The Novel Bakers ~ "Gathering in the Garden" ~ Part II

Hello and welcome to the Wednesday installment of The Novel Bakers  where we are featuring the book "Gathering the Garden" written and illustrated  by Shelly Snow and Elaine Husband.




Same old story at my house... 
The summer wildfires made it nearly impossible to capture  garden gathering outdoors this summer,  so I dredged up one from my archives.  
It is from a few years ago. 
Thanks for understanding!






Now, I normally wouldn't serve these three  items together . . . these are just ideas for items you might serve at a gathering in the garden.

First up are Tomato Melts:

Garlic Bread toasted, spread with mayonnaise, a layer of fresh basil, then thinly sliced ripe tomatoes, a generous sprinkling of bacon then a layer of sliced or grated cheese ~ placed on shallow pan and baked in a 450º(F) oven  until the cheese is nice and melty and the  slices are warmed through.
Click here for a printable copy of Tomato Melts.






Next up, Warm Yukon Gold Potato salad:




Though this recipe also calls for bacon, it seems to me that we had  plenty of bacon on the Tomato Cheese Melts, so I substituted sweet red onion to lighten it up a bit (and omitted the mayonnaise.)   I also added a couple of sprigs of fresh tarragon, optional. 






Back to the Tomato Melts ~

Instead of large slices of bread I sliced the bread into narrow diagonal pieces and made them into "boats"





 ~ the basil "sails" are an idea I copied from Mary's inspiring blog:
Home is Where the Boat is
Thank you Mary!! :)






I also made a few  ~



~ Quiche d'Olives and Basil Tomato Tarts ~
Click here for a printable copy of the Quiche d'Olives recipe.

Instead of one large pan of each, I made individual size portions.





I used tiny Nicoise olives in the olive quiche, and cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half for the  Basil Tomato Tarts.
Click here for Basil Tomato Tart.







Using smaller tomatoes and olives worked out perfectly for these small tart pans.

Thank you for stopping by today!


Please come on back on Friday for our "Gathering in the Garden" finale ~




Thank you for any comments you would like to leave ~ they absolutely MAKE my day!  :) :) :)


And please do check out the other Novel Bakers' blogs  to see their creative ideas as interpreted from 'Gathering in the Garden'  :

Home is Where the Boat is
Rattlebridge Farm
A Quiet Life Blog

Caramelized Onion and Jarlsberg Cheese Puff Pastry Squares

Well, it is not a Pissaladière, not exactly a Quiche, I would say it's more of a savory tart.
And very good for a lighter meal (not lighter in calories though!)  It's one of those dishes you can make when the cupboards are practically bare.
If you make it, please note that your proportions of ingredients  will vary, depending upon the dimensions of your pan.  I was going for a rather thin layer of filling, so I chose the shallow tart pan. Here's a brief description of how I put it together:
I placed a sheet of puff pastry in the square tart pan, docked it on the bottom only, and baked blind, until a little over half way done. Then I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool slightly on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, I sliced an onion thinly, and caramelized them in a skillet in a little butter and olive oil, cooking slowly so the sugars in the onions turned a beautiful golden brown and the onions were very tender.
Next I "painted" the partially baked crust with a thin layer of Dijon mustard and distributed the onions evenly over the  mustard coated crust, then sprinkled a few fresh thyme leaves,  and a couple of grinds of freshly ground black pepper over.   I added a generous amount of grated Jarlsberg cheese (from Norway), or a Swiss-type cheese over the onions and thyme.
To make the custard, I whisked a couple of eggs with a little half & half  (you can use cream or whole milk)  and carefully poured it over the cheese until it almost reached the top edge of the partially baked pastry crust. The filling will puff up while it bakes, so it's better to  under-fill than over-fill.


I baked it off in a 350ºF preheated oven (center rack) until the cheese was melted and beginning to brown, and the custard filling was just set.
Allow to cool slightly, then cut with a sharp knife, serve up and enjoy while still warm.


Served with a salad of greens and a good vinaigrette, it makes a fine, simple little meal and is budget friendly, too. You can also cut into smaller portions to serve as appetizers.

~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for coming by today friends, please leave me a comment if you have a mind to ~ I really enjoy reading what you have to share.



I'm linking to Foodie Friday. (click)
Happy Thursday, everybody! 
xo~mari

"The Circle of Kindness" by Jana Kolpen & Mary Tiegreen

Hello! 
Welcome in once again as The Novel Bakers play with the third book in Jana Kolpen's and Mary Tiegreen's Trilogy; "The Circle of Kindness".




Whew ~ Please excuse me as I'm late to the party  (computer got cranky...)
Here we go! 

