Monthly Archives: May 2017

Snakes… and squash

Posted on by

Sunday afternoon, I killed a snake. Well, actually my lawnmower killed the snake, I was driving. I didn’t see it in the tall grass outside my chicken coop and I shudder when I think of how I walked through that grass many times. It was probably watching me. Anyway, while mowing I heard something catch and grind under the mower. I looked back to see if there was a stick that needed to be picked up. I didn’t see one. When I made the second pass, I heard it again, though it was not as loud.

It was after the lawnmower was safely stored in the barn and I was walking to the coop to collect eggs, that I found pieces of what must have been a pretty large snake. While repulsed, I felt no sorrow for the snake, as I believe the only good snake is a dead one.

For those of you that feel all creatures, even snakes, have the right to live, let me try to justify my lack of remorse. I have 43 hens and lately have only been finding about 18-22 eggs in the coop. That snake was cutting into my egg profits – any chicken rancher would agree the killing was justified.
Now I need to keep an eye out for the other snake, because I also believe that where there’s one chicken snake, you’ll find another!

I haven’t planted my squash seeds yet, but a friend brought me some yellow summer squash and zucchini. This week I have two simple and quick recipes to try.

Cajun Summer Vegetables
2 summer squash, sliced
2 zucchini, sliced
1-3/4 c. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 c. cherry tomatoes
1/4 c. fresh carrots, sliced
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

Place vegetables in a basket used for grilling and grill over medium heat for 8 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning and toss to coat.

Curried Squash Soup
2 summer squash, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. curry powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp. olive oil

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add squash, onion and curry powder. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until very tender, about 20 minutes. Purée until smooth.

Serve soup warm or chilled, topped with sour cream, cracked pepper and cilantro sprigs.

Just Desserts

Posted on by

The vineyard withstood the high winds the county received last week pretty well. Except for a 3-foot section of crown molding that was lodged in the trellis, the main damage consisted of vines knocked off the trellis wires and some fruit damage. However, we still have plenty of tiny berries on the vines.

I’m trying out a few dessert recipes to serve at Della Terra Farm’s Fourth Friday Night Dinner Parties. I’ve not tried the Root Beer Bread Pudding yet, but the Double Chocolate cake is amazing.

Root Beer Bread Pudding
2-liter bottle of Root Beer
1-1/2 c. sugar, divided
6 large eggs, divided, beaten
1 c. milk
4 c. slightly stale bread or rolls, cubed
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided, softened
1 c. chopped pecans

Pour the root beer into a stock pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Reduce down to one cup. (May be done a day prior – it takes a while.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13×9″ pan with nonstick spray. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 3/4 cup of the root beer syrup, 1/2 c. sugar, 5 eggs, and milk. Add the cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally allowing the bread pieces to absorb the liquid. In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, 4 Tbsp. butter and pecans.

Pour bread mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.

For the sauce, add remaining sugar, butter, egg, and root beer syrup to a saucepan and whisk constantly over medium heat. Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold. It is terrific with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Double Chocolate Cake with Ganache Icing
3 ozs. semisweet chocolate such as Ghirardelli
1-1/2 c. hot brewed coffee
3 c. sugar
2-1/2 c. flour
1-1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1-1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1-1/2 c. buttermilk
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease two 8″ round pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, one hour to one hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made a day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

Ganache Icing
1 pound semisweet chocolate such as Ghirardelli
1 c. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) unsalted butter

Finely chop chocolate. In a 1-1/2- to 2-quart saucepan, bring cream, sugar and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.
Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).

Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.