Every year in the middle of July there’s a spike of traffic on my red currant posts – these red currant crumb bars are particularly popular. And I get so excited, because it means that there are other people out there who like these beautiful berries as much as I do! We get a bumper crop of red currants every year around the second week of July: they are easily the most productive, easiest crop in our little garden. We transplanted one small bush 3 years ago when we moved in, and this year we picked almost four pounds of currants from it.

Four pounds of currants is quite a few. Thankfully, they freeze very well. But I also try to come up with at least one new red currant recipe every year. Judging by the search traffic on my other red currant recipes and your comments on this post, I can tell that lots of you are still wondering what to do with these sour little berries. And it’s a good question! There aren’t a ton of recipes out there, as these berries are still relatively uncommon in the US.

This year I made an easy Red Currant Coffee Cake to use up some of our bounty. Coffee cake is such a great American recipe. Of course, like most American things, it originated somewhere else – Germany in this case. But 150 years on, I think it’s fair to say that there’s a distinct American tradition of coffee cake that has evolved from its German roots. There’s something so satisfying about a crumbly-topped, cinnamon-scented slice of cake eaten with a mug of tea or coffee. It isn’t dainty like British tea-time snacks, it’s unapologetically just… cake for breakfast. And when packed with red currants, it has a great sour, juicy tang to counter some of that over-the-top sweetness.

I managed to cram two cups of berries into one cake (making cake for breakfast feel almost virtuous) but we still have loads of currants to use up. If you’re in the same boat and looking for more inspiration, why not try out some of my other red currant recipes, below!

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

More Red Currant Recipes…

Red Currant Crème Brûlée

Red Currant Coffee Cake

A simple Red Currant Coffee Cake – moist cake, sweet crumb topping, crammed full of sour red currant berries.

Cake recipe adapted from Cranberry Vanilla Coffee Cake, originally sourced from Gourmet.

• Author: katieatthekitchendoor
• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 50
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 8-10

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups (12 oz.) fresh red currants, tossed with 2 tsp flour

For the streusel:

• 3 TBS butter, room temperature
• 3 TBS brown sugar
• 3 TBS white sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter and lightly flour a 9 inch cake pan or springform pan. Tap any excess flour out over the sink. Set prepared pan aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Add the softened butter and the sugar to the bowl of a mixer and beat on medium until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating just until they are incorporated, then stopping the mixer. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter-sugar-egg batter and beat just until incorporated. Now add the milk and beat on low just until incorporated. Add the remaining half of the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer – you’ll do the rest by hand.
4. Stir in the vanilla extract until it is evenly mixed into the batter. Add the flour-coated currants (the light flour coating helps prevent them from sinking when mixed into the cake) and gently stir until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Use a spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Smooth out gently so the batter is level.
5. Make the streusel: In a small bowl, use your fingers to mix together the butter, brown sugar, sugar, flour, and cinnamon until it forms a crumbly mixture with pieces the size of peas. Sprinkle over the top of the cake batter.
6. Bake the cake: Transfer the cake to the pre-heated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top of the cake is golden brown, about 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan, slice, and serve warm.

The post Red Currant Coffee Cake appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Four years ago, we spent two weeks in Italy in the beginning of May. It was our first “adult” vacation, and we ate and drank our way through Rome, Florence, and the Maremma. Rome is a city that is easy to fall in love with, especially in May. Jasmine tumbles over seemingly every stone wall, its fragrance completely filling the city. The weather is sunny and dry but not too hot, perfect for sundresses and gelato and walking along the river. Nights are cool and you can eat al fresco, sipping on chilled Pinot Grigio and tucking into plates of cacio e pepe. While parts of Rome are perpetually jammed with tourists, if you move just a little outside the tourist track you’ll begin to feel the heartbeat of a thriving, modern city.

While we were there, we visited a farmer’s market and loaded up on pecorino cheese, the first tiny strawberries of the season, truffled sausage, and fava beans. We brought our bounty to the Pincio gardens, where we picnicked amid throngs of people watching the sunset over the Piazza del Popolo. The simplicity and freshness and ambiance of that meal has stuck with me more than any almost any other meal in Italy.

Eating fresh fava beans with chunks of pecorino cheese is a Roman tradition with a long history. In Rome, the custom is to eat them just as we did – a freshly shucked bean, a slice of pecorino, and perhaps a chunk of crusty bread. It’s a nearly perfect pairing, perhaps improved only by a glass of stony Italian white wine.

Recipe #2 in fava bean week takes it’s inspiration from that pairing. It’s a simple variation on everyone’s favorite breakfast – avocado toast. I’ve heard some report that this trend is on its way out, but I refuse to believe this. It’s the perfect breakfast, how could it be a fad? Maybe that’s just my millennial showing. I do have a pair of salmon (ahem, millennial) pink pants, after all. The addition of fava beans and pecorino to avocado toast is not a gratuitous change. The creamy and subtle sweetness of the avocado mellows the sharpness of the fava beans and the cheese, while the slight crunch of the beans adds some texture to your toast. I mash the fava beans with a hint of meyer lemon zest and a little olive oil, pressing them just enough so that they won’t fall off the bread.

More Fava Bean Recipes…

Fava Bean Soup with Mascarpone, Mint, and Pancetta

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Avocado Toast with Fava Beans and Pecorino

Serves 1.

• 1 slice of Italian or French bread, toasted
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1/3 cup of fresh fava beans, shucked and peeled
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS of pecorino cheese shavings
• zest of 1/2 a  small Meyer lemon
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

1. Slice or slightly mash the avocado and spread on top of the toasted bread. In a small bowl, mix together the fava beans, olive oil, pecorino cheese and Meyer lemon zest. Gently smash the fava beans with the back of a fork, just enough to break up the beans. Spread the fava beans on top of the avocado toast, pressing gently to keep the beans from falling off the toast. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and eat!

The post Ingredient of the Week: Fava Beans // Avocado Toast with Fava Beans and Pecorino appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I first learned to make crepes in high school. During one French class our professor took us to his house for a simple French cooking lesson. It was a boarding school and most of the professors lived on campus, so this wasn’t particularly unusual. He taught us the ratio – 1:2:1 milk, eggs, flour – and pan-fried dozens of crepes. Like most of my classes in high school, I spent a good portion of it flirting, an activity that was only enhanced by speaking French and eating crepes. French – the language of ballet, patisserie, and love.

I’ve all but forgotten French, but I do remember how to make crepes. They are such a wonderful dessert. At their simplest, they require only 4 ingredients – milk, eggs, flour, and a pat of butter for the frying pan. From there, you can dress them up in seemingly infinite ways. You can stuff them with fruit and cream, stack them in layers with salted caramel to make a crepe cake, or flambée them with a bit of rum. You can make the batter chocolate-flavored or go the savory route and fill your crepes with ham and cheese. They are simple, economical, and delicious.

These Strawberry and Meyer Lemon Crepes are on the fancier end of the crepe spectrum.  The crepe batter itself has a splash of brandy, vanilla, sugar, and melted butter added to the base. After cooking, you spread each crepe with two different strawberry-based fillings. The first is a strawberry-mascarpone cream (it’s the loveliest shade of pink!) and the second is a jammy sauce made from strawberries, meyer lemon, and a splash of vodka. Folded and garnished with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar they make a spring dessert that’s both elegant and simple.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

 Strawberry and Meyer Lemon Filled Crepes

Adapted from Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey. Serves 6.

• 1 lb. fresh strawberries, stems removed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/3 cup plus 2 TBS granulated sugar
• 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
• 2 TBS butter, room temperature
• zest and juice of 1 meyer lemon
• 1 TBS vodka
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 3 TBS butter, melted (plus a bit more for coating the pan)
• 2 TBS brandy
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup all purpose flour

1. Toss the diced strawberries with the 1/3 cup of sugar in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let macerate for at lest one hour, or overnight in the fridge.
2. After macerating, spoon half of the strawberries out of the bowl and into a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add the mascarpone cheese and process again until smooth. Cover strawberry-mascarpone cream and chill until ready to use.
3. Place 2 TBS of the butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add the remaining strawberries, the strawberry syrup that has collected in the bowl, the meyer lemon zest and meyer lemon juice to the pan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the strawberries are very soft and the sauce has become thick and syrupy. This should take about 10 minutes. At this stage, remove from the heat and stir in the vodka. Set aside.
4. To make the crepe batter, whisk the eggs, whole milk, melted butter, brandy, vanilla extract, and water together in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly until frothy. Add the flour and whisk until you have a thin and smooth batter. The batter should run freely when lifted from the bowl – the consistency should be that of heavy cream. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for one hour.
5. To assemble the crepes, melt a bit of butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Swirl to coat the pan with butter. Using a measuring cup, add 1/3 cup of batter to the center of the pan. Immediately lift the pan from the heat and swirl so that the batter spreads out thinly and evenly to the edges of the pan. Set down over the hat. Cook for about 60-90 seconds per side, or until the edges of the crepe are lacy and there are spots of golden brown on the otherwise pale crepe. Once each crepe is cooked, lay it out flat on a cutting board. To fill the crepes, spread a large spoonful of the strawberry-mascarpone cream over one side of each crepe, then spread a little of the strawberry-lemon sauce on top. Fold into quarters and place on a plate. Drizzle with more strawberry sauce and serve.

