Picnic at Horseshoe Falls

Are you in denial? Have you found yourself climbing into the car wearing iconic summer gear such as capri pants and flip flops (or manpri pants for you he-man types)? Sure it has been below 40-degrees at night and we’ve already had snow slide off the roof and fall on our heads as we slammed the door on the way out. But, for a few more weeks we can still pretend the tomatoes will turn red on the vine and there might be a warming spell from that delicious golden-Utah sun. To better illustrate my melancholy I turn to a picnic in the mountains, which fortuitously snuck in four days before autumn hit with a freezing hammer.

Horseshoe Falls sits halfway up the rugged convergence of two Alpine mountains. Little more than a natural spring rolling over logs in the waning days of August, it is a roaring thunderous waterfall in springtime. With a vigorous hour-long ascent through pine and granite, it feels tremendously gratifying to pass a natural meadow, take the bend and finally crest at the falls. With my treasured sister and dear friend (in the truest sense of the word—this friend is the one who stayed up all night to tend my baby when I was ill) we spread our checkered blanket next to the gurgling brook, took out our cache of goodies and picnicked like summer was a never-ending massage.

Note the San Pellegrino in plastic goblets, buttery Wisconsin Blue Cheese, crusty artisan bread, strawberries, and an outrageously good Lindt milk chocolate bar infused with orange essence and studded with roasted pistachio chunks. I would be hard-pressed to conjure a meal that would be more of an indulgence than this was to our sweaty bodies in that breathtaking setting. We took off our shoes and wiggled our tired feet in the warm air. All this while filling our expanded lungs with blue sky mountain air and watching the last day of snow run-off splash over rocks into the valley below. I raised my plastic cup to summer—and not a moment too soon. With my electric heating pad, extra down comforter, fuzzy purple robe, and slippers at the ready I can ease into freezing temperatures, but only if this memory cushions the blow.

Pumpkin, Kale & White Bean Stew with Sage

With the onset of cooler weather, my thoughts run to long-sleeve shirts, swaths of red and orange leaves staining the mountainside, and gloriously comforting fall food. Stews, slow-braised meats, home-canned pickles and preserves, sweet breads, and any excuse for chocolate dominate the autumn gastronomical landscape. Yet, it need not be a time when we stop listening to our bodies and pound a gut-bomb of chili with cheese, and fried scones. Instead, there are endless possibilities for fueling ourselves with premium food while heating up our core with warmth and satisfaction. Think savory sage simmered with onions, garlic, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, kale, and silky white beans. These elements all come together in this recipe for Pumpkin, Kale, & White Bean Stew with Sage—a delightful way to use up those Volkswagon-sized zucchini left anonymously on your doorstep, along with the last home-grown tomatoes of the year. Entirely vegetarian, this dish needs no chicken stock or flavoring cubes for a rich stock. For fun presentation serve it up in a mini-pumpkin shell, a shaving of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and a hunk of crusty artisan bread. Bring on the tailgate parties, Halloween costumes, and firewood. But mostly, bring on the food.

Pumpkin, Kale, & White Bean Stew with Sage

Serves 6

This Tuscan vegetarian dish is the perfect way to use up late-summer herbs, tomatoes, kale, onions and zucchini. In a pinch, canned tomatoes will do. With bold flavors and a rich stew texture, it screams ‘comfort food’ as the weather turns colder.

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cups baking pumpkin (sugar pumpkin), peeled and cut into medium dice

3-pounds very ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 4 cups)

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 15-ounce cans white beans (Cannelini, Great Northern, etc.), one can drained and rinsed

3 cups baby kale, chopped (if using large leaves remove center vein) or spinach

2 cups zucchini, chopped or shredded

4-5 large fresh sage leaves, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried

¼ cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley or 1 teaspoon dried

a pinch crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large, heavy pot on medium heat. Add onion and pumpkin and sauté for a minute. Add garlic and cook for only 30 seconds stirring constantly. Add tomatoes with their juices all at once. Add the drained can of beans and then dump in the second can with its juices. Stir to incorporate. Add kale, zucchini, sage, and crushed red pepper flakes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. It may require a lot of salt- beans are funny that way.

Simmer on medium low for at least ½ hour, stirring occasionally. If mixture seems dry add water and a bit of olive oil.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy.

Zucchini Cornbread

Is it just me or are you finding yourself, this time of year, hiding zucchini in your kids breakfast smoothies, cold cereal, and peanut butter sandwiches? I am all about using up these gorgeous courgettes (in French they sound less pedestrian) in the hopes that the “anonymous” donations on my front porch won’t go to waste. To that end I want to share the most delightful quick bread: Zucchini Cornbread. Is it savory or sweet? Well…the answer is “yes.” Sprinkle chives and cheddar on top and it is savory. Drizzle honey or peach jam over a slice and it is sweet. Regardless, it is perfectly moist with a delicate crumb and appealing summer-yellow color. Most zucchini recipes can use all colors of squash interchangeably—which means summer squash or beautiful variegated Mexican zucchini can be used in place of standard green varieties. When they are enormous and over-mature, just peel the tough skin and use the tender flesh inside. Trust me, in December you will be grateful you froze bags of shredded zucchini when you get a powerful yearnin’ for this bread. This recipe is adapted from Sara Dickerman’s published in Bon Appetit, July 2011.

