chocolate biscotti

My grandmother used to make the most amazing biscotti. They were flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. She would bake the logs and then slice them while they were still warm. The ends of the logs that did not form into the perfect ovals that she cut on a bias were called "damages". As she would be putting the ovals in a 'keep warm' oven to dry out, I can hear her say, "Who's gonna eat the "Damages". There were always biscotti in her freezer.

When I became a pastry chef one of the things I loved to do was to adapt my Grandmother's recipes to current ingredients and tastes. When my daughter was born and we decided to raise her vegan I had the opportunity to revisit and adapt all of her recipes again. I think that is what I love about cooking–the constant variables between ingredients and eaters and tastes renders recipes to loose guidelines away from rigid instruction.

The perpetual iterations of my Grandmother's Biscotti have led me to these Chocolate Treats:

Chocolate Chocolate Biscotti

2 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cup sugar plus extra for rolling
1/4 cup cornmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
large pinch of salt
16 tablespoons non hydrogenated margarine, such as Earth Balance cut into 10 pieces
1 cup silk tofu pureed
2 tablespoons water
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks
2 cups rough chopped walnuts
Himalayan salt

Directions
1.In a mixer combine flours, cocoa, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
2.Add margarine and mix until texture is like sand.
3.Add tofu and water mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips and walnuts mix until just combined.
4.Roll biscotti into logs and then roll in sugar and himalayan salt until just coated.
5.Bake in 350 degree oven until just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
6.Remove biscotti from oven and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Turn off oven.
7.Return biscotti to turned off oven and let sit in oven until dry, about 3 hours to overnight.

I am making these biscotti for take home gifts for diners at our Home Restaurant this weekend.

Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower soup is one of our staple dishes. That is to say along with Basil Mash Potatoes, Red Lentils and Cilantro, White Mushrooms Chives and Lemons we love to eat it as well as prepare and share it... All of these are classic combinations of flavors that we have picked up from cooking, eating or reading–However Cauliflower soup is somewhat different in that it is based on a single ingredient. Of course there are more ingredients such as water and salt and pepper but the dish Cauliflower Soup is not set off by a combination of flavors. The success of this dish hinges on the complexity of flavors inherent in the Cauliflower itself.

The difference between Authenticity and Purity are evident with our approach to making Cauliflower Soup. Authenticity when it comes to food practices implies a recipe or culture that determines what is authentic or not. That is to say there is a proper way to make cauliflower soup. Purity here would be an acknowledging of ingredients and their potential by doing as little as possible to let Flavor shine. As Shaun Hill would say, "I am not interested in Authenticity, I am interested in Flavor...". A good cook works within the arrangement of what is given.

I take a head of cauliflower place in a pot and add about an inch or two of water. Then I steam until absolutely soft and I could mash with a fork. Next pour everything into a blender and begin to blitz. Add water to get just the desired texture, then season very slowly to taste. The danger here is when using one simple ingredient is over salting and peppering losing the complexity of flavor within the one simple ingredient...

Cauliflower served like this needs nothing else, it is buttery in texture with sweet and pungent cabbage like tone of flavor... John talks about a dish he had in France that serve a cold Beef Stock Jelly with a hot Cauliflower puree... And as a vegan I appreciate Cauliflower Puree as a sauce on Mushrooms and Green Beans...

Transition to Fall Flowers

From late spring until this week most of the cut flowers I used for events came from my own garden or Bob Wollam who has a farm in Virginia. Every morning I survey my own garden to see how everything is growing and if there are any flowers to be cut. I talk to Bob or others at his farm several times a week to see what they have available. It has been a good season that started with bulbs and then progressed to roses, peonies, fig branches, herbs, hydrangea, phlox, zinnia, dahlias...

This weekend as I examined my own garden there were only a couple of phlox, herbs and some late season roses to be picked. Similarly Bob's list had many items marked as limited and I know that the end of the local flower season is near. For so many reasons I enthusiastically use local flowers when they are available they are bright and beautiful, you can use flowers that are fragile since they do not need to travel far and ecologically it makes so much sense.

