I realize this picture has a somewhat christmassy feel to it, but given that we had hail the size of golfballs yesterday night and that it has been so dark this morning that I have all lights turned on in my apartment, it sure is fitting! After working the Farmer's Market till 8.30pm yesterday I did not really feel like eating a full dinner, so I just munched on some fresh greens from my garden. So of course that made me wake up pretty hungry this morning. Hungry + no sun outside = comfort breakfast. I whipped up some German pancakes (not the ones you find at the International House of Pancakes. I do not know what those are. Pancake balloons do not exist in Germany!) with Barbara's Tomato Jam w. Grappa. It is super easy, very tasty and actually makes a nice dessert for a dinner party, too. You might want to add some ice cream in a dessert situation!

Compared to American pancakes, German pancakes are closer to an omelette with flour. They are much more moist and fluff up just like an omelette would. Do not wait for bubbles to appear - there are none! We often eat pancakes for dinner, too - both sweet and savory. Classics include cherries, sliced apples (served sprinkled with sugar & cinnamon) or bacon, cheese, salami - you can even put kale or spinach... you add the toppings on the pancake after you put the mixture in the pan and have to wait for it to settle well before you flip it. Make sure your pan is not too hot!

The following recipe yields either 10 small pancakes 3 inches in diameter (if you serve them as dessert) or can be a big dinner size one. If you choose a big dinner size one, pls. exclude the shredded coconut and adjust the cooking time!

Ingredients

1 egg

1/3 cup flour

1 tbsp shredded coconut

1/3 cup of water

pinch of salt

butter

5 tsp Barbara's Tomato Jam w. Grappa

powdered sugar to finish

Method

(1) Using a fork, beat egg with water. (2) Gradually sift the flour into the mix. (3) Let stand 15 minutes for the mixture to thicken. (4) Add shredded coconut and pinch of salt. (5) Adjust with water/flour if seems to thick or liquid - you can always do a test run if you are not sure. (6) Add butter in warm pan (if you insist you can use some non stick spray, but butter really tastes much better and a dab of butter in your pancake will not kill you. On the other hand, I am not quite sure if that spray thing can be considered real food) and melt. (7) Once pan is lined, drop a tablespoon of the mixture in the pan and let cook for about 90 seconds. Flip over and cook the other side.  A standard frying pan will allow you to cook four pancakes at once. (8) Spread 1/2 tsp of Barbara's Tomato Jam on each pancake and serve hot. Although they are also really good cold.

Guten Appetit!

Updating...

Asparagus! More asparagus! I could eat asparagus every day right now. Actually, that is what I am doing. Asparagus in all it's glorious ways...

This is a quick and easy creamy asparagus recipe that you can whip up in a heartbeat and that really let's this glorious veggie shine through.

Ingredients (for four happy bellies)

1/3 cups tightly packed grated Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese

2 egg yolks

4 oz. Mascarpone Cheese

10 spears green asparagus

8 oz. Carlo's Durum Wheat Farfalle Pasta

1 tsp. Robert's Herbed Al Purpose Salt

2 tsp. fresh lemon zest

black pepper to taste

Method

(1) Bring salted water to a boil. (2) Mix mascarpone cheese and egg yolks to a creamy consistency. (3) Add grated Parmeggiano Reggiano and Roberta's Herbed Salt. (4) Cut off asparagus tips and set aside. (5) Finely shred asparagus stems with your box grater  and add to the cheese cream. (6) Blanch asparagus tips in boiling pasta water. Take out and set aside for decoration. (7)  Add pasta to boiling water  and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. (8) Strain pasta, saving a cup of pasta water in case you need to correct consistency of the sauce. (9) Let pasta slide into the cheese-asparagus mixture, gently turn pasta till fully coated and zest lemon into the mix to brighten up the flavors (10) Correct for salt and pepper. (11) Serve and enjoy!

The memories of visiting my grandparents in White Hall, IL, some 30 years ago from Germany include memories of going to the local supermarket and shop. There was a Kroger's not far from their house and to me it was a wonderland. All these foods we could not get back home. Peanut butter! Marshmallows! American Cheese!

