OK, so Nancy Turner and Dave Cain are becoming stars on The Dinner
Hour...but they are such industrious people and have so much to
share....so what do they have for us today??? Sugaring of course!
Here we are in the heart of the maple sugaring season and Dave has
offered to share with us the inside scoop on their home sugaring
operation....it is part Yankee Ingenuity, part modern day convenience,
but the results are pure maple syrup!
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Maple Pudding Cake
Serves 6
The perfect dessert to go with your crème fraîche! It is
easy, elegant, and delicious. My mom said this was the best
thing she had ever put in her mouth! This recipe is from the
Gourmet Magazine March 2006 Special Issue on Montreal. This
is a popular dessert in Montreal.
1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup (dark amber or Grade B)
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Pinch of salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine maple syrup, heavy cream,
cider vinegar, and pinch of salt in a small saucepan. bring
to a boil, remove from heat.
Beat together butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric
mixer until light and fluffy (1 min). Add egg and vanilla,
then beat until just combined (batter will be very thick).
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into egg
mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Pour 1/3 cup syrup mixture into baking dish. Divide batter
in bowl into 6 mounds and spoon each mound onto syrup
mixture in baking dish, spacing mounds evenly. Pour
remaining syrup mixture over and around mounds.
Bake until topping is golden and firm to the touch, 25 to 30
minutes. Serve warm, with crème fraîche or sour cream if
desired. |
Tuesday, April 10 Robin was away in Maine eating
Seafood
Tuesday, April 17 The End of Food
We heard excepts from the
Deconstructing Dinner show featuring
Thomas Pawlick, author of
the book
The End of Food.
Here are the statistics on the decline of the
nutritional value of tomatoes:
In 2002, the United States Department of Agriculture
updated its food tables, statistics that indicate the nutritional
value of foods. Author Thomas F. Pawlick (The End of Food) compared
the values to the USDA's 1963 publication. What the comparison
reveals may shock you:
Since 1963, tomatoes now have
-
30.7 percent less Vitamin A
-
16.9 percent less Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
-
61.5 percent less calcium
-
11.1 percent less phosphorus
-
10 percent less iron
-
9 percent less potassium
-
7.97 percent less niacin
-
1 percent less thiamin
Compared to 1950, however, tomatoes have 25 percent less iron and
43.3 percent less Vitamin A. "Processed tomatoes have suffered a
similar fate," says Pawlick. "Since 1950, the amount of vitamin A in
tomato juice has dropped 47 percent ¡ª almost by half" (7).
What have they gained since 1963?
Unfortunately, "[the] typical list of qualities
tested for in fresh market tomatoes [by industrial tomato growers
includes] 'yield, earliness, fruit size, fruit resistance to
cracking, firmness, acidity, and plant tolerance/resistance to
diseases" (12). "[How] a food item tastes and whether or not it is
nourishing for human beings appears not to be issues. They aren't
even discussed" (12).
Panna Cotta - a great dessert for localvores!
Check out the recipe below or go to the Mad River Valley Localvore
Website to check out a different recipe for Panna Cotta; Maple Panna
Cotta.
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Yogurt Panna Cotta with Cherries
from the Dannon Yogurt Website
Serves 6
For the
panna cotta:
1/4 cup water
2 tsp.
unflavored gelatin (1 packet)
1 1/4 cups
whipping cream, half and half, or whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups
Dannon® All Natural Plain Yogurt
3/4 tsp.
almond extract
For the
cherries:
1/2 cup red
wine
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup
unsweetened dried cherries
For the panna cotta:
1. Pour 1/4 cup tepid water into small
bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Bring cream and 1/4 cup sugar to
gentle simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring
until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture
and whisk until dissolved. Whisk in Dannon® All Natural
Plain yogurt and almond extract.
3. Divide mixture among six (6 oz)
custard cups or ramekins. Cover and chill overnight.
For the cherries:
1. Bring wine, 3 Tbsp. sugar and
cherries to simmer over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Reduce heat to low and simmer until cherries are soft and
sauce has thickened to a syrupy consistency, about 15
minutes.
2. Remove from heat and cool to room
temperature.
To serve:
1. Slide a knife around edges of each
panna cotta to loosen. Set each cup in shallow bowl of hot
water for 10 seconds.
2. Invert onto small plate.
3. Place a spoonful of cherries and
sauce on top of the panna cotta and to the side.
Yield: 6 servings.
Note: Both the panna cotta and the
cherries can be made two days ahead. Cover and refrigerate,
then bring to room temperature before serving. |
Tuesday, April 24 Santa Davida Farm with Dave Hartshorn
We
talk with Dave about how he got started in farming, what we can
expect at the farmer's market this year and where in the world the
name Santa Davida Farm came from.
Dave's
CSA is a little different than other CSAs, but if you are a regular
farmer's market goer, it is a great deal. Buy one of his Farm
Stand "debit cards" before the season gets started and get a 10%
discount. So, you pay $180 for a card that will get you $200
of food from his farmstand or from his booth at the farmer's
market...you pick out what you want and it is deducted from the
card. To get a card or for more information call Dave at
496-3081.
