cook out of the box

The End

2011-07-06T14:49:00.001-05:00

This July world famous Spanish (Catalonian, actually) chef Ferran Adria is going to close El Bulli -- considered by some to be the best restaurant in the world. If he can do that, then I can stop blogging on Cook Out of the Box. Which is what I am going to do. After today.

Sometimes creative people just need to set off in a new direction. I can't help it. I'm a Gemini.

Now now. No whining. It's not so bad. I know there are a few of you out there who will go into a little withdrawal, and I love you for that. But you will get over this. You will find comfort in the arms of one of the zillion other food bloggers and cookbook authors who preach the gospel of cooking from scratch with fresh, organic and local foods. Also, I know there will be several people from the farm, including Jack's wife Jenni, who will be writing several times a week on the farm website with new ideas and a fresh perspective on the food in your box. Here is the link: http://featherstonefarm.com/journal/

I am not going to totally disappear. You will still be able to e mail me at cook@featherstonefarm.com with your food questions or comments. Think of me as Featherstone Farm's own Ann Landers, except I won't be advising you on how to deal with annoying neighbors, rude in-laws or errant spouses. I'll just be providing information, advice and encouragement concerning food and cooking to people who take the time to e mail me. And who knows? Cooking may help you solve other problems. I like to think that many human troubles would go away or at least be more bearable in the presence of regular home cooked, nutritious and tasty meals.

I also will continue to show up at Featherstone events at the farm to do the occasional food demonstration. I will be at the Fall Harvest party August 27 and hope to see you there. My husband Frank, rhubarb farmer and gardener extraordinaire, will be joining me and I promise an entertaining and educational session. Maybe I can talk him into showing off his famous knife sharpening skills as an added bonus.

Finally, I will be commenting occasionally on the farm's Facebook page and I hope you do, too. I would love to see some pictures of the meals you make at home. They do not need to be perfect or fancy. Just real. I would also love to see some pictures of happy children eating vegetables. We have a lot of work to do to stamp out vegetable prejudice in this country. (I call it vegotry - for vegetable bigotry. Here is my post on that, titled "Broccoli is not a punishment" http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/04/broccoli-is-not-punishment.html ) Let's give Michelle Obama a hand, okay? She can't solve the horrible epidemic of childhood obesity all by herself, you know.

And don't forget - every single blog post that I have written since Jan 17, 2010 is archived at www.cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com. There are 180 out there in the cloud, counting this one. These posts are not going anywhere. Virtually all of them are just as relevant and useful now as they were when I wrote them. Bok Choy, for example, has not changed since last year. My instructions on how to make homemade yogurt or hollandaise sauce are still pretty darn good. You can even bookmark it as a favorite and read it every so often on a rainy day.

I would like to thank Jack Hedin, farmer in chief at Featherstone Farm, for giving me the opportunity to write about food - in particular about making meals from scratch at home using organic vegetables from the Featherstone Farm CSA box. He and I agree that good farmers need good cooks. Featherstone Farm grows some of the most beautiful vegetables anywhere -- but the farm would have no business plan without people who care how food is produced and who are willing to wash and dry their own lettuce, peel and chop their garlic and onions, stir fry some broccoli or carrots and roast a chicken or make a pot of soup once in a while.

I also would like to thank Margaret Marshall, the CSA manager, for her patience, support and good humor. And all the farm staff who work so hard to plant, tend, harvest, pack and transport good food.

Finally, I would like to thank you - CSA members and home cooks everywhere. You are saving the world one meal at a time. God bless you in your labors. I have one parting request - please keep cooking and share your knowledge, enthusiasm and experience with a child or two or three. If our nation's children grow up knowing little or nothing about how to properly feed themselves, we haven't done our job now have we?

Inspiration - Week 6/2011

2011-07-05T14:21:00.001-05:00

In this week's box: Mixed salad greens, basil, spinach, kale, garlic, potatoes, cucumbers, green beans, broccoli, summer squash

I hope you survived the Fourth of July weekend unscathed. We took our two grandsons and daughter in law to Eitzen, Minnesota. Eitzen is a small town - population around 220 - that does the Fourth in a big way. I think it is the most southern and eastern town in Minnesota. We enjoyed the parade, the American Legion Chicken barbeque, the playground and the beer garden. The chicken was excellent and the potato salad was so-so (it was storebought). I suppose it is unreasonable for me to ask for homemade potato salad - volunteers served 1,000 meals yesterday.

Grandsons, curbside, wait for more candy. Grownups relax.

If you have never experienced a small town Minnesota Fourth of July I highly recommend you do so some time. Eitzen awaits. (Or you could also try Cherry Grove and Harmony, also in our neck of the woods.)

Perhaps you overindulged with food and drink last weekend. Get back on track with your CSA box full of good green (and some white) food.

Menus
See recipes below for dishes marked in italics.
1. Salad Nicoise, french bread, for dessert - a small piece of really good cheese - make sure it is at room temperature and some grapes

2. Vegetable cheese soup, rye bread, pear crisp

3. Kale cheese calzone, potato green bean salad w creamy vinaigrette (Steam green beans and potatoes until tender. Cut into desired pieces (you can cut up potato when raw so it cooks faster) and add dressing when vegetables are still warm. Add a handful of chopped fresh basil for extra flavor. Marinate at least an hour before serving.

4. Steamed broccoli w peanut sauce over thin egg or rice noodles (add some thinly sliced basil leaves as a garnish to the broccoli dish for extra flavor - maybe with an extra squeeze of lime juice), lime sherbert

5. Miso soup, Japanese noodle and cucumber salad, lightly sauteed spinach marinated in a little soy sauce sweetened with sugar or mirin, simple baked egg custard, chilled, for dessert

6. Zucchini feta pancakes, plain yogurt, rice, cold melon
Go to this link for a post I wrote last year about vegetable pancakes. You can use many different types of vegetables to make pancakes that are good for breakfast, brunch, lunch or supper. They are very easy to make -- grating the veggies is the biggest part of the work and if you have a food processor this goes fast. http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/07/tried-and-true-vegetable-pancakes.html

Recipes
Salade Nicoise
The classic version of this salad includes potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies and nicoise olives. However you can vary this as the season and your tastes may guide you. With or without tuna, this salad is a full meal, served with some bread. The concept is simple. Toss salad greens with a simple olive oil and vinegar vinaigrette. If you have fresh basil, tear some leaves and toss with dressing along with the greens. Divide greens one plate for each serving. Arrange on top of the greens some or all of the following: boiled potatoes (marinated in some vinaigrette), steamed green beans - cooked just until tender, quartered fresh tomatoes, quartered hard boiled eggs, tuna (good quality canned or fresh cooked) flaked into chunks, sliced cucumber, roasted red pepper, French or Greek black olives, feta cheese, sweet onion sliced into rings. If desired, serve some extra vinaigrette alongside in a pitcher. If you like anchovies, drape a few on top of the salad as a garnish.

Japanese noodle and cucumber salad
(This recipe is from Molly Katzen's Still Life with Menu, one of my favorite cookbooks)
5 to 6 ounces of vermicelli noodles (Molly says Japanese saifun or Chinese bean thread noodles are best but regular vermicelli - thin spaghetti - also work. You could try rice noodles as well)
6 T. rice vinegar
4 t. sugar
2 t. soy sauce
1 t. salt
2 T sesame seeds (I would lightly toast these in a frying pan)
1 medium sized cucumber- peeled, seeded, cut into lengthwise quarters and sliced thin
thin sliced scallion greens
(Note - I think a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil would be lovely added to the soy vinegar dressing. A little grated carrot, daikon radish or even kohlrabi would be good along with the cucumber.)
Cook noodles until just barely tender, drain and rinse in cold water. Divide among 4 serving bowls. Top with sliced cucumbers, sesame seeds and sliced scallion greens. Mix vinegar, sugar, soy and salt into a dressing and pour over the individual salads.

Creamy vinaigrette
Mix in a blender or food processer or with a whisk
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/3 cup olive or sunflower oil
2 T red wine or sherry vinegar
2-3 t. honey or real maple syrup
1/4 t. salt
3 T. yogurt
fresh herbs to taste (try 2 T. fresh basil chopped fine or 2 t. finely snipped dill)

Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese and Vegetable Soup

This recipe is adapted from one in Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland, by Beth Dooley and Lucia Watson. I like it because it has a good ratio of vegetables to cheese. Most commercial cheese soups are full of fat and thickeners and who knows what else.
Saute the following vegetables in 3 T. butter over low heat until softened:
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion

Add the following and simmer about 5 minutes until vegetables are tender:2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
2 cups chopped broccoli (or cauliflower) (about 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cups chopped potatoes (peeling optional) (about half inch pieces)
1 quart milk
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper
Puree the soup in batches (note - if you use a blender or food processer - cool soup first or it will "explode". You could save back half of the milk and add it after cooking the vegetables to speed cooling.)
Put puree back in the pot and heat to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese in small batches, stirring well. Make sure each batch melts before you add the next. If you add the cheese all at once it might get gloppy and stringy.
Gradually reheat soup but do NOT boil. Whisk in 1 T. Dijon mustard and 1/4 cup sherry and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco to taste. Garnish with toasted croutons and more grated cheddar.

Kale-cheese Calzone
First make your favorite pizza dough. Make a double recipe and freeze half the dough. Next time you want to make pizza you will be halfway there. This is a time honored trick of experienced cooks -- make extra and freeze for another day. Efficient.
Divide dough into portions - about one tennis ball size ball of dough per person. Let dough relax. Roll into four 9 x 6 oblongs. Place filling on long side of each oblong, leaving room on the edge for sealing. Lightly brush the edges with water. Fold dough in half, adjusting so that filling is distributed over the half circle. Press edges of dough together to seal.

Filling (this is from Ken Haedrich's Country Baking)
(enough for four individual calzones)
1/2 pound kale - wash, remove ribs, slice and steam until tender. Cool, squeeze dry and chop.
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup grated Mozzarella
1 cup crumbled Kasseri cheese (Asiago would work too. Or use extra mozzarella or Parmesan)
2 T. finely chopped onion
2 T. chopped fresh basil (you could also use pesto)
Mix kale with cheeses, onion and basil. Divide between dough pieces. Fill and seal. Let rise about 5-10 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Broccoli with peanut sauce
Steam or boil broccoli until just tender-crisp. Drain.
Prepare peanut sauce:
Spicy peanut sauce (Plenty for about six cups cooked broccoli or one pound of pasta. This keeps well in the refrigerator – make a double batch for another day.
1 cup peanuts-only peanut butter (salt added is ok) – chunky or smooth
1 cup hot water
1 T peanut oil
2 1/2 t. fresh garlic – minced fine
2 t. fresh ginger – minced fine (optional)
2 T soy sauce or tamari
2 T hoisin sauce (optional – find this at an Asian market or ask your grocer to stock this great condiment. If you omit this, add an extra two teaspoons each of sugar, vinegar and soy sauce)
2 T Asian toasted sesame oil (optional but very nice if you have it)
1 T chile paste (Asian style) or red pepper flakes to taste or finely chopped fresh hot chile peppers
2 T brown sugar, white sugar or honey
5 T rice or cider vinegar
Gently saute garlic and ginger in peanut oil for about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed. Pour over cooked broccoli (warm or at room temperature). Optional additions: chopped sweet red or green pepper, tofu cubes, chopped sweet onion or scallions, chopped fresh cilantro.
Serve broccoli and peanut sauce mixture over rice or thin rice or egg noodles. Add a wedge of lime if desired.

Inspiration - Week 5/2011

2011-06-28T07:29:00.000-05:00

In this week's box: Mixed salad greens, red oakleaf lettuce, fresh basil, garlic scapes, kohlrabi, snow peas, broccoli, chioggia beets and beet greens.

Before I get down to business with some menu ideas and recipes for this week's CSA box, I have to tell you about last weekend. I went to Duluth with my fellow Rhubarb Sisters (we are a singing quartet) to perform at the annual Rhubarb Festival put on by CHUM (this is a group of 40 churches which supports various programs and services for homeless people.) I brought along two of my favorite classic cookbooks - Finnish Cooking and The Great Scandinavian Baking Book. Both were written by Beatrice Ojakangas, a nationally famous cookbook author who has lived and worked in Duluth for decades. I knew Ms. Ojakangas was going to be at the festival selling cookbooks and I wanted her to autograph mine. And she did. Plus a new book I bought about baking whole grain breads. Best of all, I was able to thank her for her work and tell her in person how important those books have been to both me and my husband and the quality of our food life.

I encourage you to invest some time to discover your favorite cookbook authors. They have different personal styles and approaches - find one that works for you and invest in some of their books. I have my favorites - Jane Brody, Alice Waters, Molly Katzen, Mark Bittman, Elizabeth David (You won't be able to get an autograph from her - she is in the big kitchen in the sky) and, of course, Beatrice Ojakangas. Who are your favorite kitchen friends? Even if you have a modest cookbook library - maybe especially if you do - give some thought to finding some authors you like and trust. Stick with them and your kitchen will be a happier place.

Menu ideas for this week (If a dish is in italics, recipe follows)

1. Steak Salad, Bread, Roasted summer fruit

2. Stir fry with pork, broccoli, snow peas, garlic scapes (cut on the diagonal in 2 inch pieces), rice, mango sorbet. (Cut broccoli into florets. Peel and slice stems on the diagonal)

3. Sloppy joes with homemade BBQ sauce, braised beet greens, chocolate pudding.

4. Kohlrabi salad, roast chicken (save some for pasta salad another day), potatoes, buttered beets

5. Chicken pasta salad - chop leftover roast chicken and combine with cooked and drained pasta, thinly sliced basil, broccoli and snow peas (either raw or cooked in boiling water just one minute, drained and cooled) and a favorite dressing. Serve atop lettuce leaves, with some good bread. Bring any leftovers to work for lunch.

6. Lettuce rolls -- If you find yourself with some large oak leaf lettuce leaves make this snack. Wash and dry leaves and pile (whole) on a plate. Set out various fillings such as chopped peanuts, raisins, grated kohlrabi or carrots, bits of cheese or meat, sprouts - you get the idea. Put a little filling onto a leaf and roll up, tucking in the sides. Enjoy. Serve with a peanut or soy dipping sauce if you like.

Recipes

Steak salad
Wash and dry salad greens. Wash and dry basil and tear off desired amount of leaves. Toss with a simple oil and vinegar vinaigrette and divide between individual serving plates. Pan fry a steak - preferably in a heavy cast iron pan - cook rare. Thinly slice meat when done, saving any juices to pour on the salad. Four to five ounces of meat per serving is plenty. Garnish the salad with some or all of the following: crumbled blue or feta cheese, sliced sweet onion, julienned raw kohlrabi, snow peas.

Roasted soft summer fruit
Wash and cut up (large pieces) plums, nectarines, peaches, cherries, berries or pears or a combination. Place in a heavy glass baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and dot with bits of butter. Bake at 375 degrees until fruit is soft and slightly browned. Serve plain or with a little vanilla ice cream or custard sauce. Or serve with yogurt and a little granola for breakfast.

Beet Greens
Go to this post from last year for lots of ideas for preparing beets. http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/07/focus-beets-beta-vulgaris.html

Homemade Barbeque Sauce
This recipe is from Country Tastes - Best Recipes from America's Kitchens by Beatrice Ojakangas
This sauce would be good combined with ground beef or pork for sloppy joes or served with pulled pork or cooked chicken. If you want, you could vary this recipe by adding hot or sweet peppers.
Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter (or oil), 1 cup finely chopped onion, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 cup tomato ketchup, 1/2 cup dry sherry, 1 T. light brown sugar, 1 t. mustard powder, 1 T. fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 2 t. Worcestershire sauce, 1/3 cup water.
Saute onion and garlic in butter until onion is soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer one hour - stir occasionally and watch to prevent scorching. If a puree is desired, put finished and cooled sauce into a food processor and process until smooth.

Kohlrabi Salad
Kohlrabi is excellent served raw - but it must be peeled to remove tough outer skin. Slice peeled kohlrabi into 1/4 inch slices and then cut slices into thin strips. Cutting thin strips like this will give you a "julienne" of kohlrabi. Mix the julienned kohlrabi with a mustardy vinaigrette. Combine 1/2 cup olive oil with 2 T. red wine vinegar, a little chopped shallot or garlic and 1 T. whole grain mustard. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine with vinaigrette. Serve salad atop lettuce leaves if desired. Note - if you don't want to julienne the kohlrabi, you could also grate or just thinly slice it.
Here are more ideas for cooking kohlrabi: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/06/focus-kohlrabi.html

Focus: CHARD (Beta Vulgaris)

2011-06-24T08:17:00.001-05:00

Chard is a flavorful, mild and nutritious workhorse vegetable. It is a staple green in many kitchens. Available from spring to fall, it can be used in soups, stir fries, salads, side dishes and quiches, frittatas and omelets. It can be used in any recipe calling for spinach. The very young and tender leaves can be eaten raw in salads. But mostly chard needs to be cooked.

Chard is closely related to beets and is used similarly. Both the bottom stems or stalks and the green leaves are edible - but need to be prepared differently. The stems need longer cooking than the leaves and can be eaten like asparagus or else combined with the chard leaves in many dishes.

History
According to the Featherstone Farm Cookbook, chard is native to Sicily. It was eaten by ancient Romans, Greeks and Arabs. Chard is often called Swiss chard, because it was classified by a Swiss botanist named W.D.J. Koch.

Nutrition
One cup of chard contains 35 calories. It is high in vitamins A, B, C and K and minerals magnesium, potassium, iron, copper and calcium. Unlike spinach, chard does not contain oxalic acid, which interferes with absorption of minerals.

Storage and preparation

Storage - Do not wash the chard leaves or remove stems before storing. Place in ventilated or perforated plastic bag in the vegetable drawer in your refrigerator. The leaves should keep at least a week if kept cool and dry. Stems can last longer.
Washing - holding the leaves by their stems, wash vigorously in a pan or sink of water. Dirt or sand can sometimes hide in the crinkly leaves. Use your fingers to rub the stems a bit to remove any dirt clinging to them. Drain.
Once the chard is washed, separate the stems from the leaves. If the stem ends are discolored, just trim them by cutting off a small slice.

In general, stems will take from 5 to as many as 15 minutes to cook - depending on size and age. Leaves should cook in 3 to 6 minutes.

Freezing - Chard leaves freeze very well. Just put washed leaves in briskly boiling water for two minutes. Drain, cool in cold water, squeeze dry and coarsely chop if desired. Place in plastic freezer bags or containers.

How much chard is in a "bunch"?
This is a mystery. Many recipes call for a "bunch" of chard and do not define that by weight or volume. It is up to the cook to decide how much is enough. Many recipes calling for "a bunch of chard" can be quite flexible. The cook can add more or less chard according to taste.

One pound of chard leaves, once cooked, results in about 3 cups of cooked chard, depending on whether the leaves are chopped. A quarter pound of stems cooks down to about 2 cups.

Cooking Chard

When cooking, separate chard stems from leaves

This is what one pound of uncooked leaves and one quarter pound of uncooked stems looks like. This is a big bowl.


Steam or saute stems about 5 -15 minutes, depending on size. Young and slender steams cook faster.

If you are steaming chard, just add leaves on top of the stems and cook 3-5 minutes longer

Drain and cool leaves before chopping

This is what one pound of leaves and one quarter pound of stems looks like after steaming and chopping.

Recipes
In general, cooked chard can be used in any recipe calling for cooked spinach. Like spinach, chard has an affinity for lemon, nutmeg, dill, olive oil, onions, pine nuts, walnuts, raisins, cheese, cream, eggs, and smoked or cured pork (bacon, pancetta, prosciutto).

Chard is excellent in soups, cooked with beans (such as cannellini or chickpeas), stir fried or lightly steamed. It can be cooked and served at room temperature with some oil and vinegar and toasted pine nuts or walnuts as a salad or antipasto.

Baked chard casserole - serves six
Cook and chop chard stems and leaves. You should end up with about 3 cups chopped cooked chard. Lightly brown 1 cup chopped onion. Beat together 6 eggs, 2 cups milk or half and half, 1 t. salt, 2 T. fresh chopped dill. Add the chard and onion and some chopped ham if desired. Bake at 350 degrees until set - about half an hour depending on the size of pan used. For a more substantial dish, add 2 cups cubed bread along with 2 extra beaten eggs and an extra one cup milk. You may also wish to increase the salt and dill.

Chard with hot bacon dressing
Cook chard stems and leaves just until tender. Serve with hot bacon dressing.
Bacon dressing (enough for about 4 servings) : Fry 4 pieces bacon. Remove bacon pieces when done and reserve bacon fat. Saute some onion or garlic in the fat. Add 1 T. sugar and 2 T. cider vinegar to pan. Add a little extra olive oil if there is not much bacon fat. Add a little celery seed and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over chard.

Stuffed chard leaves
Lightly steam large chard leaves. Leave whole and lay out on a clean counter or board to cool. Make your favorite filling using some rice or bulgar, currants, ground meat, crumbled feta cheese, dill or parsley or mint or some of each. Optional - use a little beaten egg as a binder. Put about 1/4-1/3 cup filling on each leaf, depending on size. Roll up tucking in the sides, like an egg roll. Place in an oiled dish, drizzle on some olive oil and bake in a moderate oven until heated through. May be served hot or at room temperature. Good served with plain or herbed yogurt on the side, and pita bread.

Chard stew - serves about 4
Ingredients
2 cups cooked chickpeas, 3 cups canned or chopped fresh tomatoes, 1 pound chard stems and leaves - washed and sliced but not cooked (it will cook with the stew), 1 large onion, 2-3 cloves chopped garlic (you could also use green garlic or even garlic scapes or garlic chives), 2 cups uncooked potatoes - cut in large pieces.
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add all the other vegetables. Simmer until everything is tender. If stew seems too dry, add some white or red wine or broth or even water. Optional herbs: parsley, dill, mint.

Simple chard with Parmesan
Wash, cook and chop chard - with or without stems. Squeeze dry. Melt butter in a pan (about 1 T. per serving of cooked chard). Add chard and stir until hot and butter is well distributed. Stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan per serving. Salt and pepper to taste.

Inspiration - Week 4/2011

2011-06-21T07:50:00.000-05:00

In this week's box: Romaine, mixed baby lettuce, sugar snap peas, broccoli or zucchini squash, Swiss chard, fresh herbs (dill, cilantro and possibly basil)

The weather is cool, cloudy and damp in SE Minnesota this morning. Good for the appetite and for working in the kitchen. Afraid it rained again last night. A lot. Not so good for the strawberries. But those of you who made the trip to the farm for the strawberry festival can be especially glad you were able to pick some berries to bring home. I really enjoyed talking with some of you. It always makes me feel good to hear people talk enthusiastically about their cooking adventures. As Julia Child would say - you must approach cooking with courage!

Lots of green in this week's box -- I feel healthy just thinking about eating this food. The romaine will keep all week in the refrigerator if you put it in a ventilated plastic bag. I encourage you to wash and dry the baby lettuce and eat it soon. I also think the cilantro will keep better if you wash and dry thoroughly and store in a plastic bag. You could also try storing part of the bunch with the stems in a little jar of water, covered with plastic.

Here is a link to last year's cook out of the box post on cilantro. It will give you lots of ideas for how to use this lovely aromatic bunch of herbs. http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/10/focus-cilantro-coriandrum-sativum.html

Menu ideas (if a dish is in italics, a recipe is below)

Mixed lettuce salad with dill dressing
Pasta with steamed broccoli or zucchini, minced garlic, dill, smoked salmon or chicken and cream (Note - if you have some extra snap peas steam them briefly and you can use them in the pasta too.)
Bread
A plum, pear, peach, nectarine or cherries

Korean style romaine salad
Rice
Grilled marinated beef or other meat
Lightly blanched or sauteed sugar snap peas or other vegetable. You could also simply saute chard - including chopped stems - with some oil and garlic (steam with the cover on a few minutes to help cook the stems) and sprinkle on some soy sauce and a few drops of toasted sesame oil.
Grapes

Small plate of sliced smoked or cured meats such as salami or proscuitto and some melon slices or chunks
Chard-quinoa cakes with yogurt sauce
Raw sugar snap peas with dill dip

Caesar salad (with grilled or broiled chicken or fish if desired)
Ice cream sundae - go all out and add some nuts and maybe even some whipped cream! You just had a salad for dinner.

Lettuce salad - with either baby mixed lettuce or romaine. Serve with simple oil and vinegar vinaigrette
Black bean tortilla pizza
A piece of dark chocolate

Caesar Salad
If desired, you can add a broiled chicken breast just like they do in the restaurants. Or some broiled salmon or other fish. There are a lot of bad Caesar salads to be found in restaurants. Sometimes they think that if you just pile shredded parmesan and croutons on romaine and maybe squeeze on a little lemon then they can sell it as a Caesar. Too bad. You owe it to yourself to make the real thing. This recipe has good instructions for coddling an egg - which is an important step in an authentic Caesar salad. http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/caesar-salad-i/Detail.aspx If you hate anchovies you could leave them out. A compromise would be to use a bit of anchovy paste. A hint of anchovy flavor is most desirable in a Caesar salad. I am not crazy about anchovies but I do like some in a Caesar salad.

Dill Salad Dressing
Here is a link to a good recipe from Epicurious. You could substitute some chives for the chopped garlic. You could also substitute yogurt for the sour cream if you are watching calories. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Creamy-Dill-Dressing-101084

Dill Dip
When my kids were little this was their preferred companion for all kinds of raw vegetables. I wonder why most children seem to prefer their veggies raw rather than cooked?
Combine equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream. Add some minced onion and chopped fresh dill weed to taste. Stir. Add a few drops lemon juice or wine vinegar and a dash of sugar, salt and pepper to taste. If you want a sturdier dip, add a few ounces of softened cream cheese and mix until smooth. A food processor helps with this task.

Black bean tortilla "pizza"
Ingredients: One or two corn or flour tortillas per person, depending on size, black bean puree (see below for recipe), shredded or crumbled mild Mexican type cheese or co-jack, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped fresh peppers, onions or tomatoes if you have some, fresh romaine leaves, sliced in thin strips, wedges of fresh lime.
You don't need me to tell you this - but the black bean puree would make a good dip, too. Even sandwich filling with some lettuce, onion and extra fresh cilantro.
Spread black bean puree on a tortilla, sprinkle on shredded cheese and some chopped onions, peppers or tomatoes. You could even add some chopped olives. Bake on a baking sheet about ten minutes at 400 degrees - or until tortillas are crisp and cheese is melted. Serve topped with lettuce (or finely shredded cabbage) and chopped fresh cilantro. Squeeze on a little fresh lime juice.
Black bean puree
Ingredients: 3 cups cooked black beans, 1 cup chopped onion, 2 t. minced garlic, 3 T. fresh lime juice, 2 t. cumin seed (crushed a little with a mortar and pestle or improvise if you don't have a M & P, chopped jalapeno or other hot pepper to taste, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, 1 T. oil.
Saute onion, garlic, hot pepper and cumin seed in oil until onion is soft. Combine with beans, lime juice and cilantro and process in a food processor until smooth. If you don't have a food processor you could just mash everything together with a potato masher. The end result will not be as smooth but will taste just fine.

Chard quinoa patties with yogurt sauce
Ingredients: one pound swiss chard or fresh spinach or a combination, 1 cup cooked quinoa (cooked brown rice, bulgar or even barley would work too), one egg, 1/4 cup grated parmesan or crumbled feta cheese, minced garlic or green garlic to taste, plain yogurt - stirred, fresh dill or other herbs, a few tablespoons of olive oil for frying. If you don't have garlic, saute a little onion or shallot until soft and use that. Optional addition - some toasted sunflower seeds.
Wash the chard, including the stems. Chop the stems in 1/4 inch pieces. Boil stems in an inch of salted water about three minutes. Add the chard leaves and cook another three minutes. Drain (save the cooking water for stock) and squeeze dry. Chop the leaves fairly fine. Stir together the greens, stems, grain, egg, cheese, garlic, herbs, sunflower seeds if you are using them and some salt and pepper. Form into four patties. If you want, dredge each patty in some fine bread crumbs or a little flour. Heat oil until a drop of water sizzles in it - then fry the patties a few minutes on each side until done. Serve with plain yogurt on the side. Serve more chopped fresh herbs on the side too if you wish.

Korean style romaine salad
This is a quick and simple salad recipe from Epicurious. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Korean-Style-Romaine-351894

Focus: STRAWBERRIES (Fragaria Ananassa)

2011-06-17T19:59:00.002-05:00

Minnesota may not have pineapples or oranges, but we have strawberries!   For fruits grown in the U.S., strawberries are second only to apples in popularity. They are probably the most commonly planted fruit in home gardens. Traditional varieties bear fruit in late June or early July and for that reason have been called "June bearing" berries. New varieties that extended the season - but produced slightly smaller berries - were called "everbearing". Now a third type of strawberry has been introduced which produces berries throughout the season - they are called "day neutral".   When most people think of Minnesota grown berries, however, they think of a June season.

Strawberries, along with blackberries and raspberries, are members of the Rose family. The true fruits of the strawberry are the little seeds on the surface of the berry, which are called achene. The tasty flesh surrounding the seeds is not the fruit - you could think of it as the "packaging" for the fruit.

