Pizza Pizza Pizza

A lot of my readers know I have been in career transition recently and what better way to "anchor" oneself than immersing  to a glimpse of the lives of 10 year old 4th graders and teaching them how to make amazing pizza from scratch! That's exactly what I did last Friday afternoon when I closed out my relationship with an amazing company  that I had enjoyed on and off since 2003!  10 year old boys are very "real" and raw with their emotions, they gave me a feeling of what it is like to be free of stereotypical responses and they made amazing pizza!

Recipe to make this thin crust pizza is incredibly easy and part of the workshop was having one of the boys with good handwriting to transcribe it... missing is the last part which is to let the pizza dough rest min 30 minutes ( best overnight in fridge for max flavour!) then when ready to cook, preheat oven to 450F, roll out dough thinly and place on pizza stone or pizza tray with holes that you have dusted with semolina flour( this allows even cooking and the dough won't stick ) The end result is amazing provided you use best quality ingredients for the toppings, meaning fresh mozzarella, basil, parmesan and other toppings of choice~ Buon Appetito!

St. Patricks Day Feast!

Having lived in the United States for over 15 years!! and having never really property celebrated the national Holiday of St. Patrick, this was finally the year to do it!  What better way than hosting an "Irish breakfast" - the "full Irish" as we call it back home with real Irish sausage, rashers, beans, grilled tomatoes, smoked salmon, soda bread and buttermilk scones, all accompanied with lashings of Irish music, a roaring fire and lots of friends!! Recipe for success right? Yes indeed, this was the best Irish feast and now we will make it an annual tradition. Everyone asked how is St. Patrick's celebrated at home and I had to tell them that during my days of growing up, the highlight of the day was attending mass at 8 AM, watching who wore the best sprig of shamrock that had been picked from the field that morning with fresh dew on it, and of course the break from the Lenten fast, which meant we could eat sweets that day, ah the joys of a time where everything was simpler, slower, more traditional and meaningful. Those days are sadly gone and probably don't really exist anymore in my homeland, but having and passing those sweet memories to my family and friends here in the USA somehow preserves them in time.

Birthday party fun! -Crepe participation party!

There is nothing more joyous than teaching cooking skills to children, they are so open to learning, experimenting with food, and with tons of positive energy to boot! That was the scene that we cast last weekend at a wonderful birthday party where I taught a group of 7 girls the fundamentals of making and creating savory and sweet crepe recipes.

Prior to the event, the host and I and the birthday girl choose the following delicious combinations to create:
Savory:

Smoked salmon and dill

Thin slices of cooked gourmet ham and Gruyere/Swiss cheese.
Sundried tomatoes, cheese and herbs

Sweet:

Strawberry and blueberry crepes with raspberry sauce

Chocolate and hazelnut praline crepes

Lemon curd and kiwi fruit crepes

As with all events, the key to success is preparation and a clear plan of execution. Whilst it was the first time that I had done a crepe participation party with this age group ( 9-10 year olds), it worked out perfectly and the group stayed pretty attentive and focused throughout the entire event. I spoke in French and played French music in the background to bring an authentic feel to the theme and the kids loved it. Many of them had studied French or Spanish in school and very quickly picked up some key words and understood a lot! The key to successful learning of a new language is immersion!

After dividing the kids into two "teams" sweet and savory, we began by prepping all of the fillings, which involved peeling and slicing kiwi fruit, cheese and ham and then we did the fun work of preparing the sweet and savory crepe batter...

 If you would like to host a birthday party for your son and daughter and ensure a fun, engaging and educational event, please email info@thesagedish.com for availability and pricing! 

A day in the life of a personal chef....