I am always impressed when I see how greatly US artisan cheese making has developed over the last years. Being so close to Wisconsin, I have the great luck to indulge in some truly great cheeses which are widely available here in Chicago.

Now last week I came across an artisan cheese from Georgia - the Thomasville Tomme from Sweet Grass Dairy. It is a raw cow's milk cheese that is aged for a minimum of 60 days. Jeremy and Jessica exclusively use milk from Green Hills Farms' Jersey Cows, which are kept on pasture all year long. This cheese has great flavor, great texture - and is a superb ingredient for a mean Mac'n'Cheese. Which in turn is the perfect side with oven roasted asparagus.

So here you go, enjoy!

(ps. do not cut off the rind of the cheese - it is edible!!)

Ingredients (makes two tummies happy)

2 cups Carlo's Durum Wheat Semolato  Conchiglie

3 tbsp Darro's EVOO

1 small chilli pepper

1 small onion (diced) – ½ cup

black pepper

½ tsp Roberta's All-purpose Herbed Salt (or alternatively you own blend of salt, rosemary, lemon zest and sage)

1 ½ cups finely diced cheese (if you cannot get your hands on Thomasville Tomme, you can use Taleggio or Fontina)

½ breadcrumbs

1 lb. asparagus, cleaned

Method: (1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. (2) Bring salted water to a boil and add Carlos's Conchiglie, cook until not quite yet al dente (ca. 7 minutes). (3) In the meantime, sautee whole garlic - slightly crushed - and chilli peppers in 2 tbsp of Darro's EVOO, add onions and sautee till translucent. (4) Take out garlic, add a ladle of pasta water and over low heat mix in 1 cup cheese and let melt. (5) Drain Pasta and add to the cheese. (6) Mix well, season w. Roberta's herbed salt and pepper. (7) Pour in baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and ½ cup breadcrumbs. (8) Arrange cleaned asparagus on a baking sheet, season with a pinch of salt and a little black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and a little lemon juice  (9) Roast/bake asparagus & mac'n'cheese in the preheated  oven until cheese is melted and starting to brown and asparagus is tender, about 10 minutes.

Well, for everyone not living in the Midwest - good for you! I assume you can indulge in fresh veggies and sit in the sun during lunch hour. Not so in Chicago. One day the weather is really beautiful, the next day I wake up at night cause I am freezing and get up to turn on the heat (no kiddin'). The worst thing about this is that nature is really behind. My veggie plot in the Peterson Garden (Chicago's largest edible community garden) looks as if I had only just put the seeds. And the bad weather with lots of rain and cold days has not only delayed my garden, but also our local farms. So I have to admit that I have taken to buying fresh apples and greens from further away. After six months of storage crops and canned tomatoes my body was screaming for fresh leafy greens.

But there are clear signs that the end is near (no, not THAT end). The sign I am talking about looks like this:

Yes! Green Garlic. I love the subtle, fresh garlic taste, so today I married local green garlic with some chard from some other place and enjoyed it over polenta and a farm-fresh egg. Nothing beats a farm fresh egg over polenta, let me tell you that! Enjoy this week's dinner inspiration and let's keep our fingers crossed for a good growing season!

Creamy polenta with sauteed chard, green garlic & a farm-fresh egg (for two growling stomachs)

For the polenta

1 cup polenta/cornmeal

1 cup regular milk

3 cups water

For the veggies

1 tbsp Darro's Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 stems green garlic, finely chopped

1 bunch of chard, roughly chopped (ca. 2 cups tightly packed)

1 small cayenne pepper

1 tbsp Roberta's Sun-dried Tomato Spread

zest of 1/3 orange

salt

For the eggs

2 tbsp Darro's Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 farm fresh eggs

Pimenton de la Vera powder (Spanish smoked sweet pepper)

black pepper

Method

(1) Mix polenta, milk & water. Stir well. Bring to a boil, turn down the flame and let cook, stirring occasionally until done. Depending on the type of polenta you are using, this takes between 20-45 minutes.

(2) For the veggies, heat Darro's olive oil in a pan, add small cayenne pepper and thicker white parts of the chopped green garlic to sautee'. (3) When starting to turn translucent, add the chopped chard, and chopped leafy parts of the green garlic. (4) Let the greens wilt over very low flame. (5) Mix in Roberta's Sun-dried Tomato Spread, orange zest and season to taste with salt.

