David meets Jenny at the Walker Jones Farm

Not too long ago I started volunteering at the Walker Jones Farm. The Farm at Walker Jones is an emerging urban farm based on Walker Jones Education Campus, a DC Public School. I discovered the farm during a bike ride and was stunned by the diversity of the crops grown on such a small plot of land. Here, you can pick tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins right from the vine. The freshness of vegetables beats the traditional farmer’s market produce. So if you want to get the freshest vegetables in DC or simply help the team of talented farmers and dedicated volunteers, stop by on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 6PM and on Sundays from noon to 4PM.

Before heading to the farm last weekend, I was flipping through the August issue of Saveur and almost jumped off my chair when I saw the recipe of Jenny’s Splendid Ice Cream. Ok, let me tell you this ice cream is soooo good that I am willing to go to Columbus just to have some fresh Jenny’s (by the way of you are in let me know, we can totally make this happen). Immediately, I scratched the plan to make scones in the evening to test Jenny’s ice cream recipe.

Few hours later, while taking a break from harvesting spaghetti squash, I noticed a beautiful bush of mint, and the ice cream idea started to come together. The final recipe combines David Lebovitz’ chocolate chip technique and Jenny’s eggless ice cream base resulting in an airy ice cream with a fresh mint flavor and a dark chocolate crunch.

Fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream
2cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
¼ kosher salt
2 cups fresh mint

¼ cup whole milk
4 tsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. cream cheese

6 oz. dark chocolate

Mix heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and mint in a large pot. Cover and bring to boil. Boil for 1 minute, turn off the heat. With the lid closed infuse the mixture for 2 hours.

Strain the liquid into a large bowl and press the mint through a chinois/fine mesh strainer to extract the mint flavor. Discard mint and pour the liquid back into the pot. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil.

While the mint liquid is getting warm, mix cornstarch and remaining milk until the mixture is well combined. Stir the liquid into the pot and cook until the mixture thickens for about 2 minutes.  The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon. Turn off the heat.

Place cream cheese in a bowl and pour in ¼ cup of hot mixture, whisk until smooth. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pot and stir the base for a minute. The ice cream base is almost finished.

Fill a large bowl with ice water. Pour the ice cream base into a large Ziploc bag. Place a closed bag into the ice water. This will allow the base to cool just in 10 minutes.

Once the base is cool, transfer it into the ice cream maker and follow manufacturing instructions.

Several minutes before the ice cream is ready and your ice cream machine starts to sound like an old Soviet train, melt the chocolate in a microwave or a water bath. Turn off the ice cream maker.

Drizzle the bottom and the sides of a large plastic container with melted chocolate and top with a layer of ice cream. Drizzle more chocolate over the ice cream and top with another layer of ice cream. Using a dining knife, break frozen chocolate into small chips. Continue layering chocolate and ice cream breaking the chocolate every 1 or 2 layers.

Freeze the ice cream for at least 2 hours and enjoy on a hot summer day after few hours of farming.

 

Summer pizza with prosciutto, nectarines, and arugula

People, I am asking you to turn on your ovens.  I know, it sounds nearly insane given the recent East Coast heat wave, but that seems to be abating and the 15 minutes that your oven will run are totally worth it.  You will be rewarded with an awesome light supper of crispy pizza that combines salty funky prosciutto with caramelized nectarines and peppery arugula.  The only dish I can think more seasonally appropriate is a salad of tomatoes and mozzarella, but I've been eating it practically daily and could use a break.

I have to admit that I am generally very skeptical about adding fruit to savory dishes.  I know that its weird and I know that I generally love the results, but something about it still doesn't feel right.  However, when a recent trip to the market resulted in lots of juicy Jersey nectarines and a big bag of arugula, my only thought was to add prosciutto and a little dough.  I made a quick pizza dough using a slightly augmented recipe from the Silver Spoon cookbook, and then improvised my way around.  I also went to an excellent class on Greek wines that afternoon and the Moraitis 2010 Assyriko from Santorini was just right.  I struggled for a minute with drinking a Greek wine with a pseudo-Italian meal, but quickly got over it and thoroughly enjoyed this floral, peachy, minerally wine that has a good touch of salinity.

Summer pizza with prosciutto, nectarines, and arugula


For the dough:
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the toppings:
4 ounces prosciutto
1 large nectarine, ripe but still firm, halved, pitted, and sliced into thin segments
1 - 2 cups arugula, depending on how much you want on top of your pizza, washed and dried
Juice of 1/2 lemon
A few shavings of Parmesan
2 -3 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

First, make the dough by mixing the flour, salt, and yeast in one large bowl and the water and the olive oil in another small bowl or a measuring cup.  Add water and olive oil to the flour mixture, stirring as you go until the mass comes together into a semi-coherent dough. Add more flour if it feels wet or a bit more water if it feels dry.  Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 4 -5 minutes until the dough is elastic and soft. Lightly oil the large bowl and turn the dough around in the bowl to cover all sides with the oil.  Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 hours until doubled in size.  If you prefer, you can make the dough the night before and slowly let it rise in the fridge for 12 - 24 hours.  Do not bother cleaning up the flour, you'll need the counter soon enough. Move the risen dough onto your still-floured surface and press down gently. Shape into a ball again and let it rise for another 20 minutes.  While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to its top temperature (mine goes upt to a measly 500F).  Sprinkle a hot baking sheet with corn meal or millet, if you are me and that is all you have.  Roll out the dough as thin as you like and top it with slightly overlapping slices of prosciutto, slices of nectarines and Parmesan shavings. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until lightly blistered and you can't resist the smells of salty pork and caramelized fruit in your house.  Meanwhile, toss the arugula with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper,  You want it flavorful but not soggy, so go easy here.  Take the pizza out of the oven and heap on the arugula however you like.  You can always eat the leftover arugula in a salad, maybe with some radishes and tomatoes.  Serve immediately.  This made 2 meals for me, but can easily be multiplied for those with more robust appetites.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

To spend a month abroad means eating out every day, not knowing where your food came from, who handled it, was the cook in a good mood that day or not. A whole month abroad also means shopping in foreign bazaars, smelling unknown spices, eating tropical fruit, and drafting new recipes. The idea for this dish came to me over a cup of Indonesian coffee with Dutch pastries.