We find that our main character Mlle. J. has been invited from The Villa della Luna in Italy, to Ireland:
This could well be my favorite of the three books. :)

The story is enchanting ~ the other Novel Bakers are such wonderful story tellers, so if you have visited them, I'm sure you've gotten the gist of The Circle of Kindness. 
I love the story and the message of the book, however, I got side-tracked by the food, as well. (what's new??) *grin*
Lots of bits of wisdom in this sweet little book . . .

"Through her experiences she had come to understand  the power we hold in our hands and in our hearts."




We learn that Mlle. J is invited to stay with Shannon,  in her little thatched-roof cottage, framed with roses.



"It was here in this land of many greens that Mademoiselle J. would find the generosity of spirit and compassion that turns the world."

~*~*~*~*~

The first morning Mlle. awoke to Shannon baking bread.
Shannon teaches Mlle. J.  how to bake delicious, bread . . . all the while promoting kindness, compassion and friendship . . .

So I made some, too . . .


It's not a yeast bread, it's a soda bread ~  goes together very quickly and it's delicious! If you don't have the book, here is another excellent recipe for brown bread.



I ground red wheat berries very coarsely, the texture was perfect.
(If you don't have a grinder you can probably find coarse-ground at your healthy food store.) 

After some good tea and bread, a little later we're off for an outing into town . . .
One of the stops? To visit a shop ~






 And also "The Inn Between" !



Called the "Inn Between", because it is located between the barber shop and the bakery (and it holds very odd hours.)




Fascinated by the names of the item menu, I had to make a few!



The first one:



Bubble and Squeak Cakes . . .




Traditionally made with mashed potatoes, mixed with some kind of leftovers; cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, etc. And made into one large cake, then shallow  fried until crispy and brown.





No recipe in the book for this one, so I followed Gordon Ramsay's version, with Brussels sprouts.
Very good! Thumbs up at our house.



Such an adorable format!




The next item from the menu that I made was Irish Toasties.   


There are many, many versions of Toasties, limited only by your imagination. Basically it's a toasted/baked cheese sandwich, with other things . . .

Again, no recipe in the book ~ but I followed this one,  and used the Brown Bread I had made earlier.
It is very good, especially if you like the sweet and savory flavor play.  You build it on a good, sturdy brown or multi-grain bread, toasted. Smear with Fig jam, then pile a mixture of grated white cheddar cheese (mixed with, minced shallots, whole grain mustard, and beaten egg.)
Another really good recipe.
~*~*~*~*~


Teatime!!

I made Mrs. Monahan's RaggaMuffins.

No recipe in the book, but used this one, for Maple Sugar RaggaMuffins, I added some cinnamon to the filling.  (You could substitute brown sugar for the Maple Sugar.) Some like to ice them with Maple icing, but we thought they were sweet enough. 




The texture is similar to a biscuit, rather than traditional cinnamon roll.  Again, because no yeast is involved, they go together quickly and are really good with a cup of tea or coffee.

I would make them again, but would increase the amount of cinnamon to maybe 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons.
~*~*~*~*~

Happy messages, and words of wisdom about kindness are sprinkled throughout the book:




And the good changes that even the smallest kind gesture can make.



~*~*~*~*~

Ice cream really doesn't have anything to do with the book ~ but it is an act of kindness to share some, yes?


This is real, honest to goodness homemade Mint ice cream, no artificial colors.
I used David Lebovitz's recipe ~ you steep the fresh mint leaves in warm milk, cool, then combine with the egg custard mixture and chill before freezing.
His recipe goes a step further and he adds chocolate to make Mint Chip ice cream. mmmmm.




It goes really well with a little slice of Shortbread,  made with Irish butter, of course. ;-)



(My violets didn't produce many blossoms this year so I made sugared violas instead, the color is not as vibrant, but they are deliciously in mild flavor.)







If you grow mint, you know how out of control it  can become unless you contain it. 
This recipe is a great way to use up quite a bit of mint. The flavor doesn't scream mint, it is more delicate.  You could add a little pure mint extract and food color if you want it to taste and look more like the commercial product.

Thank you for stopping by today friends! I love when you leave me comments, I  cherish each one. 


I'll close with this lovely and touching sentiment from "Circle of Kindness" . . .




I'll have the recipe for the gluten-free/fat-free Amaretti cookies (from Wednesday's post) over on my recipe blog a little later today.

~*~*~*~*~
Please stop by to see the magical goodness my Novel Baker friends have in store for you!

--  Home is Where the Boat Is
--  A Quiet Life
--  Rattlebridge Farm

Have a good weekend everyone,  and spread the kindness.  xoxo