May's Preserve Trifecta Part Three: Honey Lavender Apricot Butter

Okay, so we've gone over the Meyer Lemon Rosemary Marmalade and the Rosemary Rhubarb Jelly from the amazing cookbook Preserving by the Pint, so that means that it's time for the last one I promised you: Honey-Sweetened Apricot Lavender Butter!

My family goes nuts for the short apricot season, and every spring, when I see those first apricots hit the markets, I know that they're going to be tough and tart, not sweet and squishy like they should be, but I almost always end up buying them anyway.  Those fuzzy little flirts.  This recipe is fantastic because even if your apricots are less than perfect, they cook down into a nice fruit butter.  The sweetness of the honey and the floral notes of the lavender round it out nicely, making it a perfect early summer spread to enjoy on your back porch.

Rhu The Day! Rhubarb Sorrel Crisp

Pssssssst...did you know that it's rhubarb season?

I may have mentioned that before.  Like when I made Meyer lemon rhubarb marmalade.  Or rosemary rhubarb jelly.  Or rhubarb compote with Pimms.

And, if you've been following along, you know that it's also time for sorrel.  Like in these sorrel cardamom muffins.

Rhubarb and sorrel don't scream for each other, in my mind.  But, fortunately, someone was bonkers enough to try them together.  In a crisp.  A delicious, tart and sweet crisp.  I found the recipe in the Simply in Season cookbook, a gem that I picked up at an event through our CSA.  It's a great book for eating seasonally, and it definitely thinks outside the box with many of its recipes.  Actually, if you're looking to eat healthier, or more local, or more seasonally, I would highly suggest looking for a seasonal cookbook of any sort.  They tend to be about making the most out of each item for what it is, and the recipes are often simple with fantastic flavors.

But I digress...

Crunchy Millet Muffins

As someone who enjoys cooking and eating, I have a lot of bizarre stuff in my cupboards.  One time, a friend of mine counted 8 different kids of rice in my pantry.  Which, for me, is not an oddity.  One of the things in my pantry that is usually there but that I have a mental block with using is millet.  I love the taste of millet, and the crunch of it, but I don't have a lot of good recipes that use millet, and I have a hard time finding ways to incorporate it into the family's meal circuit.

Millet is a grain, most popularly found in...well...birdseed.  I know, I know.  But it's also a staple crop in many parts of the world.  It's also kind of a "superfood".  Millet is full of iron and calcium, as well as B vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and potassium.  It's also gluten-free.  Oh, and Koval distillery makes a mean millet whiskey.

Breadveggies: Gingered Carrot Zucchini Bread

If you've ever planted a zucchini plant, you're probably familiar with how overwhelming they can be once they start producing.  There's even a "Leave a Zucchini on Your Neighbor's Porch" day.  I try to shred and freeze as much as I can to keep up with it, and that means that I have a frozen stash of zucchini on hand for most of the rest of the year until the next garden zucchini-fest comes around.

I'm always on the lookout for ways to use that zucchini, and this Gingered Carrot Zucchini bread recipe is one of my go-to's for several reasons.  One: it is delicious.  Two: it is easy.  Three: the recipe makes 2 loaves at once, so I can either give one away or freeze it for later.  Four: it's a nice way to show kids that vegetables aren't scary.  I mean, this bread has not one, but TWO vegetables in it, and it's fantastic!

Just-Like-Rotisserie Chicken

Roast chicken is one of those things that just screams "home cooking" to me.  And it's not hard to make well.  But it's also really easy to grab a rotisserie chicken at the store for a few bucks.  Which is a lot quicker and easier.  Very tempting.  Especially when you can grab one for, what, like five bucks?

Until you start to do a little research about those chickens.  Turns out, some of them are there because they were the rejects of the meat counter to begin with.  A nice way of not wasting the meat coming close to it's "sell by' date.  Others are specifically designed to be rotisserie birds, injected with a solution so that they can stand those hours under the heat lamps waiting to be bought without losing that extreme juiciness of the meat.  And the list of ingredients on most rotisserie birds is long and full of scientific names.  Sodium tripolyphosphate, anyone?  Starts to get a little creepy to realize that it's more of a Frankenchicken than Grandmama's delicious dinner's relative.

