So we are looking at few more weeks of winter – let’s get together, have some and generate some heat - my first class of the year is coming up next Wednesday Feb 11 with the emphasis on spices like pink peppercorns, ginger, horseradish and mustards – perfect for livening up the taste of winter foods and warming the bones.

Class description follows:
Fiery Foods for Cold weather

It's the dead of winter... so let's take the chill off by turning up the heat –a little or a lot– in your very own kitchen! Mary Ellen will unleash a fiery menu using heat-filled ingredients such as pink and white peppercorns as she concocts delicious corn chowder; fresh ginger in chicken noodles with a gingered peanut sauce; horseradish featured in a fabulous ham and cabbage slaw with horseradish vinaigrette; and spicy mustard in a potato leek gratin.
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Autumn

My oh my – the switch has been flipped or the flip has been switched – instant autumn.
The good news is that harvest is in full swing with great many choices and the temperature is perfect for spending time in your kitchen.
Classic recipes still stand the test of time. Remember ratatouille?
The movie? Couldn’t get over rats in the kitchen. Yikes!

Ratatouille

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
Salt and pepper
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 Japanese eggplants, cubed
2 bell peppers, thickly sliced
1 pound of summer squash, thickly sliced
2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh oregano
1 handful fresh basil, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the onion, ½ teaspoon salt and a few pinches of pepper. Sauté over medium heat until soft.
Add garlic, eggplant and peppers, cook for 10 minutes or until the peppers are just tender.
Add summer squash, tomatoes, bay leaf and oregano. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
Add basil just before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.

Breakfast for dinner

The new Saveur magazine just arrived dedicated just to breakfast around the world. Love it!
In Mexico, Chilaquiles is breakfast using yesterday’s tortillas, with many versions of the sauce depending on indigenous ingredients.
It has been said to have restorative power “the day after”, but don’t wait for that.
I made mine with beans so I could have breakfast for dinner.

Chilaquiles de Frijol Negro

2 16 - ounce cans of black beans
½ onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves,
1 sprig epazote
3 Chipotle chilies in Adobo (canned)
12 tortillas cut into wedges - slightly stale
½ cup crema
¼ cup cateja cheese or feta cheese
1 avocado, peeled, cut into cubes
Cilantro
Lime wedges

Sauté the onions and garlic in a medium saucepan, add a sprig of epazote. Cut the chipotle chilies in half, scrape out the seeds and cut into thin strips. Add the black beans and ½ of the chipotle to the pan. Cook for 20 minutes.
Puree in a food processor, return the mixture to the pan, and add chicken broth until the sauce is the consistency of thin cream soup
Bring to a boil. Add the tortillas and ½ of the chipotle. Stir until the tortillas have softened, about 3-5 minutes.
Scoop them into a serving bowl, drizzle with cream, sprinkle with cheese. Top with avocado and cilantro.
Serves 4-6

Come to the table

Slow Food Come to the Table

Slow Food hosted thousands of farmers, fishers, ranchers and producers in San Francisco last week – one of them being a local – Breadfarm located in cool and quaint Edison. Their poster story was on the wall in the Bread Hall. Check it out -

Slow Food San Francisco

Just returned from the Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco, where we shared a lovely weekend with like minded people, food with wine is the purpose for living.
Hopping on BART from the airport to Civic Center, and climbing the stairs out the dark to find a with a huge garden planted in front of City Hall with the best snacks from all over the country – Salumi from Armandino Batali in Seattle, hand made tamales wrapped in banana leaves from Central Valley, fresh biscuits with cured ham from Virginia – That was just the first hour of our adventure – more to come.
Rather than fill up your email boxes, I will continue stories and pictures and from the Fabulous Food Weekend on my blog, so check it out.
By the way – Happy Birthday Terry!

Summertime

I usually have a wonderful recipe for each of the seasons, but this time of the year I think grazing is the way to go.
Opening my refrigerator I nibble on blueberries, strawberries and watermelon. I am thinking of BLT for dinner with the brandywine tomato that I purchased at the market from Nooksack Nine. Maybe replacing the L with arugula from Galatic Farm.
This is the way I plan on spending August!