History
The strawberry is native to both Eurasia and the Americas. The Romans planted strawberries in their gardens and the French cultivated them as early as the 14th century. Early in the 1700's the French brought large berries native to Chile back to France. Thus began the breeding which has led to our modern varieties and larger berries. Delicious as cultivated strawberries can be, however, many believe that wild strawberries surpass them in flavor.

Geography
About 83% of American strawberries are commercially grown in California. Thanks to harvests in California, Florida, Chile and elsewhere, strawberries are available to most Americans year around. But the flavor of most commercial berries does not compare to that of "fresh and local" berries.   While those huge California berries may look beautiful, their less flashy homegrown cousins pack a superior taste punch.

Nutrition
A one cup serving of fresh strawberries contains more than a day's worth of vitamin C.
Strawberries are also high in manganese, folate, potassium, iodine, dietary fiber and antioxidants. Strawberries are low in calories - only 43 calories in a cup.

Storage and Preparation
Store berries unwashed. Before refrigerating, remove berries that are soft or have any signs of mold. Very ripe berries should be eaten (or frozen) within a day or two. Store berries in a ventilated plastic berry box or produce bag. I have had luck spreading berries in a single layer on a kitchen towel or paper towels on a cookie sheet, loosely covered with another towel or ventilated plastic bag. This inhibits spoilage due to spreading mold. Gently rinse berries just before using. Drain in a colander and lightly pat dry with a kitchen towel.

Preservation
Freezing - Sugaring berries before freezing improves their color, flavor and shape.
Dry pack: Add half a cup of sugar per each quart of washed and sliced fruit. Place in freezer bags or containers and freeze.
Syrup pack: Place washed whole berries in containers. Cover with a syrup made by heating one cup of sugar to every one cup of water. (Cool syrup before pouring over berries.)
Whole unsweetened berries: Wash, dry and hull berries. Place on baking sheets or trays and freeze solid. Then pack into freezer bags. These bags of berries are great to have around for fruit smoothies during the winter.

One way many people like to preserve berries is to make jam or preserves. Here is a good link for jam making. http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/all_recipes/215.php?recipID=211&pageNum=1

Methyl Bromide (MeBr)
Despite the Montreal Protocol on Depletion of the Ozone Layer, it continues to be common in the conventional strawberry industry (as well as other agricultural sectors) to rely on preplant fumigation with methyl bromide. MeBr depletes the stratospheric ozone layer. For that reason the amount of MeBr produced and imported in the U.S. was phased out by January 1, 2005, EXCEPT for "critical use exemptions". The exemptions are "designed for agricultural users with no technically or economically feasible alternatives." One nice thing about your Featherstone Farm berries is that you can be confident they were grown without the use of methyl bromide.

Want to learn more?
This link will bring you to an excellent website listing all manner of resources about strawberries. Warning - it takes a little while to load.
http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=14&tax_level=4&tax_subject=258&topic_id=2615&level3_id=7148&level4_id=11488

Recipes

Strawberry Sorbet

First make some simple sugar syrup - one cup of water and one cup of sugar, bring to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar. Let cool and then refrigerate.
Wash and hull about 4 heaping cups fresh strawberries. Place in a blender and puree along with cold sugar syrup. Put in an ice cream freezer (I love my Donvier - easy to use, inexpensive, no electricity or rock salt) and freeze. If you want, put into a container in your freezer until a bit harder. It it freezes hard, just take out 15 minutes or so before serving so i is easier to scoop.
That's it. If you have good ripe berries it is all you need.
Strawberry Onion Relish
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups sweet onions, in large dice
1 pint strawberries, chopped
1 tbsp granulated sugar
Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy cooking pan. Add the onions and cook slowly, stirring frequently, until they are soft and the color of light brown sugar. (You are caramelizing the onions. Now you know how easy this is.)

Next, add the strawberries, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and continue to cook over medium low heat until thick. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.

Serve warm or room temperature with meats or other dishes, as you would a chutney.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake
1. The biscuits. Make some plain buttermilk or cream biscuits - but add a little sugar to the dough - about 1T per one cup flour.   If you don't have a recipe, here is one: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2011/02/hands-on-bakery-in-your-kitchen.html

2. The berries. While the biscuits are baking, wash and slice berries - at least half a cup per serving. Add sugar to taste, mash a little with a fork and let sit until juicy.

3. The whipped cream. Just before serving, make some whipped cream. Please don't use "whipped topping". Please use the real thing. Add just a little sugar to sweeten. If you have some sour cream or yogurt or creme fraiche around, add a little to the whipped cream for a nice tang.

Assembly: Split a biscuit. Spoon some berries on the bottom half. Put a spoonful of whipped cream on the berries. Put the biscuit top on the top. If you are feeling extravagant, put another small dollop of cream on the top biscuit and top with a whole berry.

Inspiration - Week 3/2011

2011-06-14T06:46:00.002-05:00

Happiness in a bowl: Fresh strawberries with unsweetened yogurt and brown sugar

In this week's box: Red leaf lettuce and salad mix, sugar snap peas, garlic scapes, red oakleaf lettuce, STRAWBERRIES!, Fresh herbs (either basil, garlic chives or cilantro - this will vary over the next three weeks) (If you need some ideas for how to use basil or cilantro - just use the search feature on this blog for some inspiration.)

You have some lovely fresh lettuce in your box this week -- I recommend you wash and dry and eat the oakleaf lettuce early in the week as it is so tender and perishable.

I hope you are not having trouble using up all the produce in your box. If it is a struggle, here is a tip. Try thinking at least one day ahead about meals. Maybe on your way to work Wednesday morning you can think about what you will make for dinner on Thursday. That way Wednesday night you can do a little prep work or even pick up a special ingredient you might need. Lots of people don't think about dinner until half an hour before they want to eat. Sometimes that works just fine, but it also can lead to unnecessary anxiety and crisis in the kitchen. Or emergency pizza deliveries. In these days of instant everything, thinking ahead is becoming a lost art. When it comes to putting meals on the table, I think it is essential. After a while it will become a habit and mealtime will be less stressful.

I will be at the Featherstone Farm strawberry festival on Saturday from 11-3 and I hope to see you there. I'll be baking shortcakes that morning for strawberry shortcake and also demonstrating how to make a simple strawberry sorbet.

Here are some ideas so you can think ahead about some possible meals for this week. If a dish is in italics, a recipe or link appears below.

1. Cup of bean, lentil or pea soup, Wilted lettuce salad, crusty bread and butter, fresh strawberries topped with plain yogurt or cream and a little brown sugar
I think the heads of red oakleaf lettuce in the boxes this week are pretty hefty. Wilted lettuce salad is a great way to use up a lot of lettuce. Saute some chopped garlic scapes or garlic chives (if you have them) along with the bacon for a little extra zing. If you don't want to mess around with soup, you could put a handful or two of cooked white or garbanzo beans in the salad for some extra protein. Not traditional but would be quite tasty and filling.

2. Sugar snap peas and pork, rice

3. Green salad with strawberries, corn meal muffins

4. Garlic pasta, simple green salad, bread, an orange or pear

5. Try this for breakfast or even lunch - real, from scratch muesli! A great way to use some of your fresh strawberries.

RECIPES

Wilted lettuce salad
http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/06/inspiration-week-2.html
The wilted lettuce recipe is near the end of this blog post from last year.

Lettuce salad with strawberries
Wash and dry mixed lettuce greens. Place in a large bowl and toss with a simple dressing made with 4 parts olive or walnut oil to one part fresh orange or lemon juice and a little salt and pepper. Divide greens on to serving plates. Place on top of the greens: Sliced fresh strawberries, crumbled feta, goat or blue cheese, toasted walnuts or almonds and sliced sweet onion. If you have a little proscuitto or other cured meat around a little of that might be nice on the side.

Sugar snap peas and pork - serves two
Ingredients: 1/4 pound thinly sliced lean pork - marinated in 1 T Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry and 1 T. soy sauce; 1/2 pound sugar snap peas (blanched for one minute in boiling water and drained); 1 T peanut oil; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 t. grated or minced fresh ginger, 1 cup chopped garlic scapes or 4 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces; 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. sugar, 1 t. cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water or stock. Optional - 1 t. toasted sesame oil

Heat oil until very hot in wok or large frying pan. Stir fry garlic, ginger and scallions or scapes 1-2 minutes. Add pork and marinade and stir fry another 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, including snap peas, and stir fry another minute or two, covering pan the last minute.
Serve hot with rice.

Rice
See last year's blog post all about rice here: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/06/tried-and-true-rice.html

Muesli
This cereal is chock full of fiber, nutrition and great flavor. You will never buy the boxed kind again once you have tried the real thing. You can easily bring this to work for a great lunch.
You will need the following, per serving: 1/3 cup plain uncooked old fashioned rolled oats, 1/3 cup milk, 1 T. each of raisins or other dried fruit and your favorite nuts, 1 T bran, wheat germ or ground flax seed (optional), 1-2 T. honey, maple syrup or other sweetening, 1-2 t. fresh lemon or orange juice, 1/4 cup grated fresh apple, 1/2 cup fresh berries- whole or sliced.
Soak the oats in milk at least half an hour or as long as overnight. Mix in remaining ingredients just before serving. Serve plain or with additional milk or plain yogurt.

Garlic pasta
Cook your favorite pasta in well salted boiling water and drain, saving about 1 cup starchy cooking water.
While the pasta is cooking, make this simple sauce. Saute chopped garlic scapes and garlic chives and even some chopped green garlic if you have some in olive oil and butter (about 2 T. per serving).
Toss cooked pasta with the garlic sauce, adding some cooking water to desired consistency. Serve with salt, freshly ground pepper, red pepper flakes if desired and plenty of grated Parmesan.

Focus: RHUBARB (Rheum Rabarbarum)

2011-06-12T18:28:00.000-05:00

Rhubarb is botanically a vegetable - not a fruit - and is a member of the buckwheat family. To many cooks and gardeners, rhubarb stands for all that is homegrown and homemade. It is welcome as one of the first fresh foods widely available after a long winter. It is especially user-friendly since with just a little care and feeding a plant can be productive for a few decades or more. It is often used in old fashioned pies, crisps, cobblers, cakes and sauces - earning it a reputation as midwestern comfort food.

Most rhubarb is grown in small backyard patches in areas with cold climates. It needs a period of two or more months of mid-morning freezing temperatures to prepare for spring. It is unusual to find large concentrations of rhubarb production - such as that found in Featherstone Farm's perennial rhubarb beds. There is such a thing as commercial rhubarb - the 2,000 acre (more or less) "national crop" is clustered in various locations in Washington, Oregon, California and Michigan. There is even a Washington Rhubarb Growers Association. There are a lot of rhubarb recipes - and some interesting rhubarb history - on this web site. http://www.rhubarbpiecapital.com/

The Rhubarb Capital of Minnesota is the little town of Lanesboro, just 15 miles west of Featherstone Farm. Lanesboro hosts a rhubarb festival the first Saturday of June every year. One of the festival events is a rhubarb tasting. Creative cooks come up with new uses for rhubarb every year. The festival website contains many good recipes. http://www.rhubarbfestival.org/recipes.php

Nutrition
A cup of rhubarb has only 25 calories. Rhubarb is 95% water and is a good source of calcium, potassium, dietary fiber, and vitamins A and C. It contains significant amounts of lutein, a carotenoid which promotes eye health. Do NOT eat the leaves, which contain oxalic acid, a poisonous substance. A lethal dose would require a person to eat seven pounds of leaves - the reason why you have never read of someone dying from rhubarb poisoning.

History and geography
Rhubarb is native to western China and came to the United States in the 1700's. It grows prolifically in Siberia and the Himalayas and has long been a common food in many areas of the Middle East. Rhubarb is grown in Iraq, where you might find it thinly sliced in a salad with pomegranate seeds and feta cheese or other savory dishes. Cold drinks made with rhubarb juice are also common in Middle Eastern countries.

Medicinal and other uses
Rhubarb has long been known for its laxative effect - hence its reputation as a spring "tonic". According to the Featherstone Farm cookbook, dried rhubarb root has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Rhubarb stimulates the digestion and some even believe it is an aphrodisiac!

Rhubarb leaves can be used to scrub burnt areas on pots and pans to restore the shine.

Preparation and storage
Rhubarb leaves are usually removed prior to sale. If they happen to still be attached to a stalk, remove and compost. The leaves are not edible as they contain high levels of oxalic acid. Rhubarb will keep - unwashed - for about 10 days wrapped in a plastic bag in the vegetable bin in your refrigerator. To prepare, simply trim off the root and stem ends, wash and slice. No need to peel.

Preservation
Rhubarb freezes extremely well and does not require blanching. Wash, dry and slice the rhubarb in 1/2 inch pieces. Spread out on a cookie sheet or baking pan and place in the freezer. When the pieces are frozen, place in freezer bags or other freezer containers. To use, just add frozen pieces to the recipe.
There are many recipes for rhubarb jam, conserve, marmalade and chutney if you want to preserve rhubarb in the form of condiments.

Recipes

Special note: red v. green rhubarb. Some people think red rhubarb is better. I am not one of them. Rhubarb that is pale pink or even greenish is quite edible and tasty.

Rhubarb Sauce - (This is on the tart side. You can always add a bit more sugar to taste. I do not add any extra water because I prefer my rhubarb sauce on the thick side. If you want a thinner sauce – or a soup – just add some water or even orange juice.)
8 cups rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces (You can substitute chopped strawberries for about 2 cups of rhubarb. Add those near the end of cooking.)
1 ½ cups sugar
2 ¼ inch slices fresh ginger, optional
Mix together rhubarb and sugar in a nonreactive cooking pot. Let stand about half an hour. Stir a few times and add the ginger if you are using it. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat. Simmer gently just until rhubarb is tender. Best served chilled. This will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. It is good eaten plain or served on top of plain cake or ice cream. It can also be the fruit base for a cobbler or simply spread on toast or served with a dollop of plain yogurt.

Rhubarb Ketchup - This is the recipe used by Lanesboro’s Bethlehem Lutheran Church youth group every year at the Rhubarb Festival. It is great on hot dogs.
Ingredients:
4 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb
3 medium onions, chopped
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained
2 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. pickling spice (tied in a cheesecloth bag or in a strainer ball)
Mix all ingredients in a large nonreactive pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 1 hour until thickened. Cool. Refrigerate in covered containers. Yields about 6-7 cups.

Rhubarb Custard Pie
3 Eggs
3 T. Milk
2 C. Sugar (note from P. : You could cut this back to 1 1/2 cups if you wanted to.)
1/4 C. Flour
3/4 tsp. Nutmeg
4 C. Rhubarb, cut up
1 T. Butter
9 Inch Pie Crust and Top
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat eggs slightly and add milk. Mix sugar, flour and nutmeg; stir in. Mix in rhubarb. Pour into pastry lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Brush top crust with 1 T. milk. Bake 50-60 minutes until nicely browned. Serve warm or cold.

Inspiration - Week 2/2011

2011-06-07T09:22:00.001-05:00

In this week's box: Carrots, green garlic, asparagus, salad mix, red oak leaf lettuce, spinach, radishes, rhubarb

It is almost 9:00 p.m. as I write this. The outdoor temperature is hovering around 90 degrees and the first day of summer is still two weeks away. Lighter meals sound appealing.

After I brought my box home today, I spent some time dealing with it. Nothing to be gained by putting off those little jobs. While our dinner pasta boiled, I whacked off the carrot and radish tops (they will be composted) and bagged up the carrots and radishes. Then I washed and dried the spinach and oak leaf lettuce - bagged those too. I put the asparagus in a vertical container with a little water and covered it with a bag. Now everything is bagged and in the refrigerator - I can think about what we can eat this week.

If the name of a dish is in italics, a recipe is below. I also have included a few links to recipes.

Special dinner
Red oak leaf lettuce tossed with simple vinaigrette (walnut oil and sherry vinegar would be very good, along with just a few toasted walnuts)
Roast or grilled chicken (Make some extra so you will have leftovers. And save the bones to make a little chicken stock - use the green tops and some of the stems of the green garlic in the stock)
Rice pilaf or potatoes or bread (I am eagerly awaiting the first new potatoes of the year!)
Glazed carrots with mint
Rhubarb sundaes

Soup and sandwich
Green garlic and semolina soup with spinach
Chicken and lettuce sandwiches (Or make sandwiches with hummus or egg salad)

Not your usual lasagne
Tossed salad (with mixed salad greens)
Asparagus lasagne (save a few asparagus tips for a composed salad)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/health/nutrition/30recipehealth.html
(Note: if you don't want to mess with lasagne noodles, you could make this recipe with penne or similar pasta and serve as a casserole.)
Bread
Fresh fruit and a few nuts for dessert

Flavors of the Mediterranean
Spinach rice dill gratin (bring leftovers to work for lunch)
Moroccan carrot salad
Pita bread, olives and feta cheese
A few dates or dried figs

Composed Salad and rhubarb cobbler
Salad greens dressed with oil and vinegar
Arrange toppings of your choice on top of the greens. Some possibilities: smashed radishes; white beans with olive oil, garlic and parsley or a scoop of hummus; shaved Parmesan or crumbled feta; leftover grilled or roasted chicken; leftover Moroccan carrot salad - you get the idea.
Rhubarb cobbler

RECIPES

Green garlic and semolina soup (with spinach)- This recipe is adapted from one in Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food
Ingredients: 2 quarts chicken stock, 1/2 cup semolina (coarsely ground durum wheat, often used to make pasta), 3 green garlic stalks - chop fine the white bulbs and stems and save the green trimmings for stock), herbs such as fresh parsley, chives or thyme.
Bring stock and about 2-3 T. chopped fresh herbs to a boil. Slowly add semolina, stirring constantly with a whisk. Lower heat and cook about another 5 minutes, stirring often. (You want the semolina suspended, not sinking to the bottom) Add chopped garlic and simmer another 20 minutes. Salt to taste.
Optional additions - add some spinach leaves in the last few minutes of cooking.
You can also serve a poached egg in each soup bowl and/or place some shaved Parmesan on each serving.

Glazed carrots with mint

glazed carrots with mint (you could use parsley, dill or chives, too)

The inspiration for this recipe came from Elizabeth Davids' classic - Summer Cooking
I highly recommend you get your hands on a mint plant or two and find a place in a pot or your yard for them. A small amount of mint, strategically used, can really improve a dish. I will be recommending it often as we go along this summer, I am sure. Watch out if you plant it in your yard - it can be invasive.
Scrub a pound of carrots (your Featherstone young spring carrots do not need peeling), cut into pieces and cook in a small amount of boiling salted water about 6 minutes (depends on size of pieces - they should still be a bit firm) Strain (save cooking water for stock) and put into a heavy pan with 2 T. butter. Simmer gently for a few minutes and then add about 1 T sugar and simmer some more until liquid is reduced and carrots are glazed. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper and stir in a tablespoon of chopped fresh mint.

Spinach rice dill gratin
Per serving, you will need the following:
1 cup cooked rice (brown is most nutritious. You could also use another cooked grain like quinoa or barley)
1 cup gently packed fresh spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion - plus a little garlic if you want
1 t. dried dillweed (more if you are using fresh)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese or cottage cheese (optional)
Saute onion until soft, add spinach and saute a few minutes until wilted. Stir in all other ingredients. Pour into shallow, greased baking dish (large or individual sized) and bake at 350 degrees until firm in the center.

Morrocan carrot salad
Cut 4 large carrots into matchsticks (large julienne) and boil until they are almost tender. They should still be a bit crisp in the center. Drain.
Marinade:
1/2 t. ground cumin, 1/2 t. ground cinnamon, dash of cayenne pepper, 2 T. fresh orange juice, 2 t. honey, 2 T. olive oil, salt to taste.
Pour the marinade over the warm carrots. Marinate at least a few hours before serving. Can be refrigerated several days.
Serve with a garnish of chopped fresh parsley and or mint.

Rhubarb cobbler
This dish is easy. First make some rhubarb sauce. See recipe here: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/06/tried-and-true-rhubarb-sauce.html
Put about 3/4 cup rhubarb sauce per person in a baking dish. Make a simple biscuit dough, adding a little extra sugar. Drop spoonfuls of dough on top of the sauce. Bake at 400 degrees until sauce is bubbling and biscuits are browned and cooked through. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, yogurt or plain.
If you need some help with the biscuit part - check this link. http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2011/02/hands-on-bakery-in-your-kitchen.html

Smashed radishes
Whack a dozen radishes, one at a time, with a board, mallet or other heavy object - just hard enough to slightly split the radish. Pour over the following marinade: 1/4 c. rice wine vinegar, 1 T. sugar, 1 T. soy sauce, 1 t. toasted sesame oil. Marinate at least several hours before serving.

FOCUS: Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa)

2011-06-05T10:41:00.001-05:00

Green or red. Tender or crisp. Mild or bitter. Leaf or head. Smooth or crinkly. Mix or match. Lettuce is so much more than iceberg. Don't get me wrong, iceberg has its place. It can sometimes save a sandwich. But iceberg all the time is boring. I am in favor of imagination and variety, when it comes to lettuce -- as well as a few other things I can think of.

Lettuce is only one kind of salad green which is eaten raw. People also like to eat chicories (such as escarole, curly endive or escarole) and greens such as spinach, watercress, arugula or even dandelion greens. Once you get acquainted with various salad greens and lettuces, it is really fun to combine colors, flavors and textures to make beautiful and nutritious salads. Lettuce is mostly served in raw salads in the U.S., but in Asia and France lettuce is popular cooked in soups or stir fries.

History
According to The Featherstone Farm cookbook, lettuce seeds have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs and lettuce "was recorded as growing in Babylonian gardens as early as 800 B.C.E." Other sources say lettuce has been eaten for 4,500 years - starting out as a weed in the Mediterranean Basin. Christopher Columbus brought lettuce to the new world. (And the new world gave tomatoes to the Italians. What a good trade. Without it the world would never have had the BLT!)

Nutrition
The nutrient content of lettuce varies widely, depending on the type. A rule of thumb is the darker the lettuce the higher the nutrition. Romaine and looseleaf lettuce contain five to six times the vitamin C and five to ten times the vitamin A of iceberg.The Featherstone Farm cookbook tells us that a 2 cup serving of romaine "contains 143% of your daily requirement for vitamin K, 60 % of your vitamin A, nearly half of your vitamin C and over a third of your folate. Lettuce is also a good source of manganese". Most of us know it is very low in calories - only 10 in a cup of chopped lettuce. The danger is in the dressing.

Did you know that Lettuce has been named the Veggie of the Month by The Center for Disease Control? Read all about it here:
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/lettuce.html

Varieties
Crisphead
The most familiar crisphead lettuce is iceberg. Most of it is grown in California and Arizona, which have the climate conditions conducive to growing massive amounts of iceberg lettuce. Iceberg has a very high water content and is very mild in taste. It is valued more for its crunchy texture than its flavor or nutrition.

Butterhead
Featherstone grows the Carimona variety of red butterhead and the Optima and Adrian varieties of green butterhead. Very tender and tasty, butterhead makes an elegant salad. The leaves are also good used for various kinds of lettuce wraps. It is fun to set out a plate of butterhead leaves with lots of little tidbits that can be wrapped in the leaves and eaten as finger food. Great meal for kids.

Romaine
Romaine is a hardy head lettuce. It keeps well and stands up to strong flavors such as anchovies (in Caesar salad dressing), Greek olives or onions. Featherstone grows three kinds of romaine.

Looseleaf
Featherstone Farm grows three varieties of green leaf lettuce and 2 kinds of red leaf as well as red oak leaf lettuce. Looseleaf lettuce is versatile and can be used in salads, sandwiches and cooking. Wilted lettuce salad is a great way to use up large amounts of looseleaf lettuce.

A word about bagged salad greens
Bagged greens have become VERY popular in the last decade or so, probably because they are convenient. They are not cheap, however. If you are willing to wash and prepare your own greens, you will save a lot of money. You also can enjoy a wider variety of lettuce.
Nutritionist Marion Nestle published a chart comparing the cost of various kinds of romaine lettuce in her classic book What To Eat (2004). She includes a detailed explanation of the process she went through to try to compare costs of lettuce. (Grocery stores do not make this easy.) Per pound, pre-cut salad was four times more expensive than heads.
Aside from issues of cost or convenience, I prefer fresh leaf or head lettuce because it has a much better flavor than even high end bagged lettuce.

Storage
I like to wash and dry lettuce as soon as I get it. Then it is like fast food - ready whenever I need it. If it is very fresh to start with (like your CSA lettuce) it can often last for up to a week in your refrigerator. Individual mixed lettuce leaves are more perishable than head lettuce. Romaine lettuce will store longer than tender Boston or butterhead lettuce. Remember the fresher the lettuce is when you bring it home, the longer it will last. I prefer a ventilated plastic bag or one of the new kind made especially for produce storage. Several companies make these now and they are easy to find. Keep the lettuce dry - it will be happier.

Preparation
Fill a basin, sink or bowl with cold water. Pull off any damaged outer leaves and cut out the stem end if there is one. Gently swish the lettuce leaves in the water with your hands. Wait for a minute to let gravity work and let dirt and sand sink. Lift the lettuce out of the water and into a strainer or colander or the basket of your salad spinner. And don't overcrowd the lettuce. Do in several batches if you must. If the lettuce is very dirty wash twice. I have found that Featherstone lettuce amost never needs more than one washing. Lettuce washing goes very fast once you get the hang of it.

Spin dry the lettuce in a spinner (small batches are more effective). I like to spread the dry lettuce on a dry kitchen towel and roll it up and refrigerate until I am ready to use it.
If you want to know more about salad spinners, see this blog post from last year: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/04/getting-ready-salad-spinner.html

Salads
The fresher the lettuce, the better the salad. If you are lucky enough to have fresh greens from your garden, CSA box or the farmers market, all you really need to make it sing is a little olive oil, red wine or sherry vinegar and a touch of garlic. (some people recommend rubbing the salad bowl with a clove of fresh garlic.) Start with a ratio of 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil to one tablespoon vinegar. Ultimately let your palate decide what is best. A bit of salt and fresh ground pepper is also good. The dressing should enhance, not overwhelm, the lettuce. You want to be able to taste it the lettuce. Save thick, gloppy dressings for the times you have sturdy vegetables or robust greens in a salad. Fresh garden leaf lettuce cannot really stand up to Thousand Island or Blue Cheese - even if it is good and homemade. Chunks of iceberg can peacefully co exist with fairly heavy dressings, which is probably a reason iceberg is popular.

Think about banishing all kinds of commercial bottled dressings from your kitchen and laying in a supply of a few nice oils and vinegars instead. You will save money and avoid a lot of sodium and other unnecessary chemicals and flavorings. If you want convenience, you can easily make up a pint or even a quart of basic olive oil vinaigrette every so often and keep it in the refrigerator.

And can someone explain to me why Ranch dressing is now the most popular dressing in America? I just don't get that.

Additions
Herbs -- a few leaves of chervil, chives, tarragon or mint - can liven up a salad. I also like to use sorrel or even lemon balm or lovage leaves. A little usually goes a long way. If you are adventurous try nasturtium flowers, which are a little crunchy and peppery and quite good in a green salad.

The Allium family
Shallots - thinly sliced or chopped - make a very good addition to almost any salad.
Garlic - just a hint -or more - of garlic enhances a lettuce salad.
Onions - when sweet onions are available I like to add them to a lettuce salad - especially in combination with oranges or strawberries.

Nuts - dried or fresh fruit - cheese
I think most restaurants overdo the nuts and dried fruit and other additions to salad. (The dried cranberry-blue cheese-walnut thing is really getting to be a cliche.) I think they do it to justify charging you a lot of money for a salad that really does not use very nice greens. I would like to see a restaurant brave enough to serve a lettuce only salad with a simple oil and vinegar dressing. It could work if the lettuce was good enough. Use a light hand when adding fruits, nuts or cheese. Experiment with various combinations.

One Bowl Salad - a Neat Trick
Put the following into a large bowl: 2 T. olive oil, 1/2 t. finely chopped garlic, 1/2 t. Dijon-type mustard, 1 t. red wine or sherry vinegar. Stir together. Add about 1/2 pound leafy salad greens - washed, dried and chilled -- 2-3 ounces at a time. Toss each time you add lettuce. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Optional additions: sliced radishes, shredded carrots, cucumber, nuts, bits of feta cheese, etc. Serve.

Inspiration - Week 1/2011

2011-05-30T21:00:00.001-05:00

This week's box: Mixed salad lettuces, spinach, asparagus, green garlic, rhubarb and radishes.

Introduction
For the next 21 weeks I am going to be cooking out of my Featherstone Farm CSA box and sharing ideas for meals and recipes with you. I also will be happy to answer your cooking questions if you e mail me at cook@featherstonefarm.com. My goal is to help you use all the vegetables and fruits in your CSA box - and have fun doing it. If at all possible let's avoid vegetable anxiety, okay?

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran in the kitchen - I hope you find this blog useful and inspiring and maybe even funny once in awhile. I welcome your comments and also encourage you to share your ideas for menus and recipes - either by commenting on the blog or posting on Featherstone's facebook page.

