More Recipes! Love from Bulgaria- Tarator and Baked Feta

My good friend Matt married a lovely Bulgarian lady named Rali not too long ago. We got to visit over New Year's, and the talk turned to- what else? Yep, food. We talked about the differences in the foods of our native countries. Rali also told us all about preserving food for winter in Bulgaria, and how her whole family would work together to fill the larder. Even with my very small experiences in canning, I know how essential all of those hands must have been with that much work.

I got a fantastic gift the other day from Matt in the form of two Bulgarian recipes, a yogurt soup called Tarator and Baked Feta. Enjoy!

Tarator is an awesome cold yogurt soup. It's a staple and one of the dishes that is approachable for foreigners - i.e., not too exotic...

Tarator

300-400g cucumbers (10.5-14ozs)

1/2 kg yogurt (1 pound, 1 oz)

7-8 chopped walnut kernels

5-6 cloves garlic crushed

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup chopped dill

salt to taste

1. Peel and dice cucumbers

2. Beat yogurt with fork or whisk, thin with water until soup consistency, and pour over cukes

3. Add walnuts

4. Thoroughly crush garlic, add vinegar, and add to soup

5. Add oil, salt and dill

Baked Feta in Gyuveche (also called Gyuvechete)

400g Bulgarian feta (~14 oz) (note: BG feta is different than regular Greek feta. It's a bit more sour, and is more wet - it's stored in water like mozzarella)

4 tablespoons butter

4 tomatoes

2 bunches green onions (or 2 onions)

4 eggs

4 roasted chili peppers (optional)

This dish is prepared in small, single serving ceramic or oven-safe bowls, with lids. It is served hot, out of the oven, with fresh bread

1. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in each bowl (note: Rali doesn't use butter so I don't think you need it)

2. Chop onions, dice tomatoes, and crumble cheese (or cut in small cubes)

3. Break 1 egg over mixture in each bowl

4. Cover bowls and bake for about 10 minutes in moderate oven (350?)

5. Remove lids, put a chili pepper in each bowl, serve.

Recipes for cozy winter nights: Chickpea Chili and British Cornbread

I had the most lovely dinner with friends last night, and even luckier for me, they are fantastic cooks. Stephanie made the best chili I have ever had (that is right- we are using superlatives here) and my British friend Melissa made the best cornbread ever. The chili has chick peas and tomatillos, so it is very fresh, and the cornbread is more like cake than bread- in texture, not sweetness. Here are the recipes, in the voices of the lovely women who made them. Enjoy!

Stephanie's Chick Pea Chili

• 8 lb. Tomatillos, husked, cleaned

• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 2 cups cilantro leaves

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp. black pepper

• 1 lb. 4 oz. onions, chopped

• 6 lb. Chick peas, canned drained

• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine tomatillos and 1/2 cup of the olive oil in pressurized

steam cooker. Steam for 20 minutes; strain through fine-mesh strainer.

2. Blend in blender or food processor cilantro with lime juice,

garlic powder, cayenne and pepper until liquefied. Add to tomatillo

puree; set sauce aside.

3. Cook onions in 1/4 cup of remaining oil until softened. Add chick

peas and tomatillo sauce; simmer 5 minutes to thicken slightly,

stirring often. Salt to taste.

I don't have a pressurized steam cooker, so I just chopped up the

tomatillos, put them in a bowl, filled the bowl with water and popped

them in the microwave for ~20 minutes. I didn't use any oil in the

tomatillos, because that seemed kind of gross and unnecessary.

The recipe seems to be missing a step between 1 and 2. Step 2 says

something about tomatillo puree, yet step 1 doesn't say anything about

pureeing the tomatillos. I used an immersion blender to puree the

tomatillos after draining off the water used to steam them.

Also, I halved this recipe, which seems designed to feed a small army,

though I did keep the amount of spice the same (cayenne and black

pepper) because I really like spice.

Melissa's Cornbread

from Susan Reimer's book 'Muffins Fast and

Fantastic' (1998) and because it's an English book, the measurements are

by weight, not volume. I'll give them in imperial.

6 oz plain flour

6 oz cornmeal

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 oz sugar

1 egg

9 fl oz milk

3 oz butter, melted

1. Prepare muffin tins or loaf pan (I use butter and then line the bottom

only with greaseproof paper). Preheat oven to 375-400F.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the first 5 ingredients, mixing well. Make

a well in the centre.

3. In another bowl, beat the egg with a fork. Add milk and melted butter

(if the butter is hot from melting and the milk and egg are cold, you will

get a scrambled effect - don't worry if this happens; just mix it all

together anyway).

