I have just gone through the painful process of purchasing airline tickets to Europe for my daughter, my sister and myself.  The excitement of being in Germany this June to visit friends, and Provence, to explore, is tempered by the knowledge of how weak the dollar is against the Euro.  As I've repeatedly promised my husband, this is not a buying trip, altho' I will allow myself grocery store and Provencal market purchases of food items I cannot get back here at home.  This trip will be about taking photos.  I cherish the photos I have brought home from my previous trips.  Food markets tend to be my favorite.

This photo reminds me that I bought saucisson d'Arle (donkey sausage), and didn't tell my sister or daughter the entire week what they were eating.

We could practically drink from these Cavaillon melons, they were so juicy.

                   Sometimes your choices are overwhelming.

Many of the things I see inspire me, and I consider taking up oil painting again. 

And many of the things I see make me wish I had an oven available  to me.  It's difficult seeing all of this produce without a kitchen to go home to at night.

Hopefully we'll come back from this trip with many more photos to share.

This is another one of the quick breads I like having around in the morning.  I have always made it with dried cranberries, as the original recipe calls for, but in this loaf I substituted chocolate chips.  Either one is very good.

                CHOCOLATE CHIP-WALNUT PUMPKIN BREAD
                    (adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine)
2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chocolate chips, OR dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a loaf pan.  Line the bottom and 2 long sides with waxed paper.  Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl to blend.  Using and electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until fluffy.  Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until blended.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.  Beat in pumpkin, then vanilla.  Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions each.  Fold in the chocolate chips (or dried cranberries) and nuts.  Transfer batter to pan.
2.  Bake bread about 1 hour 10 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool bread in pan on rack for 15 minutes.  Turn bread out onto rack and peel off waxed paper.

This past week I pulled rhubarb compote out of my freezer.  I made it last summer from the rhubarb in my garden and I thought I had better use it up before I start cutting fresh rhubarb again this spring.  I had planned to make a creme anglaise to spoon atop of the compote and thought it would be nice to have a little cookie along with this.  Well, I haven't gotten around to making the creme anglaise yet, but I did get these lemon cornmeal cookies made and have been satisfied eating them just on their own.  I love the grittiness of the cornmeal in these cookies and to add an additional  jolt of lemon, I combined powdered sugar with fresh lemon juice and dribbled a little in the center of each. 

                              LEMON CORNMEAL COOKIES
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine the first 5 ingredients and pulse several times.  Cut up the butter and add to the ingredients in the food processor.  Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.  Add whole egg, the yolk, vanilla and lemon zest.  Knead, in the bowl, several times or until just blended.  Wrap dough in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes.
2.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick.  Cut into desired shapes and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake in preheated 375 degree oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown.  Cool on racks.  If desired, mix powdered sugar with fresh lemon juice and drizzle on cookies.

         CHICKEN with ORANGE, SPINACH and CHERRY TOMATOES
                         (adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine)
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
3 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced crosswise
4 cups firmly packed fresh spinach leaves, torn if large (about 8 oz)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place large baking sheet in oven to heat.

Meanwhile, mix dill, orange peel, garlic and salt in medium bowl.  Season with pepper.  Combine tomatoes, oil and 1 teaspoon dill mixture in small bowl.  Add chicken to remaining dill mixture in medium bowl and toss to coat.

Cut 4 sheets of foil, each about 20 inches long.  Place 1 foil sheet on work surface.  Arrange 1 cup spinach on 1 half of foil.
                                   

Place 1/4 of sliced chicken mixture atop spinach.  Spoon 1/4 of tomato mixture atop chicken.  Fold foil over, enclosing contents completely and crimping edges tightly to seal.  Repeat with remaining 3 foil sheets, spinach, chicken mixture and tomato mixture, forming 4 packets total.  Arrange foil packets in single layer on heated baking sheet.  Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Bake until chicken is just cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Serve on couscous that has been made with chicken broth.

I make a lot of quick breads, muffins and scones.  I get up rather early in the mornings and when I enter my kitchen, I like to have something there that I can quickly grab and nibble on while I'm making cappuccinos and breakfast for other members of my family.  This Apricot-Raisin Bread is from the first Silver Palate Cookbook.  Every time I make it I realize, I don't make it often enough. 