(6) In another pan, heat Darro's Olive Oil, let two eggs slide into the warm oil and cook to taste over medium heat. (7) Arrange polenta and veggies on two plates, top off with egg. (8) Dust the egg with Pimenton de la Vera (a smoked Spanish sweet pepper powder every one should have for the exact purpose of putting in on eggs) and finish with a crack of black pepper.

I love Carlo's pasta for many good reasons. The first is that it tastes amazing. Why? Because of the care and attention which with Carlo farms his biodynamic grain. Because of the Semolato grind he chooses for this pasta - packing it with more minerals, vitamins and fiber that the classic white pasta. Because he follows the traditional artisan pasta making process - extruding the pasta though a bronze dye and then slow drying it.

So today I am happy to announce that we also have Carlo's Farro pasta in The Scrumptious Pantry. The classic Penne Rigate and the fun Casarecce shape. Farro medio - the variety grown by Carlo - is THE most ancient grain from the Mediterranean. It was first cultivated in 7000 BC, but then it's importance faded away with the rise of higher yielding varieties. It was actually considered a lost species before it was rediscovered in 1906 in Israel. Luckily Italians loved it and it has since established itself as a staple grain in Italy, especially in Tuscany. It is richer in vitamins, minerals and proteins than Durum Wheat and has a different gluten structure, so people that are gluten intolerant may be able to enjoy farro (depending on the seriousness of the condition). Farro has a hearty, nutty taste profile - it pairs deliciously with stronger tasting flavors, as we do in this pasta salad.

Ingredients (feeds four as main dish)

16 oz of Carlo’s Farro Penne Rigate

4 oz. prosciutto/dry cured ham, torn into pieces

4 oz. feta cheese,  crumbled

8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 tbsp. Roberta's Sun-dried Tomato Spread

1/3 cup walnuts, crushed

Zest of one lemon

2 tbsp. parsley, chopped

3 tbsp. Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil “Blend”

Method: (1)  Cook pasta until almost al dente, drain water, spread pasta on a baking sheet to cool down (the steam would continue to cook it in the colander or bowl). The liquid of the salad will be soaked in by the pasta, which is why you want the pasta not quite al dente, otherwise it becomes mushy. (2) Add ham, cheese, walnuts, lemon zest, Roberta's Sun-dried Tomato Spread and Cosimo's Extra Virgin Olive Oil and toss well. (3) Salt & pepper to taste  and set aside. (4) When ready to serve, add tomatoes and finely chopped parsley. (5) Correct seasoning and serve.

I cannot get enough of Risotto. It is very tasty in autumn with mushrooms, in winter with squash and other root veggie delight, and with the summer bounty of  peas, strawberries, summer squash etc. it is a staple in my house in summer, too. Today's risotto recipe sports ramps and morels - a celebration of the first spring greens! Fancy some foraging?

We are using the Carnaroli rice from Nicoletta & Fabio for this dish, because it is the real deal. Carnaroli is the king of rice – every Chef in Italy cooks risotto with Carnaroli rice. The reason Arborio is so often quoted in cookbooks is that Carnaroli yields very little and was not exported for a long time.

Ingredients (4 servings)

2 cups of Fabio’s & Nicoletta's Carnaroli Rice from The Scrumptious Pantry

10 pc. ramps

1 lb. morels

½ cup white wine

6 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)

1/2 stick butter

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp. chilli pepper flakes

Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil from The Scrumptious Pantry

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

(1) Choose a low-rising and wide pot – you want to give the risotto lots of room to absorb the liquid evenly! (2) Sauté the cleaned morels in some butter and olive oil and set aside (3) Sauté the diced white part of the ramps together with the chilli pepper flakes in a little butter and olive oil (4) Add the rice and sauté until it becomes translucent (5) Add wine, stirring until the liquid is totally absorbed (6) Add ½ cup of hot broth at a time, letting the rice absorb the liquid, stirring every 3-4 minutes. (7) After about 15 minutes (the rice should be almost done), turn off the heat, add the morels, chopped ramp greens, remaining butter and the parmesan cheese, stir well and let sit with lid of the pot closed for another 3-5 minutes (8) Salt & pepper to taste