The post Strawberry and Meyer Lemon Filled Crepes appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Last weekend, I had my mother, my future mother-in-law, and one of my oldest friends come over to practice flower arranging. I’m doing our wedding flowers myself, and while I’m super excited about it, I also want to make sure that I at least sort of know what I’m doing before the big day. My current daydream profession is to be a flower farmer – have you seen the gorgeousness that is Cut Flower Farm? – so this played nicely into my fantasies of being continually surrounded by fragrant pink garden roses.

Since I had buckets full of roses and a fancy bottle of champagne, I couldn’t resist turning the morning into a little photo shoot before my guests arrived. The sun was streaming through the window and it gave me a chance to show off our newly finished guest room. When you only have one finished room in your house you’ve got to flaunt it so that people won’t notice the holes in the walls in all the other rooms.

To top off the morning, I made a batch of Rhubarb and Rye Streusel Muffins and served them with a bowl of pink Rhubarb Curd. Flower arranging is hard work, you know? Got to stay fortified. I adapted the muffins from Deb’s Rhubarb Streusel Muffin recipe, replacing some of the whole wheat flour with rye flour. The muffins are lovely – a little bit hearty from the rye and not too sweet or cake-like. The rhubarb for the curd was such an amazing shade of fuchsia while I was cooking it. But then the moment I added it to the custard the curd became a sort of pinkish gray. I have to find a way to make a curd that keeps that beautiful hot pink color! Luckily it tastes lovely either way.

The flowers turned out beautifully, even the practice bouquets. We’re using peach and pink garden roses, cream spray roses, eucalyptus, hypericum, and thistle. I’ll also be growing dahlias – but not counting on them. They’ll be more like a nice surprise if they work out. As a bonus, our house has been absolutely filled with roses all week and smells amazing. It’s going on day 8 since they arrived in the mail and they are just starting to fade. Wedding flower fears allayed – it’s going to be beautiful.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Rhubarb and Rye Streusel Muffins

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen. Makes 10-12 muffins.

For the streusel:

• 3 TBS all-purpose flour
• 3 TBS rye flour
• 2 TBS granulated sugar
• 2 TBS light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 TBS butter, melted

For the muffins:

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 c. light brown sugar
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 5 TBS salted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. rye flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 c. diced rhubarb

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or melted butter and set aside.
2. To make the streusel: mix all of the dry ingredients together in a small bowl, then add the melted butter. Use your hands to mix the streusel until medium-sized crumbs form.
3. To make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together egg and the sugars until smooth. Add the melted butter and whisk to incorporate, then add the sour cream and whisk to incorporate.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, rye flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently, just enough to mix together. Gently fold in the rhubarb and about a third of the streusel crumbs.
5. Divide the muffin batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle some of the streusel crumbs on top of each muffin, pressing gently to get the crumbs to stick to the tops of the muffins. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean, about 17-20 minutes. Serve with rhubarb curd.

Rhubarb Curd

Makes about 2 cups. Adapted from Foodess and Food 52.

• 1/2 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (choose the brightest red rhubarb you can find!)
• 1/4 cup plus 3 TBS sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 4 TBS salted butter, cut into 4 pieces

1. Add the rhubarb, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the water to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer until the rhubarb is very soft and falling apart. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Use an immersion blender to blend the rhubarb into a paste – it should have the consistency of a thick jam. Do this while the rhubarb is still hot (but be careful of splatters!)
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, egg, and the remaining 3 TBS of sugar until very smooth. Slowly pour the hot rhubarb paste into the egg yolk mixture, whisking the eggs vigorously as you do so. This should temper your eggs. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium-low heat. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to be spoonable. This should take 5-8 minutes. Remove the curd from the heat and stir the butter into the curd one piece at a time, stirring to melt the butter in between additions. If the curd is free of lumps, transfer to a bowl, cover tightly, and chill until ready to serve (at least 2 hours). If there are any lumps or bits of egg, strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer before chilling.

The post Rhubarb and Rye Streusel Muffins with Rhubarb Curd appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Greetings from Lisbon! Time is flying by here – I can’t believe it’s been two weeks already.

The weather has been beautiful here, sunny and gentle every single day. Generally it’s been warm, in the 60s, but the past two days it’s gotten really cold. Of course, not as cold as Boston, where we unfortunately had a pipe burst only a few days after leaving (and we left the heat on). But as I write this I’m huddled around the little electric heater in our Air BnB, which is doing double time by also drying our laundry.

Breakfast here is typically a pastry and an espresso while standing at the counter of a pastelaria. It’s delicious, but with the cold this week, I could definitely do with something heartier. I made this whole grain porridge just before leaving, and it got me through that first week of January cold and snow. I used a mix of quinoa, farro, oats, and semolina to prepare it, and then topped it with apples stewed with maple syrup and fresh cranberries. It was delicious.

Trevor objected to my use of the word porridge (“what are you, Goldilocks?”), but I can firmly state that this porridge is just right. [Edit from Trevor: “it’s a stupid word, it’s a stupid food.”] It’s also much better than oatmeal. While oatmeal is convenient and easy, it can get thick and gloppy, especially if rushed. This porridge was much creamier and more varied in texture. Not to mention it was healthier with four different grains. I made a big batch, portioned it out into five tupperwares, and was ready for the week.

If you’re somewhere cold, too, I hope you’re staying warm!

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Whole Grain Porridge with Poached Apples and Cranberries

A comforting, creamy whole grain porridge perfect for chilly winter mornings. Topped with stewed apples and cranberries and lightly sweetened with maple syrup.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup stone cut oats
• 1/2 cup farro
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup farina (Cream of Wheat)
• 4 apples, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 cup of fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 3 TBS maple syrup
• fresh pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the quinoa, oats, farro, water, and 2 cups of the milk in a large non-stick saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over low heat, stirring frequently. Add the cinnamon stick and salt and simmer until all of the grains are tender, about 30 minutes. Add some of the additional milk as needed to keep the porridge loose and creamy. When the grains are cooked, add the farina and the remaining milk (1 cup or whatever you have left from the original 3 cups) and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the porridge has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat.
2. Prepare the apples while the porridge is cooking. Add the apple wedges, cranberries, apple cider, and maple syrup to a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender and the cranberries have softened and slumped, about 10 minutes. Simmer for another 5 minutes to reduce the sauce to a syrup, then remove from the heat.
3. Serve the porridge warm, with additional milk if desired. Top with a few spoonfuls of the apple-cranberry mixture and fresh pomegranate seeds.

The post Whole Grain Porridge with Poached Apples and Cranberries appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m glad I reread last year’s New Year’s recap before writing this one, because otherwise I think it might have ended up sounding eerily similar. There was travel. There was stress, largely related to the travel. We made progress on the house, bit by bit. I probably took on a bit too much for my own good. When I wrote last year I said I knew that 2016 was going to be another busy one, and it was. I also wrote that I wanted 2016 to be calmer, less stressful, more balanced; a little more relaxed, a little more joyful. I’m not totally sure I succeeded in that, but I want this post to focus on the positives of this year. What did I accomplish? How was it different – bigger, better – than the year before? And if you bear with me (or skip ahead), there’s a lovely recipe for Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie at the end of the post. It’s the perfect make-ahead dish for festive winter brunches.

All the good things.

