Monday, August 19, 2013

Fig and Honey Galette

Nearly all of our fruit has come from Thistledown Farms this summer.  We went to get one more flat of blueberries to freeze for the winter, and I couldn't pass up the container of fresh figs.  When ripe in the summer they are such an amazing sweet treat.

To try something new, I made a galette recipe from Deborah Madison Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  This was my first time to bake with figs and first time to make a galette.  I like this forgiving type of dough that doesn't have to look perfect to have a delicate and delicious taste.  I see more galettes in my cookbook, and am looking forward to more experimenting!

Fig and Honey Galette
Galette Dough
2 c flour (Soft White Wheat from Lonesome Whistle Farm)
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
12 T butter old
1/2 c ice water

Mix flour, salt, sugar and butter in mixer.


Remove and sprinkle in water until dough can be formed into a ball.   Then roll into a round shape approximately a foot in diameter and place on a baking sheet.


Fig Filling
3 T butter
1 pint of figs (Thistledown Farm)
2 T honey
1/8 t cloves
1/2 t cinnamon
1 T sugar

Paint dough with 1T melted butter.  Slice figs in half lengthwise and lay on the galette dough.  Mix honey, 1T butter, cloves and cinnamon and microwave until butter is melted.  Pour over figs.  Fold up edges of the dough.  Melt last tablespoon of butter and add sugar and brush over the dough. Bake 35 minutes @ 400F oven.





Sunday, August 18, 2013

Kale Chips

The little bags of kale chips at the store are delicious, but oh so spendy!  Making it ourselves is so much nicer especially since my daughter and I can eat nearly an entire bunch of kale in one afternoon.  She calls it seaweed, and in texture it can be similar to the seaweed snacks we sometimes buy.  I've found several recipes online, but many of them over cook  the kale causing it to be brown and bitter.  This recipe seems to work for us and our oven. The baking time also seems to depend on the moisture in the kale related to how fresh it is from the farm--grocery store kale cooks faster than that from the farm stand or CSA.

We've also found that we need to store the cooked chips  in the fridge so they don't go bad, and we can pop them back in to the oven for just a few minutes to regain the crispy texture.

Kale chips
1 bunch kale (from Thistledown Farm)
Olive oil or grape seed oil
Salt

Tear kale into 2-4inch pieces.  Sprinkle with oil and salt.  Bake 250 F for 12-15 minutes.  Check and turn around minute 10 to check for crispness.


Ready for the oven.
Crispy and ready to eat!