in the kitchen

Today was a Big Day in the Kitchen.

Only by my standards, but still.

It started with a pot of farro, but since that is not a big deal (even by my standards) the day still seemed average. Farro doesn't even really count as cooking.

Then I realized that although the humidity was 98 percent during chores this morning, the temperature was only 86F, so, heck, almost cool! Maybe a good day to use the oven? It's been a while.

I pulled a couple of storebought pie shells out of the recently reactivated camouflage freezer (that's a story for another day) and set about preparing to bake.

Do you blind-bake pie crusts? And if so, do you have any idea why it is called that? Sort of an odd name. It's just poking a lot of holes in a raw pie crust then baking it for a short time to seal the inner surface of the crust a bit. The holes reduce the puffing up that can happen between the crust and the pie tin, and the sealing helps prevent a soggy crust later on.

I blind-baked both pie crusts, to make better use of the hot oven. One came out at 8 minutes, when it was just slightly lightly barely tinted brown - that's the quiche crust. The other stayed in for a few more minutes to really bake through. It may become a frozen dessert pie.

Not sure.
Never made one before.
Stay turned!

The quiche was my standard "recipe": toss in some of whatever is on hand. Today it was: 7 eggs, a big splash of cream from the top of a jug of raw milk, a couple of handfuls of chopped broccoli, a few spoonfuls of Rotel (canned chopped tomatoes and green chili peppers), and loads of shredded sharp cheddar.
Sound good?
Here's how it looked just out of the oven:

And unlike that rogue quiche of a few weeks ago, this one had more quiche-like topography:

(Oh look!  There's a big container of farro cooling in the background!  It did make it into a picture!)

And...

while the quiche was in the oven,

along came a crazy thought:

Wouldn't this be a fine time to try Tipper's cornbread recipe?

After all, the oven was already on, right?

So what's another 100 degrees?

The recipe was so very simple. Thank goodness. Because this was the third thing I cooked today (you'll notice I am now counting the farro). For me, that pushed this day right into a sort of Wild Cooking Marathon.

(I know. I'm not much of a cook. Fortunately, Piper does not care. Sometimes the goats seem to be muttering, though.)

Twenty minutes later:

I wish I had a better right-out-of-the-oven picture, but to be honest, I was in too much of a hurry to take a picture like this:

I meant to flip the cornbread out of the pan in one piece, but suddenly realized something: I don't own a plate as big as my skillet. No problem, though. Those first two wedges popped right out of the pan. With no trouble. At all.

This is not the first time I've tried to make cornbread, but it is without a doubt the first time I've made cornbread that tastes the way I think cornbread ought to taste.

And the texture!

I mean, do you see the size of that missing section? You would be amazed at the amount of butter that much properly-textured cornbread can hold on to!  My, my.

Thank you, Tipper, for sharing your recipe - and please thank The Deer Hunter for his more freewheeling method, too. Maybe next time!

There will certainly be a next time, and pretty soon, too.  Because this time, there won't be enough leftovers to try making cornbread salad!

~~~~~

farro

Farro.  So easy.  I measure a cup or two into a pot and wash it in cool water, rubbing the grains together, and replacing the water a couple of times.  Then add about twice the volume of water per volume of grain.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or less, to retain a bit of chewiness.

Warm or cold, plain or sauced, added to vegetables, tuna, meat.

Yum.

This morning the chores were done and I was hard at work in the garden quite early, planting the marked-down organic vegetables I bought at the feed store yesterday.  They have been valiantly striving to grow in their little plastic pots, and I want to get them right into the ground as soon as possible.  Flourish, little plants!  I will try to help!

So by 9 AM, I had already been sweating and providing breakfast for countless mosquitoes for about three hours.  Time for my breakfast.  As I limped back to the house, I was thrilled to recall that I had cooked a pot of farro last night, and mixed one bowlful with a generous glug of sesame ginger salad dressing.

Yum!

So refreshing.  And so pleasant to relax on the screen porch for a while with Piper, enjoying the hummingbirds at the feeder, and planning the rest of the day.

Now it's 10:30, and on to the next task.  A little bit of fencework, and loading up for the Saturday dump run.  Whee!

Hope your Saturday is lovely  :)
~~~~~