It can be hard to recognize accomplishments as they happen, but when I look back, there they are – big and notable. I got promoted, and more importantly, I’m much better at my job than I was a year ago. I learned Portuguese! Enough to have a reasonable conversation with another person and to read children’s books. I went to three new countries, and three I’d been to before. We finished our first major house renovation, and we have a shiny new basement to show for it. And then there are things that are not so much accomplishments, but just… good. I have a job that I love. It’s engaging, I work with wonderful people all over the world, and I earn a good living doing it. My family lives nearby (except you, Rynie!) and I have great relationships with them. I have Trevor – we’ve been in a happy, stable relationship for almost 9 years and I still look forward to seeing him every single day. Everyone is happy and healthy. My social life is just what I want – good friends that I see frequently, with common interests and values. I no longer worry about not being fun enough or social enough; I just spend time with people that I like and don’t worry about people that I don’t. We live in a safe, warm house that I love being in, despite its quirks and flaws. And although money was more stressful this year than in past years (weddings and houses will do that), we are lucky to have the resources to live a very comfortable life, with travel and celebrations and stability. I am very fortunate, and very grateful.

Our travels, the short(ish) version.

Like the three years before it, I was on the road a lot in 2016. To be exact, I spent 113 days outside of the US. That’s more than 30% of the year. I was in six countries – Hong Kong, Japan, Costa Rica, Ireland, Portugal, and Colombia.

We started the year in Hong Kong, where it rained almost every day for a month. We loved it anyway. Hong Kong is incredible. It’s noisy and smelly and vibrant and elegant all at once. It can be overwhelming at times, but you’re never more than a short hike away from the mountains or the beach. And the food is amazing. We climbed winding jungle staircases to find golden temples at the top, we ate dumplings in subway stations and tea houses and on the street, we watched the neon lights pulse at night, and we drank ourselves silly at the race-track, placing $1 bets on the horses we liked the most. I have so much more to say about Hong Kong – I’m working on a few posts about it – but for now, suffice it to say it was awesome.

On our way home from Hong Kong, we spent a week and a half in Japan. Japan was mesmerizing, one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. I’ve written about Kyoto and Ise, but in a nutshell, we wandered through orderly temples and bamboo forests, saw the first plum blossoms unfold while Mt. Fuji stood majestically in the background, ate skewers of grilled chicken in smoky izakaya under the train tracks, and hiked past moss-covered shrines and ancient trees. I’m trying to find a way to get back there soon.

Not long after returning from Japan, we spent just a few days in Costa Rica with my family. I was stunned by the heat and the flowers and the incredible noise of so much life in one place. I mostly sat by the pool and watched the toucans swoop between the flowering trees, and the monkeys clamber noisily overhead. It was a short but beautiful rest.

In Ireland, in April, I was stunned by the vibrancy of the green. I took one extra day for myself at the end of the week, to hike the cliffs of Howth Head. It was windy and gray and the heather and gorse were blooming everywhere, with the waves crashing against the cliffs. After I was thoroughly chilled and exhilarated I ate bangers and mash and drank cider in a pub. This was my third trip to the Emerald Isle, and I fall a little bit more in love with it each time I go.

Lisbon is another city that is slowly stealing my heart, with the way the light reflects off the thousands of white cobblestones, filling the city with a permanent dusty glow. The Portuguese love food and wine perhaps more than any other culture I’ve experienced and I’ve had many long meals feasting on buttery octopus and rich sheep’s cheese and syrupy sweet port wine. We’ll be spending more time there this year, and I’m excited to get to know the country better.

Most of my trips to Colombia were of the airport to hotel to office and back variety, with one notable exception. I spent a lovely day exploring with my coworker and her family. She and her husband and her two young daughters took us to a cathedral buried in a salt mine followed by lunch at the real Andres. I love the way Latin cultures gather at the table on weekends, for long and rowdy lunches with family. To get a glimpse into that, to chat with her daughters in my basic Spanish, to play with them and teach them how to sing Miss Mary Mack while stuck in traffic – that was the beauty of that day. Oh and I became an official Colombian soccer fan with the purchase of a yellow Colombia jersey for watching the Copa Americana.

Seeing it all written out like this makes my heart full. All of that was in one year? I’m incredibly privileged to have so many amazing travel experiences as part of my job. It is hard, yes, and there is a lot of shuttling back and forth, packing and unpacking and sitting in airports. Most of my days abroad are not that dissimilar from a work day anywhere else, with a commute and lots of meetings in an office and the hope of squeezing a workout in at the gym. But then there are moments – afternoons and dinners and the occasional weekend – when I get to immerse myself in the culture of another place, to explore on my own, and those are the moments that make the whole thing worthwhile.

On stress, and why maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

When I look back at my recaps from the past two years (and all the posts in between, to be honest), there is a lot about stress. I know I’m not alone in this – stress is often described as an epidemic in our society. But I’ve thought a lot about stress this year – what causes it, how to reduce it, and how to limit its effects on my long term health. I also started to talk to some friends about it, and what we discussed is this: we didn’t necessarily like feeling stressed about work, but would we really be happy if our jobs were not causing us stress? Doesn’t the stress we feel about performing well mean that we are engaged and that we care about the results of our efforts? Then I read a book, The Upside of Stress, that echoed this exact sentiment and went on to express so much more about why, and how, we as a society should be rethinking our mindsets about stress. I enjoyed the book (especially since it really delves into the research supporting the idea that stress doesn’t have to be bad for you), but if you’re looking for the quick and dirty version, the author also did a Ted talk a few years back. After finishing this book, I’m starting 2017 with a different mindset about stress. Not embracing it, exactly, but learning to see the good with the bad, to recognize stress as an essential part of life, and of growth. To remember that without stress, I might be pretty bored. At the same time, I’ll be finding ways to take better care of myself and build up my resilience.

Hopes and intentions for 2017.

Last year I wrote down six words at the beginning of the year – genuine, generous, gratitude, decluttered, and balance. All of those still hold, but I particularly want to carry generous and gratitude forward to 2017. To these I would add: energy, health, and joyful. I will focus on bringing these things into my life this year, and on putting them back out into the world. In a less touchy-feely realm, this is also the year that Trevor and I are getting married! Now that we’re counting down in months instead of years, it’s starting to feel more real. I can’t wait; it’s going to be the most fun. There’s other big stuff coming up this year (a new kitchen?!), but that’s the main one.

And a recipe for Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie.

If you made it through all that, thanks for listening. And to those of you who skipped down here for the recipe, I’m happy to have you here too. And here it is! This Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie is a festive, brunchy recipe – like a very dense quiche where the filling is mostly cheese instead of mostly egg. Trevor’s dad and his wife are vegetarians and brought this to Christmas dinner as a main dish alternative, and it was my favorite thing on the table. It’s vaguely Scandinavian, thanks to a copious amount of dill, but the filling is primarily made of ricotta, feta, and not-quite-caramelized onions. It’s easy to make, easy to reheat, and delicious at any temperature, making it a prime candidate for festive brunches. I hope you have a chance to try it this winter. All my best wishes and good vibes to you for a 2017 that’s full of joy and energy and goodness!

Past New Years’ posts…

2015: Brown-Butter Chestnut Waffles with Poached Pears and Mascarpone
2014: Rye Blini, Smoked Salmon Dip, Russian Beet Dip, Pretty in Pink Cocktail
2013: Raspberry Sherbet Champagne Floats
2012: Butter-Roasted Cinnamon Chicken with Almonds and Pomegranates

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie

Adapted from Sunset Magazine via My Recipes. Serves 10-12.

• 3 sweet vidalia onions, peeled
• 1/3 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• sea salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup farina (cream of wheat)
• 12 oz. fresh ricotta cheese
• 10 oz. soft feta cheese (in brine), cut into small cubes
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup minced fresh dill
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6-8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed according to package directions

1. Cut onions in half, then slice into thin half-moon rings. Heat 2 TBS of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the onion rings, caraway seeds, and a generous pinch of sea salt. Saute the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are translucent and very soft, and just beginning to take on a pale golden color. Remove from the heat.
2. Preheat onion to 400ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and farina until evenly combined. Add the ricotta, feta, lemon juice, dill, and black pepper and whisk until smooth. Stir in the prepared onions.
3. Pour remaining olive oil into a small bowl. Brush the inside of an 8 or 9 inch springform pan with olive oil. Lay one sheet of thawed phyllo dough over the bottom of the pan and up one side, letting 1-2 inches of extra dough drape over the top of the pan. Brush phyllo with olive oil. Repeat with a second sheet of phyllo, this time draping over a different side of the pan. Repeat until all parts of the bottom and sides of the pan have at least 2-3 layers of phyllo dough covering them. Pour the cheese and onion mixture into the center of the pan. Fold the phyllo that is overhanging the sides of the pan on top of the tart so that it covers just 1 inch of the top, trimming any extra phyllo dough off if necessary. Place carefully in the oven.
4. Bake until filling is set and pastry is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then remove the outside of the springform pan. Cut into slices and server warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

The post On to 2017! // Feta and Onion Phyllo Pie appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I didn’t do a very good job taking advantage of my jet lag this morning. I woke up early to gray, heavy skies and thought – what a perfect morning to make a cup of tea and take a blanket to my desk and write. But it turned out that it was also a perfect morning to lie under a pile of down comforters and waste an hour on various forms of social media. And I was only in Europe for a few days so it’s probably my only morning of jet lag. Oh well.

