Corn Cake Stacks with Aged Cheddar and a tea cup bird feeder

The Farmers Market: Corn Cake Stacks with Aged Cheddar. With summer coming to an end, so goes the good Jersey corn. On Friday, I bought a few ears of bi-color Jersey corn at a farmers market in Chestnut Hill.

My recipe this week is a slightly modified version of the original from the Beekman Boys.  Where their recipe calls for 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper, I swapped that out with 2 tablespoons of dried herbs and a generous shake of smoked sea salt.  These corn cakes were so delicious. They were light on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside,  The melted cheddar was a really nice addition to finish the whole thing off. I had a stack of four with a spring mix salad for lunch but these could easily be a fantastic side dish too.

Corn Stack Cakes with Aged Cheddar
2 cups of fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
2 Tablespoons dried herbs (I use Litehouse Salad Herb Blend)
A generous shake of smoked sea salt
2 Tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, separated
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded aged cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In large bowl, mix together fresh corn kernels, dried herbs, smoked sea salt, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and egg yolks.
3. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into corn mixture.
4.  In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Working in batches, drop the batter by scant 1/4 cup mounds into the hot oil.  Cook for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.  Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining batter and olive oil.
5.  Divide cheddar evenly among corn cakes and bake for 1 minute, just until the cheese has melted. Remove from oven and serve.

The Find: a tea cup bird feeder. I recently found a nice stash of old and mismatched tea cups and saucers at a freecycle store.

My creative vision was clear: turn these into bird feeders. It was so simple, really. All I needed for this particular style of bird feeder was a 36 inch piece of 1/2" copper pipe, a copper pipe cap, some E6000, a tea cup and saucer., and a bag of bird seed. The cap gets glued to the bottom of the saucer. The tea cup gets glued to the top of the saucer. The copper pipe fits into the cap and the pipe gets placed in the ground like a stake.

Foolishly, I started this project believing that if I built it, the birds would come. Sadly, not one feathered friend has come to perch on my saucer. And I did hang out by the living room window obsessively looking for action. And action I did find. Just not in the form of birds. Instead, my tea cup bird feeder has become a regular establishment for pole dancing squirrels. Birds or no birds, I'm keeping the feeder where it is. Hell, watching the squirrels shimmy up the pole is excellent entertainment.

Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard and Walnut Vinaigrette and a Harlequin Map Table

The Farmers Market: Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard and Walnut Vinaigrette.  All summer long I've been hooked on "baby" potatoes. I get the medley in red, white and purple. When I came across this recipe earlier in the week on Food52, I was more than excited to find a new way to eat my baby potatoes. One of the nice things about this potato salad recipe is that it uses an olive oil based vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise. Now don't get me wrong here; I could bath in mayo and die a happy girl but the vinaigrette seems to nicely enhance the flavor of the potatoes without overpowering them.  And the two types of mustard and addition of walnuts? That's heaven right there.

Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard and Walnut Vinaigrette

Salad

• 4pounds mixed marble potatoes, or other small potatoes
• 1cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• 1bunch basil, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1bunch scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced crosswise

Vinaigrette

• 2cloves garlic, peeled
• 1tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2tablespoons lemon juice
• 1tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2tablespoons roasted walnut oil
• 1/4cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425° F and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Wash and dry potatoes, then spread evenly between baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to evenly coat potatoes. Sprinkle with freshly-ground black pepper and sea salt, then roast, shaking the pans occasionally, until potatoes are tender and browning (about 45 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes).
3. Meanwhile, prepare vinaigrette. Place garlic cloves on a cutting board, sprinkle with a generous couple pinches of sea salt, and chop and mash with the side of your knife until the clove breaks down into a salty paste.
4. Add garlic paste to a small bowl along with mustards, lemon juice, and vinegar. Whisk to emulsify. Add olive and walnut oils and whisk vigorously to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional sea salt and pepper.
5. When potatoes are done, transfer to a large bowl. Add scallions and dressing, and toss to coat. Using the back of a mixing spoon or the end of a wooden spatula, roughly smash some of the potatoes to break the skins. You’re not making mashed potatoes, but breaking the potatoes down will allow them to soak up more of the vinaigrette.
6. Allow dressed potatoes to sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes to one hour. Just before serving, stir in walnuts and basil.

The Find:  Harlequin Map Table and a Bonus Tin Treat.  This week's find was once a lonely dark table shoved in the very back corner of a yard sale.  The design alone called to me from the driveway. I love its simple lines and bottom shelf.

Maybe one day, far , far away, I'll get tired of using maps in my work. But I seriously doubt it. Just looking at a map ignites my wanderlust spark. Lately, I've been knee deep in  bright paints for my Little Free Library design work. On this table though, I decided to go soft.

The fun bonus find for this week is another yard sale find. In keeping with the travel theme, I found an airplane whirligig made entirely of Pepsi cans. I spied this piece on the corner of a front porch and it was getting ready to be put out with the trash. Price = FREE.

