Fish Soup and Rouille

Living in New England gives us such a great opportunity to get delicious fresh seafood. I have been watching old TV cooking shows with Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. When they made this fish soup I knew I had to try it...ohh la la...so good.

I went to our local fish shop "Gardner's Wharf" in Wickford right on the water. No better place than here to buy fish. Pete is the owner and a very knowledgeable fish monger. I learn a lot from him in regards to types of fish, cuts and how to prepare. There is a wide variety of fish, shellfish, and prepared foods. The lobster and crab tanks are always full and fresh.

The ice packed shellfish area where you can pick out your own items is super. Don a plastic glove and go for it. The bins are always brimming with local little necks, cherry stone clams, quahogs, mussels, steamers and oysters. One variety of oyster is their own...Rome Point oysters that they farm themselves.

So I picked up little necks, mussels, scallops, salmon and swordfish...nice variety and oh so fresh.

Went home and immediately made the soup using scallions, onions, garlic (still have my own from last year), tomatoes (Maine greenhouse), saffron. thyme, fish stock, and a little salt and pepper...let that simmer for a while then added the fish and topped with tarragon...

Also toasted some french baguette slices and topped these croutons with a rouille (garlic, red pepper, bread to bind, s&p, olive oil) all made in the food processor...and VOILA!!!!! A most delicious and satisfying dinner...all we needed was a spoon and bowl...

A big bowl of goodness...

Elizabeth

Old Garden Cloches

I adore all things related to gardening. There is such a pleasure to going through seed catalogs when they start arriving in January. Watching local garden centers start to get ready for spring is delightful. Walking into a greenhouse when they are being seeded and seedlings transplanted into fresh soil has an odor that is equally as heady as that of fully bloomed oriental lilies, peonies or roses. A few years ago I sold my greenhouse business to a husband and wife team that always wanted to run this type of business. I had two 100 foot greenhouses I wholesaled from. I also had a 50 foot retail greenhouse attached to retail store. So early January into spring was always busy. When a greenhouse door was opened with fresh seedlings sitting on benches that sight was magical to me.

After selling the property I missed it but did not give up my love for gardening. My new husband built me a greenhouse and turned his backyard over to me. With the help of my nephew Caleb the bones were created for a spot for me to garden.

Gardening is not just reserved for plant stock. There is a whole world of tools, pottery, glass, crockery, baskets, sundials, cement items, rock and stone, books and of course the list goes on. I love this whole aspect of gardening...especially the antique and vintage items. They are lovely to look and also fun to just ponder and think about. So today I share with you a few of my garden cloches....also referred to as garden bell jars. There are many forms for all sorts of uses as well as materials used to form them.


This is an antique french glass cloche. These have great form and color. Cloches were placed over seedlings in the early spring that would protect them from chills and winds. They allowed a farmer to plant a bit earlier to get a jump on the season. The old glass has a green tint and is just beautiful. Very often you will see these without glass knobs on the top. I have learned that french farmers would have long rows of these in their fields. The hot sun would often burn the young seedlings and the knob being in the center was where the heat concentrated....so the farmer would take a stick of some sort and walk up and down the rows knocking the tops of. This cloche still has its top but it is rough to touch.

This antique glass bell jar has a different form as the other one pictured...it is wider and lower to the ground...I have stored some old canoes and Indian dolls under it (I also collect old souvenir mailers from the Adirondacks).

In the background is a square cloche which I believe is English. This is much smaller than the other two pictured. It is sitting amongst some of the examples I have of old metal flower frogs...I guess by this time you have realized I collect many things. I have come to find most collectors are not limited to one thing...most collectors are actually collectors of collections!

This cloche is an early 1990's Wolff pottery rhubarb forcer, one or two I display in my garden. This piece is actually signed and dated by Guy Wolff. While not vintage or antique it is a wonderful piece...I love it...The photo above is of my tomato bed last year.

I hope my entry has explained a little bit about the history of cloches. Aren't they wonderful...so great to look at and think about...

Spring is just around the corner...Yippee!!!!!

