Tonight at Baker Ben’s Barn of Bran… No bran but we did bake a cake. Baked a German Chocolate Cake with my sister. We used an excellent recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. Also on the menu is…
- Course 1: Spinach Salad with Roasted Egg Plant and Reb Bell Pepper and Goat Cheese.
- Course 2: Miguel’s Elven Carrot, Parsnip, and Lemon Soup
- Course 3: Grilled Pork Chops or Grilled Chicken with Mo’s BBQ Sauce
- Course 4: The German Chocolate Cake of course
Here are some cake pics:
 Cooking The Cake Filling |
 Making The Batter |
 The Chef |
 The Cake Layers |
 Putting It All Together |
 The Finished Product |
Tonight at Vern’s Vegetable Vehicle (yes we’ve gone mobile) we’re attempting to recreate the Carrot and Lemon Soup from Elf Cafe in Echo Park, CA… We’re using our Tierra Miguel Farms CSA produce from last week and making Carrot, Parsnip, and Lemon Soup.
Cash Only. Please form line along the left side of the truck. Follow us on Tweeter. 
Here’s a quick and dirty recipe for Miguel’s Elven Carrot, Parsnip, and Lemon Soup. I promise, not really, to take better notes when I cook and to take pics as well.
Ingredients
- About 4 fist fulls of carrots
- About 1 fist full of parsnips
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
- 1 Lemon
- About 1 cup of water
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Chop the carrots and parsnips into 1 inch thick discs and place them in a large bowl.
- Pour enough olive oil on the carrots and parsnips so they are lightly coated and season with salt and pepper.
- Evenly distribute the carrots and parsnips on a baking pan and roast them for about 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes remove the carrots and parsnips from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes.
- Place the vegetables in a food processor along with the 1 cup of water.
- Puree the vegetables until they are smooth… about 5 minutes.
- Take small batches of the carrot and parsnip puree, about 4 batches in total, and pass them through a mesh strainer sieve so most of the thicker fibers and particles are trapped by the sieve.
- Place sieved puree in a large sauce pan to warm the puree. If necessary, add more water to the puree so it becomes more soup-like. It should have the consistency of a bisque. If you aren’t familiar with the consistency of bisque, then sucks to be you… you’ll have to guess.
- Bring the soup to a boil and remove it from heat.
- Add the lemon juice and mix well.
Here is my version of ratatouille. It’s called J.R.’s Ratatouille because my friend J.R. has been bugging me for the recipe for ages now. In all fairness… I promised her the recipe but haven’t delivered. Boo on me…. until now. So J.R. Here it is. The ratatouille you love. Just for you…
Ingredients
- 2 Japanese Eggplants
- 4 Small Tomatoes
- 1 Small Yellow Onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 2 Zucchini
- 2 Yellow Squash
- 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano
- 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme
- 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary
- 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Salt?
- 1/4 Tablespoon Freshly Ground Pepper
- 6 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Directions
NOTE: When purchasing the produce try to get produce of similar diameter. The reason for this is mainly for aesthetics.
ANOTHER NOTE: I’m going off memory here so I may be a little off on the herbs… On the low end.
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Finely chop all the herbs. Mix the herbs together with the salt and pepper. Set the mixture aside.
- Cut the tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and onion into 1 and1/2 inch wide pieces/discs.
- Cut the bell pepper into cubes that are about the size of the vegetable discs.
- Place all the vegetables in a very large bowl and sprinkle 1/3 of the oil and herbs all over the top. Toss the vegetables with your hands.
- Repeat step five.
- Repeat step five again.
- Arrange the vegetables vertically in a 3-quart casserole. (Usually these dishes are 5inches by 9 inches. Approx.)
- Place the casserole on the lowest rack in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes turn up the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until the tops of the vegetables are nice and brown.