Zucchini Cornbread

Makes 8 to 10 servings 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter plus more for pan 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 2/3 cup buttermilk (or milk stirred with 1 teaspoon lemon juice) 1 large zucchini (about 10 ounces) 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal Position a rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter a 9x5x3" loaf pan. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Transfer butter to a medium bowl. Set aside and let cool. Whisk in eggs and buttermilk. Trim zucchini ends. Thinly slice five 1/8" rounds from 1 end of zucchini and reserve for garnish. Coarsely grate remaining zucchini. Add shredded zucchini to bowl with butter mixture and stir until well blended. Sift both flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Whisk in cornmeal. Add zucchini mixture; fold just to blend (mixture will be very thick). Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Place reserved zucchini slices atop batter down center in a single layer.

Bake bread until golden and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; let cool completely on a wire rack. Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy .

September Morning with Granola

The morning light was banana yellow against blue sky and fluffy, white clouds. I sat with my new friend on my patio looking out on ridiculously long grass and never once thought of mowing because I was sharing a splendid treat. Warm vanilla-scented granola with almonds, oats, and yes, corn flakes, atop a pillow of plain whole-milk Greek yogurt. Oh yes, there were even fragrant, tree-ripened peach slices to complete the dish. Like Ernie and Bert, peanut butter and jelly, chickens and Martha Stewart, these elements were meant to come together in a perfect zen celebration of my September morning and its magnificent beauty.

This granola is good on its own--perhaps even in the month of February, but it is especially nice served with yogurt and fruit. The following recipe is an excerpt from Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy, by Tres Prier Hatch.

Tammy’s Granola

Makes 12 cups

In big microwave-safe mixing bowl mix together:

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

½ cup water

Place in microwave for five minutes. Watch carefully, it will bubble up. Add:

3 teaspoons vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

Pour liquid over:

8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats or 7-grain mix

4 cups nuts & seeds: almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, millet, quinoa, shredded coconut (unsweetened), corn flakes, wheat germ, etc.

Stir to coat oat mixture and spread in an even layer on four ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 275° for 45 minutes up to one hour. When cooled scrape granola into a large bowl with metal spatula. Add dried fruit if desired: raisins, currants, sultanas, apricot, prune, fig, date, mango, pineapple, banana, pear, apple, cherry, etc.

Store in airtight container. I keep a tub of granola in my pantry and extra in the refrigerator to keep the nuts and seeds fresh.

*Feel free to experiment with your favorite additions. Try amaranth, golden flax seeds or any other seed. Alternative grains are available in health food stores. Try millet, barley, spelt or kamut. As long as they are rolled or chopped fine, they can be added. Try natural maple syrup in place of some honey. For variety sprinkle cinnamon or other spices on the oats before baking.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy.

Amano Chocolate Buttercream

We all know cake is just a vehicle to get more frosting in our mouths. To that end, I recently had a powerful need to frost a moist, rich yellow genoise cake with a buttercream worthy of such a noble platform. Standard issue chocolate frosting involves dry, dusty cocoa whipped into powdered sugar and butter. In contrast, nothing can replace melting premium chocolate and beating it into a mixture generously endowed with unsalted butter, powdered sugar, Tahitian vanilla, and a splash of cream. Sure, some purists dislike the chalky texture of uncooked frosting due to a lacing of cornstarch in the powdered sugar (to keep it dry and fluffy). But, for ease of preparation raw buttercream cannot be beat. Just plop the heart-stopping ingredients in a standing mixer and whip until you have a fluffy frosting. No thermometers, no whipping egg whites, just one bowl, and beaters to lick in less than 5 minutes.

So, a-whipping I went. And the critical component, of course, was the chocolate. Rather than degrade all those calories with mediocre couverture, I decided to spring for the good stuff: Amano chocolate. To be fair, Amano is the sponsor of all my tastings at speaking engagements and I do have a box of this premium chocolate sitting in my house—just begging to be used. It’s an unfair advantage, I know. But I broke into my stash because there is a reason Amano is the “winning-est” chocolate in the world. Amano Chocolate tastes INCREDIBLE. It is single-sourced from the best plantations, roasted, ground, and poured in small production batches by fanatical chocolatiers. Each variety has a complexity of flavors and notes totally different from the others. Who knew Orem, Utah, has a hidden factory that would make Willy Wonka jealous. To get your hands on Amano Chocolates you can visit their retail store in the industrial side of Orem. It is well-worth the trip to see truffles so beautiful they should be in a museum. While you are there, I highly recommend you indulge in the free tasting of chocolate bars to discover the remarkable diversity of flavors—all in the name of science, of course.

Amano Chocolate Buttercream

Yield: Frosts a 13 x 9-inch cake or two 8-inch rounds.

1-pound powdered sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream, or more

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch kosher salt

1 2-ounce bar Amano chocolate (any variety), broken into small squares

Melt chocolate in the top portion of a double boiler over medium-low heat, stirring frequently with a spatula. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large standing mixer, pulse powdered sugar and butter until combined. Add all remaining ingredients and beat on high until fluffy. Add more cream if mixture is dry. Frost immediately, or keeps in a sealed container in refrigerator up to three days. Bring to room temperature before using.

The Amano Factory Store is located at:
450 South, 1325 West
Orem, UT 84058

801-655-1996
amano@amanochocolate.com

www.amanochocolate.com

Summer Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm, Monday through Saturday
Winter Hours: 10:00am - 6:00pm, Monday through Saturday

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy