Inside The Hills Market

Classic Summer Trio

August. Time for great Ohio tomatoes, fresh basil and vacations. Sorry for the silence around the blog; I was out of the office last week, and will be gone again next week. But things will soon return to normal. Meanwhile, let's think about this trio of summer favorites: tomato, basil and mozzarella.

Kent asked me to feature Campana Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese this week on the blog. This creamy cheese from Southern Italy is textured and boasts a porcelain white color. Produced entirely from buffalo milk, this cheese is high in protein. Kent suggests serving a thick slice of Buffalo Mozzarella as shown above. The balsamic vinegar you see is actually Roland's Balsamic Glaze, a secret ingredient you can find on our shelves that tastes great with fresh colorful berries, as well.

A Snack with a Story

Kyle got these in today. Right now, they're sitting in the back room, ready to find a place out in the store.

"What is that?" I ask him.

"Glad Corn. An a-maizing corn snack. This stuff is addicting," he said of the semi-popped popcorn with several different flavors.

Here's the story about how this snack came to be, in the words of the makers themselves:

"Stan's desire to live independent of as many outside energy sources as possible has led him to other experimenting. It was a quiet night on our farm. Stan was in the kitchen, working on a new ethanol fuel recipe. Gladys was catching up on some reading. Stan stepped into the living room for a moment while a batch heated up on the stove. Suddenly, KABOOM! Stan and Gladys came running. There was exploded corn all over the kitchen! Being the inquisitive type, Stan was more interested in tasting the stuff than cleaning up or explaining to Gladys - though by now she had gotten somewhat used to this sort of thing. While it didn't look like much, he discovered that it was about the best tasting stuff he'd ever eaten!

Anyway, friends and neighbors soon heard our story and, after tasting some at a Christmas gathering, convinced us we were on to something BIG! A friend came up with the product name and behold, the GLAD CORN® brand A-Maizing Corn Snack was born!"

Who knows if this new snack will be as popular in Columbus as it is in Minnesota? I guess we'll find out soon enough. Stop in and try some. Let us know what you think. (Kyle's feelings won't be hurt if you don't like it; by the look of things, he would be quite content eating it all himself.)

Farmer's Market Pictures

Locally grown eggplant looks delicate and delicious in the sunlight. Don't be sad if you missed the Farmer's Market; we have plenty of locally-grown produce in our store every day. Including these guys.

Robert Rothschild Farms is a staple in Ohio cuisine. I could snack on these all day.

Cackler White Sweet Corn (on sale this week) is grown just for The Hills Market in Delaware. Fresh and exclusive and on sale. What more could you want?

Perfect Picnic Cheese

Tartufolo - Truffle Cheese

This is black truffle-infused cheese is usually made with sheep's milk, but our Cheese Guy, Kent Rand, tracked down a version made with cow's milk. This semi-soft Italian cheese is available only during the Spring and Summer and boasts a balance between the earthy flavor of black truffles and the rich flavor of goar's milk cheese. Kent recommends this cheese served in a sandwich with rare roast beef, sourdough and mesclun with just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It pairs well with Rieslings, as well. Either way, it looks like it's time for a picnic.

Hop Head Week 2

 

Kristine Eley will be pouring beers again on The Veranda on August 29th at 5.30 p.m. for another Hop Head Week. Below are a listing of the types of beers (with help from beeradvocate.com) and the specific beers that she'll be pouring. Mark your calendars and bring friends!

American Double IPA

Description: Take an India Pale Ale and feed it steroids, ergo the term Double IPA. Although open to the same interpretation as its sister styles, you should expect something robust, malty, alcoholic and with a hop profile that might rip your tongue out. The Imperial usage comes from Russian Imperial stout, a style of strong stout originally brewed in England for the Russian Imperial Court of the late 1700s. Its application to an unrelated style makes little sense to many, so Double IPA is quickly becoming the preferred name.   You can thank west coast American brewers for this somewhat reactionary style. "Thanks!"

We'll be tasting: Stone Ruination & Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

American Pale Ale (APA)

Description: Of British origin, this style is now popular worldwide and the use of local ingredients, or imported, produces variances in character from region to region. Generally, expect a good balance of malt and hops. Fruity esters and diacetyl can vary from none to moderate, and bitterness can range from lightly floral to pungent.       American versions tend to be cleaner and hoppier, while British tend to be more malty, buttery, aromatic and balanced.

We'll be tasting: Three Floyds Alpha King & Otter Creek Pale Ale

American IPA

Description: The American IPA is a different soul from the reincarnated IPA style. More flavorful than the withering English IPA, color can range from very pale golden to reddish amber. Hops are typically American with a big herbal and / or citric character, bitterness is high as well. Moderate to medium bodied with a balancing malt back bone.

We'll be tasting: Bell’s Two-hearted, New Holland Mad Hatter & Boulder Mojo India Pale Ale

Rye Beer

Description: Not to be confused with a German Roggenbier, a beers that fall into this category contain a notable amount of rye grain in the grist bill. Bitterness tends to be moderate, to allow the often spicy and sour-like rye characteristics to pull through.

We'll be tasting: Two Brothers Cane & Ebel

         

Good Gratin

The kitchen is busy pumping out dainty finger sandwiches, chocolate cheesecakes and miniature crab cakes for a catering order for this afternoon. But that didn't stop them from coming up with delicious summer dishes for the Chef's Case. I came across this beautiful medley of vegetables and announced to Mandy that her creation will not only end up being my lunch, but will be the subject of today's blog entry.

This vegetable gratin is made up of fresh eggplant, zucchini, squash, roma tomatoes, asparagus, shredded parmesan, leeks, shallots, olive oil and salt and pepper. Although it is a "secret recipe," Mandy suggests that just about any combination of summer vegetables can work together to create a colorful vegetable gratin.

Blueberry Treat

It's been awhile since I've used the bundt pan, and Woody's blueberries over in the produce department were calling my name. Time to bake. I found a recipe on Epicurious by searching "bundt" and "blueberry." There's only one recipe that contains those two significant ingredients, so it seemed as if I were destined to create the Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake from  the April 2004 edition of Bon Appetit.

I headed to a friend's kitchen to create, partially because baking is more fun with good company and partially because the blue counter tops begged to befriend blueberries, buttermilk and bundt pans. (Beautiful!)

The end result was pretty. Lots of butter on the pan ensured an easy removal of the cake from the pan. The recipe is below. I threw in extra blueberries, and didn't have a chance to try the cake at room temperature. Friends came out of the woodwork to demolish this creation. But the warm version of the cake was good enough for me. Mission accomplished.

Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated orange peel (I borrowed the Microplane Zester from Hills.)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups frozen blueberries

Powdered sugar    

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 2/3 cups sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Fold in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.) Transfer cake to plate, sift powdered sugar over, and serve.