Return to the Green Mountains

As promised I have put together a menu from the ingredients I brought back from Vermont. Cheddar cheese, maple vinegar, maple syrup and Vermont Common Crackers. My last visit I brought home a cookbook "Dishing Up Vermont". Two of the recipes I made came from that book.

Cheddar-Dill Scones
Grafton Cheddar Ale Soup
Fresh Spinach Salad with Basil Maple Vinaigrette

The scone recipe didn't come from the book but is from The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. They are made with butter, eggs, whipping cream, dill and cheese. Knowing they would be very rich, I made them small, about two bites each. I have lots of them and froze what was left for another time. They are excellent and go well with the soup and salad.

The soup was a surprise. I have made cheese soup before it is very heavy; hardly a good idea when the temperature is 90+ degrees. This was not heavy at all. I think the bottle of ale helped to smooth out the milk, cream, Worcestershire, dry mustard, garlic and chicken stock. The cheese melted nicely off the heat. Vermont Common Crackers are placed in the bottom of the bowl and soup poured over, as is done with chowders along the Maine coast. We are more accustomed to topping soups with oyster crackers which are very small in comparison. I reheated a bowl of the soup on Sunday and added a cup of blanched chopped broccoli (one of my favorite vegetables). It too was very good.

The salad is a mixture of chopped basil leaves, torn baby spinach, and minced shallots. I added grape tomatoes, cut in half, and fresh mozzarella. I made the mozzarella in a cheese class at Viking Cooking School a couple of days before. The dressing is maple vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt/pepper and EVOO. A perfect dressing for the salad. Crumbled maple bacon on the top and the salad is complete. Maple bacon is baked on a rack in the oven and brushed with maple syrup and fresh cracked black pepper. My favorite way to cook bacon. I was able to bake them with the scones so my kitchen did not get too hot.

Given that this is Memorial Day, I had to do some barbecue so I have two more recipes to do next week. Twice baked cheese souffles and a green bean cheddar dish.

I grilled a chicken breast and the last five minutes basted it with BBQ sauce mixed with mashed strawberries. I had it with leftover salad and iced tea. All in all a great foodie weekend and the recipes were simple and fairly quick so I could ready my balcony for the summer. Hanging baskets and a railing basket of herbs. A perfect sanctuary to relax with a book and a glass of something. Enjoy the week and well see you next time.

Springtime in Vermont

I'm back from visiting good friends in Vermont. Vermont is an amazing place. The population of the state is smaller than half of Cook County in Illinois. The scenery is gorgeous. The Green Mountains are so interesting. I called them the 'broccoli forrest' since the visual looks much like a bunch of broccoli. My friends are avid birders. I can't tell you how many species there are. A few are hummingbirds, orioles, cardinals, wood peckers, catbirds, grossbeaks, and finches of many varieties. The best was the last day... Indigo buntings!!! How blue they are!!! I know I left out many, but can't think of them. I was a bit disappointed...or not...that I did not see the bear.. But since I had to walk from the main house to the cottage (where I stayed) in the dark..maybe not.

Most villages are small. All have a 'country store' They have EVERYTHING. Beer, wine, vegetables, dairy, clothes, hardware, Movies, cosmetics...name it, they have it. Also galleries of local artists. My favorite village is Manchester. The home of Orvis, great clothes and fly fishing equipment and Vermont foods. Also an amazing book store. Northshire Bookstore!!! It has a cafe and we have lunch there and peruse books we are interested in while eating. We watched "Mash" Great way to spend an evening (they have all 14 seasons) and the "1900 House" film.

I purchased Vermont food to use next week in my meal. Maple syrup, Cabot Cheddar cheese, Vermont Common Cracher (oyster cracker on steroids) and a surprise , maple vinegar. Stay tuned for a menu to enjoy for spring.

Visiting Vermont

Since I will be away this week, I didn't prepare anything exciting except to empty my refrigerator of anything that would not keep. I oven roasted the leftover vegetables and mixed them with quinoa, used up the fresh fruit and salad greens. Nothing very creative or interesting.

