Upstate NY-Breakfast of Champions

Just a quick idea for a nice energy packed breakfast, guaranteed to give you sustainable nourishment to start the day.

First: you must rinse and soak some CPO Live Oat Groats overnight; changing the water every 6 hours is a good idea...especially in the Upstate NY humidity.

Second: you must sprout the oats for 2-3 more days; rinsing every 4-6 hours (or at least as often as you can remember, especially in hot weather)...sprout in a quart size mason jar with a clean cloth and rubber band secured to the opening, lay the jar on its side to increase surface area, sprout out of direct sunlight at room temperature until you get something that looks like this:

 

Third: purchase some CPO Chef Hans' 5-Spice Black Bean Spread (or another flavor) @ the Ithaca Farmer's Market, Green Star, Ithaca Coffee Company, or Bet The Farm.

Fourth: put a handful of sprouts on a plate, top with about 2 Tbsp of bean spread, poach a couple of eggs and place on top, drizzle with some sunflower oil, sprinkle with some cracked black pepper and a pinch of sea salt:

ENJOY!

Freekeh and Jacob's Cattle Beans with Moroccan Flavors

Preserving your own citrus is quite simple.  Take a lemon, lime, or orange and place the bottom or top end on a cutting board; cut the citrus in fourths, but not all the way through, leave it attached on one end; pack each piece of citrus with 1 heaping Tbsp of sea salt and close it shut so that it resembles its whole form; tightly pack each piece of fruit into a jar and let it sit covered at room temperature for 4-5 days; now squeeze enough fresh citrus juice to cover the fruit and let it sit covered for at least 1 month at room temperature, make sure to weight the fruit down so that is stays under the liquid ( use a plate weighted down with a bag of the curing solution).  It will last for at least 1 year in a cool dark spot or in the refrigerator indefinitely.  To use clean out the meat of the citrus fruit and rinse it a bit under cool water.

Here's a nice grain and bean salad that will comfortably fill the belly as a nice lunch or accompany a nice piece of grilled lamb from a local farm.  The Moroccan flavor comes from some preserved citrus, oil-cured olives, mint (which is quite abundant in upstate NY), cinnamon, and star anise; I use a combination of apple-mint and spearmint.

Freekeh getting ready for a soak and steam bath...

...plump, sweet, juicy ... laced with a subtle smokey and nutty flavor profile.

Jacob's Cattle Beans beautifully mottled (also know as trout beans) getting ready to soak and simmer.

Just finished simmering and still looking quite beautiful...time for some Moroccan Flavors!

Preserved citrus in a jar of salty citrus juices...

...preserved lemon and orange: meat removed, rinsed, and ready for dicing.

The holy trinity: mint, preserved citrus, oil-cured olives!

Jacob’s Cattle Beans and Freekeh with Moroccan Flavors By Hans Butler

Ingredients 1 Tbsp minced preserved citrus (rinds only) 1 Tbsp minced oil cured olives 1 cup julienned apple mint 1/4  cup fruit vinegar 1/4 cup Stolor Organics Sunflower Oil 1/2 tsp ground star anise 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 cups cooked CPO Jacob’s Cattle Beans 2 cups cooked CPO Freekeh

Directions 1)Remove flesh, rinse, and dice the citrus very small; put in a large mixing bowl. 2)Dice olives into small pieces; add to the mixing bowl. 3)Julienne mint; add to the mixing bowl. 4)Add vinegar, oil, star anise, and cinnamon to the mixing bowl and mix well. 5)Add the beans and freekeh to this mixture; mix everything together gently, but thoroughly. 6)Enjoy as a side dish, a nice lunch, or a light dinner. Serves 4-6

Adventures in Dorayaki

For some reason, I just can't get satiate my curious palate for using Cayuga Pure Organics' beans in confections.  I guess I'm just very excited about the fact that the beans used for making sweet paste are grown about 15 minutes from my house; it is also quite exciting to use beans in desserts. 

The dessert documented in this session is Dorayaki; a Japanese dessert consisting of sweet bean paste sandwiched between two pancakes.  Most importantly, most of the ingredients have been sourced from Cayuga Pure Organics and other local farms.  CPO's Paradise Pancake Mix was created by Vanessa, who works for CPO in sales and manages the farm's stand at the Ithaca Farmer's Market.  The mix is really good for making some nice breakfast style pancakes, but it also works really well for making Dorayaki. 

Check out the consistency...this is what you're going for!

Happy Cast Iron Skillet : )

 

Time to flip!

Filled, Fun, and Flavorful!

Support your local farmers!

Dorayaki By Hans Butler

Bean Paste Ingredients: ½ # CPO Red Merlot Beans 1tsp sea salt ¾ cup maple syrup Pancake Ingredients: 1 cup FGF Paradise Pancake Mix 3 eggs 3/4 cup water 2 tbs buckwheat honey

Bean Paste Directions: Soak red beans 3-4 hours, rinse and cover with about 2qts of water, simmer for about 45 minutes and then add the salt and stir well; it’s okay to crush the beans, this is what you’re going for. Make sure to turn the heat down a little lower. At this point, the mixture will be very thick and pulling away from the pan when you stir.  It will be a very dark and rich color of red with an smell reminiscent of vanilla beans. This is when you add the sweetener.  Then turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting and stir and crush mixture until sweetener is fully incorporated.  If the mixture is too thick (dry looking) just add some more water(a couple tablespoons at a time) and bring to a simmer; it will thicken a lot more when cooled too, so keep it somewhat fluid.  Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate. Pancake Directions: Mix eggs, water, and honey together.  Slowly add the pancake mix to the wet ingredients.  Cook in a cast iron skillet over medium heat; cool to room temperature.  Now sandwich 2 pancakes together with the appropriate amount (depends the size of your pancakes) of bean paste.  Enjoy!

