Happy April, everyone! I’m so glad we’re done with all that January-February-March-extended winter business. I spent the weekend celebrating the warm weather (and Easter!) with some serious gardening and some playing with my new camera and some scalloped potatoes and ham. It was a much-needed break from being indoors stuck in front of a computer screen.

I’ve got another recipe from The Chef’s Collaborative Cookbook today (check out my full review – and a recipe for Thai Pork Sliders – here). Hushpuppies are a treat that I haven’t had in a while, so I was stoked to see a recipe for them in The Chef’s Collaborative. I’d never really heard of them before moving to North Carolina, but while I lived there they were a staple side order with my pulled pork sandwiches. The greasy BBQ-joint version of hushpuppies (like the ones from Bullock’s that my roommate always drove home to her dad in NJ over vacations) are super satisfying, but my all time favorites were the ones at the upscale Watt’s Grocery – farmer’s cheese hushpuppies served with basil mayo. Those things were seriously addictive.

This recipe, which utilizes often discarded broccoli stems, as well as a healthy handful of grated cheddar cheese, is not quite as good as the Watt’s version, but it’s certainly easier to make these than to hop on a plane to Durham every time I want a little taste of the South. I served them with leftover sriracha aioli and relished every hot crunchy bite. I saved a little bit of the batter (this recipe definitely serves a crowd!) and learned Saturday morning that this recipe is maybe even better when it’s made into pancakes and topped with a fried egg and roasted red peppers. Just an idea. However you serve them, this recipe is quick, easy, and tasty – well worth the time it takes to mix up the batter!

Broccoli-Cheddar Hushpuppies

Recipe from The Chef’s Collaborative Cookbook, contributed by John and Julie Stehling of Early Girl Eatery in Asheville, NC. Makes 48 hushpuppies. (To cut in half, use 3 eggs).

• 3 c. cornmeal
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 2 c. grated broccoli stems (from about 5-6 medium heads broccoli)
• 1 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and grated (about 1/4 c.)
• 1/4 c. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• vegetable oil, for frying
• sriracha aioli, for serving

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, baking soda, cayenne pepper, and black pepper until combined.
2. In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until evenly combined. Stir in the grated broccoli stems, the grated cheddar cheese, the grated onion, and the parsley. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until evenly mixed.
3. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil over medium heat in a high-sided frying pan or saucepan until the oil reaches 325°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the oil’s temperature by adding a bit of batter to the oil – when it sizzles gently on contact, the oil is ready. If it pops too much or burns quickly, the oil is too hot.
4. Carefully spoon rounded tablespoons of batter into the oil, adding only enough hushpuppies so that they don’t touch one another (i.e. don’t crowd them). Fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, flipping over once if necessary. Remove with a slotted spoon or Asian noodle strainer, and let drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Serve hot (leftovers are no good, so only fry as many as you can serve/eat in one sitting).

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I can’t think of any other way to start this post than “I made it.”  So:

I made it.

And yes, I am singing that in my head a la Kevin Rudolf.  It was that or Vitamin C, people, and that song got old after 5th grade graduation.

The past few weeks (months, semester, four years…) have been a bit of a roller coaster.  First there was the stress of finding a job, then the excitement of finding a job, then the relief of finishing my thesis, and then the fear of failing ECE27 and rendering all of my other accomplishments void.  Then, suddenly, way too suddenly, it was the last LDOC, and for a week I partied like I was a freshman again and thoroughly convinced myself that I never wanted to leave Duke.  Or even the premises of Shooters, for that matter.  And then even more suddenly it was this past weekend, and a whirlwind of events and dinners and parties and ceremonies and packing left me (and pretty much everyone else I know) exhausted, exhilarated, and a little bit numb.  And now, we, the class of 2011, are graduates.

