The Garden Apartment

An Adventure in Scandinavian Eating

Hopefully my absence on the blogosphere has been duly noted over the past week. Lucky me, I've been off on a whirlwind adventure through Sweden and Denmark.  Okay, so I only actually visited a few places, but it was wonderful nevertheless.

When I travel, I always look for local specialties, whether it's a local brewery or a special dish only found in that region. This can backfire sometimes, like when John and I went to Costa Rica and realized that the comida typica (the typical plate) was the exact same thing every single time, no matter where we tried it.

Happily, this did not occur in Sweden or Denmark. The problem we ran into was one typical of Americans traveling in Europe: the bad exchange rate.  Pictured below, I am eating a hot dog for lunch so that we could justify eating a nice dinner.  It may not be the most flattering picture of me ever, but I have to say that their ristet hot dogs (roasted hot dogs) with all the fixings (ketchup, Danish relish--mayo and relish mixed together, spicy mustard, fried onions, fresh onions, and a lot of pickles) were quite tasty.

All kidding aside, the Swedish and Danish kroner exchange rate did not exactly cause us to go destitute, and we did manage to try some really great local specialties while we were there. I don't usually crave chocolate the way most people do, but I couldn't resist trying an assortment of chocolates from a small shop in Goteborg (also known as Gothenburg), Sweden.  My assortment included a chocolate pistachio, chocolate with more chocolate, and white chocolate with a raspberry filling.  My favorite was the white chocolate. Here are my chocolates pictured next to another vice: beer. This brew is called Avenyn Ale and is a local brew made just outside of Goteborg. It was deliciously girlie with an orange flavor accenting the amber ale.

 

Given the proximity to the sea, I was not surprised that much of the local fare focused on fish.  We ate fish at many different restaurants, and it was even part of the breakfast buffet at our hotel in Sweden. I enjoyed a breakfast of smoked fish and pickled herring on my first day there. This grossed out John, who went for the bacon and homemade bread. Of course, he was still recovering from his mistake of ordering beef tar tar the previous evening. Never again will we make the mistake of ordering anything tar tar. 

 

That's right: raw. In case that wasn't enough of a shock to my poor husband, the dish also came with a raw egg. John bravely ate a few bites and then decided that ordering tar tar was a great diet plan that he may endorse back here in the States.

Alright, so let's get back to the fish. One specialty I was told to try while I was in Scandinavia was the smorbrod-- or sandwiches. These enormous open faced sandwiches come with just about anything you can imagine. There were forty options at our restaurant of choice. John tried one with homemade meatballs and potato salad. Mine was called the "shooting star" and came with one piece of fried cod, one piece of roasted cod, an enormous pile of small salty shrimp, caviar, asparagus, mayonnaise, and cucumber slices. It did not resemble any sandwich I had ever eaten, and was surprisingly delicious.

Speaking of asparagus, it was everywhere! At the markets I stopped into they were selling green and white varieties from Germany. At every restaurant we visited, asparagus came with the meal. During one particularly good meal, I was delighted to find an asparagus puree on the side. New potatoes were also abundant at nearly every meal, a sign that most restaurants were indeed serving dishes and produce that was in-season.

That's all for my travel and food report from Scandinavia. You can look forward to another travel dis(h)patch this summer when I visit another northern land: my hometown of Mackinaw City, Michigan.

Basic Bruschetta

The secret to this recipe is using the freshest possible ingredients.  Ripe red tomatoes, garden basil, and buffalo style mozzarella are all complimented by crusty bread brushed with garlic flavored olive oil.

I am a confessed tomato snob.  For years I have scoured grocery stores for ripe tomatoes through the darkest of winter days only to be disappointed with pink mealy results.  It's pretty simple: to make any good bruschetta you need the freshest possible tomatoes.  In this case it has little to do with culinary expertise and a lot to do with fresh ingredients.

At this time of the year, tomatoes are not quite in season, but many locally grown greenhouse tomatoes are available at farmers markets. Though they're not quite as good as just picked summer tomatoes, they come close enough for a tomato lover like myself.  I've been buying a lot of delicious greenhouse grown tomatoes from Sunnyside Farm and Orchards (Sunday DuPont farmer's market and Wednesday Foggy Bottom market). 

