A Sunday Trip to the Farmers Market and Eggs for Brunch

A couple of days ago, I was thinking that if there is one single food item I could not live without, that must be eggs. I am a person of habits and my oatmeal and one egg every morning is one of those things I would not want to change.

Fresh farm eggs are a luxury these days. Even back home where we grew up eating my grandparents' chickens' eggs, it is difficult to find someone to buy eggs from. So when I went to our farmers market a couple of weeks ago and found a stand with fresh farm eggs, I almost started to cry. I was so excited. It's crazy how our food culture has changed. The carton of eggs said "Fresh Farm Eggs - Not For Human Consumption". If this is not crazy, I don't know what is.



I love to discover new ingredients and to talk to the farmers about their qualities and how to cook them. Farmer Sal from Varri Green Farm had the most beautiful greens I have ever seen. Yu choy sum they are called. I had never tasted them and talked to him about his favorite way to prepare them. "Sauteed in olive oil and garlic", he said.



I was carrying M. in the front carrier so I was limited with how much food I could buy, but I came home with the eggs, yu choy sum, Sicilian eggplants, shallots, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, rainbow chard and a pot of garlic chives. Next time, I am bringing the stroller so I can use it as a grocery cart.

I made a mid morning snack for all of us. Sauteed some of the greens with shallots and scrambled some eggs into them. Finished all with the yu choy sum flowers, garlic chives and served it on C's toasted sourdough bread. I have to tell you, the man knows how to make a good loaf of bread. Now I just have to convince him to try his hand at a gluten free version.

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A Sunday Trip to the Farmers Market and Eggs for Brunch

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Gluten Free Lemon and Almond Meltaways

We went on a camping trip this past weekend. It had been almost a year since we had done so and it was about time. I was a little bit nervous about how I would manage with M., but it turned out to be a great experience. A cold one, very cold one, but fun.

We brought all kinds of food and goodies. We always have to have cookies and snacks when we go camping. Plenty of cookies, hot chocolate, s'mores... Sandies and meltaways are a favorite in our house. I think the extra powdered sugar makes everyone giddy.



You might be wondering why I am baking so many gluten free desserts now. What happened to Cannelle Et Vanille, you might be wondering. Well, I am currently having all kinds of blood drawn and lots of tests done, all to try to find out the root cause of all my autoimmune disorders. Yes, all. There are several and not fun. Gluten intolerance might be one of the causes and so while I wait for my results, we are living gluten free.

If you know anyone with inexplicable health problems, chances are they have an immune disorder. My mom teases me because talking about the immune system has turned out to be one of my favorite topics lately. It's worth exploring to say the least. This is a great resources right here and great, great article here.



I am loving testing old recipes with new flours and trying to make adjustments. These cookies were so easy to adjust that I got them right on the first batch. I promise you they will not disappoint. They melt in your mouth and no one will ever know they are gluten free.



Gluten Free Lemon and Almond Meltaways

115 grams buter
95 grams powdered sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
100 grams sweet rice flour
40 grams cornstarch
35 grams sorghum flour
20 grams amaranth flour
20 grams almond flour
1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter, powdered sugar and lemon zest together. Add the lemon juice and mix. Combine all the dry ingredients and add them to the mixer. Cream until all comes together.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment and shape it into a log that is about 2 inches in diameter. Use the parchment to tighten the log and form a nice cylinder.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours.

Cut the log into 1/4 inch thick disks. Place these on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 350F for about 12 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet.

When they have cooled a bit but they are still warm, covered them in powdered sugar.

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Quinoa Pudding and a Walk on the Beach

I have talked about my love for arroz con leche many times in this blog. It is one of the desserts I make the most and the one that my friends always request when they come over for dinner. "Arroz con leche with two galletas please", says our friend G. Galletas Marias that is.

Lately I have been experimenting with different grains, mainly because of health reasons. Each one of my pregnancies has taken a bit of a toll on my body and I believe nourishment and food is one of the main ways to bring it back to balance. So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a different version of my favorite dessert by incorporating quinoa into it.



The weather has been gorgeous and last Friday, after we dropped J. off at school, we went down to the Juno Beach pier for an early morning walk. It was windy, the sea was rough and it was a pleasure to watch the surfers ride the waves. We even spotted a swimmer in that crazy ocean and there was even a "danger: sharks" note on the blackboard.

