pretty in pink: rhubarb syrup

i'm not sure whether i love rhubarb because of its pretty pink color or because its the first splash of spring color i see at the farmer's market. either way, its a really fun vegetable (that charades as a fruit) to prepare and eat.

as i mentioned in my last post, i'm striving to preserve as much of each season's bounty as i can. last year, i made a strawberry rhubarb and balsamic jam and pickled rhubarb, both of which i enjoyed all winter long. but this year, in addition to the jam and pickles, i wanted to try something different.

this rhubarb syrup is quick and easy and turns out a delightfully pretty color of pink.

4 cups rhubarb - cut into 1 inch chunks

2 cups water

1 cup turbinado sugar

combine the above ingredients into large pot over medium heat. simmer until rhubarb softens (approximately 20 minutes). let cool and strain liquid. store syrup in the fridge. i use the leftover rhubarb mash as a topping for my morning yogurt.

ramp-a-licious

i grew up in the appalachian mountains and every spring my church had a ramp festival. my sister and i hated this festival. to us, ramps smelled so bad and we didn't even bother tasting any of the dishes with ramps in them. thank goodness palates mature.

ramps hit my local farmer's market a few weekends ago, and i took full advantage of the spring onion. my adult taste buds like ramps almost any old way: scrambled with eggs, sauteed with mushrooms on top of polenta or grits or tossed with pasta. however, this year, i am determined to preserve as much seasonal produce as possible so that i'm still enjoying local fruits and veggies in the dreary months of january and february.

so, while a few of the ramps were quickly eaten, the rest were preserved. i pickled some (pictured above), i made a ramp pesto with the tops of the ramps that were pickled, and i made a pound of ramp butter, most of which i'm storing in the freezer (thank you to serious eats for the recipes and inspiration).

after working hard to preserve these delicious spring treats, i combined a few of the products above to make this ramp-a-licious pasta. i added chicken to "beef up" the dish so that the boy and i would have leftovers for lunch for the work week, but it can easily be omitted. topping the dish with a dollop of ricotta and pesto isn't required but sure is decadent. i've recently gotten addicted to salvatore bklyn ricotta, a locally made and locally sourced ricotta.

ramp-a-licious pasta

1 tablespoon ramp butter - divided

1 raw boneless chicken breast - cut into chunks and sprinkled with salt & pepper

1/4 cup raw bacon - roughly chopped

juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon

8 ounces orichette pasta

2-3 tablespoons ramp pesto

1-2 tablespoons fresh ricotta

place large pot of water over high heat for pasta. while cooking chicken, let pasta cook according to package directions, drain, and let sit until you add to saucepan.

heat large saucepan over medium heat. melt one teaspoon ramp butter and add raw chicken to the pan. brown chicken on both sides and let cook for approx 10 minutes. add bacon, toss over medium-high heat until bacon begins to crisp (~3-5 minutes).

add cooked pasta to the saucepan and toss with lemon juice, zest and pesto. top with ricotta and another bit of pesto, if desired.

charcutepalooza: home brined corned beef

the boy insists that when it comes to cooking, i tend to bite off more than i can chew. however, when i announced my decision to participate in this month's charcutepalooza, i didn't get any of the usual eye rolling. he wholeheartedly endorsed the venture . . . until i announced that i would also be making homemade sauerkraut to accompany the corned beef.

"but you don't even like sauerkraut!" he protested. that, i assured him, was not the point. i wanted to have a "traditional" corned beef experience.

so, i bought a head of cabbage and 3 pounds of beef brisket at my local farmer's market and set up my 'kraut to ferment in the coolest darkest part of my incredibly tiny studio apartment. sauerkraut takes about two weeks to ferment and this particular sauerkraut was going to be fermenting (i.e. growing bacteria) six inches from my sleeping head. the boy declared that he would not be sleeping over while the 'kraut did its business.

y'all. i made it eight days (sleeping at the foot of my bed, mind you). on day nine, i came home from work and the full smell of the 'kraut hit me. i couldn't take it anymore, the boy was right, i DON'T LIKE sauerkraut! why was i doing this? out the 'kraut went.

but what about the beef you ask? it was lovely. i brined it according to the directions set out in the charcutepalooza bible: charcuterie: the craft of salting, smoking and curing by michael ruhlman and brian polcyn (ruhlman also has a nice how to cure your own corned beef tutorial on his website). after cooking the brined brisket in a broth of water, stout beer, carrots and onions, i cooled, sliced, and enjoyed it on a slice of dense multi-grain bread topped with a whole grain mustard made by brooklyn cured. yum-o.

meyer lemon marmalade

last weekend, i visited my good friends shaina and zoe in ocean beach, california. after a long and cold winter, the 75 degree weather and plentiful local produce was such a treat. we rode bikes, i wore sandals (!), we had cocktails on the beach, visited the farmer's market and ate plenty of fish tacos.

i was so jealous to find a beautiful meyer lemon tree right in shaina's yard. i picked a few to brighten my return to frigid nyc. at first, i wasn't sure what i wanted to do with the lemons. i thought about curing them (something my israeli roommate always did with her meyers). i also thought about roasting a chicken with the lemons or making a tagine, but when hipgirls tweeted about a perfect meyer lemon marmalade from shae irving, my heart was set.

shae is a prize-winning jam, jelly and marmalade maven (her ebook has this meyer lemon marm recipe plus more) and she has an excellent tutorial on how to slice citrus for marmalades on her blog. the only thing i did a little differently to the marmalade was to add the juice of half an orange - and i liked the enhanced flavor that it brought to the marmalade.

i yielded more marmalade than i expected, so if you'd like a jar, please leave a comment and i'll pop one in the mail to you.

nesting in paris

over the holidays, i spent three amazing weeks in paris (with a fun little jaunt over to england). i feel as if i'm still processing my experience, and flashes of memorable events - mostly food related - pop into my head while i go about my regular business back at home. i swapped my apartment in brooklyn with a lovely parisian couple, and so i was able to settle in and cook proper meals. it was a great experience.

some highlights of the trip:

~ midnight mass on christmas eve in notre dame: being inside the chapel with throngs of people as the bells chimed twelve and the priests began their procession was an incredibly special experience.

~ oysters at l'ecume saint-honore: a fish shop with seating provided a delightful afternoon snack of briny, slippery oysters and a silky sancerre.

~ warm, crusty and oh-so-light baguettes whenever and wherever i wanted. i seriously averaged a baguette a day.

~ le grande epicerie: david lebovitz recommends g. detou, and i visited both shops. i found that for sheer volume of french (and many other) goods, i just couldn't resist going back to le grand. the boy and i went crazy there - i was lucky to get everything home.

~ commiserating (en franglais!) with a shopkeeper about our love of the beauty and quality of liberty of london fabrics.