I’ve been wanting to get this post up before it comes irrelevant – I’m sure many of your gardens are winding down, and personally, my morning cravings have turned more towards baked apples and oatmeal than bright green smoothies. But I know we still have a few hot days ahead of us, and there are still 3 cucumbers hanging on the vine, so smoothies it is.

Our cucumber vine flourished this year – I had forgotten just how many huge cucumbers one modest vine could produce. Sadly, more than one beautiful, plump, homegrown cucumber languished and shriveled up in our fridge. I don’t know if the variety we planted had a particularly short shelf life, or if we just don’t really eat cucumbers, but it seemed nearly impossible to keep up with them.

I did find a couple of good ways to use them up, and one of the simplest was adding them to my green smoothies. I’m pretty loyal to my standard green smoothie recipe (although these days I tend to omit the water and add ginger), but every once in a while I switch it up. The flavor of cucumber is super refreshing, and pairs well with lime and mint. I added avocado for creaminess and a little bit of banana and mango for sweetness and body. Oh, and of course, the green part: lovely tuscan kale, another plant that’s flourishing in my garden. It’s not my everyday smoothie but it’s a really good one when I want something a little different.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Cucumber-Avocado-Lime Green Smoothie

A smooth and creamy green smoothie with lots of vegetables.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 2

Ingredients

• 1/2 large cucumber, peeled
• 1/2 banana
• 1 c. lemonade
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 c. frozen mango
• 1/2 avocado
• 6 large leaves tuscan kale, center ribs removed
• 5–6 leaves fresh mint

Instructions

Add all ingredients to blender in order listed (you want to be sure the lemonade goes in early to ensure even blending). Blend on high until smooth and creamy. If using a high-powered blender, serve right away; if using a regular blender, you may want to strain it through a fine mesh blender before serving for a smoother drink.

The post Cucumber-Avocado-Lime Green Smoothie appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

We spent last weekend in Maine, in what felt like the real kick-off to the summer. I love the way Maine smells – like pine needles drenched in sun, freshly cut hay, lake water, wood shavings, and the occasional whiff of smoke. When I step out of the car I inhale deeply, taking in everything sweet and fresh and good about a place where days are spent outdoors and the windows are always open. It was a blissful few days. I went swimming every day, hiked on mossy trails and rocky ones, ate fried seafood overlooking the harbor, and caught a few beautiful sunsets – one from a small cabin deck with a 180° view of the ocean, one from the middle of the harbor, bobbing gently in our boat, and two from the picnic table where we gather for wine and dinner. I can’t wait to go back.

While we were there, we put together a sunny Sunday brunch featuring Stonewall Kitchen products in celebration of their 25^th anniversary. Stonewall Kitchen is a Maine company through and through, headquartered in a beautiful space in York, Maine. They are probably most famous for their jams and jellies (especially the Wild Maine Blueberry Jam!), but I’ve tried a number of their sauces and spreads and all of their products are truly high quality and delicious. Started by two young men selling their jams and chutneys at a farmer’s market, Stonewall Kitchen has expanded into a company that is a household name for many. You can read more of their story, and check out all their delicious products, on their anniversary website, Taste of 25 Years.

For our brunch, we used four Stonewall products to put together three delicious recipes. First, Sea Breeze Mimosas, the simplest thing in the world to make – just a splash of chilled cranberry-grapefruit Sea Breeze Mixer, a dash of cranberry bitters, and a healthy pour of prosecco. If you’re getting an extra strong start to your day, a little bit of vodka added to the mix doesn’t hurt either. Second, a Smoky Roasted Garlic Hash – potatoes sautéed with shallots, Roasted Garlic Oil and smoked paprika, strips of roasted red pepper and poblano, a sprinkling of scallions, and a crispy olive-oil fried egg to top each serving. And to finish off the dish, an essential topping: Habanero Mango Hot Sauce. This smoky, slightly sweet, slow-burn hot sauce is absolutely delicious – I’m kicking myself for leaving it behind with my family (we put it on everything from eggs to burgers to baked beans over the course of the weekend).

The last recipe, and in my opinion the star of the show, Wild Maine Blueberry Jam Doughnuts. These are the doughnuts of your dreams – light, just a little bit chewy, rolled in a generous amount of cinnamon sugar, and stuffed to the gills with Wild Maine Blueberry Jam. There’s a trendy/hipster doughnut shop near us in Boston that makes jelly doughnuts that I dream about (so much so that I got one for my birthday breakfast for the past two years) – and these were even better. Every single one of my family members tried to have just one and ended up eating two – even my weight-lifting, sugar-avoiding little brother.

Congrats to Corinne of Spare Cake on winning! A Giveaway! I have good news – Stonewall Kitchen is also hosting a giveaway to send one reader their own set of products to make a delicious, Maine-inspired brunch. In addition to the four products I used in these recipes, you will also receive a canister of Farmhouse Pancake and Waffle Mix and the most adorable Downeast Coffee Mug to round out your brunch-making kit. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below telling me your favorite way to spend a summer morning. By entering the giveaway, you are agreeing to the contest rules as outlined at the bottom of this post.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Stonewall Kitchen, but all opinions are honest and my own as usual.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Sea Breeze Mimosas

Serves 1.

• 1/4 c. Stonewall Kitchen Sea Breeze Mixer, chilled
• 1 dash bitters
• 1 oz. vodka (optional)
• 1 c. chilled Prosecco

1. Pour Sea Breeze Mixer into a champagne glass. Add 1 dash bitters and vodka, if using. Top with chilled Prosecco. Serve immediately.

Wild Maine Blueberry Jam Doughnuts

Makes 12 large doughnuts. Recipe adapted from Taste of Home and Serious Eats.

• 1 c. milk, heated until warm but not hot to the touch
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. plus 1 TBS sugar, divided
• 3 TBS softened butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. AP flour
• 1 1/2 c. bread flour
• canola oil or shortening, for frying
• 1 c. sugar mixed with 2 tsp ground cinnamon, for coating
• 2 jars Stonewall Kitchen Wild Maine Blueberry Jam

1. Place warm milk in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the top of the milk, along with 1 TBS of the sugar. Stir for 30 seconds, then let stand 10 minutes, until yeast is foamy. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and remaining 1/4 c. sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in salt, then beat in eggs until completely mixed in. Add milk and both kinds of flour and stir until a smooth dough is formed. Knead dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in the fridge overnight.
3. When ready to fry doughnuts, remove the dough from the fridge. Shape into a flat disc, then roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Use a biscuit cutter or glass to cut 3 inch circles out of the dough, and place doughnuts on a baking sheet or tray. Re-roll any scrap dough to make more doughnuts. Cover doughnuts with a towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
4. Heat canola oil or shortenining in a high-sided frying pan or dutch oven until the temperature reaches 350-375ºF. Fry doughnuts one at a time in the hot oil, flipping once. Doughnuts should fry for about 1 minute per side before they are golden brown on the outside and cooked all the way through. You may need to adjust the temperature up or down as you go.
5. Combine the 1 c. sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon in a paper bag. Immediately after frying each doughnut, place it in the paper bag and shake the bag to coat the doughnut with cinnamon-sugar before placing it on a plate to cool. Repeat the frying and sugar coating process until all doughnuts are cooked.
6. Once the doughnuts are cool to the touch, begin filling them. Place the blueberry jam in a pastry bag fitted with a pastry tip. Insert the pastry tip into the side of the doughnut and fill until the doughnut is heavy and jam is starting to come out the front of the doughnut. Serve doughnuts as soon as possible after filling them.

Smoky Roasted Garlic Potato Hash

Serves 4.