BUBBLING RED BEAN PASTE

Some of personal favorite beans from Cayuga Pure Organics are Red Merlot Beans; they are great in many savory dishes, but also as a confection.  I first started doing sweet bean paste with the glorious Adzuki Bean (the most common bean used in Japanese desserts) from CPO, but soon decided to apply this recipe to the mighty Red Merlot Bean; a bean that deserves some sweet acknowledgement.

Cayuga Pure Organics Red Merlot Beans:  You should get up close and personal with your food!

Someone spilled the beans!  Since I'm in NYS, it's only logical to use local beans and local maple syrup!

That's about 8oz (or 1 heaping cup)...time to soak for 3-4 hours!

8oz of red beans and 2qts water; bubbling away!

Getting thick and creamy (about 45 minutes of simmering)...now add some sea salt and bubble away for another 15-20 minutes.

Now give those red beans a maple syrup boost, bubble away for another 15 minutes!

A little mashing action is necessary to complete the transformation into...

SYRUPY RED BEAN BLISS!

Sweet Red Merlot Bean Paste By Hans Butler

Ingredients ½ # CPO Red Merlot Beans 2qts water 1tsp sea salt ¾ cup maple syrup

Directions Soak red beans 3-4 hours, rinse and cover with about 2qts of water, simmer for about 45 minutes and then add the salt and stir well; it’s okay to crush the beans, this is what you’re going for. Make sure to turn the heat down a little lower. At this point, the mixture will be very thick and pulling away from the pan when you stir.  It will be a very dark and rich color of red with an smell reminiscent of vanilla beans. This is when you add the sweetener.  Then turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting and stir and crush mixture until sweetener is fully incorporated.  If the mixture is too thick (dry looking) just add some more water(a couple tablespoons at a time) and bring to a simmer; it will thicken a lot more when cooled too, so keep it somewhat fluid.  Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate. Makes about 1quart

Making Brown Butter Polenta

Brown Butter Polenta By Hans Butler Serves 4-6

Ingredients ¼ # unsalted butter ½ onion, peeled and diced 3 cups water 1 cup polenta 1 sprig of fresh thyme 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper to taste

Directions Heat butter over medium heat (watch closely) for about 4 minutes.  The butter will melt, sizzle, and then the solids in the bottom of the pan will start ot toast.  The butter is ready when it is medium brown and has a nutty aroma. Add diced onion to brown butter and season generously with salt and pepper.  Saute for about 5 seconds.  Add water, thyme, and bay leaf and bring to a boil.  Remove thyme and bay leaf and slowly whisk in the polenta.  Lower the heat to the lowest setting and continue simmering and whisking for 30 minutes. Serve polenta soft in warm like a savory porridge or pour into a pan to make polenta cakes (good for grilling or searing in a cast iron skillet).

Beautiful Upstate NY coarse ground Polenta from...

http://farmergroundflour.squarespace.com/

Upstate NY unsalted butter browning slowly in a pan....

it takes on an amber color and starts to foam a bit....

Notice the solids toasting and turning golden brown....

emitting a rich nutty aroma. 

Roast the butter GENTLY!...but get those solids nice and brown!

Some more natural flavor enhancers...

in the pan with the butter; dancing and caramelizing...the diced onions bursting open, releasing their juices and begging for some salt and pepper.

Add the water, bring it to a boil....

add the polenta and mix...

stir over medium heat...

TURN THE HEAT TO DOWN TO LOW...and mix....

and stir....

and mix (check out the consistency)...

and stir for about 30 minutes; serve as a soft polenta (you may need to add a little more liquid until you reach your desired consistency) or....

                                                                                                               

pour into a greased up sheet pan and let set for at least an hour, cut into desired shapes and grill or brown in a cast iron skillet.

SEXY CLOSE UP SHOT ; )

A CPO Live Oat Broadcast from Upstate NY!

This just in; CPO live oats are awesome!  You don't even need to cook them; just soak overnight, drain, and blend them up.  This a delicious and simple powerhouse breakfast...and for those complaining about the chaff in their teeth: please submerge in water and agitate, remove the bits that float to the top (repeat this process at least 3 times)!  It really works; I promise...and it only takes 1 single minute! 

Sprouted Raw Oatmeal (aka powerhouse breakfast) By Hans Butler

Ingredients 1 cup CPO live oats ½ cup water 2 tbs real maple syrup ½ tsp sea salt ¼ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp allspice ¼ cup dried figs 2 tbs roasted pumpkins seeds

Directions The night before submerge oats in water and agitate, remove any pieces that float to the top; repeat this process 3 times (this helps remove most of the chaff).  Cover oats in fresh water and soak (you can soak the oats for 24hrs; if you do, change the water at least every 8 hrs). Drain the soaking liquid and rinse oats.  Put the oats and all of the other ingredients in the blender; reserve the pumpkin seeds for garnish.  Blend into smooth consistency (it should look like a milk shake); serve room temperature or chilled, garnish with pumpkin seeds and an extra fig. Serves 2-4

Cracker Time!

Sourdough Freekeh Cracker Recipe with Pics!