HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY AND WHAT THE HYGGE?

Dear Friends,

  My dear friend Oprah (isn't she everybody's dear friend?) woke me up one morning in January. She was shouting at me from the family room, yelling something like "You can DO it!" She was going on abut Weight Watchers, and doing it loudly. Lying in bed I had to smile: this was literally a wake-up call. So a couple days later (because time is…fluid…when you're trying to make changes) I signed up for the online version of WW. This is not an ad for WW. I've been on WW twice before, and I'm fatter than I've ever been.

  But. Or should I say: butt? It's past time to take responsibility for my situation, to think about what got me to this point, and make those changes and stick. with. those. changes. As dear Oprah says, it's not about being on a diet. It's about living well while losing weight. 

  So here we go, starting out with a rich and decadent recipe for…creme brûlée. The point is, I could eat creme brûlée on the WW points plan, because nothing is off limits. Nothing is forbidden. I've had birthday cake, guacamole, pizza and champagne while hewing to the plan.

  A buzzword that's entered the inter webs lately is "hygge," a Danish word, pronounced "hue-gah," that defies a straightforward definition. It's a concept that involves doing small things well, creating domestic coziness, fostering a greater sense of community, and embraces charm, simplicity and feelings of comfort.

   My family tree is a little gnarly, but I tell myself that since my name is spelled "Karin" with an "i," and that's the Danish spelling, I may as well claim Scandanavian heritage. In the 1950s-60s my parents rocked that whole Danish Modern furniture movement, so it kind of makes sense. Am I on to something here, Dad? Dad is waiting on the results of his Ancestry.com DNA test, so some mysteries of my heritage will be revealed soon, but that's my Danish Modern theory, and I'm sticking to it.

  Anyway, I'm clinging onto the hygge concept to help me in my changes. Cinnamon spiced tea in a floral china cup. Fruit sliced and nibbled from a pretty plate, not gobbled out of hand. Swapping comfort food like ice cream with frozen bananas, which satisfies a desire for sweet, cold, creamy textured treats. Gallons of  cozy homemade soup!

  We'll be surrounded by chocolate confections and lovely cakes and cookies in the grocery store in the run-up to Valentine's Day, but what could be more hygge than creating homemade valentines out of construction paper and lace doilies? Or a bowl of beautiful strawberries? Or foraging in your yard for branches of forsythia, flowering plum, quince  or salmonberry to cut and bring indoors?

  I'm so looking forward to the market's opening, to the inspiration that comes from being surrounded by the beauty of produce and plants, the inspiration that comes from talking with our customers, my co-workers and our vendors every day. March 1 is our Grand Opening Day, and yes, we'll still be serving cake on opening day---the market is 79 this year, and we're celebrating!

BURNT LEMON CREAM

Makes 6 servings

5 egg yolks

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons extra granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

kettle of boiling water

-additional zest and whipped cream for topping, if desired

Preheat oven 325; prepare a teakettle of boiling water

Put a teakettle of water on the stove to boil. While it's heating, in a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until well blended. Add cream, lemon extract and zest, and whisk till thoroughly blended.

Fill 6 small ramekins with an equal amount of cream mixture, set ramekins in a 9x13 baking pan. Place pan on middle oven rack of preheated oven, fill with boiling water halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake 45 minutes. They will look jiggly when you remove them, that's ok. Let cool on a wire rack, refrigerate overnight.

Remove ramekins from 'fridge, preheat oven to broil. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar on top of each ramekin. Place individual ramekin on a long handled wooden spoon and carefully hold directly under the broiler for about 40 seconds until sugar is caramelized. Return to refrigerator. 

Serve with tiny dollop of whipped cream and additional lemon zest if desired. Next time I'm going to experiment and see if fresh lemon juice will work without curdling the cream, but I was pretty pleased about how I McGyver'ed the broiling scheme.

Fruitfully yours,

KAR"I"N


In-laws and outlaws, the fruit market is a family business where every Sunday dinner at Grandma's is a meeting of the Board of Directors, and even this blog is a cooperative venture between Karin (mother-in-law) and Alisa (daughter-in-law).



Snow Day Valentines and Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

 

I wanted to make some valentines day cookies with my girls and so of course I started down the slippery slope that is pinterest for inspiration. I went with the 5 ingredient oreo cheesecake cookies (which is actually 6 ingredients since I added red food coloring to turn them pink). They are so very easy and delicious and my girls loved adding the dye. 

I wanted a bright pink festive valentine cookie but used an all natural dye. It looked perfect before they were baked but turned out very pale pink after baking. Next time I'm adding more dye and hoping they stay a bit brighter shade. 

5 ingredient Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

10 oreo cookies, broken into pieces

optional red food coloring to turn them pink

Instructions

1. In the body of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. 

2. Add the sugar and beat well.

3. Add in the flour, a small bit at a time, beating in on low speed, just until incorporated. Fold in oreos until evenly distributed. 

4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes, and up to 2 hours.

5. 30 minutes prior to baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). 

6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out 2 tablespoon sized balls of dough, roll them into rounds, and place them on the cookie sheet. Lightly press down on each cookie.

8. Place pan in the oven to bake for 10-11 minutes, or until *just golden at the edges. They will still be very soft when you remove them from the oven - that's a good thing!

9. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 full minutes, then very carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy :)

Original recipe found at http://bakerbynature.com/5-ingredient-oreo-cheesecake-cookies-2/

While I was in Pinterest land I found a sweet little hand print valentine that was perfect for making with small kids. My 6 year old was able to cut them out herself and the 2 year old loved tracing her fingers. My virgo self struggles with flying flour, glue fingers and major clean up from projects like these but I for sure know that this is some of the best memories our kids will have. They love being included in the kitchen and were so proud of their pink cookies. 

These valentines are so easy - Just trace their little hands on the folded edge of the paper and it will open up like a card. I let them decorate the inside however they wanted. Sedona put little hearts inside and we still have to fill them out. They are a nice reminder of how small they are still, especially junipers little hands could fit both on a single sheet. 

Stay sweet, 

Alisa