1. ​In food processor, combine shallots, capers, roughly chopped egg, vinegar, and one-fourth of the smoked trout and chives, Drizzle in olive oil and pulse until  ingredients are well blended. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
2. Stir in remaining trout and minced chives along with yogurt and sour cream. Season to taste with fresh ground sea salt and black pepper.
3. Serve with toasted baguette slices, crackers, or crudities. Will keep up to 3 days in refrigerator.
​Contributed by Joeth Barlas. Adapted from Travis McShane of Adele’s Nashville as published in Wall St.Journal

This simple cake is often served at breakfast -- maybe with Greek yogurt and fresh berries -- throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. May also be served with whipped cream or ice cream at tea time or dessert.

If you buy shelled pistachios, check to see if they are already salted. If so, you might not need to add the salt indicated in the recipe. Adapted from Classical Turkish Cooking by Ayla Algar; published in the Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2018.
Prep Time: 30 mins     Elapsed Time ~ 2 hours     Serves: 8

Butter for cake pan
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
3 eggs, separated
2/3 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Confectioner's sugar for topping (optional)

1. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 1/2-inch springform pan. Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit bottom of pan; butter parchment.
2. Preheat over to 350 F, toast pistachios (if not already toasted) on baking sheet til crisp, about 10 minutes. (Not necessary if nuts are pre-shelled and toasted). Transfer to food processor or electric spice mill and grind to a powder.
3. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground pistachios, baking powder, and salt if used.
4. In large bowl, beat egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar until thick and pale yellow. Add yogurt and beat in, then add olive oil and beat again. Fold dry ingredients into egg-yogurt mixture,using silicon spatula and mixer if needed to make sure batter is thoroughly blended. Clean beaters for use in next step.
5. In clean medium bowl, beat egg whites to a froth. Add remaining 1/3 cup sugar and continue beating until whites are stiff and glossy. Use spatula to stir about one-quarter of beaten egg whites into batter to lighten it. Gently fold in remaining whites in similar batches, making sure ingredients are distributed evenly.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven. Bake until cake pulls slightly away from sides of pan (about 40-50 minutes). Test with toothpick until  no "raw" batter clings to toothpick.
7. Cool cake thoroughly (about 15-20 minutes.) Remove sides of pan. Gently transfer cake to serving plate and top with sifted confectioner's sugar. 

By Alison Saylor
Thanks for this “casserole,” which she brought to the 2017 Garden Club Potluck.
 
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into small pieces
2 tbsp oil (or chicken fat rendered from chicken thighs)
2 shallots chopped fine (or one chopped onion)
2 tbsp curry paste (I used Tikka Masala made by Patak's Original concentrated curry paste - Tastes of India - which is described as medium hot)
1 can pumpkin
2 tbsp ketchup (or 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce)
1 cauliflower cut into small pieces
 
Directions
Saute chicken in oil until only slightly pink. Add shallots and saute for an additional 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Add salt to taste (I do not add salt). Good served over rice.
 
Cook's Notes
My mother and grandmother taught me how to make curry. Use any meat in any quantity. If using beef or lamb I simmer for 40 minutes; otherwise, it is much the same recipe. My Granny said a good curry has four flavors; sweet, sour, hot and savory. Sweetness often comes from fruit. She might add applesauce, or a little leftover jam, but raisins, dried apricots, bananas, and in the above recipe pumpkin works too to add natural sweetness. Sour comes from something with vinegar. I usually add ketchup or Worcestershire sauce. Hot comes from chili peppers, usually in the curry paste, but easily added with hot sauce if extra is needed. Savory comes from the meat and curry paste.
 
Sometimes I add a tablespoon of cumin or curry powder if I have it handy. Once in a while I add a can of coconut milk. For both color and flavor I often add tomato paste or tomato sauce. Anything you might put in a stew, such as celery or carrots, can also go in a curry.  Sometimes I need to add water or broth to allow the meat to simmer gently, and other times at the end I thicken the broth with instant mashed potato or flour mixed in cold water. My friend Taina taught me that adding quartered hardboiled eggs and potatoes cut into chunks can stretch a curry to feed a crowd. It is always good to make too much, because curry makes wonderful leftovers.
 
My mother always thought that a curry served on a bed of rice surrounded by a circle of petit pois peas made a dramatic dinner party entree.
 

A highlight of a delightful program on the amazing hummingbird was the amazing hummingbird cake created by Gio DiNicola -- light, lucious, and magical.  From a recipe developed by Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country.

To download recipe as JPG, click: humm-cake2.jpg

Delicious!  --we can hardly wait long enough to get it out of the pan before it gets eaten!  This is more like a coffee cake than a bread, but very tasty! (Note: I have found that you can use ¾ c applesauce to replace ¼ c of the oil and ½ c of the sugar in the bread, and it is still delicious!)  -- Bonnie Sellew

Bread:
4 c apples, peeled, cored and chopped (4-5 apples, cut into chunks of about 1”)
4 large eggs, beaten
1 c vegetable oil (you can use ¾ c oil + ¼ c applesauce)
2 t vanilla extract
1 t almond extract
2 t baking soda
2 t salt
2 t cinnamon
3 c flour (I use 2 ½ c King Arthur white, ½ c King Arthur white wheat)
2 c sugar (can use 1 ½ c sugar + ½ c applesauce)

Topping:
¾ c flour
¼ c sugar
2 t cinnamon
6 T butter, room temp.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly grease two 9” x 5” loaf pans (or one 9” x 5” and three mini loaf pans, or 24-28 muffins)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the oil and beat until combined. Add the vanilla, almond extract, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Beat until thoroughly mixed. Add flour and sugar and mix on low just to blend, then turn the mixer to high and beat until mixture is smooth – the batter will get very thick.

