Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.  

We’re in full swing with the growing season in the mid-Atlantic region.  I certainly enjoy all the fresh produce spilling out of my garden, but none tickle my taste buds quite so much as Swiss chard and sorrel.  For those of you not familiar with these delightful greens, here’s a little primer that should get you well on your way to enjoying both!

Swiss Chard 101

Unless you’ve grown up in the South or with a southern cook, you probably haven’t been exposed to a lot of cooked greens in your diet.  Swiss chard is the superstar among the greens family that includes kale, spinach, beets and collards.  It literally is off the chart in Vitamin K (great for your bones) and Vitamin A (good for vision and warding off cancer).   In addition to that, it’s got loads of fiber, iron, potassium, magnesium and even some calcium.  All in a mere 35 calories per cooked cup!  Pretty impressive, eh?

I know what you’re thinking though… how does it taste?  Surely something so healthy is going to be gross.  Nope.  It’s quite tasty and easily added to a great number of dishes.  Two of the most common ways of preparing Swiss chard are sautéing (as we’ll be doing with today’s recipe) and using it in soups.  You can also throw it into just about any stir fry and any baked dish that might normally call for spinach (such as a quiche or lasagna).  It’s great over pasta, rice or spelt, and it’s flavor, while a tad bitter, melds nicely with just about anything.  It also retains a nice bright color after being cooked so for once your kids might not think the green stuff on their plate is slime.

When selecting Swiss chard, look for perky full bright green leaves and flexible (not too stiff, not too wilted) stems.  The smaller leaves will cook faster but become next to nothing after a few minutes in the pan.  Larger leaves will hold up more in the pan but will take longer to cook and sometimes be a bit chewier.  I like to aim somewhere in the middle for leaves that are about the size of my outstretched hand or a little bigger.

Sorrel 101

Sorrel’s a little funny.  It started out as a rather common plant growing in many European pastures.  Cows are quite fond of it.  It seems that peasants took to collecting it for salads and then eventually it made its way into French cuisine and now it’s considered rather gourmet.

With a tangy, bright flavor, sorrel is a favorite in soups and sauces, particularly those that are cream based.  Due to its intense flavor, it has the unusual designation of being both an herb and a green (generally, plants harvested for their leaves are considered one or the other).    I can’t vouch for this myself, but it’s supposed to be excellent with lamb.  I personally most enjoy it in pesto or quiche. 

It is very high in Vitamin C and A, which is why it was used to prevent scurvy back in the day.  It was also ground into a paste to use as an antiseptic on the skin.  It was also used in folk medicine as a diuretic so don’t eat too much of it!

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Sautéed Swiss Chard and Sorrel over Spelt
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 15 stems)
1 bunch sorrel (about 6-8 stems)
5 cloves of garlic
1 large shallot
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
½  c. vegetable or chicken stock
2 c. spelt, cooked according to directions
salt and pepper
grated parmesan cheese

Mince the garlic and shallot.  Removing the stems, roughly chopped the sorrel.  For the Swiss chard, if you are using larger leaves, cut around the main vein in the center and then remove the tough stem.  If you have really young/small leaves, you do not need to remove the vein.  Roughly chop the Swiss chard.

Place two tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil in a skillet.  Add shallot and garlic and sauté until golden.   Add the chopped greens and stir briefly to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir again.  Add half cup of stock and reduce heat to low.  Allow greens to simmer until most of liquid is absorbed and greens are tender.  Add additional salt and pepper as needed.

To plate up, mound up spelt and grate some cheese over it.  Then mound the greens on top and grate some more cheese.  Serve with sliced tomatoes or other fresh seasonal vegetable on the side.

(serves 2) 

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden. 

“Hot. So very hot.”  These words, or some variation of them, echo through my head at least a dozen times a day now that summer is officially here.  Interspersed among them are a sundry of other fleeting thoughts, most prevalent among them being, “Is it lunchtime yet?”   You see, laboring as I do outside so much of the day in my horticulture work, I tend to quickly get a little parched and hungry.  Concocting refreshing icy beverages has become a priority.

This desperation for refreshment brings us to a truly revitalizing Lavender Lemon Soda that is the ideal remedy for a sweaty brow.  It is downright cleansing with its effervescent flavors. I have been intrigued by herbal sodas since last summer when I had one at a local café, but I surprised even myself with how tasty this particular combination turned out to be.  

Herbal sodas are quite simple actually.  Almost any herb can be used to make an infused simple syrup that then goes on to flavor some form of bubbly (seltzer, tonic water, ginger ale, and so forth).   I’m anticipating coming up with several other combinations using the herbs in my tea garden.

So bring on the heat!  I’ve got a great way to chill!  Oh, and did I mention it has zero calories?  Of course you could always make it with honey too if you don’t like the idea of artifical sweeteners.

Lavender Lemon Soda

1 C. water
1 C. Splenda (or sugar)
2 T. fresh lavender florets (Hidcote variety recommended)
1 C. fresh squeezed lemon juice
Seltzer water
Ice

In a small saucepan, combine water, Splenda, and lavender.  Bring to a simmer over gentle heat.  Remove from stove and let steep for 5-10 minutes.  Strain and chill until ready to use.

