We’ve lived in Seattle for about 3 months now, and there is still so much about this city that surprises me. Having lived in Houston for the last 10ish years it seems there’s magic in the way blackberry bushes grow next to sidewalks. Rhubarb shoots out of the ground like a weed, things just grow here. Our house backs up to a tall, steep hill that was pretty sad and bare when we moved in, and now it looks like we live in a jungle that threatens to take the house back. Ivy grows into our open windows overnight.

The idea of living in the country has always enticed me. Slow, quiet days and hands in the dirt. We spent six months on my grandparent’s farm in southern Washington when I was little and I still remember picking blueberries and walks in the woods, and a cow named Beans that met an unfortunate end after eating a thistle. That brings me to chickens.

I’m a little obsessed with chickens. We never visited Seattle before we decided to sell our house in Houston and move (for real, who does that?!). We drove in with a u-haul trailer and what we needed for a month while we looked for a place to live. We just happened to land in Columbia City which it turns out, was absolutely perfect. We rented a tiny air bnb in a daylight basement while we house-hunted and the owners had chickens that we could watch through the windows at eye-level. We signed a lease on a house a few streets away and as it turns out, owning chickens is totally normal here. They are everywhere. Including across the street.

Our neighbors (who are probably the nicest people on the planet) are out of their house for six months while they renovate, and I am chicken-sitting. I like to think I basically have foster chickens. They have names like Arugula Rose and Kirby Peckett and are slightly overweight and adorable. They follow me around the yard and wait under the raspberry bushes for me to drop one. The point in all of this is that there are perks to chicken-sitting…like eggs and raspberries. And rhubarb. Yum.

So, ricotta toast with berries and honey, inspired by The Modern Proper’s mixed berry bruschetta. Ricotta is surprisingly easy to make. Milk, cream, an acid and a pinch of salt. You’ll have a little bit leftover after this recipe (if you decide to make it yourself) but seriously, when do you not want delicious homemade ricotta in your fridge?

weekending: homemade whipped ricotta toast with foraged berries

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ c heavy whipping cream*
• 2 c ricotta cheese, either store-bought or homemade
• 1½ tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• pinch of salt
• 6 slices sourdough bread
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 c berries
• ¼ c honey, for drizzling

Instructions

1. Whip cream, ricotta, lemon juice, sugar and salt in a stand mixer or whip by hand until smooth and creamy.
2. Brush slices of bread with olive oil and toast (you could also use a grill pan) until golden brown. Spread with whipped ricotta, top with berries and honey, and serve.

Notes

*depending on how much moisture is in your ricotta (either store-bought or homemade), you may want to alter the amount of whipping cream. Use just enough that the mixture is spreadable and creamy.

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