Cooking with "Deep Run Roots" by Vivian Howard

[Shelby]

Look what I got today from my mom   I can't wait to watch them!

 

[rotuts]

@Shelby 

 

good stuff

 

right there.

[Shelby]

Yesterday I made the Squash and Pistachio Crumble located on page 351.

 

I used my mandolin to slice the zucchini (it calls for either that or yellow squash).  

 

 

The recipe says to cook the squash in a dutch oven or a cast iron pan so I chose cast iron.  You are supposed to cook the squash along with lemon juice, sugar, water and salt.  I was kind of nervous about adding the 1/2 cup water.....it seemed like too much liquid, but I did what she said.  You cook it until the squash is tender and the liquid is reduced by half.  Then you add the cinnamon etc.  It took quite a while to reduce...I think you could get away with using less water...but then again, my squash are very juicy.

 

Then you set this aside to cool while you make the crumble.

 

Here is where I had some trouble.

 

It says to use a food processor so I drug that out.  I only have the kind of blade that you use for chopping--I don't have the plastic one that you would use for dough.  She doesn't specify what kind of blade, though, so it might not have mattered.  Anyway, you combine the flour, cornmeal, etc. and then add 3 sticks of cold butter (that have been cut into cubes) "a few at a time".....this was vague to me (I am crust-challenged as some of you know).  I added like 5-6 cubes at a time....I was only half way through adding the butter when the mixture looked like she said it was supposed to look:  crumbly.  I knew then I was in trouble because I had a lot more pulsing to do to incorporate the rest.  Sigh.  Anyway, by the time I was done it looked like sugar cookie dough, not a crumbly dough.

 

Here is where I REALLY had trouble and I would love for someone who has this book to look at the recipe for me because I think there is a mistake in the book.

 

This is what it says...which I would take to mean that you use 1 cup of nuts at one point and then 2 cups at another point, but the instructions only say "at the last second throw in the pistachios and pulse once or twice more just to combine." 

 

So, I didn't know whether to use 3 cups total or what????  So I split the difference and used a cup and a half.  She also doesn't specify what kind of pistachios...I only had roasted, salted ones so that's what I used.

 

Here is the 1/2 of the  dough in my 9x13 pan (she says to use that, or 6 ramekins and by this time I did not feel like fooling with ramekins).

 

 

By the way, this dough is super good just eaten right out of the bowl lol.

 

Anyway, here is for sure where you want to read ahead.  She tells you to bake it for 15 mins. at 350F.  Then "remove the blind-baked crust from the oven"...ACK...I hadn't read that yet so I quickly removed it from the oven and panicked LOL.  I don't have pie weights and I didn't want to bake any of my good Rancho Gordo beans....sooooo....I did this:

 

 

It was the best that I could come up with ...don't judge me lol.

 

Here it is after the 15 min. blind-bake :

 

Spoon the filling on

 

 

Put the remaining "crumble" on top (I forgot to take a picture of this which is probably good because it looked terrible LOL) and she says to bake for another 30 mins.  I had to bake mine for far longer....closer to an hour.

 

Just out of the oven

 

 

It kinda looks like the picture in the book!  Yay!!!

 

She says to serve it with vanilla ice cream and I just so happened to have made some so...I did

 

 

 

 

 

Verdict:  This is good stuff.  Ronnie was amazed.  It tastes JUST like apples.  I am going to make a triple batch and pressure can some...it would be great just plain...or over ice cream...or in a regular apple pie.

 

Also, the "crust" is really good.  It's nice to have a crisp/crumble recipe that doesn't call for oats.

 

I'm dying to know about the pistachio measurement though.....

 

 

 

 

 

[rotuts]

that is odd.

 

in reading the Rx it doesn't seem to use two different ' batches ' of pistachio's when assembling 

 

why not call the restaurant ?

 

http://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer/

 

explain your situation , explain the large FanClub on eG 

 

and ask for an email back at some point with a clarification. 

 

bet you get one.

 

maybe not today , but ...........

[rotuts]

did the crumble seem to have enough or not enough ' nuts ' ?

 

maybe the implication in the Rx was pistachio's of two different textures  : rougher and finer.

 

don't forget to ask about salted or not !

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, rotuts said:

did the crumble seem to have enough or not enough ' nuts ' ?

 

maybe the implication in the Rx was pistachio's of two different textures  : rougher and finer.

 

don't forget to ask about salted or not !

 I thought the same thing about the rougher/finer...but it just isn't very clear to me.

 

The crumble was good.  I didn't think it needed more nuts.

[kayb]

Very cool. I'm planning on pulling the trigger on a pressure canner during Prime Day.

 

We're all a bunch of Amazon junkies, aren't we? 

[Shelby]

This is the Assorted Squash Pickle Salad from page 343.

 

 

 

This is good stuff.  Refreshing, light, pretty.  I don't normally gravitate towards a sweeter pickle, but I like this and so did Ronnie.  The chili pepper flakes balance out the sweet.

[blue_dolphin]

Your squash salad looks just beautiful, @Shelby - especially in your pretty blue & white bowl.

We are getting to the best time of year for this cookbook to shine!

[blue_dolphin]

Raw Corn & Cantaloupe Salad with Red Onion & Roasted Poblano from Deep Run Roots.

This is one of those recipes that I had to try because I couldn't imagine what it would taste like. The roasted pepper and red onion get marinated for a bit before assembling everything, one of Vivian's salad tricks that I love. I used fresh corn and a Saticoy melon picked up at today's local farmers market and this salad really lets them both shine. It's full of different flavors and textures so each bite is a little different. I wouldn't recommend making this unless the corn and melon are at their best.