Luckily I have great non local flower options. During the months when I cannot get local flowers many of my flowers come from the Dutch Auction in Holland. Years ago I told my broker who bids on the auction for me that I was interested in getting only flowers that were grown with sound environmental and labor practices. He laughed at me and said, "Obviously". I did not know it at the time but the auction is actually a farmer owned cooperative. The flowers sold there are certified for both ecological and labor practices. Unlike in the United States where many of the flowers available still come from farms that use chemical pesticides and poor work conditions Europeans have long been able to buy organically grown flower and roses from farms with good labor practices.

The Dutch also happen to grow amazing flowers many of which cannot be gotten from anywhere else in the world. Since the late 1500's Holland has been obsessed with flower growing. Today there are still many varieties of flowers that you can only get from Holland.

This weekend I am doing a wedding at the Palomar Hotel in DC using deep oranges, greens, berries and lots of texture. I will get some flowers from Bob Wollams farm such as dahlias and hydrangeas but I will supplement them with my first recent shipment from Holland which will include asclepias beatrix, brezilia, snowberries, mango calla lilies, hypericum berries, kangaroo paws...

Just like seasonal cooking ingredients I look forward to the change of season when new varieties of flowers become available. Asclepias Beatrix and Brezillia are two of my favorites that I look forward to seeing when they arrive from the airport early Thursday morning. I am able to order Dutch flowers on Tuesday morning and have them arrive at my front door before I awake on Thursday. Although they need to travel from far away it is heartening to know that there are not additional environmental and labor costs associated with them.

An Egg eggs

No two people are exactly a like, as should no two eggs–be exactly alike–Look we would never decide to do a dish around an Egg unless we had discovered extraordinary eggs. Each different and wonderful, Whitmore Farm produces magical eggs that are brown, speckled and sometimes green. The eggs are multiple colors because the Whitmore chickens are varied breeds. Sadly, in the United States there are basically two types of chickens used to produce all commercial eggs–although over 100 breeds exist! All chicken that you eat from mainstream sources in this country is genetically identical and all the eggs are from one of two genetic species. Whitmore raises at least four different varieties: French Maran, Dutch Welsumer, Ameraucana and Delaware breeds.

The feed Whitmore grows chicken with is custom milled at a local grainary. William, the owner who was trained as a biochemist, came up with a feed recipe when he could not recognize all of the ingredients in off the shelf feed. After investigating he found that the commercial feed contained agricultural waste products, which basically means whatever is left over from various agricultural processes. He concocted a recipe after researching literature primarily published between 1910 and 1950, when grass feeding and heritage animals were the norm. Since chickens are omnivores, the feed includes fish as well as soy for protein, corn and wheat. Equally important is a chicken’s access to grasses full of antioxidants such as clover, dandelion and dock. This also accounts for the intense yellow color of the yolk. The chickens are housed in a moveable coop that is literally moved every day. This is so the grass is never over harvested by the chicken, which would result in the chickens walking around on dirt without access to grass to eat. Just because an egg is labeled free range it does not necessarily mean the chicken had access to grasses.

Farmers, gardeners and even those involved in the artisan processing of food (Bev Eggleston) are cheffing, that is to say involved either in the alchemic process of mixture or the skillful process of harvesting (knife skills). If the generating of food is thought of as a creative act, it is hard to think of where the cheffing actually begins or ends. When I receive eggs this amazingly produced through a process that is intensely thought about...How can I, as Chef, take credit that is well deserved elsewhere. Cooking that attempts to take place in a vacuum is either food Science-ing or radical acts of genius and we would not attempt either. It is this reason that we act in concert with others to generate dishes, sometimes using eggs as protein.

