Adventures in Thyme

Strawberry Ice Cream

July 16, 2014 by Dan 1 Comment

Strawberry Ice Cream

Sometimes you just have to give in to your urges, and today we succumb to ice cream’s siren song.

Homemade ice cream has been made so much easier with “modern” ice cream makers. Do you remember the ones we used way back when with rock salt, and hand cranked it? Well, today we can use electric ice cream makers and have our ice cream in about 30 mins of churning. So, let’s get cookin’!

4 cups Goat Milk or substitute 2 cups regular Whole Milk and 2 cups Half and Half
1 1/2 cups Sugar
6 fresh Egg Yolks
1 pound Strawberries
1 Vanilla Bean

Separate 6 eggs so you have 6 fresh yolks. (You can keep the egg whites for another project if you wish.) Beat the egg yolks in a bowl until smooth.

Hull the strawberries. Place 1/2 pound of strawberries and 1/4 cup of sugar into a blender and puree. Take the remaining half pound of strawberries and cut them into small pieces, add 1/4 cup of sugar, stir and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of sugar in 2 quart pot. Halve your vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add the bean and the seeds to the milk mixture. Heat over low heat, stirring regularly, until the sugar is dissolved and milk begins to steam. Note: Do not leave milk on the stove unattended, if it boils over it can cause a fire.

Add half a cup to a cup of the milk mixture to the eggs, a little at a time. Whisk in the milk as you add it. Keep stirring and add only a little at a time. You want to temper the eggs, not make scrambled eggs. Once this is combined, add the egg mixture back into the hot milk, whisking to blend thoroughly. Cook until it begins the thicken and coats a spoon. Remove from the heat and pour through a strainer into a mixing bowl. Now add the remaining 2 cups of goat milk or 2 cups of half and half and then add the pureed strawberries. Blend well. Place the mixture in the refrigerator until chilled (a couple of hours at least.)

Once the mixture is cool, place in an ice cream maker and freeze per manufacturer’s directions. Once frozen, mix in the cut up strawberry pieces (do not add the juice, it will make the ice cream freeze strangely) and place in your freezer until firm.

For a variation, you can substitute any summer fruit for the strawberries.

Berry Filled White Cake

July 9, 2014 by Dan Leave a Comment

Berry filled white cake

Doesn’t that picture look awesome! A triumvirate of cakey goodness – three delicious layers of divinely concocted cake with fruit. It’s healthy – seriously! Look at the fruit, and of course there’s eggs, and milk and… Just eat it – you’ll love it and not care about the calories. Let’s get baking!

Berry Filled Cake

Cake

2 cups white Sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, at room temperature
4 Eggs
4 teaspoons Vanilla
3 cups all purpose Flour
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 1/2 cups Milk (we used goat)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line and flour 3 9 inch round cake pans.

Sift together your flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beat each one in before adding the next. Add vanilla. Beat until blended in.

With your mixer at a lower setting (if you use a high setting you’ll have flour everywhere) add your dry ingredients, 1/4 at a time. Mix well. Add milk and mix until smooth. If it doesn’t look silky, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until batter is smooth. This batter is thick – be warned.

Put 1/3 of your batter into each pan. Spread so it is level and evenly distributed in the pans.

Bake at 350 degree F for 30 minutes. If a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean, remove from the oven. If not, cook another 5 minutes and check again. Repeat as needed. (Note: cooking times will vary depending on your oven.)

Cool the cakes for a few minutes, then turn out of the pans and cool on a rack until room temperature.

Strawberry Glaze

2 cups sliced Strawberries (fresh are definitely best – and they’re in season!)
1 cup Water
1 cup white Sugar
4 tablespoons Corn Starch

Combine sugar and water in 2 quart sauce pan. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves completely. Turn heat down to low and add the strawberries. Cook, stirring gently, occasionally, until the juice from the strawberries is well incorporated into the syrup. (30 to 45 minutes.) Strain out the sliced strawberries and let the syrup cool to room temperature or so. Carefully mix in your corn starch so you have no lumps. Return the syrup to your pan and heat at medium high until it thickens and begins to bubble. Stir constantly. Once done, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Buttercream Frosting

4 sticks (2 cups) Butter
6 cups powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Milk

Cream your butter in your mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, carefully so you don’t get it all over the kitchen, and mix until blended and smooth. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a spreadable consistency.

Berry Filling

2 cups sliced Strawberries
2 cups fresh blueberries (or raspberries / blueberries / insert favorite fruit here)
Strawberry Glaze (see above)

Combine your fruit with some of your strawberry glaze so that it coats the fruit.

Assemble your cake

First, make a paper template for the area you will be cutting out of your cake. (You will be removing the grey area in the picture.) Make the template to the ring has a 3 inch inside diameter and a 6 inch outside diameter. Place the template, centered, on one layer of your cake and carefully cut around the inside and outside of the template. The area you are removing is where the berry filling will go.

Place a whole layer on your cake plate and cover the top with a layer of frosting. Add the center and outside rings from the layer you cut into rings above. Carefully add filling so that the fruit and glaze fills the ring. Now cover this layer, including the filling, with a layer of frosting. Place the remaining whole layer on top. Frost the cake with your remaining frosting. Serve in slices, topped with some of your remaining filling and extra glaze as desired.

Store in the refrigerator. Eat within a few days.

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

July 2, 2014 by Dan 1 Comment

Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops

We’re firing up the bbq again for this delicious Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops dish. The glaze is a lovely balance between the acidity of vinegar and the sweetness of honey. We’ve placed it over rice noodles but you could easily substitute fried rice or a baked potato. Let’s get cookin’!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup good Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Honey
fresh Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
4 Pork Chops
Noodles / fried rice / vegetables as desired

Light your bbq, you’ll want a direct fire. We prefer charcoal.

