Cat Food

Time To Start Posting Again!

Was wandering in the woods this morning and found these 'shrooms. Pretty leathal looking aren't they? Bright yellow and really slimy ... of course I took the photo with my little camera phone so it's a bit hard to tell here.

I'm doing a spore print now and will let you know what I think they are later this weekend.

Check out this site for some great photos of mushrooms found in California: Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden

Or this site: David Fischer's American Mushrooms

I started thinking about mushrooms this Summer when I spent a week in Vermont with a good friend. She and I did a lot of hiking and foraging and since she's a member of the NY Mycological Association she knew what we could and couldn't eat. Our first day out we found oyster mushrooms. I didn't have a camera with me but the photos here (just Googled "Oyster Mushrooms") really represent the environment we were hiking through.

Aren't they beautiful?

An Apple a Day ... at Least!

Apple season is upon us and there is every imaginable variety available at the farmer's market. I find that whenever I bake with apples its best to use a couple varieties mixed together. This gives you a depth of flavor and texture that you can't get by just using a single variety. I thought I'd share my most basic recipe to start - Apple Crisp.

Just about everyone has an apple crisp recipe that's been passed down in their family. It's the simplest and yet one of the most satisfying deserts to make. Keeping it simple really allows you to savor the intense apple flavor with just a hint of spice and crunch in the crust. It's a great desert to make with kids and boy does the house smell fantastic! Check out this great site for all your apple info- Apple Country

Be sure to check back over the next few weeks for more apple recipes!

Apple Crisp
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients
8 apples - mixed varieties, cored and peeled
2 cups flour or 1 cup flour & 1 cup rolled oats
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup butter
Pinch of salt

Method
1) Core, peel and dice apples. Place in a buttered 9 x13 inch baking dish
2) Toss flour, oats, sugars, salt & spices together in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3) Sprinkle the crumb topping all over the apples and pop into a preheated oven.
4) Bake until topping is golden and apples are bubbling - approximately 45 minutes.
Garnish with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of cold heavy cream
Serves 6 - 8

Hint: Using a glass baking dish allows you to see when the apples are bubbly without having to poke around in the crisp to test for doneness.

Printer-friendly apple crisp recipe

What a day!

I have not abandoned my site. I promise. I had no idea how nerve wracking buying a house would be. I've been obsessed with getting everything together and that has left me exhausted and feeling none to creative in the recipe department. I'm now starting to pack up my house for the big move and that means my kitchen too! Yikes! If you could see all the gadgets I have ... oy!

Last weekend I took a break from all this house stuff and we celebrated fall in all its glory at the Montclair Farmer's Market Harvest Festival. There was all kinds of great stuff for kids, cooking demos by myself and a local caterer named Nicky Mesiah, even a petting zoo. Here are the recipes I shared with the folks who stopped by.

Curried Harvest Fruit & Nut Salad
4 – 6 servings

Salad
1cup barley
2 red skinned apples
2 pears
1 cup dried apricots, diced
2 stalks celery
2 cups or 1 small bunch red or green grapes
½ cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts

Dressing
¾ cup low fat yogurt
1 Tbs. Honey
1 tsp. Curry powder
Pinch of salt
Water or apple juice to thin if necessary

1) Rinse barley and pick out any foreign material.
2) Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add barley and cook till al dente – approx. 20 minutes.
3) Drain barley and rinse with cold water – set aside to drain.
4) Chop apples, pears, apricots & celery to ¼ inch dice. Slice grapes in half and combine with the diced fruit. Sprinkle with lemon juice to retain color.
5) Combine fruit, veggies and barley in large bowl.
6) Combine yogurt, honey, curry powder & salt in separate bowl and wisk till smooth. Thin with water or juice if too thick.
7) Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

** Serve as a side dish or add chunks of grilled chicken or firm tofu for a complete main course salad

Roasted Veggie Pizzas

1 Red Pepper
1 Eggplant
1 Zucchini
10 Mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
½ cup tomato sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 recipe pizza dough

Roasted Veggies
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

1) Dice all the veggies to about a ¼ inch size cube except the garlic. You can leave the garlic whole if you only want a light garlic flavor, otherwise mince it up and toss with the other vegetables.
2) Toss all the veggies in a bowl with the olive oil and pepper. You will add the salt after the vegetables have been roasted.
3) Place veggies on a sheet pan and roast for about 30-40 minutes until they are fragrant and turning a nice golden brown.
4) Remove them from the oven and set aside.

