"sun dried" tomatoes

our first tomatoes to ripen

this season

were our romas

unfortunately

they ripened 

while we were away from home

by the time i picked them

they had

shriveled on the vine

handfuls upon handfuls

baking in the sun

going from

sun-kissed

to

heat stroke

solar energy

had zapped my tomatoes

once picked

i sliced each tomato in half

placed cut side up on a sheet pan

sprinkled with sea salt

and

placed in a 175-200 degree oven to dry

about 2 hours later

or maybe 3

i lost count

(check on them every 30 minutes after the 1st hour)

they were done

dry but not dried out

after cooling 

i stuffed the deep red chewy goodness

 into a fancy jar

and 

smothered them 

with good olive oil

triple berry dessert sauce

we grow strawberries in our garden

and each june

joyfully harvest them

we also grow

raspberries

blackberries

and

boysenberries

only evident

by the bare vines

choking our fences

those sweet berries 

are harvested by

the local fauna

which possess

ripeness gauges

to rival a seasoned gardener

i buy most of our berries

at the local farmer's market

this week

i found gorgeous raspberries

perfectly ripe

and 

brightly colored

at

 four bucks a punnet

here i was

mulling my decision to buy

when

a woman beside me said

"they would make the most delicous coulis"

"do you know what a coulis is?"

i sweetly smiled (which is a bit of a feat)

and said

"yes i do" and "yes they would"

but what i was thinking was

lady

you are either crazy or rich

because 

four dollars a handful is not a bargain

furthermore

 if i planned to whirl these in a blender 

with some sugar

i might as well buy frozen ones

for

 half .the. price.

 at the grocery

this going through my mind

as i handed over my eight dollars

and chose

the ripest berries

in the most full containers

i brought them home

and they sat

then i moved them to the fridge

where they sat

some more

today

i am reminded of that woman at the market

with her clarvoyant premonition

as i 

simmer these over ripe berries

into a sauce

not a coulis

but a sauce

just 

the

same

triple berry dessert sauce

(printable recipe)

1 pint raspberries

1 pint blackberries

1 lb strawberries--hulled and cut in half

juice of 1 lime

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 oz cassis

place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low until the berries are soft and the sugar is melted.  the strawberries may take a bit longer to soften than the raspberries or blackberries. if you find this happening, just turn the burner off and allow the berries to sit in the warm juice for 10 minutes or so, the strawberries will continue to soften from the residual heat.

allow to cool to warm. spoon over ice cream or a slab of shortcake. refrigerate whats left. will keep about 5 days.

lemon-chevre ravioli

i have been making homemade pasta for as long as i can remember

growing up

 as summer arrived

so would my grandparents

both sets

heavily ladened with luggage

and lessons

my grandparents were old school italians

"the grandpops" sat on the sun porch

playing cards and tending to the vegetable garden planted each year

(zucchini flowers were a must have every summer)

and the "grans" would sit at the kitchen table

compiling lists of what would be needed for the evening supper

pasta

always a side dish

always

homemade

we would make it several times each summer

filling our bellies and the freezer

the dining room

became

pasta central

a table only used at christmas

 in a room that appeared hermetically sealed

would become

a work bench,  covered in flour

we'd spend hours

kneading

rolling 

cutting

and 

drying

our summer staple

it must be said

we never used 00 flour

the type used for pasta in many regions of italy

it was hard to find

and expensive

we used what we had on hand

it was delicious

my grandparents have all passed

and with them

many of  the summer traditions

we all enjoyed

but

i still make pasta

in small quantities

with the same equipment

as generations past

however

it is abundantly less shocking

to see my dining room

littered with flour

and covered in pasta

sometimes i use 00 flour

when i have it on hand

but mostly

i use a high quality cake flour

which works beautifully for a delicate pasta

like this lemon pasta 

used to make chevre ravioli

not quite how nonna would do it

but delicious

none
the
less

lemon-chevre ravioli

(printable recipe)

for the pasta

3 cups cake flour (i use king arthur)

5 extra large eggs

2 tsp finely grated lemon peel

place the flour in a mound on your work bench.  using your fist, make a large well in the center of the mound. 

Using the fork, bring the flour into the eggs to begin forming a dough. Continue bringing the flour in until you have a sticky mixture.  Begin working the rest of the flour in by hand and knead for at least 10 minutes, and until you have a very smooth dough.  The dough must be very smooth and well kneaded before leaving it to rest for 10 minutes or up to an hour at room temperature.  Cover the dough with plastic or a towel or something to discourage a "skin" from forming.  When ready, use a bit of flour so the dough does not stick and roll very thin.  cut in desired shape(s)

for the filling

5 oz chevre--room temperature

3 oz cream cheese--room temperature

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch nutmeg

1 tsp finely grated lemon peel

2 Tbs basil leaves--chiffonade

pinch salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 egg

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

mix everything together until evenly incorporated.  place in refrigerator until using.  can be made up to a day in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.