I will be picking up my box from the farm every Monday afternoon and posting menu and recipe ideas by about noon every Tuesday. I expect to post one other day each week as well. For the most part I will try to keep things simple. I will include occasional tips for saving time and effort. I know you are busy. Make sure to use the search feature in the blog too -- there are lots of posts from last year that you might find interesting.

I get a Grande box each week. I can easily use up the contents - there are three adults in our household (husband Frank and my Dad and me) and we don't eat out very often. We like eating lots of vegetables - even for breakfast. We like meat, too. But we eat meat with our vegetables. Not vegetables with our meat.

I have included a rhubarb crisp recipe this week. But if you have a grande box you have enough rhubarb for a rhubarb pie! (about 5-6 cups for a nine inch pie). The Betty Crocker cookbook calls for only 4 cups rhubarb, but I think that is skimpy. I like a pie with a lot of filling. This is what six cups of chopped rhubarb looks like:

six cups of chopped rhubarb

You will need enough dough for a two crust pie. Just mix the rhubarb with about 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour. (use more flour if you are using 5-6 cups rhubarb) Let stand about 15 minutes and turn into unbaked 9 inch pie shell. Dot with about 2 T butter and cover with another crust. Bake at 425 degrees about 45 minutes - until crust is light golden brown and filling is bubbling.
If you have a chica box, just mix the rhubarb with a little chopped fresh apple and proceed as directed. Add a little cinnamon if desired.
If you need some help with the pie crust, check out my pie video here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BullishOnRhubarb#p/u/4/J5o6WhGZtAQ

Note: Recipes included at the end of blog for dishes printed in italics. I am often purposely vague on exact amounts of ingredients. That is because I want you to learn to use your own judgment when you cook. Use more or less of some things as your own tastes and the contents of your refrigerator or pantry dictate.

Menu 1
Lettuce salad with simple olive oil and vinegar dressing. Top with a few thinly sliced radishes and toasted sunflower seeds.
Asparagus-mushroom pasta (note - make extra pasta if you decide you want to make pasta salad. And save some asparagus for the salad.)
Bread
Small piece of flavorful cheese

Menu 2 (good for a brunch or light supper)
Poached eggs on toast or English muffin topped with creamed spinach. Add a slice of ham or Canadian bacon if desired. Here is how to make a cream sauce for spinach: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/09/hands-on-bechamel.html Some grated nutmeg is very good with creamed spinach.
Rhubarb crisp

Menu 3
Spinach-radish-rice salad (make extra and bring some to work for lunch)
Broiled fish or chicken or other protein of your choice
Sliced oranges or pineapple

Menu 4
Lettuce salad - add some chopped fruit, nuts and cheese - whatever you have on hand. Or maybe add some chopped hard boiled egg and sliced onion. Toss with olive oil and vinegar. Sherry vinegar is nice.
Potato garlic spinach soup
Rye crackers or bread
Leftover rhubarb pie or crisp

Menu 5
Asparagus pasta salad
Bread
Ice cream or sherbet

Asparagus mushroom pasta
Ingredients: Chopped green garlic (about 1 t. - or more if you like garlic- per serving); asparagus cut in one inch pieces (about 3-4 spears per serving); fresh mushrooms - about 2 oz. per serving; olive oil; favorite dried pasta - linguini is nice or use rotini or mostaccioli if you are cooking extra for a pasta salad.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Add plenty of salt to cooking water. While pasta is cooking, saute garlic, asparagus and mushrooms in about 1-2 T olive oil until vegetables are tender. (Use the white part of the garlic stalk.) Drain pasta, saving about a cup of starchy cooking water. Toss pasta with vegetables, adding water as desired to keep pasta from being too dry. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Rhubarb crisp
Cut rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces. Add about 1 1/4 cups of sugar per 6 cups of rhubarb. Or 3/4 cup sugar for 3 cups rhubarb. Mix well and put rhubarb into a baking pan large enough so rhubarb is not more than about an inch deep. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 375 degrees about 1/2 hour - until top is browned and rhubarb is bubbling.
Topping: Mix together until crumbly: 1 cup flour (white or whole wheat pastry), 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats, 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 1 t. ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt and 1 stick of butter, cut into small pieces. Optional - add chopped toasted nuts. (Tip - double this recipe and freeze extra. Use with any fresh fruit for a quick dessert.)

Spinach radish rice salad (You can take this to work for lunch.)
Ingredients - rice, radishes, spinach, toasted sesame seeds, asian vinaigrette dressing. Nice additions - thinly sliced green or red bell peppers, sliced scallions or spring onions, toasted almonds, green peas or edamame soybeans.

Cook rice and cool - enough for about 1 cup per serving. Sushi rice would be nice in this dish. Or brown rice. Wash and dry spinach. Stack leaves and slice in thin strips. Thinly slice radishes. Mix rice, radishes, spinach and toasted sesame seeds in proportions that appeal to you. Make Asian vinaigrette: 2 t. finely chopped green garlic, 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, 1/3 cup salad oil, 2 T. toasted sesame oil, 2 T. rice vinegar (or a little more to taste), about 2 t. sugar or to taste, 2 t. soy sauce. Adjust vinaigrette ingredients to your taste. Toss rice and vegetables with dressing. This amount of dressing should be plenty for 4 servings. Save any leftovers for green salad.

Potato garlic spinach soup
Ingredients: potatoes (about 8 oz. per person), 1 t. chopped green garlic per serving, spinach - about 12 leaves per person, milk or cream, butter, salt and pepper
Peel and chop potatoes. Chop garlic. Saute in butter about 5 minutes, add water about 1 cup per serving. Cover and simmer until potatoes are soft. Mash potatoes coarsely, add spinach, milk or cream and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Asparagus pasta salad
We had this for dinner tonight. Note I went heavy on the veggies and light on the pasta.

Ingredients: cooked pasta, lightly cooked asparagus pieces (steam or saute), sliced or torn spinach leaves, sliced radishes, sliced fresh sorrel leaves (If you have access to sorrel, which is in the spinach family, you are lucky. This is an easy to grow perennial herb - first up in the spring - and has an acidic lemony flavor. I prefer it fresh rather than cooked. Find a plant and start one at your house.) Here is what sorrel looks like:

Use your favorite lemony vinaigrette salad dressing on this salad- preferably homemade.

Too much asparagus? No such thing.

2011-05-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

Last week at the Featherstone Farm Spring Open House I had several interesting conversations with Featherstone Farm CSA members - some new and some who have been cooking out of the box for a few years now. I often ask people why they have chosen the CSA experience. I get lots of different answers -- but a very common one is: "We want to eat more organic vegetables. If we sign up for a whole season they come to us automatically and then we HAVE to eat them." Fair enough. These folks are willing to give up some control and let the weekly box kind of run their lives - at least when it comes to some of their meals. They are ready for this commitment and the trade-offs it brings. They will be a little more tied down, culinarily speaking. But they will be comfortable. Secure. Better fed. They will know they can count on those boxes of lovely food. They will have fewer vegetable buying decisions to make. And lots of vegetables to cook.

Simple pasta sauce: green onions, morels, asparagus and cream (and salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg

But what is security for one household is vegetable tyranny in another. Consider another conversation I had recently - with someone who likes to play the vegetable field, so to speak. Vegetable commitment is not for them. They confessed to me that they tried CSA boxes for a few years, but stopped. They said the reason was that they felt the box was in control of them and not the other way around. If that was how they felt, I can see why the CSA experience was not for them.

I feel their pain. There are times when I feel that vegetables are controlling my life. Like right now. We have our own asparagus patch, and the spears have been coming on like gangbusters the last few days. I cannot ignore them. I have to deal with them. We have given some away, which is a lot of fun. We have had asparagus and poached eggs on toast. Roasted asparagus. Stir fried asparagus and green onions with rice noodles and tofu (kind of my own version of pad thai). Asparagus soup. Scrambled eggs with asparagus and morel mushrooms. Tomorrow I think I will make asparagus crepes with mushroom sauce. Or perhaps sauteed mushrooms and asparagus with cream over pasta.

Plain steamed asparagus - add to eggs, soup, pasta, salad

Scrambled eggs with morel mushrooms and asparagus.

But I don't mind letting vegetables take control. I think it is a good thing. Because we have been eating some really good meals in our house. It is true that the asparagus is demanding. Sometimes I even have to put other things aside in order to deal with it. But it is also so rewarding. So full of flavor and nutrition. So fleeting. Before we know it asparagus season will have passed and something new will be making demands on me - spinach or lettuce or radishes. Meanwhile, I have decided that there are worse things than letting vegetables run part of my life. (And besides, I still get to make lots of important decisions, like what kind of shampoo and toothpaste to use and who to vote for.)

So you can decide where you are on this important issue. Are you ready to let the contents of your CSA box control at least part of what you eat? Do you want to reap the rewards that will come from letting seasonal vegetables guide your meal choices? If you are ready to make a vegetable commitment, welcome aboard. We will have some fun this year cooking out of the box.

True Confession: Panicide

2011-05-15T10:16:00.001-05:00

I confess. I did it. It was my fault. I did not act out of anger or hate. It was neglect and I am sorry. A photo of the victim is below. It is graphic and if these types of things bother you perhaps you should stop reading right here.

Give us the facts, Ma'am. Just the facts. I had a few raw peeled potatoes sitting around in water in the refrigerator. I had a made a venison stew a day or two before, and had not used all the potatoes I peeled. So I decided to chunk up the spuds and boil them. My plan - innocent enough - was to mash them in their cooking water and use them to bake some yeast bread. (Mashed potato adds moisture to bread dough and helps with keeping qualities. I may be careless, but at least I am frugal.) I put a few inches of water in the pan, added the potatoes and brought it to a boil. Turned down to a simmer or at least I thought I did. Covered the pot. And then -- this was where I went wrong -- I strayed. Stopped paying attention. Started a load of laundry. Opened the snail mail. Swept the floor. I just forgot all about the potatoes. Until I smelled the acrid smoke.

OH NO. Not again. How bad was it? This bad.

I will miss my two quart pan with the copper bottom.

This is not the first time I have committed culinary incineration. In the past I have managed to scour away the stuck on carbon. Sometimes my husband has helped. He has tools in his shop that can rehab the destroyed inside of a stainless steel pan. But not this time. This poor pan had come back from Frank's pan hospital just a week or two before. It was not fair to the pan to attempt heroic measures and to put it through such suffering again. So I declared it dead.

I am still grieving but I am moving on. I will work hard to prevent panicide from ever happening again in my house. But I can't promise it won't. That's the way it is in a busy home kitchen. Stuff happens. Food burns. Sauces curdle. Roasts dry out. Pots boil over. Knuckles get grated. Cakes fall. That's what makes it so exciting when everything turns out fine or even great. If it was so easy to get perfect results every time, being a good cook wouldn't count for much now, would it?

So if you are on the cooking road and disaster happens, don't get discouraged. Press on. Say you are sorry and learn from your mistakes. Enjoy the daily opportunities for small triumphs. A bowl of perfect oatmeal. A fresh salad glistening with a simple vinaigrette. A plate of pasta with sauteed asparagus and green garlic from your CSA box. A poached egg on toast with creamed spinach on top. A chunk of corn bread with melted butter and honey. The possibilities for success are truly unlimited. So honor those dead pans and fallen cakes by staying in the game. You'll be glad you did.

Anticipation

2011-05-08T22:25:00.001-05:00

The first Featherstone CSA box of the 2011 Summer season is only a few weeks away. Are you ready?

Here are a few things you can do in the next few weeks so you will be better prepared to make some beautiful meals with the food in your boxes.

1. Herb and spice tune-up
Do you have basic dried herbs and spices on hand? Have you had some around for so long that they have lost their flavor? Time to go to the co-op and fill in any gaps in your seasoning line up. The dried herbs I always have around: thyme, sage, bay leaf, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, dill, mint. (Note - dried parsley is virtually tasteless. Use fresh or none at all. Dried basil is okay in a pinch but fresh is much better. If you are lucky you have some pesto in the freezer. Dried mint is ok, but fresh is much nicer.)

My favorite basic spices: cinnamon, nutmeg (fresh grated whole nutmeg is really nice), cloves, ginger, chili powder, cumin, turmeric, sweet paprika, dried mustard powder, white and black pepper, fennel seed, caraway seed, cardamom (don't get ground because it loses flavor fast. Get the little seeds and grind yourself with a mortar and pestle.)

You can find all kinds of fancy salt these days. Most of the time I use good old Morton's Kosher Salt.

2. Equipment inventory
Do you have a salad spinner yet? Other essentials: chopping board, chef's knife and paring knife, peeler, colander, strainer, measuring spoons and cups, tongs, whisk, graters, rubber scraper, pepper grinder, spatula, ladle, wooden spoons, can opener, slotted spoon, mixing bowls - especially a nice big bowl for tossing salads, pots and pans. Half a dozen absorbent cotten kitchen towels. There are lots of other things I could list - but you can accomplish many kitchen tasks with this short list.

For more on basic kitchen equipment -- see this previous post:
http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/05/getting-ready-tools-of-trade.html

3. Olive oil and vinegar
See these two previous posts for oil and vinegar tips.

http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/06/dig-in-olive-oil.html
http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/06/dig-in-vinegar.html

4. Are all your knives sharp? If not - sharpen them.

5. Do you have a good supply of plastic bags on hand for storing produce? There are a lot of alternatives out there these days. I have had good luck with Hefty Fresh Extend bags. (I rinse and re use quite a few times with no problems.)

6. Oils other than olive
I really like having some walnut oil around for salads. Toasted sesame oil is nice for Asian style vinaigrettes. I have found a Minnesota produced cold pressed, filtered (not refined) sunflower oil which I love for general cooking. I buy mine by the half gallon at Lanesboro Local in - you guessed it - Lanesboro. Ask your grocer to stock it or order some online: http://www.smudeoil.com/

7. Good to always have on hand:
Fresh ginger, lemons, limes, butter, cream, yogurt, eggs, canned tomatoes, nuts, dried fruit, flour, pasta, rice, fresh parsley

8. Last but not least - review your cookbook situation. Are your favorites close at hand? Do you have at least one "classic" all purpose cookbook? Such as Joy of Cooking, How to Cook Everything, Betty Crocker's Cookbook, The Fanny Farmer Cookbook. Here is a blog post I did on some recently published cookbooks if you think you are ready to add to your collection: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/12/potluck-holiday-gift-ideas-part-2.html

Healthy, wealthy and wise: Hot Dish your way

2011-04-30T15:51:00.000-05:00

I don't watch TV cooking shows. I cook instead. Thus I am not a normal American. But I am used to that by now. People who keep track of these things tell us that nowadays Americans spend more time watching people cook on TV than they do actually cooking. Oh dear. When it comes to feeding ourselves, it appears that our culture is moving closer and closer to "all talk and no action".   I don't know about you, but I was brought up to DO things. I bet you were too. (Thanks, Mom for all the times you told me to put down my book and get off the couch.)

And thank you for spending precious possible cooking time reading this blog post. I hope as soon as you are done you will cook something. Anything. From scratch. With real food. You will be healthier and wealthier if you do.

And most important of all, you will be wiser. Every time you create in the kitchen you gain experience. Knowledge. Confidence. This is cumulative. No one can take it away from you. And here is the clincher -- eating the results of your labors will give you pleasure. Gustatory gladness. Sensory satisfaction. Food fulfillment.

If you don't have a cooking project or meal in mind already, you might to play with the concept of Hot Dish.

There is no doubt in my mind that in millions of American homes every evening, families are dining on some version of Hot Dish. One reason I know this is that Hamburger Helper and its 60 flavor variations constitutes about half of the "meal kit" industry - which in 2005 was a half billion dollar a year business. Hamburger Helper has been around for forty years now. Kind of amazing how the brand has evolved. You can even buy Asian Helper (like Mongolian beef flavor) and several flavors of Mexican or Italian Helper.   America is indeed a melting pot.

There is nothing wrong with the concept of Hot Dish - a one pot combination of protein (e.g. hamburger, tuna, the ubiquitous boneless, skinless chicken breast, cheese); carbohydrate (e.g. rice, pasta, potato); vegetable (e.g. peas, onion, a little celery or carrot, cabbage, spinach, bell pepper or even rutabaga) AND - some kind of sauce or binder -- something smooth and creamy and rich to hold it all together. Like a vegetable puree or tomato sauce. Maybe a little beaten egg and milk. Creme fraiche. Or homemade white sauce. See this link to my post on white sauce (bechamel) for how-to details: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/09/hands-on-bechamel.html You do not have to use canned soup. Or a magical powder that turns into a "creamy sauce" when water is added.

In my childhood years, Hot Dish was elbow macaroni, hamburger, chopped onion, cream of tomato soup and Velveeta cheese.   Now I am in Grandma years and I am older and wiser. Hot Dish for us might be linguini tossed with olive oil, roasted garlic puree (homemade of course), capers, a can of sardines, a lot of fresh chopped Italian parsley and a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan.

Does your house have a signature Hot Dish? Has it changed over the years? Do you change it all the time depending on what seasonal vegetables you have around? I encourage you to experiment. Build your Hot Dish on the foundation of these four corners: protein, carbohydrate, vegetables (lots of these) and sauce or binder. Use what you have. Use what is in season. Use plenty of vegetables. If you are having a hard time getting started, look up some recipes for pasta e fagioli - the famous Italian vegetable soup with beans and pasta. It is really just Hot Dish and it is good. Here is one version: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pasta-e-Fagioli-2186   NOTE: I would definitely add more vegetables - maybe some chopped onion, spinach and green beans or zucchini. Add a bit more broth if necessary. The main idea is: olive oil, cooked dry beans, cooked pasta, broth (amount depends on how thick or thin you want the final dish), tomatoes, Italian herbs and various chopped vegetables. Add a bit of sausage or pancetta for extra flavor. Voila. Hot Dish.

What I hope you take away from today's little sermon is this: You can make Hot Dish without the assistance of meal kits or canned soup or weird little packets of dried secret spices, sodium and chemical thickeners or flavorings. Who knew?

Harvesting Watercress

2011-04-25T19:25:00.001-05:00

If you are a Featherstone Farm CSA member, you are lucky to receive some of the best produce that SE Minnesota's fields can offer. But the cuisine of SE Minnesota comes from more than fields - we can enjoy the bounty of streams and forests, too. We can hunt for wild watercress on a sunny day in April.

Here I am, admiring a perky damp little bunch of watercress

April can be a challenging month if you are trying to eat fresh and local. By now we have mostly used up the odds and ends of frozen and canned foods that we managed to put away last summer and fall. Gone is the asparagus, tomato juice and raspberries. Even the frozen rhubarb is no more. We still have a good supply of venison, refrigerator pickles, dried beans, polenta corn, some over the hill shallots, one black radish (in great shape) and a few parsnips.

So it is very exciting when the first foods of spring start to appear. One of them is watercress, which grows wild in or near many of the creeks and streams in the area surrounding Featherstone Farm. Yesterday Frank and I set out for one of our favorite spots on Gribben Creek to gather some. (Just off Fillmore County Road 23, about 3 miles south of state highway 16 - a public access fishing spot.) If you go, bring along some garbage bags. I am sorry we did not. It is a lovely spot, but unfortunately a few folks have not cleaned up after themselves. So annoying. Shocking, really.

If you would like to see me harvest and eat some watercress in the Gribben valley - go here for a short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67wzoH30AdM

Here is what the watercress looked like once I got it home and cleaned it up.

Watercress (nasturtium officianale) is a member of the mustard family. It has a sharp peppery or spicy taste and crisp texture that adds zing when added raw to salads or sandwiches. It is full of iron and can sometimes be found in the produce section of grocery stores or farmers markets if you do not want to make an expedition to a cold, clear and slow moving stream.

Watercress recipes
Watercress is not just for garnishes anymore. It is a beautiful green and can be used both raw and cooked.

Here are instructions on how to make a watercress sandwich, right from The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea.
Butter rough rye bread with salty butter and pile a slice high with fresh watercress. Press another slice on top until the contents creak. Cut the sandwich in half but not quarters...the dark green leaves burst out at the seams.

Watercress and potato soup - about 4 servings
Saute 1/2 cup of chopped onion or leeks in 2 T. butter until soft. Add 6 cups peeled and chopped potatoes.   Add 2 cups water or broth and simmer until potatoes are soft and falling apart. Salt and pepper to taste. Add two cups chopped fresh watercress and simmer a few minutes. Thin to desired consistency with milk or additional broth.
This is basically a simple version of potage cressioniere - a rich soup made with onions, garlic, potatoes and "a bunch" whatever that means of watercress - enriched with cream and egg yolk.

Watercress salad
Wash and pick over watercress - about 1 cup per serving.   Thinly slice some apple - about 1/2 medium apple per serving. Add some feta cheese and toasted walnuts to taste. A few chopped green onions if you have some.   Toss with dressing made with equal parts mayonnaise and yogurt and a squeeze or two of lemon juice.

Watercress biscuits
Chop about a cup of watercress and add to your favorite biscuit recipe (for about 12 biscuits) just before rolling and cutting.

Watercress and cream of chicken soup
I checked my vintage edition of the Farm Journal cookbook to say what they might have to say about watercress. The one watercress recipe in the book suggested adding chopped watercress (1/2 cup - no more, no less) to cream of chicken soup made from a can. I am not generally a fan of canned commercial soups - but hey, adding watercress is a good idea. I personally would add a cup. Midwestern fusion cooking.

Hands on - Lemon Meringue Pie

2011-04-17T14:47:00.000-05:00

I have three dozen eggs in my refrigerator right now and all of them were produced by personal friends. Well, really by their chickens. I am a lucky girl. I am talking eggs with high, rounded bright yellow-orange yolks. Eggs with firm whites that hold together. No runny whites all over the frying pan for me. These eggs give new meaning to the term "tighty whities."

One of the signs of spring is the increase in egg production of laying hens whose lives are lived in accordance with natural light cycles. So this time of year - just in time for Easter - I have more eggs around. One thing I like to do with them is make omelets with early season spinach and green onions. Another good use for eggs is lemon meringue pie.

Lemon meringue pie is my favorite. I like it even more than rhubarb pie, which for the wife of a man with 148 rhubarb plants is saying something. Making it is a project, no doubt about it. It requires skills (e.g. making a pre- baked crust) and equipment (a rolling pin, an electric mixer or a balloon whisk and patience, a fine grater and citrus reamer, a double boiler). It is worth it.

You might ask, Why go to all the trouble when you can buy a lemon meringue pie? My answer: your chances of finding a commercial pie that tastes like a lemon pie should taste are about 1 in 500. You owe it to yourself and your family to at least experience the flavors and textures of a real homemade lemon meringue pie. You might decide that it is so much work that you will never make it again. But you will go to your grave knowing the difference between good and evil - at least where lemon meringue pie is concerned.

Or you might decide to make lemon meringue pie once a year in honor of spring or Easter. Like plum pudding at Christmas or potato salad on the Fourth of July. That would be a nice tradition to start. Or you might like it so much you will make it once a month or bring it to every potluck you are invited to. Who knows how this pie might change your life?

This recipe for lemon meringue pie is my own. I consulted six favorite cookbooks to come up with my unique proportions of sugar, lemon juice, etc. I have to tell you I still struggle with meringue. I haven't figured out how to keep the little beads of sugar syrup from forming on the top. If you eat it up within a day this should not be a problem. And even if your meringue does "weep" a bit (that is the scientific name for the little liquid drops) who cares? The pie will still taste great.

Peggy's Lemon Meringue Pie

The crust
You need to make a pre-baked pie crust. I just use my favorite pie pastry recipe (I like lard). I put it in a glass pie pan, line the crust lightly with some foil and put a few cups of dry beans on top to hold down the crust while it bakes at about 400 degrees. After about 15 minutes I carefully remove the foil and beans and put the empty crust back in the oven. Bake until the crust is just pale brown. Cool.

The filling
I mix the following ingredients (I add the butter at the very end after the filling thickens) in the top of a double boiler, whisking well to remove lumps. (You could also do this in a nonreactive saucepan nested inside a large pan containing water.) Put the filling over boiling water and cook, stirring often, until the filling thickens. This may take awhile. Be patient. If you rush this you will have a curdled lumpy filling.) After the filling thickens, I pour into another pie pan so it comes to room temperature faster. Once the filling is lukewarm, stir in a few spoonfuls of the unbaked meringue and then pour into the prebaked pie shell.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup lemon juice (3-4 lemons depending on how juicy they are)
1 T. finely grated lemon zest (add an extra teaspoon or two if you like a lot of lemon flavor)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 t. salt
2 T. butter

The meringue - make this when the filling is almost lukewarm.
Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature and there is not even a speck of fat or egg yolk in the whites or on the beater bowl. Add 1/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat at high speed. When they start getting foamy, slowly add the sugar while still beating. Add 1/2 t, vanilla at the very end - when stiff peaks have formed.
Pile the meringue on top of the lukewarm filling, being careful to spread the meringue to the edges of the filling so it bonds to the crust.
Bake at 325 degrees about 15 minutes, until meringue is lightly browned.
Cool. Then refrigerate at least an hour to firm up the filling. (This is where the meringue might cry on you. I just don't know what to do about that. Into every life some rain must fall.)

Here are step by step pictures to inspire and instruct.

Mise en place for lemon pie filling and meringue

A microplane works great if you need fine zest

A double boiler will help prevent curdling. If it is taking forever, turn up the heat a bit. Stir often. You will know when it is thickened. It is the magic of cornstarch, egg yolks and heat.

What a nice yellow spring color. Eggs and lemon make a nice pair.

Pre baking a crust is not easy. But it is a great skill to have.

I love my kitchen aid stand mixer.

Add a few tablespoons of meringue to the filling before pouring into the crust.

Drop the meringue in little piles so it is easier to spread.

Make sure the meringue goes all the way to the crust all the way around.

I can hardly wait until the pie is cool. Lessons in deferred gratification.

Winter hardy bunching onions - spring is here

2011-04-10T22:03:00.002-05:00

I know spring is here when the sorrel and chive plants on the east and south sides of our house are about 6 inches high. When the first nubs of the rhubarb leaves push up through the soil. And when Frank brings home a big clump of bunching onions. Between the fresh onions and preserved food in our pantry, we are still managing to prepare some nice homegrown meals even though not much is happening in the garden yet.

The onions were such a nice surprise this morning. Some girls like roses. Me - a clump of white and green spring onions with some mud still clinging to the roots is the best bouquet I know. Right about now I am ready for something green from the garden. I still have a few parsnips and potatoes and one large beet in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. They will be eaten and enjoyed. But the Featherstone cabbage, radishes, carrots and our homemade sauerkraut are all gone. I actually bought some romaine lettuce at the store last week. I couldn't help it. I needed something green and crunchy.

Green spring onions can be used in many ways - in an omelet, fried rice or added to a salad. My mother loves them plain, with a little salt and a glass of cold beer. I decided to be more ambitious today because I needed to make a dish for a potluck. I cooked up a big pot of polenta. Then I made a morel mushroom sauce to layer with the cooked polenta and some thinly sliced white cheddar cheese.

Those of us fortunate enough to live in SE Minnesota near the Big Woods have access to morel mushrooms every May if we are willing to tramp through the woods with our eyes wide open. In our house we usually have more than we can eat fresh so Frank dries them - slowly - at room temperature under a ceiling fan and finishes them off in baskets sitting in a sunny open window (screened). I poured some boiling water on about 1 1/2 cups of the dried beauties. After they were soft I strained the water (dried morels often have a little grit in them), saving it for the sauce.

Read the captions to these pictures to see how I made the sauce. It is simple to layer it with some polenta in a casserole dish and then bake it.

Mise en place for mushroom sauce: green onions, shallots, dried morel mushrooms, white cheddar cheese and olive oil

I cooked a big pot of polenta - made from Roy's Calais flint corn, ground in our Kitchenaid mixer grain mill attachment

Chopped Evergreen Hardy White Bunching onions - the most winter hardy bunching onion. These are from onions first planted 6/2009. They have overwintered two years. Need to eat them now - they will be too woody later

Chopped shallots from our garden. Why are store shallots so expensive?

See the grit? That's why I strained the mushroom soaking water

This is one nice pile of reconstituted dried morels. I am guessing they have a street value of about $60. We got them for free. Well, Frank got a few scratches from brambles- so he did pay some price. But worth it.

I sauteed chopped shallots, green onions (the white part) and some bell pepper in olive oil. Then I added about 2 T. flour and cooked it well. Then added 1 1/2 cups liquid - strained mushroom soaking liquid, milk and cream.

First a layer of polenta. Then some mushroom cream sauce. Then some chopped green onion tops. Then thin sliced cheese (white cheddar is what I used.)

Close up of the sauce before I added the cheese. Bake in a moderate oven until heated through.

Cooking for love

2011-04-03T17:39:00.000-05:00

I am not a theologian, philosopher or intellectual. (My regular readers already know this.) But I do like to ponder the big questions: What is the meaning of life? Is there a God? Why cook when there is Schwans? Or Lean Cuisine?