I might as well admit to being a mozzarella snob as well.  I can't believe that I lived most of my live thinking that mozzarella only came shredded in a resealable plastic bag.  Thank goodness some good friends rescued me from my ignorance a few years ago!  Life has been much better since.  Most recently, my favorite buffalo style mozzarella (large ball of fresh mozzarella in water) comes from the Blue Ridge Dairy.  They can be found at Sunday's DuPont Circle farmers market and are also sold at some Whole Foods stores in the DC area.

Between these fine ingredients and my garden basil, I've been making a lot of my favorite bruschetta. The first few times I made bruschetta I used fresh minced garlic. This still tasted good, but the garlic really overwhelmed all the other wonderful flavors.  After a little ruminating, I came up with a great way to make the garlic flavor more complementary: garlic flavored olive oil. Thus, the secret to this bruschetta's delicious flavor is that the garlic merely enhances (rather than overwhelming) the fresh tomato and basil. 

Basic Bruschetta Recipe:

• 1 loaf  of bakery baguette
• 3 TB olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 medium-large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ball of Buffalo style mozzarella, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 bunch of fresh basil leaves, sliced
• salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Slice the baguette and place the pieces on a foil lined cookie sheet.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in small sauce pan.  Add the garlic slices and allow them to simmer for a few minutes.  Do not let it overcook or the oil will have a burnt flavor.  Set aside. 

Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and salt. 

Place the bread in the oven.  Bake until the edges are golden brown (8-10 minutes).  Remove bread from oven and brush each slice generously with the garlic flavored olive oil. Add tomato mixture to each slice.  If desired, drizzle each piece with a little bit of the leftover oil. 

Voila!  So simple and yet so delicious.

Drinking Virginia Wine at the Mount Vernon Wine Festival

The twice yearly Mount Vernon Wine Festival is quite possibly my favorite event in the DC area.  The $30 price tag includes tastings from sixteen award winning Virginia wineries and a tour of the mansion featuring the rarely viewed wine cellar.  For me the price tag is only truly worth it once I am relaxing on George Washington's lawn overlooking a stunning view of the Potomac River with a bottle of wine in hand. 

The view from my blanket

Did George Washington ever imagine this?

I headed down to Mount Vernon on Sunday for my third festival.  I usually attend this as a "girl's only" outing, but two of us girls dared to bring our husbands along this time.  Though they scoffed at our yuppie remarks at first, it only took a few pours to bring out the discerning palates of two macho winos who could detect bouquets of blackberry and leather with a swirl of their glass.

Now, I have to warn you that biases may have been created by increased blood alcohol levels. Miraculously, everything tasted fantastic towards the end of the night. Despite--or maybe as a result of-- our shared intoxication, we did all conclusively agree that Virginia whites are generally better than the reds.  Here are a few favorites:

Keswick Vineyards We felt that their Viognier was the best we tasted all night.  Viognier is a wine that many Virginia vineyards are trying to become known for.  We also really enjoyed Keswick's Verdejo wine.  As advertised, it would truly make a "nice warm weather wine." You can visit Keswick Vineyards in their tasting room near Charlottesville, Virginia or at many other festivals this summer.

Horton Cellars We were drawn to their booth by a banner advertising their "Sparkling Viognier." The viognier was delicious enough to be the mandatory purchased bottle for consuming on the estate's East Lawn (see image of empty bottle at beginning of this post).  Besides this special wine, Horton Cellars had some of the better red wines we tasted. Their Malbec was excellent.  You can visit Horton Cellars at their tasting room in Orange County (north of Charlottesville) or at many festivals throughout the year.

Corcoran Vineyards This vineyard is very conveniently located just north of Leesburg.  For those of us in northern Virginia, this would be an easy weekend day trip.  I plan to go sometime soon and will report back. 

Chateau Morrisette I wouldn't be a very loyal wife of a Hokie if I failed to mention this winery from southwest Virginia.  We've been anticipating a visit to their vineyard combined with a football game weekend for over a year now.  Their semi-dry red blend "The Black Dog" is a solid wine with an affordable $10 price tag.  I may be biased toward this wine since I own a black dog and because this wine was served at my wedding last summer.  Unfortunately for my readers, I cannot speak to their other offerings since I remember very little of my tasting there last night with the exception of my group asking for more generous pours from a very annoyed Chateau Morrisette volunteer. 