• 8-10 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• sea salt
• 2 TBS Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Oil, divided
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 4 eggs
• Stonewall Kitchen Habanero Mango Hot Sauce, for serving

1. Add the cubed potatoes and white vinegar to a large pot. Fill with cold water to cover the potatoes and salt generously. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and boil gently until potatoes are just tender when poked with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, then toss with 1 TBS of the roasted garlic oil and the smoked paprika. Set aside.
2. Preheat the broiler to high. Place the poblano pepper and red pepper on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet, then place under the broil. Broil until pepper skin is beginning to blacken and blister, then use tongs to turn the peppers to another side. This should take about 5 minutes per side. Once peppers are blackened all over, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, remove and discard the stems and seeds, and slice the pepper flesh into thin strips.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add bacon. Fry until browned and crispy, about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the sliced shallots and saute until golden brown. Add the cooked potatoes to the pan and season generously with sea salt. Fry the potatoes until golden brown all over, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes total. Remove from the heat and mix with the sliced peppers. Transfer to a large platter.
4. Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a frying pan. Carefully crack the eggs into the hot oil and fry sunny-side up. Place the fried eggs on top of the potato hash. Serve with the Habanero Mango Hot Sauce.

Giveaway Rules

• No purchase necessary
• Void where prohibited
• One entry per household, and only entries answering the listed question will be considered
• The sponsor of this giveaway is Stonewall Kitchen
• The estimated retail value of the products is $49.25
• The odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received
• This contest is only open to U.S. citizens over the age of 18
• The contest will open today, July 11^th, 2016 at posting time and will close at 11PM EST on Friday, July 22nd, 2016
• One winner will be selected randomly and contacted via email (so please leave an accurate email address!). If I do not hear from the winner within 48 hours, the winner forfeits their prize and an alternate winner will be chosen.
• I will post the winner here by Monday, August 1^st, 2016

The post Stonewall Kitchen Maine Brunch (and Giveaway!) appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

People ask me all the time if I like to travel. I think the answer is supposed to be, “yes, I love it!” but honestly it’s a hard question for me to answer. There are parts I love – meeting and working with people from all over the world, spending hours wandering through a city that’s hundreds of years old, the food, experiencing more climates and geographies than I ever thought I would, and there’s even a small part of me that loves the glamour of “jetsetting,” of being handed a glass of champagne when I sit down and watching my passport fill up with stamps. Importantly, I also love my actual job, the reason I travel so much.

But there are also parts of travel that I hate – packing and unpacking, something that even with hours of practice still stresses me out. Airports, and canceled flights, and planes that catch on fire while you sit on the tarmac. The unavoidable low-level anxiety that accrues before any trip. Being perpetually tired, because days on the road start early with breakfast with our team and end late with long work dinners. The up and down, here and there frenzy of visiting two or more countries each month. Being always on. The constant tension between taking the weekend to explore whatever country I am in and going home to decompress and spend time with Trevor. The chaos of packing everything else I need to get done at home into the few days I have between trips. Mostly, I hate being gone, away, not at home. For me, this is less about the physical aspect of being in my house, although that’s important too, and more about being away from Trevor, my family, and my friends.

This weekend, though, I am home, and I am loving it. I am home and it is thrillingly sunny, the birds are chirping, and we slept with the windows open just a crack. I puttered about in the garden, planting flowers of every shade in our increasingly whimsical border garden, a grand experiment in color. I sat on the porch and drank pink lemonade and sunburned my legs because it’s shorts weather! And I made these biscuits, with ramps, because ramps are available now (and only now) and I am home now. These biscuits made the house smell incredible, and they are flaky and buttery and just cheesy enough. I had two of them, spread thickly with ramp butter, for dinner, along with half a bottle of rosé. It’s nice to be home.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Ramp, Bacon, and Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

Recipe adapted from Serious Eats. Makes 10-12 biscuits.

• 3 pieces bacon
• 4-6 fresh ramps, thoroughly washed. roots trimmed and discarded, and white and green parts of ramp thinly sliced
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
•  1 TBS baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 stick butter, frozen, plus 2 TBS melted butter for brushing biscuits
• 1 c. buttermilk, cold
• 4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy and brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and lower the heat to low. Add the sliced ramp whites and greens to the bacon grease and saute for 60 seconds, then use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the ramps to the plate with the bacon. Set plate aside; remove the pan from the heat and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt until evenly combined. Use a box grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture, then use your hands to quickly toss the grated butter with the flour so that the flour fully coats the butter. Use your fingers to break up any large chunks of butter so that the entire mixture is coarse. Pour the cold buttermilk into the flour-butter mixture, and use a fork to gently mix the dough until it is shaggy and damp.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 12 inch by 12 inch square, about 1 inch thick. Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese and ramps over the top of the dough. Finely chop or crumble the cooked bacon and sprinkle over the top of the dough, pressing the bacon bits in slightly. Fold the dough like you would fold a letter – fold the left third of the dough over the middle then fold the right third of the dough over the first two thirds, making a stack of three layers. Repeat this motion from top to bottom, so you have a small square. Gently roll the dough back out into a 12 inch by 12 inch square. Use a biscuit cutter or glass to cut 3-inch rounds out of the dough, re-rolling or hand-forming any scraps into additional biscuits. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet and brush with the melted butter. Bake until golden brown, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Best served warm. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

The post Ramp, Bacon, and Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’ve struggled to gain traction with my fitness goals so far this year. I started off on the right foot in December and January, but in February I was too distracted by making the most of our time in Hong Kong and Japan, and in March I got derailed by a short flu on my second day into a Nike Training Club program, followed by a longer, more persistent flu after getting back from Costa Rica.

I realize, also, that these are excuses. But April is going to be a month of no excuses, starting today. I’m tired of looking at pictures of myself, in all of these fabulous places that I get to go, and not liking what I see. I’ve never been super-slender, but for most of my life I have been fit and toned and in shape, and now, I am decidedly not. It’s hard to admit, but admitting it is the first step to making it a priority again. So in April, I am going to exercise every day, because there is no day in which I can’t find 15 minutes to squeeze in a yoga session or kick myself out of the house for a 20 minute run. I’m not going to give myself a hard time for not doing enough – running 2 miles instead of 3, or choosing yoga instead of weight lifting – it’s all about making it a habit again. And once the habit is back, we can work on strength and speed and endurance.

Breakfast is the easiest meal for me to choose something healthy. Yogurt and granola, a green smoothie, or avocado toast are my go-to meals, with the occasional bowl of oatmeal or side of scrambled eggs for variety. I almost never indulge in pancakes, waffles, or french toast, although I will admit to a weakness for chocolate-chip scones. This Vanilla-Cashew Granola is a close approximation of the granola at Tatte Bakery, which is currently a favorite of mine. I pick up a container every few weeks when I stop in for a latte, but at $11 for a pint-sized container, it’s pretty steep for oats and nuts. So I took a photograph of the ingredients label and tinkered a bit until I felt I had the right mix. I’d venture to say that I like my homemade version even better. There’s no fruit in it, just lots of crunchy nuts and seeds, and a sweet golden brown coating from a mixture of honey and brown sugar. It makes breakfast something to look forward to, especially when paired with a tangy yogurt and fresh slices of sweet mango.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Past Fitness Challenges

January ’14: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February ’14: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney
March ’14: Run 40  miles in 20 days; Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites
April ’14: Walk 8,000 steps a day; Recipe: Herb-Flecked Spring Couscous
May ’14: 180 minutes of Nike Training Club; Recipe: Warm Arugula Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing
June ’14: Fresh fruit/veggies at every meal; Recipe: Chickpea Crepes with Grilled Curried Chicken and Mango Salsa
July ’14: 8 different types of exercise; Recipe: Homemade Spinach Wraps with Chopped Greek Salad Filling
August ’14: Relax; Recipe: Green Tea and Zucchini Noodles with Honey Ginger Sauce
September ’14: Average mile pace below 8’10″; Recipe: Potato, Poblano, and Chard Enchiladas with Salsa Verde
November ’14: Go to 6+ dance classes; Recipe: Crispy Brussels Sprout, Lemon Chicken, and Pomegranate Rice Bowl
December ’14: Hit my goal weight; Recipe: White Bean and Parsnip Soup with Guanciale
December ’15: Regular yoga practice; Recipe: Vegetarian Chili
January ’16: Walk 10,000 steps a day; Recipe: Bananas Foster Oatmeal

Vanilla-Cashew Granola

Inspired by Tatte Bakery. Ratios adapted from Alton Brown.