Pizza Dough
Raise oven heat to 400 degrees
Makes 2 - 12 inch pizzas

¼ cup warm water
1 package of dry yeast
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup warm water

1) Mix the yeast and the ¼ cup warm water and let sit
2) Measure most of the flour into the bowl along with the salt
3) Add the yeast mixture, oil and 1 cup of warm water and stir till it starts to hold together.
4) Knead until the dough comes together into a soft ball, adding flour to keep it from being sticky. You may not use all the remaining flour.
5) Plop the dough into a bowl and spray with a little oil to keep it from sticking as it rises to double its size
6) Once it's risen, divide the dough into two balls. If you're only making one pizza then put one ball into a freezer bag & into the freezer to use later. To use the frozen dough, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator before rolling it out.
7) Press dough into any shape you want and place on a baking sheet.
8) Top with the sauce, veggies & cheeses and bake till the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

This is a great recipe to make with kids. There's a science, math and reading lesson all in one. Plus I've never met a kid who didn't like pizza. If your kids like different toppings on their pizzas let them each roll out a smaller portion of dough and make their own signature pizza.

White Bean Soup with Garlic & Rosemary
please see "Batten Down The Hatches"

All photos this post by Eric Seftel

The seckel pears are here! The seckel pears are here!

I picked up some seckel pears at the farmer's makret last Saturday and have made them two ways so far; roasted and poached. They're a nice alternative side dish to have with roast chicken or fish or as a dessert, warmed over vanilla ice cream with a little caramel sauce. Both recipes are incredibly easy to make and you can use any type of pear. I just think the little seckel pears are too darn cute.

Honey Roasted Pears
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients
Enough pears to fill a medium sized baking pan
1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. water
Pinch of powdered ginger
Pinch of cinnamon

Method
1) Rinse pears and slice a little bit off the bottom so they will stand up straight in the baking pan.
2) Put them into a baking pan or casserole dish so that they're packed tightly together.
3) Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over pears.
4) Pop into the oven and roast, uncovered till they're tender when pierced with a fork, approximately an hour and change. It all depends on how ripe the pears are. Baste them about every 20 minutes while they're roasting to give them a nice golden hue.

Spiced Poached Pears

Ingredients
2 doz. Seckel pears
3 sticks of cinnamon
2 whole star anise
4 cloves
6 cups of water or to cover & half that amount of sugar

Method
1) Peel the pears leaving the stems intact
2) Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Make sure you measure the water so you know how much sugar to put in.
3) Add the spices, cover and bring to a boil.
4) Reduce the heat and simmer till they're tender when pierced with a fork.
5) Allow them to cool in the syrup and then place the pears and their syrup in an airtight container and refrigerate.

You could also place the pears and they're syrup in sterilized canning jars and process in boiling water so you'll have them later in the season.

Happy Autumn!

Yes I know ... I've been remiss and I haven't posted anything in a whole week! My deepest apologizes!

I've been overwhelmed with the one biggest purchase that a person can make in their lifetime. I'm buying a house! This was the week where the seller said, "yes I accept your offer" and this was the week when I had to get all my ducks in a row. Now with the initial panic and anxiety out of the way I can get back to my first love - Cooking!

The farmer's market was exploding with the early autumn harvest today. There were peaches and basil and tomatoes and pears and grapes and the first gorgeous squashes. Summer and Fall all mixed up together! Glorious! There was a beekeeper and honey maker from North Caldwell New Jersey with 17 thousand bees and a fantastic local caterer teaching folks how to make a healthy Waldorf salad. It was a party really not just the market.

Here - a few photos of today's haul and I promise there will be new recipes in the next few days. Our wandering Scotsman has sent us another fantastic very "trad" recipe for Kedgeree and one of our readers has sent a wonderful grilled steak salad recipe to share with everyone.

Enjoy the rest of the day and .............. Happy Fall!!!

Batten Down the Hatches!

Looks like it's going to be a nasty weekend weather wise! If you can't make it out to the farmer's market why not take some time to make a hearty - healthy soup. This is a complete one pot meal that stores in the frig well and reheats even better.

