Turkey Mole Poblano

At this point Thanksgiving should be a distant memory. But if you still have some lingering turkey leftovers in your freezer, I can recommend a turkey mole poblano. The meditative process of roasting all the chiles, seeds, and nuts that go into this elaborate sauce can be an escape from the frenzy of the holiday season.

I always crave something spicy after the mild flavors of Thanksgiving fare, and we often make Mexican dishes with our turkey remains. This recipe for turkey mole poblano is from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. I also consulted Rick Bayless' recipe but wasn't quite up to all the straining involved. Instead I happily embraced the slight grittiness of the various purees (above from left to right: chocolate and corn tortillas, chiles and tomatoes, and nuts and seeds). The recipe made enough to freeze away a batch of sauce and still have plenty to drench our turkey leftovers. We dined on turkey mole tacos with a side salad of kale, roasted delicata squash, black beans, and avocado, as we started to discuss our Christmas wish lists. 

Turkey Mole Poblano

adapted from The Border Cookbook

Mole sauce (makes enough for two batches)

12 ounces whole dried red chiles (a combination of anchos and pasilla)

6 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 cup pepitas

3 Tbsp neutral oil such as canola

4 cups stock (turkey, chicken, or vegetable)

6 garlic cloves

14 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

2 stale corn tortillas, torn into pieces

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably Mexican)

1 tsp ground canela or other cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

shredded cooked turkey (3 cups for half of the sauce recipe)

1. Break the stems off the chiles and remove the seeds. Toast the chiles until fragrant in a large, heavy skillet, turning frequently, and transfer to a bowl. Cover with two cups of boiling water and allow to rehydrate.

2. In turn, toast the fennel seeds, cumin seeds, pepitas, and almonds until fragrant and transfer them to a blender. Then toast the garlic cloves until soft. When cool enough to handle, peel them and add to the blender. Add one cup of stock to the blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

3. Next add the rehydrated chiles to the blender, along with the fire roasted tomatoes, and 1 cup of the rehydration liquid from the chiles, strained through a strainer. Blend these until smooth and add them to the bowl with the nut and seed puree.

4. Add the quartered onion to the skillet and cook until slightly charred on all sides. Place these in the blender along with the corn tortilla, the chocolate, the cinnamon, and 1 cup broth. Blend until smooth and add to the bowl with the other purees.

5. Heat a deep Dutch oven over medium heat and add the oil. Spoon in the sauce and fry while stirring continuously (it will splatter) for about ten minutes. Add the remaining broth and continue to cook for about 30 minutes. Depending on how much turkey you have, at this point you could reserve a portion of the sauce to freeze for a rainy day.  Add the shredded turkey and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Serve the turkey mole with warm tortillas, over rice, or bake into enchiladas. Enjoy. 

White Pesto Pasta with Kale Chips

As a stubborn blanket of snow continues to keep Eugene at a standstill, creative cooking with pantry items is a necessity. This white pesto sauce from Mark Bitmann fits the bill, being prepared from an end piece of stale bread, a dribble of milk, and some nuts. From these humble staples you produce a rich sauce that tastes like an alfredo, without requiring the treacherous trip to the store for a pint of heavy cream. 

  

If you are lucky enough to have some greens in your crisper, by all means add these to your meal for extra color and to ward off scurvy. You could serve the pasta on a bed of raw greens, or toss the greens into the pasta water for a quick blanch at the last minute. 

I used our last bunch of kale to make a batch of the child-friendly chlorophyll vehicle of kale chips, which added a nice crunchy contrast to the creamy pasta. Now that we've polished off the last of our fresh vegetables, I'll be resorting to the bag of peas in the freezer normally reserved for soothing bumps and bruises. Let's hope the ice thaws.

White Pesto Pasta with Kale Chips

adapted from Mark Bitmann's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

pasta
1 thick slice Italian bread, or equivalent amount of any white loaf
1/2 cup milk
1 cup walnut halves
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram leaves (optional)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound pasta

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place the bread in a small bowl, cover it with milk, and let it soak.