Who doesn’t like baked pasta?  Its so easy and delicious. One of our new Midestern-farmed products, Michelle & Kevin's Heirloom Tomato Sauce w. beef, rovides an excellent base for your baked pasta creations.  It would be delicious with some wilted greens or sautéed mushrooms added to it.  And the cheese combinations you could come up with, oh my!  Initially I wanted to put taleggio in the casserole, but some of you might find it a bit funky, so we went with mild and fresh.  But for you cheese lovers out there, this sauce can definitely stand up to some stronger flavors.  Never be afraid to experiment!  Next time maybe add some swiss chard and goat cheese, or roasted portobelli and taleggio.

Ingredient (makes four people happy)

250g Carlo's Durum Wheat Conchiglie Pasta, cooked al dente in salted water

16 oz jar Michelle & Kevin's Heirloom Tomato Sauce w. beef

16 oz can tomato puree

4 oz ricotta

4 oz fresh mozzarella, small dice

4 oz fresh spinach (optional)

8”x 8”x 3 1/2” casserole dish

Method (1) In a separate saucepan heat Michelle & Kevin's Heirloom Tomato Sauce w. beef  and tomatoes together until simmering. (2) Stir in some fresh spinach if you like. (3) In a big bowl combine sauce and ricotta. Mix well. (4) Toss with cooked pasta and half of the mozzarella. (5) Pour into casserole dish. (6) Top with the rest of the mozzarella and bake in a 425° F conventional oven until cheese is golden brown (check after 10 minutes).

PS. read more about the great work Michelle and her family are doing at Dietzler Farm here. And we are pretty proud of this piece by the Chicago Sun-Times, too!

Andy here (more on me in the next blog post. Let's just say I am the new kid on the block here at The Scrumptious Pantry). It is St. Patrick's day tomorrow and that means it is time to share my love for corned beef.  Corned beef and cabbage is such a great way to experience this meat.  Just the thought of the moist, unctuous beef with soft creamy potatoes and the slightly earthy and funky flavor of the cabbage makes my mouth water.  Some people prefer to add carrots and sometimes celery to the mix.  That’s ok, but I’m a purist.  If you want a little extra veggie flavor in your broth, why not make a quick vegetable stock and use it in place of the water?  If you start your stock first, chances are it will be ready to go by the time you’re finished peeling the last boiler onion.

The technique of pickling, or corning, beef is one of preservation.  Pickled beef first became widespread in the British Isles in the 1700’s as it was essentially non perishable and could be traded well.  Contrary to popular belief, corned beef and cabbage is not a dish of Irish consumption, (the Irish prefer pork over beef), but one of Irish-American decent.  Probably because the Irish immigrants found a cheap source of protein in the Jewish delicatessens, which was similar to the rashers they were used to back home.  Regardless, today we have a delicious boiled dinner, which can provide meals all week.  Which leads me to my favorite part:

Leftovers!  I have a weakness, and it goes by the name of corned beef hash.  This weakness also has siblings whom are named corned beef on rye with mustard and reuben sandwich.  But corned beef hash is the favorite child.  The trick is to dice or hash your beef and veggies by hand, and then, when you are sautéing it, let a nice crust form before turning it in on itself.  Repeat the process.  Add a bit of liquid (leftover from the boiled dinner), and finish in the oven until the potatoes are tender.   In the meantime, poach some eggs.  You’ll soon be in heaven.

Ingredients

3 lb. Corned Beef Brisket

1 lb. Red Boiler Potatoes, scrubbed

½ lb. Boiler Onions, peeled

1 Head of Green Cabbage (Savoy might be nice as well), quartered and cored

1 tbsp course ground black pepper

1 tsp ground allspice

2 bay leaves

2 tsp Roberta's All-purpose herbed salt

2 tbsp good quality butter

1/4 cup tightly packed Italian parsley, chopped

Cosimo's Extra Virgin Olive Oil "blend" to finish

Method (this is easy, but it requires some occasional attention)