This is what happens when you drink and use a point and shoot camera. . . would you believe it if I told you the blurs were an intentional artistic choice?

We ended the night by enjoying the reflection of a full moon over the Potomac River. Now, if only I can find the perfect artisinal cheeses from the farmer's market to pair with those Virginia wines.

Old Town Di(sh)patch: Grilled Steak with Argula Pesto sauce and Roasted Potatoes with Ramp Mustard and Spring Onions

I became wary of the Old Town Alexandria Farmer's Market in early springtime.  The first annoyance was a booth that was selling produce from California.  The second turnoff occurred when a vendor claimed to be selling me "just picked" asparagus. I returned home to unwrap my local asparagus only to discover rubber bands stating clearly "Produce of Mexico."  Ugh.  Maybe he just had those rubber bands laying around before he bundled the asparagus. Right.

The other markets I frequent are all run by the Fresh Farms non-profit which ensures producer only markets. This morning I decided to give Old Town another chance.  This time I was determined to be selective about my purchases and to ask a lot of questions. I was reminded that despite a few booths like the above mentioned, there are some fantastic producers selling unique and authentically local goods in Old Town.

One of my favorites is the Bigg Riggs Farm booth. They produce everything they sell on their family farm.  Their West Virginia farm has been there for five generations, but the idea to turn their fruit products into a year round product (jams, jellies, apple butters) came when one family member (the young man who you'll usually find running the booth) was deployed in Iraq in 2003.  His fellow marines encouraged him to expand the family business to a wider regional audience.  You can usually find farm fresh eggs at their booth, and now that the weather is turning warm, fruits and vegetables will emerge soon.  Their hot pepper jelly is incredible served alone or mixed with cream cheese. 

Today I bought the Ramp Mustard.  The taste is phenomenal-- like a gourmet mustard you'd find at a specialty store.  It was recommended as a pretzel dip.  This di(sh)patch recipe will feature the mustard in roasted potatoes.

After finding the mustard, I was off to look for something to grill. I've had great products from the Virginia forest fed pork producer Babes in the Wood this winter, but my pork intake has been a little too high lately, so I made a healthy choice and headed off to buy some red meat. 

I ventured on to the Smith Family Farm booth.    As I waited for my grass-fed Porterhouse steak, I was informed about their 5th generation family farm in Gainesville, Virginia. Since the 1980s, developers have been pressuring them to sell the farm.  The family has been tenaciously holding on to their land while housing developments have cropped up all around them on former farmland.  It is one thing to read the statistic that two acres of farm land disappear every minute.  It's quite another experience to talk to a farmer facing this and know that the money paid for his products is helping a family to carry on their livelihood.

With these purchases, I had just what I needed for tonight's dinner.  I already had some fresh arugula, basil, new potatoes, and spring onions at home. 

Gorgeous and Enormous Spring Onions

Following is my di(sh)patch recipe for: Grilled Porterhouse Steak with arugula pesto, served with a side of Roasted Potatoes with Ramp Mustard and Spring Onions.

Grilled Porterhouse Steak with Arugula Pesto Sauce

• 16 ounce Porterhouse (T-Bone) Steak

Rub the steak with salt and pepper.  Set aside for 30-45 minutes while the grill heats.

Prepare pesto and begin roasting potatoes at this time.  When potatoes are beginning to brown, place steak on grill.  Grill 6-7 minutes on each side. Serve with Basil-Arugula Pesto sauce drizzled on top.

Basil- Arugula Pesto (adapted from www.epicurious.com)

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup arugula leaves
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts or pinenuts
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves
• dash or two of lemon juice
• water (if needed)

In a food processor, pulse the first six ingredients.

Add a dash or two of lemon juice.  Pulse again.  If you'd like the consistency to be a little thinner, add some water.

For Steak Sauce:

Melt 1-2 TB butter.  Add a small amount of the Basil-Arugula pesto to the melted butter (to taste). 

* Note: You will have leftover pesto to serve up with bread, over pasta, or in future recipes.

Roasted Redskin Potatoes with Ramp Mustard and Spring Onions

• 1 lb redskin potatoes (skins on), chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 TB Ramp Mustard (any mustard of choice would work; whole grain mustards are great with potatoes also)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter, melted
• 1-2 tsp white wine
• 1-2 tsp honey
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 spring onion chopped
• sprig of fresh oregano (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 425 F.  Place foil over a cookie sheet and set aside. 

Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, white wine, honey, garlic, and oregano together in a large bowl.  Add potatoes to the bowl and toss until evenly coated.  Pour potatoes onto the cookie sheet.  Salt and pepper.

Place in oven and bake on top rack for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn potatoes.  Toss chopped spring onion on top. 

Return to lower rack of the oven for another 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are browned and crispy on the outside.

Serve potatoes with fresh oregano on top (optional).

Grilled Steak with Arugula Pesto and roasted potatoes with Ramp Mustard

 

The Last Tulips of Spring

At today's Foggy Bottom Farmers Market I bought these gorgeous tulips from LynnVale Studios.  I was told that these were the last tulips. . . sigh. . . aren't they beautiful?

Fair Trade Coffee: Coffee with a Conscience

Let's face it: my husband and I are addicted to coffee.  It should come as no huge shock that coffee does not grow anywhere near northern Virginia.  Thank God I am not a purist when it comes to eating and drinking locally sourced foods. 

Despite my acceptance of the fact that I can't get everything I need from the greater Washington DC area, coffee poses a moral dilemma.  Most coffee comes from developing countries.  In these places, the land and the people working the land are easily exploited.   According to the Global Exchange coffee farmers are often paid less for their product than it costs to produce it. This places farmers and workers into an endless cycle of poverty. How can I get peace of mind that my daily cup of joe is socially conscious?

One solution to this problem is to buy fair trade certified coffee. Fair trade certification ensures that workers are paid a living wage.  It also prohibits forced child labor.  Often, fair trade products support sustainable agriculture.  To learn more about fair trade certification and other fair trade products, visit the Fair Trade Certified website.

I found my Fair Trade coffee at Trader Joe's.  In addition to the Fair Trade label, my coffee is also certified organic and shade grown.  Shade grown means exactly what it says: the coffee is grown under the shade of other trees.  Commercial coffee growers often plant the trees in hot sun.  They do this to increase efficiency, but it is often necessary for them to use pesticides and fertilizers to keep the coffee growing.  Furthermore, this practice depletes the soil and the environment.  Shade grown helps to restore habitats for migrating birds and is often organic.  Read more about shade grown coffee.

This 13 ounce container of whole beans cost around $8.00.  According to the label, the coffee is produced by "an all women organization in an effort to offer women of Peru a better life." In addition, "women participate in every step of the process" and "a portion of the purchase goes directly back to [them]" (in addition to their wages).  Now that's a cup of joe I can swallow guilt-free.

Asparagus

Ah, let me count the ways I love asparagus: steamed, sauteed, grilled, broiled. .. or in a beer stein decorating the middle of my kitchen table.

Well, not for long anyway.  Keeping it in that stein (with my husband's not-so-nice nickname "Hot Plate") would be blasphemy since asparagus is best eaten when it has been just picked. 

It is mid-asparagus season here.  For you asparagus lovers out there, the season only lasts a few short weeks.  At my last encounter at the market, I was told asparagus would be available through early June. With advice from Animal Vegetable Miracle, I am doing my best to eat as much asparagus now so that I'm sick of it by the time it's out of season.  Apparently my gorging is in the same spirit as the Germans who have spargel (asparagus) festivals every spring.  Restaurants feature special asparagus menus with asparagus prepared every way you can imagine.  Maybe it's my German ancestry that causes me to get so excited over the twiggy little green guys.

I've made asparagus many different ways, but the following recipe is my tried and true most favorite way to serve asparagus.  It's really quite simple, healthy, and it keeps the focus on the main ingredient.

Sauteed Asparagus

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 TB olive oil
2. one bunch of asparagus
3. 1-2 tsp lemon juice (to your liking)
4. optional: 1/2-1 tsp dill (to your liking)
5. Kosher salt
6. fresh black pepper

Trim the asparagus:

Many people complain that asparagus has a stringy texture at the bottom.  The simple solution to this is to trim the bottoms.  In order to know where to trim, simply bend one piece of asparagus lightly.  Wherever it breaks is the place to cut.  Cut all the asparagus pieces in about the same place.