To make the soda, combine a ¼ cup of lavender syrup with a ¼ cup lemon juice over ice in a pint glass.  Fill the glass with seltzer water and serve immediately.

(serves 4)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.  

With the rising costs of food (and everything else to boot), I’m sure I’m not the only one who has vowed to be more frugal with menus by using up what’s already in the fridge before heading to the market.  To this I say, “here, here!!”   That was until I started looking around my own fridge and realized I should have taken on this resolution about four months ago - moldy cheese, sad-looking shriveled carrots, and dried out halves of onions that I was sure I’d use up the next day but forgot all about and ended up cutting a fresh onion.   Frugal I am not.

Instead, those bright and shiny new bunch of beets I’d plucked from the farmer’s market immediately caught my attention.  I know I had opened the fridge with the intention of salvaging something that might otherwise go to waste, but as it was, I thought I’d give the beets a chance before they too shriveled up in the crisper drawer.  After all, the spring beet season is fast drawing to a close. 

The flavor proved to be superb for this Sauteed Beets with Mustard and Lemon recipe.   Since my beets were rather small, they were actually boardering on sweet.  Thus, I upped the lemon juice and later wished I had upped the chile pepper too.  Adjust your seasonings according to personal taste and the quality of your beets.  I’m sure you’ll agree this dish is deliciously light and a beauty to behold on the plate!

What’s your favorite recipe for beets?  If you’re still stumped and want a few more ideas, check out these links:

Beet Salad with Orange and Fennel
Early Spring Sunshine Salad
Vegan Mint Chocolate Cake 
Roasted Beet and Cucumber Salad

SPICY SAUTEED BEETS WITH MUSTARD AND LEMON
Adapted from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes

4 or 5 medium beets
2 T. peanut oil
1/4 t. mustard seeds
1 small chile pepper, slices into thing rounds
Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of one lemon
1 T. minced cilantro

Scrub beets well.  Cover with water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer, covered, until tender – about 20 minutes depending on the size of the beets. Drain and let beets cool before sliding off their skins.  Chop beets into half inch thick wedges.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.  When the oil begins to smoke, add the mustard seeds, covering to avoid splattering.  Once seeds stop sputtering, add chile pepper slices and stir once before adding beets and salt.  Toss to coat with oil and then cover and let beets steam over low heat for another 5-6 minutes.

Remove from heat and place in serving dish.  Toss with lemon juice and cilantro.  Serve warm or cold.

(serves 2)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.  

Kohlrabi season is upon us!  Rejoice and partake! And it looks like I’m not the only one finding locally grown kohlrabi in the kitchen.  I am ridiculously fond of kohlrabi, perhaps somewhat in part due to its alien appearance.  It’s crisp and refreshing when sliced thin and eaten raw or grated into a slaw, but I actually like it even better when sauteed.  It releases its juices and becomes almost buttery in texture. 

As for the squash, it’s not quite here yet in the Northeast so if you don’t have it locally grown, just use the kohlrabi by itself or add another in-season vegetable.  At the time I created this recipe, I was desperate to use up as much squash as possible.  I figure I’ll give you a head start with ideas for this summer’s onslaught!

I often putz around in the kitchen, twisting perfectly normal recipes into oddities, much to the ire of my partner, D.  All the poor guy wants is a veggie burger and some stuffing prepared out of a box.   I don’t like things when they’re so simple.   Why not try something new and different, right?  

This time around, I was inspired by a trip I took to Argentina last year.  On the western side of the country in the city of Mendoza (Argetnina’s equivalent of Napa Valley), I consumed (voraciously, I might add) the most delicious and addicting corn and red pepper empanadas.  I recreated them at home, of course, but quickly turned to this combination of kohlrabi and squash once I got the knack of making empanadas down.   It’s an interesting fusion of Indian spices tucked into a half moon of  flaky crust. 

You can certainly make your own crust especially designed for empanadas.  I’ll be honest though - I usually cheat as this recipe is a bit time consuming as it is.  The pre-made pie crust available at the store works just fine in a pinch. 