Finely chop a sprig of fresh rosemary.

In a small sauce pan, combine 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (for best results, use a good balsamic, I like the one from Wine Country Kitchens.) and the honey. Add half of the chopped rosemary. Heat over low heat until the honey combines with the vinegar and the mixture begins to thicken. Keep just warm so it doesn’t over thicken. You will need to be able to pour or spoon the glaze.

Season your pork chops by lightly sprinkling with salt, pepper, a little cinnamon and the remaining rosemary. Be sure to season both sides of the meat. Grill for 10 to 15 minutes per side (depending on how thick your chops are and how hot the fire is. In cold weather it may take longer to cook them. An open grill may also take longer.) Five minutes before the chops are done, spoon some of your glaze over the pork chops, cover and let the chops finish cooking.

We served these chops over noodles and drizzled the remaining glaze over the noodles and chops. In the background above you can see bbq’d apples with a little bit of spiced brown sugar. Your grill is still hot – add a little bit of dessert before you shut the bbq down and take another bite out of summer’s bounty.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Tacos

June 25, 2014 by Dan 1 Comment

Grilled chicken tacos

With summer upon us and ye olde bbq dusted off, this week’s recipe is a delightful grilled chicken taco with lots of fresh fixin’s nestled in corn tortillas. This recipe takes a little extra effort, but it’s worth the wait – Let’s get cookin’!

Taco Seasoning:

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon dry Oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon granulated Garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated Onion
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper

Combine the spices and set aside. (Can be stored in a spice bottle for a long period of time to use with beef, ground beef, chicken, etc.)

Salsa:

6 Roma Tomatoes (3 of these will be roasted)
1 Green Bell Pepper (to be roasted)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper (to be roasted)
3 Jalapeno Peppers (2 of these will be roasted)
1 medium to large Onion (will be roasted)
4 cloves Garlic
1 Lime
Salt
Olive Oil

Salsa and BBQ’ing the veggies:

While your BBQ is heating. Halve and seed three roma tomatoes and both bell peppers. If you don’t want a really spicy salsa, also halve and seed your jalapeno peppers (otherwise, you just leave those seeds in there!). Peal the onion and cut into 8 to 12 wedges. When the bbq fire is hot, make a small pan out of heavy aluminum foil and place the three seeded tomatoes, both bell peppers, 2 jalapenos and your onion into the pan. Add a bit of olive oil to coat and prevent sticking, sprinkle with salt and place on a rack over your fire. Cook for about 10 minutes then turn everything over and cook for another 10 minutes or until the peppers are charred and the onion is mostly cooked (do not cook the onion or peppers to mush, just until a bit tender.)

While the peppers and onion are grilling cut up your remaining 3 tomatoes and place in a bowl. Finely dice your remaining jalapeno and add it to the tomatoes.

When the peppers and onions are cooked, set these aside in a bowl covered with food wrap for about 10 minutes, then remove any skin that has been loosened by the bbq process. Place the tomatoes and half the onion in a blender or food processor. Add one of the roasted jalapenos and the garlic. Blend until mostly smooth.

Take the remaining onion and the bell peppers and cut into about 1/4 inch pieces, place these in a bowl. Finely mince the remaining roasted jalapeno and add to the bowl. Then add the puree from above and stir gently, followed by the juice of one lime and stir. Add salt to taste. Let sit at least half an hour before assembling your tacos.

Note: this will get spicier as it sits.

Grilling the chicken:

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless Chicken Breast (boneless thighs would also work well)
Taco Seasoning (from recipe above)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Place one breast at a time into a ziplock bag and fold the end over (do not seal). Pound the chicken flatter with a meat mallet. This will help ensure more even cooking.

Sprinkle the chicken with your taco seasoning and place into a zip lock bag. Add the olive oil. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Squeeze around so the oil covers all of the meat. Place in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours to overnight.

Grill over direct heat for 10 to 15 minutes per side (depending on how hot your fire is) until the chicken is done. Place on a plate and cover with foil for 10 minutes. Slice the chicken across the grain.

Almost there… Taco time!

Salsa
Grilled Chicken
Sour Cream
Tortillas
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or Cotija would be good too!)
Lettuce
Fresh Cilantro

To assemble your tacos, heat your tortillas in a skillet, lightly brown but do not make crispy. Place a few pieces of chicken into the tortilla, add lettuce, salsa, cheddar cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle a little chopped, fresh cilantro over the top. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Luscious Lamb Burgers

June 18, 2014 by Ginger 2 Comments

Lamb Burger

Let’s just pause here a moment and look at that picture once more – salivating yet? We love lamb, and this yummy burger really hits the spot after a long day at work. Let’s get grilling with Burgers Part Deux!

For the burger, mix gently together:
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tablespoon dried basil
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
3/4 cup crumbled sheep’s feta (or goat feta); reserve additional feta to garnish the burger
Note: Overmixing the burger will destroy the yummy chunks of cheese crumbles so mix thoroughly, but gently.

For the Tzatziki dressing, mix together:
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 shallot minced fine
6 oz plain goat yogurt
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Additional ingredients as desired: burger buns, sliced tomatos, butter lettuce, fries.

Grill burgers on your bbq, or fry in a pan in your kitchen. While they are cooking, warm your burger buns if you like them a little toasty, we used ciabatta rolls. When the burgers are done, “Accoutrements assemble!” We stacked our burger with lettuce, burger, tzatziki, tomato, and feta. But some crispy bacon is also a good addition or some French fried onions (they’re good on lots of things other than green beans!).

Enjoy!