I have a love-hate relationship with Duke.  As a freshman I had a blast, but drank like a fish, did poorly in class, and didn’t resemble any version of myself that I’d ever been.  Sophomore year I hit the wall and realized I had to get back to being myself, but that realization and process left me miserable, lonely, and ungrounded.  Escape came in the form of a semester in Prague, which was the best thing I could have done for myself.  While there I found balance, independence, and an everyday happiness I’d forgotten about.  Upon returning to Duke for junior spring, I promised myself that I would focus on staying true to myself and let the things I didn’t like about Duke be what they were, and for the most part, it worked.  Senior year was a mixed bag – I learned to truly value the friendships I’d been ignoring, I threw myself into class and the job search, and about every other week I felt that Duke was my home.  I stopped going home at every chance that I got, and I did a lot of the things I’d been wanting to do for the past four years.  I started to wish I’d experienced this side of Duke earlier on.  So the other day when my dad asked me to name the things I love most about Duke, I decided that that was the way to think about things – what I loved, what I gained, what I learned, and what I survived, not what got me down, or what I regret.  So, without being too wordy, I’d like to try to sum up the best parts of my Duke experience.

Engineering.  It surprises me, too, but my engineering education was one of my favorite parts of my Duke career.  Engineering pushed me, challenged me, and overwhelmed me, but it also gave me a community when I felt alone, a close relationship with incredible professors, small classes where I could learn pretty much without bounds, and a class of students who shared my experiences almost exactly.  Especially this past year, when I got to know the other civil engineers better than I had in previous years, the classroom became somewhat… enjoyable.

Pride, strength, and independence.  I’m really proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished at Duke.  We all should be.  Given that there were so many days I spent hating Duke, blaming every negative feeling I had on the slightly twisted social atmosphere, and researching schools to which I could transfer, I’m proud that I stayed.  I’m proud that I turned Duke into a place where I felt at home, that I love, even if it’s a bittersweet sort of love.  Like our engineering president rapped so well at our ceremony “that that that that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger.”  Duke challenged me – academically, morally, and personally – and I came out knowing better who I am, what I believe, and what I can accomplish.  And for that I’m grateful.

Friends.  I didn’t feel particularly sad at graduation, or saying goodbyes, because I know that I will take the small group of people that really matter to me with me throughout the rest of my life.  As lonely as I felt some days, without a big group who I could party with, in the end I realized that the friends I had were keepers, people I genuinely love, and that that’s enough for me.  What I will miss are the everyday encounters – smiles and waves on the plaza, laughing over a shared misunderstanding in class, meeting new people during games of beer pong – the campus experience is a friendly one.  So thank you to all the people – close friends, casual friends, and even those who only recognize me and smile – who filled my days at Duke.

The future.  Though leaving college is sad and terrifying, I’m excited about the rest of life.  I feel both lucky and proud to have so much good lined up for myself – a summer of traveling and relaxing, entirely work free; a job that I honestly think I’m going to enjoy; a beautiful house and exciting new roommates in Davis Square; a life close to the family that I missed more than I expected to.  There’s a lot of potential there, and a chance to start fresh, be the person that I wanted to be at Duke but couldn’t find the courage to do so, except with a few people in a few places.  It’s good to move forward.

I know this is way longer and sappier than my usual droning, so thanks for bearing with me.  I promise, I’ll never graduate and go all mushy on you again.  And with all that said, what better way to celebrate graduation than with a cake?  However, since a. I feel like a total cow after so many delicious celebratory dinners, and b. I’m still trying to use up all the odds and ends in my kitchen, I went for a light, breakfast-y, cranberry-cornmeal cake.  I started by following a Giada recipe, but halfway through realized that it used dried cranberries, so I made a few quick substitutions and crossed my fingers.  And it worked!  The cake was moist, flavorful, and well balanced.  I might reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup when I make it again, but other than that, a winner.

Cranberry Cornmeal Cake

Serves 8-10.  Original recipe.

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 c. sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 c. AP flour
• 1/2 c. fine cornmeal
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1 1/4 cups of the sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add vanilla and stir to incorporate.  Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time and stir to incorporate.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.  Fold into wet ingredients in two batches.
4. In a food processor, briefly pulse cranberries and remaining 1/2 c. sugar, until cranberries are in small pieces but not pureed.  Gently stir cranberries into batter, then spoon into pan and smooth with a spatula.  Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, and the top of the cake is golden brown.

