I bought this book.  Yup.  At the end of winter... what the hell.
It's awesome.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  It makes so much sense to obtain a book specifically for seasonal cooking.  I only just got it and already the pages are all dog eared and it has inspired 2 recipes out of my kitchen.  This is one of those recipes.
Jerusalem Artichokes have been a part of our lives recently because they've been available in our food box.  This is the last week that they're being offered (so far as my muddled brain can tell) so I've taken advantage of it by using them... twice.  That's twice more in one week than I've ever cooked them before.  EVER.  Feeling pretty proud.


We're approaching that time of year when the weather is starting to change and spirits are lifting and with it expectations are starting to rise.  I'm anticipating food... thinking about garlic scapes and fiddle heads and parsley growing again.  But for now it's the dregs.  Cleaning out the freezer, working through the cold room.  That kind of thing.  I am definitely looking forward to the days when I can pick fresh green beans from the garden and slice a tomato and smell that smell.  I am looking forward to fresh veggies being exciting again.  But for now, I am looking at my jars and freezer bags and trying to get through.
Winter 2012 has marked a big change for me.  I now have a winter salad.  I usually eat green every day - at least I try to.  I've now adapted my summer fresh greens to winter 'thinly sliced cabbage and shredded carrot' salad.  I officially like canning.  It's been a success.  I also officially like beets and L O V E beet pickles.  That's a big one.  I've been able to skip my food box for a week here and there because of all the garden veg and that's a savings for sure.  A shift has happened.


So back to Jerusalem Artichokes.  This recipes takes advantage of how potato-esque they can be.  It's also simple.  Ridiculously simple.  We have a local mushroom grower who provides mushrooms year round here in Ontario making the dish local and almost fresh - as fresh as you'll get in March.  The recipes was a total success as far as I'm concerned.  I served this as a main course and therefor was happy to add bacon - when am I not happy to add bacon.  However, if I were serving this alongside another dish and/or wanted it to be vegetarian then I would leave the bacon out and I'm sure that the dish would stand up well.
So, with my new winter cookbook, I feel well armed... ummm... for winter (?)


Jerusalem Artichoke and Mushroom Roast adapted from 'Winter Harvest Cookbook'
serves 4

2 cups mushrooms (I used local button) quartered
2 lbs jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed and cut into large chunks
vegetable stock
3 rashers bacon, chopped
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt, pepper (to taste)
4 dashes of nutmeg
2 dashes of ground ginger or 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1/3 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan, shredded
few dabs of butter

Place the jerusalem artichokes in a pot.  Add vegetable stock until the artichokes are almost covered.  Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.  Keep them simmering for about 15 - 20 minutes or until they soften but aren't yet mushy.  Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Heat a medium skillet or pot over medium heat.  Add the bacon and fry until just beginning to brown.  Add in the onion and saute together until the onion just begins to soften.  Add in the garlic and the mushrooms.  May need to add a little more oil because the mushrooms will absorb a lot of oil.  Saute another 3 - 5 minutes.  Add the artichokes and about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the artichokes.  Stir and add the nutmeg and ginger, salt and pepper (check the tastes first with the salt and pepper because if you are using stock then the quantities of salt may vary depending on the brand - start by adding a little salt at a time).
Pour the whole thing into a casserole dish.  Sprinkle the cheeses over the top.  Dab about 4 - 5 dots of butter on the very top.
Bake for about 20 minutes.  The cheese should be all melted and bubbly.
Serve with rice or mashed potato.

And then it was done... I missed it.
It's friday night.  I am making pizza's for our friday evening's pleasure.  We are settling in to watch 'Tangled' and then I'm getting up and it's Monday a.m. at some ridiculously early hour and I am feeling hung over even though (unfortunately) I am not.  And what happened.
Oh yeah... I remember... just a little... these happened.


By about 3:30 Monday afternoon I was so glad that these happened.
I am saying goodbye to citrus season slowly but surely.  What I ride we've had this year.  I'm still dreaming about the lemon curd that I made before Christmas and scheming to make more next year and maybe freeze it.  Lemon cupcakes... yeah... those were amazing too.  But these cookies.  These cookies...
Jeez - don't you hate it when someone writes like that?  YOU HAVE TO MAKE THESE COOKIES NOW OR ELSE YOU MIGHT NOT MAKE IT THROUGH ANOTHER DAY - YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN EATEN A REAL COOKIE UNTIL YOU EAT THESE... that kind of writing.  Why must we constantly make things more and more amazing.  Look good is good and these cookies are/were good.  'nuff said.  Sometimes good is just good.  I don't need these cookies to blow my world, I just need them to do what cookies are supposed to do.  Be good.  My head is in a weird space today and I'm tired from dealing with my own brain.


Allow me to demonstrate:
Today at work one of the conductors that I work with said to the grade 4 choir that as a musician you are always doing one of two things:  1.  Getting better and working towards getting better OR 2.  Getting worse.  No in between.
It hits me like a ton of bricks.  Dang - I've got to ponder that for a while.  I'm sure that the grade 4 class just took it in the conductors words and may someday remember that little gem but I was thinking about it for a long time afterwards... I'm still thinking about it.  I need to think about it for a while and roll it around.  It sounds profound but I'm not sure - I might just be over-thinking it.  I'm immediately standing there in the class with the grade 4 boys thinking about whether I'm a number 1 or a number 2 (that sounds weird).  I'm analysing my past and present and thinking about how to change my future.  I'm wondering if I need to jot down some ideas about how I can place myself squarely in the number 1 slot.  I'm feeling an immediate need to journal.  In short... I'm seriously over thinking this.  And that's only about 3 minutes of my brain's day today.  Eek.


So when it comes to the cookies, I'm not going to wreck them by overstating that I love them and that even though they corn starch in them and I thought it was weird that they turned out really well.  I'm not going to go on and on about how I can take them with me to school because they're nut free and they're also small so I can eat like about 12 and not feel too guilty.  I'm definitely not going to ramble about how they are perfect for me who's a non-sweet-tooth disguised as a sweet tooth and how happy I am that over the last 4 days I've now baked two things that I actually like to eat.  Nope... not gonna do it.
These cookies are good.  There.  Done.  Simple.  Happy Monday.

 


Lemon Melting Moments with a splash of orange adapted from Two Tiny Kitchens and an Australian radio or tv show (?)
makes

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup corn starch (!)
1 tsp vanilla
zest of one lemon and one orange (it's a lot, I know)

Icing

11/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet or two with parchment or silicon liners.  Set aside.

Combine the flour and cornstarch together in a bowl and set aside.
Mix the butter, salt and icing sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add in the vanilla and lemon and orange zest.  Fluff together.  Add in the flour/corn starch mixture.  Mix until well combined.
Form into about 30 little balls (about a 1 1/2 tbsp worth) and place on the prepared cookie sheet.  Press each ball down a little with your finger or using a fork but only until it leaves a print.
Bake for about 20 minutes - it should just be slightly golden on the bottom of the cookie.
Remove from the oven and place each cookie on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies are completely cooled then plop a little bit of icing onto the top of each one.  You can also spread a good amount of icing on the bottom of one cookie and then sandwich it together with another cookie.
Icing:
Combine together the icing sugar and butter together - I used a fork to max it all together little by little.  Once it's mixed well then add in the lemon juice only a tbsp at a time until it's the right thickness to use for the cookies.