What do you think of when you think of Vermont? Covered bridges, country roads and green hills? Well, I think of Vermont cheddar cheese, maple syrup,Vermont Common Crackers and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I hope to bring some crackers, cheese and syrup home with me and some new ideas on how to use them. The Ben and Jerry's probably would not do well in my suitcase? So I will get it at Dominick's. Hopefully next week I will have some interesting tasty things to tell you about.

Have a good week

Meatless Monday.....Well, Actually Saturday

I'm back from my high school class reunion. It was a very nice weekend. Saw lots of people I had not seen or thought about in many years. It was, however, a good thing our name tags had our senior class picture on it. Some had changed very little and others......well??? But back to the groove. The past weeks there has been a lot of talk about meatless Monday's on Face Book. I decided to try to have at least one meatless day a week. This week menu:

Risotto with Artichokes, Asparagus and Leeks
Salad of Shaved Fennel and Oranges
Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

Making risotto is an experience. Have not made it often and wonder why. I really like it and it's not difficult. Sauteed leeks in EVOO. The Arborio rice is added and stirred to coat each grain with the oil. Hot vegetable broth is added a ladle at a time until almost absorbed. At the end, blanched asparagus and thawed cut up artichoke hearts are added. Parmesan cheese and minced rosemary are added just before serving. A very nice dish with a fair amount of leftovers for the week.

The salad too was easy. The fennel is shaved thinly on a mandolin and put in a bowl with segments of an orange and lots of chopped parsley. The vinaigrette is made of red wine vinegar, lemon juice EVOO and salt/pepper. I like vinaigrette's with different vinegars. Went well with the fennel and oranges. A nice contrast with the risotto.

Received a bunch of rhubarb this week and put it together with strawberries to fill a graham cracker tart shell. A spoon of vanilla flavored Greek yogurt topped off the tart. Love rhubarb and this was just the right ending to the meatless meal.

I have several vegetarian cookbooks and will do this kind of meal again. Maybe more often than once a week. I think next week I will start an adventure with main dish salads. Summer will be here soon and salads are welcome on warm days.

Let's Have Breakfast for Dinner!!

I love breakfast. However, five days a week my day starts too early to do it justice. It's usually cereal and yogurt with berries in my office, at my desk in the library before we open the doors. I made omelette's and other breakfast favorites on weekends. Since I began this project, other food preparation has taken most of the time I usually spent for those favorites. Restaurants offer 'big breakfast's' of juice/fruit, bacon, eggs, fried potatoes and other favorites. I decided this week to indulge myself and prepare several dishes I have been saving in a folder for a bit. Most of them a bit on the unusual side.

Scrambled Eggs in Potato Baskets
Jalapeno-Cornmeal Pancakes/Apricot Jalapeno Topping
Maple Bacon
Greek Yogurt Cheese with Rhubarb/Berry Sauce
Fresh Rhubarb Punch

I have not purchased prepared fresh hash browns found in the dairy case until now. They turned out to be a good thing. They potatoes are mixed with sauteed onion, salt and pepper and beaten eggs to bind the potatoes together. They are then spooned into sprayed muffin tins. When the cups are full a well is made with the back of a spoon. The nests are then baked until golden and set. Meanwhile eggs are scrambled with fresh chopped chives, tarragon and mascarpone cheese. Cook with a bit of oil until soft and creamy. Carefully remove the nests, plate and spoon the egg mixture into them. A bit of chopped parsley on top. This is a fairly simple preparation, but a pretty one. I think I overdid the tarragon a bit and would cut back on that herb next time.

These pancakes were a pleasant surprise. In addition to cornmeal batter mixture, seeded diced jalapeno, grated Parmesan cheese and chopped green onions are added. The small pancakes are cooked using 3-4 tablespoons of the batter. A sauce of apricot jam, orange juice, chopped green onions and seeded chopped jalapeno pepper is heated and spooned over the cakes. Bacon painted with maple syrup and baked in the oven is served along side.


I have recently become a fan of Greek Yogurt. It is less tart and much creamier. I placed a cup in a double layer of cheese cloth and set it over a bowl. The liquid milk solids drained out leaving a nice firm ball of cheese.

Rhubarb is a spring favorite and I cooked it with sugar and water until it was soft. It was divided and strawberries and raspberries added to half of it. This mixture was cooked until the berries are soft. The sauce is spooned over the yogurt cheese. Loved it! The texture of the cheese is much like softened cream cheese without all the salt and fat.