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I know, I know, we’re closer to graduation than to spring break (ha! can you believe that?!), but I wanted to talk about the final component of my alternative spring break “food and farming” trip – the farming.  To be honest, I signed up for this trip mostly for the food part, and a little bit because I thought it would be nice to spend a few days out in the sun, doing a little honest work.  However, the farming component of this trip left me more inspired than all the scrumptious food and inspiring chefs combined.  Maybe because it’s a newer concept for me than cooking.  Maybe because I’ll never be able to kick that nurturing urge that extends even to tiny green things growing in a shoebox on my windowsill.  Or maybe because I have this hazy, completely idealized, rosy image of myself waking up early to collect eggs and milk the cow, working in the dirt all day, and sleeping the way you only can after a hard day’s work.  Whatever the reason, this trip got me excited.

Over the course of the four day trip we visited three farms and Durham’s community garden, SEEDS.  On Monday we spent the morning at Prodigal Farm, a goat farm run by Kathryn and Dave, ex-New Yorkers who recently decided to follow their dreams back down South.  Kathryn’s story resonated particularly well with me – a Duke graduate and practicing lawyer for 15 years, she gave that world up to live in rural North Carolina with Dave and their goats.  Now she spends her time caring for the goats (who live in an old school bus!), whipping up fresh goat cheese cheesecakes, and restoring the old farm they bought.  Oh, and taking on the Plum Island center for biological warfare research when they wanted to start a mainland operation and chasing them out of Durham, NBD.  While at Prodigal Farm, we ASB-ers played with the goats, who were surprisingly friendly and didn’t try to eat any of my belongings – I guess that’s only the unloved goats at petting zoos – and then spent an hour helping Dave to clear trees.  It’s amazing how much land you can clear in an hour with 20 college kids trying to earn their lunch – I kept thinking about how much my dad would love it.  Then Dave and Kathryn treated us to an incredible lunch of fresh goat cheese, jerusalem artichokes just pulled from the ground, okra pudding and … roasted goat leg.  Which was incredibly tender, delicious, and not at all what I expected.  Yes, it was a little bit odd at first to eat goat while simultaneously watching goats frolic, but after getting over the initial uncomfortableness, it was the coolest experience, being able to actually see the source of each food we were eating.  Inspiration, part one.

Later that afternoon we headed to Four Leaf Farms, where Tim and Helga run the neatest, most organized little operation I’ve ever seen.  On the very small plot of land surrounding their house, they grow enough produce to supply Watt’s Grocery, themselves, and several farmer’s markets, raise chickens, grow mushrooms in the woods, and even have a kiwi tree. (Who knew that kiwis grew in North Carolina?!)  I was amazed with how well they used the little bit of space that they had – I’m not sure I’ve ever been in such a supremely well organized place in my life – and standing in the greenhouse I was a little bit in awe of the rows and rows of green thriving in the middle of March.  More than anything, I think being at Tim and Helga’s gave us all the sense of “Hey, I could do this…”  I don’t think anyone’s dropped out of school to start a farm since break yet, but you never know.

Tuesday morning we spent 2 hours at SEEDS, Durham’s community garden.  SEEDS is a well-established, well-loved piece of Durham culture, where high-school students can work to grow and sell their own produce, younger children can attend day camp, and anyone who would like to can sign-up for their very own plot in which to grow their own vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  While at SEEDS we got some of our energy out digging out the bermuda grass from a new plot [side note: google has revealed to me that Jamaica grass – an energy drink that I’m pretty sure has marijuana in it – is not the same thing as Bermuda grass] and helping to sort the compost.

From SEEDS we headed to the newly established Duke Campus Farm, the reason behind this whole trip.  On 12 acres of old tobacco land in the Duke forest, several Duke students are farming a 1-acre pilot plot, new this year.  Duke dining services has agreed to buy all of the produce, and dreams for the farm are big, but there’s a lot of work that goes into creating a farm-able area before you get to the harvesting part.  On the two days that we were there, we helped build an 8-foot tall deer fence around the plot, hoed the soil into rows, shoveled manure, and finally, as the sun was setting on the last day of the trip, got to plant the first baby lettuces and kales.  I wish that the farm had gotten started when I was a freshman, as it’s something that I’d love to be involved in, but I’m glad that it exists now and I hope that it succeeds.