Why cook? This is a good question. Most people are really busy working, taking care of children and elders, commuting, watching reality TV and NCAA basketball or mowing their lawns. Why should they stand at the sink chopping and peeling when they can get a reasonably tasty and kind of nutritious footlong sandwich for five bucks? Tens of millions of Americans answer this question every day. Many - maybe a majority - choose the footlong or an equivalent. Something they believe to be quick, cheap and convenient. But millions don't. I wonder why.

I think one reason people cook is for love. Giving it. Getting it. Feeding people good food is a pretty good way to cement relationships. It is a pretty good way to make beautiful memories. It also is a way to pass skills and knowledge on to the younger generation.

I know this because I am somewhat of an aficionado of old lady funerals. There are a lot of old ladies where I live and as they have taken their leave over the years I have often had the privilege of attending their memorial services. And I have noticed that their families almost always talk about their cooking, with great love and appreciation.

The mother of a friend of mine died recently at age 94. Her name was Evelyn Theresa Marzolf, but everybody called her Evie or simply Grandma. She worked for 42 years at the grocery store in her town, finally retiring at age 82. Yet she still found the time to cook and bake - and take her grandchildren fishing! She was a petite little lady with a big heart. I did not attend her funeral, but I did receive a copy of a lovely booklet prepared by her large extended family. Here is some of what they said:

"Evie would always have a pan of fresh cinnamon rolls and a cup of strong coffee for us. Thank you Evie for all you've taught me, baking, being kind, sharing all those wonderful recipes, and always showing us, not just telling how".

"Evie taught me so many things it is hard to really know where to start...Apple butter, cinnamon rolls, German sweet chocolate pies, apple pie, jams, jellies, how to split African violets."

"My memory of Evie is her wearing a short sleeve shirt and checkered double knit pants and cooking up some great food in the kitchen. The best cook there ever was!"

"I remember how easy it was for her to feed everyone - what a good cook and baker she was. No one every left her house hungry and always with a bag of treats."

"I learned how to make mincemeat from her."

"My favorite memory was when my Dad and I would come visit for Labor Day weekend and on that Sunday we would go to her beautiful church then walk back over to her house and she would make us her home made cinnamon rolls. Wow were they delicious. I would remember the smell when I would be on the plane to go back home and I couldn't wait for our next visit."

"You have created so many beautiful memories for all of us, from childhood all the way up to just a few weeks ago when I had another lesson on how to make pie crust. You have taught me so many things ... not just about cooking and baking, but about life."

Rest in peace, Evie Marzolf, good home cook.

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

2011-03-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

Mick Jagger has been eating chicken pot pie lately. I hope he is satisfied. According to the New York Times he is. And so are his glitterati friends. I predict that before long we will be reading about rhubarb pie being served at Paris fashion week.
Just remember - you read it here first.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/fashion/17noticed.html?_r=1

These kind of stories just kill me. In my stodgy, comfortable and practical Midwestern kitchen, chicken pot pie has always been in style. I am so happy that all those skinny high strung celebrities are discovering the charms of pot pie. Maybe they will be able to cut back on stimulants, anti-depressants and mood stabilizers.

You do not have to go to fancy parties in New York to enjoy chicken pot pie. You can make it at home. Here's how:

Chicken Pot Pie (serves six)
3 cups cooked chicken, cut in medium sized chunks
(buy a whole chicken and poach it in some water with carrot onion, celery, bay leaf, salt and a few cloves and peppercorns. You will end up with not only lots of chicken for pot pie or chicken salad or other dishes, you will have some nice homemade chicken broth.)

About six cups vegetables cooked just until tender and not mushy - peas and carrots and maybe a few potatoes are a traditional choice. But you can substitute your favorites or what is available and in season. Asparagus and fresh mushrooms would be nice. Or a combination of root vegetables like parsnip, carrot and rutabaga. Or spinach and green onions.

About 4 cups bechamel, or white sauce.
Don't know how to do this? See this post. http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/09/hands-on-bechamel.html

Fold together the chicken, vegetables and bechamel. Put into one large fairly flat baking dish or six individual baking dishes.

Prepare your favorite pastry. Roll out into one piece big enough to cover the large dish or six pieces to cover the individual dishes. Place gently on top, pressing the pastry against the edge of the baking dish to seal. Slash the top in a few places to let steam escape.

Bake at about 425 degrees until pastry is lightly browned and contents are bubbling hot. Serve.

Note - you can use biscuit dough instead of pie pastry for the crust. Pat thin and place on top - leave a little space around the edges.

Hands On: Spinach and Steak Salad

2011-03-13T11:08:00.000-05:00

Spring is almost here - that means salads with fresh and local greens are almost here too. Are you ready? Do you have a good supply of your favorite kinds of oil and vinegar on hand? And some Dijon mustard and maybe some shallots or garlic? Kosher salt? Fresh ground pepper?

Yesterday Frank and I attended the annual Local Food Expo in Winona, Minnesota. There was a great winter farmers market and we got to do a cooking demonstration. Frank showed different knife sharpening techniques and sliced up a beautiful pile of steak to add to the salad we made. (The meat was purchased - frozen - at the Lanesboro Local retail store in Lanesboro. It was raised at Hodgson Farm and cooked to medium rare perfection by Lanesboro Pastry Shoppe chef Brett Stecher the day before. Who says corn fed tastes best? Not me.)

I brought along a few bags of beautiful overwintered greenhouse spinach from Featherstone Farm and showed the audience how quick and easy it is to wash, dry and store fresh salad greens. I also showed the group how easy it is to mix up some good olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, pepper and chopped shallots in a large bowl. I tossed the oil mixture with the spinach right in the bowl and then added just a bit of sherry vinegar to finish the dressing. And - I confess - I vehemently discouraged people from using bottled dressings of any kind. I am sorry, but they are just not necessary. They are also costly and none taste as good as what we can make at home. We also talked about the importance of owning a salad spinner. Do you have yours yet?

Then we made a composed salad with the dressed spinach as a base. We added blanched fresh green beans from Whitewater Farm's greenhouse and julienned daikon red radish. (I used a big Featherstone Farm radish that had been stored in my home refrigerator for about three months. It was in perfect shape.) Everybody got an ample sample - including a few pieces of meat.

Locally raised grass fed steaks can be expensive - especially if you don't buy in bulk directly from the farmer. Topping a fresh vegetable salad with a few strips of steak is a great way to stretch that expensive meat. Everybody gets a nice satisfying animal protein hit and you have enough money left over for some quality bread and wine to round out the meal. Meat in moderation - that's my mantra. And if the meat has been raised by someone you know on a farm that you could visit if you wanted to - that is frosting on the cake.

Here is a link to a Winona Daily News article about the event. http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_cbe85e2c-4d2d-11e0-bb7a-001cc4c03286.html

And here are a few pictures that we took.

Peggy Hanson and Jenni McHugh, wife of Featherstone Farm farmer Jack Hedin

Frank Wright shows his Japanese sharpening stones to Tom VanderLinden, University of Minnesota Extension agent


Peggy Hanson (left) and Liz Heywood, manager of Bluff Country Co-op in Winona. With spinach salad - topped with steak, winter radish and green beans. Olive oil, sherry vinegar and shallot vinaigrette.

Hands On - Buttermilk Scones

2011-03-09T07:09:00.000-06:00

I just posted a video on You Tube showing how to make buttermilk scones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlB5ghx-8ns
Here is the recipe and a few comments.

4 cups flour (I like to use some whole wheat pastry flour for extra nutrition. Or you can use all white flour.)
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 T. baking powder (that is the same as 4 1/2 t.)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. kosher salt
2/3 cup butter (that is just about 11 T. One stick is 8 T.) -- cold and cut into 1/2 cubes
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (approx. I often find I need an extra 1/4 cup or so depending on the flour I am using.)
Egg wash - optional - 1 egg, beaten well with 1/4 cup milk
raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Mix dry ingredients well in a large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or two knives or work quickly with fingertips. Add buttermilk and blend with a fork until dough clings together into a shaggy mass. Put dough on to floured surface and knead a few times. Divide into three pieces and knead a little more, forming two "patties". Cut each into six wedges.
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle on sugar. Place on baking sheet - best to lightly grease or use parchment paper, depending on the surface of the sheet you use. Bake about 10 minutes at 425 degrees - until lightly browned.
If you don't eat these the first day, wrap well and freeze. They reheat beautifully.

Better living with beets

2011-03-06T07:17:00.000-06:00

The Coca Cola company has been telling us for over a year now that drinking Coke will make us happy. Have you noticed all the "Open Happiness" billboards and commercials? I think this is a brilliant ad campaign. Who doesn't want to be happy, right? Why didn't the U.S. Broccoli Council (I assume there is one) think of this first?

That is why I was so interested in the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index - a project that maps well-being in the U.S. They did not include Coke drinking on their list of quality of life indicators. They did include fruit and vegetable consumption. They asked people lots of questions, including whether they ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day on at least four of the previous seven days. Then they made a map comparing fruit and vegetable consumption all over the U.S., by congressional district. They also mapped other indicators such as obesity, health insurance, stress and learning.

Take a look. I enjoyed spending some time with these maps. Maybe you will too. I don't know if they prove that rutabagas will make you happy. But I do think they show that eating more fruits and vegetables is a really good idea.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/06/weekinreview/20110306-happiness.html?ref=us

Hands On - a bakery in your kitchen?

2011-02-28T10:22:00.000-06:00

Do you like to eat muffins, scones, corn bread, pancakes, dumplings, tea breads (like banana bread) or biscuits?

It is really easy to make quick breads at home. It helps to have a system for organizing basic ingredients and equipment. Once you are set up and get some practice and experience, you can whip up pancakes or biscuits in minutes. Baking at home is a great way to save money and ensure that you are eating food that is much fresher and healthier and tastes better than anything you can buy at a store or even a bakery. (Note -- We can talk about yeast bread another day. You can also easily make yeast breads at home and improve the quality of your meals exponentially.)

Here is a picture of the baking corner I have in my kitchen. My kitchen has three corners. I designed each corner to have a complete round lazy susan in the base cabinet. Thus in the back of each corner I have a raised area where I can put frequently used items and not sacrifice working counter space. You can't see the Kitchen Aid mixer just to the right of the vintage canisters. That is one of my secret weapons.

If you want to bake quick breads the easy way, find a place in your kitchen where the following items are within easy reach:
flour (I like to keep whole wheat pastry flour and all purpose white flour on hand for quick breads), corn meal, white sugar, brown sugar, non stick spray for baking pans, kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch. Depending on the kinds of recipes you use often, you might also want rolled oats, wheat bran or whole wheat flour. I keep small containers of sugar and cinnamon sugar when I need a quick shake of either. Also vanilla. Cocoa would also be a good item to keep handy.

Here are other staples you might keep on hand:
In the pantry or cupboard: honey, molasses, various dried fruits or nuts, special grain products like rye, barley or oat flour. (Depending on how often you use nuts, you might want to store those in the freezer.) Most cooking oils can be stored at room temperature. I have been using a nice Minnesota cold pressed virgin sunflower oil lately - I keep it refrigerated because it is not highly refined.

In the refrigerator: Buttermilk or plain yogurt, butter, eggs, real maple syrup, milk. Maybe lard if you like it for pie crust. I am practically never without buttermilk. It keeps quite well and is crucial for many quick breads. It also can be used in salad dressings and soups. I use it as a starter for creme fraiche, too.

Basic equipment:
a few mixing bowls of different sizes (I really like my nesting stainless bowls - lightweight, unbreakable and easy to clean.), measuring cups and spoons, mixing spoons and a whisk, a few silicone scrapers, a pastry brush. A spatula for lifting and flipping pancakes. A rolling pin is nice for biscuits. Or you can just pat the dough, too.

You also will need an area to work - I would say three feet of counter space at a minimum.

Here are a few common quick bread recipes to get you started. You do not need Bisquick. You do not need any mix. Just use real food.

Buttermilk pancakes - makes 18 medium pancakes
1 cup flour (I use about 1/3 each: whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour and cornmeal.)
1 T. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 cup (maybe a little more if batter seems too thick) buttermilk or plain yogurt thinned with a little milk or water)
3 T. melted butter or cooking oil or a combination

Mix together dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine - mix just until blended. Don't overbeat. Cook on a griddle.

Cornbread- one 8 x 8 pan or twelve muffins
I like this recipe because it is moist and not crumbly. Make sure you use good quality fresh stoneground cornmeal.
Dry ingredients:
2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup wheat germ, ground flax seed or whole wheat pastry flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 T. brown sugar
Wet ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. oil or melted butter or lard
2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 baking pan. (You can also use a 10 inch cast iron frying pan.) Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a larger bowl. Whisk dry ingredients into the wet. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, until firm in the middle and lightly browned on top.
(Note - you can also make corn muffins - just use a greased muffin tin and bake 10-12 minutes.)

Cream biscuits - makes one dozen small biscuits
This recipe is super quick and easy because you do not need to cut butter or lard into the flour. Just use a light touch and don't overmix.
2 cups all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 T. (same as 3 t.) baking powder
2 t. sugar
1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup melted butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend with a fork. Slowly add 1 cup cream, while stirring. The dough should start holding together. If it doesn't and there is still a lot of dry flour, add a bit more cream until double holds together. You don't want dough too wet or sticky - just enough cream so dough is not falling apart. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface briefly - no more than a minute - until dough is smooth. Pat into a square and cut into 12 pieces. Dip each piece into melted butter and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Scones
This is the famous Cafe Latte buttermilk scone recipe. I clipped it out of the Star Tribune about 20 years ago - when people still clipped recipes. You can add your favorite fruits or nuts or even chopped crystallized ginger. Add just currants for a scone classic. This recipe makes 18 good sized scones and they freeze well. And they cost a lot less than $1.89 each or whatever scones are selling for these days. You will need a large mixing bowl.

4 cups all purpose flour (you could use half whole wheat pastry flour)
2 T. sugar
4 1/2 teaspooons baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2/3 cup cold butter, cut into bits
About 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
one egg beaten with a tablespoon or two of milk for glaze - called an egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, two knives or even your fingertips. You want little pea sized clumps. Work fast and don't overmix.
Add buttermilk and mix. If dough seems too dry add a little bit more buttermilk. Scoop dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until it is smooth. This is the stage where you can add some chopped dried fruit or nuts or even chocolate chips or fresh herbs if you want.
Divide dough into three pieces and pat each into a round. Cut each round into six wedges. Brush each scone with a little of the egg wash and then place on an ungreased baking sheet (if you have parchment paper you can line the sheet with that.) The egg wash is optional but I think it makes the scones look much nicer. You can even sprinkle a little raw sugar on top to gild the lily.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Zucchini or carrot bread
See this past post for this recipe.
http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/08/tried-and-true-zucchini-bread.html

Potluck: Let's go to New York City

2011-02-22T12:50:00.000-06:00

The last Featherstone Farm 2010-11 CSA winter share box has been delivered. Last Saturday we had a nice party in one of the greenhouses for winter share members and farm staff. Evan grilled some venison and chicken and we sampled some fabulous vegetable stews and soups. Frank and I brought a pot of homegrown and home ground polenta.

Sign up for the 2011 summer season has begun in earnest -- Jack, Margaret or Evan will be attending CSA fairs and other events - signing up new and returning members. Check out the new payment options -- it will be easier than ever to spread out your payments if you want to do that. To sign up online for 2011 go here: http://featherstonefarm.com/sign-up/

Even though our CSA boxes have stopped for now, our need to eat - and cook - does not end. So our cooking conversation will continue as we use up the last of our cabbage, carrots and potatoes and more and look forward to the first box of the spring. I will be posting at least once a week until June. Frank and I will be working on more videos, too.

This week's post is about kitchen design. This matters. If you like your kitchen you are more apt to like cooking in it. If you like to cook, you and your family will eat more home cooked meals, made from scratch. If you eat more home cooking you will be happier and healthier -- and wealthier.

I would love for you to be happy, healthy and wealthy so I am going to devote some posts to the topic of kitchens and kitchen design. This is not about spending thousands of dollars on a dream kitchen. This is about being more thoughtful about the space and resources you have. Are there ways you can re-organize or customize your space to make it more convenient and user friendly?

Which brings us - at last - to New York City. NYC is the home of MoMA - the Museum of Modern Art - and one of its current exhibitions:
"Counter space: design + the modern kitchen". It will run until May 2, 2011. If you can't visit in person, the extensive and detailed web site is the next best thing.

If you go to this link and scroll down, you will see a collection of videos. I especially encourage you to click on the one called "A Step-saving Kitchen" - a USDA video made in 1949 for rural families. http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/counter_space/visions_of_plenty

It is a little over 13 minutes long, so watching it is a commitment. This is not fast paced. I found it fascinating and quite relevant to today's cooks - even those who do not live on a farm. It might help you think about your own cooking and eating style and how you might re-arrange your kitchen to make food preparation, clean up and even preservation more convenient. One of my favorite features of the "model" kitchen was a little hole in the counter for food waste. The USDA seemed to assume that the household would know what to do with the scraps. The word compost was not mentioned. There seemed to be an assumption that there was a pig somewhere nearby. Or at least a garden.

If you have extra time and would enjoy a few laughs - I also recommend one of the other videos - "A Word to the Wives". This one, also about 13 minutes, is pure cultural anthropology and Madison Ave. psychology. While you watch you might think about ways that advertisers today mess with our minds and attitudes about food and cooking. This has been going on for a long time. Forewarned is forearmed.

Inspiration - Winter Box #8

2011-02-15T07:53:00.000-06:00

In this week's box: White and red daikon radish, green cabbage, mixed potatoes, carrots, beets, purple top turnips

I was a little anxious yesterday afternoon as I drove to the farm to get my box. Worrying about whether you are getting tired of borscht and cole slaw and potato soup. Wondering if I would be able to come up with some new ideas to help us all get through February. Hoping that my husband was having fun back in our kitchen - making a Valentine's Day dinner for us. Guess what - we had roasted root vegetables (parsnips, potatoes, carrots and squash), fresh salad greens from a neighbor's greenhouse, liver pancakes and boiled pork tongue. (I know, I know. You are horrified. Perhaps curious. Why aren't we eating grilled salmon or steak or chicken breasts at a restaurant like everyone else? Because we are still finishing off the huge half pig we butchered a year ago, that's why. The liver pancakes are more like patties - it is a Finnish recipe. If you like liver pate you would like liver pancakes. We had them with cranberry sauce since we don't have lingonberries.)

So are you getting tired of cole slaw? Potato cabbage soup? I'm not. When you get down to it, most people really have very little diversity in their diets so it shouldn't be a big deal if you eat borscht 5 or 6 times in a winter month. How many times a month - year round - do a lot of people eat pizza or tacos or burgers or heaven forfend chicken nuggets? Ten? Nobody thinks that is a hardship. So why do we get impatient with our February turnips and cabbage? Why do we wish for the fresh green beans we can't have (at least not locally) when we have beautiful orange carrots beckoning?

Since I am a cook and not a psychologist I will not attempt to answer these rhetorical questions. What I will do is set forth some ideas for how to turn winter vegetables into satisfying meals.

SOUP
Regular readers of this blog know I am bullish on soup. Here are a few really simple recipes - healthful and filling. Soup and sandwich still is a great combo.

Karelian Borsch (This is adapted from Beatrice Ojakangas' classic Finnish Cookbook.)
Vegetables: 2 cups beets, peeled and grated; 2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped or grated; 6 cups red or green or mixed cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic
2 T. red wine or cider vinegar
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
2 T. butter or lard or sunflower oil
4 T. flour
8 cups meat broth
1/2 pound Polish or similar sausages, sliced
Sour cream or creme fraiche
Thinly sliced lemons, optional
Saute beets and carrots in fat about 5 minutes in a large pot. Add salt, flour and vinegar and mix. Add all other ingredients except sausage, sour cream and lemons. Before you serve the soup, add the sliced sausages and heat. Pass sour cream and lemon slices with the soup.

Beet Root Soup
Chop into small pieces: one onion (peeled), 1 turnip (peeled), a few cups of chopped cabbage, a little celery if you have it, about 1 heaping cup cooked beet. Boil all together with 3 cups milk and water mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste. When vegetables are soft, puree in a blender (cool a bit first) or rub through a sieve. Add a few tablespoons of butter or cream before serving. A pinch of cloves would be a nice addition.

Winter Minestrone
This recipe is based on a version by Alice Waters in The Art of Simple Food. She shows how you can vary basic minestrone according to the season.
Finely chop 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery and one onion. Saute in 1/4 cup olive oil about 15 minutes, until rich golden brown. Add four cloves chopped garlic, 5 thyme sprigs, 2 t. salt and one bay leaf and cook another five minutes. (If you don't have thyme, I think crumbled dried sage would be nice.) Then add 3 cups boiling water.
Meanwhile, cut half a head of cabbage into bite sized pieces and cook until tender in a small amount of boiling salted water.
Add the following to the carrot, onion, celery pot: 1 pound turnips and 1/2 pound potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces. Cook for another 15 minutes. Then add 3 cups of cooked cannellini or borlotti beans with one cup of their cooking water and also the cabbage and cooking water. If the soup is too thick, add more bean cooking liquid.
Serve drizzled with more olive oil and pass grated Parmesan cheese.
Fresh ground pepper would be good, too.

SANDWICHES
Beet and carrot sandwich
Butter slices of good quality rye bread. Grate raw peeled beets and carrots and put a little pile of each on each slice of bread - beet on one side and carrot on the other. If you have good quality eggs, serve with a raw egg yolk on top of each slice along with a few lemon wedges. Or top with a poached egg. Or a dollop of good mayonnaise or creme fraiche. Fresh dill would be excellent with this dish.

STEWS AND CASSEROLES

Cabbage Casserole
(from Make it Minnesotan, Minnesota's Sesquicentenntial cookbook. This recipe is from Jill Schafer, Ottertail County. She says it is like stuffed cabbage, but without the extra work.) I would probably add some dill or caraway or both and maybe double the rice. If I had some chopped canned tomatoes around I would add a cup of those.
1 pound ground beef or pork
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cups tomato juice
1 3/4 pounds chopped cabbage
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 t. salt
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 cups beef broth
2 cups sauerkraut, partially drained
4-5 strips bacon
Brown beef and onions, drain off any extra fat. Mix all ingredients except bacon together and place into a deep heavy casserole. Place bacon strips on top. Bake covered at 350 degrees one hour. Uncover. Remove bacon and stir. Replace bacon. Bake uncovered an additional half hour.

Cabbage Hotpot
This is from an old English cookbook I inherited from my Aunt Evelyn. It is wonderfully simple and humble. I might add a few carrots along with the potatoes. Apple pie and some cheddar cheese would round out this meal.
1 cabbage - sliced and braised in water or broth until partly cooked
2 large onions - chopped and cooked in butter until soft
1 pound potatoes -peeled and sliced
4 T. butter (1/2 a stick)
salt and pepper to taste
Butter a large baking dish with a cover. Layer - first cabbage, then onion, then potatoes. Cover and bake in a moderate oven until potatoes are tender. Bake uncovered a little while to brown potatoes if desired.

Potato and tomato stew with pancetta
1/4 pound pancetta or lean bacon
1 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups roma type tomatoes with liquid
2 pounds all purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup pesto or a little more to taste. (or half a cup of fresh basil if you have some)

Saute pancetta until golden in a large heavy skillet. Remove and drain on paper towels. Add 1 T. olive oil to pan and cook onion and garlic about 5 minutes - taking care not to burn garlic. Add other ingredients and cook about 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Add a little water, wine, stock or tomato juice if stew gets too dry. Serve sprinkled with the cooked pancetta and some good bread to sop up the juices.

Turnip and carrot gratin
Peel and shred 3/4 pounds each of turnip and carrot. Mix with 3 T. chopped fresh parsley and 1/2 cup sliced scallion greens. Place in a shallow buttered dish.
Make a white sauce with 2 T. butter, 2 T. flour and 2 cups warm milk. Enrich with one beaten egg if desired. (Remember to add a bit of warm sauce to the egg before adding it to the sauce, to avoid curdling.) Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour sauce over vegetables.
Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and dot with butter. Bake at 375 degrees about 45 minutes - or until it is bubbling hot and lightly browned.

SALAD

Crunchy radish salad

Raw grated beet, black radish and white daikon

We are really getting to like winter radishes in our house - even the infamous Black Radish. They benefit greatly from being shredded or julienned.
I was cleaning out my refrigerator a few nights ago and made a lovely salad with one raw beet, one black radish and one 8 inch piece of white daikon. All were peeled and then coarsely grated. I mixed the radishes in a bowl and added about 3 T. each of rice vinegar and mirin. (you could use 2 T. of sugar) Also a dash of salt. No oil but a little sesame oil would be fine. As would a bit of grated ginger. This made a tasty and colorful side dish. I would say this salad is magenta, wouldn't you?

Choucroute garnie

2011-02-13T08:45:00.000-06:00

There are many ways to prepare sauerkraut, but one of the best and most famous is choucroute garnie. There are many versions - but all contain various cuts of pork, copious amounts of sauerkraut and white wine. Potatoes are almost always served on the side.

As you will see in the recipes, this dish is not for vegetarians. A good choucroute garnie contains serious amounts of pork. I wouldn't encourage you to eat this every week. It is a great winter party dish to share with 6-8 friends.

If you have not gotten around to making your own homemade sauerkraut yet, you can find good commercial versions in the refrigerator case at your favorite coop or grocery store. Some jarred brands are good, too. Canned sauerkraut is my least favorite.

Here are some links to some good choucroute garnie recipes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/dining/16apperex.html?ref=dining

Or this one from Epicurious (I would not use Delicious apples and I might use a little less sausage - but this recipe is still worth checking out.) http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Choucroute-Garnie-102386

Or this from Saveur - see the article accompanying it as well.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Sauerkraut-with-Pork-and-Sausages

If these recipes are too overwhelming, there is nothing wrong with a simple dinner of sausage, sauerkraut and vegetables. I like to brown sausages first, then add rinsed sauerkraut, some chopped onions and apples and white wine (about 1/4 cup per sausage). You can add boiling potatoes (cut into chunks if they are large) right into the baking dish. Some chunks of turnip or carrots are good too. I like a high ratio of vegetables to meat in this dish. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours - until everything is tender and flavors have melded - and enjoy.

Inspiration - Winter week #7

2011-02-01T21:21:00.000-06:00

In this week's box: Heart of gold squash, green cabbage, mixed potatoes, Sugar Snax and Bolero carrots, parsnips, Dried hot red peppers

Have you read the publicity this week about the U.S. government's new dietary guidelines? There was some big news buried in the usual advice to lower consumption of salt, saturated fat and sugar. (For a copy of the whole report for all you wonks out there, as well as summaries and other details, go to http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-DGACReport.htm)

First, we are all encouraged to EAT LESS! Who knew? In a nation of all-you-can-eat buffets, gargantuan restaurant portions and ubiquitous vending machines and fast food places, this is not always so easy. For years food manufacturers have lobbied strongly against adding these two words to the dietary guidelines. They like to talk about "food choices" instead. That is because they are in the business of selling us calories. A message telling us to eat less means less sales for the food industry. Since Americans as a group already have available to us way more calories than we need, eating less means less food company revenues, plain and simple. Or it could mean more food waste, which would be a shame. Or we could ignore this advice and keep buying food we don't need and getting fatter, which would be a shame too.

The next piece of big news is that we are advised that fruits and vegetables should take up HALF OUR PLATES. Previous guidelines have just told us to eat more fruits and vegetables. Now the amount is quantified for us - half our plates! This would require a pretty big behavioral change for most people.

CSA members are way ahead of the curve in this vegetable/fruit eating challenge. But I know many dedicated CSA members who still find it difficult to add more fruits and vegetables to their daily meals. Cook more meals at home from scratch and some of this will take care of itself.

Here are a few tricks that help me:

1. Add vegetables to tried and true basics. For example, I add winter squash puree to our breakfast polenta and chopped spinach to spaghetti sauce. Sometimes I put grated carrots in mac and cheese or extra onions and peppers in sloppy joes. Caramelized onions or even cooked sliced potatoes make great pizza topping. I use cole slaw or sliced radishes to add crunch to sandwiches. Put more vegetables in the tuna or hamburger hot dish. For breakfast, make a frittata with lots of vegetables instead of plain scrambled eggs. The possibilities are endless.

2. Soup. Eat a hearty soup featuring vegetables at least once a week. Minestrone can be adapted to make good use of many types of vegetables. If you include some cooked dry beans and pasta, you have a full meal. Here is a July post with a minestrone recipe:http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/07/inspiration-week-7.html

3. Take meat out of the middle of the plate. Don't be afraid to have all vegetable meals once in a while. Last night we had a little pickled herring with crackers as an appetizer for protein. Dinner was baked ratatouille (frozen from last summer) on polenta, with some grated parmesan on top. Tonight dinner was spinach souffle, red cabbage slaw and some winter squash gnocchi with sage butter. There were a few eggs in the souffle and the gnocchi - I didn't worry at all about enough protein. (Besides, tomorrow we are having pork chops for dinner.)

Here are some ideas for ways to use the veggies in your CSA box this week:

Carrots
Salad -- Grate or shred carrots, by hand or in a food processor. Now you can make all kinds of salads, such as:
Carrot apple -- add grated apple to carrots, along with a handful of raisins and some chopped peanuts. Dress with a little orange or lemon juice and honey. Add some plain yogurt if desired.

