OlyveOyl

Fig and almond cake, almond flour keeps this cake moist for several days. This was also made in the food processor, so quick into the oven. The cake was made in a deep eight inch tart pan. A raspberry coulis was a nice accompaniment to the cake, the tartness played well with the sweet figs.

Whipped ricotta crostini, tomatoes, radish, olive salad. Thinly sliced semolina seeded bread oven toasted until golden, spread with whipped ricotta and assorted toppings. The ricotta had lemon zest, preserved lemon, lemon thyme, mint, chives and chervil. Broccoli di rabe, garlic, peperoncini, black olives and a little pasta. I had a very large head of the broccoli from the Farmers Mkt. which was put to good use with the pasta. Blanched the broccoli in the pasta water and then sautéed in evoo with the aromatics.

Raspberry, flaked almonds and pistachio flour cake. This was made in the FP and as a result comes together very quickly. It has a delicious pistachio flavor due also to pistachio oil. This a tender, fine crumbed cake that is as good on the second day as the first, served with a compote of rhubarb and raspberries on the side.

Yesterday’s lunch was a bit of a mash up. Lentils cooked in chicken broth, onion, cumin, curry and lemon thyme. Swiss chard and parsley from the terrace pots plus some cherry tomatoes added near the end of cooking. Topped with thinly sliced pork tenderloin, now I’m wishing there was more left over.

Breakfast this morning was crostini with locally made fresh ricotta and strawberries from the Farmers Market. The strawberries have been very sweet!

Oatmeal pancakes, butter and maple syrup made for a hearty breakfast this morning.Local berries on the side were delicious. These are all oatmeal pancakes made with yogurt and milk, adapted from loveandlemons.com .

Belgian tea cake filled with passionfruit curd. A small 6” cake, this one happens to be filled with passionfruit curd, I have also used Meyer lemon and tangerine curds. It’s a soft press in pastry although I prefer to roll it, some of the pastry is reserved for the top. Served with berries and a scoop of sour cream, it made a hit with our guests. The cake is also known as “Edna’s curd cake” and is found in multiple places on the web.

Korean rice cakes with a pork sauce ,Gochujang, garlic, ginger and more. Baby Tuscan kale from pots on the terrace, peppers and a mess of scallions and cilantro. And for a palate cleanser, tangerine sorbet with a little hit of pastis.

Me, too! It’s based on Rachel Roddy’s Marmalade Cake at The Guardian. I use jam in the cake rather than marmalade. It’s even good for breakfast with a boatload of fruit😀!

Sliced chicken breast on an endive salad, Roquefort, toasted walnuts, radish and a little squiggle of Wasabi Mayo. Lemon cake 4 ways, zest, lemon jam and a glaze of Meyer lemon syrup and limoncello. Rhubarb and raspberries accompanied the cake.

Those two bottles were the last of TJ’s white wine vinegar. They have discontinued it 😩

Chive blossom white wine vinegar, remove the vinegar to a microwaveable measuring cup. Bring the vinegar almost to the boil. Add the chive blossoms and some stem to the vinegar bottle, pour over the hot vinegar and reseal. The blossoms turn the vinegar a lovely shade of violet, which eventually will fade and the flowers will turn white. This is fragrant immediately but needs a month or so to develop flavor. I found a bottle recently that was two years old and it’s delicious. It makes an attractive gift, I usually cut the stems to about 3-4 inches, but as the stems are very pungent, I decided to cut them longer to see how the vinegar develops. I made these yesterday, the color will develop a little more.

Fettuccine, eggs, cheese, local asparagus. This is quick to put together, my usual formula is 200g.fettuccine,2 eggs, 60 g. Parm/Pecorino plus a little more at service. Lovely asparagus from the Farmers Mkt. yesterday. Followed by a romaine and radish salad. The romaine came from the pots on our terrace, ultra local!

Mini Mary Ann cakelets, the cavity is filled with passionfruit curd. Raspberries, blueberries and the first of the local strawberries…strawberries not sweet yet, but happy to have local berries. I had made a half dozen of the cakelets last week and froze two. Delighted to have them today to have with the curd and berries!

Risotto for lunch today. Saffron, shallot , rice sautéed in a little butter, some white wine and chicken stock for the liquid. The diced ham and asparagus were added at the finish, along with a knob of butter and freshly grated Parmigiana. I was out of rice for risotto, although I had plenty of rice for paella, I used Carolina Gold which turned out to be a more than respectable substitute. And the last of the chocolate cake with sour cream and freshly made strawberry jam.

A little “recycling “ lunch. added beans and bean broth to the cauliflower soup upthread, also added some zucchini and Parmigiana cheese. Citrus salad with the rest of the zucchini, parm and mint. We had the chocolate cake with a dollop of sour cream and raspberries.

Soup two ways…lower layer is cauliflower, zucchini/ little garlic, chicken stock. Top layer is sorrel and chervil puréed in blender. An unexpected but delicious combination. It was followed by a raspberry tart and raspberry/blackberry gelato.

Gluten free pear, chocolate and olive oil cake, a small 6” version of this cake was a result of having only one pear available. The cake has melted chocolate, cocoa and almond almond flour and is a delicious gluten free cake. The toasted hazelnuts provide a nice crunch and counterpoint to the softened pears. Will definitely pick up some more pears to make a larger version. (The cake was adapted from emmaduckworthbakes.com)

A small sourdough loaf, 400g bread flour, white whole wheat and rye. This had a 12 hour bulk ferment and an overnight in the fridge. Baked in a Corningware container, cold start, for about 40 minutes. It was great with soup, looking forward to sandwiches. The crust is considerably lighter than the pictures indicate.

Serious eats has a cocoa/cinnamon swirl meringue that is excellent. I sometimes use espresso powder/cocoa which is also very good.

It’s your version of Brutti Ma Buoni!

Linguine with sautéed cabbage, onion, garlic, mushrooms, one hot sausage removed from casing + some peperoncino. Added a little white wine after sautéing to steam the veggies a bit. Topped with grated Caciocavallo cheese and toasted walnuts, parsley; this was very loosely adapted from NYT Caramelized cabbage and walnuts. Going into rotation!

Rye sourdough crumpets and apricot jam. Crumpet recipe from KAF, this has always been a quick way to use excess sourdough discard, the rye was a nice change of pace.

Pork tenderloin tonnato, radish sprouts and lettuce on a Portuguese roll. Chips on the side were the perfect vehicle for the avocado that I just mashed up a bit with my fork. Freshly squeezed lemonade with mint from the garden was the drink of choice.

Chocolate frosted cake, a few chocolate feuilletine flakes on top and a swipe across the bottom of the cake. A bit of a cobbled together cake but came out well in spite of my additions and subtractions. I substituted self rising flour for the cake flour and added a few tablespoons of almond flour. The crumb was tender and moist, it’s only a six inch cake, so hopefully will remain fresh until tomorrow.