5.00 AM.... alarm wake up and a desire to hit the snooze button but an intense one hour workout of kickboxing gets me very very awake and ready for my day ahead... my Monday client is one of my favorite as they eat so so HEALTHY and it always feels so good to produce such nourishing creative takes on dishes that are all vegetarian.  I always said I learn the most from my clients as it is truly the case with this one  as I am now very familiar with aspect of a  rotational diet and gluten free cuisine. I love meeting people that truly raise the bar of standard in every aspect of my life and the energy of being surrounded in your work in a peaceful home, organized pantry and kitchen, no junk food anywhere is so powerful and motivational!  Since pictures speak louder than words, I have create a small collage of my work yesterday where I produced gluten free sweet potato and applesauce muffins, vegetarian fahijtas with pomegranate and mint studded guacamole, 3 bean carrots and dandelion green soup ( super good for the liver)potato, chickpea and cabbage stew with celery seed, from scratch vegetarian thai curry with broccoli, and lentil spinach "hamburger" helper.
As we all know a woman's work is never done so once I am finished at the client ( typically 4-5 hours later) I come home and think about our own family evening meal.... and usually I find myself making something I was inspired by during my work morning, in this case the 3 bean soup, the guacamole and a desert of local melons with a glass of fine white wine..
A good personal chef service requires extreme attention to detail, excellent culinary skills and of course good communication skills for correspondence with the client. In most cases, the menu is decided the week before and a complete list of every ingredient ( including salt and pepper) is sent to the client for approval before I shop for the ingredient items. The food is all cooked in a very special type of cookware called Ceramcor that is just amazing and which I have also converted to using for my own family home cooking. To find out if a personal chef service might work for you, I would be happy to talk or email with you!

Thai green curry

Carrot and leeks "sweating" out their flavor for the 3 bean soup

Fresh Dandelion greens added in to the soup

Chickpea, cabbage and potato stew with celery seed

Gluten free sweet potato muffins

Pomegranate mint guacamole

Organic tricolor of peppers for the fahijtas

My  work here  is complete!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My own family evening meal inspired by my client work

Italian cultural evening!

How do you bring a culture to life in your lives when you live thousands of mine away from that culture?  Host an Italian themed evening of music, poetry and of course food from the culture! That' just what I did this past weekend.... menu was pretty special with a variety of cuisine from different regions... Ferrara, Liguria, Emilia-Romanga, followed by a splendid slide show from the Ligurian region and some inspirational poetry by Montale. Five hours goes by very quickly when the body, mind and soul is engaged with such sustenance....
So to the menu... Asparagus wrapped with prosciutto and baked in the oven, Fava-Bean Crostini, winter salad of escarole with oranges, olives, and pecorino, pasta with pesto from the Genoa region, a delightfully delicious cappellaci di zucca from Ferrara ( stuffed home made pasta with butternut squash, Parmesan, ricotta, armaretto and ground hazelnuts, served with a brown butter and sage sauce, followed by a delightful "torta al vino rosso" red wine chocolate cake with whipped cream and macerated raspberries and a variety of gelato!
If you would like to host such an evening in your home with a food theme from Italy, France, Germany or Ireland, please contact me!

Yule Log!

Mixed Brushetta plate

From left - Gorgonzola and poached pear, tomato, roasted red pepper and olive tapenade....

Shortbread!

lecker.. delicious, decedent... recipe to come

Birthday cake!

Healthy cake with edible flower decorations, simple is always classic!
 Here is the recipe

1 stick of organic grass fed butter
i cup of raw local honey
2 cups of chunky organic applesauce - I made my own from some local apples
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups unbleached pastry flour- you could also use 50% wholewheat, 50% pastry but the texture will be more dense
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
optional extras include organic raisins, you could add nuts ect

Method:
Butter and flour a 10 inch  bundt pan - you can also bake this is a round or square tin but I think the bundt pan makes it look more festive and beautiful!
Cream together butter and honey
Stin in applesauce and vanilla mixing well
Sift flour, spices, and baking soda over the applesauce mixture. Stir well
Pour batter into pan and set on middle rack of the oven. Bake for 70 to 75 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn onto a rack to cool.