Elizabeth

Quinoa and Vegetables...A Perfect Combo

Quinoa is such a delicious grain and so versatile, nutritionally it is considered a supergrain. Though not really a grain but a seed from a plant related to spinach it is very high in protein. It is high in potassium and riboflavin, B vitamins and trace minerals. It is native to the Andes and cultivated for more tha 5,000 years. You can cook up a huge bowl in a short period of time and them add whatever you feel like or just eat it plain with salt and pepper and maybe a drizzle of olive oil or a dab of butter...mmm mmm good!

I made it for a side dish the other day to go with buffalo burgers...delicious!!!!!

I sauteed a diced carrot, half a red pepper, and half a red onion till soft but not browned and seasoned with salt and pepper in about 2 teaspoons of olive oil. When soft I added a diced zucchini and 8-10 baby portabello mushrooms. Then I added 2 cloves of minced garlic (still using my own home grown garlic from last summer...hard to believe it has not dried out). While the veggies were cooking, I made the quinoa...be sure to always rinse it first to remove the outer bitter coating.

The quinoa is done and fluffed...

I added the cooked vegetables to the quinoa and then tossed in about 8-10 quartered cherry tomatoes. These are the most delicious tomatoes from a greenhouse grower in Maine. A bit pricey but worth every bite. These tomatoes are available at a local grocer all winter long and makes tomato eating a guilty pleasure in New England all winter long. I add them this way so they keep their fresh flavor and texture when mixed with the softer veggies.

I finish the dish with a good drizzle of olive oil and fresh chopped thyme...the heat is just enough to draw out the flavor of these things added at the end...salt and pepper to taste. Boy this is good.

This mix is good as a side dish...or chill it add a dash of a vinaigrette and serve as a salad...add some chopped cucumber and feta and you have Mediterranean flare. Use as made and top with a poached or fried egg...that is tasty as well...this goes on for this unassuming but very versatile healthy grain.

So enjoy this ancient grain...Elizabeth

WHAT HAPPENED - To the All Time Valentine Favorite Conversation Hearts?

C'mon...What possessed the New England Confectionery Company to change a Valentine's Day institution...Conversations Hearts...

Where's the candy edge ruffle??? Where is the recognized from 30 feet away cellophane bag???
What happened to the tried and true flavors??? Where are the pastel colors??? Who changed the name???

It would seem someone or ones swooped in and changed everything????? Cupid must be dizzy and disoriented...I am...

Every night after supper, my husband and I play four hands of cards...since it is the start of Valentine's week I broke out the bag of candy hearts.

First of all... I had a heck of a time just finding the bags at the store...typically you can spot the bag without a problem amongst all the bags of pink,red and foiled covered Reese's cups, Hershey Kisses, M&Ms and everything else ramped up for Valentine's...but forever Conversation Hearts have been a given...the bag always was recognizable and this made for a quick grab...not this year. The bag changed, the name changed....I figured I had the right thing when I saw the candy company's name on the backside. When I opened the bag I thought all was well...BUT where were the ruffles? The colors were all different and the flavor was in one word DISGUSTING!

This was not a good scene...my husband had to listen to me rant about the flavor, color, ruffle, bag, name..WHY IN THE WORLD DID THEY MAKE SUCH RADICAL CHANGES?????

I have a strange feeling many households are going to be in for a SHOCK this year...

Different bag and name...totally unrecognizable...The bag reads The Original Candy of Love...

I DISAGREE

The new flavors...all unpalatable...WHY WHY WHY?????


The new colors...there is also suppose to be a purple heart but not one could be found in the bag (this may have been a good thing)...

So this is where my bag of beloved Conversation Hearts ended up....in the trash...

This is a tragedy...I can only hope the New England Confectionery Company realizes this is all a big mistake and returns to the old recipe, flavors, ruffles, bag, name and whatever else they changed...

Valentine's Day is suppose to be hearts, flowers, frilly cards, the overuse of the colors red and pink, glowing candles, loving glances, but most of all...a small pastel, tasty, ruffled candy heart passed across a table, or maybe placed on a pillow or slipped into a loved ones hand or tucked in a lunch bag with a term of endearment shared by two people know as a Conversation Heart...we need them back...too many things are upside down right now...but Conversation Hearts are suppose to be a given...generations of families and loved ones have been using Conversation Hearts as a simple way to express themselves for many many years...the New England Confectionery Company needs to fix this...