                                APRICOT-RAISIN BREAD 
     (from the SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK by J. Rosso & S. Lukins)

1 cup boiling water, approximately
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup raisins
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
3/4 cup unprocessed bran

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch bread pan.
2.  Pour boiling water over apricots and raisins just to cover.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Drain well and add 3 tablespoons sugar.  Mix well.
3.  While fruit is soaking, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar to the oil and beat well.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well mixed.
4.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and add alternately with milk and bran to oil mixture.  Fold in fruits.
5.  Pour mixture into prepared pan.  Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
6.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.  Yields one loaf.

For days now I have been thinking about making eclairs.  My niece's husband planted that idea in my head.  Ever since we were in Paris last year, he has been saying how much he'd like to have an eclair with his coffee.  I make choux paste often, baking chouquettes, gougeres, profiteroles and the American cream puff.  I pulled out Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, having decided to use their recipe for choux paste and pastry cream.  I bought it for the lay-out and photos, but everything I've made from that book so far has been incredibly good.  And as expected, everything was incredibly good again. I made the pastry cream (and delicious pastry cream it was!), then I piped the 5-inch lengths of choux paste, baked them, and transferred them to my cooling rack.  I piped pastry cream into each end of the eclairs, and at that point...

I wimped out.  I decided to forgo dipping the tops in chocolate.  I used leftover choux paste to make the mini cream puffs pictured here, filled them with pastry cream, and dusted everything with powdered sugar.  So what's with the Chicken Salad pictured at the top of this post?  That's what we had for dinner last night.  Oh... that was incredibly good too!

                          CHICKEN SALAD with WILD RICE

1 cup wild rice
1 1/2 cups water
salt
3 cups diced, poached chicken
1 cup watercress leaves
1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup toasted, blanched almonds

Tarragon Vinaigrette
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook rice that has been rinsed under running water, in salted water until done, about 25-35 minutes.  Rinse under cold water; Drain well.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add chicken, watercress, green onion, diced celery and chopped almonds.
Vinaigrette:  Whisk oil into vinegar one drop at a time.  Stir in tarragon, salt and pepper.  Pour small amount of vinaigrette over chicken salad and toss gently, adding more vinaigrette, a little at a time, until evenly coated.  Serve slightly chilled. 

Friday I attended the American Craft Council Show in Saint Paul.  It's a show I worked myself some 20 years ago when I was creating my one-of-a-kind hand crocheted linen tapestry bags.  But I no longer make bags and haven't frequented the show in many years, so I was thrilled when I went and found a dear friend from Kansas City showing her fiber work.  Susan joined us for dinner one night and it was wonderful getting caught up on the past ten years.  I hope it isn't that long until we can visit again...  Our dessert that night was a little almond cake with grapes.  I also see this cake, based on the French financier pastry, made as it traditionally is in the small rectangular molds (to mimic treasured bars of gold) with fresh raspberries lining the center.

                          ALMOND CAKES WITH GRAPES
                       (adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

1 1/2 tablespoons Cognac or Amaretto
1 cup seedless grapes, halved (or any other seasonal fruit)
3/4 cup (3 3/4-ounces) whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

4 shallow 1/3-cup ovenproof dished, 1/2-inch deep

1.  Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
2.  Toss grapes with Cognac or Amaretto in a small bowl.
3.  Pulse half of almonds with 1 tablespoon sugar in food processor until finely ground.  Transfer to a bowl and repeat with remaining almonds and 1 more tablespoon sugar. 
4.  Beat together butter and remaining 6 tablespoons sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Reduce speed to low and beat in ground almonds, flour, and salt until just combined.
5.  Divide batter among buttered dishes and press drained grapes lightly into the batter. Place dishes on a baking sheet and bake until cake is firm and pale golden with slightly darker edges, about 20 minutes.
6.  Transfer cakes to a rack and cool slightly in dishes before serving. 