2. If you like, roast the garlic cloves in a hot skillet until softened, then peel. Combine the nuts, garlic, cheese, and marjoram (if using) in a food processor and, with the machine running, slowly add the oil in a steady stream, adding just enough oil so that the mixture forms a very thick paste. Now add the bread-and-milk mixture and enough water to make a sort of saucy mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cook the pasta until tender. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the sauce and, if the mixture appears too thick, thin it with a little of the pasta cooking water or more olive oil. Pass more Parmesan on the side. And if you like, serve with kale chips, recipe below.

kale chips
1 bunch kale
olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Rinse the kale leaves and dry well. Cut or tear the leaves from the stem and tear into bite sized pieces. In a big bowl, toss the leaves with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and mix well with you hands, massaging in the oil. Lay out on cookie sheets in a single layer and bake for about 10 or 15 minutes until they are crispy but before they start to get very brown (at which point they become more bitter). Serve at once. You can store them in an airtight container if you have any left, but we never do.

Cutting Celery in Soup and Salad

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm, Fair Valley Farm, and Tiger Lily Art Company:

heirloom tomatoes, romas, and tomato deals: 10 lbs/$18, $20 lbs/$30 (try this soup)

blackberries and cantaloupes (great with pancakes)
peaches and Bartlett pears from the Columbia Gorge
corn (add to fish soup)

pepperoncini, poblanos, red hot cherries, anaheim chiles, and assorted pepper bargain bags

eggplants, fresh spring garlic, and onions (add to pasta sauce)

cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, and kohlrabi (toppings for peanut sauce noodles)
cutting celery (add to soups and salads, see below)

new potatoes and beets (build a battery) 

assorted herbs including Italian parsley and 1 lb bags of basil (make pesto)

bietola, kale, chard, and a variety of lettuces including iceberg (try bietola gomae)

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill (make some lentils with parsley)

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens from Fair Valley Farm (make chicken and rice)

floral arrangements from Tiger Lily Art Company

I'm so grateful to the Fairmount Market farmers who weathered last Sunday's showers to bring us food and flowers that brighten our kitchens and broaden our minds. I'd never tasted cutting celery (or leaf celery or smallage) before, but was eager to try this wild celery variant that is more leaf than stalk. We headed home from the market a little damper than we had started. To warm us up, I cooked some rain drenched tomatoes into a quick pot of creamy tomato soup that tasted perfect for the impending start of the school year. As an afterthought, I chopped up a pesto garnish of cutting celery and walnuts, which added a burst of bright flavor to the silky soup and reminded us that it's still summer vacation. 

The next day, when the sun was shining again, I made a delicious late summer salad of astringent cutting celery leaves and sweet Asian pears, softened with cubes of creamy feta cheese. In soup and salad, these leaves pack a vibrant punch and they are definitely worth walking through the rain to procure. 

Creamy Tomato Soup with Cutting Celery Pesto

serves four

for the soup
12 roma tomatoes
2 Tbsp butter
1 large shallot or small onion
1 clove garlic
1 cup water or stock
1/2 cup milk, half and half, or cream
salt and pepper to taste

for the pesto
1 handful cutting celery leaves 
1 handful walnuts
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Peel and dice the onion and garlic. If you like, peel the tomatoes by coring them, scoring them with an "X" at the back end, and blanching them in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel off the skin. Chop the tomatoes into 6 to 8 pieces. Set a kettle with 1 cup of water and start warming a soup pot over medium heat. 

2. Melt the butter in the soup pot and add the shallot or onion. Cook until soft, then add the garlic, cook a couple minutes longer, then add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down into a paste, about 15 minutes. Add the water or stock and simmer for 5 more minutes.

3. Blend the soup until smooth in a blender or using and immersion blender. Return to the pot, add the milk or cream, and warm (but don't allow to boil). Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

4. Meanwhile, chop the celery leaves and walnuts together into a coarse pesto and stir together with a pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp of olive oil.

5. Serve the soup warm with a dollop of celery leaf pesto.

Cutting Celery and Asian Pear Salad

2 large handfuls cutting celery leaves
2 Asian pears
juice from 1 lemon
4 ounces feta cheese, cubed
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and plenty of fresh black pepper

Core and slice the Asian pears and toss them in a salad bowl with the lemon juice to prevent then from browning. Toss in the celery leaves and feta cheese. Whisk together the vinegar and olive oil and pour over the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Beet Pasta with Kale Pesto

Here in the Willamette Valley, we've been socked in for days with fog and drizzle. To combat the gloomy grayness, I recommend eating outrageously colorful food. From our stash of Open Oak Farm beets and kale, I made magenta pasta dough,

and blanched kale leaves for a vivid green winter pesto brightened with lemon zest. 