4. Pour all of wet ingredients into dry. Stir until just combined. Batter

will appear lumpy, but no dry flour should be visible (stir as little as

possible).

5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full or pour into loaf pan. Bake for 20 mins for

muffins, 35-45 mins for a loaf, until edges appear golden brown and top

springs back when touched, or a knife or skewer comes out clean on

testing. Let cool in the pan for a bit, then take it out.

She also suggests adding 1-2 oz grated cheddar cheese or some finely

chopped cooked bacon, but this recipe is so good that I don't mess with

it. It's also quick - you can make the muffins in 30 mins, start to

finish.

More Good Recycling News

From Jerry Veneziano of Sweetwater Farms:

There was a time when I didn't drink wine. That all changed when we settled the farm here at the gateway to Virginia's wine country. With 2 wineries no more than 15 minutes from my door, how could I not try them out, and discover what I'd missed out on? Which has led to numerous empty glass bottles...and a pile of corks. Dealing with the bottles is easy...you hang them from trees (thanks to Sister Dawn for that inspiration) or haul them to the recycling center if you prefer. But, what about the corks? They're kind of cool and all, but after awhile they start to pile up...

A quick visit to Feast! in Charlottesville (an epicurean's dream) turned up the answer, and some rather disturbing statistics. Apparently, billions (yes with a "B") of wine corks end up in landfills every year. That's not good! Especially since they can be recycled into so many things (insulation, soil conditioner, building materials, etc. etc. etc.). The only tricky thing is finding a place to turn them in. That's why Carpet Plus has started Re-cork C'ville. Take your natural wine corks to one of the drop off locations they've set up, then they'll convey them to a cork recycling facility.

Unfortunately, they don't have any drop off locations in Richmond (at least, not yet), and I'm not aware of any similar local program (again, at least not yet). Still, this would be a perfectly good excuse to take a ride to the mountains...and sample all that C'ville has to offer, yes?

Learn more at: http://www.carpetplusonline.com/recork/

Wendell Berry's Dec 3 Talk At UVA

Thank you to Jo at Manakintowne Speciality Growers for passing this along to us. Wendell Berry spoke to an overflow crowed in early December. I am so sorry that I missed it, however, we don't have to miss out entirely. Mr. Berry's one hour talk can be downloaded for free via itunes. To read a bit about the talk and to listen to the lecture you can follow the link on the Manakintowne Specialty Growers web page here. Just click on Events at the top of the page and scroll down.

Chocolate Cravings Open House Today

Just a Reminder that the Chocolate Cravings Open House is today.

Samples of hot chocolate and other confections doesn't sound like a bad way to spend part of a cold January day!

Open House on Saturday, January 23 from 10:00 - 5:00.

Chocolate Cravings

6929 Lakeside Avenue

(In the Hub Shopping Center at the corner of Lakeside and Hillard)

Richmond Va. 23228

804-363-6873

Come and sample some hot chocolate and preview Valentine Treats.

Urban Foraging in the 2010

Thanks to my friend Jonah who pointed me to the RVA blog Buttermilk and Molasses for news of a new app for your iphone. Use the app to find the closest public fruit trees to your current location! I was going to (eventually, one day) create a map of the fig, mulberry and other fruit trees around town, but now that seems so terribly old school. Now I think I'll just grab my friends with fancy phones (you'll love it, guys!) and go a huntin'.

Here is the info from the Neighborhood Fruit Website:

Find Fruit unlocks cities, enabling you to explore in new ways. Instead of being trapped in the concrete jungle, this app is your key to the edible urban forest! Find Fruit helps you find fresh fruit growing down the street and learn more about fruit trees.

Features:

Location of thousands of trees on public land nationwide on a standard Google Map.

Current location or zipcode/address enabled search.

Directions from your current location.

Configurable fruit tree search by seasonality, type of tree, proximity, and number of trees displayed.

Usage, description and factoids for all available fruit types, ranging from the pedestrian Apple, to the exotic Yellow Mangosteen!

Beautiful and informative illustrations to help identify the fruit.

Intuitive and fun interface!

Requirements:

iPhone OS2.0 or later

Have you been to Black Hand Coffee Co.?

I have been getting Black Hand Coffee through Fall Line Farms, and have loved it, so when I found out they have a shop at 606 North Sheppard Street, I had to check it out. The laid back shop in the Museum District roasts its own beans, and makes one of the best lattes (my coffee drink of choice, always) ever. I talked with Chris, the shop's roaster, who has been at Black Hand for nearly a year. The roasts range from light to very dark and oily, and are sold whole bean or ground in a reusable tin. Go there for the coffee and for Flour Garden breads and pastries. (Photo courtesy of Black Hand Coffee Company)