time flies. jetlagged ramblings.

I have been swamped with work since getting back from Burma. I have had no time to write or shoot other than work! it is good to be busy but I look forward to making a good long post soon, hopefully this weekend upstate! Until then...  here is a very jetlagged post. x

Well, it is 3am and I am thoroughly jet lagged upon our return from Burma. What better thing to do at 3am than make a rhubarb tart for breakfast for the babes and get back in the swing of Hungry Ghost? I went to the market at Union Square yesterday and it was absolutely brimming with spring veggies, flowers and herbs. Traveling is super inspiring but when It is for work it comes with some serious pressure. I was pretty happy to just roam the market and enjoy the city with no agenda. I picked up some Rhubarb and somewhere in the back of mind thought I might poach it or pickle it but now at this early morning hour a breakfast tart seems the right thing to do. I made one yesterday but it was not quite sweet enough so this is tart round two.

I think I will make a fiddlehead frittata as well. I found fiddleheads from Richard at Lucky Dog Farm at the Friday Market at Union Square. Lucky Dog has a farm upstate in our town and I love to buy from them on Fridays in Union Square. If you have never visited his stall, you must! This week he had plump Delaware county ramps, fiddleheads, asparagus, kale, Lucky Dog salad greens and more. You can check out an amazing photo essay on the farm via Delaware County photographer Rob Howard. His photo essay on the farm is both rugged and somewhat haunting. It makes you realize how hard these farmers work. Well, enough jetlagged ramblings for one morning. On to the tart!

sunday shoot cake

I made this cake for our shoot last Sunday. I don't often bring breakfast to shoots but since it was a Sunday and we were all working, it felt like a nice treat was in order. I was talking with a friend about cardamom and pistachio and how much we love the combination on yogurt with a little bit of dark honey.  That is how the idea for this cake came about. It is a really simple coffee cake. It is not too sweet and the rye flour and whole-wheat pastry flour make it a little dense and a little nutty. So happy Monday friends! Have a great week!

 Cardamom Pistachio Coffee Cake

1/2-cup butter

1/2-cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2-teaspoon salt

1 tsp. organic vanilla

1 cup of rye flour

1-cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. cardamom

1tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1-cup heavy cream

Topping

1/2tsp. cardamom

1/2-cup brown sugar

2 tblsp.flour

3tlb spoon butter melted

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

1 tsp fresh grated cinnamon

Method

Mix butter sugar 

Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Sift together in another bowl, the flour salt, baking soda baking powder and cardamom.

Add the sifted ingredients to the wet mixture and slowly add the cream. Mix well.

Pour half of the batter into a greased round baking pan

Sprinkle 1/2 of the topping over the batter mixture in the cake pan.

Add the remaining patter on top and sprinkle the rest of the topping over the batter.

Top with roughly chopped pistachios.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until done.

where the wild things are no.17. knotweed vodka.

After having a miserable fail with Knotweed pickles, as I mentioned before, they tasted like swamp water, I decided to try my hand at Knotweed Vodka. If you remember, last Summer I posted an Elderflower Cordial, this Knotweed Vodka is in the same vein. What can go wrong with a little wild weed, some vodka and a generous amount of sugar? I scoured the Internet for Knotweed recipes and came across this one. I tweaked it a little as I am prone to do. Time will tell if it worked or not.

The sugar and vodka and Knotweed need to rest in a dark place for a month, then get strained, then rest another couple months. Whew! That is a lot of resting!

See you in July for cocktails!!

A little background on Knotweed... Knotweed is an invasive plant. It looks a lot like bamboo and the young red shoots are edible in the early spring when they are most tender. They have a rhubarb like taste. Keep in mind that Knotweed is INVASIVE, be attentive when transporting shoots and cuttings and be sure to burn or properly dispose of anyleft over cuttings.

Andy Hamilton's Knotweed Vodka

Knotweed Vodka Ingredients 450g knotweed 750ml vodka 225g sugar Gather knotweed shoots and chop into 3cm pieces, then put into a 1 litre jar. Add the sugar and vodka and seal. Shake well and leave for at least 3 – 4 weeks. Strain back into bottle through muslin/cheesecloth and place in a cool dark place for 3 months.

