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Category: Eggs

Cherry Clafoutis

Clafoutis is a traditional French summer treat, not quite a flan and not quite a cake, they are sort of crepe like in taste and texture but deeper.

You can make them with any soft fruit like peaches or apricots or, cherries!

Cherries are so good right now.

This is an un-fussy summer dessert you can whip up in no time, with very little mess and it is oh so tasty.

Traditional cherry clafoutis recipes have you leave the pits in the cherries. I can’t get my head around that (gross, spitting cherry pits out during dessert, really France?) so I pitted mine, but you do what you want. Traditional recipes also use almond extract. I used vanilla because I almost always find almond extract overpowering, you can use what you like.

Here is what you will need.

3 large eggs
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more to butter the dish
1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
A couple pinches of salt
1 cup (235 ml) milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 generous (245 grams) cups pitted sweet cherries

Preheat oven to 400F. Beat the sugar, butter and eggs together with a whisk.
Add the flour and salt all at once and whisk. Next, pour in the milk a little at a time. Add the extract and mix well.
Place the cherries in a buttered glass or oven safe baking dish, cake or pie pan (9 or 10 inches in diameter) or skillet. (I use a 9-inch pan.) Pour the batter over the fruit. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until slightly browned and almost completely set in the middle. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving it, it’s great the next day too.

Yum. I might have gotten mine a little too brown.

Summer is here. Enjoy it’s bounty.

Have a great week. See you at pick–up.

Mo

July 6, 2020
Vegetable Carbonara

I posted a recipe for Carbonara last year. I make it so often I thought I would re-post it to show how versatile basic preparations and recipes can be.

This time I used up all my vegetable and mushroom odds and ends I had lurking in the refrigerator. I used more vegetables and less pasta than I did in the original post. Also, instead of topping it with breadcrumb I used coconut bacon.

We enjoy this dish again and again. I hope you will try it and let me know how you liked it.

See you at pickup.

Mo

June 24, 2019
Spinach and Onion Strata

This is an easy go-to, adaptable, make ahead meal. Use any greens or alliums you have, use a lot or a little. Use up any bits of cheese or meat or vegetables you have in the refrigerator, anything you have will be delicious.

I had some onions, spinach and mushrooms leftover from some pizza I made earlier so I used up those leftovers. I made this in a loaf pan. You can easily double this and bake it in a 9 X13 pan.

Spinach and Onion Strata

I used about *2 cups total vegetables
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few cranks of fresh black pepper
4 cups cubed bread
about a cup of cheese
1 1/4 cups milk
4 or 5 eggs
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

*You will want any vegetables you use in your strata cooked and cooled before you assemble the dish, so do that first.

Next spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered oven proof dish. Top with one-third of your vegetable mixture and one-third of the cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for eat least 8 hours or up to a day. All that egg and milk need to get soaked up in the bread.

Preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Mo

June 4, 2018
Pickled Beets and Eggs

When I pickle beets I have always done large batches and processed them in a water bath to preserve them. When I have eaten all the beets in a jar I like to put a few hard boiled eggs in the leftover pickling brine to ‘pickle’ the eggs.
I saw this recipe in Food and Wine that made just one jar of refrigerator pickles and eggs. I thought some of you who don’t have room or desire to preserve larger batches of beets might like to try this. These will keep for about a week with the eggs in them. If you make these without the eggs they will keep in the refrigerator for at least a month.

I followed the recipe except I pressure cooked my beets instead of roasting them. I like to roast them in cold weather and pressure cook them when it is hot out. Cook your beets how ever you like then follow the recipe.
You will probably notice my eggs are small. I have bantam chickens and I like to use their eggs to hard cooked eggs. Their yolk to white ratio is higher than standard hens eggs are. Plus, they are a perfect bite size.

Here are a few photos of the process.
First, cook your beets

Peel the skins off, can you tell how easily the skins fall off when you pressure cook them?

I love beets.
Next make your brine and fill your jar with the beets, onion, dill sprigs, garlic, and eggs.

Pickled Beets and Eggs
4 small red beets (about 3/4 pound), scrubbed
1 cup raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small red onion, cut into thin wedges
4 hard-cooked large eggs, peeled
6 dill sprigs
Preheat the oven to 450°. Wrap the beets in foil and roast for about 1 hour, until tender. When cool enough to handle, slip off the skins and quarter the beets.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, peppercorns and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer over moderately high heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let the pickling liquid cool to warm, about 15 minutes.
Layer the beets, onion, eggs and dill in a heatproof 1-quart glass jar and cover with the pickling liquid. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
MAKE AHEAD The pickled beets and eggs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

The next day they look like this. Pretty and delicious. Pretty delicious.

I have a lot of beets leftover from this batch I cooked, so this week will be beet-o-licious at my house. Stay tuned.

July 28, 2014
Vegetable Frittata

Look at some of the lovely vegetables we get this week.

I grilled the zucchini and onions for dinner last night.

