Meatless Monday: Remembrance of Things Past

For Proust it was “les petite madeleines.” For me, hermits are the sweet treats that evoke intensely happy memories of times gone by. The hermits I crave came not from my mother’s kitchen, however, but from bakeries near the shore. 

Hermits are most commonly bar cookies baked in a cake pan, like brownies, and cut into squares. Packed with chopped nuts and raisins, hermits are redolent of the molasses and pungent spices that flavor them.

These cookies keep extraordinarily well. Hermits have a long history in New England, dating back to the days of the clipper ships when they were packed in tins to accompany sailors as they traveled to distant lands. Many claim their flavor improves with age. 

In recent years, however, they have fallen out of favor. Corner bakeries stopped making them, and even commercial cookie baker Archway dropped hermits from their line. 

Over the past long winter, as I dreamed of warm days at the beach, I scoured my cookbooks and searched the web for the recipe that seemed most like the beloved cookie I remembered. I settled on the recipe found in my Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1984 edition), first published in 1896.

Most of the ingredients were familiar, but the recipe called for mace, the dried covering of the nutmeg. While I could not find mace in the baking section of any supermarket, I was able to get it at Penzey’s.  

One cool, rainy day earlier this month I thought I was all set to give the recipe a try, but I hadn’t read it carefully. There was one other mystery ingredient — cream of tartar. This I was able to find at the local store, but I found myself wondering what exactly this white powder was and why it was essential to this recipe.

Here is what I learned from Wikipedia: “Potassium bitartrate, also known as potassium hydrogen tartrate, with formula KC₄H₅O₆, is a byproduct of winemaking. In cooking it is known as cream of tartar. It is the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid (a carboxylic acid).” It has a number of uses; in my hermit recipe it serves as the acid to activate the baking soda, causing the cookies to rise. [This is an old recipe.]

With the advent of modern baking powder, cream of tartar has been pretty much replaced as a leavening agent, but it remains valuable for a long list of uses from stabilizing egg whites and whipped cream to cleaning metals.

But back to the Hermits. With cream of tartar on hand, here is the recipe I used:

HERMITS

(36 Squares or about 60 Cookies)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup raisins or currants [I used raisins.]
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts [I used walnuts.]
• 2 cups flour [I substituted whole wheat for 1 cup.]
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses [I used Blackstrap.]
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon mace
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Grease a 9 x 13inch cake pan or some cookie sheets.
• Toss the dried fruit and nuts in 1/4 cup of the flour; set aside.
• Cream the butter; then add the sugar and beat well.
• Add the salt, eggs, and molasses and beat well.
• Mix together the remaining 1-3/4 cups flour with the remaining dry ingredients, and beat thoroughly.
• Stir in the raisins and nuts.
• Spread in the pan or drop by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. 
• Bake only until the top is firm and the center chewy, about 15-20 minutes for the squares, 8-10 minutes for the cookies. [A cake tester inserted into my bars at 15 minutes came out clean.]

A panful of perfect Hermits

The hermits turned out just as I hoped (and remembered). I couldn’t eat just one… The remainders are in a tightly closed tin. I hope to test the theory that they will get even better with age, but I don’t imagine my experiment will last as long as a sea voyage.

Lone hermit on a plate.

I will let you know how it goes.

Hermits should still be a “sometimes treat,” but as cookies go, they are far better for you than most. Blackstrap Molasses, nuts, and raisins are high in fiber and have significant food value. And, If you swap out half the white flour for whole wheat as I did, you will add even more fiber and cut the glycemic index of your cookies, making them even better. 

One more thing, a bit of Hermit trivia. You might be wondering, “Where did this cookie get its name?” There appears to be no definitive answer, but the Old Farmer’s Almanac offers several theories. My favorite one is: “Very likely the old recipe for the hermit cookies goes back to the 12th or 13th century religious hermitages, where these basic ingredients would have been in common usage at bakers’ tables. The terms for those confines — ‘hermite’ from the Old French or ‘heremita,’ from the medieval Latin — may have been assigned to this treat by the residents.”

Happy baking. Happy eating. Happy Summer. Happy Meatless Monday.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Saturday Shorts: Signs of Change 6.27.15

All around New Haven there are signs of change, real signs —

this paper announcement in a restroom at the Yale Divinity School, for example. 

Keep your eyes open. There are hopeful signs all around you.

Happy Saturday.

Meatless Monday: Easy Blueberry Cake (and More)

Blueberries aren’t quite in season in Connecticut, but they are beginning to show up in the sale section of the produce aisle on a regular basis, just as they do at the start of each summer. Currently they are coming from Georgia, the state ranked 1st in blueberry production. Around the 4th of July the New Jersey (ranked 5th) blueberries should make their appearance in the New England markets, and by late July they will be a Pick Your Own crop in my state. [Here is a link to finding a pick your own farm near you. Just search for your location and the produce you want to pick.]

Blueberries are one of the few fruits native to North America, and the United States is the world’s largest producer of blueberries, with a harvest totaling 56.7 million pounds in 2014. North Carolina, Michigan, and Washington, along with the aforementioned Georgia and New Jersey, are important blueberry producers. The state of Maine is the main source for “wild” blueberries. 