                                 TURKEY SATAY BURGERS
                       (adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)
6 tablespoons peanut butter
1 3/4 pounds ground turkey
6 scallions, minced
6 tablespoons minced cilantro
6 tablespoons unseasoned, dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1.  Place the peanut butter in a medium metal bowl and set over a pot of boiling water.  Stir the peanut butter until it's just barely liquid. (Or place in the microwave for 20-30 seconds).
2.  Remove from the heat.  Add the turkey and mix well to distribute the peanut butter evenly.
3.  Sprinkle the scallions, cilantro, bread crumbs, lemon zest, lemon juice, jalapenos, black pepper and salt evenly over the turkey and mix well. (Try not to over-mix the turkey which can toughen the meat.)
4.  Form the mixture into 6 patties and grill.  Serve on buns that have been spread with butter and grilled.

We're on the cusp of berry season.  Recipes I've had tucked away are again seeing the light of day now that acceptable seasonal fruits are beginning to show up in our grocery stores.  Try to purchase organic strawberries.  Their taste far surpasses the others.

                                STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
                          (adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

FOR THE BISCUIT:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons firmly-packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into bits
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 tablespoons sour cream

1.  In a bowl combine 3/4's of the strawberries with the sugar and vanilla, mash them lightly with a fork and let them macerate, covered and chilled, stirring occasionally for one hour.
2.  MAKE THE BISCUIT:  Into a bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder and the salt; add the brown sugar and the butter and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. (You can do it up to this point in a food processor.  Transfer to a large bowl and continue).  Add the milk and stir the mixture until it just forms a dough.  Drop he dough in 8 mounds onto a buttered or parchment paper-lined baking sheet, letting the mounds touch to form an 8-inch ring.  Sprinkle it with the sugar and bake the biscuit in the middle of a preheated 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer the biscuit to a rack carefully and let it cool.  Cut the top 1/4 off the entire biscuit ring with a serrated knife, transfer the bottom to a platter, and spoon the macerated strawberries and the liquid over it.
3.  In a chilled bowl, beat the cream with the powdered sugar until it just holds soft peaks.  Beat in the sour cream, and beat the mixture until it is stiff.  Top the macerated strawberries with the cream mixture and the remaining one fourth of the strawberries and cover the mixture with the biscuit top. Chill until ready to serve. 
The shortcake is best eaten the day it is made.

I had been hungry for this focaccia for days, and finally this weekend I got around to making the dough and roasting the vegetables.  It is excellent just like this, but had I also had roasted garlic and some black olives, I would have thrown those on too.  It is best right out of the oven, and since there was no way we were going to finish it that evening, I delivered several slices to our neighbors.  I put the onions and potatoes in the roasting pan at the same time, but you could easily add the onions 10 minutes later to avoid any chances of burning.  Stir the mixture frequently.  They will continue to roast when placed on the focaccia and baked. 

                   ROASTED ONION and POTATO FOCACCIA
  (Adapted to be made in a stand mixer, from Pizza, Focaccia, Flat, and Filled Breads From Your Bread Machine-Perfect Every Time, by Lora Brody)

FOR THE DOUGH:
2 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
3-4 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
Roasted vegetables (recipe follows)
* Place the yeast and sugar in a small bowl and add the lukewarm water.  Let proof for 5 minutes.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 3 cups of the flour and the salt.  Add the yeast mixture, butter and 1/4 cup olive oil and combine.  Using a dough hook, mix at medium speed adding up to 1 cup more flour if necessary.  You want a soft dough that cleans the sides of the mixing bowl.  Beat for 8-10 minutes.  Place the dough in a large bowl that has been rubbed with olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Gently fold dough over onto itself and let rise again until double.

ROASTED VEGETABLES:

1 1/2 large, sweet onions
1 1/2 pound Russian Banana or small Yukon Gold potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees.  Peel onions and slice into wedges.  Cut potatoes in half.  Place onions and potatoes, along with olive oil, into a roasting pan and roast in middle of oven for approximately 50 minutes, or until golden.  It may help to add onions about 10 minutes after the potatoes since they tend to brown faster than the potatoes.  Stir frequently until done.

BAKING THE FOCACCIA:

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a rectangle that will fit into a 18 x 13-inch sheet pan.  Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and distribute evenly.  Transfer the dough to the pan and rub with the additional tablespoon of oil while pressing dough to fit the pan.  Let rest for about 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Gently place potatoes and onions evenly on top of the focaccia dough.  Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary.  Let rest an additional 15 minutes.  Bake focaccia for 15 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven and slide to a wire cooling rack.