Elizabeth

Panettone Bread Bread Pudding

I bought a panettone around Christmas to make french toast and never did...good thing because I found this recipe for bread pudding and WOW!!!!! Delicious - Delightful - Delectable!!!!! I changed it by adding orange favored liqueur because I wanted to make an orange flavored sauce to accompany the pudding....

Very simple to make...brush a 13x9 with butter, cut the panettone in cubes and make a custard...I flavored it with Cointreau...

Isn't this a gorgeous bread...nothing like English fruit cake!!!!!

Once the custard is poured over the bread cubes, it sits for 1/2 hour to soak...pop it into a 350 degree oven and

Voila...a puffy, gorgeous pudding


Made this stove top orange flavored sauce to pour over the pudding...

This pudding is soooooooo good....perfection in a bowl!!!!!

Elizabeth

New England Whoopie Pies...Yummy

Decided to make whoopie pies for a change...the original ones chocolate not the new breed...now there are so many variations...pumpkin, red velvet, oatmeal and the list goes on...the recipe is New England Whoopie Pies from Maine so how do you beat that! It was an easy recipe and the results were fabulous. It called for cocoa so I used natural cocoa...which did not give the deep black color we are used to seeing whoopie pies have...when I saw the batter I was disappointed and decided next time to try dutch processed cocoa which will definitely give that dark color but will also alter the flavor...worth an experiment to see what happens.

Brown sugar and shortening creamed till light and fluffy..love the Kitchen aid...no way I could beat this to come close to this texture

Dry and wet ingredients measured and ready to add alternately...remember always start with dry and end with dry...

Batter placed on baking sheet and spread to 4 inches...ready to hit the oven

Look at those little cakes baking in the new oven...go baby cakes go!!!!!

End result...light and airy cakes cooling

All filled with a light fluffy marshmallow fluff filling....so so tasty

Wrapped each cake in plastic wrap as suggest so the cakes don't stick together...of course one did not make it to the wrapping process and was shared by baker and her husband!!!!!

While the color was lighter than expected...the texture and taste was all I had hoped for...nothing like a whoopie pie to make one smack their lips and smile!!!!!

Elizabeth

New Appliances

My frig died...first the freezer then the refrigerator...thank goodness we didn't have it packed...some frozen salmon, grouper, swordfish and lots of berries cranberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)...I was able to cook the shrimp so we have very generous servings of shrimp cocktail...husband did not complain!!!!!

So we had to buy a new one...it has been a while and the world of appliances has changed...much taller and deeper. I did not want anything too fancy...after speaking with a few sales people we can to find out that many folks want their handles to match which means you have to buy a line rather than mix and match pieces and manufacturer's. Some don't care and do mix and match. Because we plan on moving within a few years we decided to match handles. Our frig had to fit into a certain space to height and width was a determining factor and really the most important.

We knew we wanted stainless so that was easy...we ended up with a Whirlpool and also decided to get a new range (old one over 20 years old) and finished out the ensemble with a new dishwasher (over 13 years old)...we already had a new over the stove combo convection/microwave oven so that was not needed.

Everything was delivered within two days and they look wonderful...now we need new counter tops, cupboard and drawer handles and floor...


The frig is great...the stove is a bit overwhelming...it has a ceramic glass top and was tricky at first. I am little put off by cleaning it and don't want anything to happen to it. The glowing burners under the glass seemed odd and a bit spooky the first time they powered up and down. The oven has no coil in the bottom as it is under the metal. There is a well to add water to as this oven has a steam clean feature which is very nice....should make cleaning up little spills alot easier. I have baked banana bread in it and they loaves actually cooked a little faster and the golden color was even...VERY NICE. So far so good. I have bought so many cleaning products, cloths, scrapers etc for the cook top...I may be over doing it but this cook top is strange and so shiny...hate for anything to happen to it.

New dishwasher is tall and boy can I pack it...flatware basket is on the door and can be moved to the pull out racks but using the door actually allows for more space on the racks.

So we have made a nice upgrade to the kitchen....have to learn some new cleaning tricks!!!!! I wish they could come up with something that polishes itself, keeps pots from boiling over and sugary spills from hitting the floor of the oven and grease from splattering on the oven walls..then all would be perfect.

Elizabeth