Easter Recipe of the Week: Avgolemono Soup with Fungi

Mushrooms in the wild or at the co-op:

This classic Greek soup can be made with your own local stock, a local egg, lemon not local, rice not local and locally foraged mushrooms from the woods or the co-op. Typically, the soup does not call for fungi, but the smoky woodsy flavor of fungi creates a nice balance for the lemon.
 
Ingredients:

4 C chicken stock or vegetable (or poach an entire bird and skim off fat.)
2 C water
1t salt
1/4 C long grain white rice
3 local eggs
Juice of 1 or 2 lemons
1 to 1-1/2 C thinly sliced foraged mushrooms - either crimini or oyster but not hen-of-the-woods or portabella.
S&P to taste
4 T chopped green for garnish such as parsley or chive or the green outgrowth from an onion, chopped fine.  
1 T chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

Directions

First, identify a local forager (first generation Eastern Euporeans or Italians are good) or go to the woods and forage for local mushrooms with a guidebook and a friend.

1. In a large saucepan, combine the stock with water and bring to a boil and lower the heat.
2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and add rice. Cook the rice for 12 minutes or until tender and drain into colander.
3. Skim off and discard the fat from the broth. 
4. In a soup pot, return the broth to a boil.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, lemon juice, and pepper.
6. Add a ladle of the hot broth to the egg mixture while mixing. Continue to gradually add broth until fully mixed.
7. Add mushrooms.
8. Return the soup to the medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes or just until the mixture thickens slightly. Do not let it bubble, even at the edges. Add the rice stir well. Serve with garnish.

Indian Line Farm, S. Egremont, 2012
photo by John Dolan

Outstanding in the Field’s first visit to the Berkshires took place in 2012 at Indian Line Farm of South Egremont. Tickets sold out the day they were announced.

This year, fans of  farm-to-table-in-the-field extravaganzas have two such events to choose from: 

On Saturday, September 7, Lila's Farm in Great Barrington will host a five-course meal. Dan Smith, chef-owner of John Andrews: A Farmhouse Restaurant, will man the field kitchen with his crew on Saturday beginning with 3 pm with hors d’oeuvres and followed by opening remarks, a farm tour and dinner for 150. Tickets are $220 per person.  

The day after, Chef Brian Alberg of The Red Lion Inn presenting a five-course farm dinner on Sunday, September 8, at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield.

Outstanding in the Field describes itself as a roving culinary adventure that serves up local food in fields, gardens, vineyards, beaches and so on. They donate to a umber of farm and food related groups and have been in operation since 1999. 

Tickets go on sale today, March 20.   

  

RECIPE: Pickled Cranberries but why?

This is the kind of morning when you wish you made preparations. Now we're in the midst of March. Not much in the way of local fruit except for a bag of dried mango we bought last year in Las Vegas at the airport for a snack. Local because its in the house.

According to the doctor we must have fruit with oatmeal for breakfast, no excuses, but what fruit? We froze local blueberries last summer but those ran out at the end of 2012. Didn't get a chance to put up peaches but the good news is that local apples (from the Valley) are available year round. 

But we don't have any apples so Vegas mango gets a pass. I reconstitute it by pouring boiling water on the leathery strips. What results is a sweetish, flaccid fruit with a distinct airport flavor. But it is fruit and soon I'll purchase cranberries, not from the Valley but not from Vegas either. A bag of cranberries from nearby Cape Cod can be pickled passively (blanch in water then steep in honey and cider vinegar) in a jar and kept in the fridge for a month. This summer, I'll try to put up more fruit for next winter. For now, we're rolling with Hadley Grouts (whole oats) and Pickled Cape Cod Cranberries, hold the mango.

RECIPE: DF was here

RECIPE: Irish Shepherd's Pie

The night before New Year's Eve and all is quiet. Except for the thing in the oven -- a dish containing all that you get after a long career of herding sheep. It's a pie of ground lamb with carrot and onion plus green beans with a good two inches of mashed potato cover and top of that plus a hoar frost of parm.  That last bit is most likely an embellishment because since when did Irish shepherd's have access to products from the Parma region of Italy?

