Also for beets…
One spring weekend, I had a craving for Veselka’s Christmas borscht and started a furious search for an online recipe. The only mentions I found praised it to the heavens, but had no recipes attached. I did, however, find an approximate recreation of their everyday borscht, which I finally got around to making this afternoon. So, so, so good. This is going into heavy rotation this winter.
recipe after the jump
Finally.
It took two weekends of tweaking, combining and adapting recipes, but I finally settled on a Concord grape focaccia (inspired by schiacciata, but less desserty) we couldn’t stop eating. Gil did his damage to it while I was away at work, but each night before bed, I stood at the counter nibbling on tiny pieces that always added up to the one large piece I should’ve just cut for myself at the start.
Apart from the focaccia, I didn’t really do any cooking last weekend because I was working on my first (paying) portrait shoot! Last winter, Cara Packard, the super-talented owner of Cara Linn Cakes, hired me to take some promotional pictures for her business. She’s getting married next month, so her sister did a little sleuthing to find me and arrange a surprise bridal portrait session in the city. I had a great time working with someone so natural and relaxed in front of the camera, and found that taking pictures of humans is even more fun than taking pictures of food. Go figure.
a few bridal pictures and focaccia recipe after the jump
I’m tired of fighting it.
We had snow yesterday (snow, people!), so I’m diving into fall cooking starting with a simple breakfast — acorn squash roasted with cultured butter, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, and a liberal sprinkling of salt. I’ll be restocking my squash supplies over the weekend so this kind of thing is always an option.
Update: I’ve added a recipe of sorts after the jump.
(Click the image to view larger on flickr)
This is why you’ll find us at the Ringwood farmers’ market every Saturday.
These Concord grapes called to me from the Orchards of Concklin booth as Ru dragged us there to visit his girlfriend, Laura. When I got within a few feet of the table, the jammy aroma hit me and made it impossible to pass them up. I’ve never experienced anything like it at the local grocery, so I’m very thankful for the farmers who come to our town every Saturday morning to share the results of their hard work with us.
Now, what to do with them? Jelly is the obvious choice, but I’m all canned out. Sweet-savory, maybe? I’m thinking a Concord grape tart with an olive oil crust could be a very, very good thing.