Decorate with edible flowers such as nasturtiums, borage, calendula, apples and I put a festive vase of flowers in the center of the cake.

A quick birthday message to my neighbor who did not want his age on the plate!  Edible flowers from the garden and a quick butter cream icing made these little cakes a delight for the eyes and the senses!

Are there "GAPS' in your family diet?

Until I left home for college, the "Nourishing Traditions" approach to eating was all I knew even if I didn't even know there was a formal name for it at the time...  After all I was brought up by a very wise mother in rural Ireland who fed us primarily  raw eggs, raw milk, cod liver oil, liver and bone broths along with the best and seasonal produce and meat all produced on our small self sufficient farm.... Fast forward 20 years and having lived in many different countries and even continents and my diet had migrated towards something very different that didn't resemble the "wise " diet of my formative years.... think croissants, coffee, lean meats, still a lot of home cooking but somehow the important basis of a nourishing diet had been lost as did some of my vitality, clarity and health. In 2006 before I became pregnant with my son, I discovered the book that changed a lot of things for me and give me some " aha" moments, even then I was still struggling with all of the different diets and their approaches out there, raw, vegan, vegetarian, you name it, I read about it, tried it, developed amazing recipes for them but somehow I kept coming back to the realization that cooking the traditional way is the best, be it French, Irish, Italian or any other cuisine...

 I also was lucky to attend a conference in which Dr. Natasha McBride, author of the amazing "The Gut and Psychology Syndrome" was the keynote speaker and met an amazing women in the Ann Arbor community who had successfully implemented the "GAPS" diet to help her son overcome some health challenges. She made me aware of how challenging it can be to do this alone, without support and without general societal understanding and comprehension of this approach to eating.

 In 2011, my own family was confronted with a major health crisis in which I had to overhaul every facet of our diet, and the regiment of the implementation of the GAPS and Nourishing Traditions dietary principles became a cornerstone of our life. Happily, the crisis has subsided and the whole family feel and look healthier. I came in contact with many other people who started to make the connection between their gut health and their overall well being ( or illness) and who experienced amazing positive changes in their health status through adopting this dietary approach.

As a result of both my background and experience, I have decided to focus more of my business efforts in helping families and individuals reclaim their health through application of the principles of the "Nourishing Traditions" and or full or partial GAPS diet depending on the circumstances. The support I offer could be simply helping a family become organized in their kitchen to implement the diet, or could be more hands on though preparing the staples of the diet ( bone broths, fermented staples, condiments)  and or designing and cooking weekly, bi weekly or monthly menus that are compliant to the diet, yet innovative and seasonal.

I  plan to work in consultation with local physicians, specialists or naturopath's that are resident in the Ann Arbor area that would recommend a " GAPS" approach to a specific health concern and I am  especially interested in working with families with young children.

Contact Rita @ 734 395 2514 for further details.

Private dinner with cooking class....

Would you like to enjoy a wonderful meal in a lovely charming home or in your home and learn some cooking skills at the same time? Read some of the reviews of some of my recent clients on their experience and why they liked this so much....

"My boyfriend gave me in an in-home cooking lesson with Rita for Christmas, and it was a fantastic experience! I am a beginner in the cooking arena, and she took the time to demonstrate basic cooking skills with explanations that were easy to replicate. My boyfriend is a more experienced cook, and she was also able to show him new skills that he has found to be very useful. Rita is an excellent teacher and was very patient!

She planned a wonderful menu which accommodated my dietary restrictions, and considered some of our favorite foods, showing us new ways to incorporate them into dishes. She also provided some of the appliances that I did not have in my kitchen, which was a great help! We recently re-made the meal from the lesson, and it turned out really well! Although we didn't need to, I know Rita would have been eager to answer any questions we may have had.