The last supper of 2012 is DF's finest of year, vegetables sliced with precision and the layer of fluffy potatoes, not unlike the layer of fluffy snow outside on cars and trees. But his fluffy layer has the touch of man. The potato top has a graded surface, like the upper "T" at Mt. Tom doing nature one better.  "DF was here."

Traditional Irish Shepherd's Pie (with sources)
Serves Four

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil (trader joe's)
1 teaspoon black pepper (cupboard)
1 lb ground lamb (Chestnut Farm)
1 large onions, finely diced (Brookfield Farm)
3 -4 large carrots, finely diced (Brookfield Farm)
1 cup beans (the store)
3 -4 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped (grown by yours truly in south hadley)
2 tablespoons flour (store)
1 tablespoon butter (store)
1 glass red wine (store)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (substituted with V8 juice)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (fridge)
1 cup stock (lamb stock saved six months ago from Chestnut Farm lamb)
1 large quantity mashed potatoes ( estimating 1L or 6 cups, fresh or leftover) (Brookfield Farm)
1 eggs, beaten (lady from Chicopee)
grated parmesan cheese (optional - the store)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 200C/400°F.

Saute carrots in the olive oil until starting to get tender.
Add in the onions and saute for a minute or two then add the meat.
Season with black pepper and thyme.
Cook until browned then drain fat.
Add the butter and beans
Sprinkle with flour and stir through.
Add tomato paste, wine and Worcestershire sauce.
Let this reduce slightly then add the chicken stock. Allow to reduce down until you have a thick meaty gravy. Season to your taste.
Remove from heat. Grease an oven proof dish, big enough to feed 4 (see photo) with butter and add the sauce.
Spoon the mashed potatoes over top. Brush with egg, drag a fork across the potatoes with to create graded effect.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top.
Serve to loved ones, one per customer.

the saudi's and grilled cheese

Recipe for our times

We live in an old factory in a mill town in New England. Our hand made Christmas consisted of a post-nap repast of tomato soup with grilled cheese. It's not homesteading but it's a start. 

Tomato soup by hand

1 jar canned tomatoes
1 quart lamb broth
1 small potato, peeled and cubed
2 skinny carrots, peeled and sliced

Cook down tomatoes in lamb broth (made by me 2 months ago from lamb weaned and reared 32 miles away on a farm) with potato (from farm 11 miles away) and carrots (same farm) for about 30 minutes. Toss in some dried sage (grown by me at community garden) and add salt and pepper (from store). Process soup in a food mill and re-heat adding a bit of butter (Cabot from Vermont) if desired.

Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich. As a special holiday treat, we had rice and cranberry bread (made by Buddhist baker next town over) with cheddar (store) and a little bit of smoked chicken, (smoked by people around 20 miles away) sage leaves fried in butter and onion for our grilled cheese. Oh, and we split a chocolate (made locally, cocoa not sure where from, but far away) for desert. I hate to think of the mortgage default swaps that may or may not have played a part in some of the ingredients of our post-nap repast. I know the tomatoes are mine because I grew them myself  but the seeds are from Ace Hardware and I hear they're in bed with Saudi's. What's a factory girl to do? 

GLEANING NOW AND UNTIL ETERNITY!

Greenfield Local Television (GCTV) interviews gleaners Jessica Harwood, Danny Botkin and Mary Nelen on dumpster diving, giving back and oddly shaped tomatoes. 

What, why and how are we doing what the bible told farmers - plant some of your land for the hungry? 

Dan Botkin of Laughing Dog Farm, Gill MA

Click HERE to play Gleaning Video from GCTV.

Solar vs. Soil

Area Farmer Weighs in on Solar Panels and their presence on farmland.....are they taking food from our mouths?