• 2 c. oats
• 1 c. pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
• 1 c. cashews (roasted and salted)
• 1/2 c. raw sliced almonds
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 1/4 c. honey
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBS turbinado sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, pepitas, cashews, almonds, and brown sugar. Stir until evenly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together canola oil, honey, salt, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and nuts and stir with a wooden spoon until dry ingredients are fully coated with the honey mixture.
2. Spread the granola out on a large cookie sheet in a single layer and sprinkle evenly with the turbinado sugar. Bake granola for 1 hour, until nuts and oats are golden brown. Stir the granola every 20 minutes with a spatula to promote even browning. Once the granola is baked, remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, then break into chunks and store in glass jars with lids or a large bowl.

The post April Fitness Goal // Vanilla-Cashew Granola appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

After dipping my toe back in the water last month, I am officially bringing back my monthly fitness goals series. Because boy do I need to get this body back into shape! A year of heavy travel and stressful life decisions apparently takes its toll. And since the approach of setting goals month by month (and holding myself accountable here) worked pretty well last time around, that’s where I’m starting again.

I’ve mentioned it in passing, but I’ll be spending most of this month in Hong Kong on an extended work trip. I’m getting more and more excited as it gets closer. I plan to have a regular exercise routine while I’m there, but more importantly, I want to make sure I am getting out and exploring as much as I can. And hiking! Hong Kong has incredible hiking all within easy commute of the downtown areas, and I plan on taking full advantage of the warm temperatures to make it a January full of long walks and the great outdoors. Offset, of course, by dim sum and roast pork but that’s a different conversation. Accordingly, my goal for this month is just about being out there, and steps is how I’m going to measure it. At a minimum, I want to hit 10K every day, and if that means that when I get home from work with 5,000 steps we have to venture out for a twilight walk to find the best dumplings in a new neighborhood? All the better. The only out I get are my two full plane days, and even then, I’ll do my best in the airport hallways. And come February, I’ll be reporting back here about the best hikes and long walks for exploring the city.

I’ve been making this oatmeal all year, but January seemed like a particularly good time to share it. This is super quick to make, and isn’t much of a stretch from a normal bowl of oatmeal – the only difference is that instead of adding brown sugar, banana, and nuts as toppings, you saute them in a bit of butter to start, then cook the oatmeal right on top of them, so you end up with a bowl of creamy oats deeply infused with sweet, buttery, banana-y goodness. Although I’m calling it bananas foster, I haven’t added any rum – that would definitely take it out of healthy breakfast territory – but I promise you it still tastes like bananas foster should. Only, in oatmeal form. For breakfast.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Past Fitness Challenges

January ’14: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February ’14: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney
March ’14: Run 40  miles in 20 days; Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites
April ’14: Walk 8,000 steps a day; Recipe: Herb-Flecked Spring Couscous
May ’14: 180 minutes of Nike Training Club; Recipe: Warm Arugula Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing
June ’14: Fresh fruit/veggies at every meal; Recipe: Chickpea Crepes with Grilled Curried Chicken and Mango Salsa
July ’14: 8 different types of exercise; Recipe: Homemade Spinach Wraps with Chopped Greek Salad Filling
August ’14: Relax; Recipe: Green Tea and Zucchini Noodles with Honey Ginger Sauce
September ’14: Average mile pace below 8’10″; Recipe: Potato, Poblano, and Chard Enchiladas with Salsa Verde
November ’14: Go to 6+ dance classes; Recipe: Crispy Brussels Sprout, Lemon Chicken, and Pomegranate Rice Bowl
December ’14: Hit my goal weight; Recipe: White Bean and Parsnip Soup with Guanciale
December ’15: Regular yoga practice; Recipe: Vegetarian Chili

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

My favorite oatmeal on a cold winter morning. Topped with caramelized bananas, nuts, and cinnamon.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 2
• Category: Breakfast

Ingredients

• 1 TBS butter
• 2 TBS brown sugar
• 1/3 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• 2/3 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 c. whole milk

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until melted, about 1 minute. Add the pecans and sliced banana and stir to coat in the brown sugar mixture. Cook until bananas are soft and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Spoon half of the banana mixture into a bowl for topping your oatmeal.
2. Add the oats and cinnamon to the remaining half of the banana mixture still in the pan. Stir to coat the oats in the sauce. Toast the oats for 1 minute, then add the milk. Cook, stirring frequently, until oatmeal is thick and oats are soft, about 5-8 minutes, then remove from the heat. Divide oatmeal between two bowls and top with the reserved banana mixture. Serve immediately.

The post January Fitness Goal // Bananas Foster Oatmeal appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

2015 was a big year for me. A really big year. We bought our first house. Got engaged. I took 13 international trips to 5 different countries (Virgin Islands, Colombia, Chile, Ireland, and Hong Kong), on a total of 56 different flights. It’s actually one less country than last year, but a lot more back and forth. I haven’t written much about the time I spent in Colombia and Chile (yet! I will!), but I sort of fell in love with Bogota (the food! the dancing! the always-just-right weather!), and I had one of my best days this year touring Chilean vineyards and eating magnificent food in a stunning setting. I also had some of my worst days of the year stuck in airports for hours on end / on planes that were on fire. Travel has its highs and lows. And last winter, as you other New Englanders know, was just kind of the worst; let’s just say I did not handle it well and leave it at that.

With all the personal and work-related stuff going on this year, blogging ended up taking a backseat. That said, it was still a pretty successful year. I’m particularly proud of the three restaurant shoots I did – my first ever! – up in Kittery, Maine. You can see some of those shots here. It was a fun foray into a different type of photography work (and Trevor definitely enjoyed being my assistant AKA eating all the dishes post-shoot). And I did come up with some recipes that were real hits, like this goat cheese ice cream with blackberry-red wine swirl and a perfected brussels sprouts caesar salad.

To be honest, I’m sort of relieved that 2015 is over. While it was a year full of milestones and adventure, it was also an emotionally and physically exhausting year. When I think about this year, particularly the first 8 months, my primary feeling is one of stress. Which might be why I’ve mentally already moved on to next year. Accordingly, tonight I’m planning on going home early, taking a long run, cooking something hearty, and snuggling up on the couch for a few good movies with Trevor.

As for 2016, I think it’s going to be another busy one, but with a better mindset. I’ll definitely be giving 2015 a run for its money as far as travel goes. I’ve already got trips to Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal, and Costa Rica planned… and that’s all before April. The big difference though (and the only reason I’m doing it), is that Trevor will be coming with me, allowing me to spend more time in each country enjoying what it has to offer and less time shuttling back and forth on planes, stressed about missing another weekend together. Also, we won’t be moving, so that should eliminate a large amount of stress, although we are hoping to remodel our basement and if funds hold out, our kitchen. Given all that’s going on, we decided to wait until 2017 to do the whole wedding-thing. At first I was a little disappointed to “postpone,” but more and more I think it was the right decision. I want 2016 to be calmer, less stressful, more balanced. A little more relaxed, a little more joyful. If we get to May and I sound like I did last May, somebody tell me to take a step back, OK? Because I want 2016 to be a good one and sometimes we all need reminders about what’s important.

And to celebrate the passing of the old year into the new? We’ve got waffles. Waffles, because I want 2016 to be about bright, calm, clear-headed mornings. Festive waffles, made with chestnut flour and brown butter, and topped with poached pears, whipped mascarpone, and marron glacés if you’re feeling extra fancy. We served these for Boxing Day brunch, alongside a decadent smoked salmon and leek quiche and a cabbage and beet salad. I think it might become a new tradition.

So, Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all a wonderful 2016 filled with whatever you need – energy or focus or joy or adventure or calm.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Past New Years’ posts…

2014: Rye Blini, Smoked Salmon Dip, Russian Beet Dip, Pretty in Pink Cocktail

2013: Raspberry Sherbet Champagne Floats

2012: Butter-Roasted Cinnamon Chicken with Almonds and Pomegranates

Brown-Butter Chestnut Waffles with Poached Pears and Whipped Mascarpone

Waffles adapted from The Chef’s Collaborative. Serves 5.

• 1 c. red wine
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. water
• 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 ripe but firm pears, peeled
• 3 TBS salted butter
• 1 1/4 c. AP flour
• 3/4 c. chestnut flour (store-bought or homemade)
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 c. light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 c. whole milk
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 3 oz. mascarpone
• 1 TBS maple syrup

1. To poach the pears: Combine wine, sugar, water, ginger, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then add the whole pears to the mixture. Simmer gently, turning the pears occasionally, until pears are tender all the way through when poked with a knife. This can take anywhere from 15-35 minutes, depending on your pears. When the pears are tender, remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Leave whole or slice according to your taste. Continue simmering the syrup until it is thick, then pour over the pears. Set aside.
2. To make the waffles: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring, as the butter foams up and begins to brown. Once the foam has subsided and the butter has turned a deep golden brown, remove from the heat. Let cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, chestnut flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks until creamy, then add brown sugar and whisk to combine. Whisk cooled brown butter into yolks and sugar. Stir in milk. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites gently into batter. Preheat your waffle iron and coat with non-stick spray, then cook waffles until golden brown. Keep warm in a 200°F oven if not serving immediately.
3. For the whipped mascarpone: In a large bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Spoon mascarpone in to whipped cream in small pieces and whisk until smooth. Whisk in maple syrup and set aside.
4. To serve: Top each waffle with pears, poaching syrup, and whipped mascarpone. Serve immediately.

The post 2015 Behind, 2016 Ahead // Brown-Butter Chestnut Waffles with Poached Pears and Whipped Mascarpone appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m quite excited to be collaborating with Stonewall Kitchen on this post. Stonewall is a well-loved New England brand, based out of York, Maine. They are probably best known for their jams and jellies, but they also carry a broad range of other specialty food products, from Bourbon Pecan Caramel Sauce (yum) to Butternut Squash Risotto Mix (yum) to Maple Bacon Aioli (double yum!). Having Stonewall products in my pantry always feels like a bit of a special treat – the kind of treat that inspires such scenarios as “oh, yes, I have raspberry hot fudge sauce in the fridge! I should definitely have some ice cream tonight.” And for other New Englanders, I can attest that visiting their store/production facility/cooking school in York is a worthwhile detour on any trip from Boston up north (or honestly, as a destination in and of itself).

But I don’t want to gush too much lest you think I’m going to forget about sharing this delicious-looking brunch dish you see here. Right now everything seems like it’s fall, fall, fall. That’s true all over the U.S., I’m sure, but I have to imagine that the everything-fall-craze is especially prevalent here in New England, land of apples and brilliant foliage and quaint Vermont towns. Fall is by far my favorite season, and I’m so happy that I’m actually home for it – the first season of the year that I’m truly here for, in fact. Fall cooking is no small part of the reason that fall is my favorite, what with the abundance of squash and apples and cruciferous vegetables to roast and braise and stew. When the team over at Stonewall sent a list of fall products that I might be able to put to good use in a new Katie at the Kitchen Door recipe, the list read like a celebration of all the delicious autumnal flavors you could ever hope to pack into one kitchen: Apple Cranberry Chutney, Caramel Apple Butter, Maple Bacon Onion Jam, Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce, and so on. It was a hard list to choose from, but ultimately I couldn’t resist the Apple Cider Jam, which I knew would be absolutely delicious in a savory-sweet application.

The Apple Cider Jam is thick and sweet and heavily spiced with holiday spices (I’m not sure precisely what’s in it – trade secret? – but think along the lines of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.). Having a spoonful is like eating apple pie filling but concentrated down into one delicious bite. That said, it needs a little bit of tempering for use in a savory context, so for this recipe I mixed it with apple cider vinegar, mustard, olive oil, and salt and pepper for a sweet-and-tangy glaze. We brushed the glaze on wild salmon, which we then broiled until just cooked through, and served on top of potato-apple latkes with a poached egg and hollandaise for a fancy-pants version of eggs benedict. It was incredible – crunchy fried potato latkes, rich sweet-and-tangy salmon, soft and runny eggs (although I’ll admit I overcooked them slightly – it was my first time poaching an egg, if you can believe that!), and of course, buttery hollandaise sauce. So much flavor and texture and deliciousness in every bite.

Now, I want to take a minute here to say that I get that making cider-jam-glazed salmon and latkes and poached eggs and hollandaise sauce is a time commitment. This is definitely a weekend luxury meal. But the salmon by itself is incredibly quick to prepare – it probably takes 10 minutes from start to finish – and would be a great weeknight dinner with any number of side dishes. So keep that in mind before you write this recipe off as too complicated! And when you do have an hour on a lazy Sunday morning, make the whole thing. I promise you, it will not be a wasted hour.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Stonewall Kitchen, but all opinions are honest and my own as usual.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Cider-Jam-Glazed Salmon and Potato Latke Eggs Benedict

Serves 4. Latke-making guidance from Serious Eats. Hollandaise and poached egg recipes from linked sources.

For the latkes:

• 2 large russet potatoes
• 1 large apple
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1 egg, lightly beaten.
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 c. canola oil, for frying

For the salmon:

• 4 TBS Stonewall Kitchen Apple Cider Jam
• 1 TBS plus 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 TBS olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 lb. wild-caught salmon fillets with skin-on, cut into individual portions
• 1 TBS canola oil

To assemble:

• 4 poached eggs
• 1 c. hollandaise sauce
• fresh parsley leaves for garnish

1. To make the latkes: Peel the potatoes. Using a food processor with a grating disk attached, or the large holes on a hand-held box grater, evenly shred the potatoes. Place in a large bowl and squeeze the potatoes to remove excess liquid, pouring the liquid off into another bowl as you work. You should try to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the potatoes – it may help to set the potatoes aside for 2-3 minutes in between rounds of squeezing them dry. Let the separate potato liquid sit for a few minutes, then pour off the water on top, leaving the thick white potato starch on the bottom of the bowl. Add the potato starch back to the shredded potatoes and stir to mix.
2. Shred the apple and the onion in the food processor or on the box grater. Squeeze to remove excess liquid, discarding the liquid, and add the shredded onion and apple to the potato. Stir in the beaten egg, salt, and pepper. Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until a piece of potato sizzles when dropped into the oil. Form the potato mixture into palm-sized patties and place gently in the oil. Fry the latkes in batches, for 3-4 minutes per side, draining the finished latkes on a paper-towel lined plate. If you are making the latkes in advance, you can re-heat the latkes in a low-temperature oven immediately before serving.
3. To make the salmon: Preheat the broiler on the high setting. In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple cider jam, apple cider vinegar, mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper until smooth. Grease a foil-lined baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil. Brush the salmon fillets with the jam mixture, spreading it on thickly. Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, and place the glazed salmon fillets skin-side down in the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, just to crisp the salmon skin and cook the bottom of the fillets. Do not flip the fillets. Transfer directly from the frying pan to the prepared baking sheet, skin-side still down. Put the salmon under the broiler and broil until salmon is just cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven.
4. To assemble: Place a warm latke on each place, and top with one of the salmon fillets. Gently place a poached egg on top of the salmon, and drizzle with the hollandaise sauce. Garnish with parsley leaves and serve immediately.

The post Cider-Jam-Glazed Salmon and Potato Latke Eggs Benedict appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

If you look at my travelogue collection, which currently includes Ecuador, Italy, St. Thomas, and bits and pieces from around New England and Canada, it sorely under-represents my actual travel history. Where is Russia? Malaysia? Chile and Colombia? Travelogues are some of my favorite posts to look back on, but I often fall into the trap of putting them on my editorial calendar, meaning to sort through all my pictures and memories to share with you and document for myself, and then dragging the post forward month after month until my memories are a little jumbled and I’m not sure exactly what to say. Case in point – I’ve been meaning to write about the 6 weeks I spent in Russia for two years. Two years!

But I’m determined to change this, starting with my trip to Ireland in August. It was a short trip, just 6 days, but after 8 months of hectic and often stressful work travel, it reminded me that traveling for vacation is an entirely different matter – it’s fun and thrilling and wonderful to be on your own discovering someplace new. The trip was just me and my two younger brothers, Ryan and Robbie, and it was special to have time together just the three of us (even when I was screaming at them to stop fooling around and get dressed as we all bumped into each other in the teeny-tiny B&B room we shared in Galway).