White Bean Soup with Garlic & Rosemary

Ingredients

1 bag great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and picked over to remove any debris
2 carrots, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
5-6 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely minced
6-8 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1-2 Tbs. sour cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1) In a large pot sauté carrots, onion and garlic with a bit of salt and pepper in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
2) When veggies are softened add the rosemary and sauté for a minute more till the rosemary is fragrant.
3) Add the beans, toss with the vegetables and add the stock.
4) Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer till the beans are tender, about an hour.
5) Remove the lid and add more stock if the soup is really thick. Allow the soup to cool a bit. At this point you need to puree the whole thing. I find the easiest way to do this is with a handheld blender but you can also use a food processor or blender and puree the soup in batches.
6) Warm the soup again and swirl in the sour cream. Adjust the seasonings and serve.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and some chopped flat leaf parsley.

Serves 6-8

Concord Grape Jelly

I think my jelly was successful. I won't know till the jars cool and I can see if they have sealed properly but I think it all went well. That's the thing about home canning... I've done it a few times and things have always gone well but then you start to watch a show like Good Eats and it makes you feel like there's a one in a million shot that whatever you've canned will end up being safe to eat when you pull it out of the cupboard in a couple of months! Don't get me wrong, their intense attention to detail can be great if you want to know every little thing about a subject but let's face it - most of our grandmothers or great grandmothers spent the better part of their summers putting up preserves, pickles, fruits & veggies of all dimension. That was the main way they could have fruits and vegetables all year round. It's really easy to do.

That being said - here's a recipe for Concord Grape Jelly. A reader asked when concord grapes would be available and according to The Concord Grape Association these grapes are harvested in the fall between September and October. Here are a couple of great resources for everything you could want to know about the Concord grape:
The National Grape Cooperative
The Concord Magazine
The International Jelly & Preserve Association

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs. Concord grapes
½ -1 cup honey or ¾ -2 cups sugar
4 tsp. Pectin powder
4 tsp. Calcium water

Method

1) Put the rinsed grapes in a sauce pot with about a ½ cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
2) Remove from the heat and strain into a clean bowl. You can store the puree at this point in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the jelly.
3) When you're ready and you've pre-boiled your jars and lids to make sure they're sterile, you're ready to make the jelly.
4) Pour the grape puree into a sauce pan and add the calcium water. Mix thoroughly.
5) In a separate bowl measure out your honey or sugar and add pectin powder. Mix thoroughly.
6) Bring the puree to a boil and add the sugar/pectin mixture and stir vigorously to make sure it all dissolves. Once it has returned to the boil remove from the heat.
7) Using a canning funnel (wide mouth**) fill the sterilized jars to a ½ inch from the top.
8) Screw on the two-piece lids and put the jars into a pot of boiling water to cover. Boil for 5 minutes and then remove.
9) Check the seals by pressing the center. If it pops up it didn't seal properly and you should keep it in the refrigerator and use it within three weeks. Otherwise the lids should be sucked down tight and once cool you can store them at room temperature in a dark cupboard.

Yield: 4-5 cups

As I usually make jam and not jelly I did a lot of research to find the easiest jelly recipe I could find and after a few hours on the internet I decided to use the one on the package of pectin. It's Pomona's Universal Pectin and it 100% pure citrus pectin.

**It seems that canning supplies can be hard to come by these days so if you're in the Montclair NJ vicinity you can get everything you need at American Royal Hardware at 251 Park Street - tell 'em Cat sent ya!

How 'bout a tomato chip?

As sitting at the computer is still pretty painful I've been working away in the kitchen with my new dehydrator. This thing is fantastic! I'm drying everything in sight ... veggies and fruit mostly but I'm going to attempt to make fruit leather today.

Here's a tomato chip ... just like a potato chip but so flavorful with no added oil. You can snack on them as they are or even grind them to powder in a spice grinder and add them to anything.

The Concord Grape recipes are forthcoming and since these grapes are just coming into season now you'll be able to find them through October and there will be plenty of time to make your own grape jelly. mmm ... mmm

The First Beautiful Pears

Went to the farmer's market late this afternoon but was still able to pick up some beautiful seckel pears and the first of the concord grapes.

Check back tomorrow for new recipes using the beginning of the fall fruits.

What a Blast!

Thanks everyone for coming out and supporting Cat Food and Barista of Bloomfield Ave. at yesterday's farmer's market. I had such a great time - I hope you all did too!