The noodles leeched a little of their color during cooking, going from magenta to hot pink in the lipstick color spectrum, but they were still bright enough to put a smile on everyone's face.   

Kale Pesto

1 bunch kale 

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves

zest from one lemon

fresh ground pepper

salt to taste

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Rinse the kale leaves and cut the leaves from the center ribs. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. When the water is boiling, add the kale leaves and blanch for one minute until the leaves are bright green but not too wilted. Remove the leaves from the water with a large slotted spoon or tongs and submerge into the ice water to prevent them from over-cooking. You can save the hot kale water for cooking the pasta. Squeeze the kale leaves to remove as much water as possible and reserve.

2. Heat a dry skillet and toast the unpeeled garlic cloves until they start to blacken and soften. Now toast the walnuts for a couple of minutes, stirring, until they smell fragrant but being careful that they don't burn. Peel the garlic cloves and put them in the bowl of a food processor along with the toasted walnuts. Add the lemon zest and pulse until the walnuts are small pieces. Now add the blanched kale leaves, a grind of fresh pepper, and a generous pinch of salt. Process while pouring in the olive oil until you have a fairly smooth paste. Taste and add more salt, pepper, olive oil, or some juice from the zested lemon as desired. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl.

Beet Pasta

serves four

2 small or 1 medium beet
3 eggs
~3 cups all purpose flour

1. Peel and quarter the beets and roast them at 350 degrees until soft, for about half an hour. Alternatively, you could boil or steam them.

2. In a food processor, puree the cooked beet. Now add the eggs and puree until smooth. Then add 2 1/2 cups flour and process. If the dough is too sticky, keep adding flour until it forms a firm ball and no longer sticks to your finger when pressed. 

3. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and cut it into about a dozen pieces. Flatten the pieces through a hand-crank pasta maker, dusting with flour as needed, and cut into fettucini. 

4. While processing the dough, get a large pot of salted water heating (this could be the same water that you blanched the kale leaves in). When the water is at a rolling boil, put in the cut pasta and use tongs to separate the pieces. Reserve a half cup of pasta water in case you want to thin the pesto a little. The pasta will be done shortly after the water comes back to a boil. Taste it to make sure it is cooked, and drain.  Immediately toss the pasta with the pesto. Add a little pasta water if it seems too dry. Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Alternatively, or in addition, toss in cubed feta or ricotta salata. Enjoy.

Hazelnut Cloud Cookies

With all the anticipation and preparations for the holidays, it's hard not to feel a little bit disappointed with the actual event, as my daughter did when the promised Christmas snowfall in Boston yielded only enough for this miniature snowman peeking quizzically around the porch pillar of my childhood home. We all have our hopes for the holidays and each celebration will only be an approximation of those expectations. My son had covered his bases with his list for Santa Claus: "a magic wand and some money", but got neither, while I suspect that my daughter's fervent wish was simply to be able to believe in Santa Claus for one more year, a tall order when Santa had to navigate between Eugene and Boston and between antithetical German and American Christmas traditions.  

Ensconced here in the artifacts of my childhood, I couldn't help pine for the incomparable flavors of the homemade German Christmas cookies we used to receive each year from my grandmother's home in Franconia, half of them crushed into an etherial mixture of sweet, nutty, buttery crumbs that I used to scoop and gobble by the handful. In a post-holiday attempt to perk up my daughter and recreate some of those flavors, I tried this recipe for powdery nut cookies, similar to her favorite pecan cloud cookies from the Eugene City Bakery.

The cookies are made from a simple butter dough sweetened with powdered sugar and packed with ground nuts (back in Eugene, I would use our supply of hazelnuts from Thistledown Farm). This batch served as an accompaniment to a tea party with toy china my son unearthed from my old bedroom. As we nibbled our dainty nut clouds, real snow clouds gathered in the afternoon sky and by bedtime enough snow had accumulated to ensure that real-sized snowmen will be built tomorrow. 

Hazelnut Cloud Cookies

adapted from Epicurious via Smitten Kitchen

makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature, cut into cubes

1/2 cup powdered sugar for the dough and about 1 1/2 cups for coating

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup hazelnuts (or use pecans or walnuts or a combination of nuts)

2 cups all purpose flour

1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1. In a dry skillet or a toaster oven, lightly toast the nuts until fragrant. If using hazelnuts, roll them in a dishtowel to remove most of their skin. Combine the nuts and the flour in a food processor and blend into a fine powder (including the flour will prevent the nuts from turning into nut butter). Remove the nut flour to a bowl.

