Baked Ricotta with Blackberry-Thyme Smash

Boise is surrounded by golden hills, many of them charred by grass fires. But don’t be deceived: just and hour north, you’ll be among the trees, an hour further and the grass turns green, and just thirty minutes more, you’ll come around the bend into McCall and spot Payette lake, backdropped by Brundage Mountain. This is where we spent the end of August— in a cabin with family. 

We visited just two weeks after the annual huckleberry festival, but there were plenty of wild blackberries at the farmers market still, something you don’t see much of in the front range of Colorado! So of course, I had to take that inspiration and run with it— creating a massive list of things to make (yes, I do seem to have a thing for lists). And perhaps I’ll plant some berries in my yard next spring... blackberries, blueberries, and gooseberries too. 

Between blackberries, we hit the trails, exploring the Payette Lake peninsula and Bear Basin on mountain bikes. On the hottest day, we rented a paddle board and kayak— the river north of town is breathtaking. 

McCall is truly a gem of a mountain town! Outdoor enthusiasts— put this on your list. You get the strangest feeling riding your bike through the woods, like you’ve been transported to the Red Wood Forest, minus the heat! I'll be sharing a few pictures in my monthly newsletter in just a few days -- sign up here! 

Baked Ricotta with Blackberry-Thyme Smash

Published September 6, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6-8   |    Active Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

Baked Ricotta:

2 cups of full fat ricotta

1 egg

1/4 cup tablespoons Parmesan (divided in 2 parts)

Zest of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

A few cracks pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Blackberry-Thyme Smash:

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries, divided

3 sprigs thyme, plus more for garnish

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon honey

For serving: crackers, crostinis, and/or crudités of choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 50-ounce capacity (about 3 cups) ramekin, baking dish, or cheese baker with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta, egg, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, lemon zest, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. Using a spatula, transfer the cheese mixture to the baking dish. Sprinkle top with remaining 2 tablespoons parmesan. (Note: Do not over fill your baking dish. Make the cheese level or below the top rim of the baking dish (if needed, divide the cheese between two baking dishes. This will prevent overflow and a mess in your oven!).
4. Place in oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes. Parmesan on top should begin to turn golden.
5. While the cheese is cooking, make the Blackberry-Thyme Smash: place 1 cup black berries, leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme, juice of 1/2 lemon, pinch of salt, and honey in a bowl and mash with a fork until a saucy, jammy mixture is created. Add in remaining 1/2 cup whole berries (for texture).
6. Spoon Blackberry Smash mixture over baked cheese, and top with a sprig of thyme as garnish. Serve while cheese is still warm with crackers, crostinis, or crudités.

Easy Sweet Potato & Chicken Curry

The bad news first: I was in the middle of photographing some oatmeal banana chocolate chip cookies when my camera took a field trip… off the kitchen counter, to the floor. It took the hit hard. So, without a way to take pictures for a little while, I’ll be posting less for the next few weeks. I have a enough recipes in my backlog that I’ll be posting one recipe a week for the next few weeks instead of my usual two. My new camera is on backorder, so I’m crossing my fingers it gets here ASAP! 

The good news: I have curry to drown my sorrows in. 😉

Do you have a food you can’t live without? Maybe peanut butter? Or chocolate? Those are really good choices, and I would put them on my must-have list for sure (especially chocolate). An oddball item on my list is curry.

This sweet potato & chicken curry is one actually an oldie from the blog – something I originally published over two years ago! It needed a bit of a face lift, and I was more than happy to accommodate... This sweet and savory curry is welcome in my house anytime, but especially when we have a foot of snow outside (which we do right now!). It offers a ying and yang of spicy and creamy; of hot and cool; of sweet and savory. Few other dishes are quite so satisfying. 

Easy Sweet Potato & Chicken Curry

Published February 20, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
• 1 serrano chile, minced
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon ground curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (whole)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Optional: dash of cayenne pepper, for extra heat
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced (or 1 large)
• 2 14-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes (diced works too, will just be a chunkier curry)
• 1 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
• For serving: minced cilantro, roasted cashews, and your choice of rice/cauliflower rice/quinoa/etc

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil glisten, add diced onion, minced garlic, and minced ginger. Sauté until onions are transparent.
2. Add the cubed chicken to the pan, browning on each side for about 3 minutes, and then turning to cook the other side. Add the minced serrano chile, spices, and salt, and stir.
3. Add the diced sweet potato, along with the canned tomatoes, and coconut milk. Stir to incorporate everything.
4. Bring to a simmer and place lid on pan, cooking until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Prick potatoes with a fork to ensure they are soft all the way through.
5. Serve curry hot, sprinkled with cilantro and toasted cashews, along with a side of rice/cauliflower rice/quinoa/etc.

The Red River Gorge in Photos

This morning I am writing you from our rental cabin in Stanton, Kentucky. You can hear the quite patter of rain on the rooftop over the gurgle of the coffee machine behind me. I am always the first awake, and I like it that way. Only one light is on, and beyond the rain and the coffee machine there is a sense of stillness all around our cabin. 

The Red River Gorge sits just southwest of Lexington, and is surrounded by dense forests that are rainbow with fall foliage this week. This is only my second time here, but it's revered as one of the best places in the country for climbing and frequented by many climbers from around the world. The sandstone walls of the gorge are tall, and after decades of erosion they are covered in thousands of holes and pockets. It's as if they want to be climbed. 

This area of Kentucky is so different from my own home. For one, it’s wet. Even when it’s “dry,” things are humid. The forests are thick, mossy walls of deciduous trees, which are painted all colors of fall right now. (I find myself uncontrollably taking photos of this rainbow forest).

This last week was a learning experience of a new kind: I didn’t train for this trip as much as I would’ve liked to, so rather than setting my expectations high, I focused on the simple pleasure of being on vacation, unplugged and amongst the trees. When your goal is simply vacation, life feels pretty luxurious.

By day four I was starting to get used to climbing on a rope and was able to get into a groove (at home, I tend to boulder, so my head wasn’t prepared for sport climbing like it should have been). Now that we’re heading home, my motivation is renewed and I’m psyched to get training on both ropes and boulders again! There is no replacement for a weeklong adventure for getting your spirits high and your workout routine rejuvenated, whether that means going with a group of friends on a bike tour, paddling down a river, or backpacking!

Moonrise at dusk.