"Town governments, land trusts, farm advocacy groups and private citizens should take all possible steps to preserve prime class 1 farmland for agricultural food production. Developments such as solar photovoltaic farms, new residential housing, industrial parks, etc., should be relegated to areas that are not rich in prime agricultural soils." 

-- Ryan Voillard, Red Fire Farm, Daily Hampshire Gazette

Full Story in Gazette Here.....

Winter Foraging Alert for Valley People

Apples local varietals, pears, greens and meat all winter long at a farm near you  .... 

The weather this winter is anybody's guess but we have local food on our side till spring. Shares, stores and farms are all offering storage crops and greens at a level of availability unprecedented until this year. Thanks to funding for extended season initiatives and the intrepid efforts of area farms including Red Fire, Enterprise, Winter Moon and Bashista. 

Here is CISA's Line-up of WINTER FOOD 

Campus Farming at Skidmore in Saratoga

Skidmore students grow their own....

Faith Nichola, Elizabeth Cohen, Gabby Stern, Margot Reisner

Early in the school and late in the afternoon last month, a tightrope was stretched between two trees in the quad. One guy walked the entire thing after a couple of tries. Not far off at the Dining Hall, a similar balancing act is taking place. 

Skidmore students are taking on something called the Real Food Challenge (RFC) requiring food served at schools be humane, fair trade, ecological, and local. The goal is that this is true for 20% of school food by 2020. 

The school isn’t committing to the challenge, not on paper anyway, the students are. Because of their work, last October, over 11% of school food came from a garden next to the Admissions Building.

Skidmore has four things going for it: a decent growing zone, a dining services director who calls the shots, an aggressive grass roots Food Action Group and Gabby Stern, among others.

Last summer Stern (’13) toiled in the soil at the school garden, interned at American Farmland Trust and ran the Farmers Market in downtown Saratoga – a local food trifecta.

“I came into Skidmore with zero experience,” said Stern, an environmental studies major. “Then I started working the garden. There I was, 18 years old and it was the first time I harvested a carrot, or a sweet potato. There is a problem with that. How have I gone my entire life not knowing this?”

Under the umbrella of the Environmental Action Club, the Food Working Group began four years ago when students broke ground. Stern took over as manager of the garden in 2010 and contracted with the dining hall to sell the vegetables. That was the start of the Local Food Initiative, an effort dedicated to getting more local food into the school.

“I learned from other members of the group. It was hands on,” says Stern, “A few professors from school gave their two cents and we just learned on our own. We get a lot of support from Environmental Studies and it is incredible how much they covet this garden. It has been a great part of my education, this garden.

Stern gets no academic credits for this work but this semester Faith Nichola (’14) is doing an internship to perform data analysis for the Real Food Challenge.  She will also be creating reports from that data for Skidmore administration to provide them with a better understanding of the process.

Elizabeth Cohen, (’14) got involved in the garden when Sarah Arndt (’13?) introduced her to RNC. Originally from Putney Vermont Cohen grew up with a garden in the back yard so the origins of a carrot were familiar to her. Coming to Skidmore put organic food in a different light. 

“Working in the garden made me think about where things are coming from. Affordability and access aren’t the same for everybody,” she said adding that even if everybody decided to eat local and organic, it would be great, but it is impossible.

Riley Neugebauer, Skidmore’s Sustainability Coordinator, believes that food is a social justice issue. “Sustainability includes equity (justice), ecology, and economy,” she says.

‘If people don't have access to one of their most basic needs – food – or if the only food they have access to is unhealthy, grown with pesticides that accumulate in our bodies over time, harm the environment that we are all a part of, and doesn't tell a story about where it came from or who grew it or why that matters…then we have a justice issue.”

‘Margot Reisner, (’14) from San Francisco, is now managing the garden and takes the long view. This semester she is managing the garden and next semester she will travel to Australia to study permaculture.

Reisner, who is in the social and cultural track of environmental studies defined permaculture as follows: “Permaculture is the mentality is that everything we do as humans has to do with ecology. If it doesn’t have to do with ecology, then it doesn’t make sense at all. If there is a discrepancy between the way human systems work and the way ecology works, then you are going to have a problem. Permaculture mimics the way ecological systems work.”