Muy delicioso! 

~~~

Kohlrabi & Squash Empanadas

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 inch of ginger, peeled and grated
2 medium kohlrabies, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 large summer squash, cut into small cubes
2 large scallions, both white and green parts, finely cut
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 box of pre-made pie crust or one batch homemade*
1 egg

In a medium skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and ginger to brown.  Add kohlrabi cubes, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Toss well and cook 3 or 4 minutes until kohlrabi are softening a bit.  Add squash cubes and continue to cook for 4 more minutes.  Add scallions, nutmeg and another pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix well and cook for one minute before removing from heat.  Set mixture to this side to cool.

Roll out dough to be a little thinner than pie crust typically is.  If you are using pre-made crust from the store, run your rolling pin over it once or twice.   Using a cereal bowl or large circular cookie cutter, cut out 6 inch-ish circles from the dough.  It should yield about 15, give or take depending on your cutter and dough thickness.

Pre-heat oven to 425 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.   Prepare egg wash by beating egg with a teaspoon of water and set to the side along with a small bowl of water.

To make the empanadas, spoon one tablespoon of kohlrabi and squash mixture into the center of a circle of dough.   (It’s better to have less filling than too much or the empanadas won’t hold together. Feel out the right ratio that allows you to close off the dough without any filling popping out.)   Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it around the outside edge of the dough.  Fold dough over the filling to create a half circle.  Press down edges.  Carefully pick up the dough pocket and pinch edges (see photo) to seal them tightly.  A fork can also be used to crimp the edges if you want a less tedious method.  

Repeat above process to finish all the empanadas, laying them on the lined cookie sheet when done.  With a fork, prick the tops once and brush with egg wash.   Bake for 8 minutes and turn over.  Bake another 5 to 7 minutes until deep golden brown and flaky.  Best served straight from the oven.       

 * Try this recipe for true empanada dough at some point, if you’re so inclined.

**Also, I’m sure you could add chicken to this recipe and it’d be quite tasty.  In fact, you could just serve the filling on its own for a quick side dish when you’re too short on time to make the empanadas.

(makes approximately 15 empanadas)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.  

Reading Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, which is where today’s recipe comes from, got me thinking about the pleasure and occasional shame that is a solo diner’s.   In a restaurant, dining alone, you may cower, or worse yet, be forced to dine at a table squeezed in beside the kitchen door. But at home, cooking for one can be a real joy when you throw in a bit fancy flare and fresh healthy ingredients.   

A long-time solo diner myself, I’m prone to falling back on my old stand-bys instead of trying something new that will give me a more balanced menu.  As tasty as baked beans piled over two slices of whole wheat toast is, no one can pretend such a dish makes for a well-balanced meal (although beans and toast does make a “complete” protein).   So, a salad made of those ingredients that bind spring and summer produce together is a welcome breath of fresh eating. 

It’s funny how pleased I was to find a lone beet at the bottom of my crisper drawer…proof that getting produce straight from the farm often means it’ll keep a lot longer than that that’s spent a week or more in the back of a truck to make its way to you.  This beet had been in there for about a month, its buddies having been put to good use in the salad I posted last week.  But this last-to-be-picked beet was still in perfect condition and just what I needed to make an interesting salad that made me feel, dare I say, sexy to be eating it by myself, wine glass in hand, out on my deck in the cool early summer twilight. 

If you are indeed what you eat, then this is something you’ll definitely want to be consuming!   Even the dirty plate at the end was pretty!

~~~~

Roasted Beet and Cucumber Salad with Asiago Cheese Shavings

1 beet
1 small cucumber
1/3 red onion
4 or 5 radishes
a few leaves of fresh mint
a stem of fresh dill
coarse salt
fresh ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil
orange muscat champagne vinegar*
asiago or similar firm salty cheese that shaves easily

*The original recipe calls for red wine vinegar but I had this bottle of vinegar I’d gotten a while back and thought I’d finally put it to good use.  It was a superb compliment to the salad flavors. 

To begin:  Roast the beet by removing any stems and placing it whole in a small baking pan with a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom.  Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the beet and sprinkle with coarse salt. Place pan in 350 F oven for about an hour, or until the beet is fork tender.  Let cool before peeling off skin and slicing into 1/4 inch rounds.  Set aside.

While the beet is roasting:  Peel the cucumber in alternating strips to make it a little fancier.  Slice in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.  Slice into 1/4 slices and place in a medium bowl.  Slice the radishes into very thin rounds.  Place in the bowl with the cucumber. Cut the red onion into very thin slices and place in the bowl.  Chop the fresh herbs and scatter on top of sliced vegetables. 

In a small bowl begin to make a dressing by whisking together olive oil and vinegar in a 2:1 ratio (i.e., 4 T. olive oil and 2 T. vinegar).  If you like lots of dressing, make lots. If not, the example amount should work well.  Add salt and pepper and whisk for another minute to be sure the dressing is emulsified. 

Toss half the dressing with the sliced cucumber, radish, onion mixture and set in the fridge until beet is ready.

When beet has been prepared as directed above, toss beet slices with the remaining dressing.  Plate up by laying out beets on a nice large plate.  Give the cucumber salad a quick toss again before piling up on top of the beets.   Using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, shave off several generous bits of cheese to crown the salad.

Serve immediately with a sprig of fresh mint.  Salad can be prepared a few hours ahead of time - just keep the beets seperate from the cucumber until ready to serve. 

(serves 1)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.  

I love eating with my eyes first.  I know many a foodie has said that before, but the look of a dish can often mean more to me than the taste.  Lucky for everyone, this post’s recipe has it all - vivid color, dramatic presentation and refreshing deliciousness.  The flavors in this beet salad were meant for each other, although I wouldn’t have thought to put them together myself if Chef Bill Telepan hadn’t suggested it.  By the way, Mr. Telepan is a man after my own heart, using lots of citrus and unusual seasonal ingredients like kohlrabi in his own special style of ”lovin’ fresh” recipes.   

