Chocolate Box Cottage Diary Vol. 2
Week 2: January 16, 2022

Week 2 of January 2022 was surprisingly sunny and warm. So much is happening in the garden already. Sam and I have been feeling under the weather and it’s good to feel the sun on our skin.

The lush, heavy snow of Christmas and New Year’s is a memory; a few shady places still harbor shrinking “snowbergs.”

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves as Sam and I are both feeling under the weather this week.

This painting from Austria caught my eye. Somehow the artist conveyed both the coolness and coziness of snow in this piece – lovely!

Four overwintered cabbages, as beautiful and colorful as roses with a shimmering blush of violet on lacy “petals.” They definitely qualify as gifts from the winter garden.

I can hardly bear the thought of cutting them – but I will. Overwintered greens such as cabbages, kale, Brussels sprouts, and chard are usually more tender and sweet than their summer-grown counterparts. A real treat in the kitchen and on the dinner plate.

Just across the garden fence, Painted Desert sheep graze. The weight of the snow caused a section of the garden fence to collapse. Sam quickly shored it up with metal t-posts to prevent the sheep from grazing the garden. Real repairs will take place soon.

Hyacinths are just peeping above the soil in a metal planter that looks just like a basket. They were an impulse purchase from a big box store last winter and bloomed beautifully in a cheap pot. When they were finished blooming, I allowed the leaves to die down naturally and left the pot in the garden for several months. I recently translated the lot to this prettier receptacle and moved them to the greenhouse to “force.” Forcing means I am encouraging them to bloom sooner than they would naturally. The greenhouse will give them a head start and I will be enjoying another round of cheery, sweetly -scented flowers soon!

The carrots are destined for stew. In Oregon we can overwinter carrots right in the ground – no need to dig and store – as long as they’re well-mulched. The colder temps of winter impart wonderful sweetness to carrots, they will be as sweet as candy.

Sam: Toby looks zen.

Me: Of course. He has destroyed everyone else’s zen and is content.

This after the second slipper was launched to break up a scuffle.

Super cute bamboo spoons with Chocolate Box Cottage on their brightly painted handles. Thanks for my friend Lifan for custom-crafting them for me!

Four pounds of unsalted butter was clarified to make ghee. Our store of healthy winter fat has been replenished.

What we know and drink as tea is made from fermented leaves from tea camellias, Camellia sinensis. I carefully saved seeds from my tea camellia last fall and planted them in half gallon pots with good quality potting soil and bunny berries. I hope to multiply my tea plants in order to produce enough for a few pots of tea. Doesn’t home-grown and home-processed tea sound utterly enchanting? It does to me!

You can order tea camellias for your garden here: Camellia sinensis.

Gifts from the Wild Winter Garden

Here in southern Oregon, it’s easy to find unsea – just look up. It hangs in spiderweb-like drifts from a variety of trees and is knocked loose by wind, rain, and snow. I gathered a generous amount that fell after our Christmas snow storm to share with friends. Usnea is commonly prepared as an alcohol-based tincture for a number of herbal purposes, which I encourage you to research. It also makes an attractive mulch for potted plants and hanging baskets.

If you’ve suffered a loss of smell and taste after a bout with the “spicy flu” there is help. A technique known as olfactory retraining (or olfactory training, depending on the source) can help you restore this important sense.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit! If you have a few minutes of leisure, take a peek at some lovely pictures of our New Year’s snow and icicles.

Whether you call it a Dutch Baby, oven pancake, puff pancake, German pancake or Dutch puff, this lofty pancake is easier than it looks! Just a few simple ingredients and 2 special tips and you will be able to impress your family with a lofty Dutch Baby for a simple yet special meal.

A Dutch baby with fruit and bacon is the quintessential date-night-at-home dinner. I will show you how to get the BEST results, the puffiest, most high-rising pancake possible.

Our favorite way to eat a Dutch baby is with powdered sugar or maple syrup and a squeeze of fresh lemon, but sometimes I like to serve it with a bowl of fresh berries and whipped cream.

Printable recipe available below. It is important to use the right size pan for the ingredients. Use a 10-inch (25 cm) cast iron skillet or 9-inch (25 cm) square baking pan or equivalent size casserole dish.

︎ For a 12-INCH (30 cm) CAST IRON SKILLET, increase the recipe by one-fourth: 5 tablespoons butter 5 eggs 1 ¼ cup milk (300 ml) 1 ¼ cup flour (150 g)

︎ For a 9-INCH X 13-INCH (24 x 35 cm) BAKING PAN, increase the recipe by one-half: 6 tablespoons butter 6 eggs 1 ½ cups (375 ml) milk 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour (aka plain flour) ¼ – ½ teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter

Dutch Baby Oven Pancake

Print Recipe

An impressive, towering “pancake” baked in the oven! Special and yet surprisingly simple, this just might become your favorite date-night-at-home dinner. Turn the oven on to preheat first, then start the recipe. If you don’t have time to bring the eggs and milk to room temperature naturally, simply place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes and warm the milk in a small saucepan on the stove to about 110F (43C).

• Author: Michele Pryse, FNTP
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 25
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings
• Category: brunch
• Method: blender, oven
• Cuisine: German

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter

4 eggs

1 cup (250 ml) milk

1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour (aka plain flour)

1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter

Choose your favorite toppings: Berries, warm applesauce, apple butter, jam, maple syrup, sliced fresh fruit, lemon wedges, powdered sugar, etc.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F / 215C for 30 minutes with a rack in the center. Set eggs and milk on the counter to bring to room temperature.

2. Once oven is fully preheated, place butter in skillet and place in the oven to melt and preheat the pan, 5 minutes.

3. While the butter melts and pan is preheating, crack the eggs into a blender. Whiz 1 minute at high speed (regular household blender) or 30 seconds (high speed blender like VitaMix). If you don’t have a blender, whisk the eggs in a large bowl vigorously for 2 minutes.

4. Gradually add milk through the opening in the blender lid, then add flour and process 1 minute. Or whisk vigorously if you do not have a blender. Add 1/8 – ¼ teaspoon salt, if desired. Batter should resemble heavy cream.

5. Remove heated skillet from the oven and tilt to swirl the butter so that it covers the bottom of the pan fully. Pour batter into the pan. Quickly and carefully return the pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Dutch Baby should be a deep golden brown with a puffy crown; sometimes it comes out bowl-shaped. It’s perfectly okay and perfectly delicious!

6. Cut in wedges and serve immediately with choice of toppings. Enjoy!

Notes

PAN OPTIONS – OTHER SIZES

︎ For a 12-INCH (30 cm) CAST IRON SKILLET, increase the recipe by one-fourth: 5 tablespoons butter 5 eggs 1 ¼ cup milk (300 ml) 1 ¼ cup flour (150 g)

︎ For a 9-INCH X 13-INCH (24 x 35 cm) BAKING PAN, increase the recipe by one-half: 6 tablespoons butter 6 eggs 1 ½ cups (375 ml) milk 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour (aka plain flour) ¼ – ½ teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter

Keywords: Dutch Baby oven pancake, brunch, date night at home