On Saturday night we served a poached egg in a tomato broth, walnut oil, sage and a tomato fondant. I made a broth by simmering whole tomatoes, stems included; I wanted to capture the entire distillation of these particular tomatoes. After I got the right concentration of tomatoes while leaving enough liquid to actually poach an egg, I passed the tomatoes, broth and all through a large strainer. Setting aside the broth, I then took the meat of the tomatoes and blitzed them in our Vitamix blender. This made an amazing paste that I passed through a fine sieve into a pot of about the same volume of onions. This tomato paste and onions cooked down for hours until I had a yummy fondant. Then I poached the egg in water (not the tomato broth more below) and when just cooked (no more than two minutes) I placed egg in hot tomato broth and sprinkle with about two strips of finely julienned sage and walnut oil, topped with fondant and served…

I cook the eggs in water and not the broth for I have more control with water without the various acids and so forth in the tomato broth. When these eggs hit the water the proofed up to almost twice the size–And to eat them was to almost eat the texture of bubbled air–They melted in your mouth thereby creating a texture that enhanced the broth, but at the same time allowed for both the flavor of the broth as well as the flavor of the egg to act upon each other textually and flavorfully without synthesizing. That is to say that at no time did you Not know you were eating an egg, as there are many uses of eggs that do just that… Tomato AND Egg AND Walnut Oil AND Sage…

We served with Homemade Walnut Bread AND (Villa da Filicaja) Chianti Superiore 2006 (thanks to Tom Kiszka for his selections)…

Chicken of the Woods

We woke up and knew that we had to find mushrooms. Nineteen people were coming for dinner and we wanted to serve Black Cod with Beet (Greens) and Wild Mushrooms. We jumped in the car and started to head over to the Arlington Farmers market when we decided to check one of my favorite mushroom spots.

The woods are where I run and where I find mushrooms this time of year. Chicken of the Woods, Puffballs and Wild Oysters are just some of the varieties I find. On this morning when we walked into the woods and turned the bend in the path we saw a huge felled tree all a blaze with yellow and orange mushrooms.

Chicken of the Woods is a tricky mushroom. That is to say you need to find them before they become to dry on the log. Just right is when they are moist with the texture and bounce of cooked chicken. Even after cooking they have the texture of (over) cooked chicken with an intense woody mushroom flavor.

Black Cod has a buttery flavor and if cooked properly needs no sauce. We try to not season the fish too much in order to have the flavor resonate with what ever we are serving it with. By not using sauce with a fish like Black Cod one runs the risk of a seemingly over-prosaic dish. Fortunate for us we have diners that encourage the simpleness of dishes. Eaters who privilege complexity as always already flavors present in pure ingredients. (Especially when serving excellent wine–competition is not the point)

Really I think as chefs what we offer more than anything is the ability to think food and combinations of different ingredients as triggers that combine and contrast. Discovering and experimenting for us is not radical constructions of what we can or cannot do. Creating for us is a loose understanding of the arrangement and acting in a way that highlights the differences in ingredients whether they are textures, flavors or temperatures. Here is where we find combinations and how we can set difference next to difference and mine the in between spaces.

All of cooking is really logistics and how to get from one thing to the next at the perfect time. Flavors work the same way and style is really how we get from one flavor to the next. That is to say to enjoy the space (the taste or the flavor) between the Black Cod and the Beets and the Beet Greens and the Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms. Sauces sometimes tie things together or present dishes as seamless. Seamless-ness misses the differences or flavors and their ability to bounce off each other in their differences. We want diners to experience the combinations of difference–the encounter of foods on the eaters’ own terms…

Poppy Seed and Onion Bread from the 25th

Last night we made Poppy Seed and Onion bread to go with Black Cod, Beet (Greens) and Wood Grilled Mushrooms. I have mentioned before that we used to travel to the Lower East Side every Christmas Morning to eat at the now closed Ratner's Dairy Kosher Restaurant. One of the reasons we would drive to NYC was the Onion Popy Seed rolls that would come and keep coming–served with Borscht or Eggplant they were soooo good!

Now we have found the Sesame Sticks at Kosar's to be a good replacement since Ratners closed. We grab pickles at The Pickle Guy around the corner and make sandwiches...