North African carrot salad - add this dressing to shredded carrots: mix equal parts olive oil and lemon juice - about 3 T each. Add 1 clove minced fresh garlic, 1 t. sugar, 1/2 t. cumin seed, crushed, 1/2 t. crushed dried mint leave, salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add some crushed dried red pepper flakes.

Vietnamese rolls
Moisten rice paper rounds according to package directions. Fill with shredded carrots (radish too if you have some), bean sprouts, chopped tofu, peanuts, cilantro and mint. Roll up and serve with your favorite peanut-chile dipping sauce

Root veggie hash
Cut carrots, parsnips and potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat heavy frying pan, add olive oil. When oil is hot, add cubed vegetables. Cook until browned on one side and then turn. Add chopped onion or shallots when vegetables are almost tender. Serve when vegetables are browned and tender. Add fresh chopped parsley if you have some. Good served with a fried egg on top. Variation: Add a little ground pork or sausage to the vegetables when they are cooking.

Parsnips
Mashed - These are simple and good. Just peel parsnips and cook in salted water until tender. Drain. Mash parsnips with some milk and butter, season to taste with salt and pepper. You could also mix the mashed parsnips with some egg and a little flour. Fry in some butter and voila - pancakes. These would be good on a bed of sauteed cabbage.

Parsnips with dark beer glaze
This recipe is from From Asparagus to Zucchini - the cookbook from the Madison area CSA coalition.
1 pound parsnips, cut into small chunks
1 cup sweet flavored stout or brown ale
1/4 t. cinnamon, 1/8 t. cloves
2 t. butter
salt and pepper
1-2 T maple syrup
Simmer parsnips, stout and spices in a heavy covered pan about 8-10 minutes, or until tender. Remove cover and raise heat so that liquid evaporates and reduces to a glaze. Stir in butter and optional syrup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cabbage
I really encourage you to try making some sauerkraut. You can watch me do it right here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWsYJpU-w_8
Next week I will give you some ideas for cooking with sauerkraut (even though it won't be ready for about 3-4 weeks)

Potatoes and squash
Make a simple meal of baked potatoes and baked squash halves. Add some chopped apple and a little butter and honey inside the squash halves. Have some cabbage slaw as a first court and splurge on a nice piece of cheese for dessert, just like the French do.

Potluck: Cooking and Dignity

2011-01-27T13:46:00.001-06:00

I am a big fan of democracy - even if it is messy and slow - and so have been closely following events of late in Tunisia and Egypt. I guess something is happening now in Yemen so I will have even more reading to do.

I am very excited that ordinary people - especially young people - are attempting to stand up for freedom of expression and for the right to govern themselves by rule of law. They want to be treated with dignity by their governments. They want a say in their future. I'm for that.

So what does this have to do with food? Food or government - to me we are faced with the same choices. It is all a matter of individuals taking responsibility for their own lives. Yes - there is collective action but the group is made up of individuals.

If you are a CSA member (or a farmers market shopper or a gardener etc.) you have decided to take more personal responsibility for choosing and preparing what you eat. There is certainly dignity in that choice. I am glad you and I have the freedom to make these choices.

A good food friend of mine just shared a link to a video about food self-reliance. Take a few minutes to watch it - it is interesting. http://www.goodfoodworld.com/2011/01/changing-our-food-and-changing-ourselves/

In a few minutes I am going to start chopping some vegetables for our dinner. If Tunisians and others can risk their lives for freedom and democracy I guess I can take some time to chop and cook and personally support an agricultural system that - in my opinion - affirms the dignity of people, animals and the planet.

Hands On - Sauerkraut

2011-01-24T10:24:00.000-06:00

Fermented foods have been around for thousands of years for a reason - they are tasty and nutritious and they store well. If you want to learn about fermentation, a good place to start is sauerkraut. This is a living food. Another example of how bacteria - properly managed - can be our friends.

What you will need:
5 pounds of green winter cabbage - the kind that has a dense head - not loose cabbage like napa. Five pounds of cabbage will make about a gallon of kraut.
2-3 tablespoons kosher salt or pickling salt
A sharp knife and cutting board or a mandoline or other tool for thinly slicing the cabbage
A clean crock or other large nonreactive (glass, food grade plastic, enamel or stainless steel) container
A plate and a weight or other system for weighting down the cabbage
A cover for the crock
A location for the crock that is consistently about 65-70 degrees fahrenheit

The steps (See the steps in pictures - below)
1. Cut up the cabbage. Quarter and core. Slice as thinly as possible. (Make sure you start with a little more than five pounds of cabbage to allow for waste. Please compost the cores and other waste.)
2. Put the sliced cabbage in a large bowl or pan, sprinkle on 2-3 T. of salt. Some say use a little more salt in summer and less in winter. Mix the salt and cabbage with clean hands - squeezing and pressing hard - for a few minutes.
3. Let the cabbage rest about half an hour.
4. Pack the cabbage into the crock or container. Press down hard. You can use a potato masher to do this.
5. Put a clean plate on top of the cabbage - ideally one that just fits inside the cabbage container.
6. Put a weight on top of the plate - you can use a heavy plastic bag full of water, a clean jar full of water or even a clean rock.
7. Cover the crock with a clean towel or plastic wrap.
8. Set the crock in a place that is 65-70 degrees for 7-28 days. Check the crock after the first day - the brine should completely cover the cabbage. You do not want air to reach the cabbage. Fermenation needs an anaerobic environment. If the brine does not cover the cabbage then add more brine -- one cup of water to 1 T. salt.
9. After the first day, you don't need to check the kraut more than once every 5-7 days. Some mold may appear on the surface. If it does, just skim off what you can. Don't worry about this - it is just a result of surface contact with the air. The kraut is under the "anaerobic protection" of the brine. If some brine evaporates, just add more brine to keep the kraut covered.
(Note - the temperature should never go over 72 degrees in the fermentation process. Lower temperature means slower fermentation.)
10. Tasting - after a week or so, remove the weight and plate and taste a bit of the kraut. It is possible to stop the fermentation process at this point if you like kraut this way. You stop the fermentation by lowering the temperature and refrigerating the kraut. You could decide to take some out and eat it and leave the rest to continue fermenting. If you remove some kraut make sure you repack the rest, smooth the top and make sure there is enough brine to cover.

You don't want to let the process continue for more than four weeks. Three weeks is probably ideal. It depends on the temperatures your crock is living in. It is not good to let the kraut become soft. The flavor will be less pleasant.

11. Storing - when the kraut has reached the flavor you like, just pack it into clean glass jars, with the brine, and store in the refrigerator. It will keep for months. Kraut can be canned but the heat processing will change it. I prefer "living" sauerkraut.

12. Sauerkraut juice - it is okay to drink the brine. Yes it is salty but some consider it a "digestive tonic".

Sauerkraut recipes - You can even join a sauerkraut club at this site. http://www.sauerkrautrecipes.com/

Here are pictures of the steps I use to make sauerkraut.

Inspiration - Winter Week #6

2011-01-17T21:00:00.001-06:00

In this week's box: butternut squash, green cabbage, mixed potatoes, carrots, white daikon radish, kale, dried sage

I have been back from vacation for about five days and am finally getting into the kitchen swing of things again. Don't you just hate post vacation re-entry? The giant pile of mail was bad enough, but the mostly empty refrigerator was a downer too. And I was out of the habit of cooking every day. Restaurants do have their charms.

Thank goodness I had a quart of chili, a loaf of homemade bread, a quart of turkey gravy and some leftover turkey in the freezer. Plus a pile of winter vegetables, which do store so well. Saved the day for sure. Tonight I just added a few cups of chopped celery, carrots, onions and potatoes and some turkey to the gravy. Whipped up a little biscuit dough, plopped it on top of the simmering gravy and veggies - cooked with the cover on for about 15 minutes and voila - dinner. Refrigerator pickles on the side helped make up for the fact that it was really cold, gray and sloppy outside.

This is the time of year that can challenge even the most dedicated seasonal cook.   Yes, the cabbage, potatoes, carrots and squash in your box are fine plump specimens -- but one does yearn for some green beans or lettuce or sweet corn. All I can say is -- patience. All in good time. Meanwhile, you have some good food to deal with and I will share a few of my secrets for the midwinter culinary blahs.

First - soup

Full flavored, long simmered soup is a blessing in the winter. Pair soup with some excellent bread and butter or olive oil. If you have been intending to try your hand at yeast bread now is the time. You can also indulge in some apple pie or bread pudding or carrot cake - hearty desserts that might seem like too much in the summer. But if you are eating a soup made with mostly or all vegetables for dinner - then by all means enjoy a little dessert.

You can try many soups with this week's vegetables - like cream of potato or carrot or squash. Or try this recipe from a recent New York Times article - it uses squash, cabbage, carrots and sage along with other items. It calls for farro - but you could use another grain instead.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/health/nutrition/13recipehealth.html?ref=dining

I am going to make borscht tomorrow. I have some beets to use up - and I also can use some of my cabbage, carrots and potatoes in the borscht. I think this soup is best if you make a good beef and/or pork broth first. If you use meaty pork ribs and chuck roast you can add the meat to the soup. This soup is best if refrigerated and eaten two or three days after it is made.

Borscht -

Make about 10 cups meat stock - use soup bones or lean meaty ribs or chuck roast. Add a little onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf to the water. About one pound meat and bones to 5-6 cups water is a good proportion. Simmer several hours and strain. Cut up meat to add to soup later.
Add vegetables to the stock and simmer until all are tender - about 2 cups chopped onion, 4 cups shredded cabbage, 3 cups each chopped carrot and potato. If you have some parsnip or rutabaga a little of that is good too. Add about 3 cups chopped cooked and peeled beets near the end of cooking.   I also like to add a can of whole or diced tomatoes and their juice- about 3 cups. If you are lucky, you will have a row of beautiful home canned tomatoes in your larder - now is the time to break out a jar.

Seasonings - use salt and pepper to taste. A handful of fresh chopped parsley and dill is nice. Near the end of cooking, add about 1/2 cup red wine vinegar or lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar.

Serve topped with some sour cream or creme fraiche. Good with rye bread. Also good with a full flavored red wine or some dark beer or ale.

Second - vinegar Cook or season with vinegar. Try different kinds. Make coleslaw with a mustardy oil and vinegar dressing. Shred or slice radishes and marinate with a little vinegar and sugar. For more about vinegar see this 2010 blog post: http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/06/dig-in-vinegar.html

Third - pizza
Learn how to make homemade crust. Or buy prepared crusts. Experiment with different toppings. How about butternut squash puree instead of tomato sauce? Sprinkle it with some chopped garlic, crumbled dried sage, and grated parmesan. Bake. Serve with sliced plain raw radishes on the side. Maybe make a little dipping sauce for the radishes with some soy sauce, sugar and a little rice vinegar.

Or try beet pizza. Really. I would make a crust with a little whole wheat or rye flour. Spread some caramelized onions and sliced roasted beets on the crust. Dot with goat cheese. Maybe add some walnuts. Bake.

Fourth - comfort foods Don't forget classic old favorites like colcannon - which is just potatoes and cabbage bound together with a generous dose of butter and milk. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Colcannon-11710 You can use kale instead of cabbage to make colcannon if you like.
Add some roast chicken and maybe an apple for dessert and you have a great simple meal.

Or how about macaroni and cheese with some glazed carrots or braised cabbage on the side?   Or scalloped potatoes with a little ham and a raw carrot and radish salad? Who needs fresh tomatoes and green beans when you have such excellent cabbage and carrots?

Save some of your cabbage and in few days I will tell you how to make your own sauerkraut at home. It is easy. Really. And fermentation is the next new (old) thing.

Potluck: Kitchen Rehab

2011-01-11T11:17:00.001-06:00

Do you like your kitchen? Does being in your kitchen make you feel happy and relaxed? Or do you dread a stint of cooking because you just don't like working in that space? Do you have things arranged for your convenience?

Are you hanging on to stuff you haven't used in years just because you haven't gotten around to having a garage sale or loading up a box for the Salvation Army? Do you have a jar of cloves in the back of your cupboard that has been there since the turn of the century? (Come on - I know you have some old stuff around. I finally tossed a bag of dried bean curd sheets a few months ago because I never did figure out what to do with them. It killed me because I HATE to waste food. But sometimes you just have to admit failure and move on.)

I am not going to recommend a $50,000 kitchen renovation, complete with the latest trendy countertop surface or new type of cooktop. I am going to suggest that you set aside several hours this month to clean and organize and improve what you have. This will cost little or nothing, except your time. This will help you become a happier cook which will inevitably lead to becoming a better and more productive cook.

You know better than I what is driving you crazy in your own kitchen. Maybe it is a dark corner that needs better lighting. Maybe it is the utensil drawer that is so full you never can find the tongs when you need them. Maybe it is ten boxes of old and half eaten breakfast cereal sitting on top of the refrigerator. The horror.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Countertops
Take everything off your countertops and all available flat work space in your kitchen. I mean everything. Scrub all the surfaces. Now put things back - but I want you to think carefully about each item. Do you really need all the tschotkes that you have taking up valuable real estate? Set priorities. Make sure cutting boards, peelers and knives are in a place that is very convenient and accessible. Same with spices, herbs and salt and pepper. I like keeping a basic supply of oils and vinegars close at hand too.

Lighting
I really like good lighting - natural or otherwise - in a kitchen. This is one area where you might need to spend a little money. Maybe you need a new fixture or even an electrician to add some new wiring. Maybe you just need light bulbs (time for LED's?) that pack a bigger punch. We have long and dark winters in Minnesota. Lighten up your kitchen. This might be more effective than anti-depressants.

Utensils
Make a little pile of the tools you use all the time. For me it is a few spoons, rubber scrapers, whisk, tongs and potato masher. I find it convenient to use some of my prime counter space for a few crocks that hold utensils. I also have one drawer chock full of things like a cherry pitter, cookie cutters, thermometers and other small but indispensable items. I may not use them every day but I want them close by when I do need them. If have a pile of items you never use - pass them on to someone who will.

If your knives are not sharp - do something about it.

Pots and pans
Decide which ones you use the most. Put them where you can easily reach them. The roaster you only use once or twice a year? Put it in the basement, the apartment storage closet. You get the idea.

The cupboard
Go through the boxes, cans, jars and bags. Are you EVER going to use the can of fermented lettuce you picked up when you visited Chinatown in Chicago? No. The answer is no. Toss it. Grieve. Move on.
Once you have tossed all the old stuff or the stuff you are truly never going to eat, then do a little organizing. Plan some meals to use up what you have. Stumped? Go on Featherstone's Facebook page. Ask for help. "What can I cook with x, y and z?" See what happens. I promise to help.

Herbs and spices
Take an inventory. If something is really old and has lost most of its flavor, out it goes. Make a list. Go to your favorite co-op and restock the basic herbs and spices that you think you need. You don't want to be making chili and find out that you are out of chili powder and cumin. Make sure you have some bay leaves around - I use them all the time in soup stock.
Don't forget dry mustard powder - also a staple in my house.

I hope you have fun with this project. Let me know how it goes. Maybe we should have an annual exchange of cooking tools and utensils and appliances for Featherstone Farm members? Help useful things find a good home and encourage us to keep our kitchens lean and mean. Do you think that is a good idea?

Inspiration - Winter Week #5

2011-01-04T09:55:00.004-06:00

In this week's box: Butternut squash, red cabbage, yellow potato, carrots, black Spanish radish, Beauty Heart radish, beets, garlic (final week)

I hope you all had a joyous holiday season and that you enjoyed cooking and eating beautiful vegetables with any special meals you may have shared with friends and family.

I have been traveling since Dec. 23 and now am in Atlanta visiting my son and his family. I'm going to cook out of their CSA box tomorrow -- but I can still write about YOUR Featherstone CSA box, thanks to Margaret Marshall telling me what you are getting.

Before I talk about recipes - I would like to tell you about a book I just started reading. It is called The Lost Art of Real Cooking - Rediscovering the Pleasures of Traditional Food One Recipe at a Time, by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger. This is a humble little book - only 233 pages including the index. No color pictures and just a few line drawings. It was published by the Penguin Group in 2010.

I like this book because it extols the virtues of cooking real food at home, from scratch. The authors make the case that convenience and speed are overrated and admit to being "obstinately old-fashioned". These folks are singing my song. A brief excerpt:
"Cooking slowly with patience is inherently entertaining, and the food it yields tastes better, costs less, and connects you with the people you feed in a way that a prefabricated meal can never hope to do. There is, it cannot be denied, unspeakable pleasure in providing sustenance for others with the labor of one's own hands." Food for thought.

Speaking of unspeakable pleasure, let's talk about the vegetables in your box. This week I am focusing especially on salad ideas - since January is a time when local and seasonal eaters can be challenged to think of alternatives to the omnipresent green "tossed salad".   I hope these recipes get you started on developing your own winter salad favorites.

Butternut Squash
On my trip I have seen butternut squash being used in salads on many menus. This is what I have come up with:

Squash salad
Peel, seed and dice (1/2 to 1 inch pieces) butternut squash and steam or boil until just barely tender - you don't want the squash to fall apart.
Ingredients (about six servings)
(Note - you can vary amounts according to your own taste. If you want to add a cup or two of cooked beans - garbanzos or cannelini or even black beans would be nice - this would be a full meal.)
3 cups cooked, diced squash
2 cups cooked barley
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup chopped onion (red?) or shallots
1 cup raw winter radishes or carrots - cut into matchsticks - for crunch
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Your favorite vinaigrette - I think making it with some fresh orange juice would be nice. A little honey or maple syrup would complement the sweetness in the squash.

Red Cabbage
I am getting to be a big fan of raw red cabbage. Again, in winter when salad greens are scarce, it is nice to have alternatives for raw and crunchy foods.
I love the Vietnamese salads that combine rice noodles, various raw or pickled vegetables and herbs and some kind of protein. This recipe is my invention - let's call it
Russian salad (with a nod to Vietnamese noodle salad)
Ingredients
Soba (Buckwheat) noodles - cooked and drained - about 3 ounces per serving (You could also substitute cooked buckwheat groats)
Thinly sliced red cabbage - about 1 cup per serving
Grated or julienned winter radish - about 1/3 cup per serving
Grated raw carrot - about 1/3 cup per serving
A few sliced cooked beets (pickled would be nice)
Dressing(this should be enough for at least 4 servings):
1/2 c. sunflower oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 T. sugar or honey
season to taste: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, dill weed, maybe a little grated horseradish root or prepared whole grain mustard
Protein - sliced roast pork or beef or marinated or sauteed tofu or a few canned sardines or salmon or a few slices of cooked sausage such as summer sausage or polish sausage.
Assembly - for each individual serving:
place soba noodles (room temp or a little warm) in a large bowl. Arrange on top the sliced and grated vegetables in an attractive fashion. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche and a spoonful of toasted sunflower seeds. Serve dressing on the side.

Yellow Potato
Don't forget about potato soup. In the winter we eat it at our house at least once a week. You can add greens, some carrots or some frozen or canned corn. Use it a base for seafood chowder or for a hearty stew with sausage and kale or other greens. Or keep it simple - just onion, potato, water, salt and pepper and a little milk and butter at the end. Maybe some chopped fresh parsley.
Or make potato salad - which is not just for summer picnics.

Winter potato salad - about 4 servings

Boil one pound potatoes until just tender. Cool slightly, peel and cut into cubes. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup white wine vinegar on the potatoes and let it soak in.
Thinly slice some onion or shallot - about 1/4 cup. Thinly slice about 1 cup raw fennel or celery or radish or a combination. Mix with potatoes. Add some chopped dill pickle or hard boiled egg if desired.
Dress with a mustardy vinaigrette. Good served at room temperature with sliced cold meats, some rye bread and beer or ale.

Winter Radishes
Don't forget that you can just peel and thinly slice winter radishes and eat them in sandwiches with your favorite fillings.

Or you can get more ambitious. I ate at a popular and trendy restaurant in Durham, North Carolina a few days ago. I ordered flounder with radishes because I am working on de-mystifying the winter radish. (The fresh flounder was a great treat. Especially because I knew it was caught sustainably.)

So -- here is how they did it at the Piedmont Restaurant: Filet of flounder floured and fried so it was just lightly crispy and hot. This was served atop the raw radish salad so as to gently warm and wilt the salad. The salad was simple - very thinly sliced daikon radish mixed with thinly sliced celery and red onion. The radish had been marinated in a little cider vinegar, sugar and salt so it was slightly pickled tasting. That was it. The contrast between the tart radish and the buttery fried fish was lovely. You could do this at home with walleye or other fish.

Here is a link to the current regular menu for Piedmont. Note the absence of tomatoes, cucumbers, green pepper, eggplant, corn etc. Note the presence of turnip, kale, radish, mustard greens, leek, cabbage, beets and pickled vegetables. More evidence - neither home cooks or restaurants need to depend on California and South America to eat or serve vegetables year round - in North Carolina or in Minnesota.
http://www.piedmontrestaurant.com/menu/

Beets and Carrots

So I need to know - are you having trouble using up beets or carrots?   If you still have an excess of carrots - dice them and roast up a bunch - they are great to eat just as a snack by the handful. Or boil and puree with the cooking water. Freeze and use later in a cream of carrot soup.
As for beets, if all else fails just pickle them. They complement many winter dishes. They make a nice side dish with mac and cheese. Or eat on a hamburger instead of lettuce and tomato. Here's how to pickle beets:   http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/10/tried-and-true-pickled-beets.html

Potluck - True Grits

2010-12-30T07:24:00.002-06:00

Greetings from Asheville, North Carolina where this foodie and her husband have been enjoying a few days in the epicenter of the local food movement - at least as it exists east of the Mississippi. Today we head for Durham, which is giving Asheville a run for its money. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/dining/21carolina.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=durham,%20north%20carolina&st=cse

When we checked into our hotel, the friendly young desk clerk (who had no idea that I was a famous food blogger from Minnesota) proudly told me that I was now in "Foodtopia", and that "all the restaurants here are farm to table."

And as far as I have been able to tell so far, she was right. This is a serious restaurant town, where most of the establishments make a big deal about using local ingredients, in season. I have been looking at a lot of menus - online and in windows and in person and I have seen more evidence of beets, rutabagas, brussels sprouts, carrots, daikon radish and parsnips than I have ever seen in the Midwest. We need to work harder. I mean really - are we going to concede primacy in rutabagas to the Tarheels? For shame.

Night before last we had dinner at the Early Girl Eatery. Their tag line is "a scratch kitchen- simplicity, quality and local flavor." Chard was the vegetable of the day and kale and collards were on the menu too. Winter greens are cool in Asheville.

Lunch on Tuesday was at the Laughing Seed Cafe. Their menu announced that "The dishes prepared here celebrate fresh vegetables, most of which come from our own Laughing Seed Farm in Barnardsville." Vertical integration for restaurants is also cool in Asheville.

I enjoyed an open face sandwich at the Laughing Seed - Grilled focaccia bread, spread with sunflower spinach pesto and piled with roasted root vegetables - beets, rutabagas, parsnips, carrots - topped with a cashew bearnaise sauce. And a side salad. Pretty darn tasty. I wouldn't want my roasted root vegetables this dolled up most of the time. But I'm on vacation - so cashew bearnaise it was.

Roasted root vegetables make me happy.

This being the South, corn bread and biscuits are ubiquitous here. (Ubiquitous Biscuits. Hmmm. Maybe a good name for a rock band.) Grits are everywhere too. Last night we ate at a seafood restaurant and Frank had shrimp and grits - a Carolina comfort food that comes in many versions.

To make shrimp and grits, you cook white or yellow corn grits in some combination of milk, cream, broth, tomato juice or water, adding grated cheddar or perhaps some parmesan for extra richness. Maybe a chunk of butter too. Often shrimp grits include a bit of bacon, cured ham or andouille sausage. The shrimp is sauteed (often in a little bacon fat) with a little onion and garlic. Sometimes bell pepper or scallions or chopped tomatoes are used as flavor accents. The result is quite wonderful - definitely a comfort food.

Here is one recipe that looked pretty good to me. Some recipes I checked out were way too heavy in fat. I encourage you to make a broth from the shrimp shells and use that to cook the grits. More shrimp flavor. Our waiter told us they use Clamato juice in the shrimp grits Frank ate last night.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/02/dinner-shrimp-and-grits-with-bacon-recipe.html

Gotta go - today we are going to check out the year round farmers market in Asheville and then head east to visit the Meadows Mills in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. We want to figure out how to grind our own grits from northern flint corn. Then it's Durham for New Year's. Will probably eat some Hoppin John. More on that later.

Pasties

2010-12-19T18:14:00.003-06:00

Convenience food has been around for a long time. Centuries ago, miners' wives invented handy pastries filled with meat and vegetables and even sometimes apples for their husbands' lunchpails. These pasties (pass-tees) are still traditional in places like Cornwall (England) and northern Michigan and Minnesota. If you go to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, formerly a lead mining area, you can always get pasties at a few local eateries.

It is traditional to make pasty crusts with butter or lard or some other fat and flour - like a pie crust. Amounts and types of fat and types of flour (e.g. some pasties call for some rye flour in the crust) vary greatly. There is no one kind of pasty pastry. (say that fast three times - pasty pastry, pasty pastry, pasty pastry.) There are various types of meat and vegetable pies that call for a bread-type crust made with yeast - but those dishes are NOT pasties. We can talk about those another day.

If you are going to the trouble of making homemade pasties, make a big batch. More efficient and I guarantee you and your family will be glad to have extra. Have some for dinner and save some for lunches or for "fast food" if you simply must be in the car during meal time. And while you are eating your pasties, say a little thank you prayer to all the miners in the world who still risk their lives every day so others can have more comfortable lives. (And yes I know coal is a serious contributor to global warming but I have looked at some of the numbers and it is going to be a little while before we figure out how to do without coal. It is powering this computer right now.)

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas. (For another take on pasties - see the blog Heavy Table. They apparently had the same idea I did and decided to write about this great winter food.) http://heavytable.com/mastering-the-pasty/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HeavyTable+%28The+Heavy+Table%29

Winter Pasties
Crust
This recipe calls for mashed potatoes. It results in a softer and flavorful crust that is quite easy to handle - important for a beginning pasty maker. This makes enough for twelve medium sized (single serving) pasties. If you have a stand type mixer, this is very quick and easy with the paddle attachment.
3 cups white or whole wheat pastry flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 cup (two sticks) butter, slightly softened
1 1/2 cups homemade mashed potatoes (leftover are just fine)
Enough ice water to make the dough hold together
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter in chunks and mix swiftly and lightly with your fingers or a paddle mixer to blend. Add mashed potatoes and incorporate. Add ice water a few spoons at a time - you don't want the dough to get too wet. Form into a ball and refrigerate, covered, about 30 minutes. When it is time to use the dough, you will need to divide it into 12 piece and roll each into a circle- about 7-8 inches in diameter. Use flour to keep dough from sticking.

Filling
While the dough is chilling, make the filling. (You could say that three times fast, too. Isn't this fun?)
I figure about a heaping half cup (that means rounded up over the edges of a half cup measure) per pasty - so you will need about 8 cups of filling. If you have a little extra, just bake in a covered baking dish like a casserole.
My suggestion is to use about 2 cups of diced raw meat (I used venison) and 6 cups of raw vegetables. Pasties NEED root vegetables. They will cook inside the pasty when it bakes. This time I used carrots, onions, parsnips and potatoes. If you want to use beets, cook them first and dice and add just before you are ready to fill the crusts. It is important that the pieces of meat and vegetables be no more than 1/2 inch dice - maybe a bit smaller. It takes a little longer to do the chopping, but it is easier to fill the pasties that way. If you were making a great big pasty or even baking it in a 9 x 13 pan- then the pieces could be larger. Salt and pepper and add some herbs if desired. I used a little dried sage.

Roll out dough circles. Place a heaping half cup on half of each circle. Brush a little water on the edges before you fold in half and crimp. Prick a few holes with a fork to let steam escape. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 minutes - until crust is nicely browned. Serve at once or cool and refrigerate and reheat later. These can be microwaved (briefly - or the crust will get tough).

Here are some step by step pictures to help you.

Diced venison, onion, potatoes, carrots and parsnips. Rutabaga would be good, too.

Leave room on the edges - don't be afraid to push the filling gently around after you fold over the crust - to get it distributed like you want it. This will get easier the more you do it.

Six individual pasties fit nicely on a big cookie sheet. I love this sheet - it was made in the USA!

Don't forget to make little holes for the steam

Some juices leaked out of two - no worry. Just slide a good strong spatula underneath the pasty will lift right up.

Inspiration - Winter Week #4

2010-12-14T16:22:00.002-06:00

In this week's box: Spinach, Carrots, Potatoes, Garlic, Green Kale, Butternut Squash, Heart of Gold Squash, Parsnips, Green Cabbage, Red and White Daikon Radishes, Beets

This week's box is heavy.   But since you have about three weeks before the next box, you should be able to manage all this beautiful food just fine.   December is a busy time filled with shopping, parties, visiting, baking or coping with winter weather. Try to make some time for your vegetable friends. I have included a few party food recipes as well as simple stand-bys. Recipe headings are in italics to make them a little easier to find.

