Retro Inspirations - Tell me Yours

Today's post is from a while ago. I had fully intended to cook something amazing, take photos of the process and write about it tonight. My attempt was foiled before it even started. My thumb was attacked by my, now not as loved, knife block and a 10" chef's knife that wasn't quite buried deep enough in the block's protective bristles.

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I have memories of tea parties with egg salad or cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Hot tea in the winter, and more likely egg, iced tea in the summer, with cucumber, always on white bread. What ever happened to those little nibbles, besides the fact that everyone went and got all fancy? 

The little sandwiches used to pop up all over the place, well usually anywhere there was a group of women socializing anyway. They were the fodder of frolickers at garden parties and baby showers and church socials. And, maybe they still are because I just don’t have the opportunity to attend these events at the side of my grandmother anymore. So, maybe I just don’t know.

We, the daughters and I, found ourselves at a casual little tea party a little while ago at Hawthorn Cottage. And, I was so pleased to see a tray of the little beauties that Jennifer had prepared that I almost hugged her. Paper thin cucumber slices crunchy in their soft, crustless cover. And, then, the same paper thin slices, but this time, of radish with mint. Floods of garden party scenes and hideous pin-the-diaper-on-the-baby game visions flooded back.

A few weeks after our afternoon at Hawthorn Cottage, I got to go to a baby shower. Sadly, there were no hideous games to play but there was glorious sunshine and basking and laughing and chatting and eating. But, I took, as my contribution, a tray of some dainty little sandwiches. And I felt a little like I had time-warped back twenty-five years and conspicuous because of it. But then I got to thinking that it was just retro and retro is cool. Right?

I made my version of Jennifer’s radish and mint, with salty butter and mayonnaise perked up with dijon and lemon and cracked pepper. And, I made egg salad with a painstakingly finely chopped pile of dill carrots and chives and, again, a hint of mustard. I used some of Rumtopf Farm’s mesclun mix with nasturtiums to add a little bit of green and bite.

But, I am not going to tell you how to make dainty little sandwiches, I don’t need to do that. I just ask that you think about making them sometime. Maybe, to have with a cup of tea or take some to your grandmother, if you are lucky enough to still have her, and sit outside on a sunny day and talk about all those ‘old school’ parties. Or make something that nobody seems to make or serve anymore and then tell me about it.

Grilled Ratatouille

It is that time of year again. The time which some greet with excitement and as a sign of summer abundance. The time which anyone who has a garden or anyone who knows someone who has a garden or anyone who has left their car unlocked or doorstep unguarded at this time of year is all too familiar with. It is zucchini(courgette) time.

People here in Nova Scotia say it is the only time of year people lock their doors here. Guarding against the product of the glut that even one prolific plant can provide. Everyone seems to have about fourteen recipes to deal with the stuff in all its forms - long or round, forest green to speckled pale, almost blue green to bright yellow - yes, I lump summer squash in here too.

Eggplants (aubergines) are starting here as well, shiny and jewel-coloured. So, in combination with the zucchini, it kind of shouts out ratatouille. But, ratatouille? Yawn, yawn, yawn. 

I think ratatouille is great but it isn’t very exciting, is it? I have spent many a month in the south of France looking at various renditions of the stuff on every menu. None of them bad, but few of them jumping up and screaming, ‘Eat me!’ Consequently, my mission was to revitalize the ratatouille concept for, well, for my family, I guess.

The days are still hot here and, as I far as I am concerned, it is never too late for another salad days recipe. This one is great hot or warm or cold. It travels well and is easy to eat with just a fork so ticks the ‘great for a picnic’ box as well. 

It is great on its own, with a hunk of feta and some olives and fresh bread but serves as a worthy side dish to any grilled meat or fish. Stephen and the girls had some grilled chicken with theirs’ and, at least in the girls’ case, the ratatouille disappeared first. I faintly recall Stephen declaring that it ‘wasn’t bad for aubergine’. I felt like I had done my job. 

‘Ratatouille renovated?’ 

‘Check.’  

I used garlic scape pesto in this but a clove of minced garlic would be just fine. The dressing uses the remaining mixture that you brush the vegetables with before grilling. 

I contemplated tomato for this. Had they been ready, as in ripe, I may have tried grilling some with the rest of the vegetables but, they weren’t. I then considered dicing some and adding to all the vegetables after grilling but we were eating this warm the first time around and I had a vision of tomato mush gluing the whole lot together. I did add some to the cold leftovers and it was a really good cooked/fresh contrast. So, if you are going to have this cold or when you re-purpose it, I would throw in a handful of chopped fresh tomatoes. I used some halved cherry tomatoes which I rescued from Poppy, who was about two-thirds of the way through the entire pint. 

I used summer squash here but any zucchini, summer, patty pan, etc. squash would do just fine. I also used some fennel fronds, because I have some growing but these are easily omitted.

Grilled Ratatouille

1 large eggplant (aubergine) sliced lengthwise in 1cm(ish) slices

3 medium summer squash sliced in half lengthwise

6 scallions (spring onions)

1 medium red onion sliced into 1cm rounds

2 red peppers tops, bottoms and seeds removed

Marinade

1/8 cup garlic scape pesto

1/8 cup olive oil

Dressing

1 tablespoon marinade from above

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Handful of chopped flat leaf parsley and fennel fronds (if you have fennel to hand)

Brush eggplant and zucchini slices with the marinade. Let sit while preparing other vegetables and heating the barbecue.

Grill over medium heat and in batches, if necessary, all of the vegetables until they are nicely marked and just cooked through. None should take more than a couple of minutes on each side. Remove from the barbecue.

Chop all of the grilled vegetables into bite-sized pieces and put in a mixing bowl.

Whisk all ingredients for the dressing together and pour over the vegetables. Toss to combine with the chopped herbs.

Serve warm or cold, with or without feta, on its own or as a side.

Breaking my Rules

My nephew turns seven on Monday. His passions are origami and Star Wars. I wanted to make him a cake but I didn’t want to make this. I don’t have the skills, space, staff or patience to make this. And, although this is pretty sweet, I was sure it wasn’t going to pass the taste test.

So, I broke one of my, until this point, strictest rules. I put inedible things on and around the cake. 113 of them to be exact. Paper cranes. And, I am glad I did. This was definitely the most fun I have had making a cake. 

Disclaimer: Because I wasn’t planning on posting this, I just have to because I loved it so much, the following are guidelines only. I didn’t make any notes.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream and Raspberry Jam

The cake is my Go-To cake. I made a triple recipe (you will either need a very large mixer and a very large mixing bowl or make two 1-1/2 batches) and wound up with a 10-inch, an 8-inch and a 6-inch cake, all about 3 inches high. The cooking time needs to be increased a lot for the 10 and the 8 and just a little for the 6. It took about 70 minutes for the larger two and about 40 for the smaller one.

The icing ratio is 1 cup unsalted butter to 3-1/2 cups icing sugar plus 1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or the seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean) and 1 tablespoon milk. I used 4 cups of butter and 14 cups of icing sugar but I was making a pretty big cake. An 8-inch, two layer cake would probably be fine with a 1 or 2 cup batch.

I trimmed the top of the cakes to make sure they were flat and then I sliced each of them into three layers and spread a layer of good quality raspberry jam and buttercream between each. I then crumb-coated the cake. 

Crumb coating is covering the cake with a thin layer of icing to keep the crumbs from getting into the ‘good’ layer.

I left the cakes in the fridge overnight at this point and iced them in the morning before attaching the paper cranes with royal icing.

Don't tell my daughters, but sometimes good things happen when you break the rules. And, it's fun too.