After graduation, Reisner will return to California to start her own farm.

“I just want to have a place to have people live and be healthy,” she said. 

By Mary A. Nelen (’79)

Radical School Lunch

Chef Ann Cooper

In the Valley, there is no shortage of fresh veggies and fruit. So why aren't kids getting it in school? 

On October 2, FARM TO FORK radio show took a look at
'mystery meat,' 'pink slime,' and other health risks leveled at public school students.

The show interviews food service directors, teachers, program directors, activists and others who weigh in on their use of local food and other radical measures to change the system. We spoke with presenters at this summers' DIGGING IN, a Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Burlington, VT where people very, very much devoted to what kids are eating could cavort on the lawns of Shelburne Farm where sheep grazed in the background before going back to getting down to the business of saving the world.

Chef Ann Cooper, (who spoke this summer at the Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Burlington VT) rages against the school food machine, Lethal school food containing high fat, high starch, high fructose drinks, GMOs and hormones combined with extra short lunch periods are the enemy.  Cooper battles these forces with salad bars and a call for reform from within the system as from inside the system as Food Services Director, Boulder Valley School School System and Founder of the Food Family Family Farming Foundation. Results of her efforts can be seen in the  Let's Move! Salad Bars to Schools program supported by Michelle Obama.  Also, Jennifer LaBarre of the Oakland Unified School District is heard from. She heads Harvest of the Month efforts that includes 22 produce markets that feed the students and the community.

Locals weigh in on the topic of food in public schools and we hear from Farm to Institution Coordinator Emily French of Farm to School in Amherst, Anne Hewitt Cody, Kindergarten Initiative Coordinator, Holyoke MA, Mauricio Abascal, Director, Eat Well Food Camp and the NorthStar Nutrition Program, Hadley MA and Adam Roberts, Youth Commission Director in South Hadley.

In the Valley, where there is no shortage of local fruit and vegetables, public schools are challenged by budget and transportation but change is coming slowly. And salad bars, field trips and cooking classes don't hurt so there is hope.

Please listen and comment. Does school lunch have to change, how can it change, if we can eat locally, why can't students? Do we need more money, better transport, an open mind? And if you want your kids or your school to get access to local food, contact Farm to School immediately. Emily will make it happen.

Interview Reveals Aversion to Potlucks!

  

Serious Eats Interview Reveals Aversion to Potlucks!

Stevie Pierson Chats with Authors of "CookFight" 

Art Opening - Assemblage wth Fur

Assemblage by Rosemary Barrett

Art Opening
Assemblage by Rosemary Barrett
Thursday, November 1
Wistariahurst Museum
Holyoke, MA
6 pm to 8 pm

School Lunch Has a Prayer - Jane Brody NYTimes

Jane Says.......

School Lunch Has a Prayer.....

No pink slime here.......

FOOD OF THE DAY: Herbs

Tragedy + Thyme = Food

Find it, there's lots now, you have your sources. End of Summer. End of fruit. End of Tomatoes. End of Herbs. Tragedy. But wait. Your neighbor is away. There might be some thyme left in her garden. Anyway, get your hands on herbs now while you can. Preferably if the plants are still in the ground. Cut it down at the stem quickly, with scissors, and sequester in a paper bag. When you get home, clean herbs off under the faucet. Then pat dry with a towel, not a paper towel, then place on baking sheets. Leave them out, for a while, not too long, and the herbs will dry, then strip the leaves off the stems, crinkle them up, not too much, then put them in a little bottle. If you are clever, you will make a little cone out of paper for a funnel. Do this for oregano, basil, tarragon, cilantro, sage. Lemongrass. Herbs are in good shape now, September 30, 2012 in New England, no hard frost yet, (not including Hill Towns). Not basil or other herbs which have bolted, also cilantro. So loss of flavor there. Don't dry herbs that don't taste good in the first place. Save the best.

