Watching the Red Sox make an incredible comeback tonight, down by 7 runs in the 7th inning. To then comeback and win the game 8-7. Just incredible.

Guess even I can make a comeback. Where has the time gone?

Since I last posted so much has happened in the Nord Kitchen. One child graduated from high school and left for the University of Vermont in September. Another spent the summer in Scotland and the third grudgingly stayed home. But was able to watch baseball at Fenway Park, including a playoff game. Not a bad life.

The Tomato plants have come and gone. A rainy summer produced a lower yield so most of the tomato sauce has already been consumed. It will be a long winter. This year I'm experimenting with freezing whole tomatoes. I'll let you know how that works out.

We also discovered homemade ice cream and experimented with lots of new flavors. New cookbooks have appeared on the kitchen counter while I continue to work on my own book. More to come later....

Bread Rising

If you have read previous blogs In the Nord Kitchen, you know that the kitchen caters to those with tastes that lean a bit towards Scandinavia. But, you would also know that the kitchen resides in a sports oriented house. (Yes, there is also a strong focus on the Arts, but I'll leave that for another blog.)

So, as the kitchen prepares for Super Bowl XLII we also watch Swedish Cardamom bread rise. I find kneading bread very relaxing and the smell of bread baking fills the kitchen with soothing warmth. As I wait for the loaves to rise I will be scanning my recipe file for items from previous Super Bowls. A real favorite was the Ground Turkey and Sausage Chili prepared for Super Bowl XXXVIII, Patriots vs Panthers in 2004.

I have prepared this recipe for many a football game and it has been enthusiastically devoured. This year though, with a teenager who has sworn off meat and fish, I have been experimenting with vegetarian chili. The 2004 Boston Globe article had a version which wasn't quite hardy enough.


As the bread rises, I will be searching for a more Super Bowl worthy recipe.

Kirsten's Cardamom Coffee Braid

2 packages yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups warm milk
1 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup margarine, melted
3 cups whole wheat bread flour (plus extra for kneading)
Melted butter, cinnamon and sugar

Dissolve yeast, water and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add milk, 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour and cardamom. Cover and let stand until bubbly; then add salt, eggs, margarine and 3 cups whole wheat bread flour. Knead, cover and let rise until double. Roll out and spread with melted butter, cinnamon and sugar. Divide into fourths. Cut each of these rectangles into 3 strips. Roll and pinch each of the 3 strips together and braid. You should get 4 large bread braids the length of the cookie sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 325 degrees, about 30 minutes. Loaves will rise more while baking.

Makes 4 large braids

Adapted from Var Sa God

Last minute Salmon

What’s for dinner? When will dinner be ready? While I was working on those answers…short ribs, in about 3 hours …time got away from me. Just like my blogging. Although I have not been writing, I have been cooking. The family has continued to be fed…if not as promptly as they would like.

The thought was to braise short ribs tonight because they looked so great in the market. Of course, meetings and deadlines got in the way. All this prevented me from beginning the process of preparing braised ribs. This, as many of you know, is a long process.

So, dinner tonight was baked salmon. Luckily, there is a wonderful fish market near the indoor batting range. Although there is still plenty of snow on the ground, training for baseball season has begun. Too late for short ribs, but still time to dash my son off to practice, pick up some salmon, along with a wonderful cold asparagus salsa, and back home to cook.

I usually bake salmon on a bed of angel-hair pasta. As the salmon bakes, its juices baste the pasta that forms a nest under the fish. Very simple to prepare and makes a lovely presentation. Though alas, I didn't have any angel hair pasta in the house. So, tonight it was prepared with whole wheat linguine. Not quite as elegant, but good enough for a quick meal.

Salmon baked on pasta

3 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh pasta - 1 package of linguine or 2 packages of angel-hair (9 oz each)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (what ever you have on hand, parsley, oregano, etc.)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless salmon fillet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub the bottom of a 12-inch baking dish with enough oil to make a thin coat. Set aside.

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water for about 30 seconds. Drain the pasta, shaking the colander to remove excess moisture.

Return pasta to pan and toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil, half of the herbs, salt and pepper. Pour pasta into prepared dish, arranging it in a flat nest.

Cut the salmon into four even-sized strips, each about 2 inches wide. Lay the strips on the pasta, skinned-side down, setting them so that they're close but not touching.

Rub the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over the salmon and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake the salmon, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until the salmon is not longer opaque and the pasta looks crusty at the edges.

Serve immediately with a fresh vegetable salsa on top.

Holiday Tea Time

Although the Nord Kitchen is mostly dominated by those of Swedish decent, occasionally some fractional heritages peek through and we bow to other traditions. One favorite tradition from our English-early-American descendants is the serving of tea. Tea time can be an elaborate occasion in The Nord Kitchen ranging from a simple afternoon tea party to the elaborate High Tea affair. We are fortunate that we live in an area with a number of historical places which serve wonderful traditional afternoon teas, such as The Colonial Inn in Concord, MA. But our favorite tradition is to set our own table with a variety of teas, heavily laden with sweets and sandwiches then wait and see who decides to sit for a chat.

One of these impromptu teas occurred this past week when I was again experimenting with Mesquite flour. In previous blogs I have mentioned using this unique flour with chocolate chip cookies. The distinctive mocha flavor makes for a very rich cookie when combined with chocolate chips, so I was delighted when Casa de Fruta contacted me with some new recipes to try. Just like early explorers in search of spices, I found some new flavor combinations to add to the tea table.

Mesquite Meringue Cookies

3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup mesquite flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Mix the sugar and mesquite flour together, set aside. In a chilled bowl, begin beating egg whites with electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar and flour mix. Add the salt and lemon juice. Continue beating until batter is stiff and firm and does not slip from bowl when inverted. Be patient. Once desired consistency is reached, immediately, drop mixture by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a very low temperature oven (210 - 225 degrees F) for about an hour. Be careful not to let cookies brown.

Mesquite Lemon Bars
For pastry dough:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup mesquite flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

For lemon topping:
1 jar (10 oz.) Lemon Curd
2 tablespoons mesquite flour

Mix first 8 ingredients together to form a soft dough. Spread dough in a cookie sheet which has already been greased and floured. Make sure dough is evenly spread.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix lemon curd and flour together until smooth.

Remove pan from oven and spread over the partially baked dough the lemon topping. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes or until edges are nicely brown. Cut into squares.