Since all this farming business ended, I’ve been a little bit obsessed.  The night after going to Tim and Helga’s farm I went to Kroger and got three packs of seeds and a bag of potting soil.  I now have four sage plants, four lettuce plants, and four basil plants that I am absurdly happy about.  Sometimes Megan finds me sitting on the windowsill in the morning, literally just watching the plants, and she has to remind me how weird I am.  I’ve also been devouring books like “The Dirty Life,” and one of my classmates caught me looking up how to grow asparagus in the middle of class, at which point he had to remind me that I am, in fact, a 21 year old college student and not yet a farmer.

To go along with all this springtime greenery, farm-ness, and inspiration, I baked these pea, pancetta and chevre tartlets, inspired by a recipe I’ve been eyeing in Sarah Banbery’s “Tarts,” for over a year now.  The fresh peas are the essence of spring, the goat cheese brought me back to lunch at Prodigal Farm, and the pancetta… well, pancetta just makes everything better.  These were delicious – light and creamy filling with bites of salty pancetta and sweet peas, and a flaky crust flecked with parmesan.  A little indulgent, but one or two makes a perfect Saturday afternoon lunch.

Pea, Pancetta, and Chevre Tartlets

Inspired by Tarts.  Makes 4 tartlets.

For the crust (makes enough for 6-7 tartlets, freeze extras)

• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 5 TBS cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 c. finely grated parmesan cheese, packed
• 2-3 TBS very cold water

For the filling

• 1/2 c. fresh peas, from 1/2 lb. peapods
• 1 TBS butter
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely diced
• 3 oz. pancetta, cubed
• 2 TBS finely minced fresh basil
• 3 oz. goat cheese
• 4 egg yolks
• pepper to taste

1. Grease four 3″ tartlet pans (I used pam and the tarts came out really easily).  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, sift together flour and salt.  Cut in cold butter, using a fork or pastry cutter to mash mixture until a crumbly dough is formed.  Add parmesan cheese, mix to combine.  Add water a tablespoon at a time, stirring between additions, until dough just comes together.  Set bowl in freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
2. Divide dough into 6 or 7 equally sized lumps.  Stick the extra two or 3 into the freezer for next time!  Or make double the filling.  On a floured surface, roll out into a circle, and press into tartlet pans. Trim excess dough from edges, crimping as you go.  Put tartlet pans in freezer for 5 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400°F.
3. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil.  Add peas and cook for two minutes, until bright green and just tender, then drain and rinse under cold water.  Set aside.
4. Remove tartlet pans from freezer, and place on a baking tray.  Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit inside each tartlet pan, and cover with pie beans or rice to keep the crust from bubbling.  Blind bake the crust for 8 minutes.
5. In a medium frying pan, melt the tablespoon of butter over medium heat.  Add the shallots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the pancetta and cook until brown all over and shallots are caramelized, about 5 minutes more.  Add peas to warm for 30 seconds.  Remove from heat.
6. In a medium bowl, mix together egg yolks, goat cheese, and minced basil until smooth.  Add pea-pancetta-shallot mixture and season with pepper.  Divide filling evenly among four tarts, and bake for 12 minutes, until set.  Serve warm.

The post ASB: Growing Things appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Yes, it’s been a while since my initial post about the awesome food and farming alternative spring break I took part in a few weeks ago, but I’m definitely not over how cool it was, so I thought I’d share a little bit more.  The trip focused on eating locally and sustainably, as well as learning about where your food comes from and the people who are creating it.  Durham happens to be one of the country’s biggest hotspots for local food – as a growing urban area sitting on miles of tobacco land which is slowly being converted to other types of crops, the city has access to a wide variety of locally-sourced vegetables and animals, as well as a young population ready to commit to eating locally.  The NY Times wrote an article last April about the local food movement here, and this year, named Durham one of the top 41 places to visit in 2011 in the entire world, due to the wealth of excellent, sustainable restaurants in town.  Pretty cool place to be if you’re into food, right?  Even cooler was getting to meet some of the chefs behind the incredible food Durham’s top restaurants are turning out, and then dig in (for free!  Thanks, Duke).  Below you’ll find a brief summary of each of the local restaurants we visited, who we met, and what we learned.

Piedmont – Marco Shaw, the chef and part-owner at Piedmont, is one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met.  His passion for what he does is apparent in everything from the way he speaks to the way he cooks.  Having worked with Alice Waters at the beginning of his career, the decision to cook locally was an easy one for Marco – when asked why his menus don’t loudly proclaim their sustainable ingredients, he answered that not every restaurateur can afford to make the same choices, but for him, it’s a responsibility.  He also makes it a point to use every part of the animals he gets – my pig trotter tronchon was delicious – and does all of his own butchering (which, after reading Heat’s 50 page description of how complicated it is to butcher anything, completely impressed me).  A final fact – he changes 50-90% of his menu every single day, based on what his farmer’s are able to get to him.  Dedication.

Fullsteam Brewery – Durham’s own micro-brewery, Fullsteam uses local produce to create its seasonal specialty beers, which include rhubarb, persimmon, and basil beers, as well as their famous Sweet Potato Ale.  The brewery is also a favorite destination for the young and old alike – while we were there on a Sunday afternoon there were kids riding tricycles across the open room and even having birthday parties while their parents relaxed with friends and had a few beers, but on a weekend night it has the vibe of any other cool, slightly off-beat bar.

Ninth Street Bakery – Frank, the owner and head-baker at the Durham institution, Ninth Street Baker, has a great hippie baker’s life story.  After dropping out of UC Davis in the ’70s, he lived in a zen Buddhist monastery, which is where he learned to bake.  And baking turned out to be his thing.  Thirty years ago he and his wife began 9th street bakery, way before 9th street was a fun, safe place to go.  Now they’re located downtown, and we had the pleasure of touring the bakery and learning how one churns out hundreds of loaves of bread a day (my favorite part was punching down the dough … that filled an industrial-size trash barrel).  All of their breads and pastries use organic flours and grains, and are completely delicious.  You can buy their sandwich bread at both Wholefoods and Kroger, and it’s 100% worth the extra dollar.

Bull City Burger and Brewery – A brand new restaurant on the Durham scene, Bull City Burger and Brewery opened a week ago to an overwhelmingly positive response.  We met with Seth Gross, the owner and chef, a few weeks before the restaurant was set to open, and he graciously took a few minutes out of the overwhelmingly busy pre-opening schedule to talk to us about his concept.  The restaurant is completely sustainable in its concept – even the tables are made from recycled barn beams.  The beef (grass-fed, but of course) will all be from the region, and hopefully 100% from North Carolina.  The restaurant will use burger toppings from local farmers – so don’t expect tomatoes on your burger in January! – and buns made from locally processed flours.  Even the beer will one day use barley and hops from North Carolina.  On top of all that localness, pints will be $4.50 and burgers are around $6, meaning even I can afford to go there.  A final cool fact about BCB&B – they sponsored the “golden bull contest” for the months before the restaurant opened, hiding 5 golden bulls (Durham – “Bull City’s” – mascot) in various locations downtown, providing clues as to the locations of the bulls each day on their website.  The finders of the bulls won a free lunch every week for a year, and the competition was fierce.

Watt’s Grocery – One of the restaurants I frequent most in Durham, Watt’s ascribes to the same concept as Piedmont, and attempts to source as many of their ingredients locally as possible.  While after listening to Marco some of us were a bit disappointed to hear that they don’t change their entire menu every day, it was important for us to learn that using local ingredients is a serious commitment for a restaurant.  All of the restaurateurs we spoke with mentioned the difficulty of adapting to the variability of what farmer’s can give you in any given week – if you planned your entire menu around the availability of 6″ tomatoes and your farmer can only give you cherry tomatoes, you have to adapt fast, and not every restaurant has the resources to do so.  Watt’s is up there with the best in terms of sustainability, and their food is delicious.  During our extended three course dinner I had their hush puppies with basil mayo, rib eye with farmer’s cheese dumplings, and incredible lamb meatloaf with a farro salad.  Then, for dessert, our table ordered every single dessert on the menu and demonstrated excellent sharing abilities by each taking one bite and passing the dessert on.  The almost unanimous favorite dessert was the espresso pot de creme, which brings me to today’s recipe!