Fold in chopped apples by hand.  Divide mixture into loaf pans. (Since the batter is thick, it's easier to spoon it in than pour.)

To prepare topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Cut butter into mixture with a fork until all ingredients are moist and crumbly. I just use hands – it works better/faster. Sprinkle topping onto loaves.

Bake large loaves about 1 hour on center rack of oven (mini loaves I take out around 45 min. and test with a toothpick or skewer, muffins take about 25 min.). Place on cooling rack and cool for at least 5 min. before removing from pans.

Served and submitted by Melinda Lindquist
Adapted from Gourmet (sniffle), February 2003
Serves 6 to 8.

1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze of all excess liquid, and chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes (1/2 lb)
6 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
2 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 cup)
2 3/4 cups milk  (I use skim)
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Sauté onion in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for one minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat and set aside.

Spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other ceramic baking dish. Top with one-third of bread cubes,one-third of spinach mixture and one-third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for at least 8 hours or up to a day.

The next day, let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Submitted by Katherine Dhar

This dish is the simplest thing ever:

• 2 cans black beans
  
• 2 cans garbanzo beans
  
• 1 can kidney beans
  
• 1 med purple onion, diced
  
• 1 large red pepper, diced
  
• 1 jar salsa
• Bottled Italian salad dressing (I used the WF organic brand, but any is fine)

Drain/rinse the beans.  Mix the beans, onion, and pepper in a bowl.  Add the salsa.  Then add salad dressing to taste - I would start with 1/4 c.  Then, you can add salt/pepper to taste.  Garnish with cilantro.  Very easy recipe to double/triple.  

This recipe is provided by Alison Saylor for those who purchase sugar pumpkins at the club's annual Pumpkins on the Common fundraiser.

1. Using a sharp chef's knife, cut out the stem and bottom spot of a sugar pumpkin. Cut in half and remove seeds and fibers. Slice into wedges.
2. Place in a covered roasting pan (aluminum foil is fine) with a half-inch of water in the bottom. Cook for an hour at 350 degrees until nice and soft.
3. Cool, then scoop pumpkin meat from skin and place in a colander. Press out liquid, then process in food processor til smooth.
4. Put 2 cups of pumpkin into individual Ziplock freezer bags and freeze until needed.

This recipe was prepared at our October meeting by chef Liz Barbour (lizb@thecreativefeast.com) and won raves from 23 garden club members. Like the following recipe, it uses seasonally available ingredients.  Serves 6

1 small butternut squash, peeled*
4 cups baby arugula, shredded
6 cloves garlic, cut lengthwise into thin slivers
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Optional: shredded Parmesan or crumbled feta cheese

1. Cut the squash into uniform 1/2 to 3/4" cubes.  Using a large (12") saute pan, place cubes squash in a single layer and add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Heat over medium high heat and cover pan to steam for 8 to 10 minutes, until the squash is just fork tender. Place the cooked squash onto a large platter and set aside.
2. Wipe the pan clean and heat 2 tbsp olive oil and garlic slivers. (Start with cold pan and heat slowly over medium-low heat. You want to caramelize the garlic, not burn it.) Stir occasionally until the garlic is softened and lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the cooked squash and shredded arugula to the cooked garlic. Toss gently until the arugula is wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste if needed. Sprinkle with cheese, if using, and serve immediately.

*Liz recommended buying two peeled squash halves for the recipe serving 6.  She also mentioned that a squash with a long cone and a small "bowl" at the end is easier to dice into uniform cubes.

This recipe was prepared and served, to great acclaim, at our October meeting by chef Liz Barbour (lizb@thecreativefeast.com). Liz also said she keeps the raisin, seed, and nut mix in a sealed jar on the counter as a quick topping for oatmeal or yogurt at breakfast. Serves 6-8

8 cups kale
1/2 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (roasted and salted)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (AKA pepitas, roasted and salted)
1/4 cup roasted almonds slivered almonds (preferably with brown skins for fiber)
1 cup crumbled cheese (feta, queso fresco, blue cheese)

Vinaigrette
1 tsp garlic, smashed and finely minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp Bragg's apple cider vinegar (organic, with cloudy "mother")
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1. Remove the center rib of each kale leaf and discard. Roll leaves into a bundle and slice very thin (julienne).
2. Combine sliced kale with seeds, nuts, raisins, and cheese in a large bowl.
3. Combine minced garlic, mustard, and cider vinegar in a bowl. While whisking, drizzle in olive oil to combine. (She used an immersion blender to help emulsify quickly.)
4. Toss the kale with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Season with sale and pepper to taste.  Let the salad rest at least 10-15 minutes before serving. (She said it continues to marinate and soften the kale, and suggested it can be refrigerated and enjoyed for 2-3 days -- unlike softer salad greens, which wilt.)