2. Put the butter in the food processor and process until well-creamed. Add the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla extract and process to incorporate. Now add the nut flour and process into a stiff dough. Transfer the dough back into the nut flour bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

3. Prior to baking the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover two baking pans with parchment paper or silicone mats. Scoop out large teaspoons of dough, roll them into 1 inch balls in your palms, and place them on the baking sheets in about three rows and four columns. Place in the oven. Chill the remaining half of the dough while the first batch of cookies bake. After 10 minutes, rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees and from top to bottom oven rack. Remove the cookies after about 18 minutes, when their bottoms are golden brown and their tops are pale golden.

4. Let the cookies cool on the rack for about five minutes. Fill a shallow bowl with 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and mix in cinnamon, if using. Roll each cookie in the powdered sugar and transfer to a serving plate. If you like, sift the remaining powdered sugar over the cookies to give them a final dusting. Bake the second batch of cookies as above (or you can store the dough to bake later). These cookies store well at room temperature in an airtight container for several days.

Pasta Primavera for the Fall

This Sunday's Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

• variety of sweet and spicy peppers (try in the pasta sauce below)
• variety of tomatoes including bargains on flats of San Marzano romas
• Akane apples and Asian pears from SLO Farm (time for roasted apple sauce)
• Italian prune plums (make a galette)
• cantaloupe and honeydew mellons
• kohlrabi, baby carrots, cabbage, and celery (make some kimchi)
• kale and collards (try as a kale salad)
• broccoli and eggplants (try a roasted salad)
• lettuces and baby lettuce salad mix
• zucchini and summer squash
• variety of potatoes including bargain bags of red potatoes
• sweet onions, garlic, leeks, and fennel
• fresh herbs, including basil, cilantro, dill, thyme, oregano, and sage
• tomato sauce and pesto
• naturally fermented pickles, dilly beans, and sauerkraut
• homemade jams (delicious in crepes)
• Scottish oats (make this teff oatmeal)
• a selection of dried beans and grains from Camas Country Mill
• pastured chicken (try spatchcocked)
• pastured pork: pork chops, shoulder roasts, and ham roasts
• pastured lamb: ground, rib chops, and leg roasts (grill some burgers)

Last week we used our left over Fair Valley Farm ham in pasta primavera, which was my family's extra special meal when I was growing up, reserved for birthdays and other celebrations. The funny thing about pasta primavera is that it's not really a springtime dish; it really makes more sense at the height of summer or during the warm fall days we've been so lucky to have. The classic Le Cirque recipe calls for asparagus and tomatoes, which are never going to be at their peek at the same time. Instead, I recommend pairing summer's sweet cherry tomatoes with the best produce of the season. I used leeks, sweet peppers, zucchini, and summer squash, all fresh from Sweetwater Farm.

Le Cirque's recipe uses a cream sauce, which my family's version omitted. Instead, the core flavor I remember from my childhood recipe was cubed ham and walnuts. Here I experimented with turning the walnuts into a very loose pesto for the kids, and the adults got the added layer of sauteed goodies (while the kids ate their veggies raw on the side). And because this was an extra special dish, we made fresh pasta to soak up all the flavors of the end of summer's harvest.

Pasta Primavera for the Fall

for the pasta
4 eggs
3 cups flour

Combine the eggs and flour in a food processor and mix until the dough starts to come together in a ball. Add a dribble of water if you need to. On a clean work surface, combine the dough into a log and cut it into about 12 pieces. Roll them out with a pasta maker (a fun task for kids) and cut them into fettucini. Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling, salted water for just a couple of minutes. Reserve a half cup of the pasta water if you need to moisten the sauce at the end. Drain the pasta and toss in a large bowl with the walnut sauce and toppings.

for the sauce
2 small or 1 large leek
2 medium bell peppers
2 small or 1 medium zucchini or summer squash
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup cubed ham
1/4 cup white vermouth
1 cup walnut pieces
1 large garlic clove
1 cup basil leaves
~3/4 cup olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and more for passing around the table

1. Prepare all of the vegetables, rinsing them and cutting them into small bite-sized pieces, except for the cherry tomatoes which you will keep whole.