I have been talking to some CSA members lately. No surprise, some of you tell me you had trouble using up all your vegetables last summer and fall. Even those of you with Chica shares! One reason is that some of you eat out a lot. (Note - Americans spent 48.6 cents of every food dollar away from home in 2009. So if you eat out a lot you are not alone.) You are on the run - juggling work, children, elderly parents, activities, shopping or lessons. What to do?

One thing you can do is think about using vegetables for breakfast and lunch as well as dinner. Or make your own carry out "fast food". I will try to help you with this "vegetables are not just for dinner" campaign in the coming weeks and months.

This weekend I will share recipes for pasties (pass-tees) as well as calzones. We call things like this "road pies" in our house. Yes, they are a little work but if you can manage to lay in a supply on the weekend they are great "grab and go" food and light years better than a Big Mac for all kinds of reasons I don't need to explain. Have the kids help roll out the crusts. Great life skill.

And of course there is always soup or stew. Hard to eat in the car but ready and waiting when you get home if you have a crock pot or a timed bake feature on your oven. I started some borscht yesterday morning and when I got back home about 6 p.m. dinner was ready. All we had to do was toast some rye bread and throw a little creme fraiche on top of the soup.   And slice up some radishes for our salad. (If you decide to get really motivated you could put hot soup in a few lunch box size thermos containers and let the kids work on that in the back seat. If the soup is fairly chunky - stew, really - and the kids aren't too little it should work just fine.)

Enough chatting. You have places to go, people to see, things to do. Let's take a look at what is inside your box.

Spinach
Your bag is modest in size but large in taste. Wash and dry the leaves and they should store a week at least. To make the spinach go farther, use as a bed for other salad items like grated carrot salad or roasted beets or pickled radishes.

You could also make a squash risotto and add some spinach leaves near the end of the process so they are just barely cooked. Adds nice extra color and nutrition.

Carrots
I love carrot season. We can be profligate with carrots. I add them to all kinds of soups and stews. Grated raw, they make a fine salad when mixed with a simple oil and vinegar vinaigrette or some mayonnaise or yogurt. I like to add a few raisins, nuts and chopped apple for extra fiber and nutrition. Grated carrots, chopped nuts and some dressing make a great sandwich filling, too. Add a little curry powder if you are feeling daring.

Potatoes
Maybe it was the blizzard, but yesterday we had potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Subconscious carbo loading I guess. For breakfast I made hash browns with some fried eggs and toast. Lunch was potato soup (I just sauteed some chopped leeks and carrots and a few slices of chopped bacon, added a whole pile of chopped potatoes and simmered in water until everything was soft. Mash a little and add some milk, salt and pepper and chopped parsley if you have some and you are done.) Dinner was herring salad, which included chunks of boiled potatoes.

Herring Salad (I think this would be good party food if you want a Nordic menu. Having a lefse making party? Serve this salad.)
If you like pickled herring you will love this salad. If you are lukewarm about herring, try this salad. It is an acquired taste. Great with rye crackers and some beer or even aquavit. A deviled egg as a first course would be a nice touch. Serve the herring salad on top of a few fresh spinach leaves if you have them.

Mix together - in proportions appealing to you - the following items cut in a size appealing to you:
pickled herring (not the kind in cream sauce)
boiled potato
cooked beet
sweet gherkin pickle (or dill pickle if you prefer)
onion (red is nice) or shallot
flavorful apple
a few capers if you like them
some diced red or white daikon radish for extra crunch and texture

Bind together with sour cream or creme fraiche. Add some chopped fresh parsley and fresh dill if you have it. Good quality dried dill would work too. Omit parsley if you don't have fresh. Taste. Add a little salt and pepper if desired. A little squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a dash of wine vinegar would be a nice touch.

Potato-onion-squash bake
You will need about 1 cup sliced potatoes, 1 cup sliced winter squash, 1/2 cup chopped or sliced onions, 1/2 cup milk and a teaspoon or so of minced garlic per serving. Multiply quantities as needed. The potatoes and squash should be cut in similarly sized slices.
Alternate two layers of potatoes, squash and onions. Mix garlic with milk and pour over all. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little nutmeg. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees until vegetables are soft. If you want, uncover the last 10 minutes or so, add some buttered bread crumbs and parmesan and broil a few minutes for a crispy browned topping.

A simple supper dish. Bake an apple right alongside for dessert. Cole slaw would be a good salad for this meal. A feast.

Garlic
It is so wonderful to have good quality fresh garlic around. I have been storing mine in the refrigerator. Make sure you also keep some fresh ginger around. Fresh ginger and garlic is a marriage made in heaven. Almost any vegetable is wonderful sauteed with these two seasonings - and some soy sauce or sesame oil or both.

Green Kale
Pasta with kale

Wash the kale, trim away the tough ribs, and blanch for a minute or two in boiling water. (Save the water for cooking pasta.) Cut the kale roughly into strips and saute in olive oil with a generous amount of minced garlic. Stir into your favorite cooked pasta. Served with some crumbled feta or blue cheese or grated parmesan this is a great standby quick dinner. It can be eaten at room temperature for lunch, too. I think I would sprinkle on a little balsamic vinegar if I was eating it for lunch that way.

Butternut Squash
Getting tired of plain baked or mashed squash?   Make some risotto.
Squash risotto (made with rice or barley)
Peel, seed and cut squash into 1/2 inch pieces. Steam or boil until just barely tender. Save the boiling water for the risotto. Saute some rice or barley or other whole grain with a little butter and oil and chopped onion or leek. Add about 1/2 cup white wine and then one cup of broth at a time, simmering and stirring, until the grain is al dente. Stir in a few cups of chopped squash and maybe some spinach leaves and you are done. Serve with grated parmesan and a few toasted walnuts or pine nuts. A few golden raisins or sun dried tomatoes stirred in would be nice too. Thyme would be a good herb to use with this dish.

Prosciutto wrapped squash - party food
Cut about 2 pounds of butternut squash into wedges (peeled). Blanch in boiling, lightly salted water about 5 minutes until just tender. Drain and cool. Wrap a wafer thin slice of prosciutto around each squash wedge and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
Mix together 1/3 cup walnut or olive oil, 1/3 cup fresh orange juice 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper and 1 t. dried thyme.

Pour dressing over squash and bake about 8 minutes at 425 degrees. Serve warm.

Heart of Gold Squash
This is a very tasty squash. Lately I have just been cutting this type of squash into one inch slices, removing the seeds but leaving on the skin. Coat with just a little bit of oil (maybe add a little real maple syrup to the oil) and roast until tender. Salt and pepper and that is all you need. You could serve this as a warm "salad" course, drizzled with some balsamic vinegar. I have been eating the skins - they are not tough at all. Up to you.

Warm roasted squash presented nicely on a special tray or plate could be great party food. If you leave the skins on, the slices are easy to pick up and nibble.

Parsnips
The long awaited precious parsnips have arrived!   Because parsnips are so sweet, they once were commonly used in desserts. The sometimes still are.

You can roast your parsnips with some carrots and potatoes for a wonderful meal. Or you can try a parsnip pie.

Parsnip pie - adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham
Makes one ten inch pie.
Use your favorite pastry recipe to make a pie crust and partly bake about 5 minutes at 425 degrees. (prick shell all over to avoid puffing)
Pour filling into the partially baked shell, drizzle with 2 T. honey, lower temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 50-60 minutes - until the filling is firm in the center. Serve at room temperature with lightly whipped cream.
Pie filling:
3 cups pureed plain parsnips (peel, boil, drain and mash well)
2 T. softened butter
1/2 cup honey
1 T. orange rind, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon EACH cinnamon and mace or nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon EACH allspice and cloves (or all cloves)
1 t. fresh lemon juice

Green cabbage
Use some of your cabbage for cole slaw. Make sure to save at least a third of the head for borscht (see recipe below, under Beets) And you could also use part of your cabbage in a stir fry. Pork, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, a little Chinese wine or sherry, cut up cabbage and finish with a dash of sesame oil. Serve with rice or noodles. Add a little sliced or julienned carrot when you are cooking the cabbage for some extra color if you wish.

Red and white daikon radishes
These radishes are great simply peeled, thinly sliced and served with your favorite dip.
Last night we ate them with dill dip before we ate our venison borscht.

I LOVE the magenta color.

Creme fraiche is better than sour cream for soup - doesn't curdle

They also are great in a sandwich to add crunch and a little zing. Who needs iceberg lettuce or onions if you have daikon radishes?
Try them on a burger.
You can also peel and dice or shred the radishes to use in lettuce salads or as a garnish to Asian style soup or noodle dishes.

Beets
I highly recommend that you make a big pot of borscht some time soon. You have practically everything you need in your box - potatoes, cabbage, carrots, garlic and - of course BEETS. You will need to get a large onion, too. And some kind of meat. I used venison top round steak this week. Any cut of beef that benefits from long slow cooking would be fine, as would beef soup bones. And a can or jar of tomatoes or tomato juice. Parsley is optional but nice.

Borscht
Make or buy 2 quarts of beef stock. (You can also use water. I used a few cups of beet cooking water, a bottle of beer and 2 cups of tomato juice along with some water. This recipe makes a thick soup. Add more liquid for a thinner soup.
Add the following to the stock or water:
Meat, if desired (you can use leftover roast meat or simple diced stew meat. You could use beef or pork. We used some road kill venison (but that is another story).
You don't need more than 1/4 pound per serving - maybe less.

The following vegetables - in approximately these amounts:
2 cups chopped onion or leek
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced potatoes (no need to peel)
4 - 5 cups sliced or chopped cabbage
2 cloves minced garlic
about 2 cups fresh or canned diced tomatoes with their juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 T. dried dill weed (or 2 T. fresh if you have it)
1-2 t. salt
pepper to taste
2 - 3 cups cooked, peeled and diced beets (add in the last half hour or so of cooking)
Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, on the stove or in the oven until meat and vegetables are tender. Even better served the next day.

It is very important that borscht have a sweet sour taste. Near the end of cooking, add about 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Taste. Adjust with a little more of one or both as you wish.
Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream or rich yogurt if desired.

Holiday gift ideas part 2 - Cookbooks: Peggy's Top Ten

2010-12-10T13:15:00.085-06:00

Introduction and disclaimer
I don't smoke or gamble. I drink alcohol in moderation and hardly spend any time watching TV or playing around with social media. I eat lots of vegetables but I also believe in the pleasures of butter, cream and lard. I am not into flashy cars or clothes. I believe that moderation in all things is a very good rule to live by.......

Except when it comes to cookbooks. I love cookbooks. I covet cookbooks. I like to read them and to own them. I can't seem to get enough. They are my friends and comfort in times of trouble or confusion. They inspire and challenge and entertain me. They can frustrate and depress me, too. (so many recipes-so little time).

A cookbook or even one recipe can change your life and lives of those you love if you let it. It is not magic - you will have to do some work. You will have to spend some time learning what you like and how to pull it off. Do not expect overnight success. As I have said many times on this blog, learning how to cook is the work of a lifetime.

Peggy's Top Ten for 2010
This morning I surveyed "best cook book" lists for 2010 from reliable sources such as: The New York Times, Epicurious, Bon Appetit, the Washington Post, Amazon, Jessica's Biscuit (a cookbook website), Publisher's Weekly, NPR and the Food 52 website. If you want to do this yourself, go to the Best Cookbooks article in the Huffington Post, where most of these sources are aggregated. It will take you a long time. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/05/best-cookbooks-of-2010-christmas-gifts_n_781479.html#s178620

I also have surveyed some of my personal lists and favorites. And I have come up with my own Top Ten list of gift cookbooks for 2010 - either gifts for yourself or someone you love.

These are NOT necessarily all purpose workhorse cookbooks. (For a discussion of one of my favorite classics, go to this earlier blog post - http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/05/cookbooks.html)

Some of the books on this list are probably destined to become classics -- but we won't know that for a while since these are all new in 2010. I think you will love them, or some of them. Many of these books have been recommended by various food editors and "experts". They are not necessarily books that have been most purchased by the general public. If you want mass market popular books you can easily find those on Amazon or other book sites. The word "easy" is quite common in popular cook book titles. Also "skinny" and "fast" and "comfort".

I am not opposed to fast or easy cooking. But I believe that the more you cook with great quality cookbooks, the faster you will get and the easier cooking will be for you.

My List
I have calculated that the total cost of this list is around $250 if purchased on line. Several of the books on this list can be had for only $20.

These books are listed in no special order. You can share this link with some foodie friends who might be looking for gift ideas. You can add these titles to your Amazon wish list. You could do all your holiday shopping without setting foot in a mall. Or take this list to your favorite bookstore and spend an afternoon browsing and buying. Pretty civilized if you ask me.

I decided not to choose a link for each book. Just google to find links or go to your favorite bookstore or book website.

1. One Big Table - 600 recipes from the nation's best home cooks, farmers, fishermen, pit-masters, and chefs by Molly O 'Neill
This book is on many best of 2010 lists. It weighs 15 pounds and according to the reviews on Amazon - it is weighty in content as well. An excerpt from one review: It's easy to forget how diverse America truly is when reading traditional American cookbooks. This book, however, gives us a glimpse inside the menus of real Americans of various backgrounds and their families. We see local and regional culture reflected, as well as immigrant culture and how immigrants have evolved their menus to reflect their surroundings. I own many cookbooks (somewhere over 400 or so), but this is probably the best one that I have read recently. Every page draws me in and reminds of the America I know and love.

2. The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser
A lot of good history as well as recipes. Probably destined to become a classic. I love my 1961 New York Times cookbook by Craig Claiborne but have to admit it is getting a bit dated. Remember rumaki?

3. Around My French Table: More than 300 recipes from my house to yours by Dorie Greenspan
This book is on a lot of critics' lists. Probably not for beginners.

4. The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living by Mark Bittman
This is a "political" cookbook - in a good way. We vote with our forks. Might as well think more about what we are voting for or against. Plus great recipes which we have come to expect from Bittman.

5. Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The Time-Honored Ways are the Best - Over 700 Recipes Show You Why by Darina Allen
Ms. Allen hails from the famous Ballymalloe Cooking School in Ireland. I can't wait to try some of the recipes in this book.

6. Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine by René Redzepi
This is probably the least practical book on this list. It might be more an art book than a cookbook. I hope you find it inspirational. The author Rene Redzepi is THE hot new international chef and is a serious locavore. His restaurant in Copenhagen has become very famous. Any Minnesotan who claims a deep interest in food should at least be aware of this book if not own it.

7. Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen by Amy Pennington
My kind of cook -- waste not want not.

8. Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours by Kim Boyce, Quentin Bacon, Nancy Silverton, and Amy Scattergood
I just had to include one baking book on this list.

9. The Very Best Of Recipes for Health: 250 Recipes and More from the Popular Feature on NYTimes.com by Martha Rose Shulman
I link to Ms. Shulman's recipes on the Featherstone Farm facebook page all the time. She has written many many books - I think this is the most recent. Very practical and tasty recipes and excellent for CSA members who need to cope with lots of veggies.

10. What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio
I chose this because I think good cooks need to be very aware of food cultures around the world. America is a melting pot - culinarily and otherwise. We are the better for it.

Potluck - Holiday gift ideas

2010-12-04T14:45:00.007-06:00

Today I am rolling out a new category for my blog posts: Potluck. Most everybody I know likes pot lucks. Sometimes we like to sample lots of different things. And there are so many things to talk about.

So here is what I have cooked up for Potluck this week:

Edible Twin Cities
If you have not yet checked out this magazine then do it today. Even if you do not live in the Twin Cities. If you are interested in real food, Minnesota food traditions, some good recipes and the topic of local food in general, then you will enjoy reading the articles in this quarterly publication. And the photos are always wonderful.
Here is the website www.edibletwincities.com
You can subscribe for yourself or a friend online. You also can sign up for the ETC free newsletter.
(Full disclosure - I have written for this magazine in the past and may do so in the future. I think the folks behind this publication are doing important work to inform and educate the Minnesota public about the topic of food. And to give local food businesses another way to reach their customers through advertising.)

A Featherstone CSA share
I think a CSA membership would be an excellent gift for a special person or family in your life. Don't forget - quality vegetables are in style. Peeling your own carrots and potatoes is definitely a high prestige activity. And cooking with fennel or bok choy? A sure way to impress your friends. And don't you want the people you care about to eat healthy food?

If you sign up by Dec. 15 a 2011 Grande share costs $640 and a Chica share will be $490. If a whole share is a little too spendy - maybe buy one for yourself and give a half share to a buddy. Or get a group together to give this gift. Maybe you and your siblings could get together to give a CSA share to your parents. Better than bathrobes and slippers.

People buy things like Fruit of the Month club all the time. I checked out the Harry and David web site. A nine month plan costs $299. I figured out that you would get about 38 pounds of fruit. Even if it is lovely and tasty fruit, you have to admit that $7.87 a pound is a lot to spend for fruit.

I don't know what a 22 week season of Featherstone vegetables weighs, but I can pretty much guarantee that CSA vegetables cost A LOT LESS than $7.87 a pound for fabulous taste and nutrition you can feel good about.

A night at the movies
Speaking of feeling good - last night Frank and I finally were able to see the film Troubled Waters, which was screened here in our little town of Lanesboro. (Thanks to Lanesboro Local http://www.lanesborolocal.org/
and the Lanesboro Arts Center http://www.lanesboroarts.org/cac-stmane.php

I think the film is very much worth seeing. It made me proud to be associated with Featherstone Farm. I don't know why it got so controversial, to tell you the truth. As one person in the audience said last night. "Sometimes the truth hurts."

Order a copy of the DVD here: http://www.bellmuseum.org/

Cookbooks
I am going to write a post next week about cookbooks. What an overwhelming topic! They make great gifts - but what to buy?
Meanwhile, you could always put together a little collection of some of your favorites as a gift - maybe along with some homemade food item. A thoughtful and personal and affordable gift. The best kind.

Inspiration - Winter week #3

2010-11-30T15:19:00.000-06:00

In this week's box: broccoli, carrots, red fingerling potatoes, garlic, bagged spinach, butternut squash, sweet dumpling squash, savoy cabbage, red leaf lettuce

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and are not too tired from cooking and cleaning up and all that family visiting. That is one reason I like the CSA box -- it keeps coming whether we are tired or not. We all need a little structure to keep us on track and the CSA box is part of my personal regimen. I can see the sweet dumpling squashes on the window sill as I write this. They are calling to me and soon I will answer.

Before I share some recipe ideas permit me a digression.
Vegetables have been in the news lately and I feel a need to report to you - serious vegetable cooks and eaters.

Vegetables, you see, are newly and increasingly fashionable, at least among a certain segment of fine-dining, CSA-belonging, Michael Pollan–reading, rooftop-garden-crazed New Yorkers.

Did you know that New York magazine (not the literary New Yorker, but gushy New York magazine) has made it official: vegetables are the new meat. Sunchokes are sexy. Broccoli is way cool. Lacinato kale is hot. Eataly has a "vegetable butcher" and people are STANDING IN LINE for vegetables. http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/69369/

Who knew? I am a fashionista and did not know it. I could hold my own at a Manhattan cocktail party - discussing such things as the relative merits of potato varieties. Or the best way to make babaghanouj.

I am not sure how I feel about this. Glad that the much maligned vegetable kingdom is getting its due. Worried that the East Coast foodie establishment is going to turn vegetable eating into some kind of competitive sport for status seekers. I mean, if Iron Chef featured "Battle Broccoli" last August, can the reality shows be far behind?

I know! How about a show about a select group of Midwestern CSA members with day jobs who cook seasonal organic vegetables IN THEIR OWN HOMES, day in and day out? Peeling, chopping, steaming, composting, stir frying, blanching, draining. The visuals will be so exciting. The suspense will be terrific. Who will fold first and order a pepperoni pizza? Who will have a melt down because they just can't deal with a six pound Napa cabbage? Who will cheat, use tons of butter on everything and call it good enough? Are you in? Let's call a producer and pitch this idea.

This is all food for thought as you and your family deal with your latest CSA box. I know I am not thinking about the latest food trends when I am bagging my broccoli, peeling carrots or smashing a clove of garlic. In fact I am more than a little suspicious of food fads. I just want some tasty and healthy homemade meals that don't require tons of time. I am pretty happy to sit down to a plate piled with simple roasted root vegetables and a piece of cheese and fruit for dessert.

So here are some ideas from my kitchen to yours. I am sorry if you are still tired due to Thanksgiving culinary overexertion. Too bad. We still have to get up and do what needs to be done. Take comfort in the fact that we ordinary Midwesterners are right in step with the New York trendsetters. We are so cool. We are eating vegetables!

Broccoli
I am still a fan of broccoli in pasta casseroles. A few nights ago I cooked up a bunch of mostaccioli, blanched broccoli very briefly in the pasta water at the end of cooking time and drained the pasta and broccoli. I mixed it together with leftover chopped turkey pieces and a bunch of turkey gravy and it was great. If you have no turkey or gravy, there is always cheese sauce. Or some pesto. Or some sweet red pepper puree or even thinned hummus.

And there is nothing wrong with good old broccoli and dip. Maybe take some time to experiment with a new homemade dip. I like the flavor of curry powder with raw vegetables. Start work now and you can unveil your new dip creation on Super Bowl Sunday.

Carrots
Even I have been having a little trouble keeping up with the robust supply of beautiful Featherstone carrots. No worries. They keep so well.

My strategies:
Soups and stews
Always use a little chopped carrot in soups and stews as part of the flavor base. I put some in pea soup a few days ago and also used some in my turkey stock.

Salad
Grate or shred raw, fresh carrot and mix with a little vinaigrette for a quick salad. Add raisins, sunflower seeds, cut up apple - you decide.

Mashing
Cook up a bunch of carrots (peel and chunk) in boiling water until they are pretty soft and the water is almost gone (if you drain water keep it for soup). Mash with a potato masher and a little oil or butter. I did this at Thanksgiving and added some cumin and a little sauteed garlic and it was a great dip with homemade pita chips.
I think mashed carrots would make a great sandwich filling - especially with some fresh herbs and maybe a few chopped walnuts mixed in.

Roasting
Diced roasted carrots make a great snack. Put them in a bowl or jar on the counter and eat them like peanuts. Very satisfying.

Garlic
Have you mastered roasting garlic? I confess I have not. But I am having better luck by following a few rules. I have learned to be patient - garlic does not take well to high temperatures. I also prefer breaking up the bulb into separate cloves - UNPEELED. Make sure to coat the cloves lightly in olive oil before roasting. Cook in a 350 degree oven until the cloves are soft. Squeeze out the roasted garlic. Use right away (add to mashed potatoes or use on a pizza or toss with pasta) or save in a covered jar. If you have this around you will find ways to use it.

Spinach and lettuce
Do you know how lucky we are to be eating locally grown organic salad greens in Minnesota in December? No need to get fancy with these greens. Just wash and dry and serve with your favorite salad dressing. This is such good spinach I don't think I would "waste" it by cooking. At least this time of year. Don't forget your beets. A few roasted beets on a green salad are very nice.

Butternut squash
Cut this in half and roast it. Scoop out the flesh and mash.
Or peel and steam and then mash. Lately I have been mixing mashed squash with cooked polenta (about 1 part squash to 3 parts corn). It is great for breakfast with maple syrup or supper with a little bacon, herbs or tomato sauce. Squash puree is also great mixed into quick bread or muffin recipes or even simple buttermilk pancakes.

Sweet Dumpling squash
These little guys are great stuffed and baked. Use your creativity when it comes to stuffing. Mix grains like cooked rice or barley with some onion and nuts - like a pilaf. Or add some sausage to bread crumbs. Add herbs. Moisten with a little stock or wine or beer.

Red fingerling potatoes
Try this easy recipe for potato pizza. I might add a little bacon or chopped ham to the basic potato mixture. This is also a great way to use up some fresh garlic.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Potato-Pizza-104621

Savoy cabbage
This is considered the king of cabbages by some. Here is an Italian recipe (this is a variety commonly found in Italy) for soup. It calls for one cup of chopped ramps (wild leeks). They grow all over the woods of Southeast Minnesota in the spring. This time of year I would substitute regular leeks or use some extra garlic or onion or even scallions.

6 T. good olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 medium head Savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
1/2 t. salt
1 cup wild leeks(ramps) or other leeks
1 quart vegetable or chicken or ham broth
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (preferably Italian type)
8 3/4 inch slices day old peasant bread
4 garlic cloves, cut in half
Saute the onion and leeks in the olive oil about 5 minutes over low heat until soft. Add cabbage and sprinkle with salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until cabbage wilts - about 7 minutes. Bring broth to boil in large soup pot and add cabbage and onion mixture to broth. Simmer on low heat about 20 minutes. Add parsley and take off heat.
Toast bread and immediately rub with garlic. Put two slices in each soup plate or bowl. Pour soup over bread and serve immediately with salt and pepper on the side.
Serves 4.

Black Radishes

2010-11-27T13:30:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving 2010 has come and gone and so has Black Friday. As I write this I have the turkey carcass and bones simmering in a big pot on the stove with some onion, leek, carrot and herbs. Turkey broth is happening and I am happy about that. I have some leftover gravy too, and that will get combined with some of the leftover turkey meat (we had a 25 pound bird) and probably served on toast with some cranberry sauce on the side. I hope you have some leftover turkey too. I put some of our leftover baked winter squash into our morning cornmeal mush -- that is one of my favorite things to do with leftover squash. More leftover turkey is going into a salad with romaine lettuce, toasted black walnuts, chopped apple and dried cranberries - with a simple olive oil vinaigrette.

We had 18 at our table on Thursday from ages 3 to 94. Some of them came on Monday and Tuesday so I have been working overtime in the kitchen for about a week now. This is good - always takes care of any lingering fantasies I may occasionally entertain about opening a restaurant.

My family includes one vegan, one lactose intolerant person, one peanut allergy, and one gluten abstainer. This is my family and I love them, so I rose to the challenge. One thing about having a vegan at the table - no butter automatically added to vegetables. Did us all a favor. And our vegan make some pretty good chocolate cake with butternut squash.

Not much going on at our house today - it is a good day to take a refrigerator inventory. I need to use up a few things before the next winter box arrives. Like the big black radish. I never do Black Friday. But I do do Black Radishes.

I am learning more about radishes in general and black radishes in particular. (For an intro to radishes, see my previous Focus post.) http://cookoutofthebox.blogspot.com/2010/09/focus-radishes-raphanus-sativus.html

Margaret asked me especially to talk about these spicy crunchy guys, since they do not appear to be the most popular among the Featherstone vegetable line up. If there are any readers out there who open their box and say "Oh goody -- black radishes. I can hardly wait to eat them!" -- please e mail me right away. We need to talk.

So this morning I got a black radish out of the back of the crisper drawer and peeled it. I thinly sliced and then julienned some. And I grated some. (note - if you leave the stem on, it provides a convenient little handle when you are grating or slicing.)

I know that the Japanese use lots of winter radishes so I thought I would make a simple dressing with a Japanese twist. These are basically radish refrigerator pickles. I keep them on hand for whenever I want some extra crunch or freshness in a dish. Add these julienned radishes to salads or use as a garnish on Asian noodle soups or other soups. Use as a side dish if you are having a simple meal of rice, vegetables and broiled meat.
What the heck - have some for breakfast with a poached egg and toast.

Simple dressing for julienned black or daikon radishes
To prepare radishes: peel, thinly slice. Stack slices and cut into strips of desired thickness.
Dressing (easily multiplied)
1 T. EACH : rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sherry
plus 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Whisk together ingredients and pour over prepared radishes. This dressing is enough for 1-2 cups vegetables.
Variation - add julienned carrots to the radishes

Tried and True - Stuffing

2010-11-19T09:31:00.000-06:00

Homemade stuffing is a lot of work but worth it. There are zillions of stuffing recipes out there using all manner of ingredients - sausage, oysters, various kinds of bread or crumbs or rice or other grains. I read one the other day using figs. The combination sounded excellent to me but if I tried to make that for my family on Thanksgiving there would be hell to pay.

I don't know about your family, but in mine we like to stick to the familiar when it comes to Thanksgiving. There is a time for risk taking and a time for caution. Thanksgiving, culinarily speaking, is a time for caution. (There are exceptions to this rule. Like when you are expecting both a vegan and a gluten avoider at your table. Which is why I have some curried pumpkin and chickpea soup in my refrigerator. And why tomorrow I am going to make a second stuffing with wild rice and pecans and no butter.)

If you are a Thanksgiving risk taker looking for new stuffing possibilities - you could try Marilyn Monroe's stuffing recipe. It is pretty involved. but if you have the time and like the idea of including Marilyn in your celebration, then give it a try. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/diningT

This article recipe has engendered quite a vigorous online discussion. I liked the comments of one writer for the Boston Globe, who agrees with me that Thanksgiving is not a time for menu experimentation.
http://www.boston.com/community/blogs/fiftyshift/2010/11/why_i_wont_be_using_marilyns_s.html

So today we are going to learn about basic bread stuffing with celery and onions and a few herbs. This is not my grandmother's stuffing but it is pretty close. I have already consulted with three of my special kitchen friends - Marion Cunningham (Fannie Farmer cookbook), Marion Rombauer (The Joy of Cooking) and Beatrice Ojakangas (more cookbooks than I can name.) None of their recipes were quite on target - so this one is my version. You of course can vary it to please yourself and your family.

