if blood oranges are not in season (it’s a small window from late February to late March), feel free to substitute tangerines, regular oranges, or any other citrus you like. If you cannot find creme fraiche, use all-natural sour cream sweetened with a drizzle of honey. This cake is like culinary springtime, minus all the bad weather. :)

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Ginger-Vanilla Bean Cake with Sunset Oranges and Creme Fraiche
makes 12 generous portions

For cake:
3 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/3 c. vanilla Greek yogurt
1 c. granulated sugar or vanilla sugar (see recipe notes here to make your own)
1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste or real vanilla extract
2 c. cake flour (I use Swans Down brand)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt, not coarse
1/2 c. unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
1/3 c. finely chopped crystallized ginger or baking ginger chips

For topping:
5 blood oranges
5 navel oranges
1/2 c. granulated sugar (less if using tangerines or very sweet oranges — blood oranges are more tart)
8 oz. creme fraiche

Oven 350F (325F if using dark nonstick pan). Grease 9″-round springform pan, place a parchment paper round in the bottom, then grease the parchment. (To make a parchment round, trace around the base of the pan on a sheet of parchment, then cut slightly inside the line.) In small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and yogurt and set aside. Put sugar, vanilla, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Cut softened butter into tablespoon-size pieces and cream into dry ingredients with electric mixer until thoroughly mixed. Add egg mixture and beat with electric mixer until batter is light, thick, and airy, about 3-5 minutes.

Stir in ginger bits with silicone spatula, then spread batter in prepared pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until top is golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack 15 minutes, then release sides from pan and flip cake out on to cooling rack. Remove parchment round and turn cake right-side up. Allow to cool completely.

While the cake bakes, suprème the oranges. This involves slicing off the peel and pith and then cutting out the segments so that you have only the flesh without the membranes between each. (Here is a 30-second video by Chef Michael Symon demonstrating how.) This is the most labor-intensive part of the whole recipe, but it is so worth it. If you have never tried this technique before, start with the navel oranges, as they are easier to work with than the more tender, juicier blood oranges. Once you get into a rhythm, it goes faster, but it helps to have someone to talk with to pass the time. (Or a kind friend to do it for you — thanks, Jason!)

Place the segments in a medium saucepan, then squeeze all the juice out of the leftover membranes and add it to the segments. Add the granulated sugar and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves completely; the oranges should be warmed through and the juice slightly reduced. Do not allow to come to a rolling boil. Set glazed oranges aside to cool until not piping hot.

When ready to serve, slice the cake into twelve slices. Top each wedge with a spoonful of warm glazed oranges and juice, then drizzle with a tablespoon of creme fraiche. Store any leftover cake wrapped tightly and then placed in an airtight container. Oranges should be stored in the refrigerator, but can be re-warmed before serving.

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Paper plum blossoms

02 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by createdforjoy in Make, Read

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Asian, cut and paste, fragile, hope, make, modern, origami, paper craft, read, spring, springtime, watercolor

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Usually, surviving February merits a celebratory rush of energetic, brightly colored projects in the studio. But it has been so unseasonably warm and mild this winter, I don’t feel quite the same urgency about ushering in springtime. I wore shorts the last week of February, and the weather is already playing its April games, revolving between sunny 70’s and thunderstorms. Tornado season also seems to have arrived earlier, much to my children’s chagrin. (There are only so many times you can make a game out of doing your schoolwork in the downstairs hall closet by flashlight.)

However, the last few weeks have felt distinctly February when it comes to matters of the heart, and this paper craft seemed the perfect fit: hopeful, but fragile. The blooms and leaves are made from pieces of a coffee filter. I folded and watercolored the small shapes, then glued them in place on a tree branch. (That’s twice now our Bradford pear tree has done something useful — pretty sure that’s a record.)

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This is another project from Margaret Van Sicklen’s fantastic Modern Paper Crafts. Like the pleated paper bowl I made from the same book, this also required some complex paper folding and a delicate-but-determined touch. I found the leaves much simpler to make than the blossoms, but the instructions were clear and detailed enough to get me through it without frustration. And the nice thing about a paper craft with coffee filters is that your raw materials only cost a few cents, so it’s no great loss if (when) you have to start over.

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Watercoloring the blossoms and leaves also required a gentle hand, but I love the effect gained as the paint bleeds into the fibers of the filter. I used to make watercolor coffee filter art with my kids when they were little, so this was a sweet reminder of those early homeschool years. My son and daughter are more complicated creatures now, but we all still revel in doing art together.

In the end, that is what my plum blossoms speak to: fondness and nostalgia for a more innocent time, determination to get through winter’s challenges together, and growing hope for the future. I think that’s a pretty good way to end February.

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