Boozy Cream Pie

Okay, so originally, this recipe from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, was called "Rum Cream Pie".  Which was as delicious and amazing as it sounds, and the first time I made it, it spurred our culinary imaginations.  What other liquor could we use in it?  Limoncello, like a frothy lemon cream?  Amaretto?  Irish Cream?  Any number of those fancy flavored vodkas?  The possibilities seem endless!

This pie doesn't take long to throw together, but you need to be ready to commit to a solid 10-15 minutes getting it ready, and then 4-6 hours chill time in the fridge.

Pot Roast and Beyond

You readers know how much I love my grass-fed beef.  I mean, I don't have 2 extra freezers in my house just for ice cream...although that would be pretty awesome too!  And one of the easiest, most delicious ways to cook up that beef is a good old fashioned pot roast.

Easiest thing in the world.  Peel and quarter a few onions, cut some potatoes into large pieces, peel some carrots and cut them into large pieces, put a beef roast in the crock pot, toss the veg around it, sprinkle it with salt and pepper or whatever seasonings you like, pour a half cup of water over it all, cover and cook for 4-6 hours on high, 8-10 on low.  Bam.  Pot roast.

As much as I love pot roast, I've come to love it even more for the leftovers.  Because...pasta.

Nutty Sweetness...Oh, and I Made Chestnut Jam Too.

I have a thing for chestnuts.  And yes, I'm starting to realize that I say that about a lot of foods, but it's true.  Different foods are, in some ways, like books to me.  They can transport me to another place or time, bring back memories, or open my eyes to new horizons.

Chestnuts are one of those foods for me.  They always make me feel like I'm on a picnic in the European countryside, or cooking with an elderly woman in her Italian villa, or walking down the dark streets of London in winter with some roasted chestnuts to warm my cold hands, or snacking with friends in my Parisian dream kitchen (although they never snack in France, so that one is a stretch).  Those fantasies are actually a little odd, now that I think of it, because some of my favorite chestnut snacks come from the Asian market, where I can't read 90 percent of the packages, but if I see a picture of a chestnut, I will snatch it up and gobble it down.  Tiny round pancakes sandwiched with a rich chestnut jam are always the first thing I head for at the candy shop in Chinatown.  But somehow, they still feel very European to me.

A Cookie You Won't Forget

I'm sure that almost everyone out there has a go-to recipe for cookies that they pull out around the holidays.  You know the one I'm talking about...it's the one that if, for some reason, you don't make one year, you never hear the end of it.  "Mom, where are the _____?"  "Why aren't there any ______?"  "Thanks for the cookie plate, but I really missed those ______ you make."  In my house, there are a handful of these.  both the hubby and I come from some cookie-loving heritages, so we have been handed down some darn good recipes.

One of my family's recipes is always a hit with family, friends, neighbors, and so on.  My mom calls them "forgotten cookies", because you leave them in the oven and "forget" them overnight.  My kids call them "those white cloud cookies".  They're basically a meringue cookie, very fancy to serve, but deceptively so, because they are pretty darn easy to make.

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Quince

Quince.  It's a great scrabble word.  Also handy for crosswords and alphabet games.  And, in addition to all of that, it's actually a pretty decent fruit as well!

Quince is not easy to find, but even if you do, you might simply pass it by.  It looks like a lumpy pear, or a weird yellow apple.  I happened to spot them in the "exotics" section of the produce area at our grocery store the other day, and I may have freaked a few other shoppers out with my yelp of excitement.  I wasn't sure what exactly I was going to do with them, but I knew that I had just come across a quince recipe a few days earlier, so I sniffed the quince, fell in love, and scooped up 4.

Yay! A Giveaway!

So you might have heard this already, but the day before my birthday, I reached (and passed) 200 "likes" on Facebook!  Normally, I'm not much of a popularity monger, and I started this blog as a hobby, but I do have to admit that it makes me pretty giddy that 200+ people like my ramblings.  It's a good feeling, and I have amazing friends that helped me get there.

I have a little gift for one of you lucky people who cares enough to pop on your computer and read From Scratch.  It's kind of like Oprah's Favorite Things, but I'm not Oprah, and I can't afford to lavish gifts on my entire audience.  I just checked Facebook, and Oprah has over 8 million followers.  When I hit that, I'll do much better, I promise.  Heck, I'll be reasonable.  I'll do better with just 2 million fans.  For now, you'll just have to settle on a chance to get one of my favorite things.  But I'm telling you, it really is a favorite of mine.