It has been at least eight years since we’ve had REAL snow in Nashville, the kind that starts in the morning as flurries and builds throughout the day, big fat clusters tumbling down, blanketing the trees, the front yards, the roads, diffusing light, muffling sound…. ultimately bringing the city to a standstill.

Wow. It got really quiet.

And, while I was home, cozy (and succumbing to a headcold), I decided to enjoy the snowy shut-down by making simple comforts: bread and soup.

I had enough of the necessary ingredients: and handful of vegetables for the soup pot, some flour and an unexpired package of dry yeast for bread. These are, after all, basic foods.

With broccoli as the star, mirepoix the reliable supporting players, and potatoes comprising the creamy base, it doesn’t take long to make this hearty soup. It also isn’t essential that you add any dairy to achieve richness, although a modest cupful of lowfat milk added at the end is rather nice. A few shavings of sharp white cheddar, too.

But this is a much lighter version of Broccoli-Cheddar that is often served out in the world, all floury and cheesy and fat-laden.
The potatoes add the creaminess, body to the soup. As they cook along, they all but disappear.

like under a blanket of snow.

Chunks of potatoes will break down, adding flavor and body to the soup.

The soup is beginning to thicken, a good time to add the broccoli florets.

Creamy Broccoli Soup
3 T. Olive Oil
4 medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
1 head Broccoli, stems and florets separated, stems chopped
2 medium Onions, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
3 Celery, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 1/2 qts. vegetable stock, or water
Salt-n-Peppa to taste
1 cup lowfat Milk
1/2 cup shredded Vermont Cheddar

Warm olive oil in a stockpot on medium heat. Sauté the diced potatoes for 5 minutes. Add broccoli stems and the mirepoix (carrots-onions-celery) and stir into the mix, sauteing another 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and season with salt and black pepper.

The vegetables will begin to soften, and stick to the bottom and sides of the pot. Keep stirring, then add the vegetable stock (or water)

The soup will get a glazy thickness to it. Add the broccoli florets to cook into the batch last. Once they are softened, taste for salt and pepper. Stir in a cup of milk and some shredded Vermont Cheddar for added dairy richness and tang.

And now, for the bread part…….

The thing about bread is Time.

That’s all. And it’s not time where You are actually doing anything—it’s the yeast that’s doing all the work. After you mix up the dough, you just have to check in on periodically, give it a punch, knead it and leave it be. And, put it in the oven to bake.

So, I amend that—it’s really about Patience. It’s worth it. I would like to bake bread more than I do—I am not mindful enough to put it into the plan of a day. And while the recipe for this Rosemary Cracked Wheat Bread is not exceptional, I share it to encourage you.(and myself!) It’s not hard. It’s fun. And, delicious. Just simply to get in the kitchen and bake!

Serve the crusty loaf warm, with a slap of butter on it.
Or, get out your fave olive oil, dress it up with a few strips of sundried tomatoes, polka dots of balsamic….carve a little parmegiano-reggiano….

Rosemary-Cracked Wheat Bread

1 cup warm Water
1 package Active Dry Yeast
1 T. sugar
2 t. Sea Salt
2 T. Olive Oil
1 cup Cracked Wheat Flour
1 1/2 -2 cups Unbleached White Flour
2 T. chopped fresh Rosemary

Stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Yeast will begin to activate–bubble. Add salt and olive oil. Add cracked wheat flour and at least 1 cup of the unbleached white flour and make a soft dough. (add more white flour if necessary.) Knead until elastic. Form into a ball and place into a bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour. Punch down again, reform into a ball.

Score with a knife, sort of criss-cross fashion.
Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and chopped rosemary.
Let rise for another 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Crust with be nicely golden and the bread will “thunk.”

I wanted to share this ensemble recipe with you, made recently for another of our community pot luck dinners, because its elements lend themselves to so many tasty variations.

Here we’ve got smoked pork loin, peach chutney, sauteed arugula layered on one of the South’s best culinary contributions: the corncake. I made these “pick-up” size, so that you can enjoy bitter, sweet, smoky, and savory pretty much in two bites. This particular combination was based on ingredients I had on hand. It’s got a nice season-transition feel. And, color!

But, using the corncake as the base, you should feel free to improvise. Sauteed kale, chard, or collards would work equally well. Try ham or smoked turkey for the meat.

And, the beauty of chutneys is that it’s really hard to make a bad one, provided you have good ingredients used in a good ratio. The chutney recipe below is a guideline, ready for substitutions. With pears and apples coming onto the seasonal market, I’m sure I’ll be making chutney with those, paired with cranberries. Different chili peppers and sweet peppers are welcome additions. Have fun with it.

