Baby Beets, Chłodnik and Another French Adventure

April 12, 2014

We just returned from a week long trip to Northern France - to two regions that Doug and I have never visited, Brittany and Normandy. We also took a ferry to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey and spent two days gorging on fresh Jersey ice cream, aged cheddar, yogurt, butter and Indian food like only the UK can offer. It was awesome!

Spring is in full swing in France. In most places the daffodils were finished and the tulips were not too far behind them. Everywhere fields of rape were in bloom.  This is the first trip that Daria actually seemed like she was enjoying herself and (very) aware of her surroundings.  She charmed the French and British ladies with her smile and kept reaching for some of my chicken tikka masala, much to our Indian waiter's delight.

We arrived home to find that the daffodils are just starting to bloom in Gdansk.  After all, we are a good bit farther north than Normandy, as Gdansk is about on the same latitude as Scotland.
However, I was happy to find one of the early spring treats at the central market (Hala Targowa) this morning:  baby beets, fresh from Polish soil.  Spring truly is here!

I thought now would be a good time to introduce Daria to beets.  It depends on who you ask, but the recommended age for offering beets to infants ranges from 5-8 months.*  Daria turned 7 months last week so why not.

Inspired by the delicious, fresh food we had in France, I made a 3-course meal with both French and Polish elements.

Le Menu

First Course

Chłodnik: Polish Cold Yogurt and Beet Soup

  Main Course

Spinach and Parmesan Crustless Quiche

Dessert

Chocolate Mousse

I made it all from scratch in about an hour.  You can do it too! It's easy.  It is an hour well spent!

I even made the table pretty!  I bought the cute little rooster today from an old lady by the Hala Targowa.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, and in the centerpiece is a traditional Polish palm (child-sized). 

Florists and crafty people here pride themselves on making colorful palms to wave at the Palm Sunday Mass

If you're asking yourself, 'What is Chłodnik?', don't worry, I wasn't sure what it was the first time I saw it on a menu here in Poland.  It is a cold soup made from yogurt and other fermented dairy products, complete with tender, baby beets, tender beet greens and a healthy helping of fresh dill and raw garlic.  It is refreshing and a delightful light pink color that is perfect for baby showers and Easter.

Baby beet roots, about 2 inches long each

How can you make it?  It is easy and takes very little actual cooking.  I've adapted a Polish recipe for use with US products that are easy to find.

Ingredients:

4-10 young beets with the stems and leaves (best if the beets are less than 2 inches in diameter)

1 large cucumber, peeled

2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed

450ml Greek-style yogurt (such as Fage 2%)

500ml buttermilk

300ml Kefir or full-fat sour cream (If you can find Kefir, make sure that it is plain - no sugar or flavors added)

Handful of fresh chives, minced

Handful of fresh dill, minced

Teaspoon of local honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook’s note:  For heaven’s sake, don’t use all skimmed or 0% fat dairy products for this dish. It will not turn out right. 

Method:

Bring water to a boil in a large soup pot.

Wash the beets, greens and stems thoroughly in water. Scrub the beets but don’t peel them.

Dry off the beets with a clean kitchen towel.

Chop the greens and stems VERY FINE.  Use the coarse grate surface on your box grater and grate the raw beets. You could also finely chop the beets if they are really small. 

Once the greens are chopped and the beets are grated, put them into the boiling water and turn off the heat. Cover and let them sit for 1 minute.  Remove from the water and let them cool.

Wash and then grate up the cucumber using the same coarse grate surface.

Chop up the chives and dill.

Mince the garlic cloves or use a garlic press.

Let your soup pot cool down or use a large serving bowl to mix up the soup.

Combine the yogurt, buttermilk and kefir.  Whisk in the tablespoon of honey.

Add the dill, chives, cucumber and ‘blanched’ beets, greens and stems. 

Mix together gently.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add more honey if it is too sour for your taste.

Place in the refrigerator for at least half an hour before serving.

This is a great appetizer or first course, especially on a hot summer night. This may also dazzle your children as a starter for Easter Dinner or your friends at a baby shower.     

Smacznego! (Bon appetite!)

Chłodnik for Baby

I decided to introduce baby beets to Daria today because they were super fresh, local and organic.** She had her own version of Chłodnik.

While I was waiting for the big pot to come to a boil, I reserved 4 little beets for Daria (scrubbed under cold water, but not peeled, tops removed).  I steamed them until fork-tender, then pureed them with my immersion blender and a little water.  

She got to try the pure beet puree first and loved it. Once two tablespoons were ingested (and painted on herself) we made her a little 'chłodnik' with a bit of beet puree, tangy plain Balkan-style yogurt and a pinch of minced dill. She loved it so much, she painted a picture.