Galway, The Aran Islands, The Burren

I won’t give you a day-by-day hour-by-hour breakdown of our trip – in fact, what I really want to share is just the one, perfect day we spent exploring the Burren. We flew into Dublin on Friday morning and after spending the day wandering, trying not to take a nap and enjoying our first few pints, we took the train from Dublin to Galway. The main event in Galway was a full day tour to the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher – with only a short time in the country (and because none of us felt comfortable driving), we opted to do most of our sight-seeing with tour groups, and it worked out perfectly. We went on this tour with The Galway Tour Company, and I would highly recommend it – there was a good balance between the guided, tour-like parts and being able to explore on your own, and it allowed us to see a ton in the one day we had.

We went to the smallest of the Aran Islands, Inisheer, which has a population of only 250. The ferry across from Doolin to Inisheer was exciting, to say the least. I have spent a lot of time on boats of all shapes and sizes throughout my life, and this went straight to my “Top 3 most nerve-wracking boat experiences.” Just looking at the ocean from the dock made me nervous – when they say Wild Atlantic here, they really mean it. I’m sure we were perfectly safe – it is a ferry, after all – but the pitch of that boat and the size of those waves was both awe inspiring and terrifying. And they told us it was a “pretty good” day for crossing.

Once we were on the island (a relief in and of itself), we rented bikes and pedaled our hearts out – up the winding roads to the ruined castle, down through the stone wall-lined paths to the lighthouse, and back around to the rusted shipwreck. It was an exhilarating morning, one that I will look back on for a long time for its beauty, freedom, and sense of discovery. The weather was gray and just a little wild, and the island was incredibly beautiful, with its maze of low stone walls and verdant green pastures. I would go back in a heartbeat – and for more than 2 hours next time.

After a slightly less harrowing ferry ride back to Doolin, this time taking a detour by the base of the Cliffs of Moher (awe-inspiring, but slightly hard to appreciate whilst also worrying you might get swept off the boat), we stopped in at a very efficient pub for beef stew and brown bread and a warming Guinness. Next up were the Cliffs themselves, one of Ireland’s most famed attractions. Unsurprisingly, they were flooded with people, but somehow it didn’t matter – it was still an incredible thing to see in person. Plus, if you walk just a little bit beyond the official visitor areas, the crowds thin to a more manageable point. We had just a little over an hour to wander the paths snaking over the top of the cliffs, which was enough to take it all in and take some lovely pictures. Again, though, if I ever find myself back there, I’ll slow down a little and walk to the top of the cliffs from Doolin, taking the time to appreciate them properly. As it was, we left at 6pm and had a long, sleepy bus ride back to Galway, watching the rocky landscape of the Burren pass us by through the windows.

The Burren is what I’ll be going back to Ireland for – the wild wind-swept landscapes, tumble-down stone houses, and juxtaposition of green and gray and the steely blue of the Atlantic. To rent a house and a little car, spending my days going for long rambling walks and ending them with hot stew and fresh beer in cozy little pubs sounds like the ideal sort of vacation. I got just a taste this time but now I know that this part of Ireland is exactly how I always imagined Ireland would be.

Scones

Ireland is not exactly known for its food, and although we had several tasty meals, nothing was particularly memorable. Nothing, that is, except the brown bread and the scones and the butter. The scones, in particular, were far better than any others I’ve had. The best one I had was at the most unassuming place – the museum café in the National Museum of Ireland for Decorative Arts and History. The café was a little serve-yourself place, with charming blue tablecloths and no pretentions whatsoever, and the scones were just perfect. I think the fact that I went by myself, on our first afternoon while my brothers were sound asleep, added to the loveliness of the moment, and so I’ve taken it away as my primary food memory from Ireland – and the one I want to share with you.

I’ve made scones a number of times (like these Peach Scones with Bourbon Glaze), but they are always much too close to biscuits for me. I don’t want a scone to flake – I want it to crumble. I realize there are many different interpretations of the perfect scone out there, but for me it’s pretty close to that museum scone – soft, more cakey than biscuity, studded with fruit, and served with lots of butter and jam. Here’s instagram evidence of that particular scone, if you’re curious.

So I did some research on the best way to make Irish scones and in doing so, stumbled upon an Atlantic article called “The Secret of the Irish Scone.” The title certainly seemed promising, but I have to say I was a bit skeptical when I got to the end of the article and discovered that the secret to Irish scones was olive oil. And by skeptical I mean I am 100% positive that no traditional Irish baker ever made a scone with foreign, grassy olive oil in place of all that lovely Irish butter they have everywhere. But the reasoning behind using a liquid fat instead of a solid fat stuck with me, and I decided to give them a try. I added dried sour cherries and the last of the frozen red currants in place of the raisins and frozen raspberries, and really they were lovely. Perhaps not the most Irish, as you can taste a hint of olive oil, but certainly closer to the real thing than the flaky buttery versions I’ve made in the past. So I present these scones to you, not as authentic Irish scones, but as truly delicious scones that are wonderful reminders of a wonderful trip.

Olive Oil Scones with Red Currants and Sour Cherries

Adapted from The Atlantic. Makes about 12 scones.

• 1 3/4 c. AP flour
• 1 c. pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1/2 c. light-flavored olive oil
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. dried sour cherries
• 1/2 c. frozen red currants
• egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water)

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Mix the flours, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Sift the flour mixture twice using a sifter or fine-mesh sieve so that the flour is very light. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, olive oil, sugar, and egg until evenly combined. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the buttermilk mixture into. Add the sour cherries as well. Use a wooden spoon to gently mix the flour and buttermilk mixtures together until just combined. The mixture should be fairly wet.
4. Generously flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Pat the dough into a rectangle about 1-inch high. Sprinkle the frozen currants over half of the dough, then gently fold the other half of the dough on top of it. Press dough lightly to embed the currants into it. Pat the dough into another rectangle that is about 1 and 1/2 inches high. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out round circles from the dough, placing these circles on the prepared baking sheet. Pat any extra scraps of dough into rough circles and add to the baking sheet. Brush the scones with the egg wash, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. Brush once more with the egg wash, and place in the oven. Immediately lower the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake until just golden brown on top, about 15-18 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack. Serve within a few days for best flavor. Freeze any extras wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

The post Ireland Travelogue // Olive Oil Scones with Red Currants and Sour Cherries appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

We are definitely still in transition mode as we attempt to settle into our new house. Our official move date was 13 days ago, but, as always, unpacking is a slow, painful process. The kitchen, in particular, is a disaster zone, and we have yet to do anything other than pour wine and open beer in it. We’re still waiting for a fridge (worth the wait since it’s free!) so our only cold storage is the wine fridge, which is not that cold, and also mostly full of wine. The result? We’ve eaten 100% of our meals at restaurants/cafes/the Wholefoods hot bar for the past two weeks. It has been kind of fun to explore the new places around us, but I am starting to miss cooking (and vegetables). The upshot of all this is that the blog might be quieter than usual this month, but after that, expect the recipes to come back full force.

We did get a brief reprieve from moving chaos last weekend, when we went up to visit my family in Maine for the 4th. With everything going on this year, I’m not going to find a full week to spend up there, but I’ll take what I can get. It’s so lovely and relaxing to be there – no alarms, no to-do lists, just sleeping in, refreshing swims, naps in the hammock, and huge family dinners. I took advantage of the working kitchen to do just a little bit of cooking, making muffins for my family early one morning. This is the first year that our currants have really been productive, and I wanted to make sure the gorgeous, pucker-inducing little berries got put to good use. The lavender up in Maine is also in full bloom, so I combined the two in these sweet, floral little treats. I used my favorite muffin recipe as a base, replacing the sugar with lavender sugar and the strawberries with the currants. They were lovely.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Lavender and White Currant Muffins

Adapted from The New Best Recipe. Makes 12-16 muffins.

• 2 c. AP flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 TBS fresh lavender buds
• 1 egg
• 4 TBS butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1 1/2 c. fresh white or pink currants, removed from stems

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups or grease with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Add sugar and lavender buds to a food processor and pulse several times, until lavender buds are fully blended into the sugar. In a large bowl, briefly whisk egg until pale yellow. Scrape the lavender sugar into the egg and mix until slightly creamy. Whisk in melted butter in 2 additions. Whisk in sour cream in 3 additions, until batter is just uniform in color and texture. Try not to overmix.
3. Add currants to the flour mixture, and toss gently to incorporate. Now add flour and currants to wet ingredients, and gently fold together until just combined. Some remaining clumps of flour are OK, and the batter will be quite thick.  Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling almost to the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are a light golden color and a toothpick comes out clean.

The post Lavender and White Currant Muffins appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.