HONEY-MASCARPONE FROZEN YOGURT

You know that feeling when you bring home a new cookbook and as you flip through the pages, you find yourself bookmarking recipe after recipe? To me that's the first sign of a great cookbook. Confirmation of greatness comes when the recipes deliver delicious results. Well, Yogurt Culture, by my buddy Cheryl Sternman Rule, is that kind of book. There are so many recipes I want to make, I've lost count. And every one I've tried has been simple and fantastic.

Yogurt Culture is about yogurt of course, but it goes way beyond what one might expect of yogurt recipes - yes there are wonderful lassis, smoothies and tatzikis, but with well over 100 recipes, Cheryl tempts us with Smokey Egglant-Tahini Dip, Coriander-Lime Grilled Chicken (our family loved it!) and Regal Creamy Beef Curry, just to name a few.

The first recipe I made from Yogurt Culture was this delectable Honey-Mascarpone Frozen Yogurt and I knew I had to share it with you. Cheryl's clever additions of mascarpone, lemon zest, olive oil, and vanilla bean elevate fro yo to a heavenly level of sophistication, yet the recipe couldn't be much easier to make. Cheryl suggests drizzling a bit of olive oil over the frozen yogurt and I readily second that notion. My favorite concoction is a kind of summer sundae -  Honey-Mascarpone Frozen Yogurt with slivers of donut peach, marcona almonds and that splash of olive oil. I think you'll love it too.

INGREDIENTS from Cheryl Sternman Rule's Yogurt Culture

• 2 1/2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) mascarpone
• scant 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• scrapped seeds from 1/2 plump vanilla bean
• finely grated zest of one lemon
• optional for serving: sliced peach or nectarine, salted-roasted marcona almonds, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together yogurt, mascarpone, honey, olive oil, vanilla, and lemon zest.

Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. You can serve the frozen yogurt in this soft serve form, or transfer the frozen mixture to a small baking dish and place it in the freezer to harder further.

When you're ready to serve the frozen yogurt, take it out of the freezer 10-20 minutes before serving to allow the yogurt to soften a bit.

I suggest topping the frozen yogurt with peaches or nectarines, marcona almonds and a light drizzle of olive oil.

 Serves 4

STONEHOUSE OLIVE OIL + BLOOD ORANGE BROWNIES

Back in September, Trish from Stonehouse Olive Oil hired me to shoot some new images for her website. When I got Trish's call - I was stoked at the opportunity to work for a woman who is passionate about her business, especially when that business is such a delicious one. I first met Trish almost 20 years ago when she and P worked together at Alice Waters' Cafe Fanny - as long as I've known her, she has dedicated her life to good food. I'm guessing that many of you are probably already familiar with Stonehouse from their shop at the SF Ferry Building. If you don't know these oils, you should. They are awesome, and I am totally hooked.

The photos above are from a field trip last month to Talcott Ranch in Carneros. When Trish offered to let me tag along, I jumped at the chance to walk through an olive grove at harvest time - the array of olive trees dripping with ripe fruit was simply breathtaking. Getting to see, touch, and smell the place where my food comes from always inspires me and makes me quite hungry!

Trish's life has been all about olive oil for over 15 years. Being food obsessed myself, one my favorite things about this project has been hearing Trish share her knowledge of oils and her food philosophy in general. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and I wanted to share with you guys...

Erin: So many of us food-lovers are ultra conscious of where our produce comes from, but we don't always have the same depth of knowledge about olive oil. The seemingly countless olive oils lining the market shelves can be daunting for consumers. Plus, all the controversy about bogus extra virgin oils from Europe has left me all the more confused. What are you guys up to at Stonehouse?

Trish: Here at Stonehouse, we taste through all our oils at the end of crush (harvest time) and select only the oils that are fabulous. I use our oils all the time, and we have a very loyal following that keeps us honest! We also have our oils certified but the COOC, the California Olive Oil Council, which has some of the most stringent extra virgin requirements in the world.  The COOC  is the best insurance a customer has these days to make sure they're buying the real deal.

It's overwhelming how corrupt the international olive oil industry is. Although it makes perfect sense, when you consider olive oil is one of the top commodities in the world, worth billions and billions, and it is incredibly unregulated.  It is not an exaggeration to say most of the extra virgin olive oils in the supermarket are not only NOT extra virgin, but not even 100% olive oil.  For people who want to know more, Tom Mueller wrote a great article for The New Yorker years ago, and followed it up with a book this year, for those who want to geek out on the subject. 

Erin: Name a few food artisans/cooks/purveyors who inspire you? 

Trish: There are so many!  I have to give 1st nod to Full Belly and Riverdog farms, as probably 70-80% of what I eat is grown by them.  Alice Waters and Michael Pollen get a lot of press in the food movement, and deservedly so, but the farmers themselves are the biggest heroes for me, because they really have skin in the game-- their lives on the line, their physical bodies-- in a way writers or restaurateurs do not.

And Capay Valley is a special place for me. It's been a pleasure to watch the farmers there grow and become part of the Farmer's Market revolution that has culminated with the opening of the Ferry Building in 2003, which is a kind of mecca for me.  Even after 10 years, I still feel blessed and weepy every time I walk into that building.  It's so gorgeous I feel lucky and honored to be a part of it.  And we're one of the most successful stores in there, which still blows my mind. Sometimes I think, wait, do I really have a store here? or am I dreaming?


Erin: What are your most dogeared cookbooks?

Trish:  The #1 most beat up is Fields of Greens, partially because it's 20 years old and one of my 1st cookbooks.  As a young vegetarian it was my 'joy of cooking,' my go-to bible.  Many of my standard dishes are from that book.  I guess I've turned back to it now because of my health issues and it has the 60's/70's cross cultural cooking I still like.  Remember the 1st time you made gazpacho and felt sophisticated?  

Alice's The Art of Simple Food is great - it feels like the culmination of all her years of experience.   I like the variations of the recipes she offers, so that each recipe really has 5-6 versions, which is how I cook, rarely the same exact thing twice.  Her Vegetables is a standby as well. 

Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi is a newer cookbook I'm cooking my way through and loving (Jerusalem is on it's way).  I'm also big on blogs these days for inspiration--Smitten Kitchen and Heidi, and of course Yummy Supper!

STONEHOUSE BLOOD ORANGE BROWNIES 

These brownies are not your standard fare. They do have all that dense chocolate goodness you want out of a brownie, plus the blood orange oil, quinoa flour, yogurt, and ample dose of cinnamon make for a surprising and healthful bite. With ingredients like these, we could even eat brownies for breakfast. Yum!

INGREDIENTS - thank you Trish!
{printable recipe}

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (Trish suggests Valhrona, 100% cacao)
• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon Ceylon Cinnamon (or a 1/2 teaspoon standard cinnamon)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/3 cup Stonehouse Blood Orange Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Into a medium mixing bowl, sift dry cocoa, quinoa flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt - dry whisk to mix, set aside.

In a standing mixer, or using a hand mixer, blend the eggs together then add yogurt, blood orange oil, and vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly add dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Continue to mix until well blended.

Wipe the insides of a 8x10 inch pan with a little bit of Blood Orange Oil. Pour the batter in and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.