I guess what I am getting at is part of the fun of doing these Home Restaurants is that I can make specific types of bread for each dish. Where as in Our Restaurant we would make just Three types of bread that were served to everyone, now I can be very particular...

Last night we had a Lovely crowd and look forward to our largest crowd tonight, here is a PEEK at the menu for tonight–we are headed to the Farmers Market now so somethings are subject to change:

Passing

Basil Mashed Potatoes

Scallops with Sesame Cracker and Summer Squash

Lamb with Eggplant and Mint on Corncake

Lima Bean Soup with Summer Savory

Lemongrass Vodka Martini
(Ch. de Roquefort) Cotes de Provence ROSE 'Corail' 2008

Seated

Poached Egg in Tomato Broth

Walnut Bread
(Villa da Filicaja) Chianti Superiore 2006

Rockfish with Chicken of the Woods Mushroom, Beets and Beet Greens

Onion Poppy Seed Bread
(Gerard Boulay) Sancerre AOC 2007

Poussin with Noodle Fall Squash and Chestnut Gratin, Calaloo, Garlic Sauce

Roasted Garlic Bread
(Domaine Coston) Coteaux du Languedoc 2004

Leonora Goat Cheese
(Lopez de Heredia) Bosconia Rioja Reserva 2001

Fig Sorbet with White Chocolate Brownie
(Pierre Paillard) Brut Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru NV

Pear Crumble with Roasted Cashews and Frozen Armagnac Cream

Cookie Bites:
Chocolate Cake
Ginger Oatmeal Cookies
Coconut Macaroon

Rainy Day

We are on the way over to hangout with the pre-schoolers of Scott Montgomery Elementary. I thought I would share pictures of out last rainy day visit... Of course the photos are by Jacqulyn Maisonneuve–a Corcoran School of Art student working on her senior thesis...

Horseradish

I like horseradish but never thought about planting it. This spring I saw a few small plants at a new garden store on our side of town called Old City Green. We planted them and within weeks the leaves grew huge. From what I understand horseradish is a plant that can be forgotten and still thrive. Infact, many warn that horseradish can become invasive if it is not properly harvested.

The flavor of the root becomes hotter and stronger after the first frost. There is some debate about whether or not it should be harvested in the fall or the spring. I think either time is fine. This past weekend well before any frost we cooked beef at our Home Restaurant and wanted to serve with a fresh corn and horseradish sauce. After a little internet research I determined that it was hard to damage the plant and I cut one of our plants in half with a garden shovel. I was very excited to pull up the horseradish root!

Horseradish does not maintain its flavor when cooked so use it raw. Also it does not maintain its flavor if it is exposed to the air for more than a half hour so either grate it and use immediately or cover it with vinegar to help preserve the flavor for later use.

Last weekend we made a sauce with a puree of local fresh corn and then added fresh horseradish. Although it was not the hottest horseradish flavor it was pronounced, delicious and complimented the beef dish. A couple of guests asked for some fresh grated horseradish. I happily dug up some more in the dark garden, grated it and served it.

I probably should wait until the first frost to harvest more of the horseradish…but the beets are so good right now and the classic combination of beets with fresh horseradish is hard to resist.

South Central Farm

Last night I watched a moving, motivating and inspiring documentary, called The Garden, about the 14 acre South Central Farm that was set up in the middle of South Central Los Angeles. The film which I highly recommend follows a battle over the land that is full of individual and governmental disfunction and ultimately results in the loosing of the farm. Although this element of the story is gripping and emotional I was struck by the success of the project while it was functioning. It makes so much sense to use abandoned urban property for farming. Why not set up community gardens in urban areas where individuals do not have land but many are connected to farming practices from growing up in rural environments? The empowerment provided by growing even a little bit of your own food no matter who you are cannot be quantified. The health and environmental benefits of eating food you grow from close to home are vast.