2. Peel and mince the garlic. Chop the walnut pieces into small pieces (I did this with a meat pounder). Alternatively, you could combine the garlic clove and walnuts in a food processor and pulse a few times.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add about a 1/4 cup of olive and when it is warm, add the garlic and walnuts to the oil and saute for a couple of minutes until they are fragrant, but before they start to burn. Transfer the walnut mixture to a large serving bowl that will hold all of the pasta. Add a 1/2 cup of grated Tear the basil leaves and toss into the bowl.

4. Wipe out the skillet and return to medium high heat. Add another 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add the chopped leaks and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped peppers and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped zucchini and summer squash with a generous pinch of salt and saute for a couple of minutes. Now add the ham for a minute, and then the cherry tomatoes. When the cherry tomatoes have just started to collapse under the heat, add the vermouth. Cook for another minute and then turn off the heat. Season with a generous amount of fresh pepper and salt to taste.

5. When the pasta is cooked, toss it in the bowl with the walnuts, parmesan cheese, and basil leaves and drizzle on about 1/4 cup olive oil. This is the point at which I removed some pasta for picky eaters/pesto purists/raw foodists. Then toss in all of the sauteed vegetables and ham. If the pasta seems dry, add a splash of reserved pasta water. Serve at once, with special occasion napkins and dishes.

Blueberry Snack Cake

We're in the midst of summer berry season and summer camp season. Although experts tell us parents to stop hovering, it's difficult to temper the trepidations that come with sending one's child off to her first overnight camp. My approach toward self-composure was to bake this blueberry snack cake with my daughter before she left.  

I soothed myself by thinking that the nutty top would fuel my daughter through her canoeing, zip lining, and archery, but really I just wanted the tender baked blueberries to burst in her mouth and taste like home.

Brooke Dojny's Blueberry Snack Cake with Toasted Pecan Topping

from food52's Genius Recipes

Serves 8
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided use
2 eggs
1/3 cup whole or lowfat milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cups blueberries
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Using an electric mixer or a food processor, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon zest and process or beat until smooth. Spoon the flour mixture into the processor or bowl and pulse or beat just until the flour is incorporated. If the batter is in a food processor, transfer it to a large bowl.

4. Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter and gently fold them in, just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the nuts and then with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

5. Bake until the nuts are deep brown and a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool. (The cake can be wrapped well and stored at cool room temperature for 1 day or frozen.)

6. Cut into squares or wedges in the pan to serve.

Baked Zucchini and a Favor

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you can expect to find the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

• raspberries and marionberries
• many varieties of greens and cabbage (try this stuffed cabbage)
• carrots, turnips, and potatoes (make some salad Nicoise for a picnic)
• broccoli and cauliflower (try roasted)
• fennel and peppers
• zucchini (make ladybugs on a log, recipe below)
• tomatoes (whip up some gazpacho)
• fresh herbs, including basil and parsley
• onions and garlic
• tomato sauce and pesto (make fresh pasta)
• pickles, sauerkraut, and kimchi (make a stir fry)
• homemade jams
• fresh eggs
• pastured chicken (try spatchcocking)
• pork chops, pork roast, ham, and bacon (treat yourself to a summer BLT)

Our market is a grassroots neighborhood effort and we need your help to publicize it. Please download our Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market Poster here, print out a few copies to hang around town, and forward it to your friends. Thanks!

For summer's bounty of squash, here is a recipe for baked zucchini with herby, cheesy breadcrumbs and a spattering of cherry tomatoes. These tender zucchini come out looking like logs overrun with a cluster of ladybugs, lucky rewards your publicity efforts.

Ladybugs on a Log

6 small zucchini
~16 red cherry tomatoes
olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
1/4 cup pine nuts
~20 leaves basil
2 anchovy fillets
freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 


2. Remove the ends of the zucchini and slice them into 1/4 inch strips lengthwise (about 3 or 4 strips per small zucchini). Halve the cherry tomatoes.


3. Spread some olive oil on the bottom of a baking dish and arrange the zucchini slices in a single layer. Brush the zucchini with a little more olive oil and arrange the tomato halves on top, cut side down. Sprinkle over the pine nuts.


4. Finely chop the basil and anchovy fillets and combine in a bowl with the bread crumbs, grated cheese, and a generous amount of black pepper, using your hands to mix the anchovy bits into the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the zucchini and tomatoes.


5. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes until the tomatoes have collapsed and the breadcrumb mixture is nicely browned. Serve warm.