And, if nothing else, enjoy this corncake recipe. Make ‘em BIG for dinner. They are delicious, too, with bits of corn, chilis, or cheese mixed in….

Happy Fall to all!

Baby Corncakes
1 ½ cups Cornmeal (can be yellow or white corn meal)
1 cup All Purpose Flour (make sure it is All Purpose, NOT Self-Rising)
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) melted Butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups lowfat milk

skillet

In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients (the first 5 ingredients) and whisk them together.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, butter, and milk.
Add to the bowl of dry ingredients.
Stir until well blended and smooth, but do not overbeat.
Heat skillet and ladle out batter–about 1 Tablespoon size per corncake–and cook as you would pancakes–flipping after the edges brown.

Makes about 4 dozen baby corncakes.

Add-ins: kernel corn, or minced jalapeno peppers, or green onions, or shredded cheddar cheese folded into the batter before baking!

White Peach-Blueberry Chutney
3 fresh white peaches
1 fresh Serrano chili pepper
2 T. grated fresh ginger root
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. cider vinegar
1/3 cup blueberries

Place sliced peaches, peppers into a saucepan and slowly cook these down together for about 15-20 minutes on low heat, breaking up the peaches as you stir. Stir in ginger root, brown sugar, cider vinegar and blueberries. Continue to cook until the mixture has a coarse but glazed appearance.

Cooks Notes:

The white peaches were a novelty–a pleasant surprise at our farmers market. Use whatever good peaches are available.

The arugula was especially pungent–mature—and I sauteed it in a little olive oil, with minced garlic and onion, and a little salt. I didn’t add any red pepper flakes, which I often do with cooked greens, as the arugula was already peppery.

One of my daughter’s favorite books growing up was Bunnicula, the tale of a vampire rabbit who sucked the juices out of vegetables, leaving behind ghostly versions of carrots, beets, celery, and such.

I was reminded of that hilarious story recently when we had a strawberry tasting at our farmer’s market. We offered market goers samples of commercially grown California berries and ones that were organically grown by Delvin Farms here in College Grove, Tennessee. As I was helping to quarter the strawberries into bite size pieces, I couldn’t help but marvel at the difference. Our local berries were small to medium sized, juicy, and red all the way through. The commercial counterparts from California were larger, firmer, with somewhat hollowed interiors drained of all color.

The mark of the vampire rabbit!

“These,” I told my fellow strawberry tasting volunteer, “are Bunnicula Strawberries!”

The Delvins little heart shaped strawberries were easy winners in the tasting. Poor Bunniculas!
Based on just the visual, some people opted not to try the Californias. Others noted, with surprise, that they were sweeter than the locals, but definitely not Strawberrier.

When you buy local berries, it’s best to eat them or cook with them within days; they are perfectly ripe when picked. And that time is now! For a few short weeks, they will be available.
I treat strawberries the same as tomatoes—no refrigeration. (unless absolutely necessary!) It would be a shame to let them go to waste because they languished on the counter a day or two too long.

But with so many delicious possibilities—in fruit salads, green salads; paired with goat cheese and almonds; pureed into coulis, layered into shortcakes, pudding cakes, or just eaten plain–pure delight–
that’s not likely to happen. (This means more strawberry recipes are to come…)

Here’s one of my favorite Strawberriest treats: this features a double whammy of strawberry—-
sliced strawberry bread slathered with strawberry cream cheese!

Very Strawberry Finger Sandwiches
Strawberry Bread spread with Strawberry Cream Cheese

Strawberry Bread (makes 1 loaf)
1 pint Strawberries, cleaned, hulled, stems removed, sliced and chopped
¼ cup Brown Sugar
2 teaspoon Lemon Zest
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup vanilla yogurt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Coat loaf pan with baking spray.
In a bowl, mix strawberries, brown sugar, and zest together. Set aside.
In another bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together.
In a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugar together. Add yogurt. Scrape bowl sides and beat in eggs. Fold in strawberry mixture. Then add dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Pour into loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 70 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Strawberry Cream Cheese
In a mixing bowl, beat together:
1 lb. softened cream cheese
1 ½ cups chopped fresh ripe strawberries
1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest
2 Tablespoons sugar (optional)

Slice strawberry bread into thin slices, 12-14 slices per loaf.
Spread half the slices with strawberry cream cheese and top with remaining slices.
Cut into rectangles or triangles. Makes about 2 dozen.