to assemble

small bowl of water and pastry brush

flour

semolina flour or cornmeal

it is important that your dough is rolled out thin, because you are using two pieces. it doesn't have to be as thin as a won ton wrapper, but it should be close to it.  if you are using a pasta machine, roll the pasta to the second thinnest setting.

place 1 sheet of pasta, cut into strips 2" wide and as long as you like on your work surface. make sure your surface is dusted with flour to prevent sticking.  place filling with a teaspoon in the center of the dough, leaving room for even border on all sides. brush the dough, where you are going to seal the top piece, with water.  place a second piece of dough on top.  press around the filling with your fingers until you have a nice seal.  stamp with your ravioli cutter, cut with a knife, roller or cookie cutter to make uniform ravioli.  press the seams one more time.  place on a cookie sheet sprinkled with a bit of semolina or cornmeal to prevent sticking.  use immediately, or freeze for future use.

this recipe is being linked up to 

click here to see what other great recipes are being made with king arthur flour

*full disclosure...i received a coupon for a 5lb bag of flour from king arthur flour for agreeing to participate in this challenge.

you can also find me at the hearth and soul blog hop

i love sweets {buffet}

when asked to donate

a sweets table

for a school auction

i enlisted the help of a friend

because

well

to put it mildly

i can run amok

grand ideas

outlandish displays

(we shall never forget the 15 foot lighted eiffel tower we HAD to make for last year's french theme)

and

fancy packaging

always seem like a great idea

before

two days of frantic baking

my friend

is a voice of reason

incredible creative talent

meticulous taste

and

the queen of cones

together

we were able to put together 

this darling display

expressing the event theme of

LOVE

coffee cake recipe

sugar cookie recipe

*labels and signs created by hubster

walldogs like cheeseheads {travel}

wisconsin is hubster's home state

we travel to his hometown

about once a year

while driving into town, after a long day of travel, 

hubster and i noticed

the little town of plymouth 

seemed brighter

what we were noticing

but not seeing fully, because of darkness

was the brilliant work of

the walldogs

who descended onto plymouth

for a few days last month

to paint 

murals showcasing 

the long and wonderful history

of this small town

a town 

considered to be

the 

CHEESE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

if you appreciate

history of small communities

and

signage vernacular

take a walk through plymouth, wisconsin

then stop at

Chesters 

for a great burger served by a car hop

follow it up

with a custard sundae

at

Culvers

if you are in town on a thursday in summer

go to the city park

you can hang with the locals

and

work off your meal

while

dancing the polka

maple bacon

here is something i can hardly believe myself

i shunned bacon

for 5 years

it was complicated

and in hindsight

foolish

i mean really

religious convictions aside

i can't think of a reason NOT to eat it

it is 

just. that. good.

recently

curing my own bacon has elevated to
obsession status
a few bats of my baby blues
and
 hubster agreed to buy a smoker

it was time

he is itching to make venison jerky

and of course

i have my bacon thing

here is my first attempt

and an honest report

it is good

now

i made the mistake of washing off the brine, but not soaking the bacon before smoking

which meant
it came out very salty
i soaked it after the smoke

in desperation

which meant
i not only soaked out the salt, i also soaked out the smokiness

so i cold smoked it again

and it just isn't perfect

but it is close

maple-brown sugar-rosemary bacon

(printable recipe)

3lbs pork belly

1/4 cup +/- kosher salt

1/4 cup +/- brown sugar

3 Tbs good quality maple syrup

1 Tbs fresh rosemary

place pork belly in a large tupperware type container

3 Tbs maple syrup & rosemary sprig (post curing)

apple or cherry wood chips for smoking

rub all sides with salt

mix together the brown sugar, maple syrup and rosemary. rub all sides of the pork belly with the mixture. cover and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  after 24 hours, repeat the process and place back in the refrigerator.  check daily, if liquid begins to gather on the bottom, pour it off and place back in the refrigerator.  at 5-7 days, you should be done. the pork belly will be a bit more dense, and firm.  rinse the pork belly well and dry with paper towel. slice off a small piece and fry.  if too salty, place the belly in a bowl of cold water and place in the fridge for 1 hour. dry, slice off a piece and fry a piece.  if it is still too salty, repeat the soaking process, 1 hour at a time.  once the bacon is to your liking, dry off.  rub the fatty side with maple syrup and place rosemary sprig on top. 

meanwhile prepare your smoker

i smoked my bacon at 120 degrees and smoked it to an internal temperature of 130.  there are so many different philosophies on this. you can cold smoke it, hot smoke it, not smoke it at all.  this will not keep in the fridge like store bought bacon...it does not have nitrites.  it is best to cut what you will eat within a week, then freeze the rest.

it is very important to keep your pork belly at proper temperatures and to keep all surfaces it touches very clean. this is not a time to be lenient in your sanitary rituals.  bacon should not be eaten raw, once cured and smoked, it should be cooked fully before enjoying.