• Put beef in pot big to hold comfortably and cover with vegetable stock.  Add spice mix of pepper, allspice, bay leave and bring to a boil.
• Immediately reduce heat to a simmer and skim any impurities that rise to the surface.  Do not boil your meat please.  It will be tough.  A constant temperature of about 178° to 180° F is perfect.  Slow and low.
• Continue simmering and skimming for about two to two and a half hours
• Add potatoes, cook 10 minutes.  Add more liquid if need be.
• Add onions and cabbage.  Cook until all is tender.
• Season to taste.
• Separate ingredients.
• Allow beef to rest on cutting board for time being.  Toss potatoes with enough butter and chopped parsley to your liking.  Also a bit of salt is nice too.
• Slice your beef AGAINST the grain.  Arrange beef, cabbage, and onions lovingly on your favorite platter.  I like to drizzle some finishing oil over the meat, but that’s just me!  Serve potatoes alongside.  I also like a bit of horseradish and some grainy mustard.

Enjoy and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

+++ UPDATE: in order to help fund for the production of these products, we have launched a Kickstarter Campaign - a community driven funding tool for sustainable & creative projects. You can pledge as little as 1$ and we have mostly tasty rewards lined up for you in return. Please check out our project on Kickstarter and help spread the world. Think about what would be possible if 500 people pledged 10$. Thank you! +++

We are so excited so announce the soon to come launch of our US-farmed product line, we want to give you a sneak preview on our US farmed products! If you are following us on Facebook, you have seen the pictures we posted of our farmers, and here is what they will be bringing to The Scrumptious Pantry:

Michelle from Dietzler Farms (Elkhorn, Wisconsin) & Kevin from Happy Valley Farm (Black Earth, Wisconsin)

We used Michelle's sustainably & humanely raised beef and Kevin's organic tomatoes to make a meat sauce! There are a lot of tomato based products out there, but a high quality meat sauce that is shelf stable has been missing - until now. We researched many historic recipe books to come up with the taste profile, cause we really wanted it to reflect the culinary heritage of the Midwest. So look forward to a meat sauce inspired by the beef stew recipes we found in those historic cookbooks. And we added some bell pepper as an homage to the many Serbian & Hungarian immigrants to the Midwest. The result is a mighty tasty meat sauce that you can enjoy over pasta, rice dishes and that makes a pretty neat base for casseroles, too.

Ruth & Jacob from Fine Vine Organics (Three Lakes, Wisconsin) & Kevin from Happy Valley Farm (Black Earth, Wisconsin)

Get ready for our Cranberry Catsup! We are pretty proud of this product, because it is an absolute novelty. We found many cranberry & tomato condiment recipes in the recipe books we studied and loved the idea to have a 21st century condiment using cranberries - after all one of Wisconsin's major crops. The idea to work on a specialty Catsup was fueled by our background in wine: generally, a wine with high acidity is recommended for fatty foods, because the acidity cleanses the palate. Given our love for bacon, sausages and other fatty pork products maybe a Catsup naturally high in acidity would be a better match than the "one fits all" tomato ketchups on the market today? We can tell you, we ate a lot of bacon and sausages to find out and we can confirm, yes, our Cranberry Catsup is delightful on fries, on a bacon sandwich and also goes really well with white meat, too.

Olivia & Darro from Berkeley Olive Grove 1913 (Oroville, CA)

As you all know, we love Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We always wanted to add a domestic oil to The Scrumptious Pantry and finally found Olivia & Darro and their organic 20,000 tree olive grove on the edge of the Northern Sacramento Valley. Their oil is fruity, with a nice pungent finish, and it is super rich in anti oxidants. This one will be your new best friend when preparing salads, veggies and fish!

We will be launching our Heirloom Tomato Sauce w. Beef and the Cranberry Catsup at the FamilyFarmed Expo in Chicago, March 18 & 19. The Californian oil should be available around the same time, too.

Over the next two weeks, we will be sharing every farmer's story with you in more detail. We are so happy to have the chance to work with these amazing stewards for sustainable agriculture!

And stay tuned for more new Midwestern products in The Scrumptious Pantry, too. We have FIVE more products in the pipeline and we hope to be launching those in late summer.