*Note: my market asparagus was advertised to be so fresh and tender that no trimming was required.  I had to see if this was true.  Since it had been two days since I bought the asparagus, I only cut the very end part off.  To my delight it was as tender and sweet as promised!

Saute the asparagus:

Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add asparagus and cover.  Saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add lemon juice, and if necessary, a little bit of water.  Cover again and saute for another 1-2 minutes.  The asparagus is done when it turns bright green.  Always avoid overcooking asparagus since it will lose it's taste, firm texture, and most of its nutritional value. 

Season the asparagus:

Add dill, salt, and pepper to taste.  You can omit the dill if you are an asparagus purist.

Here is my new dill plant.  This photo also illustrates the best thing about our garden apartment: the window outside our kitchen.  It is the perfect place to grow basil, sage, oregano, dill, chives, and rosemary.  Whenever I want it, I just open the window and take what I need.  That's what I call local.

After seasoning, your asparagus is ready.  Serve alongside rice, angel hair pasta, or as an accompaniment to any meal. 

Di(sh)patch with a Mission: Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I usually trot off to the market with an open mind and a free spirit.  After all, the fun of the farmer's market is how meal ideas emerge while visiting various producers.  This Sunday, however, thanks to my Fresh Farms newsletter update I had the insiders scoop on two things I was going to find at the DuPont Circle market: strawberries and rhubarb.  I had also promised my mother-in-law that I would make a strawberry rhubarb crisp for Mother's Day dessert.  As a newlywed wanting to please, I knew I needed to deliver.

Not surprisingly, people were not pushing each other over for the rhubarb. I found beautiful bunches of it immediately at the Sunnyside Valley Farm stand. 

I have never made anything with rhubarb (of course) so I really didn't know what to look for.  Another market goer, who seemed to be a rhubarb veteran, was also buying these.  She said that the red ones were good, but it was okay if there were a few green parts.  I did see rhubarb at a few other stands, but these were really the best looking of the bunch. 

The strawberries were an entirely different story.  I only found one stand that had them and it seemed that every market shopper in all of DuPont Circle was in line for them.  I was reminded of going to Safeway on Sunday afternoons as I stood in line for ten minutes to get my coveted strawberries.

Now, before I discuss the end product, I must give credit to the other items I bought.  I was most excited to find goat cheese and herb pierogies from Highfield Dairy (they seem to sell out quickly).  I also got an abundance of vegetables, including asparagus, carrots, spring onions, and swiss chard.  Having enjoyed their Italian sausage in the past, I bought some more from Cedarbrook Farm.  I also found Poussin (whole baby chicken) which I will attempt to make delicious later this week.

This week's market abundance.

With all this in tow, I headed home to create strawberry rhubarb crisp.  My inspiration for this came from Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal Vegetable Miracle.  You can find their recipe   here.  The only changes I made were:

1) I added some cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg to the strawberry- rhubarb mixture.

2) I added some extra spice to the crumble as well.

The strawberries and rhubarb await the chopping block.  Cooks note: one stalk of rhubarb roughly equaled one cup chopped.  I bought eight stalks meaning that I will be making a pie with my leftovers.

chop chop chop

just add some crumble to the top and bake

Voila!  A perfect Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp to serve as a Mother's Day dessert.

A Short and Sweet Di(sh)patch: Strawberries!

Ah, the market just keeps getting better and better. 

I was surprised to find strawberries at Wednesday's Foggy Bottom market.  When I approached the market stand, I asked how they were at the market so early (I hadn't thought they would appear until late May or early June).  It turns out that this particular grower from southern Maryland has an early varietal that she places on elevated beds so that they come a little earlier.  Apparently hers will be around for a few weeks, and then the later varietals will become available from other farmers.  Oh joy!  One whole month of juicy red sweet strawberries.

Well, what could be better than a short and sweet little recipe for strawberries and cream?  For the sweet tooths in our house, this recipe makes enough whipped cream for two bowls of strawberries. 

Short and Sweet Strawberries and cream

Total Time: 5 Minutes

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

• Strawberries (however many you'd like!)
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Begin by slicing the strawberries, then placing them in two serving bowls. 

Pour the whipping cream into a small bowl and whip until heavy peaks begin to form.  Add sugar and vanilla, whip until combined.  Place a few dollops of cream on top of the strawberries.  Enjoy every last bite (and don't forget to lick the bowl from the whipped cream)!