Maddie G. Gets it Done.....

the day finally arrived....our three months of sweat toil and pain plus yummy snacks have come to fruition in the form of six pizzas made from our tomatoes. yea. served to the masses at the south hadley town farm potluck supper last sunday. we rested after that.....

Maddie G. of the South Hadley Pizza Garden

Farm Report - Pizza Garden, South Hadley

Tomatoes, herbs, everything but the pepperoni.....

By Mary Nelen, Program Director, Adam Roberts, Youth Commissioner

PLANTING SPACE: 2- 20’ x 10’ plots at the South Hadley Community Farm

VEGGIES: 43 Roma Tomato Plants (Donated by SH Community Garden)

HERBS: 3 Basil Plants, 1 Thyme, 3 Sage, 2 Rosemary 

TOMATO PLANT YIELDS:

TOMATOES: 3 bushels  (120 lbs)

TOMATO SAUCE:  15 1-quart jars

WORKERS:  Maddie Gatzounas, Lucy from Spain, Garrett Larivee, Adam Roberts, Sophia Kebbede , Katy Chevalier, Caitlyn Hoschtetler, Gabrielle Dulude, Pedro.

FIELD TRIPS: MountainView Farm & UMass Permaculture Farm

EVENT: Pizza Making and Sharing -- Potluck Supper 9/16/12

TOTAL BUDGET: $210.00

With special thanks to Maddie Gatzounas, Robert Lak and the South Hadley Community Farm gardeners.

what is permaculture? why make this video viral?

Our goal is for this (Part 3) video to reach 50,000 views by September 15, 2012. If we reach that milestone, UMass will help fund, design and install a permaculture garden at three local Amherst Elementary Schools starting this October. Please watch and share the link widely if you feel moved this cause! -- Ryan Harb, UMass

Bill Mollison and David Holmgren at the University of Tasmania in the 1970’s collaborated to write a text called Permaculture One. It was followed up by Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual in 1988. Mollison coined the term Permaculture to refer to a nature-inspired design philosophy for sustainable agriculture. One of motivations for this philosophy was his observation of the unsustainable nature of our fossil fuel economy. An as a forester, he was impressed with the stability and productivity of mature forests. He envisioned how humans can mimic nature through observation and application in gardens and towns and structures.  Permaculture is formally described as "an ecological, holistic and sustainable design system and philosophy for human living spaces. It has been successfully used around the world to maximize food production, regenerate springs, cool homes without air conditioning, revive deserts, transform lives, reorganize towns and neighborhoods, reduce pollution, according to permaculture advocates. The essence of permaculture is summed up by these tenets:

    •    Take Care of the Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply. This is the first principle, because without a healthy earth, humans cannot flourish.
    •    Take Care of the People: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence.
    •    Share the Surplus: Healthy natural systems use outputs from each element to nourish others. We humans can do the same. By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles.

A Food Forest mimics the architecture and beneficial relationships between plants and animals found in a natural forest or other natural ecosystem. Food forests are not ‘natural’, but are designed and managed ecosystems (typically complex perennial polyculture plantings) that are very rich in biodiversity and productivity. For example, a permaculture garden in western mass would include ground cover instead of a lawn, a body of water, food consisting of fruit trees and vegetables and flowers all planted for best use principles where animals, plants and humans live in harmony.  The result is minimal human intervention. Some plants are wintered over, others could be grown in hoop house for extended season growing. So no gas for lawn mowers, no chemicals whatsoever for pesticides or fertilization. Western Ma permaculture gardens include certain banana plants, kiwi plants, strawberries, mushrooms, kale, and other plants.

Locally there are a number of permaculture initatives. There are courses taught at GCC, there is a permaculture effort at UMass in the form of two gardens planted over parking lots at dining commons that provide food for students. That program is headed up by Ryan Harb and provides an opportunity for people to volunteer their services. That group can be found on Facebook and on the UMass website. Permaculture is best understood by doing and the UMass program is a good way to start learning about the practice. There is also a Permaculture Design Certification Course given by Lisa DiPiano called Permaculture for Social & Ecological Transformation (http://permaculturefeast.org) and finally there is a permaculture list serve that can be joined at from: westernmapermacultureguild-request@lists.thepine.org.

