Queen - Honey & jam: seasonal baking from my kitchen in the mountains

Published in 2015 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang

An imprint of ABRAMS

Text and photographs copyright 2015 Hannah Queen

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014942975

ISBN: 978-1-61769-091-4

EDITOR: Camaren Subhiyah

DESIGNER: Laura Palese

PRODUCTION MANAGER: True Sims

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FOR MY FAMILY

CONTENTS

A NOTE FROM MY KITCHEN

I was born and raised in a little house surrounded by old hemlock trees and blackberry brambles in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Set against the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, our town is edged with rolling fields and dense green forests. The woods have an ancient feel about them, and Ive spent hours berry picking, daydreaming, and driving aimlessly on back roads passing old cabins and barns.

Growing up in our small town, I didnt have access to fancy food of any sortjust simple home cooking. I remember helping my mom in the kitchen as a kid, making sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving and cookies at Christmas, but it wasnt until my late teens that I really became interested in teaching myself to bake.

Thats when I picked up my first cookbook. I tried baking orange-chocolate cupcakes, and they were so bad! I misread the instructions and added a tablespoon of orange extract instead of a teaspoon. But I kept baking and eventually made nearly every recipe in that book. I taught myself how to cream butter and sugar, make piecrust, and whip egg whites. The processes of measuring flour, whisking eggs, rolling out doughall the components of bakingbegan to feel natural to me. But they were also magical. Baking felt like alchemy: combining simple ingredients to create something incredible, something that had the power to evoke feelings of home in, and bring joy to, others.

As I found my footing in the kitchen, I started seeking out new flavors, inspired by the things growing around me. How could I incorporate the taste of spring honeysuckle into a cake? Blackberries from the woods beside my house? Wild muscadines with their vines tangled in the pine trees? I began creating recipes to reflect the bounty surrounding my home.

With my sister and mom in tow, I brought my desserts to a little stand at the Blue Ridge farmers market. My sister and I would spend each Friday baking in our tiny kitchen, singing along to the Avett Brothers and whipping up treats like sweet potato bread, chocolate chip cookies, and blackberry cakes. Our mom would wake up with us at dawn, load up my car, and get us to the market at six A.M. to set up the stand. It was a family affair.

Theres a great sense of community that comes with small-town farmers markets. Ours is eccentric, made up of local farmers whove been at it all their lives, newcomers with small organic farms, older ladies who paint gourds in their spare time, and a guy who makes tin-can robots. You get to know the people around you, hear about their lives and how their crops are doing, pet their dogs. Wed have regulars whod come each weekearly, before the crowdsto make sure they got their favorite spiced molasses cookies.

Encouraged by the response I was getting at the market, I started taking pictures of my desserts and posting them online. I experimented with recipes and asked for feedback. I captured my favorite places in Blue Ridge and shared them on my blog, Honey & Jam. And people were interested. And so what started as a failed attempt at orange-chocolate cupcakes ended with a new direction for my life. I had found my calling.

Cooking and baking align you to the rhythm of the seasons, and I wanted to organize this book to reflect the natural progression of how I bake through the year. Peaches taste best in deep summer, strawberries at the start of spring, and apples in the autumn. When you find yourself craving the best of each flavor, you use whats freshest at the time. This connects you to your surroundings and the folks who grow your food. Its the best way to support your local farmers.

I am so proud to share Blue Ridge with you through these recipes. I hope this book inspires you to explore the world around you and test out your new discoveries in the kitchen.

SEASONAL
BAKING

T he farm-to-table ethos has almost become second nature to responsible restaurateurs and home cooks with the time and means to eat locally. We head to the farmers market every weekend; we purchase farm shares to support local agriculture; we buy locally raised meats; we know to either gorge on tomatoes in August or put them up in jars to use throughout the year when theyre not in season. Whether youre cooking savory meals or preparing desserts, food should be thoughtfully sourced. All of the cakes, doughnuts, trifles, and other desserts found in this book are meant to be baked seasonally.