This story left me with a renewed commitment to the various garden projects that I am working on throughout the city and an openness to additional projects. Our pumpkin plants at Scott Montgomery Elementary School are growing and getting more and more flowers daily. We continue to weed, water and feed while we anxiously await our first pumpkin. The front yard of the abandoned house next door to us is planted with cabbage, spinach, beets, kale and lettuces all of which are still small but quite healthy. I am enjoying watching them grow and look forward to starting to eat the greens in the next couple of weeks. The front yard of the apartment building a couple of houses down also has a couple of pumpkin plants and a large just sprouting bed of arugula. Other gardens that I planted in the area including our home are transitioning from summer to fall but will continue to produce up to the first frost.

Hopefully by witnessing the success to the South Central Farm (by watching The Garden) it can become a model for launching similar projects throughout the country.

New Year

We had wonderful guests this evening enjoying each other and celebrating Rosh Hashanah. It was lots of fun collaborating on the menu with our guests, using traditional holiday ingredients and preparing them in our own way.

Passing
Honey Crisp Apple Dipped in Honey
Salmon Cake on Cucumber
Lamb Ragout with Squash Stuffing
Cauliflower Soup
Basil Lime Martini

Seated
Matzo Ball Soup
Challah Bread
(Michel Noellat) Bourgogne Rouge 2007

Beet, Egg, Red Onion, and Radish with Almond Vanilla Sauce
Poppy Seed Red Onion Bread
(Gilbert) Menetou Salon Blanc 2006

Beef Brisket with Cabbage, Potato, Carrot, Wax Beans, Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms and Corn Horseradish Sauce
Whole Wheat Salted Baguette
(Chateau Les Valentines) Cotes du Provence Rouge 2006

Cave Aged Marissa, Sheep Milk Cheese with Olive Oil Cracker
(Chateau Lalande-Borie) Saint-Julien 2000

Date Sorbet with White Chocolate Brownie
(Chancelle/Bourdin) Cremant de Saumur NV

Noodle and Fall Fruit Crème Brulee

Cookie Bites
Coconut Macaroons
Ginger Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Cakes with Vanilla Icing

A couple guests asked for the Beef Brisket recipe:
We got a 10 pound whole brisket (don't split it and don't trim the fat). John salted and peppered it really well (it can take a lot of salt) and rubbed it with roasted garlic. He sliced 4 red onions into rings about 1/8th of an inch thick and mixed those with 2 pounds of cleaned wax beans, seasoned them with salt and pepper and olive oil. He placed the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting tray and placed the brisket on top fat side facing up. He tore and rubbed 2 fresh bay leaves on the meat, covered it tightly and roasted it for 3 1/2 hours in a 350 degree oven, He pulled it out, removed the beans and onions, put the brisket back in the pan and let it rest for 20 minutes before slicing. He added calaloo to the beans and onions and served the sauce over sliced meat.

Noodle Pudding

Tomorrow night we are doing a Rosh HaShanah holiday dinner for 12 guests at our home restaurant. The menu will incorporate some traditional dishes and some traditional ingredients prepared non traditionally. Which brings me to dessert. I had a request for kugel which can be either sweet or savory and have a potato or egg noodle base. A loose translation for kugel is pudding or casserole.

I started thinking about making a sweet kugel for the dessert. Which evolved into the idea of a creme brulee with noodles and fruit. I thought about how good noodles would be in a custard and then crisped on top with a blow torch. Dessert kugels that I have eaten always had fresh or dried fruit incorporated in them. I found the first quinces of the season at a market this week and immediately knew they would be part of the pudding. Our fig picking has slowed down considerably but there are still some figs we can gather each day and I thought they would go well with the other ingredients. We bought some beautiful eggs from Whitmore Farms and John made me a beautiful batch of egg fettucini. I pulled out an old recipe from Rupperts for a traditional creme brulee custard. I filled brulee cups with fettucini, topped the noodles with shaved and roasted quince and slices of fresh fig and topped them with custard. I baked them slowly in the oven to set up and then refrigerated them. Before serving I will sprinkle them with sugar and take a blow torch to the top of them to crate a crispy sugar crust.