[Shelby]

Last night I made the Fried Okra Hash located on pg. 402

 

Very simple and very good   And, very similar to how my grammy did it and to how @kayb does it.

 

I could have eaten this whole pan myself.

 

[scubadoo97]

Shelby, I'm an okra lover and understand.  That pan of okra looks delicious 

[Shelby]

I finally made the jalapeño peach chicken-- @blue_dolphin has already made it using chicken wings.  I decided to use chicken quarters...because they were thawed out.  I made the jalapeño peach sauce last week.  I used peaches that I had canned and jalapeños from my garden.  The jalapeños are HOT so I was a bit afraid that it would be too spicy for me, but it was perfect.  We liked this a lot.  I have almost a quart jar left of the sauce....I'll use it on some wings next.  

 

Oh, and I did the chicken in the CSO....I didn't want to unload the cast iron from the oven.  I used the same time/temps as specified in the book except I did broil a little at the end to get more color.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

I loved that jalapeño- peach glaze, @Shelby, and I was just thinking that I need to make that stinky-cheese panini with it again! 

 

The other day,  I made the Cucumber Ginger Limeade

I like the cool cucumber-lime combination contrasting with the warmth of ginger.

So far, I've tried it with gin and tequila to make it into a cocktail.  Both are good but I'm leaning towards tequila.

The recipe says to chill everything down to avoid diluting it down when it's served over crushed ice, though to my taste, it can stand some dilution and I liked topping it with some sparkling water.

I used the same ingredients:  puréed cucumber, ginger-lime syrup and fresh lime juice to make up a batch of Cucumber-Lime-Ginger popsicles

 

Edited July 28, 2017 by blue_dolphin
To add popsicles (log)

[Smithy]

This book is so lovely, and your posts so enticing, that I feel myself weakening.  I have the Kindle version of this book.  I Do Not Need More Physical Cookbooks.  And yet...I wandered into Barnes & Noble the other day and held it.  It's beautiful.  Anna N is correct that it's huge and heavy.  Yet it's beautiful, and I have a tendency not to cook much from e-books. It's $40 at B&N, my local brick-and-mortar store; it's $28 at Amazon.  Oh, dear.

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

This book is so lovely, and your posts so enticing, that I feel myself weakening.  I have the Kindle version of this book.  I Do Not Need More Physical Cookbooks.  And yet...I wandered into Barnes & Noble the other day and held it.  It's beautiful.  Anna N is correct that it's huge and heavy.  Yet it's beautiful, and I have a tendency not to cook much from e-books. It's $40 at B&N, my local brick-and-mortar store; it's $28 at Amazon.  Oh, dear.

buyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyit

 

You will not regret it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

This book is so lovely, and your posts so enticing, that I feel myself weakening.  I have the Kindle version of this book.  I Do Not Need More Physical Cookbooks.  And yet...I wandered into Barnes & Noble the other day and held it.  It's beautiful.  Anna N is correct that it's huge and heavy.  Yet it's beautiful, and I have a tendency not to cook much from e-books. It's $40 at B&N, my local brick-and-mortar store; it's $28 at Amazon.  Oh, dear.

 

Consider the local library.

 

[rotuts]

Im a big big big fan off the LocalLib.

 

I buy very few books 

 

but this book is a keeper.

Edited July 29, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[Smithy]

11 hours ago, Shelby said:

buyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyitbuyit

 

You will not regret it.

 

You are an Enabler of the First Water.  I probably will, but there's this to consider:

10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Consider the local library.

 

 

Thank you for that reminder.  Out here in the country, with occasional trips to town, I forget about that beautiful asset although I regularly borrow its audiobooks, and support it with donations.

 

35 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Im a big big big fan ofd the LocalLib.

 

but this book is a keeper.

 

The library is a good way for me to find out. Thanks, all. 

(Wipes sweat from her brow, and puts her wallet away...for now...)

 

[Shelby]

Bet'cha you buy it 

[Smithy]

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

Bet'cha you buy it 

 

I've learned that our libraries are closed on weekends!  Didn't buy it today, but if my route takes me past Barnes & Noble tomorrow, well....

[rotuts]

as they say :

 

Just Get It

 

at your best attractive price !

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

I've learned that our libraries are closed on weekends!  Didn't buy it today, but if my route takes me past Barnes & Noble tomorrow, well....

If that's not a sign, I don't know what is.

 

 

buyitbuyitbuyitbuyit

[kayb]

I'm with @rotuts and @Shelby. One of the most enjoyable cookbooks I've purchased in a while. Worth the price of admission for the Blue Q sauce alone.

 

 

[Smithy]

Background: we live in a 3-floor house, with our bedroom at the top.  I sleep later than my darling.  His office is on the bottom floor, where he can read the news without disturbing me.

 

This morning as I was beginning to pry my eyes open, my darling came up to the middle floor and shouted, "You awake yet?!"  

 

I grumbled to the affirmative.  

 

"Good," he called.  "I've brought something up for you to read."

 

'Oh great - more political news,' I grumbled to myself, and pulled the covers over my head.

 

When I came downstairs later, he allowed that he'd been afraid to read the rest of it.  This is what he'd seen:

 

 

Explosions!  Oh, my! What was I contemplating??!

 

It was the second page of the recipe for the blueberry barbecue sauce, printed back-to-front as our printer does.