BEETS in BLUE

I'm currently exploring my newfound passion for photography. In the age of the digital camera, it seems like everyone is a photographer. It was a childhood fantasy of mine - to be able to capture monkeys high in the mountains, to stop time at the perfect brilliance of a sunset the way you see it in a magazine.

Ten years ago, my friends gifted me with a 35mm, and I eagerly rushed out, excited to finally realize my childhood dream. But after going through 8 rolls of film, $80 to develop them, and seeing my efforts resulted in photo after photo of half out-of-focus, half in frame pictures of nothing, I let go of the dream. I was never going to be good enough or rich enough to produce those images I'd seen in National Geographic or even Bon Appetit.

Fast forward nearly 10 years - you'd never have guessed that taking pictures could be so easy! My delving into photography started with a need for visuals on my personal chef website. But it wasn't long before I found myself shooting kids, sunflowers, the dog, a moss-covered tree trunk in my backyard. Life through a lens seems so much more amazing... It really makes you stop and examine a moment - something we rarely do in our fast paced day to day living.

So I don't know if I can call myself a photographer yet. But I think I have the "eye" for it. And what the heck - its therapeutic, virtually free, and makes me feel connected to something greater than myself. So if you haven't picked up a camera lately - try it! You might be surprised at what you can do! :)

Raspberry Chocolate Layer Cake

I’ll never forget the day I was in the store, at the deli, and someone from across the room shouted, “Hey – it’s the Cake Lady!”. I turned around because, while I was confused and taken aback, I somehow knew they were yelling for me. A woman I didn’t recognize approached with an enthusiastic excitement that made me step back into the deli case. I was pinned. She said, “You used to make those amazing cakes! Remember the one you made for Amy’s birthday party – the Black Forest Cake?! I still dream about that cake….” Her eyes glazed over as if she was recalling the flavor of rich Ganache gently melting in a pool of bing cherry cream. The mention of my friend Amy’s name jogged my memory, and I briefly recalled the Black Forest Cake, a birthday party eons ago, and the face of the woman vaguely came back to me.

We got to talking and it turns out she just loved that cake, and even recalled several others I had made over the years for various birthdays or holiday gatherings with friends. I was amazed at her detail in describing the assorted layers, fillings and frostings of each concoction, not to mention the decorating techniques I had used to make each cake unique.

I walked away from that experience realizing that food really touches people. It is a deep connection, for which our taste and experience provide a memory that lodges in our brains (or arteries for that matter) and cannot be forgotten. Although I can’t recall her name, or even half the cakes I’ve made in my day, I’m humbled to know that she is probably still dreaming about the one that made her remember me as the “Cake Lady”.

Beef & Barley Soup

Memories of soup. I can timeline my life on memories of the hot stuff. As a child, who can forget the sweet tomato version from the famous red & white can, dunked with a grilled cheese triangle? Later, in grade school, I remember asking my mom for "long-noodle soup" like it was the best lunch on the planet. Little did I know that when college hit, this exotic delight would turn into my worst nightmare...me, concocting 472 different ways to make Ramen more interesting. I look back now and shudder at some of my worst college culinary experiments to date ~ like ramen noodles melted with government cheese and the spice packet “sprinkled” on top. What can I say? Times were tough and I think I made $4.50 an hour at my part time job. I had to get creative!! J

When I met my husband, my soup-making skills improved somewhat. I managed a great chili and chicken noodle. But I had my moments – like when a potato dumpling soup “sat in my gut like wallpaper paste” he reminds me, “but I ate every last drop with a smile”. Ya, my hubby was a real trooper through some of my learning phases. The things you’ll do for love!

Fast forward to my adult stint at the coffee house – where soup to combat the harsh Wyoming winters was a daily staple, and I got my practice at making hundreds of gallons of the stuff. From Hungarian mushroom & Cuban black bean, to pork pozole I was a soup-making SOUPERSTAR, never to gut-bomb anyone with wallpaper paste again!

Some things truly never change –despite how we have seemingly grown up. We all laugh about the things we ate as a child – scoffing at our crude and unrefined palates, rolling our eyes at the foolish tastes of a child. All the while dunking our grilled panini into a cup of creamy tomato bisque!

HAM, BROCCOLI & TILLAMOOK QUICHE

As the fork glides through silken custard to a shatteringly buttery crust, quiche has Sunday written all over it. Comfort food at it's finest, there's nothing better than sitting down to a cup of Stumptown French press coffee, a slice of homemade quiche, and watching the fog roll in on a rainy Portland morning.

Quiche can be as simple or as complicated as you want it - making it accessible to both the novice and experienced cook alike. If you're in a rush - natural food markets carry delicious preservative-free frozen pie shells that make building your perfect quiche a snap! Just pile in the ingredients you want (ham, shredded cheese, sauteed veggies) and top it off with a simple custard made from cream and eggs.

But if you have a little time, and want to invest in the unmatched perfection of a handmade pastry, then I recommend putting a little elbow grease into making your own. Nothing tastes like butter in a pie crust, and most commercial brands only use hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Not the same at all in my book - although my pie crust does use a little non-hydrogenated shortening for the flake-factor.

Here is a great quiche recipe that pays off in the effort. And remember - double the recipe and make two. Freeze the second one and pull it out on a lazy Sunday morning when you want something good but don't want to cook.

Ham, Broccoli & Tillamook Quiche

For filling:
1/2 lb nitrite-free ham, diced into cubes
1 cup frozen broccoli flowerettes, coarsely chopped
5 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup Tillamook sharp cheese , grated

For Crust:
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until dough is firm enough to roll out, about 30 minutes. Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold overhang under. Crimp edges decoratively. Place in freezer while preparing filling.

Make filling:
Whisk together eggs, cream, herbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until smooth. Line the pie shell with half the cheese, then scatter ham, broccoli & chives and pour the egg custard over the top. Top with more cheese.

Bake until filling puffs and is no longer wobbly in center when quiche is gently shaken, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pie plate on rack 15 minutes.