The Weather Station – What Am I Going To Do With Everything I Know

Artist: The Weather Station
LP: What Am I Going To Do With Everything I Know
Web Site: http://the-weather-station.com/

I’ve written about Tamara’s work so much over the last few years that it’s hard to find new ways to ask people to listen without becoming overbearing or repetitive. In the end though, I couldn’t think of a better artist to launch this project. Even in her most fragile state, Tamara has refused away any unnecessary support. Instead of hiding behind layers, she puts her emotions front and centre, defiantly sharing more of herself than could be expected. That striking honesty is what makes her songs so engaging.

It would be easy to focus on Tamara’s voice; it’s beautiful and strong (there’s a reason she’s been asked to sing harmonies for some of the biggest names), but still cracks with tenderness when required. The smokiness is as inviting as an evening campfire, but her passion burns long after the sun starts to rise over the horizon.

What Am I Going To Do With Everything I Know is an EP, but it’s delivered with patience and full of well thought out arrangements that help it feel like a longer record. Somehow songs built on uncertainty and self doubt oozes confidence. This EP will be followed up by a full length in 2015, but these six songs already let the music world know that Tamara is one of the best writers we have to offer.

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Menu

Appetizer: Roasted squash, carrot and apple soup
Main: Caramelized onion, pear pork chops with balsamic reduction | Green beans | Parmesan potatoes
Dessert: Sunken apple cake & vanilla bean ice cream

Roasted squash, carrot and apple soup

One of the most deceptive aspects of Tamara’s songs is the surprising sting of her words. With her beautiful voice and gentle picks we are conditioned to expect ear pleasing melancholy, but instead, Tamara offers reality that snaps like a crisp jab.

That’s why this soup was an obvious choice. Adding a green apple to the hearty, familiar ingredients gives the soup a hint of tartness that catches you off guard. I actually roasted the squash – with just a little butter and brown sugar to bring out some sweetness – but you can just as easily simply peel and cube the squash.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup of chopped celery
3/4 cup of chopped carrot
2 Tbsp butter
1 butternut squash (roasted)
1 green apple (peeled and chopped)
3 cups of chicken stock
1 cup water
Cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper for flavor

Roasting the squash

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
2. Place halved squash on baking try, face up.
3. Add butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper to each half.
4. Roast for 40 minutes.

Making the soup

1. Heat a large pot on medium-high heat. Melt butter in the pot and coat the base. Throw in your onion, carrot, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes. If they start to brown, turn down the heat.
2. Hollow out your roasted squash and add the squash, apple and broth.
3. Bring to boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
4. Blend the soup, but don’t try to do it all in one batch or it will totally end up on your wall (Yes. Yes it will).
5. Add cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper until it tastes like you hope it would.

You could brighten up the soup with some fresh herbs, but I made some olive oil, herb and sea salt crustinis. Either option works.

Parmesan potatoes

This might seem like an odd addition to a menu, but the choice was quite intentional. What I love about Tamara’s work is that even though the familiar tones and instrumentation allow for easy comparisons, she’s remarkably successful at using those assumptions to add unexpected twists.

This recipe – essentially a baked potato – roasts slowly until the Parmesan sticks to the potato. Eventually you are left with a layer of crunchy, salty deliciousness. It’s just enough of a twist on an old classic to help it stand out.

Ingredients

6-8 red potatoes (in hindsight, using smaller potatoes is the way to go so look for the tiny red ones or even fingerlings)
2 tbsp butter
6 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
Garlic powder
Sea salt / pepper
Fresh rosemary

Making the potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Melt butter in the bottom of a glass pan.
3. Spread cheese, salt and pepper on melted butter evenly.
4. Put potatoes cut side down
5. Add salt, salt pepper, garlic powder and minced rosemary to top of the potatoes
6. Bake for 40 min

Pork chops with caramelized apple and onions

Growing up, my mom cooked pork chops about once a week. It was always cooked the same way; in a pan with salt and pepper. We ate much like an ox would plow a field. Start at the beginning and push forward until you were finished. Pork chops served a purpose. They kept us fed.

For years after I avoided pork chops. I found them boring. I guess the same could be said about my opinions about folk music around the same time. It all seemed so similar. I didn’t know how either could be transformed into something magical. It wasn’t until I started blogging about folk acts (and until I started cooking for myself and my family) that I saw the wonderful options both seemingly limiting canvases offered.