The fennel this time of year is very mellow since it is still young and tender.  If you’re not a fennel fan, don’t be afraid to give this salad a chance anyway, no matter where you are getting your produce.  Sliced thin and dressed up in lemon oil, the fennel relaxes its anise taste. 

As a starter course at my Memorial Day BBQ, this salad met with oohs and aahs when presented along side a slice of spinach quiche.  Equally fitting at brunch as it is at dinner, top this salad with parmesan scallion crisps for a little extra flare.  The best part about this salad?  It’s shamefully easy to make!

Candy Cane Beet Salad with Orange and Fennel
Adapted from Food and Wine

5 medium candy cane beets
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 c. orange juice
1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs
1 t.  finely chopped lemon balm
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Trim stems and roots off beets and scrub skins.  In a small baking dish, place beets in 1/2 inch of water and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 50 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and drain liquid off beets.  Run cool water over the beets to make them easier to handle.  Remove skins and slice beets into 1/4 inch thick rounds.  Chill in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Peel the oranges, removing the bitter white pith. Working over a bowl, cut in between the membranes to release the orange sections (you don’t have to do this if you’re running short on time). Adding two segments of orange to the membranes, squeeze them to get a tablespoon or so of fresh juice.  Combine fresh juice with the 1/4 c. of orange juice in a small saucepan.  Over low heat, simmer the orange juice until reduced to about 1 tablespoon, which takes about 4 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice reduction with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Chill.

Trim fennel bulbs of all stems (save a few feathery tops), halve and core.  Rinse halves before slicing thinly.  Set aside.  In a bowl, combine another 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Add fennel slices and lemon balm to dressing and toss.

*All the above steps can be completed several hours or a day ahead.  Refrigerate until the time of serving.

When you’re ready to serve, toss the beet slices with the orange juice vinaigrette. Arrange beets on plates and mound the fennel on top. Place orange slices around the beets and garnish with feathery fennel tops.

(serves 4 as a starter salad)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden. 

It’s been brought to my attention that croutons aren’t “much of an entry” (this from a man that goes pale at the mere mention of his participation in the nightly dinner preparations), but I beg to differ.  While making your own croutons isn’t hard, it’s something most folks rarely think to do.  The recipes I post aren’t meant to be revolutionary.  Rather, they are here to prompt you, noble Eat.Drink.Better readers, to embrace the freshest, local food you can find.  Homemade croutons made with a fresh herb butter fit in perfectly with that scheme, don’t you think?  I certainly do. 

What I like best about these croutons is that they really lend themselves to so much more than just a salad topper.  For instance, as summer comes around, I’ll dice some just-off-the-vine-tomatoes, tossed them with sea salt, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.  Then I let those sit for a bit to draw out the juices before tossing in the croutons to soak up said juices.  Less than 10 minutes after I start, I have a delectable and filling little side dish that screams, “summer time, and the livin’ is easy!”       

Of course the croutons are also superb in soups (saltines will never satisfy you again). And sometimes I even toss them on pasta to soak up some of the extra sauce.  With fresh herbs really taking off in May, it’s the perfect time to get in the habit of making your own herb butters and croutons.  So, go ahead, make a double batch of these crunchy add-ins and see where they take you on a whim!  I also have a habit of sneaking a couple as a snack when I get home from work.   They’re so good any way you please and so simple to make that even “no way, I can’t make dinner!” man has to admit that. 

BASIL GARLIC CROUTONS
Adapted from The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden Cookbook

1 baguette
1 stick of softened butter
2 T. finely chopped fresh basil
1 1/4 t. finely chopped fresh oregano
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Slice baguette into 1/2 inch cubes and spread onto a baking sheet.  Toast in oven until crisp but not golden, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and place in medium mixing bowl.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, place softened butter, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Allow to sit for at least an hour to let flavors marry.  Do not place in refrigerator unless leaving overnight (in which case, soften again in microwave).

Combine herbed butter with croutons in bowl, tossing well.  Return croutons to baking sheet and toast in 400 F oven again for 10 minutes, this time toasting until golden.  Allow to cool and store in ziplock bag for up to several weeks. .

(makes 4 cups)

Quiche is something I covet, particularly for brunch.  I personally enjoy it more when chilled, but any and all quiche is welcome to apply within (my mouth).   When my partner and I met, he was trying to go from vegetarian to vegan (a mission since abandoned due to our mutual “interest” in ice cream).  Being especially eager to prove my culinary prowess in those first few months of dating, I gave my first tofu quiche a whirl.   While I didn’t miss the eggs in the least, I did lament the absence of cheese.  So we compromised and now I have a “standard” tofu quiche recipe that I typically make with spinach.

Now, if you’re scrunching up your nose at the idea of an eggless quiche, don’t despair.  I’m sure if you have a standard quiche recipe of your own (or care to do a quick search for one), you can easily use the flavor components of this recipe with an egg base instead.