Stuffing principles
While there are many stuffing recipes and ingredients - there are key elements that must be present for a dish to be a "stuffing":
1. The carbs -- usually this is some kind of bread but it can also be rice or other grains like barley.
2. The aromatics -- Most stuffing includes onion and celery or the equivalent. You could use shallots or leeks or celeriac or even fennel. The idea is to include a few highly flavored vegetables as a flavor and texture accent.
3. The fat -- Oh yes. You need some fat. Butter, oil, chicken or duck or goose fat -- something to add flavor and moisture and richness. You don't need huge amounts - but you do need some.
4. The herbs and spices -- The most common stuffing herbs are sage, parsley and thyme. Spices are basic salt and pepper. You can vary these - but put some thought into this before you start opening jars. Less is more. I could imagine a rice based stuffing with mint, dill and parsley, for example. Or a corn bread stuffing with cumin and chili powder and cilantro.
5. The liquid -- I don't like stuffing too wet or too dry. I like it "just right". You will need some kind of poultry or vegetable stock or white wine or water or a combination thereof.

Stuffing policy decisions
In or out?
So if a dish is called "stuffing" you would think that means it is prepared inside of something else, right? How could something be a stuffing if it is not stuffed?
Well, this is just one of those things that does not make any sense. You can bake stuffing outside of a bird. I do it all the time. It saves time (bird cooks faster, less hassle to get stuffing in and out) and you don't have to worry about getting little pieces of bread out from between a turkey rib cage. You still want some of the poultry juices in the stuffing, for flavor. I just use a baster to draw up some of the cooking juices and squirt them into the stuffing casserole dish during its final baking.
On the other hand, the flavor of a stuffing cooked in a bird is the best and if you have the time, definitely try it this way.

Homemade bread v. store cubes?
If you want first class stuffing, either make the bread yourself or purchase the best homemade type bread you can find. Day old is best. It is pretty easy to stack up bread slices and cut them into little cubes. (Let the bread sit out for a few hours or bake slices in the oven at a low temp for a short while so it dries out a bit.)

If you must purchase pre-made cubes, please get them plain and not pre-seasoned. It is easy to add your own herbs and spices and then you avoid that strange fake flavor that storebought industrial croutons all seem to have.

Smooth or chunky?
I love texture in stuffing and if it was up to me I would chop the celery and onion coarsely and add dried fruit and nuts besides. However, I am cooking for 18 people next Thursday and I know several of them WILL NOT EAT stuffing if they can discern even the slightest nugget of celery. So I chop onions and celery in the food processor to the point of mushiness. The flavor is still there and everyone is happy.

Fruit and nuts
The recipe in this post does include some chopped fresh apple. I like the flavor, moisture and nutrition it adds to stuffing. Apples are a safe choice if you want to go at least one step beyond basic bread stuffing. Otherwise, it is up to you. Raisins, pecans, walnuts, pears - all can be very good in a stuffing.

Other stuff in the stuffing
Oysters, sausage and mushrooms often show up in stuffing recipes. So do olives, capers and a host of other items. My advice - use caution. Now is not the time to use the kitchen sink approach to cooking. On the other hand, there is Marilyn Monroe's recipe to consider. Sometimes more is more.

Grandma Peggy's stuffing for a Thanksgiving turkey (about 15 servings)
Ingredients
2 cups chopped celery AND 2 cups chopped onion (If you want to finely chop in a food processor you will end up with about 1 1/2 cups of each)
1/2 cup (1 stick butter) or a bit more (I added a few tablespoons of chicken fat I had from making stock)
18 cups of bread, cut into 1/2 cubes or torn into small pieces (note - three slices of bread equals about 2 heaping cups cubes)
1/4 cup dried sage (you might want a bit less. I like sage. If you use fresh sage you can use more because the flavor is not as concentrated. )
2 t. dried thyme (more if using fresh)
1 t. dried rosemary (optional)
2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 cup loosely packed parsley - chopped
2 cups chopped apples (no need to peel)
1-2 cups chicken broth or other flavorful stock. You can add a little white wine if you want.)

Use good bread. It helps to have a good bread knife. I use crusts - why not?

Three slices of bread equals about 2 heaping cups of cubes

You will need a great big bowl if you are working with 18 cups of bread cubes. Once you add the broth, the amount will shrink down. You have lots of nice fresh sage in your CSA box - this is a great way to use some of it.

Preparation
Saute celery and onion in butter on medium heat about 7 minutes - until it is softened. While that cooks, prepare the bread cubes. I stack about 4 slices and slice strips and then cut those into cubes. It goes pretty fast.
Stir together all ingredients except the broth in a large bowl. Then add broth in desired amount. At this point you can refrigerate the stuffing for up to a few days until you are ready to bake it. Bake at 325 degrees, covered, for about 30 minutes. If you have pan juices, add them during baking. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes more.
If desired, you can also put this stuffing into the bird. Don't pack in too tight - leave some room for expansion. Always take all the stuffing out of the bird before you refrigerate the leftover carcass.

Inspiration -Winter Week #2

2010-11-16T08:15:00.000-06:00

In this week's box: cilantro, parsley, sage, bunched broccoli, cauliflower, bunched tat soi (type of Asian mustard green); carrots; red potatoes, black Spanish radishes, garlic, beets, bagged spinach, butternut squash, acorn squash

Are you getting into the rhythm of winter boxes? It is kind of nice to be dealing with hardier crops that can hang around for awhile and still be in top form. Less worry about looming decay. Less pressure. Two whole weeks to relax with your vegetables. I am certainly feeling a bit more mellow now that I am not posting five times a week.

I feel like a party host when the party has moved into the perfect second stage. You know - when most of the guests have gone home, the eating is pretty much over and you finally have time to sit down with a glass of wine and the plate of food you hid on top of the refrigerator until you had time to eat it. Time to enjoy some quality time with some of your favorite people. Less noise, more laughing and longer stories. Winter CSA boxes are kind of like that last part of the party. Take your shoes off. Simmer down. Cook like it matters. Which it does.

During the regular box season I always included menu ideas in each week's Inspiration post. I think for winter shares I will mostly just give you some ideas for how to use each item in your box. I bet you can take it from there. If you are a winter share member by definition you are adventurous, creative and brave. Who else would sign up for peeling, chopping, grating and otherwise preparing large quantities of cabbage, winter radishes, root vegetables and sometimes unfamiliar greens? You hardy souls are probably ready to start creating your own menus with hardly any help from me at all.

TIP - make sure you have onions and celery around the house. You will need them.

Long live cilantro
How have you been doing with all the cilantro we have been getting? I have been using a lot with Asian noodle soups as well as Mexican and Indian dishes. Just search this blog for lots of cilantro ideas. My fresh cilantro has been lasting a really long time with very little deterioration. I have not been putting the stems in a jar of water in the refrigerator - I have just been putting it in one of these cool zip loc bags. Nobody is paying me to say this - these bags are great for storing all kinds of produce. Give them a try - especially with fresh herbs or leaf lettuce. The product name is Hefty Fresh Extend One Zip bags.

Parsley
The bunch in my box was perky and cute - but not huge. I am going to save it for making Thanksgiving stuffing. Just wrap and refrigerate - it should last for a couple of weeks. Great in soups and as a garnish for eggs, mashed potatoes and glazed carrots.

Sage
Sage is lovely with winter squash and with poultry. I will use mine for stuffing and also with some squash dishes. If you want you can hang your sage in a warm and well ventilated place and dry it.

Bunched Broccoli
My kids always loved raw broccoli with dill dip. There is nothing wrong with serving broccoli this tried and true way. Good for those hours before Thanksgiving dinner is ready and everybody needs a snack.

Instead of going shopping the day after Thanksgiving - why not hang around the house and have a nice brunch? Make a baked egg dish using blanched chopped broccoli, cheese, ham or sausage or mushrooms, bread cubes, some melted butter and milk and eggs (about 1 egg to every 1/2 cup milk). Make sure the bread is well soaked with egg mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Maybe some dill or parsley or both. Bake in a greased dish at 350 degrees until lightly browned and set.

Cauliflower
I got three cute little cauliflowers in my box. I am going to break them up into florets and make some curry. Chopped onion, carrot, maybe a few diced red bell peppers from the freezer, and some potatoes. I am getting better at curry improv. Start with some oil and lightly saute curry powder. I like to add some mustard seed, cumin, turmeric, chile pepper and fresh ginger to the curry powder. After the spices have "popped" a bit - add the vegetables and saute a few more minutes. Add water or broth to desired soupiness. I love to add a cup or so of red lentils - they add a lot of flavor and texture and protein to curry and they cook really fast. I also like to add some coconut milk - just enough to round out and enrich the flavor. Go easy with coconut milk - lots of fat there. A few handfuls of fresh spinach or chard added at the end of cooking also add great flavor and nutrition. Cook vegetables until tender and serve over rice with desired chutneys or Indian style pickles. Yogurt is also nice on the side.

If you don't want to make a curry there is always the tried and true cauliflower with cheese sauce. Blanch cauliflower. Mix with homemade cheese sauce - which is just a white sauce with cheese melted into it. Maybe add some dry mustard powder to the sauce. Put into a greased shallow baking dish. Add buttered bread crumbs on the top. Bake until heated through. A gratin of cauliflower. How elegant.

Tat soi - Asian mustard greens
You can simply wash, dry and stir fry these in some oil with some ginger, garlic and soy sauce. Serve on the side with any kind of meat, poultry or fish.
I also like to add these greens to boiling chicken or beef stock. Cook for just a few minutes and pour over cooked rice noodles in a warmed bowl. Condiments/additions: fresh herbs like cilantro, basil or mint; lime juice; fish sauce or soy sauce; hoisin sauce; chile sauce or chile paste or hot peppers; bean sprouts, grated winter radish or carrot. Add a bit of meat or tofu if you want some protein. I still can't compete with a good bowl of Pho from a Vietnamese restaurant - but I am getting there, with practice.

Carrots
You can't go wrong if you simply roast peeled and diced carrots with a bit of olive oil and salt. Roast along with potatoes and beets for a great combo. We will often make a whole meal of roasted vegetables, with maybe a piece of bread and cheese on the side.

Don't forget carrots make a great curry. They are also indispensable added to all kinds of soups like beef barley, pea or bean. I like them grated raw with raisins and a simple vinaigrette made with maple syrup and a little orange juice.

Garlic
Essential for so many dishes.
Simplest pasta
Don't forget the simple pleasure of gently sauteing plenty of chopped garlic slowly in a generous amount of butter and olive oil. Serve tossed with thin pasta such as vermicelli or angel hair. Add salt and fresh pepper and some fresh grated Parmesan. Quick, easy, cheap and wonderful. If you are starving and tired you do not need to order pepperoni pizza. Just start boiling water and sauteing garlic. The garlic aroma will immediately have a restorative effect. Before you know it you will have a plate of steaming flavorful pasta before you. It might heal you to the point where you can manage to make yourself a spinach salad too.

Potatoes
If you are having a lot of company for Thanksgiving, then just go wild and make a great big pot of mashed potatoes. Need some instructions? Check out my post for September 11. If you have leftovers, great. Just saute a little onion and garlic and maybe diced celery and add the potatoes along with some milk and maybe a little broth. Voila! Potato soup. Or add some cooked bacon and corn. Chowder.
You might want to save out a potato or two to use with the cauliflower for curry.

Black Spanish Radishes
I will come back to these later this week. I hope you appreciate winter radishes for their crunch and bite. I am finding uses for them in many salads and in cooked dishes. Mix together equal parts of rice vinegar and sugar. Add a dash of salt and a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Peel and grate radish and marinate in the vinegar sugar mixture. I am quite fond of this as a simple first course salad. Add grated carrots for extra color and nutrition. Serve on a bed of spinach or lettuce if desired.

Beets
Try this classic salad with a simple meat and potato meal or as a light lunch with bread and cheese.
Salade Russe
Prepare relatively equal amounts of cooked diced potatoes, carrots and beets. Add some diced fresh onion, lightly cooked peas and a little sweet pickle. Mix with good mayonnaise - preferably homemade. Add a little fresh or dried dill to the mayonnaise if desired.
Save some of your beets. When you get some cabbage in your box we will talk about borscht.

Bagged Spinach
Wash and dry well and store in a ventilated bag. (Maybe one of those Hefty Fresh Extends?) This time of year it is nice to use spinach in salads. Try mixing the spinach with a mustardy vinaigrette and serving with some chopped apple, walnuts and blue or swiss cheese. A little diced or sliced roasted or pickled beets would be a nice addition - on the side of the salad.
If you have some extra spinach - try adding some to a vegetable curry.

Butternut Squash
In a pizza rut? Try winter squash pizza!
Bake or boil squash and make a puree of the flesh. Salt and pepper to taste. Try this on a partly baked pizza crust instead of a tomato sauce. Top squash pizza with some caramelized onions, some chopped fresh sage and parsley and maybe a little dried thyme, some chopped cooked chard or spinach and grated cheese of choice. (Gruyere would be nice.) If you have some roasted peppers around a few of those would be nice. Or fresh mushrooms. Bake in hot oven until crust is done and top is light brown and bubbling.

Squash and white bean soup
You also could add diced peeled raw squash pieces to cooked white beans and broth for a lovely squash and white bean soup. Sage and thyme would be a good seasoning, as would rosemary. Salt and pepper of course. And start with some sauteed garlic, onion, leeks or shallots. Maybe a little finely diced carrot and celery for some extra flavor.

Everyday squash
http://content.markbittman.com/recipes/braised-and-glazed-butternut-squash

Sunshine in a bowl
I like to add some cooked mashed squash to polenta when I am cooking it. Cook until thick and serve as a breakfast porridge with some dried cranberries (or even leftover cranberry sauce), maple syrup and a little milk, cream or butter or even yogurt. If you have some toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds sprinkle a few of those on top too.

Acorn Squash
Make your favorite stuffing. Partly bake acorn halves. Add stuffing and bake until squash is done. A full meal, along with a salad.

I hope you are looking forward to a great Thanksgiving holiday. On Thursday I will tell you what's going on in our house. And give a shout out to black radishes, what the heck.

One last mini rant. Since when did "pan seared" become the word for "fried"? Keep your eyes peeled for inflated menu-speak. It is everywhere. As a defender of the English language I say be careful of these new phrases that come from marketing people. I am going to start looking for examples and will warn you when I can.

Tried and True - Turkey Gravy

2010-11-09T16:42:00.000-06:00

I have roasted many Thanksgiving turkeys. Like a first love, one of those turkeys has a special place in my heart. My husband and I were young, poor students living far from home. It was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and we were only two at the table. We bought our 18 pound bird at the local Grand Union supermarket for about 29 cents a pound and barely made a dent of course. Thanks to the freezer, we eventually ate it all. It was good, cheap food. I don't remember the gravy, but I am sure I made some.

Not that I don't have gravy memories. I remember often not making enough. But I think I have finally figured out that part and want to share my secrets with you. Making gravy is not the same as invading Normandy. But you do need a plan. (Note - today I am talking about only the gravy plan. That is different from the big T-DAY plan. One step at a time.)

Step 1 - Equipment inventory
Do this as soon as possible. Don't wait until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
You will need:
One roasting pan, preferably with a rack (This keeps the bird up off the bottom of the pan.)

One bulb baster (This is the easiest way I know to get at the lovely turkey juices - especially during the roasting process. Mine is plastic. Some day I am going to get one of the metal ones. Either should work fine.)

One whisk (This is for making the roux and the gravy. Lumps begone.)

The fat rises. You pour the broth out of the bottom.

One fat separator (You could do without this but it is a very nice tool to have around any kitchen.)

I just love the curvy profile of this gravy boat

One gravy boat (This is also optional. But I believe in good presentation and Thanksgiving turkey gravy deserves its own showboat, as it were. It will become an icon to your family over the years. It will stand for the soothing balm of homemade gravy. This is important. Because Thanksgiving is not just about the food. It is about the feelings.)

The official Hanson family roaster

This is my speckled enamel turkey roaster. I got it 32 years ago at Ayers 5 and 10 cent store in the Westover neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. It is a sacred vessel to me and I hope someday to pass it on to someone who will appreciate its charms and benefit from its good juju. Please do not roast your turkey in a disposable aluminum foil type pan unless you absolutely have to. For one thing, I think they are dangerous. They can crumble and fold. Especially if the contents are too heavy. Better to borrow a roaster. Or get one at a second hand store. Or buy one at a hardware store. You can still get the kind I have. They are very affordable and perfectly adequate. It is good if you get a rack to set the turkey on, too. I do not think you need to spend $149.95 on a roaster. (If you are planning on using it for half a century or so, it probably would be a good investment. But not necessary.)

Step 2 About 4 days before Thanksgiving
Bring your turkey home from wherever you are getting it. Thaw in refrigerator if it is frozen. Remove the giblets - the neck, gizzard, heart and liver and keep cold in a separate container. Make sure you have some onion, celery, parsley, bay leaf and carrot in the house. Salt and pepper too of course. And you might need a stick of butter depending on how much fat is or is not in your turkey.

Step 3 Two days before Thanksgiving
Yes you can buy broth and that is ok if you need to. But it is very expensive and just not as good as what you can make yourself. And if you don't make broth, what will you do with all the giblets? One side benefit of making broth is that it will make your house smell good. Who needs potpourri if you have broth on the back burner?

How to make turkey broth - you will need about 6 cups when you are done
7 cups water
turkey giblets (save the liver for sauteeing separately - a special treat for the cook and a friend while everyone else is watching football)
one cup EACH coarsely chopped onion, carrot and celery. If you have some leek tops use those too.
7-8 peppercorns
1 cup loosely packed parsley sprigs
3 bay leaves
2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Put all ingredients in a pot big enough to hold everything comfortably. Bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer, partly covered, for 2-3 hours. Remove the giblets and put in a dish to cool. After the broth has cooled a bit, pour through a strainer into a large bowl. Remove meat from the neck and chop. Finely cut up the heart and gizzard. (I usually trim the gristly part from the gizzard.) Reserve and refrigerate the meat in a covered dish. Refrigerate the broth.

Step 4 Thanksgiving day -- it's SHOWTIME
I will assume that you have figured out how to roast the turkey and that it is cooking away in your oven and you are basting it occasionally. About half an hour before you think the turkey will be done, pull off some turkey juices with your baster and put them in the fat separator. You want about 1/2 cup of fat as well as some rich broth. If you don't have at least 1/2 cup of the turkey drippings, then melt some butter so you have a total of 1/2 cup fat.
Make a roux in a large pan with the 1/2 cup fat and 1/2 cup of white flour. Stir with a whisk about 10 minutes - the mixture should be smooth. Heat turkey broth while the roux is cooking. (You will need about 7 cups total of broth.) Add hot broth to roux mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking all the while. Also add broth from the turkey roaster which you have hopefully extracted with the turkey baster. If gravy is too thick and you don't have any more broth, you can add a little milk or cream to the gravy.Taste for seasoning. If you have it, add a little chopped fresh parsley. Just before you are ready to serve the turkey and the trimmings, put HOT gravy in the gravy boat and serve. Keep reserve gravy hot because you will need to refill the gravy boat several times.

Good luck and may your gravy be smooth.

BONUS RECIPES
If you didn't catch this link on Featherstone's FACEBOOK page - check it out. Root vegetables roasted. Basic skills.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/dr-weils-simple-roasted-root-vegetables/?scp=1&sq=roasted%20root%20vegetables&st=cse

Focus: CRANBERRIES (Vaccinium Macrocarpon)

2010-11-04T16:31:00.003-05:00

Cranberries are not vegetables and they are not a fruit grown at Featherstone Farm -- so why I am writing about them? First, cranberries are in season. They are very affordable this time of year. It is almost Thanksgiving and I think there is a law that some kind of cranberry dish has to be on the table.

Second, Featherstone Farm is located in the Driftless Region, which includes SE Minnesota and SW Wisconsin. Our neighbors to the east grow cranberries, big time. Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state - a little over half the national crop. (The next biggest cranberry growing state is Massachusetts at 28% of the national crop. Michigan, Minnesota and Maine also have significant commercial cranberry production) Cranberries are also the Wisconsin state fruit. Read all about Wisconsin cranberries here. http://www.wiscran.org/about_cranberries_0002/

Third, we can't live on vegetables alone. (Well, maybe we could but who would want to? Even vegans consume fruits, nuts, grains and legumes) Vegetables need buddies, companions, and friends. Humans need variety. Cranberries provide extra color, flavor and nutrition to the plate. A hearty winter vegetable stew with carrots and potatoes and onions is a good thing. But a little pool of cranberry apple chutney on the side can transform good into perfect.

Growing cranberries
Cranberries grow on low creeping shrubs or vines in acidic boggy or marshy areas with cool climates. In Wisconsin and other places, the cranberry bogs are flooded during the fall harvest so the fruit floats. It is then easier to mechanically harvest. 95% of the fruit is used for juice, sauce or drying. Only 5% is sold fresh. Much of the fresh crop is dry harvested by hand, to ensure better quality.

Preservation
Fresh cranberries freeze well. Just put in freezer bags and store in freezer. They will keep a year or even longer if well wrapped. Use them right out of the freezer for baking or other recipes. You can also use cranberries to make juice, jelly or sauce which can be canned or frozen.

Nutrition
Cranberries are marketed these days as "functional foods" or a "superfruit" because various scientific studies show that the fruit is high in antioxidants and cancer preventing properties. The fruit is also high in vitamin C, A and K and fiber. There are 46 calories in 100 grams (that's before any sugar is added!)

RECIPES
The Ocean Spray web site has several recipes combining cranberries and vegetables http://www.oceanspray.com/recipes/ such as:
Roasted pumpkin (or squash) risotto with cranberry brown butter sauce
Brussels sprouts salad with pancetta and cranberries
Cranberry carrot saute

Cranberries also combine surprisingly well with onions or leeks. This is a wonderful recipeadapted from Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland by Lucia Watson and Beth Dooley.

Cranberry Leek Compote - makes 5-6 cups
Serve at room temperature. Will keep in refrigerator about 5 days or freeze.
1/2 cups currants or dried cranberries
1 cup apple cider
4 cups cranberries, rinsed and sorted
3/4 cup sugar
6 T. butter (you could cut this back a bit and not hurt the results. Or use part olive oil)
2 1/2 pounds leeks, sliced (white and light green parts)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Soak dried fruit in cider in a sauce pan about half an hour. Add fresh cranberries. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes - until berries begin to pop. Stir in sugar and set aside.
Saute leeks in butter over low heat about 25 minutes. Stir frequently. Add cranberries and liquid and cook another 3-5 minutes. Cool and salt and pepper to taste.

Here is a similar recipe with a wonderful name - from Jane Brody's Good Food Gourmet. She suggests baking this dish not more than 8 hours before serving for best results. Use an ovenproof skillet to avoid extra dishwashing
Pearls and Rubies
1 1/2 pounds pearl onions (peel by dropping into boiling water for 2 minutes to soften skins. Slice off root ends and skins will slip off)
1 T. butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook onions in butter in skillet until they are lightly browned. Turn occasionally to prevent sticking. Add sugar, salt, pepper, cranberries and broth. Place skillet in the oven, uncovered and bake for about 30 minutes.
Cranberry condiments

Traditional whole cranberry sauce
Boil 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar for about 5 minutes. Add one 12 ounce bag (about 3 cups) cranberries and simmer another 10 minutes - until the berries pop. Cool. Store in refrigerator for up to a week.
Try this with acorn or sweet dumpling or other smaller squash. Just cut squash in half, scoop out seeds, add about 1/3 cup whole cranberry sauce mixed with 1 t. port into the cavity. Place in baking dish, cover and bake at 350 degrees until squash is tender.

Cranberry chutney
This is wonderful with any kind of meat or poultry. It also would be a good complement to pasta or rice dishes made with squash, potatoes, beets, cabbage or carrots. This will keep in a covered jar in the refrigerator for many weeks.
2 cups chopped apples (Haralson would be good)
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup cider or white vinegar
1/2 cup golden or dark raisins
1 t. minced fresh garlic
1 T fresh grated ginger
hot red pepper flakes to taste
Simmer all ingredients in a non reactive pot about half an hour - until apples are tender. Refrigerate at least a day before eating.

Cranberry salsa
Add the following to 2 cups of whole cranberry sauce: 1 T chopped fresh hot peppers, 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro, 1 t. cumin, 1 T fresh lime juice, 1 clove minced fresh garlic, 1/2 cup chopped red onion

Cranberry sauce for cooked beets
Mix 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 T cornstarch and 1 T. sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened. Add 1 t. grated orange zest. Mix with sliced or chopped cooked beets.
(Try adding some extra sugar and using this as a topping for pancakes or gingerbread)

Cranberry vinaigrette
This can be used on salad greens or with blanched vegetables as a marinade. I think it would be good with as a salad with cooked carrots or brussels sprouts. You might try it with finely sliced red and green cabbage as a slaw. Add a few dried cranberries for a double cranberry treat.
1/2 cup olive or walnut oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup whole cranberry sauce
2 t. Dijon type mustard
1 T. real maple syrup or honey or sugar
1/2 t. salt (Or more to taste)
1/8 t. pepper
Mix until smooth in a blender or food processor.

Baking with fresh cranberries

Dried cranberries can be used just like raisins in zillions of recipes for cookies, muffins, quickbreads and granolas. I like to use fresh cranberries in baking - the flavor has more zing.
This recipe won a prize at the 2010 Wisconsin State Fair
Cranberry walnut banana bread

2 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 t. grated orange zest
2 c. flour (whole wheat pastry flour is nice to use)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, cut in half (I know, I know, this is a pain. But it is better than chopping in a food processor)
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and orange zest. Stir in mashed bananas. Stir in dry ingredients. Add cranberries and nuts, stirring to mix well. Put batter into two greased 9 x 5 pans and bake 60-70 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Inspiration - Winter week #1

2010-11-03T08:34:00.004-05:00

In this week's winter box: Salad mix, 2 heads of red leaf lettuce, broccoli, cilantro, arugula, napa cabbage, carrots, red potatoes, white daikon radish, garlic, leeks, green Kabocha squash, sweet dumpling squash

Well - the American people have spoken and now we are going to see some change for sure. For better or for worse? That remains to be seen. Politics is kind of like cooking. You need to do the best with what you have. And sometimes what you think might be a strange combination turns out really great. Sometimes we find that we acquire a taste for a new thing we thought we hated. Like liver. It is good for me. My mother made me eat it. I used to hate liver. Now I like it. Is there a lesson for me there? Something to ponder today while I listen to MPR.

And the work never goes away. Every morning you need to get up and do what needs to be done. In my case today I am going to make a pot of soup with some Great Northern beans. Maybe I should look up the famous U.S. Senate bean soup recipe and make that. In honor of that august body. And in honor of Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. I hope somebody is cooking some good healthy food for them every day. They will need it.

Public servants who lost their jobs last night might be kind of depressed. Maybe they are thinking about the next holiday to get their mind off their troubles. There are only 22 shopping and cooking days left until Thanksgiving. If you are a Thanksgiving host, it is not too soon to start thinking about your menu. Or if you have promised to bring a dish or two to someone else's house - do you know what you will bring? Maybe this is the year to try something besides the green beans with cream of mushroom soup and canned french fried onion rings? Just saying.

How many people will be at your table? Maybe you want to stash some of your CSA squash or carrots or leeks in preparation for some special dish? Next week I will give you a few recipes that are a little more special or labor intensive than usual - get you thinking about the big November feast.

Meanwhile, there are everyday meals to make. Because even in the middle of a political tsunami, life goes on. Maybe especially in the middle of a political tsunami it is important to pay attention to the important daily details of life - like cooking and eating decent meals. Maybe you know someone who just lost their job (either due to the election results or just the economy in general). Why don't you ask them to dinner? Maybe even invite them for Thanksgiving? It would be the right thing to do.

SIX MENUS

Grated carrot - daikon radish salad with asian vinaigrette - on a bed of red leaf lettuce; Chinese cabbage and noodle soup*; fresh tangerine (prices are good this time of year)

Salad of mixed greens with a mustardy vinaigrette; White beans with arugula and pork*; roasted carrots; braised napa cabbage (the napa cabbage in your boxes this week is so huge I am including lots of ideas on how to use it. But before you get too intimidated by the godzilla napa - remember that it cooks down quite a bit. If you have some pickled beets on hand or want to make some, I think they would be a nice addition to this meal.

Winter vegetable soup*; bread and cheese; apple crisp

Simple meat and vegetable stew*; cole slaw made with napa cabbage, carrots and a little julienned or grated daikon; rye crackers; baked squash with honey or maple syrup and cinnamon and nutmeg - maybe a little butter too. Almost like a dessert.