Rita also shared stories of her travel, family, and how she got started in the culinary field. Getting to know her was such a pleasure! I highly recommend this experience, it was such a great gift! " Krysta, Plymouth, Jan 2012

Calendula healing salve

Edible and medicinal flowers are ideal for creating healing salves, my favorite one is calendula, camomile, and lavender flower in a base of extra virgin olive oil and beeswax from my bees....
Method - collect about 3 cups of calendula blossoms and some lavender and camomile flowers, steep in 2 cups of extra virgin olive oil for about 1 hour which has been warmed ( don't boil). Strain out solids through a sieve and then return oil to saucepan. Add in about 30 grams of beeswax and melt over low heat. Pour in liquid into containers ( dark glass is ideal) and store out of sunlight. This salve should keep up to one year. Ideal for wounds of any kind! Just apply generously over the affected area and let its healing magic do it work!

Honey honey honey....

In my last post, I showed a picture of my first hive that has just swarmed. To make a long story short, that swarm took off over I-94 and we were not able to capture it. We then split the hive and put in some new queen cells to hatch out ( the existing queen cup cells were taken out as we wanted to change the DNA and temperament of the hive) and when we checked last weekend the new queens were laying eggs! Lots of new babies and activity in both hives!
Yesterday we did out first extraction and it was a wonderful occasion for all of us as my nearly 4 year old got to wear his new bee suit and work with the extractor machine! I have been a strong believer in raising our bees using no chemical and applying biodynamic principles of beekeeping!
For those of you interested in finding out more about the story of "real" honey and what is available in the grocery stores, please clink on the following link, it is a real eyeopener!

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/


Now that you have some local honey, here is a fast and delicious appetizer for you to try
Cut up some sourdough or french baguette, rub both side with garlic, and then toast lightly. Once toasted and cooled, cut some slices of goats cheese and place on the toasts, then lightly pour over some honey and some lavender blossoms, place under boiler for about 1 minutes, then serve on a bed of greens for an easy salad or by themselves as a light appetizer

The nature of bees.... swarming

Picture taken after my hive swarmed and landed up 40 feet in a tree close to the original hive, they are now at their most docile as they have neither a home or a food supply to protect. We have set up a trap hive underneath the tree where we hope they will migrate to soon before they take off somewhere we cannot locate them. Swarming is a natural healthy process of a vibrant hive, all the signs were there that is would happen and this morning it did.....

Cupcakes.... for Japanese charity concert and sale for tsunami victims

They sold really well....

Spring rhubarb tarts!

Classic winter comfort food

Potato thyme and chorizo tart... warm and comforting on a cold winters day!

Is it time to become a "goddess" or "god" in the kitchen or even just learn to add some stellar, classic dishes to your repetoire?

I admit I love cooking so much but I also love even more to teach people how to cook so they become independent in their skills and can prepare a lot of tasty, healthy dishes for themselves. So many of my clients have beautiful homes that are just waiting to be filled with the humming and activity of a dinner party for friends or clients, typically most of my clients might choose to cater larger events but for smaller parties it is often much more intimate to have an interactive cooking experience in your home.
Since reviews of clients are the best source of accurate rating of a service, I thought I would post these on my website and blog so you can get an idea of what to expect in a private or group cooking class from The Sage Dish

Thai Cooking Class "I took part in a Thai Cooking Class with Chef Rita Conroy-Martin, and had a really lovely and informative afternoon. We learned how to make four dishes and ate at the Chefs home where she had laid out a lovely table with a Thai theme. Rita was patient and gave lots of tips during the preparation and cooking, I felt I could really master the dishes at home at the end. Rita made the whole experience an enjoyable one, even though the class was supposed to last 2 1/2 hours, we over ran to 3 1/2 hours and Chef Rita did not mind one bit, her passion for food and teaching shines." Helen, Ann Arbor, June 2011