The remainder of the rhubarb sauce was put in a blender with pineapple and lemon juice and blended until smooth. Fill a tall glass half way with the sauce and top off with sparkling white wine. An alternative to the familiar mimosa. Really good and very refreshing.


I enjoyed this week ends offerings and will do breakfast menus again. I will be taking next week off. I will be attending my high school class reunion...50 th. Good grief! Have a good couple of weeks and enjoy the spring weather.

Cooking Light/Mediterranean Light

Cooking Light is not only an excellent magazine, but they publish a number of cookbooks that are equally excellent. Mediterranean cooking works well with the concepts of light cooking. Last week halibut was cooked in parchment. This week chicken is cooked in the same way.

Greek Country Salad on Grilled Romaine Lettuce
Artichoke with Roasted Garlic-Wine Dip
Chicken Breast en Papillote


The salad is composed of chopped vine ripened tomatoes, English cucumber, green bell pepper, and red onion. The lettuce is quartered and left intact; drizzled with a bit of EVOO and grilled. Served on a plate with spoon fulls of the vegetables, chopped Kalamata olives and reduced Feta cheese. The dressing is a vinaigrette of fresh herbs, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, salt and pepper. I used a Tuscan Olive Oil from The Olive Tap in Long Grove. Just a light drizzle is needed to bring the flavors together. I also toasted cubes of a multigrain roll over the top.

Springtime brings lots of fresh vegetables. One of my favorites is the artichoke. Big round globes of tightly compacted leaves. The stem is cut off and the tips of the leaves snipped. It is cooked in boiling water until a knife pierces the base easily. The dip begins with roasted garlic cloves simmered in white wine. Then vegetable broth is added and reduced by half. A tiny piece of butter is melted into it. The mixture is blended until smooth along with an additional couple of garlic cloves. A sprinkle of parsley and is served warm for dipping the artichoke leaves. The choke is removed and the heart is cut up and some of the dip is poured over them.

I really like preparing an entree in parchment. Placing the pouch on the plate is a bit dramatic. Cutting open the pouch so the aroma and flavors are released is a special experience. The chicken breast is placed on the parchment, drizzled with a bit of EVOO and salt and pepper. Garlic, shallot and mushrooms are lightly sauteed in a bit of EVOO. Diced tomatoes are added and seasonings are adjusted. The mixture is spooned over the chicken and grated lemon zest is dusted over all. The pouch is sealed and baked for about 40 minutes.

An enjoyable meal. Wonder what else I can prepare using a parchment pouch? Will give it some thought.

Halibut two ways!

I've been trying to add more fish to my diet and since there are many varieties, I will try different methods of preparation. This week the fish is halibut; a nice meaty fish. I tried two very different preparations and served them with a cous cous side dish.

Lemon-Artichoke Halibut en Papillote
Grilled Halibut with Mango Cucumber Salad
Black Bean and Spinach Cous Cous

En Papillote is a French term for food baked in parchment paper. The steam in the packet cooks the contents and creates a sauce. The fish is placed on a bed of chopped shallots on the paper. A spoon of salsa is spread on the fish along with artichoke hearts and lemon slices. Salt and pepper the mound and seal up the pouch with narrow folds. The packet is cooked on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes and served in the pouch. Cut the pouch open and enjoy the fish and the sauce. It is a very nice meal and I will try the papillote method again with other types of fish.

The second piece of halibut was also very successful. It was lightly oiled and seasoned with salt and pepper; grilled for about 5 minutes per side. It is served atop a salad of sliced cucumbers and radishes, chopped onion, diced jalapeno and mango. A light dressing of lemon juice, EVOO and white wine vinegar. This fish is an entirely different taste, but also one I will use again. The salad has just a bit of a bite to it and compliments the fish very will.

As a side dish for both preparations was Israeli cous cous (a larger grain than other cous cous) cooked in broth. a box of frozen spinach is thawed and the liquid squeezed out. Along with rinsed and drained black beans it is mixed into the cooked cous cous. A bit of lemon juice and salt a pepper is the only dressing. It is served at room temperature.

All in all this was a good week. Will need to think about what to do next week.