Squash and lentil dal* with rice; cilantro chutney; a dish of sliced bananas with yogurt and a little honey

Lettuce/mixed greens salad; pasta (e.g. penne, fusilli, rotelle) with broccoli and pesto*; bread; ice cream or sorbet

RECIPES

Chinese cabbage and noodle soup - Serves 4
2-3 pounds Napa cabbage - washed and sliced in about one inch strips - separate the harder stalk sections from the leafy parts.
1 T. cooking oil
4 cloves fresh garlic, smashed
8 dried Chinese black mushrooms, softened in hot water, drained, stems removed, caps sliced (save strained mushrom soaking liquid for broth)
1/2 cup Chinese rice wine or sake
one ten ounce package rice stick noodles
1 t. salt, or to taste
4 - 5 cups chicken broth (simmer with 2 T. chopped fresh ginger and strain before using in soup)

Heat oil in a large pot. Add stalk sections of cabbage, garlic and sliced mushrooms and stir fry about one minute. Add one cup of broth and rice wine, cover and simmer about 5 minutes on medium heat. Uncover, add remaining broth and salt and bring to a boil. Then turn down to simmer and cook another 15 minutes.
While broth is simmering, put the rice stick noodles in a pan and pour boiling water over them so they will soften.
Strain noodles. Add them and the leafy sections of the cabbage to the broth. Cook and stir about 2 minutes - until the cabbage wilts and the noodles are tender. Serve in large bowls. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired. Serve with soy sauce or hot pepper sauce if desired.

Winter vegetable soup
There are infinite versions of this kind of soup cooked every day on the planet. This version makes good use of the vegetables you have in your box. Feel free to vary according to your own tastes and the ingredients you happen to have on hand in your kitchen. I am a believer in the value of a little smoked or cured pork or other meat in this type of soup. If you are not a meat eater, then I encourage you to prepare or purchase a good vegetable stock for flavor. Maybe a spoonful of miso would be a good idea. The meat adds a lot of flavor and you will need to come up with good substitutes. If you want more protein in this soup - whether or not you use meat - you can add a few cups of cooked beans. Then you will want to add more stock or water, too.
Ingredients
3 T. butter, lard or bacon fat or olive oil
2 cups sliced leeks (white and light green parts - save the dark green tops for vegetable stock) Onions can be substituted for the leeks
2 cups sliced or diced carrots
4 cups shredded cabbage (about one pound)
2 cloves minced garlic

2 cups diced potatoes
About 1/2 pound of smoked sausage, pancetta, a ham bone with some meat on it, or other flavorful
smoked or cured meat such as a smoked pork hock.
6 cups of water or stock
1 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper - more to taste
other possible seasonings: fresh dill and caraway; bay leaf and thyme; parsley and paprika
Saute all the vegetables in the fat for about 10 minutes - this helps develop flavor. Add water or stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 1 1/2 hours.

Meat and potato stew - Serves six. Based on an old Finnish recipe.
1 - 2 pounds meat (stew beef, chunks of pork, pieces of chicken)
1 T. fat - bacon drippings, lard, butter or oil
2 t. salt
4 cups boiling water
5 whole allspice
2 cups coarsely chopped onions or sliced leeks
2-3 cups carrots, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
2-3 cups potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
Brown meat in the fat. Add the salt, boiling water and allspice and simmer about one hour or until meat is tender. Add vegetables and cook on low heat until vegetables are tender. Add more water if necessary.
Note - this very simple stew has a thin broth rather than a thick gravy. If you want, serve the broth separately in a cup. You also could make some simple dumplings (make a batch of dough as if you were making baking powder biscuits, but use a little less flour so the dough is not too dry and steam them in the stew the last 20 minutes of cooking.) A handful of fresh parsley and dill would be great added at the last minute.

Pasta with broccoli and pesto
1 bunch fresh broccoli - washed and trimmed into bite size pieces
1 pound pasta
5 T. olive oil
2-3 fresh garlic cloves, smashed
1/3 cup basil pesto (aren't you glad that you made some pesto last summer when the basil was around?)
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan for garnish - optional
Blanch the broccoli for about 4 minutes and drain. Save the cooking water. Add more water to the cooking water and cook pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, saute garlic in oil in a large pan. Then add and saute the broccoli a few minutes. Drain pasta (save about 1 cup of cooking water) and add it to the vegetables in the pan along with about one cup of cooking water. Stir in the pesto - correct seasoning - and serve in warmed bowls or on warm plates. (Warming dishes is a nice touch - especially in the winter)

Squash and lentil dal - serves 4-6

1 1/2 cups red split lentils
3 1/4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 t. ground turmeric
2 t. cumin seeds, crushed
1 1/4 pounds firm and fairly dry winter squash such as kuri or kabocha or buttercup cut into 1/2 inch cubes
(you could also substitute carrots for some or all of the squash)

Wash lentils and place in a pot. Add stock, onions and seasonings and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until lentils begin to soften. Add squash and cook another 5-8 minutes, or until squash is tender and lentils are thickened. Serve with rice and desired condiments such as cilantro chutney. (search this blog for Oct 11 post - cilantro sauce and cilantro mint chutney - for recipes using fresh cilantro)

White beans with arugula
1 cup dried beans (or 3 cups canned or cooked)
Soak beans overnight. (you can use cannellini, great Northern, navy or other white bean) Drain the next day and cook, covered with 2 inches of water. Simmer gently - should take about one hour depending on the beans. Season beans with salt.
1/4 cup good olive oil
4 chopped cloves of garlic
1 t. fresh herb - such as rosemary or sage.
1 bunch of arugula, washed well and chopped
Saute garlic in olive oil (gently - don't brown or burn). Add herbs. Stir in beans. Add arugula and cook just a few minutes - until arugula is wilted. Serve with extra olive oil and/or grated parmesan. If you have some sun dried tomatoes around I think a few of those chopped and stirred in would be nice. Same with olives.

Hands On - Vegetable Broth

2010-10-28T11:36:00.001-05:00

I did a post on broth and stock early this year - but my recipes included meat. I have had some requests to talk about vegetable broth or stock - so here we go.

If you are a frugal cook, vegetable stock is for you. It is a good way to wring flavor and nutrition out of practically every scrap of vegetable in your kitchen.

The main caveat that seems to come up whenever I read about vegetable stock is the brassica ban. In general, you do not want to include strong, cabbage flavored items in stock - such as broccoli, caulflower, brussels sprouts, turnips or strong flavored greens. I think a little bit of cabbage core or a few kohlrabi peelings or a bit of tough rutabaga bottom can't hurt, but you be the judge. The point is that you want balance in a vegetable stock. If one or two vegetables are too overpowering you will probably not be happy with the result. If you are going to use the stock as a base for a beet borscht, you would make different choices than you would if the stock is for a more delicate potato leek soup, for example. Until you get experience, you might want to stick to more conventional choices like onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, potato peels or leeks.

I have read about French housewives who always keep a stockpot bubbling on the back of their stove. If you are in that camp, then you can just add various peelings, ends or less than beautiful vegetables as they come your way. If you are not, then you will need other strategies. I just keep a plastic bag in my vegetable crisper and add items as I have them. Or sometimes I will decide to clean out the drawer and make spontaneous stock. If you cook a lot with vegetables, you will soon develop your own strategy for saving ingredients for stock.

This morning I decided to make a potato-leek-butternut squash gratin for dinner. So now I have a stock simmering which contains:
2 cups peelings from a butternut squash
2 cups sliced leek tops (pale green - but dark green work too)
1 cup sliced carrot
1 cup chopped tomato (the last tired tomatoes from the garden that were picked green and kind of turned red)
1 cup potato peelings
1 large handful fresh parsley
1 large handful chopped fresh lovage (this is a great fresh herb to have around. It has a pronounced celery taste which works well in vegetable stock.)
1/3 cup sliced dried shitake mushrooms (fresh or dried mushrooms are a lovely addition to vegetable stock. This is a great use for mushroom stems or mushrooms that are a little past their prime but still not slimy)
1 t. black peppercorns
1 t. salt
8 cups water

The potato peelings are hiding under the lovage

Note - I made sure all vegetables were well scrubbed before I peeled or chopped them. The carrots were just scrubbed - not necessary to peel. If you have an old hard Parmesan rind around - that is a good item to add to a vegetable stock.

Once the vegetables and herbs are all added to the water, bring it to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. This is a great project for a Saturday morning or other time when you will be around the house for awhile. Bubbling stock smells so good. A lot better than potpourri or candles in my book. Simmer the stock gently about 2 hours. Strain and cool. Will keep in the refrigerator about a week and for months if frozen.

Inspiration - Week #22

2010-10-26T11:56:00.001-05:00

Contents of last week's Grande Box (a bonus sized box): Salad greens, chard, mustard greens, red daikon radishes, acorn squash, pie pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, garlic, red cabbage, leeks, cilantro, beets and beet greens.

This is part two of last week's Inspiration post. I am getting pretty good at making short work of quantities of fresh vegetables - but even I have been having a little trouble using everything up lately. So far I have only had to compost one little bunch of cilantro. I still have some dill, half a kohlrabi, two leeks and several red daikon radishes in the crisper, waiting patiently for their turn. Last night I had an extra few minutes in the kitchen, and a frying pan with a little bacon grease, so I quickly braised a mess of beet greens that needed attention. We are going to eat those tomorrow night at room temperature as a salad - with a few diced pickled beets and some grated apple on top.

If you have extra fresh dill that is still in good shape, you can dry it. Just put together a little bunch with a rubber band or string and hang it somewhere that is dry and well ventilated. When the little leaves are completely dry, just crumble them into a jar and cover it up. You will need some dried dill this winter when you are cooking with winter vegetables.

My friend, vinegar
Last weekend I made some pickled beets for the Saturday Tried and True post and I ended up with some extra pickling juice. I looked at the red cabbage in my refrigerator and decided to see what would happen if I thinly sliced some and put it in the warm syrup that I used for the beets. Turned out great - so now I have a little jar of pickled red cabbage in the refrigerator right next to the pickled beets. Vinegar really is a wonderful invention. I don't know how I would manage without at least five kinds on hand at all times.

MENUS

Soup and salad, bread and pie - a harmonious quartet
Potato leek soup; cornbread; crunchy vegetable salad; pumpkin pie*

A recipe for potato leek soup is in last week's Inspiration post. If you have some chives, try them with the soup. Parley or dill would be nice too. We had heavy cream around when I made this last week and I have to say the soup was fabulous with about half a cup of heavy cream standing in for half a cup of milk.

Depending on what you have on hand, you might also want to make some kind of salad with this meal. Something simple like grated carrots or kohlrabi with a little oil and vinegar and a few sunflower seeds. Or just some chopped apple and celery and raisins or grapes with a curry yogurt dressing. Refreshing and crunchy and a nice counterpoint to the rich and smooth pie.

Somewhere over the rainbow
This meal has color: magenta, deep green, dark red, orange, white, golden brown and dark brown:
Salad of braised beet greens and pickled or roasted beets; spaetzle with lightly browned onions and grated cheese; oven roasted diced carrots; braised red cabbage with a splash of vinegar; a pear and a piece of chocolate (Note - search the blog for the spaetzle recipe - in last week's Hands On post.)

Roast or pickle the beets and make the spaetzle ahead of time and this meal won't take much time at all to put together. If you are in a hurry, you can also just peel raw beets and grate them. They make a nice salad when dressed with some red wine vinegar, sugar, a little oil and some horseradish.

Asian night
Simple pickled daikon radish salad (use rice vinegar); chicken or pork or tofu stir fry with broccoli and carrots; rice.   I made stir fry for dinner last night and added some radishes - the smaller red globe kind. They were great - added crunch just like water chestnuts. If you make some extra rice you can make rice pudding for another day.

Tribute to Barbara Billingsley
Did you read that Barbara Billingsley died recently? She was Beaver Cleaver's mom on the 1957-63 sitcom Leave it to Beaver - one of my faves. I imagine that she could have served a meal like this to Ward, Wally and the Beav on a Sunday in October. She would have worn a shirtwaist dress, a string of pearls and high heels when serving dinner. No one would have been texting during the meal.
Meat loaf*, Baked acorn squash, mashed potatoes, cole slaw made with red cabbage and grated carrots and a tangy vinegar-sugar-oil-celery seed dressing. And a chocolate sundae. Don't you think a single scoop of vanilla with some chocolate syrup would be just perfect with this comfort food meal?

Improv - you can do it
Vegetable soup; bread, rice pudding*
If you are a Featherstone Farm CSA shareholder, you are coming to the end of a 22 week season of cooking out of the box. Congratulations. Seems to me you are ready to make a vegetable soup without a recipe. I did this a few days ago. This is what I used: half an onion, two carrots, three potatoes, about 10 stalks of chard - leaves and stems, a heaping cup of green beans (I had some in the freezer). a quart of canned whole tomatoes, a quart of simple vegetable broth, a few spoonfuls of basil pesto. a handful of chopped fresh parsley, two cups of cooked great northern beans and one medium sized zucchini, diced. I simmered everything together until all the vegetables were tender. (I added the chard leaves near to the end).   When I serve this soup tomorrow night, I might add a little more water and some cooked pasta. And I will serve some grated Parmesan on the side.

RECIPES
Pumpkin pie
Make your favorite pie crust and partially bake. (This makes for a less soggy result.) To partially bake, prick the bottom all over with a fork. I like to put another light weight pie pan on top of the crust with a few dried beans on top to keep the crust from puffing up too much when it bakes. You can buy special pie weights made just for this purpose - they look like a long necklace of stainless steel beads. I am going to have to get some of those one of these days.

Filling
I'll tell you a secret. You can make pumpkin pie without a crust. Just call it pumpkin pudding. Top with a little whipped cream and you can have the pumpkin pie experience with less effort and less calories. Don't try this at Thanksgiving or you might have a rebellion on your hands. (I know my family would protest.)

This is enough filling for a 9 inch pie.
2 cups pureed or mashed cooked pumpkin (or one 16 oz. can)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Best to use an egg beater or mixer for this job. Pour into prepared crust (or greased custard cups if making pudding).
For pie, place into pre-heated 425 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then turn down heat to 350 degrees and bake about another 45 minutes, or until a sharp knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool at room temperature. If desired, chill before serving - about 4 hours.
If you are baking filling in custard cups, bake at 350 degrees until pumpkin mixture barely jiggles - custard will firm up as it cools.

Meat loaf
I haven't used a recipe to make meat loaf for years.   If I followed a recipe - this would be it. Try it and if you want adjust seasonings and flavors to your tastes. You could even add a layer of cooked and chopped spinach in between two layers of meat when you are filling the loaf pan. Meat loaf a la
Greque!
Serves 6. Make a double recipe and use the leftovers for sandwiches.
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, preferably grass fed
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups bread, torn into small pieces and soaked in 1 cup of milk
1 egg
1 t. worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. dry mustard
1 t. dried thyme or sage or combination of both
1/4 cup ketchup or chili sauce plus another 1/4 cup for the top of the meat loaf
Mix all ingredients well - using your hands or a sturdy wooden spoon or stand mixer.
Pack meat mixture into a loaf pan. Spread ketchup or chili sauce on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let sit about 10 minutes before slicing.

Rice pudding
This is a simple baked rice pudding - adapted from my 1943 edition of Joy of Cooking.
1 1/2 cups milk
pinch of salt
3 T. sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1 t. fresh lemon juice
1 t. finely grated lemon zest
2 cups cooked rice
dash of nutmeg
Mix all the ingredients except the rice. Then stir in rice. Sprinkle some nutmeg on top. Bake in one quart greased baking dish in a 325 degree oven "until it is set". Marion Rombauer Becker figured we would know when. I am thinking about 20-30 minutes. Depends on the shape and size of the dish you are using. It is okay if it is still a little jiggly in the middle - it will firm up as it cools.

Tried and True - Pickled Beets

2010-10-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

I was talking to a friend yesterday about eating more fruits and vegetables for better health - one of my favorite subjects. He has been thinking and reading about this a lot lately and seems pretty committed to making some changes in his day to day eating habits He was wondering how in the heck he was going to manage ELEVEN one half cup servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which is the amount recommended for a moderately active man over age 31. See this link for some great info on how to think about adding more fruits and veggies to your diet. http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=58

For most people, eating a lot of vegetables is even a bigger challenge in the winter. One way to meet the challenge would be to sign up for a winter CSA share. Another way would be to eat more pickled vegetables and relishes - like pickled beets. They are a great side dish for almost any kind of meal. I like to dice them and use them as a garnish for all kinds of salads or cooked greens. I also like to use them to make salads, like herring salad. (recipe below)

As I perused my cookbook collection to prepare for today's post, I noticed quite a bit of variation in pickled beet recipes. Proportions of water, vinegar and sugar were different. Types and amounts of spices were different. Some recipes called for onions and some not.

I have been using this recipe for some time and find it quite satisfactory. It is meant for a small batch of pickles to be stored in the refrigerator. If you want to can a large amount of beet pickles for long shelf storage, then I suggest you follow a recipe from the Ball canning folks or other "official" source so you are sure the recipe is safe.

BEET PICKLES - Makes one quart
1 1/2 pounds beets (should yield about 3 cups, thickly sliced)
1 cup sliced white onion, loosely packed (If you don't want to include onion, just cook and slice an extra 1 cup of beets)
1 cup sugar (white or brown or mixed)
1 cup vinegar (cider or white or mixed)
1/2 cup water
1 T. mixed pickling spice (or 1 cinnamon stick, broken; 1/2 t. whole cloves, 1/2 t. whole allspice, 1 t. mustard seed)
Trim beets - leave one inch of stems. Scrub well and boil (water should cover the beets) until beets are done. (A sharp fork should meet little resistance). Peel beets under cold running water - the peels and stems should slip off easily.
If you have small beets you can pickle them whole. You can also quarter or chunk beets of any size or slice them. I like to slice them thick so I can dice them later if I want to.
Place cut cup beets in a clean jar along with sliced onions if you are using them.
While beets are cooking, combine sugar, vinegar, water and spices in a sauce pan and simmer about 15 minutes.
Pour vinegar mixture over the beets/onions in the jar. Press or insert a long thin spoon or chopstick to remove any air spaces or bubbles. Cover jar. When it has cooled, refrigerate. Let sit a few days before eating. These pickles will keep in the refrigerator for months.

Here are some pictures of the pickling process:

all you need: cooked beets, sliced onions, vinegar, sugar, water and spices

Heat the vinegar and water and sugar and spices - simmer about 15 minutes

It's a little tricky to pack the jar - after you add some liquid you can rearrange things a little so you can get everything inside

Beet salad, Scandinavian style
3 cups diced cooked beets (pickled or unpickled)
2 cups diced boiled new potatoes
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion or sliced shallots
1/3 cup chopped dill pickle
1 cup diced tart apple
3 T white wine or cider vinegar
3 T. oil
1 t. salt, ½ t. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped pickled herring or other pickled fish (optional)
1 T. chopped fresh parsley or dill- fresh dill is lovely if you have some
Dressing – make just before serving - often served on the side
1 cup sour cream or crème fraiche or plain yogurt
1 T fresh lemon juice
3 T beet juice

Focus: LEEKS (Allium Ampeloprasum var. Porrum)

2010-10-22T13:33:00.001-05:00

Subtle, distinctive, refined yet sociable, delicate, elusive, mild, gentle, delicious, sweet, hardy, versatile, underutilized.

This is a pretty intriguing list of adjectives. Would you have guessed that they have all been applied to leeks at one time or another by a wide variety of food and cookbook writers? Thanks to these adjectives, I am reconsidering my placement of leeks in the vegetable pantheon. I think I need to move them higher up on the list.

I have cooked with leeks for a long time, though I certainly did not grow up with them. I cannot recall my first encounter with a leek in the kitchen, so it must not have been too traumatic. A few years ago my husband kind of went crazy with leeks in our garden and I had the pleasant problem of dealing with a leek glut. It was nice to have a surplus - I could cook them in quantity They are so expensive in the stores that I was accustomed to being parsimonious with them. I liked not having to worry about leek frugality for once.   I made a lot of potato leek soup. I sauteed them in olive oil and then layered them with polenta and parmesan in a lovely casserole. I roasted them. We even at them on their own, braised with a little butter, as a side dish. Luxury.

So when I started to write this post I thought I knew a lot about leeks. That I understood leeks.   But I realized that I really don't. Now that I have thought more about leeks, I am looking forward to deepening my relationship with them. I am going to pay more attention to their subtleties.

Onions can be so, well, bossy and dominating.   Sometimes you just want an allium that is not so assertive. One that "mingles amiably" with other foods, as the Stones write in The Essential Root Vegetable Cookbook. I think I will be substituting them for onions more often. If I can't convince Jack to put more of them in the CSA boxes, then we will just have to plant more in our garden.

History of leeks
Leeks are such an old vegetable no one is sure of their origin. It is said that leeks were among the rations given to laborers on the Pyramids.   And the Old Testament of the Bible mentions that “cucumbers, melons and leeks “ were the foods most missed by the Jews after their Exodus from Egypt.

Who appreciates leeks?
Leeks are a staple in France. They are often called the "asparagus of the poor" as both asparagus and leeks are members of the lily family. The French will saute or braise leeks like celery and use them in tarts and terrines. And of course they are used with potatoes in soups.

Leeks are much appreciated in the British Isles, where they were introduced by Caesar's legions. They are popular especially in Scotland and Wales. The leek is used in a signature Scots soup - cockaleekie soup. This is a simple dish requiring one stewing chicken, lots of leeks, barley, carrot, potato, celery, bay leaf, salt and pepper and water. Just cook it all together for hours and remove unwanted chicken bones and skin.

The leek is the Welsh national emblem. According to legend (and wikianswers), Saint David ordered his Welsh soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field. It is still worn March 1 each year - St. David's Day.

Cleaning leeks
When leeks are grown, soil is mounded up on each side to encourage blanching of the stalks and to keep them mild and tender. That is why there is often lots of sand and grit hiding between the leaves. It is not hard to remove this. Trim off the tough outer leaves and the root end (just enough to remove the roots). Slice the stalk lengthwise - but stop about 1 inch above the root end. Soak in water about 10 minutes. Spread the layers of leek under running water, rinsing off any remaining dirt or grit. If your leeks are very young and thin, you may be able to leave them whole and wash them without have to slice them.

Storing leeks
Do not wash leeks until you are ready to use them. You can trim off the large, tough flat leaves and upper part of the stalk before storing, however. Compost them or wash and trim the outer leaves and freeze to use later for soup stock. They will get mushy but they still are usable. Keep the unwashed white part plus about 3 inches of light green, including the root end, in the vegetable crisper, loosely wrapped in a ventilated plastic bag. The leeks should keep up to 3 weeks.

Preparing leeks
Leeks can be substituted for onions in almost any dish. Don't just relegate them to the soup pot- they have many other uses. The edible part is the thick white stem and the light green portion of the leaves (about 2-3 inches). Ideal size is from 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Leeks larger than 2 inches can be tough and fibrous. Avoid leeks with a flaring bulbous root end.

One way to get maximum use from a leek stalk is to "reverse trim" it. This means cutting off the outer leaves one layer at a time as you go up the stalk, so as to save the more tender inner part. Try to end up with a stalk about 7 inches long - the white part, the light green part and some of the inner leaves above the light green part.

Don’t overcook leeks. You want them tender but they should still offer a little resistance to a sharp knife or fork. (If you are cooking them in a soup, you can cook them longer.) Mature leeks become tender after 15-20 minutes of boiling, steaming or braising. This is a general rule - timing can vary depending on the size of the leeks you are working with.

Equivalents – 2 pounds = 1 pound cleaned–and trimmed = 4 c chopped = 2 c. cooked chopped
For eating whole, allow 2 med (1 inch diameter) leeks per person

Reverse trim - take advantage of tender inner layers

Slice off just the root end so leek layers hold together

Slice leek lengthwise

Rinse under running water to remove any grit still lingering in the leek

Many recipes call for sliced leeks - here's how

RECIPES

Vichyssoise (vish-ee-swahz)
This is one of the most famous uses for leeks. It is a rich potato leek soup served by Chef Louis Diat at New York's Ritz Carlton hotel. It is pureed and served cold. I was going to give you the recipe from the New York Times Cookbook. But even I - cream promoter that I am - hesitated at the excess of butterfat in that recipe. So I found this version from The Classic Vegetable Cookbook by Ruth Spear. (You can get this book on E-Bay for about $5-10. I found mine at a used book store for $5.00. I like it a lot.) The moral of this story is that every recipe is not the same. Even recipes for supposedly classic dishes can vary greatly. This is why you need to have some trusting relationships with cookbook authors or food websites - or your favorite bloggers!

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds leeks, white parts only -- washed and thinly sliced
4 T. butter
4 cups peeled and coarsely chopped raw potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 cups boiling water
3 cups chicken broth
salt and white pepper
1 cup heavy cream
milk
chopped chives
Saute leeks in butter for about 5 minutes - do not brown. Add potatoes, water, broth amd 1 t. salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, partly covered, about 30 minutes. Potatoes and leeks should be tender. Let vegetables cool. Puree (food mill, food processor, blender) Add the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill at least 8 hours. Serve in chilled bowls, garnished with chopped fresh chives. Serves 8.

Roasted leeks
Roasting concentrates flavor and accentuates sweetness. Clean and trim and slice leek in half. Brush lightly with oil or melted butter and roast at 400 degrees in an oiled roasting pan for about 35 -45 minutes. Baste a few times to prevent drying out.

Gratin of leeks and potatoes
Saute 2 cups of sliced leeks and 2 cups of thinly sliced potatoes in a little butter or oil until vegetables are tender. (You might need to cover the pan for a few minutes to let the vegetables steam a bit.) Spread in a shallow pan. Cover with a white sauce. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, parmesan and buttered bread crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees about 30 minutes, until cooked through and topping is brown and crunchy. Variation - add some chopped ham to the potatoes.

Julienne of leeks
Cut washed leeks (white and 2 inches of green) lengthwise and then in 2 inch lengths. Slice lengthwise into very fine julienne slices. Melt butter in saute pan. Add leeks and 2 t. water or white wine. Cook over moderate heat about 5 minutes, until the leeks wilt. This is good as a garnish with poached or sauteed fish.

Soupe Bonne Femme
This is also a soup served by Chef Diat. When he was a boy in France, his family sometimes started the day with a bowl of this soup. Why not? I have adapted this recipe from The Classic Vegetable Cookbook.
Ingredients
2 cups sliced leeks - white and light green parts
1/2 cup chopped onion or shallots
2 -3 T. butter
4 cups chopped, peeled potatoes
2 cups boiling water
2-3 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish
Saute leeks and onions in butter for a few minutes. Cook, covered, on medium heat a few more minutes. Do not brown. Add potatoes and boiling water and 1 t. salt. Cover and cook about 25 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Add milk to make soup desired thickness. Serve hot, garnished with fresh herbs. If you want, you can crush the potatoes with a potato masher for a smoother texture to the soup.

Hands On - Spaetzle

2010-10-21T08:34:00.000-05:00

This post is dedicated to my brother Marty, who has lived in Germany for over a quarter century and does not own a spaetzle maker, let alone make spaetzle at home. Marty and Ellen - go get yourself a spaetzle maker and have some fun. Ya!

Spaetzle (spay-tsul) are really just German pasta - little chewy dumplings that can be used in soup or just as you would pasta. Add cheese sauce or simply toss with grated cheese and a little butter. Or serve with a tomato sauce. Or mix in sauteed shallots and blanched swiss chard and blue cheese like I did yesterday. Or saute some cabbage and onion in a little bacon fat and add that to the spaetzle. Or just serve plain, with a little butter, right next to some weiner schnitzel and red cabbage. The possibilities are endless.

Once you have a pot of water boiling, you can make spaetzle just as fast as boxed mac and cheese. Once I remove the cooked dumplings, I still have a pot of boiling water. That is a good opportunity to blanch a few vegetables that you might have around. You can use those with your spaetzle or save for another dish. Energy saver. I like that.

You can buy a perfectly fine spaetzle maker for about ten bucks. Here is a link if you want to look online for one. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&q=spaetzle+maker&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=2158974972886390990&ei=mkDATJ7vGoennQfT9tWHCg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDMQ8wIwAQ#

Ingredients
All you need is flour (I used a white whole wheat flour today), eggs, a little salt and a little milk. I also like to add a pinch of nutmeg. For two cups of spaetzle you will need:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg (optional)
Preparation
Beat eggs. Add milk and salt and nutmeg if desired. Stir in flour thoroughly. Dough will be soft and wet. Scrape into a spaetzle maker. Cook spaetzle in gently boiling water. They will rise to the top when done - I like to cook an extra minute or two afer they rise. If you have a big pot you can cook this amount of dough at one time. Scoop cooked dumplings out of the water with a slotted spoon or strainer. Put spaetzle into a bowl or pan with just a teaspoon of butter or oil to prevent sticking. Use right away or refrigerate until needed.

Here are pictures of the steps I follow:

You don't need much equipment to make spaetzle

Scraping wet dough into spaetzle maker, It can rest on the top of the pot.

I'm only holding this high so you can see what magic happens underneath the spaetzle maker when you slide the little box back and forth

See how fast the dumplings rise to the top?

I added some blanched sliced chard leaves, sauteed shallots and some blue cheese. This is going to be our lunch.