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| Our Yet Unnamed Creation “On the Half Shell” (any ideas?) |
Right before bed last night, my guests advised me- for the first time- that we needed to cook around his diabetes. He’s also received word he was allergic to eggs this week. As a chef, it’s not what I like to hear without having time to inventory my kitchen and put some thought to creative, healthy alternatives for people not accustomed (by virtue of having that diagnosis, my assumption anyway) to eating too far outside the typical American diet. It’s the last minute challenge, however, that ends up bringing new culinary adventures into our collective experience.
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| Option #2 for the Muffins |
We’ve been eating mostly raw, vegan – these guests didn’t strike me as a Wakantanka Tofu Scramble type. (recipe: https://adytumsanctuary.com/2770/) It seems so few people really love organic, non-GMO tofu…So somewhere around 3:30 a.m. while my brain had been doing a little calculating as my body slept, I realized I had smoked salmon and Boursin cheese in the refrigerator purchased for my new girlfriend and her friends from China who housesat when we were in LA at the Longevity Now Intensive.
When we hit the kitchen at 8:30 a.m., this new idea had mentally arranged itself in the huge seashells we normally use for other purposes. A quick call to my son Phillip, now a finish carpenter for Gritton Building Company(http://www.grittonbuildingco.com/) but who was actually a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America helped me brainstorm these ingredients into an eclectic new item on the Adytum Sanctuary brunch menu, “Do you have dill? Capers?…”Perfect timing too as we have a lawyer and paralegal staying for nearly three weeks while attending a trial in a nearby town and they will appreciate the culinary variation from week to week.
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| Coconut Rum and Coconut Cream Fresh Fruit |
While this bit of creativity was going on in my station of the kitchen, Donn was building some amazing fruit into something that begged for a little splash of …A quick run-through of the liquor in the pantry yielded some coconut rum he bought on accident. We make our own vanilla extract from beans procured from the big island of Hawaii and they rest in a base of rum, vodka, and Grand Marnier for six months- the last liquor was a suggestion from my neighbor who used to be a chef in San Francisco…decadent blend to be sure- pure vanilla in Grand Marnier!! Anyway, Donn doesn’t drink so he bought the ‘wrong’ alcohol home for the vanilla extract. It found yet another new use this morning marinating the fruit which we topped with coconut cream, a lemongrass spear and lemon verbena. Phillip said he would have added toasted coconut…this is how things just keep getting better here, coming to higher levels.
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| Time out for a quick lesson from Phillip Gritton, ex-Executive Chef, CIA |
By the way, I purchased the lemon grass from my favorite Asian Store, Cho Market, in Olympia. It was immediately put into a vase for several weeks where it rooted and is now in the herb box that Phillip built. I’ll bring it in for winter soon and enjoy fresh lemon grass all winter long.
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| Lemon Verbena and Lemongrass in Phil’s Herb box off First Light Suite |
Brunch was on the table at ten o’clock; the real test came when the guests said, “You have a winning dish here. The combination of flavors is amazing and the salmon isn’t overpowering like it can be sometimes…” (or something to that effect- I’m so bad at relaying the precise comments verbatim) When Phillip tasted it with his cultivated palette he advised to thin the salmon, Boursin mixture with a little more cream to dilute the saltiness. Donn and I had learned from a chef in Whistler last year to fry capers vs. using them raw and we did a quick sauté in the same pan the onions came out of. Be aware the capers as a garnish will be adding even more saltiness to the dish. So here’s how it went~
Caramelize a Sweet Maui or Walla Walla Sweet Onion by slow-cooking them in olive oil. In a separate pan, sauté mushrooms in a few pats of organic butter with olive oil- high heat initially and then reducing. Use sea salt and ground pepper to taste. When you’re about ready to turn the heat off, throw in a lot of thinly sliced garlic. Don’t go beyond two minutes on heat or your garlic will turn bitter.
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| Large Shells- Real Ones- To Fill and Bake With |
Layer this mixture into the shells with onion on the bottom, next mushrooms & garlic. In a bowl, mix Boursin (I used garlic and chives flavored Boursin) with smoked salmon, adding fresh or dried dill to taste. Add cream to thin. Add some organic baby lettuce & arugula blend atop mushrooms to lighten things up, then a scoop of the salmon/Boursin mixture. Top with a basil chiffonade and the fried capers and a flick of the wrist of Smoky Paprika. Serve with toast. Very savory!
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| Lemon Garnish with Chives or Lemon Grass |
I wish I’d thought at the time to add a very thin slice of lemon on the side. When Phillip heard me voice this, he showed me how to make a really lovely garnish- such creativity! It would have been fun to go to the CIA…
The guests were so full with the other offerings at the table and Phillip, who had wanted a chance to try this new creation, got his wish. He loved it! One shell is enough, per person, they agreed.
The morning ends, before Donn and I go hiking to catch the Fall color, with the reason Phillip drove out to Adytum this morning being accomplished; installation of the dog/cat door to help our furry friends to feel a little more in control of their needs and desires.
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| From a Chef’s Lesson to Pet Door Installation…Phillip Gritton at Adytum |
Since Gizmo caught his second mole (and we were paying the Mole Man $50 per mole before this….) we are encouraging MUCH outdoor time for that Mighty Hunter. The picture is…well a wee bit gruesome, but hey! life in the country, right?
As I finish my Saturday morning blog post we just got an inquiry from two culinary students to have their wedding at Adytum. They will book out the inn with the request they be allowed to play in the kitchen. They’re particularly interested in making pancakes for their intimate friends the morning after the wedding…in her wedding dress!
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| Julia and Chris Ward from their Wedding at Adytum |
Yes! Bring on some more full moon creativity and fun! Adytum is a house of joy, of light, of the stars and moon streaming in the 75 windows at night to bathe us in creative power while we sleep. Sleep produced this morning’s new creation- sleep and a bedtime challenge!