Over the next couple of weeks Cat Food will be expanding with more cooking classes - ingredient resource information - nutrition information and lots more recipes! The new segment Cat in the Kitchen that is launching at Barista will be expanded here to include NYC restaurants and tours of all kinds of food related businesses in and around the New York metro area. Check back often to get the latest scoop!

As promised - here's a recap of the recipes from yesterday's healthy breakfast demonstration. Try them with your kids and let me know what you come up with!

Mixed Fruit Granola
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

4 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Ginger
½ cup brown sugar
½-¾ cup orange or apple juice
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds
½ cup coconut
Pinch of salt

1) In a saucepan warm the juice with the brown sugar and spices till the sugar melts
2) In a large bowl toss the oatmeal flakes, almonds & coconut with the sugar/juice mixture till it's all coated
3) Spread out on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 - 30 minutes till it starts to get a golden color
4) Remove from the oven and stir in the chopped fruit and let it all cool together
5) The granola will be a little sticky at first but will crisp up as it cools
6) Store in an airtight container for up to a month

Gingerbread Waffles with Warm Fruit Compote

Waffles
Makes about 5 waffles

2 cups Flour
3 tsp. Baking powder
¼ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ginger
1 tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Cloves
½ tsp. Nutmeg
'4 Tbs. Brown sugar
1 Tbs. molasses
1 egg
¼ cup canola oil
1½ cups milk

1) Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine
2) In a separate bowl whisk the egg till it's frothy then add the brown sugar, molasses, oil & milk and mix to combine
3) Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until it's smooth
4) Pour about a half a cup of batter onto a well heated non-stick waffle iron and lightly spread it out. Bake until it's a deep golden brown for about 5 minutes. Waffle should not stick if it is completely cooked.

Fruit Compote

Use whatever is in season at the farmer's market. Chop fruit to equal about 4 or 5 cups and place in a bowl. Sprinkle 2-3 Tbs. of lemon juice over the fruit to brighten the natural flavor and add a couple of Tbs. of honey or maple syrup and a couple Tbs. of water. Toss everything together and then warm in a sauté pan till the fruit breaks down and has a sauce-like consistency. You can add additional flavoring like spices or citrus zests or vanilla extract. Be creative!

Oven Baked Veggie Frittatas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

This is a super easy way to make quick frittatas. Take whatever veggies you have in the frig - tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, etc. Dice them up to equal about 2 Tbs. per cup of a 6 cup muffin tin - give or take.

Spray or brush each cup in the tin with olive oil put about 2 Tbs. of the veggies in the bottom of each cup and pop it into the oven while you get the eggs ready. The veggies will roast quickly.

Take 6 eggs, which equals about 1 egg per cup and break them into a small bowl. Whisk them as you would when making scrambled eggs and add any flavoring you'd like. I've used fresh herbs and a little parmesan cheese here. I've also added a little milk.

Take the muffin pan out of the oven and fill each cup about half full with the egg mixture. Top with a sprinkling of cheese and pop back in the oven. Now don't open the oven door for at least 15 minutes.

The eggs are done when they're all puffed up and are golden brown on top. Take the pan out of the oven and let them cool slightly. They will fall back down - don't be alarmed!

Remove the eggs with a spatula to a plate. Now, you can either eat them plain with a garnish of more fresh herbs, salsa & a dab of sour cream or you can make a McMuffin by putting one on a toasted English muffin - add a slice of cheese and top with the other half of the English muffin.

You can make these frittatas ahead of time on the weekend and keep them in the frig for during the week. They reheat really well in the microwave on high for one minute. This is a much healthier alternative to a McDonalds Egg McMuffin and you're getting one whole serving of protein, vegetables & dairy without all of the fat.

Fruit & Yogurt Smoothies
Serves 1 person

1 banana
1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, i.e. berries, peaches, pears, apples etc.
1-2 Tbs. honey
2-3 Tbs. low fat yogurt
1 cup Milk or juice
Ice

1) Place banana, fruit, honey, juice or milk & yogurt in a blender with about 1 cup of ice and blend on high till thick and creamy
2) You can add protein powder if you'd like or any number of other flavorings - ½ tsp. of cinnamon or ginger or good vanilla extract - even a couple of Tbs. of peanut butter! Garnish with a little fresh fruit and enjoy.

**To enjoy the scrumptious fruit available from the farmer's market all winter long. Wash the fruit well, chop and then spread out on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once the fruit is frozen transfer it to a zip lock freezer bag and pop back in the freezer. Now you can use it all winter long!