This is my tweaked version.

8 cups of vodka

5 cups of sugar

3 cups chopped knotweed

Peel of two lemons. 

shoot lunch.

One of the most awesome things about shooting at home is that you get to eat what you shoot and eat what you want! There is nothing wrong with catering, BUT it can get a bit old and repetative eating the same thing day in and day out at a studio. So when I shoot at home, I am all about eating simply. 

This was today's shoot lunch.

Farmer's market salad greens and organic hard boild eggs smashed on toasts with pickled ramps and the most AMAZING lemon caper dressing from April Bloomfield via food 52.

Basically, anything is a vehicle for this dressing. It is just that good and that addictive. really. try it.

See yesterday's post for Quick Pickled Ramps 

Smashed Hardboiled Eggs On Toasts With Pickled Ramps and Lemon Caper Dressing 

2 hardboiled eggs

2 pieces of your favorite rustic bread toasted

Pickled ramps

Seas salt

Cracked black pepper

Generous amount of lemon caper dressing. see recipe above

Toast the Bread

Boil the eggs

Peel the eggs

Smoosh one egg to each toast with a knife

Add dressing

Add a pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper

Top with a couple pickled ramps

Eat every last speck!

ceramics in the below shots are from a beautiful new shop in Williamsburg called MOCIUN.

Mociun, 224 Wythe Avenue, at North 4th Street, Williamsburg (718-387-3731 or mociun.com).

where the wild things are. no.16. quick pickled ramps.

I have been on a bit of a pickling binge lately. I have had some successes and some failures. I was "knot" so psyched about the Japanese Knotweed pickles... Knotweed is an invasive wild plant, similar to bamboo and it grows everywhere upstate. The red shoots are edible in the early spring and have  a rhubarb like flavor. I thought it would be interesting to pickle them. It was not good. The rhubarb- ness  that people talk about was a bit of a stretch for me. The pickles ended up tasting like swamp water! In order to combat such failures I simply move on to the next thing. In this case, it is pickled ramps.There is no going wrong with pickled ramps. I made a few batches  last year but the season is so short and they are so tasty, they never last more than a week or two in our house. I am into small batch; make that VERY small batch canning. I can't deal with the jars sitting around for months. I know that is the whole idea, but I tend to overdo it and make 200 jars of blackberry jam at a time so I have been attempting super small batch these past few years and pickling and canning has been a lot more reasonable. My secret pickling ingredient is juniper. I have been loving the wild, herby pine forest taste of juniper. It has become a regular addition top all my pickles. 

You can use this brine for any quick pickle.

 Quick Coriander Juniper Pickled Ramps

Makes roughly 1 quart jar

1/2-cup sugar

2 cups white wine vinegar

1-teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1-teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon dried juniper berries

1/2 teaspoon crushed juniper berries

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper fkes

1 teaspoon black Malabar peppercorns

1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger

2 bunches of ramp about roughly a half a pound

Rinse the ramps under cold water to remove any dirt or debris.

Gently peel back the  outer most layer of the ramp and discard.  This outermost transluscent membrane can be a bit slimy, this is what you want to peel off.

Cut the hairy root ends off the cleaned ramps and discard.

If you are using the bulb end of the ramps for pickling, cut them just above where the pink stem ends. This will give you the bulb end for pickling and the greens for sautéing. 

 To Make The Brine:

Add the spices and sugar to the 2 cups of white wine vinegar

Heat to a boil in a non-reactive pot

Turn off and allow steeping for 20 minutes for the spices to infuse

In the mean time, prep the ramp.

After 20 minutes, reheat the brine to a slow simmer.

Divide the ramp into thirds and drop into the brine for 20 seconds.

Remove after 20 seconds with a slotted spoon and set aside.

The ramp stems will turn a more vivid pink.

When all the ramps have been run through the brine, turn it off an allow it to cool.

Place the pickled ramps in a 1-quart, sterilized Weck or Ball jar or some other  sterilized airtight storage container.

 When  the brine has cooled, pour the remaining brine over the ramps.

Allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least a day before eating!

The pickled ramps will last for a couple of weeks in your refrigerator.

To see an archive of ramp images go here.