Blueberries are a nutritional powerhouse. And, they freeze easily and well. 

On Groundhog Day I shared with you a recipe for “Easy Apple Cake,” a quick cake that could be whipped up using two apples and ingredients commonly found in most kitchens. On a recent weekend I had a pint of blueberries on hand, but no apples. I really wanted to make that cake for breakfast. I decided to substitute 1-1/2 cups of blueberries for the apples. This made the recipe even easier, and had the same delicious result. 

Easy Blueberry Cake

Here is the link to the original recipe. The only change you need to make is to substitute rinsed and drained blueberries for the apple slices. 

We were hungry.

I, for one, can never have too many blueberries. In preparation for the blueberry bounty to come, I’ve rounded up the links to my earlier blueberry posts:

• Blueberry Ricotta Squares 
• Blueberry Chia Jam 
• Summer Salad  (an authentic Danish recipe) 
• Psyched for the Return of the Blueberry  (blueberry facts and freezing tips) 
• And of course, Blueberry Pancakes 

There is something in this list for everyone. And there are plenty of reasons to give this superfood a try. 

Happy Summer! Happy Meatless Monday.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Thursday Thoughts 06.18.15

Think carefully before adding anything to your shopping cart.

Meatless Monday: We Have the Power

For years author and food advocate Michael Pollan has been urging consumers to “Vote with your fork.” 

People have been listening, and all this spring the results have been rolling in. A growing number of companies have been addressing consumers’ concerns about food sourcing and food quality.

On April 20, Kraft announced that it will remove artificial color from its Macaroni and Cheese and use paprika, annatto, and turmeric in its place.

On April 27, Chipotle stated that they had become the first national restaurant to cook with only non-GMO ingredients. [As the NPR blog the salt points out, however, the chain is still serving soda containing high fructose corn syrup.]

The next day Tyson publicized that they were striving to “eliminate human antibiotics from our broiler chicken production by September 2017.” [Note that only human antibiotics were mentioned.]

Last year Subway finished removal of the artificial ingredient azodicarbonamide from its bread, in response to a campaign launched by blogger “Food Babe,” who had dubbed the chemical the “yoga mat material.” This spring Subway announced that it was introducing a new roast beef devoid of artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. 

On May 15, Panera published “The No No List” of artificial preservatives, sweeteners, colors, and flavors it pledges to remove from their bakery-cafes by the end of 2016. 

Later that month CNN Money published an article appropriately titled “You won't believe the $%#! you've been eating” that referenced a few more stories that had not appeared on my radar. Check out the paragraph on Taco Bell, who announced that it would stop using “artificial pepper” and start using real pepper. Really? What $%#! indeed? 

That’s a whole lot of changes without the government stepping in. But we have a long way to go.

Money talks. Collectively we have the power. Keep on voting! 

Happy Meatless Monday!  Have a great week.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday: Lentil Kale Soup

Summer is a time for salads and lighter fare, but when the weather turns abruptly cool, as it has today, a hearty soup can be a pleasant change.

In honor of 2014 Kale Day, I shared an original recipe for Sausage Kale Soup. In recognition of Meatless Monday, and as another small step in the vegan direction, today I offer you Lentil Kale Soup. Just a few small switches transform the former recipe into the latter. Lentil Kale Soup is deeply satisfying, economical, rich in vitamins, and delicious, too! And, if the hot weather suddenly comes back, pop the leftovers into the freezer. This recipe makes at least 8 hearty servings, and it freezes really well.

LENTIL KALE SOUP

Ingredients

• Olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of your pot)
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 qt vegetable broth (or 1 vegetable bouillon cube + water)
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 3 large carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• I cup red lentils
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 28 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted crushed tomatoes
• 1 large head curly kale
• 1/8 teaspoon powdered cayenne pepper

Method

• Peel and chop the onion.
• Peel and mince the garlic.
• In a heavy soup pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft, being careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add the broth.
• Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots. 
• Cut the sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
• Quarter the carrots and cut into 1 inch pieces.
• Dice the celery.
• Rinse the lentils.
• Add vegetables and lentils to the broth along with the thyme.
• When the sweet potatoes are fork tender, add the tomatoes.
• Add the cayenne pepper.
• Wash well and roughly chop the kale
• Add kale to the soup when the tomatoes are hot.
• The soup is done when the kale is tender.
• Serve hot.

This soup is delicious as is. Optional pairings include shredded cheddar cheese or plain Greek yogurt for a topping, or a hearty whole grain bread as a side.    

For the past few Meatless Monday posts I have been floating the idea of working towards making Meatless Monday a dairy and egg -free day. For those who missed the original post, the idea stemmed from a desire to become a more ethical eater.

I proposed starting with small steps. Here are links to other recipes in the series: Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake, Avocado Mayonnaise, a one-pot vegan pasta dish, and Avocado Chocolate Mousse. I hope you enjoy the latest addition to this series.

Happy Meatless Monday!  Have a great week.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”