Thayer in the Kitchen

I made this yummy coffee cake for my book last week. Its very moist and is delicious served warm.  If you want to be truly decadent serve with softly whipped heavy cream to which you can add 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  No cool whip please! 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 2/3 cup canola oil 1 egg 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 2-1/2 cups flour 3 cups diced rhubarb, fresh   Streusel Topping   1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour 1/3 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup butter Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, sugar, oil, and eggs. Beat well with electric mixer. Add buttermilk, baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour and mix just until blended. Stir in rhubarb. Spoon into baking pan. In a small bowl, combine topping in...

The amounts are not important in this salad, but it's a lovely salad when you start gettng local strawberries and lettuce or salad greens.  A large bowl of lettuce or salad greens 1-2 cups of sliced strawberries 1/2 cup or more of crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans The dressing: 1/3 cup mashed strawberries 3 tablespoons balsamic vingegar (I used some raspberry balsamic which was perfect in this dressing) 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup olive oil or more if you prefer salt and pepper Whisk together ingredients and pour over the salad.

Fabian's Seafood from Galveston Texas comes to Madison about once a month.  They sell their shrimp from a truck parked in the Steve's Liquor parking lot on University Avenue.  I usually try to get some of their shrimp and for a real treat lump crabmeat when they are in town.  This time I just purchased a pound of extra-large shrimp which I cooked with the broccoli from our CSA farm. Heat oven to 425 degrees.  On a large cookie sheet toss together 1-2 pounds of broccoli cut into florets of medium size with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, salt, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of hot chili poweder (optional).  If you use the stem, which I like to do, be sure to peel it first and then slice the stems.  I made the mistake of not peeling the stems and they were a bit on the tough side.  Spread in a thin layer and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.  Stir and roast for 5 more minutes.  Take the s...

I have a friend who belongs to a CSA who has a family that is not partial to (as in won't eat) Swiss Chard.  Their disdain is our gain.  I've posted quite a number of different recipes using chard, but I'm always open to new ones.  This dish would make a great breakfast/brunch dish although we had it for supper with some garlic bread.  4 slices bacon 1/2 small onion or 1 whole shallot, sliced 1 potato, chopped in small pieces, about 1 cup (no need to peel) 1 bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and thinly sliced, stems finely diced 1 tablespoon fresh savory (optional) Salt & pepper 1-2 cloves garlic, minced 5 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons half and half, milk or water Pinch Cayenne 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled Cook the bacon until brown and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Reserve.  Pour off all but about 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease.  Otherwise, pour it all out and substitute oli...

Now that fresh asparagus is available at the farmers' market as well as the mint, this is a good recipe to try.  Its especially good if you're a fan of risotto as we are.  I don't have much mint & parsley available in the pots on my deck yet, but friends with gardens donated some.  The recipe calls for you to enhance the broth with simmering vegetable trimmings in it.  I'm sure you could just pour some chicken broth out of a box and have it taste just fine.  I did go ahead and simmer the vegetables while preparing the ones I was going to use in the risotto.  Be careful not to overcook the asparagus when you saute it prior to adding to the risotto.  Also be sure to add a good Parmesan cheese when making this dish.  It does matter. Spring Vegetable Risotto, Serves 6 Gremolata ¼ cup minced fresh parsley, stems reserved ¼ cup minced fresh mint leaves, stems reserved 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest Risotto 1 pound asparagus, reserve toug...