Sorrel has a lovely tangy/tart lemony flavor.  It’s often used in salads, soups, spinach and fish dishes.  Technically it’s both an herb and a salad green so it has dual value - taste and texture.  While sorrel’s flavor can be overwhelming if used in excess, when placed on the often-bland canvas of tofu, the tart bite works superbly in its favor.   Paired with chevre (goat cheese), it accentuates the tang while masking some of the tart.   Sorrel was such a fine addition to my standard quiche recipe, I’ve since generally replaced the spinach with sorrel all summer long while it’s in season.

One word to the wise about this recipe before we get started - if you don’t drain the blanched sorrel well and/or add too much milk to the tofu, the quiche might not set up as firmly as you’d like.  If this is the case, lower the heat in the oven to around 300 and cover the crust edges with foil to keep them from burning.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes than directed.  Quiche will also firm up more as it cools; hence my preference for chilled quiche. 

~

EGGLESS SORREL & CHEVRE QUICHE

30 leaves of sorrel, de-stemmed and cut into thin ribbons
3 large garlic cloves, finely minced
4 large scallions, thinly sliced
4 oz. chevre (goat cheese), room temperature
1/2 C. sharp white cheddar cheese
1/4 C. parmesan cheese
1/4 C. finely chopped flat leaf parsley
12 oz. extra firm tofu, drained and roughly cubed
1/2 to 3/4 C. nonfat milk
1/2 t. salt (don’t skimp, trust me)
1/2 t. pepper
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 F and cover edges of pie cruse with tin foil.  Place pie crust in oven to lightly bake as you prepare ingredients.

Bring a cup of water to boil and quickly blanch the sorrel, removing as soon as it wilts and darkens.  Place in strainer to remove as much liquid as possible.  Place sorrel in a medium bowl and mix in garlic, scallions, chevre, cheddar and parmesan.

Remove pie crust from oven and take off foil from edges.  Allow to cool for a minute.

In a blender, combine tofu and 1/2 cup of milk.  Blend for a minute and then add salt and pepper and blend some more.  If mixture is not smooth, add more milk as necessary to create a smooth silky texture.  Combine tofu with sorrel and cheese.  Mix well before filling pie crust.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until set and golden brown on top.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.  Serve with slices of tomato.

(makes one quiche)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden

What’s your favorite mythological creature? Unicorns? The Loch Ness Monster?  The Yetti?  Lake Champlain’s Champ?  El Chupacabra?  Up until yesterday, I might have said the Fiddlehead, had I been asked.   Like all the previously named questionable characters, there are many pictures to prove their existence (heck, there’s even a picture on one of my sets of business cards), and yet, somehow, I’d never seen one for myself.  The curly heads rising up on slender necks from the forest floor resemble an other-worldly creature for sure.  And in the culinary world, fiddlehead ferns are almost unmatched in their elusive promises of gourmet delight, much like morels or truffles. 

Only a few varieties of ferns yield edible fiddleheads, and they are most often foraged from the wild. To add to the challenge, fiddleheads, which are tightly coiled shoots that are just itching to unfurl into fern fronds, only come into season for a few short days each spring.  Since both their arrival and their point of unfurling are entirely dependent on the temperatures, rain levels, and amount of sunny days each spring, it’s amazing to me that anyone ever finds them. 

It’s even more amazing to me that I finally ran across them! 

The Ostrich Fern is the only fern I’d trust, based off what I’ve read and heard, to eat the fiddleheads, and there just happen to be several in the woods around the gardens where I’m working.  Before you go hunting for them yourself, be sure you can identify your ferns with certainty as the fiddleheads of some very similar looking ferns can cause food poisoning.  Don’t fret though if you aren’t a master fiddlehead finder.  There are fiddlehead harvesters who sell their finds at farmers markets and even online.  While fiddleheads are best eaten promptly after harvest, they can be refrigerated for a week or more.  There is one rule of thumb for cooking fiddleheads though and that is to cook them.  Raw fiddleheads, even of the Ostrich Fern variety, can also cause food poisoning. So be sure to boil your fiddleheads, if you’re lucky enough to get them. 

I really enjoyed this dish and wish fiddleheads weren’t so short in season (the ferns from which I got mine unfurled just two days after I harvested mine). Fortunately, this preparation of the corn would be delicious on its own, garlicky and sweet with a little salty bite.  So, if you don’t have fiddleheads, you can still have the corn.  And believe that fiddleheads do exist, if only because I have pictures to prove it! 

~

FIDDLEHEAD FERNS AND CORN

3 fiddlehead ferns
½ C. frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 t. minced rosemary
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. butter
Salt and pepper

Trim off the discolored ends of the fiddlehead stems. Place fiddleheads in a bowl full of cool water and swish gently, allowing them to soak while you mince the garlic and rosemary.

Bring a small pot of water up to a boil. Add the fiddleheads and boil gently for five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and rinse in a bowl of cool water, changing the water two or three times. This rinsing process helps remove the tannins that might cause the fiddleheads to be bitter.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil and butter together until butter melts. Add the rosemary and garlic. When the contents of the skillet start to bubble and get noisy, add the fiddleheads and fry until browned, about two minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Now add the thawed corn to the skillet and toss several times, adding a generous pinch of salt and pepper. When corn is hot and starting to brown ever so slightly, remove from heat.