I like the idea so much I made it last night for a dinner and will make it again for tomorrow nights dinner. When I was explaining the dessert to the diners last nite one guest said to me that he had just had a fettucini dessert the night before...I got excited and asked where...alas he was only joking!

Jacqulyn Maisonneuve' s Work from 9/11/09

These photos are from last Fridays home restaurant. Tonight we had another great group join us for our first Thursday night restaurant. We got to use our new long walnut tables that our friend Darrel made for us. The tables are beautiful and will allow us to sit larger groups together at one table.

I was particularly exited about the chicken of the woods mushrooms that I found in the park this morning. They were the nicest mushrooms I have ever found and we roasted them and added them to a wax bean stew with a poached egg.

Some upcoming nights are full but we still have spaces for September the 25th, September the 26th, October 8 and October 17.

Tonights Menu:

Cauliflower Soup with Basil

Fall Squash Fritter

Roast Chicken on Corn Cake with Corn Sauce

(Labbe) Abymes Savoie 2007

Coho Salmon with Zucchini Radish Salsa and Almond Vanilla Sauce

(La Chapiniere) Touraine Gamay 2007

Poached Egg with Wax Beans and Wild Chicken of the Woods Stew

(Lopez de Heredia) Cubillo Rioja Crianza 2002

Lamb Shank with Beets, Beet Greens, Roasted Potatoes, Red Onion and Tomato

(La Sauvageonne) Cot. du Languedoc "Les Ruffes" 2007

Cave Aged Marissa, Sheep Milk Cheese with Olive Oil Cracker

Date Sorbet with White Chocolate Brownie

(Pierre Paillard) Brut Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru NV

Noodle, Quince and Fig Crème Brulee

Coconut Macaroon

Ginger Oatmeal Cookie

Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Icing

Lamb Shanks

We are making lamb shanks for tomorrow night's Home Restaurant. We have been using Whitmore Farm Katahdin Hair Lamb. The breed has no lanolin, which is the fat that accompanies sheep with wool. Katahdin are a woolless breed and we like this because it has a cleaner flavor, none of the mutton taste that comes from lanolin. Also Whitmore's Farm does not let their lamb get too big, so the shanks are a perfect size portion-wise as well as texture and flavor. For any bigger and I would have to cook them too long just to make tender, thereby losing much of the delicious flavor.

I braise these shanks in a red wine and water concoction that I steep for hours with herbs, onions and garlic prior to adding the lamb. I do not use stock because I want the lamb-ness of these particular lanolin free lambs. After my red wine concoction is flavorful enough I brown the shanks individually. Then I add the shanks to the broth and let simmer for one hour covered. I uncover the shanks and continue to cook for twenty minutes and then remove the shanks. I continue to reduce the sauce while keeping the shanks warm and then serve. Lately we have been doing beets with tops and roasted potatoes. This lamb is so flavorful I really don't want too much to compete with it. I think I will make a tomato reduction with onions and serve as a condiment.

Whitmore Farms is at Rose Park Farmers Market on Wednesdays. As our friend James say's look for "the most well dressed farmer you have ever seen".

Grandmother's Matzo Balls

My grandmother was Russian Jewish and an amazing cook. She ran a catering business in South Philly and took care of my crazy blind grandfather. Things I remember about him: first and foremost that he Loved food. Second, he use to march in place to Sousa-like music every morning, AND the third thing to know about Karl Blum was that he was a news junky that listened to the radio all the time, a radical and vehement LIBERAL!

Although we were never religious, we were definitely Culinary Jews. My Grandmother made incredible knishes, kreplach, and blintzes. Special occasions were always a feast. When we had Rupperts Restaurant, Christmas Day was a day off. After she died we would get up early every Christmas morning and drive to the Lower East Side just to eat at Ratner’s kosher dairy restaurant. Of course this meant shunning the Jewish tradition of a movie and Chinese food on Christmas. Eating stuffed eggplant or cold kasha in her tiny apartment my mother found her late in life, these are my Proustian moments and Jewish soul food will always make me think of her.