Simple Strawberry Sauce, a BONUS, and tea towel revivals

The Farmers Market:  Simple Strawberry Sauce. This is the final week of mason jar goodness. This week I decided to feature a simple strawberry sauce that won't be around for long after you make it. The beauty of this recipe is that it's so ridiculously simple to prepare. The fact that strawberries are plentiful and delicious this time of the year makes it even better. In our house, my daughter has been setting the standards for healthy eating. We talk quite often about the excessive amount of white sugar added to so much of the foods that Americans buy. Another reason why I love this recipe is that there are only two tablespoons of added sugar. The real sweetness comes from the fresh strawberries. Yesterday I purchased my berries from the Amish farmers market two towns over. Once the sauce is made and cooled, pour it into a pint sized mason jar and store in the refrigerator. You'll find all kinds of great culinary uses for it from ice cream to waffles to cheesecake topping.

Simple Strawberry Sauce
one pound fresh strawberries, sliced
1/8 cup of water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in medium saucepan. Reduce to simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Let cool and pour in to a pint size mason jar. Keep refrigerated.

THE BONUS: Pimento Cheese. I loved finding uses for my mason jars so much this month that I decided to throw in a bonus here. I was surfing the web a few days ago when a recipe for Pimento Cheese caught my eye. When I think of this kind of cheese, I usually think of the processed cheez wiz style concoction in the jar. This recipe uses sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated.

The most obvious way to enjoy this is to put it in a bowl with some pretzels and dip away.

By now you might be wondering where "the farmers market" comes in to play. Well, that's where the Heirloom tomatoes from the Overbrook Farmers Market come in.

The math is really simple on this one: homemade pimento cheese + heirloom tomatoes=
Grilled Pimento Cheese and Heirloom Tomato Sandwich. And you get extra points if you pair the sandwich with the dill pickle spears from week two!

Pimento Cheese Spread
2 cups sharp yellow cheddar, coarsely grated (8 oz)
2 cups sharp white cheddar, coarsely grated (8 oz)
1 cup drained pimentos or roasted red peppers, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
several liberal dashes of worchestire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Can be made 3 days ahead. Transfer to a large mason jar and keep refrigerated. Spoon spread into a bowl and serve with crackers, pretzels, vegetables and baguette slices OR spread on bread, add your favorite fillings and make a grilled cheese sandwich.

The Find: Tea Towel Revivals. This week's find comes in the form of two vintage tea towels and a long linen curtain panel; all thrift store finds. All three are 100% cotton which makes them soft and durable and easy to work with.

I'm an apron girl. There's just no way around it. And I don't want a mass produced apron either. I want unique, upcycled and fun. I want something that doubles as a skirt when I go to the farmers market. The choice was obvious when I saw these tea towels and curtain. Where some people walk right by the dusty old boxes of linens, I make a straight bee line for them. I call these aprons my Rustic Farm House aprons. I used the linen curtain for linings and I used the cloth tabs for the apron sashes. Nothing goes to waste here.

PS: I'll be making these available in my Etsy store.

The first apron is a shorter apron made from a tea towel from Leicestershire, England. I love maps! Notice that I purposely attached the tea towel only across the top so that I can have the rest of it free.

The second apron is a longer one made from an awesome tea towel from Wales. It has all kinds of Welsh language and numbers on it. Makes me want to travel. How about you?

Yes, there is a face.

Mango Pineapple Salsa and The Wrap Side Table

The Farmers Market:  Mango Pineapple Salsa. This is my third week of more mason jar goodness. On Saturday, I crossed the bridge to the Collingswood Farmers Market in New Jersey. All summer I've had a craving for fresh Jersey produce and this market delivered!  It's also been extremely hot here in Philadelphia with the temperatures in the high 90's. So, this week I decided on Mango Pineapple Salsa because I knew it would taste fantastic and refreshing right out of the refrigerator and I could add in some fresh jersey tomatoes as well. I've found myself making little trips to the fridge and eating it right out of the jar.  I think all the flavors blend perfectly together.  The longer it sits in the refrigerator, the better it tastes. I'm not a huge fan of cilantro but I added a tablespoon "just for color" as my mother used to say. If you love cilantro, go for it. If you don't, just omit it and it will still taste amazing!

Mango Pineapple Salsa
1 large ripe tomato, cut into small cubes
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/2 of a ripe pineapple, cut into small cubes
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 large garlic glove, finely minced
juice of one lime
a few tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced

In a large bowl, add all ingredients. Mix together well and transfer to a large mason jar. Allow to sit in refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. Salsa will be good refrigerated for at least 2 weeks.



The Find: The Wrap Side Table. The find this week comes from two places. I found some nice coordinating wrapping paper at The Salvation Army in Roxborough.

The side table was a yard sale find. It was still in decent condition when I scooped it up but I knew it would be awesome with some makeover magic.

Using a decoupage technique, I decorated the outside panels with one wrap and lined the drawers with the other. On the top I painted a nice harlequin pattern. I used three different shades of taupe. I loved the brass ring drawer pulls so much that I didn't need to switch them out. The result? One happy new side table!