During the colonization of the 19th century, the Dutch introduced classic European pastries to Indonesia. Since then, Indonesian cooks have been applying European baking techniques to local ingredients to make guava filled danish, avocado chocolate tort, and melon cheesecake. To make this pulled pork sandwich, I used a mix of Jamaican spices for the dry rub, mango for the BBQ sauce, and Smitten Kitchen light brioche buns. This dish should be served at the next European, Caribbean and South East Asian summit :)

Pulled pork

1 2-pound cured ham steak

½ tsp of the follow dry spices: pimento, ginger, red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, cumin, brown sugar
2 tbsp of salt
Mix the spices and salt. Rub the spice mix into the steak and refrigerate for 2 hours. Wash off the rub with cold water and pat dry the steak.

While the meat is marinating make the BBQ sauce.

BBQ sauce
4 large ripe red tomatoes
1 freshno pepper
1 medium size red onion
1 ripe yellow mango
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt

Preheat the grill to 400F.
Cut tomatoes in a half. Cut onions into thick rings. Place tomatoes (cut side down), onions, and peppers on the grill. Grill the vegetables until they are well charred. Lower the grill temperature

Using a blender or a food processor, puree vegetables with remaining ingredients into a smooth sauce. Adjust salt and pepper.

Lower the grill to 250F. Place the steak on the grill and cook for at least 2 hours. The internal temperature of the meat should be at least170F. Remove the meat from the grill. Let it cool.

Warm the BBQ sauce in a large skillet. Shred the meat or cut it into fine pieces. Mix the meat with the sauce letting it absorb the juices for at least 10 minutes.

Slice the bun in a half and stuff it with meat. Enjoy with few pickles, fries, and a good beer.

Mussels with bacon and a green bean salad

This is one of those wonderful Friday meals.  I love socializing as much as the next gal, but so often my perfect Friday is a great homemade meal, fantastic company (that will be missed for the next couple of months), maybe a good movie/documentary, maybe a little reading in bed.  Last Friday definitely fit the bill, with mussels steamed in wine with smoky bacon and a few vegetables, oven-fries make with duck fat instead of olive oil (we are all about indulgence around here), and a crisp seasonal salad.
Sometimes the best recipes are inspired by a completely different idea.  I saw a stew of fresh corn, bacon and clams that sounded a little heavy, but I really loved the idea of bacon, tomatoes, and shell fish.  Taking that inspiration to a more classic approach to steamed mussels, I added shallots and fennel, a healthy pour of wine, and lots of parsley.   I also quickly realized that Friday was right after Bastille Day, so applying a French theme to the salad made lots of sense, resulting in a mix of slender green beans, thinly sliced radishes and fennel, all dressed with a tangy vinaigrette.  My wine guys at the favorite Brooklyn Wine Exchange did not disappoint with a suggestion of round and lush La Dilettante, a 2009 Vouvray from Domaine Breton.  It managed to offer freshness and minerality to the seafood, while standing up to smoky bacon.

Steamed mussels with bacon
2 large shallots, diced finely
1/2 medium fennel head, diced finely
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/4 pound of your favorite bacon
2 pounds mussels, beards removed and scrubbed, for 2 people
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cups of white wine
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fennel fronds, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm a large Dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Add the shallots, garlic, and fennel and saute until softened and starting to take on a bit of color.  Add the bacon, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy.  Add the mussels, the tomato, the wine and stir well.  Cover the pot and cook, stirring or shaking every couple of minutes, for 5 - 10 minutes, until the mussels are open.  Taste the sauce in pot and season with salt and pepper, as you like.  Stir in the parsley and the fennel fronds.  Serve immediately with french fries and good bread for soaking in the juice.

Green beans, radishes, fennel salad


1 pound of slender green beans, rinsed and trimmed
1/4 pound radishes, halved and sliced thinly
1/2 medium fennel head (leftover from the mussels), sliced thinly
1 medium shallot, diced finely
1/4 cup of sherry wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of good mustard
1/3 - 1/2 cup of good olive oil, depending on how acidic you like your dressing
1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of fennel fronds, chopped
Plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a medium pot of water to the boil, add plenty of salt (as if cooking pasta), and dump in the green beans.  Cook for 2 -3 minutes until a bit tender but still crisp.  Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining the shallots, the vinegar, the mustard, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Mix or shake well.
Drain the green beans in a colander and cool them quickly, either by submerging in ice water or running cold water over them.  Shake off excess water and combine, in a medium bowl with the radishes, the fennels, the herbs, a bit of salt and more pepper, and the dressing.  You may have dressing left over and it will keep fine in the fridge for a week and taste delicious on any green salad.  Serve with the mussels and feel you arteries get a good, tasty scrub.