My version of the incredible espresso pot de creme we had at Watt’s is not quite as good as theirs, but it is pretty excellent.  The recipe is straight forward and not too time-consuming, although it does use a large number of bowl (never a plus in my kitchen).  It is an extremely thick and rich dessert, and a little goes a long way.  I do wish that it was a bit creamier – the density of this is similar to that of pumpkin pie, and next time I might up the cream to egg ratio in order to achieve a more “mousse-y” consistency.  To serve with it I made a batch of lemon peel tuiles to emulate the Italian tradition of serving espresso with a twist of lemon.  The tuiles were fun to make, used up all the leftover egg whites from the pot de cremes, and turned out perfectly – wonderful lemon flavor, well formed, and a crunchy bite!  A great afternoon snack for this rainy spring week.

Chocolate Espresso Pot de Creme

Recipe adapted from Gourmet.  Serves 4.

• 3 oz. high quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 3/4 c. heavy cream
• 1/4 c. whole milk
• 1 1/4 tsp. espresso powder
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 TBS sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl.  In a separate, larger bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, and set aside.  Bring cream, milk, and espresso powder just to a boil over medium heat, whisking until all espresso powder is dissolved.  Pour hot cream over chocolate, whisking continuously, until mixture is smooth.  Then pour hot chocolate mixture over egg yolks in a slow stream (so as not to scramble the eggs), whisking continuously, until smooth.  Pour custard through a sieve into a glass bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Prepare a hot water bath: place a kitchen towel or dishcloth on the bottom of a baking pan large enough to hold your 4 ramekins.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Divide the chocolate-espresso custard evenly between 4, 4-oz. ramekins, and place on top of the dishcloth in your baking pan.  Carefully pour the boiling water around the edges of the ramekins so that it rises 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins.  Cover the baking pan and ramekins with a piece of aluminum foil, poking several holes in the top to allow steam to escape.  Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until custards are set on the edges but still slightly soft in the middle.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.  Will keep covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Lemon Peel Tuiles

Recipe from Gourmet.  Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

• 1/2 c. sugar
• lemon zest from 4 medium lemons
• 1/2 stick salted butter, softened (room temperature)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 c. AP flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, pulse the sugar and the lemon zest a few times until evenly mixed.  (This lemon-sugar smells lovely and could be used for lots of other purposes…)
3. Beat the lemon sugar with the butter until smooth and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg whites and mix until well-combined.  Add flour and mix until just combined.  Spoon batter into a pastry bag (or a ziploc bag with the tip snipped off), and gently pipe 6 inch long stripes about 3 inches apart.  Cookies should only be about 1/4 inch wide, as they will spread a lot in the oven.  Bake for 8 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to brown.  (Underbaked cookies will not form shapes as well and will have a chewy texture; golden-brown cookies will form very well and have a great crunch plus a slightly caramelized taste).  Remove tray from oven and immediately and gently remove cookies from pan and drape over a dowel, forming an enclosed circle lengthwise around the dowel.  (You could also use a mixing spoon handle, but you’ll run out of space quickly!)   If cookies begin to harden to much to form, place the tray back in the oven for 30 seconds to re-soften.  Repeat with remaining batches of cookies.  Don’t remove cookies from dowel until hardened, which takes about 3-4 minutes.
4. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

The post ASB: Locavore Durham Restaurants appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

For the first four days of spring break, I took part in an alternative spring break program called “Being a Locavore: Food and Farming in the Triangle.”  Um, right up my alley, no?  As soon as I saw the itinerary, which included tours and work at local farms, meet and eats with local restaurant owners, brewery and bakery tours, and communal cooking, I was super excited, and I ended up having an incredible time.  As with most experiences, the people you are with can really make or break a trip, but despite my slight initial concern that I would end up spending four days with a bunch of off-the-charts crunchy, mildly anti-social people, this group was awesome.  With a 50/50 Duke-UNC split, a strong contingent of graduate students, and majors ranging from Christian ministry to electrical engineering to Southern studies, the diverse perspectives represented in each conversation was one of my favorite things about the trip.  Conversation was diverse and constant, and topics covered included vermiculture, how and when to pick okra, whose grandmother pickled what how, how movie rental stores are dying out, the major and not-so-major cultural differences between Duke and UNC, deep sea diving, bad first dates, and the intersection of religion and food, just to name a few.  I arrived home each night exhausted as much from the intellectual stimulation as from the travel, work, and extensive energy required to eat … um I mean work… the amount that we did.

