Kale and hearty

The tomatoes are mostly a distant memory at the City Market, the peppers too, but kale goes on and on. It's a hardy green, mostly used for braising, but it makes great chips. This recipe from Martha Stewart is also very good, and a way for those of you with CSA's to add a little variety to a favored crop as the weather gets colder.

Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing
Serves 8

Ingredients
2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup salted peanuts
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup salted peanuts

Instructions
Toss 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups); 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise; and 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise, in a large bowl.
Puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salted peanuts, 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a blender until smooth.
Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.
From Martha Stewart Living, August 2009

Pullets' surprise

I've been eating out way too much lately, but I'll be back cooking again soon. In the meantime, check out how the chickens are coming along; no eggs yet, but soon, soon...

Library offers a menu of great choices

Charlottesville friends, do you have a Jefferson-Madison Regional Library card? Not only do the new ones look totally hip and not something you'd be embarrassed to have on your keychain, during the month of October, you'll get a 10 percent discount at many area businesses. Here's a short list of the food-related ones; more can be found at the library's website. (The YUM's are places I've checked out at least three times and liked each time.)

Autumn Hill Vineyards, 301 River Drive, Stanardsville, VA

Blue Ridge Café & Catering, 8315 Seminole Trail, Ruckersville, VA

Brix Terrace Café, 594 Pantops Center, Charlottesville, VA

Carving Board Café, 624 Albemarle Square, Charlottesville, VA (YUM!)

Integral Yoga Natural Foods, 923 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, VA (YUM!)

La Cocina del Sol, 1200 Crozet Avenue, Crozet  (YUM!)

The Lafayette Inn, 146 East Main Street, Stanardsville, VA

Lord Hardwick’s Pub, 5920 Seminole Trail, Barboursville & 1248 Emmet Street, Charlottesville

Maggie Moos, Hollymead Town Center, 145 Community Center, Charlottesville, VA

Maharaja Fine Indian Cuisine, 139 Zan Road, Charlottesville, VA

Nate & Em’s Pizza, 5920 Seminole Trail, Barboursville, VA 

The chickens are here!

We got three pullets today: a Black Australorp, a Buff Orfington and a Rhode Island Red. I'll post photos as soon as they relax and get the lay of the land.

Carrot cake heaven

Because of the difficulties in slicing the baked cake
into thirds, this one came out with five layers.

What could possibly be more delicious than a well-made carrot cake? Try layering the frosting on six thin cakes. Ms. Multitasker, a food blogger from Singapore, got out her "Boulevard: The Cookbook" and went after it (although she, like the cookbook, neglected to give any hint on how to slice the halved 9-by-13-inch  cake into thirds, although she was honest about the effort it took - I think when I try this, I will use the dental floss trick and let you know how it comes out).

If you can't wait until I publish my efforts, read her story by clicking here. I have the cookbook in hand: The recipe is on pages 208-211. It includes not only the cake with frosting, but carrot sherbet, candied walnut ice cream, cream cheese ice cream, walnut caramel and a garnish of candied carrots.

The best advice from Ms. Multitasker? Grate the carrots the night before and let your arms rest up for the main event.

Another idea I'd like to try: Make this recipe into cupcakes, fill with the caramel and the cream cheese frosting, more frosting on top and serve with the sherbet and ice cream. Any suggestions on which I should try first?

Chickens' run

As the day our chickens are to arrive gets closer, I keep noticing more stories about urban chickens, and the new Yahoo building that's fashioned after a chicken coop. In Illinois, Evanston citizens can now keep chickens in their backyard as the city ends a 36-year chicken ban‎. And the Denver Botanic Gardens is hosting its first chicken coop tour, an alternative to the traditional home tour, and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul‎ are having a Parade of Chicken Coops as well.

Here's a picture of our new coop, sans chickens as of yet:

Sous vide - so-so?

I must admit, I love the concept of sous vide: Lovely little packets done to perfection and awaiting to be plopped on a plate and served. Poached salmon you can set and forget, for hours.

But thank you, thank you David Hagedorn for testing out the home versions and being brutally honest about the results. (Read the Washington Post article here. The headline for the web version is much better than the ones on the paper version.)

One thing the story reminded me of was our camping eggs trick. You boil water, put the container in an insulated bag, put your beaten, seasoned raw eggs in a freezer zip bag and dunk it in the hot water. In a few minutes, put the bag out, squish the eggs around a bit, then put it back in the water until they are the consistency you like. Voila - scrambled eggs and no pan to clean. I think The Bee actually published this trick and got taken to task for a. the eggs may not get thoroughly cooked and could be dangerous to those with compromised immune systems (which begs the question, should sick people be camping?) and b. the bag could melt. Luckily, neither has happened on my watch, but I can see the point.