This Saturday we are doing a Rosh Hashanah Home Restaurant for one of our new favorite guests. We are serving kasha, brisket, kuegel and I will be making my Grandmother’s Matzo Balls. She would serve them in a bright flavorful Chicken stock that made the whole place smell good. My Grandmother loved to feed people as much as she loved to cook.

When Chana Leah Grinstadt was 15 years old she came through Ellis Island from Russia via Poland. She came from Barassa Russia and came across on a ship named the Polonia. When she arrived in New York, she did not know her birthday so she chose Armistice Day, November 11. Anna Blum died in November of 1997 after her 90^th birthday party–I think of her everyday…

Matzo Ball Recipe

1/2 cup matzo meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons seltzer

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Bring 1 1/2 quarts of well-salted water to a boil in a medium sized pot.

Reduce the flame. Run your hands under water so they are thoroughly wet. Form matzo balls by dropping spoonfuls of matzo ball batter approximately 1-inch in diameter into the palm of your wet hands and rolling them loosely into balls. Drop them into the simmering salt water one at a time. Cover the pot and cook them for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove from water and serve in hot chicken broth.

Vegan Matzo Ball Recipe

1/2 cup matzo meal
1/2 cup pureed silken tofu
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons seltzer

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Bring 1 1/2 quarts of well-salted water to a boil in a medium sized pot.

Reduce the flame. Run your hands under water so they are thoroughly wet. Form matzo balls by dropping spoonfuls of matzo ball batter approximately 1-inch in diameter into the palm of your wet hands and rolling them loosely into balls. Drop them into the simmering salt water one at a time. Cover the pot and cook them for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove from water and serve in hot vegetable broth.

mushrooms

Martin Lane with a Puffball we found last fall

A friend of mine just recently moved to Seattle. He returned for a visit this weekend and brought me beautiful chanterelles. I get calls regularly after a rain from my brother who finds the most amazing chicken of the wood mushrooms behind his house. Last Wednesday I went for a run in my own special part of the woods and found wild oyster mushrooms for our September Eleventh Home Restaurant. At Rupperts we had a few people out searching for us regularly. Sometimes the competition was fierce where we had some accusing others of being impostors. We actually got a phone call from one of our mushroom hunters in a paranoid state: "if someone calls and trys to be me, it's not me, it's someone else trying to sell you mushrooms" ...OK, what mushrooms have you been delving into?

The great thing about DC is that Rock Creek Park is full of edible mushrooms and what a difference wild mushrooms make. When we were coming up in the eighties I can remember we called oyster and shiitake mushrooms we bought from farms wild. Rightfully they are now referred to as cultivated mushrooms as the wild are far superior.

A mushroom hunter that used to come to Rupperts taught us, if you find a mushroom, know that you can always touch it. That is to say there is no such thing as a poisonous to the touch mushroom. However eating is another story. And the best thing to do if you find one you are not familiar with is to bring it to an expert. Our Mushroom guys used to bring us mushrooms that John could only eat because he does not drink–the toxins are released by consuming with alcohol. I see lots of mushrooms in the woods but there are very few that I collect to eat, only the ones that I can positively identify.

As a vegetarian mushrooms are important to me for a few reasons but basically its the texture I enjoy, the masticating–the tearing apart of a fleshy texture with my teeth. Every Thanksgiving the key dish for us is a Mushroom stuffing full of onions, garlic, shallots, quinoa, olive oil and herbs. We saute the onions, garlic and shallots then add the mushrooms to cook until soft. Next we stir in cooked quinoa, olive oil and season with salt, pepper and herbs–sage is great. We throw it all into a cast iron skillet and bake until it is crispy. Of course we never know which types of mushroom we are going to find and if we do not find any there is always the farmers market.

These days we also rely on Fadia who has The Mushroom Stand at the Thursday Penn Quarter market and the Sunday Dupont market. I often call her during the week to see if she is bringing wild varieties to the market.

I hear it is going to rain on Wednesday, I will be looking for chicken of the woods, oysters and puffballs this weekend all of which I often find in DC during the fall.