Needless to say, someone went straight from the high chair into the bath.  She now has a lovely rouge on her cheeks from the beet stain!

* I found a range of recommended ages for starting beets with infants.  Some from the UK said 8 months, a Polish source says 5 months and the March of Dimes recommends 6 months.  Just to be safe, ask your pediatrician about when to start beets.  

** Beets can be high in nitrates, like carrots. Buying organic will help reduce the amount of nitrates in the veg.

Homemade peanut butter

March 29, 2014

The new Olmsted scholar list is out for the class of 2015 and we were excited to learn that a scholar will be coming to Gdansk next year!

Since they have 3 kids, I bet they go through a lot of peanut butter.
So...here is our Polish adventure regarding the American pantry staple: peanut butter.

Peanut butter has been a bit of a problem here in Gdansk.  It does exist but not in the form that I prefer.   The two types that we have tried here are both packed with sugar and palm oil. One I tried at my student's house was the worst and palm oil was the FIRST ingredient! Both types had a metallic after-taste to them. I tried them both before I got pregnant so that's not to blame!  Yuck!

There is an international foods store at Galeria Baltycka that sometimes has Skippy brand peanut butter imported from the UK.  Again, too much sugar and well, I'm a Jif girl. I recently gave our last jar of Jif to our Polish friend Olek (he spent his childhood on the upper east side of Manhattan) and he instantly said: "Choosy Moms Choose Jif!"

Jif is my fave but it is also loaded with sugar and oils. I have been a Smucker's All-Natural fan for many years and especially since we don't eat 'processed' foods anymore. We were warned by the previous scholar (who was here 6 years ago) that there was no peanut butter to be found, so we brought some of the Smucker's All-Natural Peanut Butter with us in our household goods shipment. However, since it is nothing but peanuts and salt, the shelf life is relatively short....so no way to stockpile 2 years worth.

When we ran out I started investigating how to make peanut butter at home.  It is quite easy and we FINALLY, after many many moons of searching numerous grocery stores in Gdansk, found unsalted, roasted peanuts.  I figured that the peanuts would be in the bulk bin section of the TESCO, Carrefour, Bomi or Piotr i Pawel, but no, no, no. Only salted, wasabi and caramel versions are located there.  The unsalted peanuts are in the BAKING section, right next to the giant bags of poppy seeds. Yep. Because that product placement makes perfect sense.

So, here is a great video on how to use your Vita-Mix to make peanut butter.  Years ago I tried to make peanut butter at home using my KitchenAid food processor. Sadly, the blade doesn't seem to be able to make the right consistency and the motor isn't strong enough. Mine got really hot and started smelling funny. End of experiment.

500g unsalted, roasted peanuts from TESCO = $3.40  or 10.88 PLN

+ 2 minutes in the Vita-Mix

Babies love the sound of the Vita-Mix "white noise"

= Enough peanut butter to fill an empty, sterilized old Smucker's peanut butter jar.

 
Before you move it into the jar, taste it and add some salt or a little local honey if you want.
Put the spurs to it for another minute to mix well.

I don't know how prices are on shelled peanuts or peanut butter in the States right now but we paid about $4.50 a jar for the Smucker's at the commissary at Ramstein back in September. Can't beat cheaper, fresher and it is dead simple.

The new Scholar's family may not be as picky as me, so my advice to them....if you don't want to make your own peanut butter or pay a fortune for imported Skippy......bring enough Jif for two years.

My Ode to the Vita-Mix

I think that I am in love with a kitchen appliance. It does everything and is a million times more easy to clean than our food processor. Most of the time I just skip the food processor and use the Vita-Mix. I might just give away the stupid food processor because now we never use it!

We decided to put the Vita-Mix blender on our wedding registry after seeing a chef friend on Hilton Head use one. They are heavy-duty, laboratory and/or professional chef-grade and have amazing motors.   They also cost about $400.  I thought, well, I'm going to put a $400 blender on our registry and see what happens. Sure enough, one of our Dual Income No Kids family members (who are massive foodies and taught me how to make a lamb crown roast in high school) bought it for us. Yippee!

Considering how many things we use the Vita-Mix for, if we had spent the money ourselves it would have totally been worth it.

Here we are 4 years on and it is still going strong. We have to use the "Step up Step Down" electricity transformer box of course for all our American kitchen appliances here in Poland.  I use the Vita-Mix at least twice a week for creamy soups, smoothies, falafel, hummus, making baby food for Daria and making nut butters.  We've made pecan butter, raw almond butter and will try our hand at making low-sugar Nutella with raw hazelnuts very soon.

What should Daria's first nut butter be?  Hmmm....we'll see!