Wisdom from the Hearth

The guests have returned and we are starting to see the first signs of a potential early spring. The song birds are returning, the snow is melting and the temps have been warm, near 50 some days! With the return of guests I have amped things up in the kitchen to ensure that after a long days ride the guests have something warm and comforting to look forward to once they return for the evening. This means fresh baked breads for hearty soups and stews and warm cookies for an after dinner treat.

I get asked often “But Emily, I saw you ride with us this morning. How do you have time to get all of this done?!” For me, creating meals means coming up with recipes that play off one another and feel complete. For example, a hearty garlic roll goes great with stuffed shells, meatballs, and roasted parmesan broccoli for soaking up all that extra homemade marinara sauce. And to top it all off there is always a full cookie jar with varying flavors and styles of homemade, fresh baked cookies. For me its all about time management but its also about having fun with it. I love to push the limits of what I can do and to see where I can do better. Its like a big game to me. I have a lot of fun seeing what flavor combinations I can come up with, how I can incorporate special dietary needs without loosing that special feel, and to see where I can improve from the last time I tried a recipe.

I thoroughly enjoy cooking. It’s not a job to me, It’s a outlet in which I can express my creativity. Where I really like to do this is with bread making. A year ago if you had asked me what temp the water needed to be to activate yeast growth I would have stared at you blankly with a bewildered look on my face. Bread making was incredibly foreign and extremely intimidating. But these days it has become one of my favorite things to do! I mean who doesn’t like a slice of warm scratch made bread with dinner? I have been able to really explore bread making and have great success with creative twists. It’s really not as intimidating as I had once thought. Some of my favorites have been a Boston brown bread, a cheddar herb Irish soda bread, herb butter clover-leaf rolls, and a good old fashioned garlic herb Italian loaves. I could go on but I might be here all day!

The season has only just begun and as the winter cook that means I’ll soon be shifting to breakfast cook once peak season begins. But rest assured folks, this Winter cook is already coming up with new and exciting things to come. Until then, be happy, eat well, and never stop chasing your dreams.

-Emily