La Platicona Habla: Tastes, Passions and Pursuits

Thanks to my coworker who offered to go halfers on two bushels of chile (hot and xtra hot), I was able to freeze my annual share of chile in a snap.

Chile roasting will only last a couple weeks more, before the chiles are dried and preserved on ristras. I sought out a roadside vendor selling 2 bushels for 35 bucks. It was perfect.

I got to my coworker's house and we began placing 8 chiles per freezer quart bag. We then pushed the air out of the bags and placed them in our freezers after they cooled down.

I will certainly post this season's first green chile stew as soon as it hits below 50!

I woke up earlier than expected and made these blueberry pancakes using a basic recipe, Delicious Pancakes, from my Menonite Cookbook.  The recipe is simple: combine 1/3 c melted butter w/2 eggs, and 1 c of milk (I used a mix of half-n-half w/cream). Beat very slightly. Add 1 1/4 c sifted flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar, and a dash of salt. Combine with a spatula until just mixed.  Cook one at a time in a hot cast iron skillet or griddle with butter, over medium-low heat.  Once you spoon the batter, sprinkle on blueberries. Cook until top forms slight bubbles; flip and cook other side. Eat with hot syrup.

I slept in and made this delicious breakfast tart using some delicious Camembert brie cheese, and a simple ratatouille. For the tart crust, I opted for a traditional flakey tart crust, rather than my traditional savory tart crust. The main difference between the recipes is less flour and more butter. I will post separately with that recipe. The advantage of the flakey tart crust is the omission of pre-baking the crust. You can simply mold the crust into the tart pan and add your filling. The baking time is also less, which is especially important in summer when it can be too hot outside for baking inside.

For the ratatouille, basically a French version of random vegetables sauteed and sometimes roasted in an oven afterwards, I used the produce I found in my kitchen, including 2 plum tomatoes, 1/2 white onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 of a yellow and red bell pepper, and dried herbs de Provence. Rather than labor over stove and onion, I decided to quickly sautee these vegetables in 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat to give them a quick browning. I cooked them for about 8 minutes and turned the burner off, letting the juice from the vegetables evaporate as the pan cooled down. You don't want watery or mushy vegetables, so this process of eliminating the moisture from them is key to keeping your tart intact and prevent it from breaking up.

After molding my crust, I layered the vegetables first, then slices of the Camembert brie cheese (I tried the brie version, and frankly, didn't like it as much as the other brand that was more firm). I poured in 4 eggs I'd whisked with 1/2 c of cream. Bake the tart at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. The result is rather amazing, considering all the butter put into that flakey tart crust! Enjoy.

Labels: bell pepper, cheese, eggs, herbs, onion, tart, tomatoes

Labels: bread, breakfast, cheese, eggs, prosciutto