Farmers' Markets

One advantage of living at a laitude of 30 degrees is the longer growing season, our grass only stopped for about 2-3 weeks this winter (and it was a cold winter for here). The change in the seasons has become really evident in the last few weeks, a sudden explosion in the variety of produce available at the market. I stocked up yesterday morning and we then had a yummy bacon and leek quiche with a grated carrot salad (from Avoca Book 1) and Nigel Slater's cucumber, feta and radish salad (my all time favourite salad, 4th one down in the link).

Feeling Peachy

For my birthday The Doc invested in some fruit trees for me. We bought them at the Urban Harvest sale held every January, they also run my local farmer's market. As we don't know how long we'll be in Houston we invested in varieties that will bear fruit in the next year, a Meyer Lemon tree, a fig and some blueberry bushes. A trip to Home Depot for some gardening supplies yielded a raspberry bush and a peach tree also. The peach tree has been a revelation, completely bare upon purchase only 8 days in the ground and it has blossomed beautifully.

Great Vegtable Side

My prize for 'best new cookbook 2009' would have to be split between Ottolenghi and Claire Clark's 100 Perfect Desserts. Ottolenghi contains receipes from the restaurant of the same name in London owned by two guys from Isreali and Palestinian backgrounds and their food contains all the flavours of the region. In particular there are some great salads and veggie sides.

Green Beans and Mangetout with Hazelnut and Orange
serves 6

400g green beans
400g mangetout
70g unskinned hazelnuts
zest of one orange
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp hazelnut oil
S+P

• top and tail the beans and mangetout, keep them seperate
• blanch beans for 4 mins and refresh - under cold running water (or a bowl of iced water)
• blanch mangetout for 1 mins and refresh
• dry both sets of vegtables
• heat an oven to 180 deg C and roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 10 mins
• rub nuts in a clean towel to remove most of the skin and then chop roughly
  
• mix all ingrediants together in a bowl and serve at room temperature
  

Remember nut oils go rancid quickly so buy in the smallest size available and store in a dark place.

The Demise of Gourmet

The one little treat I allowed myself on moving to the US was some food magazine subscriptions. An annual one can be had here for about $15, it certainly beats €5+ per issue back in Ireland. They do come filled with direct marketing blurbs but they just go straight into the bin in my house. I went for Bon Appetit, Saveur and Gourmet. I'd only received one issue of Gourmet when the news came that Conde Nast were to halt publication, I guess Bon Appetit was the more profitable of the two magazines in their stable. Personally Gourmet has always been my favourite, the one I purchased every time I travelled across the Atlantic. They have also published some nice anthologies of writing from the first 60 years of the magazine, one of which focused solely on articles about Paris. The one issue of Gourmet I did receive was the Thanksgiving one, with its multiple variations on the theme from traditional to vegetarian. I stuck with the traditional for my first Thanksgiving and made this pecan pie.

The quantities below make enough for one full 9" pie (to bring to Thanksgiving dinner) and two mini ones (for next day leftovers!)

Pecan Pie
adapted from Gourmet magazine Nov 2009

dough
1 1/4 cups flour
1 stick butter, cold and diced
1/4 tsp salt
ice water, 3-5 tbsp

• rub butter into flour until it resembles breadcrumbs
• stir in salt (no sugar needed, the filling is sweet enough)
• add the water, starting with 3 tbsp, until dough just comes together
• wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 mins
• remove from the fridge and leave for 5 mins before rolling out
• roll out into a circle and fit into a 9" pan, trim the edge of the pastry
• use leftover pastry to line two small pie dishes
  
• chill in the fridge for 30 mins while you make the filling
  

filling
1 stick unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups light brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten lightly
10 oz pecans halves

• preheat oven to 180 C
  
• melt butter in a pan on the hob, add sugar and whisk until smooth
• remove from the heat and add the corn syrup, vanilla, zest and salt
• whisk in the eggs
• scatter pecans over tart shell and pour mixture over them
• bake until filling is set in the middle, about 50 mins
• leave to cool before slicing