The Endive Chronicles

I have this great friend Leslie who is incredibly understanding, laughs at all my jokes and even kept my cheeseburger secret when I fell off of the vegetarian* wagon. Leslie has a level head, gives sound advice and as a wonderful cook makes a terrific sounding board for my new recipes. Several months back we were discussing creativity in cooking when she said something that has resonated with me ever since. She said that while she dearly loves bacon, she feels that many recipes use it as a crutch; sort of a cop out from creativity.

Now before anyone feels the need to step in and defend bacon’s honor, I should say that neither of us were attacking bacon and both are what some would call bacon enthusiasts. What really struck me about what she her words was the word “crutch”. It got me thinking, how often do I just toss on in a handful of parm or another go to ingredient to round out a recipe instead of forcing myself to be creative. Am I relying too much on a limited range of ingredients to get me through? Cooking is about discovery and creation, not limitation. Just because I make a fabulous crepe it doesn’t mean that I should ignore a wide world filled with papadams and moo shu wrappers.This week I am diversifying my repertoire with the addition of adzuki beans, quinoa and spelt.

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As I mentioned in last weeks post, we made a trip out to Lucy’s Whey on a chevre hunting trip. What I did not mention was that I came away with much more than the Hoja Santo chevre for my tart. I also brought home blue cheese from Georgia’s Sweet Grass Dairy, Fiscalini cheddar and a little packet of plump, moist dried strawberries. I have a love of dried fruit and as we drove away my first instinct was to tear into the packet like a wolverine. Instead I decided to exercise a little restraint and create a special recipe in which to enjoy them.

I went through a number of ideas as I pondered what to do with my plump, sweet little treasures. My first instinct was to create a scone recipe, but Ina Garten already did that. Then I thought I’d go all cheffy on you with a platter of dried strawberries artfully arranged with swirls of balsamic syrup and clouds of rosemary cream. Sure it would have been pretty, but it’s been done to death. In the end I decided to create a recipe that would help integrate these little jewels into everyday cuisine and so, this weeks recipe was born.

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Picture it: A typical suburban home circa 1982, it’s Saturday morning; a three year old and her father are locked in battle over the pile of cold scrambled eggs left on her plate. Her lips are pursed, eyes fixed, Burt and Ernie slippers hooked around the rungs of her chair as her father with eyebrow cocked, looks sternly down at her determined face. Acting as ambassador, the mother offers a squirt of ketchup as a possible solution. An accord is reached and only a portion of the eggs are to be consumed.

As you may have guessed, I was that determined three year old. I wasn’t a picky eater for the most part, but there were a few things I absolutely refused to consume. My mother laughs when talking of prying my mouth apart to deposit pureed squash only to see it instantly squirting out the other side. Most kids have food they won’t eat, sometimes that follows them into adulthood and doesn’t allow them to try new things. Thankfully now 26 years later I am an adventurous eater and steadily bashing away at the list of no-go foods from my childhood. Eggs I’ll admit are still hit and miss for me. Although dishes such as Ina Garten’s Herb Baked Eggs, Piperade and Frittata have helped me see past the scrambled eggs of my childhood. As an adult I have realised that my aversion to certain foods is based in texture instead of flavor except in one case; raw fennel.

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