I come bearing jelly

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything her — even after vowing to keep up the blog once the wedding ended, I failed right around New Year’s Eve.

But  we’re about one week away from our first anniversary and I’m slowly realizing that (a) time passes quickly, especially when you get into the swing of The Real World, and (b) there are plenty of people – dare I say, too many – whom we haven’t seen since the wedding.

So here’s to keeping in touch and spending more time on my iMac (where I maintain my blogs) before it bites the dust. I’m going to try to maintain this blog for anyone who’s interested in cursory recaps of our life summarized in pictures and sentences punctuated with exclamation points.

To get back into the spirit of this place, here’s something delicious I whipped up last night. One of Buff’s Yoplait co-workers brought him an enormous bag of rhubarb, so I made a compote recipe I found in a magazine at my Aunt Tracy’s house. We roadtripped to Louisville to visit my Aunt Tracy and Uncle Tim with my sister, Breck, two weeks ago. Maybe I can post on that later.

Rhubard Strawberry Compote

What you need:

• 2 lbs. of rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 lb. of strawberries, quartered
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of apple juice
• 1 Tablespoon of grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon of  vanilla extract

How to do it:

In a heavy-bottomed pot (I used a dutch oven that has turned out to be my favorite/most useful wedding gift), combine everything but the vanilla. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Once simmering, reduce heat and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until it breaks down and thickens. This should take about 50 minutes. Add the vanilla and stir.

my bread and compote

This can be served warm, room temperature or chilled. The recipe recommended it on pancakes, waffles or ice cream or to combine it with goat or ricotta cheese. I’ve been eating it on homemade whole wheat bread, which I made from a Laurel’s Kitchen method. The whole recipe is about five pages long, so I won’t post it, but maybe you should buy the book. It’s my go-to source for all kinds of cooking conundrums, first introduced to me by Georgia when we lived together and had wild cooking adventures at all hours of the night (see: Nick’s apple butter craving at 2 a.m.). I love the whole, holistic approach to cooking offered in its pages. It’s based on a vegetarian diet, but even if that’s not your thing, I’d recommend it just for the technical advice.

This compote, though, is so good. It’s a little bit tart, but deeply sweet at the same time.  Definitely tastes like summer. See you back here soon.

Stuff We Like: Love and Olive Oil’s Pumpkin Turkey Chili

via Love and Olive Oil

I don’t know how many people that aren’t Buff or Abby or Georgia know how many blogs I read on a daily basis, but trust me when I say I read a TON of blogs in addition to the disgusting amount of news and Facebook/Twitter updates I consume on a daily basis.

One of my favorite blogs is Love and Olive Oil. It’s run by a young couple who make insane food. This was the first recipe of theirs that I ever made and I was hooked instantly. Since then, I’ve made a bunch of their recipes, but one of my favorites is this pumpkin turkey chili.

When fall rolls around, I crave all things pumpkin, from the requisite pumpkin spice latte to pumpkin cookies to baked squash with nutmeg (which is pumpkin’s cousin, obviously). I made this chili for my sister one time when she spent the night with me in Lansing and this week she asked me for the recipe. Since I sent her the link, I figured I should probably share it here too. I’ll probably end up making this one day this week. Even though it’s classified as “Stuff We Like,” I’ve never made this for Bryan so let’s hope he likes it.

My advice to Breck will be the same for you, kind reader: Don’t skimp on the cumin. It makes the pumpkin less intensely sweet and dessert-y and adds this other level of flavor that really makes the dish crave-worthy. If cumin isn’t something you normally keep in your pantry, you might want to change that. It’s great for practically everything, especially those slow-cooked, earthy fall recipes that are so popular this time of year. I season meat and veggies with it. It’s a must-have.

Happy eating!