To serve, mound corn on a dish and place fried fiddleheads on top. Sprinkle with another small pinch of salt and serve immediately while still hot.

(serves 1)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.

I tip my hat to the plate in the picture below - without it I likely wouldn’t have made cake with sweet little Purple Haze and Kinko carrots, making the best carrot cake ever thanks to the intense natural flavors of the farm fresh carrots grated right before I tossed them in the batter. I give the plate credit because looking at it sitting empty on my counter made me think of cake. With young carrots being one of the early birds to show up in the farmers market in spring, carrot cake makes a perfect seasonal dessert that a clever eater can justify as getting his or her daily dose of vitamin C.

Carrot cake’s nothing new or exciting for me, but I’ve usually “cheated” in the past by using the bagged shredded carrots from the supermarket since I’m a little lazy and usually pressed for time. I’ll not make that mistake again. If you haven’t tried getting local carrots to put in your cake, you’d be well advised to do so. The other key, of course, is the freshness of your spices. People, if you’re aren’t grating your own nutmeg by now, get yourself a microplane and see what you’re missing!

Let’s talk about the dried fruit and nut component of the traditional carrot cake recipe, shall we? The nuts, in my opinion, are easy. Skip them. This sentiment is just a personal preference. Please feel free to beg to differ, but that’s my two cents for what it’s worth. As for the dried fruit, most carrot cake recipes call for raisins. I’ve found that adding a more diverse selection of dried fruit makes for a richer mix of flavors - sweet raisins, tangy cranberries, tart cherries, and floral blueberries. Always give the dried fruit a quick soak in hot water while you mix up the rest of the ingredients before draining and adding to the batter. This soak plumps them up a bit and resorts some of their juicy flavors.

On a final note, I should warn you that this cake is prone to cause household fighting by times. D. and I both wanted the last piece and it wasn’t pretty…he got it in the end. Lucky for me, carrots are a root vegetable that’ll be around for several weeks in the spring and then again in the fall (not to mention they keep for awhile too), so I’ll have plenty of opportunities to make more of this extraordinary carrot cake.

EXTRAORDINARY CARROT CAKE
Adapted from The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook

Cake

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground allspice
1 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 C. pear sauce (or apple sauce)
1 1/2 C. sugar
4 eggs
3 C. grated carrots
3/4 C. mixed dried fruit (mine were raisins, cranberries,and blueberries)
1 C. toasted pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
2 T. hot water

Cream Cheese Icing

6 oz. cream cheese
3 T. butter
1 t. vanilla extract
1 C. confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a bundt pan with a good coat of nonstick baking spray. Set out the ingredients for the icing so they come to room temperature.

Sift together the flour, spices and baking powder and soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, pear sauce and sugar until everything is well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix! Add the carrots, dried fruit and pecans (if using). Finally add the hot water.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake on the center oven rack for 45 minutes. Test with a skewer inserted into the center to see if it comes out clean. When the skewer is clean, remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cake is cooling, make the icing by beating together the cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla and beat again. Add half the confectioners’ sugar and stir slowly to start and then beat well to get rid of lumps. Taste the icing to determine if it’s sweet enough for you. If not, add more sugar until you’ve reached your desired sweetness.

When cake is completely cooled, remove from bundt pan and put on a nice plate. Spread icing over top and sides. Garnish with a very light dusting of cinnamon and a few chopped nuts if desired.

(serves 12 - or two if you’re at my house)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden. 

I know that my timing might seem a little off for writing a post about soup in April when most folks are soup-happy in November.  But the way I see it, there are still plenty of reasons to talk about soup right now.  For starters, spring colds are common, at least at my house.   There are still some root vegetables languishing away, desperate to be used up before the onslaught of spring veggies.  However, that onslaught hasn’t come just yet so there’s all the more reason to use up the winter stores.   And finally, as the garden gets churning away again in the new season, it’s good to have soup at the back of your mind; I find it’s a good way to use up the bounty to freeze for winter. 

So, all that being said, let’s talk about the basic principles behind soup making.  I’ll be so bold as to call this a “blueprint” and promise you that you’ll be able to make just about any soup your little heart desires without so much as a recipe clipping or blog post print-out (excpet this one, of course; you’ll need this one).

The Blueprint
1. Heat your fat (oil or butter or lard) in a large soup pot
2. Sauté any combination of garlic and onions
3. Add pinches of salt and pepper with each addition of ingredients in order to build your flavor
4. Add any combination of vegetables and continue sautéing
5. Add your dried herbs and spices and continue sautéing
6. Add your stock, at least enough to let the vegetables swim freely
7. Bring to a boil
8. If you want any pastas or grains, add them now.
9. Reduce to a simmer and cook until everything’s soft and happy – usually about 30 minutes
10. Add fresh herbs during the last ten minutes of cooking
11. Blend if you want a smooth soup and/or add cream if you want
12. Taste and season with more salt and pepper
13. Taste again!
14. If you wanted meat in there somewhere, depending on if it’s cooked or raw, add it in either step two (to brown beef), six (to cook chicken), or ten (for cooked anything)

With this blueprint in hand, you can make up a soup just like I did in the recipe below.  It’s something I totally made up as I went along, scouring the cupboards for whatever seemed fair game in the soup making business. 