As a result, I wanted to create a dish that seemed simple and traditional, but was packed in flavor. I paired the pork with a white wine, but also, with advice from the good people at Amsterdam Brewery we also shared a few of their delicious Downtown Brown Ales.

Rather than try to explain why, I’ll simply include the advice they gave me:

For a hearty pork dish like you’ve listed, I really think our Downtown Brown Ale would be the best fit! A great fall beer perfect for root veggies and hearty potatoes, juicy pork chops and it adds a lot of flavour to gravies and marinades. I happen to know it’s a personal favourite of our Executive Chef at our BrewHouse and he cooks with it all the time. The beer itself is malty, chocolatey and warming, with a lighter body than one would expect given the colour and no flavours that are really overwhelming.

Ingredients

1 1/2 quarts water
5 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
6 pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick

1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 red onions, each cut into 8 wedges
2 apples, cored and peeled
1 teaspoon salt

Prepping the pork

1. In a large bowl, combine the water, kosher salt, and sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve.
2. Add pork chops to this brine and soak them for an hour. If you are anything like me, you are probably terrified of the meat becoming salty. Don’t worry.
3. Drain and discard the brine.
4. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels.
5. Combine the olive oil, garlic, and rosemary.
6. Add chops to the marinade.
7. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Making the sauce

1. Pour the balsamic into a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by 1/2
3. Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high or high heat. Add the onions and cook until brown.
4. Add your apples to the pan (I added them at this point to ensure they stayed in tact and retained some crunch).
5. Once the onions and pears are browned, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 7 minutes.
6. Stir in the reduced vinegar and salt.

Cooking the pork

I choose to grill my chops. Cook them until they work for you. Let the pork rest for a few minutes and then cover each with some sauce, onions and apples.

Green beans

When it comes to side vegetables, I rarely do anything that hides the flavor. I like the look of green beans on a plate and they taste great. You don’t need anything more. All I did here was clean and cut the beans, blanch them and then sauteing then in some minced garlic. In almost every case, simple is better.

Sunken apple cake

Around the corner from my house is a fantastic apple orchard. The kids love to pick apples, so I find myself constantly trying to find new recipes to use the access apples we have lying around. Moj suggested this delicious apple cake (that she discovered on Smitten Kitchen). Once again, it fit perfectly.

Those not paying attention might try to make judgments based on Tamara’s appearance, but there is nothing sweet about her work. Even when she sings of love, it’s in a more realistic way. Love is hard work. Love is confusing. Love can lift you up but it can also knock the wind out of your sails. Thankfully, on this effort, Tamara doesn’t present love as a dreamlike state or as some predetermined conclusion. Until she walks away with “one question less than we started out with”, you never know if the love she sings about is going to last.

I hate sweet desserts. I’d much rather have salt, salt, salt and then some sort of coffee or port. For this cake, the sea salt glaze cuts through the sweetness and transforms the dessert.

Ingredients

Topping
4 small apples, halved, peeled and cored
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Batter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (125 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (6 tablespoons) granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey (any variety you like to eat)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, separated
2 good pinches of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze
1/4 cup honey
A good pinch of sea salt

Prepping the apples

1. Pre-heat over to 350F.
2. Coat a 9-inch springform with butter or a nonstick spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.
3. Place peeled, halved and cored apples cut-side-down on a cutting board. Use a knife to create parallel thin slices, but only cut halfway through each apple so that the apples stay intact and begin to fan out.
4. Toss apples with lemon juice and two tablespoon granulated sugar.

Preparing the cake base

1. Beat butter and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar together in a bowl with electric beaters until fluffy.
2. Add honey and beat until combined.
3. Add vanilla and egg yolks, beating until just combined.
4. Sprinkle salt and baking powder over cake batter, and mix for just 5 seconds, until they disappear. Add flour, half at a time, mixing only until just combined.
5. In a separate bowl with cleaned beaters, beat egg whites until stiff.
6. Stir 1/4 of them into the cake batter, to lighten it a little.
7. Fold in the rest in three additions. It will seem impossible to fold in at first because the batter is so stiff, but it will loosen with careful folding.
8. Spread cake batter in prepared cake pan, smoothing the top.
9. Arrange apple halves facedown over the cake batter.

Baking the cake

Bake cake for 35 to 40 minutes (you can check to make sure it’s completely cooked with a toothpick) and then let rest on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Cut around the cake to make sure it’s not sticking to the pan at all, and unhinge the sides. Let cake cool completely. Warm the honey and toss in a good pinch of sea salt. Once the mixture liquefies, brush it over the cake.