Food brings families and friends together, and so do the holidays. In this spirit, I have asked Nicoletta & Fabio to share a story about Christmas in their family and what role food had in the celebration. Fabio’s father – Aldo – was so kind not only to share his memories of Christmas in the late 40s in the Italian countryside, but also one of the family’s traditional Christmas dishes: Risotto w. Chicken liver. Read on, enjoy and happy holidays!

I was growing up after the Second World War, and the predominant memory of winter is the cold. The cold was icy and crept into our house, our clothing and our bones. The only heated room was the kitchen with the wood fired oven, and some of the warmth escaped into the adjacent living room, where the family gathered, further warming the room with their bodies. The beds were icy, so mother would heat tiles in the open fire and used them to warm your beds 30 minutes before we were supposed to go to sleep.

With all the hardship we suffered through in those winters, Christmas Eve was pure magic. This was long before Christmas trees had found their way into the living rooms of Italian families. Our tradition was build around the Nativity Scene. Every family had their treasured collection of little statues and figures; every year they gathered on a bed of moss we children had collected in the woods. A piece of silver colored paper turned into a creek and pebbles and stones came together to form the cave which cows and donkeys called their home. On Christmas Eve, before going to bed, we would gently take the little Baby Jesus figure and put it to sleep in the tiny hay filled crib, guarded by Mary and Joseph. The three wise men were still positioned afar in a pool of sand and every day, they would be moved closer to the crib, until their arrival on January 6th.

Christmas morning was pure bliss! We would fly out of bed to see which gifts Baby Jesus (not Santa!) had brought. Maybe a slingshot done by Sig. Tadi - famous for his craft? Or a construction kit of metal wires, tubes, screws and beams? Or maybe even a bat to play “lipa”, an Italian version of baseball? And of course there were the precious sweets and fruits we only enjoyed once a year, at Christmas: nougat, caramels, mandarin oranges or even peanuts!

All family members would gather at the home of the grandparents for the celebration and the holiday feast. I always remember the taste of my grandmother’s special dishes: A broiled capon as “secondo”. As antipasto we would dip vegetables into warm, oily “bagna cauda” (garlic and anchovies dissolved in warm olive oil), munch on homemade salame and snack on the pickled bell peppers my grandfather was famous for. We were even allowed to have a sip of red wine, which Grandfather would strictly ration as if it were pure gold. The “primo piatto” to be enjoyed before the main dish, was a capon liver risotto. It is a simple dish, but mighty tasty and I am happy to share it with you, as it is still served at my family's Christmas table year after year.

Ciao da daddy Aldo

Grignasco, novembre 2010

Nicoletta's & Fabio's Family Christmas 2009: Nicoletta is the third from the right (holding her and Fabio's son Federico), Aldo is dressed up as Babbo Natale (Santa Claus), with his grandson Lorenzo. Far left: Fabio's Mum Fulvia, on the right Fabio's sister Leila holding baby Sofia, behind her her husband Francesco.

Chicken Liver Risotto

(We adapted this recipe slightly to US cooking styles. As a capon is a rooster castrated for better taste, we prefer to suggest liver from a happy, pasture raised chicken in the spirit of humanely raised livestock)

1 cup of Nicoletta’s & Fabio’s Carnaroli Rice

3.5 cups chicken stock, hot

1 small onion, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil

8 oz. Chicken liver, chopped

3.5 tbsp butter

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

2 tbsp chopped parsley

Salt & pepper to taste

serves 4

Method

(1) Sautee’ the onions and garlic in Cosimo’s EVOO. (2) Add the rice, stir to coat and cook till the rice is slightly toasted. (3) Add 1 cup of hot chicken stock, stirring well over medium-low heat. (4) Once the liquid has evaporated, add the remaining chicken stock ½ cup at a time, stirring every 3-4 minutes. (5) In a separate pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until foamy. (6) Add the chopped chicken liver and sautee’ until they are nicely browned, but still pink in the center. Be careful not to overcook! (7) When the rice is almost al dente (ca. 15 min. into the cooking process), add the liver, parmigiano, parsley and stir well. (8) Let rest with the heat turned off for ca. 4 minutes. (9) Salt & pepper to taste and serve in warmed plates.

Recommended wine pairing: Barbera d’Asti