Now tell me, what are some of the concoctions you think you’ll try, or have you already made up any soups on your own that you find particularly outstanding? 

Herbed Tofu and Vegetable Soup

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, chopped
1 c. chopped carrots
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 c. diced tomatoes (I used canned)
2 t. dried marjoram
1 t. dried oregano
1 T. frozen basil puree or 2 T. fresh chopped
4 c. vegetable stock
1 c. small noodles or other pasta
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 package of extra firm tofu, drained and diced
1 large scallion, sliced thin
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large heavy sauce or soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and onion.  Stir and add a pinch of salt.  Keep an eye on the onion and garlic while you chop the carrots and celery; when onion is translucent and garlic is browned, add the carrot and celery.  Stir and add a pinch of pepper this time.  Saute vegetables for about four minutes until they are beginning to soften.  Add the diced tomatoes, oregano, marjoram and basil (if using frozen, otherwise save any fresh herbs for later in the process), stir and cook for another minute or two.  Add another pinch of salt and pepper.

Add vegetable stock, raise heat and bring soup to a boil.  Add pasta and turn down heat to medium again.  After pasta begins to soften up (about 2 minutes), add the tofu, white parts of the scallion, and rosemary (if using fresh basil, add now too).  Allow soup to simmer for about 10 minutes so the flavors meld.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.   Serve garnished with the green slices of scallion.

(serves 3-4)

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.

I love cooking with my mom.  She’s got all this amazing know-how that you just don’t find in cookbooks.  And she has a couple of recipes that I don’t dare mess with on my own.  I’m talking about those childhood favorites that never taste the same when you attempt to recreate them yourself as an adult.  For starters, I rarely make mac & cheese on my own. 

It’s a shame really because I love mac & cheese, but only get to eat it once in a long while when I’m visiting my parents.  See, my mom makes the best mac & cheese…with raw cows milk from my family farm, lots of velvety cheese and then this amazing bread crumb topping that gets all crusty and golden. And she bakes it in the same casserole dish every time, which seems to be the perfect size for what is a precise ratio of chewy golden pasta bites around the edges and melt-y cheesy bites in the middle. Pardon me while I wipe this bit of drool off my keyboard.

But that savory dish isn’t on the menu today, as the pictures might suggest.  Instead, I wanted to share another of my mom’s stand-out recipes of the sweet nature; one to use up the last of the local apples that held over the winter.  Homemade old-fashioned apple dumplings were a thing of sheer indulgence during my childhood.  We didn’t have them all that often, but when we did, it meant life was good.  The apple dumplings of my childhood were large - gianormous really - made with a whole apple brimming with cinnamon sugary delight and snuggled down in a flaky sugary crust. 

It wasn’t until recently though that I roped my mom into teaching me all about apple dumplings using the recipe she got years ago from a Pennsylvania Grange Cookbook.  I’m glad I went to the source for the original recipe.  Left to my own devices, I would have likely used a basic pie dough recipe for the pastry. Turns out the dough for the dumplings has the addition of milk, making it more elastic and granting greater forgiveness when pulling it up around the apples.  Overall though the apple dumplings turned out to be pretty simple and, thanks to the little motherly tutorial, I’m now confident in recreating this childhood favorite on my own now.

Now for a quick word about the apples themselves: I snagged mine from the lovely folks at Three Springs Fruit Farm that have the best apples!  For these dumplings, I selected a large sweet baking apple, Cameo, from their many crates.  My mom also made a second batch with Granny Smiths at the same time we made these.  Both varieties turned out delicious dumplings.   Use whatever variety you have though.  The only rule of thumb here is to use solid apples that will hold their shape once baked. Avoid soft eating apples like Red Delicious as they’ll sag and likely cause the pastry crust to crack and cave in.

Childhood memories were never so sweet as this batch of apple dumplings was for me.  What’s your favorite childhood dish that equals the ultimate comfort food for you today?

OLD-FASHIONED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Dough
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2/3 c. butter (still cold)
1/2 c. milk 
 
Apples
4 large apples
6 T. white sugar
3 T.  ground cinnamon
2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. dried cranberries (optional)

Syrup
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 F. Peel apples and, using a kitchen gadget or sharp knife, remove all of the cores. Slice off just a small amount at the top and bottom of each apple to flatten them out so they’ll wrap in the dough easier.  Rinse off the apples in cold water and dab dry with a paper towel.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter, using your hands to squish everything together, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in milk all at once and stir to form a dough. Add a little more flour if needed to make the dough less sticky.  Do not overwork the dough as you want it to remain light and tender.  Split the dough ball in half and on a floured surface, roll out one half to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into two 6″ squares.