On each day we participated in so many activities, met with so many different fascinating people, learned so many new things, and ate so much delicious food that I couldn’t possibly cover everything I want to share in one post.  So I’ll spend the next week or so covering a few things we did each day and trying to recreate some of the recipes I most enjoyed over the course of the trip.  To get going, as Julie Andrews likes to say (sing), “let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”

After meeting bright and early Saturday morning, we walked together to Durham’s Farmer’s Market, which, even in the very beginning of March, is a hopping place.  We spoke briefly with the market manager, Erin, about what differentiates the Durham market, and North Carolina markets in general, from others.  The biggest difference I could pick out was that prices for vendors to participate in NC markets are much, much lower than the national average.  Go North Carolina!  We then split into small teams, and each team was assigned two ingredients to seek out.  The goal was to talk to the farmers selling our assigned ingredient and learn about their background, their practices, their favorite ways to cook with the ingredient, etc. – anything to develop a relationship with the person growing and selling you your food, which, I’ve come to realize, is a huge part of the whole local food movement thing.  In my mind the importance doesn’t come so much from knowing exactly how everything is grown and processed and transported, but from it’s motivational purpose.  Since many agree that eating local is good for the environment, for the economy, for your own health, and for the flavor of food, but can seem prohibitively expensive to some, knowing and liking your farmers is where I can see finding incentive to buy local more often.  If you are deciding between spending $6 on a log of chevre from a woman who you know and joke with and who has fed you lunch and $4 on a similar log from the cheese counter in your grocery store, it can be easier to justify the extra $2 when there’s a personal relationship behind the exchange.  At least for stingy old me.

One of the ingredients that my team was assigned to purchase was jam.  Two vendors were selling jam at market – Amy was selling an array of fruit butters, pickles, and pepper jellies, and the man from Benjamin Vineyard and Winery was selling a grape jelly made from his own muscadine grapes.  I was obsessed with the banana butter Amy was selling, but Shannon wanted to stick with the theme of staying as local as possible, so we ended up getting some jam from each vendor.  We’re so choosy.  Really though, this banana butter is so incredible, which is why it is the recipe of honor for today’s post.  Amy told me that the trick in getting the banana butter right comes from using the bananas at their perfect ripeness.

After the Farmer’s Market we spent time both at the Duke Campus Farm and cooking an elaborate, slightly stressful dinner, but since we spent the majority of the day on Tuesday at the farm and I have a whole series of thoughts on the phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen,” we’ll save those for later.  In the meantime, enjoy my delicious approximation of Amy of Durham’s even more delicious banana butter.  My favorite ways to eat it include on french toast, mixed into vanilla yogurt, on a peanut butter sandwich, and by the spoonful.  I just made one jar’s worth so I didn’t bother to can it, but it could easily be preserved.  If you do decide to preserve it, make sure you check that the amount of sugar in this recipe is enough for the pectin you’re using – I reduced the amount of sugar by half from the recipe I referred to, but that can be dangerous if you’re truly preserving your food (as we learned from Emily’s canning workshop on Sunday!)  An un-preserved jar will keep for a week or two on the fridge.

Banana Butter

Makes 2 1/2 cups.  Adapted from Kraft Recipes.

• 4 ripe bananas
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• small pat butter
• 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp. hot water

1. Thoroughly mash bananas (I used my hands to get all the little pieces out) and add to a medium saucepan with the lemon juice and the butter.  Bring to a boil, stirring all the while.  When it is fully boiling, add all sugar at once.  Reduce heat slightly to help reduce spitting.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes.  Add cornstarch and water mixture, and continue to cook/stir until the jam has thickened to your desired consistency, adding more cornstarch if necessary.
2. Pour hot jam into your prepared jars or bowls – glass jars should be pre-warmed so that they don’t shatter on contact with the hot jam.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate.

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