Cooking Class in Ann Arbor "I bought this cooking class as a birthday gift for my wife. My intention wasn't to tell her that she needs cooking lessons because she is already quite good in the kitchen. I wanted this to be an enjoyable experience for both of us. The chef (Rita) contacted me about a week before the class via email. She wanted to know what kind of cuisine I was interested in learning and also needed a few other details. I told her what I wanted and she promptly replied with a proposal of a three course meal based on my input. I thought that she did a good job of selecting the proper dishes considering we only had 2.5 hours to prepare the food and eat. Chef Rita was well spoken, very polite and professional. We went to her home and used her kitchen for this class. Normally she uses local commercial kitchens but due to the date I picked for my class, there were none available. She had us do most of the hands-on work and gave good instructions and advise along the way. Our meals came out great and we had fun cooking it. I wanted the experience to be casual and fun and it turned out to be just that. Overall my wife and I were very pleased with the service that Chef Rita provided."

Saving the fruits of your labor

The easiest raspberry tart

I had the good fortune to meet a wonderful person Barbara, who comes from Italy, through my studies last year and we both love to cook and share gardening and recipe ideas so this simple but very classic tart comes from her repetoire.... It is easy
To make the dough for 2 tarts - simply add 2 sticks of butter (cubed) to 2 cups of flour and a tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt and bring to a crumble in the mixer, then add some cream ( liquid whipping cream) to bring the dough together, then remove from mixer, cut in half and flatten, wrap with some plastic and place in refrigerator for min an hour or up to two days.
Preheat oven to 350F and roll out dough and place in a buttered and floured dish. Then press in the raspberries into the dough, sprinkle over some sugar, some maple syrup and a dash of lemon juice. Then fold over the extra dough for the "rustic" look and paint on some egg wash... voila, place in the oven for 1 hour, I start by putting it in the bottom tray of the oven for 30 minutes, then at that point change it to the top tray. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes and then serve... perfect by itself or even more delicious with some whipped cream or ice cream! Variations that have worked are putting some thinly sliced apples on the base and topping them with blueberries or a combo of blueberries. raspberries and blackberries. I have to say though the crisp simplicity of the tartness of the raspberries with a little sweetener is a real winner, try it and wow your guests at your next soiree....

Edible Flowers....

Today I decided to make cupcakes.... it has been at the back of my mind to make some for many many months and since a neighbor has a birthday we need to celebrate I though it would be fun to make some and decorate them with some edible flowers from my garden. I was always interested in edible flowers and on our farm in Ireland I would eat wild primrose and violets under the hedgerows of our boreen that went go through the fields...This year I sowed a ton of nasturtiums, and have borage and calendula scattered throughout my garden, these serve the purpose of both pest control, added interest of color in vegetable beds and of course as edible treats for salads, entrees and deserts

Crazy for Pesto

I always love to make pesto this time of year when the basil is so prolific you just have to do something before it reaches it tipping point and start to go bitter.. usually just about when the flowers buds appear on the plants. As I have stated in some of my previous posts, I am so fortunate to have an amazing neighbour Anton, who I and all of my friends refer to as the "Renaissance Man" he is such a person as he has so much knowledge in so many fields and is an amazing gardener. He is of of course much more organized than I am and has already harvested his first and second crop of basil and made amazing pesto, and he offered me the third cutting today and even sprayed it off last night so there would be no grit on it and make an easy job for me to prepare.. now that is helpful!

Since pine nuts are so expensive, I decided to make the pesto with walnuts ( Anton advised me to soak them overnight and then dehydrate them to near crispness to give a "clean" taste) and it worked out perfectly. Since I plan to use the pesto over the course of the coming months and year, I decided to freeze the pesto in zip lock bags which claim little storage space in the freezer and which are a breeze to use as you can just cut off the portion of the log of pesto that you want for the waiting culinary creation.
There are of course so many recipes out for pesto but I used a ratio of 2 cups basil to 1/2 olive oil to 1/2 cups nuts, a pinch of salt, a clove or two of garlic and processed it in my food processor. I did not add cheese as this doesn't freeze as well. Bon Courage with your pesto making efforts!