The broccoli raab too.

I often cook a large portion of my CSA share early in the week, for two reasons.
First, it takes up less room in the refrigerator when it’s cooked.
Second, it makes for easy and quick meals later in the week.

I knew I would have lots of leftover grilled vegetables from last night so I will make a frittata for tonight’s dinner.
You can use any cooked vegetables or grains or pasta you have to make this. I love frittata’s made with leftover pasta and vegetables.
I just used the leftover grilled vegetables this time.

FRITTATA

This will serve 2 people generously.

olive oil and/or butter
5 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup milk, cream, half and half, or even sour cream or yougurt.
tender fresh herbs, whole leaves or coarsely chopped.
some grated firm or hard cheese, Cheddar, jack, Parmesan, (optional)

Preheat your broiler to finish the top of the frittata.
Warm the vegetables in a pan on the stove in a bit of olive oil and/or butter in an OVENPROOF pan large enough to also hold the eggs.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and scramble with the herbs and a little salt and pepper.
Add your milk product, and fresh herbs and stir to combine.

Pour the egg mixture over the warmed vegetables in the skillet, adjusting the heat down so the eggs set without overcooking on the sides or bottom.
Don’t stir the pan. You want the eggs to set as one unit. This isn’t a scramble. If you mess up you will have a delicious scramble, so don’t worry too much. It will be delicious no matter what. But, do try to be patient.
This is what ‘set’ eggs look like, ready be finished under the broiler. More runny than you imagine I bet. Error on the side of runny, you don’t want really hard eggs in this dish. Put some cheese on now and put it in the oven to broil.

You want the frittata to puff slightly and start to brown at the edges and on top.
I like the eggs set and puffy on the edges, but barely set and soft in the center.

Now go sit on the patio with a simple salad, good bread and a glass of wine and enjoy this lovely meal!

July 14, 2014
Shirred Eggs with Spinach

I got this recipe idea from a friend of mine Kayann Short who is co-owner/farmer of Stonebridge Farm in Lyons Colorado. Stonebridge Farm is the second oldest CSA Farm in Colorado. I think they are going on their 20th year, maybe 21st. She posted this to her CSA memebers a few weeks ago. The original recipe came from ‘Eat Well, Eat Happy: 100 Ways to Enjoy the Healthy Foods You Love, by Charity Ferreira’.
Thanks Kayann!

The only change I made was using 1/2 and 1/2 instead of cream because that is what I had. Next time I think I would put a little parmesan cheese on top and use more spinach and 2 eggs and have it for dinner. The 1/2 and 1/2 (or cream if that is what you use). Makes sort of a sauce with the spinach. The spinach sort of melts and has a nice sweetness from the baking. This will be a quick go to dinner I think. You could also make this with any green, like kale or chard.
*notes

Shirred Eggs with Spinach and Paprika – serves 4

Olive oil spray
1 1/3 cups baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped (4 oz)
4 extra-large farm fresh eggs
2 T. heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Paprika, for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat insides of four 6-oz ramekins generously with olive oil spray. Put about 1/3 cup spinach in each ramekin and crack an egg into each ramekin over the spinach. Drizzle 1/2 T. cream over each egg and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Bake until egg whites are firm and yolks are as runny or firm as desired, 10-14 minutes. Serve at once.
*Anticipate the dish to be very hot and set it on a tea towel or napkin when you serve it. If you are serving this to a kid I would put it right on a plate and not use the baking dish.
* The recipe doesn’t say, but I really chopped up my spinach and smooshed it into the baking dish to get as much in my 1/3 cup of spinach. If you don’t chop and smoosh you will obviously have less spinach!

June 17, 2013
Vegetable Cake
(liberally adapted from several different recipes online)
- 2 to 3 cups chopped vegetables of any kind
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped herbs (I used rosemary and sage)
- 8 eggs
- 1 handful basil, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups flour (I used white whole wheat, but you can use gluten free or all purpose, any kind really. There are so many eggs in this that it is a forgiving recipe in regards to flour.)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 to 2 cups grated cheese (I used parmesan but any kind of cheese you have would work.)
- Salt and black pepper to taste, depending on the cheese you use. (Some cheese is pretty salty, so be careful here.)
- Butter or Pam spray, for greasing pan
- Sesame seeds, for dusting baking pan
I sautéed my vegetables but you could cook yours however you like. They just need to be cooked and cool before you mix them into the cake batter.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch pan. I sprinkled sesame seeds in my greased pan for crunch and interest. You don’t have to do that, but it’s nice if you do.
Mix the wet ingredients and the dry separately, then mix them together like you would a quick bread or muffin batter. Then fold in the cooled vegetables and the cheese. Put the batter into the prepared pan. I like to put a few onions on top of the batter. Again, you don’t have to do that or you could put a different vegetable on top.

This is what it looks like when it is done. Try this with whatever you have on hand.

– Mo
February 7, 2013