Place a whole apple in the center of a dough square. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg listed under “Apples” above.  Generously dust each apple with this mixture and fill the core with cranberries and a little more sugar mixture. Moisten the edges of the pastry square with a finger dipped in cool water and bring the corners together at the top of the apple. Press edges together to seal and pinch together any tears in the dough around the apple.

Repeat the rolling out of the second half of the dough and creating the other two dumplings. Place all four dumplings in a baking dish, one inch apart, and decorate with dough cut-outs of leaves or any other creative flare you can think to use.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the ingredients listed under “Syrup” above. Bring to a boil then remove from heat to cool slightly.  Pour the syrup over the dumplings and sprinkle with additional sugar (this forms a delectable golden crust once baked). Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until apples are tender (use a fork poked into them to test) and dough is nicely browned.

Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Can be stored in fridge for up to 3 days.  Reheat in the oven at 200 F for 15 minutes. 

(serves 4)

Farm Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.

It’s only April but I’m already thinking about breaking out my grill. My grill is, well, not something to really write home about, or, for that matter, to write a blog post about. I got it for about five bucks from some big box store a few years ago. But, when there are fresh young vegetables to be cooked up, it’s my weapon of choice. Nothing beats grilled asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. Nothing, that is, except for Grilled Baby Bok Choy.

You’ve never heard of grilled baby bok choy? Heck, never even heard of baby bok choy itself? Let me tell you, this is a truly unique inaugural dish for this year’s grilling season. For those of you in more temperate climates, baby bok choy is probably already on your local farmers market’s tables. For those in the Northeastern United States, like me, it’ll be coming along shortly with the start of asparagus season. I have the good fortune to grow it myself and love the looks of these delicate plants in the ground.

But they don’t just look good. These little cabbage relatives native to China are also very healthy, chocked full with Vitamin C, beta-carotene, and iron. When buying baby bok choy, which is often sold by the pound, look for full dark green leaves and light green tight bottoms. The tighter the bottoms, the easier it is to grill them since they hold their shape better.

Whether you have a tiny dusty charcoal Weber like me or a granddaddy of a gas grill, you’ll wish baby bok choy was in season all summer to accompany your grilled fish, asparagus or sweet corn. Sadly, since baby bok choy succumbs to summer’s heat, it won’t be around much past June.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

You will need:
4 heads of baby bok choy
2 T. fresh squeezed lemon or orange juice
2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (not minced)
2 T. fresh herbs of your choosing, such as dill or sage, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 T. balsamic vinegar or low-sodium soy sauce
Handful of pine nuts or chopped walnuts
Romano cheese, grated

Directions:
Slice heads of baby bok choy in half length-wise (leaves to stem). Soak in cool water for 10 minutes to perk them up and remove any grit hidden inside. While heads soak, heat olive oil in small frying pan. Add thinly sliced garlic and stir until just golden brown (about 1 minute). With a slotted spoon, remove garlic to a paper towel and take pan off heat.

Take baby bok choy out of water and gently shake/pat dry. Slice off upper dark green parts of the leaves from the lighter heads. Coarsely chop leaves and set to the side. Brush both sides of heads with garlic-infused oil. Place with cut side up and sprinkle with lemon/orange juice, salt and pepper and herbs.

Place seasoned heads on pre-heated grill with cut side down. Cover grill for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove cover and turn heads over. There should be a nice golden color starting to appear. Drizzle balsamic vinegar or soy sauce over cut sides of heads. Cover again for 5 minutes.* Remove cover and turn heads one last time back to the cut side. Remove from grill when fork-tender.

*At this point, head to the stove and heat up the remaining oil in the small fry pan. When hot, add pine nuts or walnuts and toast slightly for a minute or two. Add chopped baby bok choy leaves and salt and pepper. Stir constantly until wilted, but still very green (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and toss in fresh herbs if desired.

To plate up, put heads on plate and top with leaves, nuts and a sprinkle of cheese. Add more balsamic vinegar or soy sauce if desired.

(serves 4)

Defining Urban Farming
So what is an urban farm? Since they’re often the size of large gardens due to land constraints within city limits, let’s first define the difference between a “farm” and a “garden”. According to Webster, a farm is “a tract of land…on which crops and often livestock are raised for livelihood.” A garden, on the other hand, is “a plot of ground…where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated.” While one is a tract and the other a plot, the real difference between a farm and a garden is the expectation of turning a profit from the produce being grown. Thus, an urban farm can be loosely defined as an agricultural pursuit taking place within the boundaries of a city with the intent to sell what it harvests.

Still thinking the idea of a farm in the middle of the city is a little odd? While it has required some unconventional/creative methods, farming in the city really isn’t that unusual. Urban agriculture has been used by the United Nations in many developing countries to encourage a healthy food chain and to generate jobs in the poorest cities of the world. Conversely, a few enterprising Canadians started farming their backyard and their neighbors’ backyards two decades ago with the mission of reconnecting North Americans to sustainable farming methods. As a direct result of their labors, new methods for intensive planting and harvesting in order to generate much greater yields from small plots of land (called “SPIN” farming) have been developed to make farming in the city not just possible, but quite often profitable.

Identifying a Few Ur