M. loves falling asleep in her front carrier while she watches everything around her.



We skipped breakfast that morning so we could have a small picnic at the beach. I made a small batch of quinoa pudding the night before, packed some strawberries and some pistachio and millet tea cakes that I had put away in the freezer. No walk on the beach is complete without snacks right? The wind was too harsh and it spoiled our picnic plan a bit. Instead we ended up sitting at the tables in the parking lot... but we enjoyed it anyway.



Quinoa Pudding with Macerated Strawberries and Pistachios

I like mine a little bit more liquid. If you like a drier version, omit the heavy cream

makes about 4 8 oz servings

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream (optional)
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup quinoa

1 cup strawberries, diced
1 Tbs sugar

chopped pistachios

Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse it with cold water for a few seconds.

Combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the quinoa and stir. Reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot slightly, and cook for about 30 minutes stirring every few minutes. If skin starts to form on top of the milk, just stir it back in. The milk will reduce and thicken. Ladle into bowls or jars.

Place cut strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle them with sugar. Toss them and let them sit at room temperature for about an hour until juices start to come out.

Top the puddings with the strawberries and chopped pistachios.

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Green Heirloom Tomato and Celeriac Soup

You might be wondering why in the world I am blogging about heirloom tomatoes in the middle of winter. While most of you are covered in snow and wearing layer upon layer of clothing, it is tomato season here in Florida. Yes, and it is beautiful. It is the season of tomatoes, strawberries, zucchini, peppers... all the things that most of you enjoy during the summer we have them now.



On Sundays, we get up early, get a quick bite to eat and we load up the kids in the car to go to our local farmers market. It is what we used to do on Sundays when we were kids and I love having that tradition with my own family now.

The last couple of weeks, the tomatoes at one of my favorites farm stands have been beautiful and we have been eating them in salads about every single day. I just like to slice them and toss them in a little bit of olive oil, sea salt and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice or a drizzle of balsamic. So sweet and buttery. Yes, buttery tomatoes. Do you know what I mean? Such a soft and creamy texture.



Everyday, when J. comes home from school, he requests the same thing. Soup and sandwich. He is a boy with habits and his soup and sandwich lunch is one of them. So everyday, I try to come up with new ways to incorporate vegetables in his soup. He does not like raw tomatoes, but he loves his tomato soup. Go figure.

Last week, I made this green heirloom tomato and celery root soup for him and he loved it. The green tomatoes can be a bit acidic so they are balanced out with the sweetness of the carrot and a pinch of sugar. The celery root along with the potato makes this soup creamy as well. I loved the cherry tomato confit and the fried celeriac on top. All finished with some celery salt. Loved it.



Green Heirloom Tomato and Celeriac Soup

2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 leek, washed and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 medium green tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and diced
1 medium celery root, peeled and diced
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1 Tbs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch of sugar
2 cups chicken stock (just enough to cover the vegetables)

Garnish
cherry tomato confit
celery root fried in olive oil
celery salt
fresh thyme

To blanch the tomatoes, bring water to a boil. Score the end of the tomatoes with a paring knife. Submerge the tomatoes in the boiling water for about 15 seconds. Strain the water and shock them in ice. The skin will peel right off.

In a medium pot, saute the leek, garlic and carrots in olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add the diced tomato, celery root, potato, salt, pepper, thyme. Saute for a minute and add the chicken stock, enough to cover the vegetables. Cook for about 20 minutes until all vegetables are tender.

Puree the soup and adjust the salt, pepper and sugar as needed. Depending on the acidity of the tomatoes, the seasoning will vary.

Garnish with cherry tomato confit, celery root fries, celery salt and fresh thyme leaves.

Cherry Tomato Confit

1 pint of cherry tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
fresh thyme
Olive oil

Cut the tops off. Score the bottom of the tomato. Blanch them in boiling water for about 10 seconds and immediately shock them in ice. Peel the skin.

Cut the tomatoes in half and place them cut side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper and fresh thyme on top.

Bake at 225F for about 2-2 1/2 hours until half way dry. Store them in a jar covered with olive oil.

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