RECIPE: September CSA Share - Heirloom Tomato Chutney

Chutney is great with potato or whole wheat bread. Serve along with yogurt to bring down the acid and provide a good ying and yang effect. Very nice with chicken thighs or lamb kabobs. And the colored heirlooms make it gorgeous.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO CHUTNEY 

1 1/2 lbs heirloom variety tomatoes 
1 orange bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped fine
3/4 cup yellow onion, chopped fine
2/3 cup tarragon vinegar 
1 cup apple cider vinegar 
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes


Peel, seed, and chop tomatoes. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring vinegars to a boil with the honey, salt, pepper, and chili. Stir in the tomato, peppers, and onions. Simmer mixture very slowly, uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, about 1 1/2 hours. Store in the refrigerator.

Yield - HOW MUCH TO BUY TO GET ME THROUGH THE WINTER?

YIELD:

One bushel of fresh tomatoes weighs 53 lbs and yields approximately 18 quarts of canned tomatoes or 15 to 18 quarts of juice. Approximately 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 pounds of fresh tomatoes makes 1 quart of canned tomatoes. 

So if you want enough tomatoes to get you through the year until next August and you are the type of cook who would use a jar of tomatoes every two weeks, or so, then plan on 36 quarts. That's three cases of Ball  Jars and two bushels of tomatoes. I recommend "plum" or "roma" tomatoes because the have the least amount of water and provide a "base" for making sauce in winter. Add dried herbs now or when you cook up the sauce later. 

RECIPE: Corn and Cherry Tomato Tart

Verrill's Corn and Tomato Tart

Courtesy of Ellie Klepacki Cookbook with slight modification

1/2 chopped onion

1 garlic clove, chopped

3 T olive oil

4 ears of corn, steamed with kernels cut off

Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Baked pie crust

1/4 C grated cheddar cheese

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 T fresh thyme or tarragon

3 scallions, chopped

2 large eggs

1/2 C milk

1/2 C heavy cream

Heat to 375. In a medium sauce-pan over medium heat, sauté onions in olive oil and garlic after two minutes. Cook until onions are translucent. Add corn kernels and cook about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put half of the corn mixture into Baked Pie Crust. Layer grated cheese evenly on top. Add remaining corn mixture. Scatter cherry tomatoes, scallions and herbs on top. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and cream; pour egg mixture over tart. Bake 30 minutes until tart is golden brown. Yield: 8 to 12 servings

Baked Piecrust

This recipe is for a 9x10" pie pan (or use a tart pan)

3/4 C flour

3 T unsalted butter 

3 T lard

1/4 tsp salt

2 T cold water

Heat oven to 375. In a food processor, pulse together flour, butter and salt until mixture resembles corn kernels. Add water & pulse just until the mixture forms a ball. Roll out dough and place in pie pan. Cover with parchment paper and a handful of dried beans or pie weights. Blind bake 15 minutes. Let crust cool, remove beans/weights, add filling. 

Tomato Time: Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
While you sleep.....

This method of cooking tomatoes will result in something similar to sun dried tomatoes except more lush, liquid and fresh. The tomatoes can be served alone as an appetizer, they can be part of a green or grain salad, they can be served as a side dish or on home made pizza with fresh ricotta. For later use, fill a small jar with oven-roasted tomatoes and add more olive oil as well as herbs and garlic as desired.  Place in fridge. This recipe is courtesy of Chef Donna, diva of lush, liquid and fresh.

Equipment

parchment paper

baking sheets

Ingredients

4- quarts cherry tomatoes, any kind

olive oil

sea salt, peper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425

Halve cherry tomatoes and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle liberally with olive oil, sea salt and pepper

Place in oven and roast for 30 minutes.

Turn off heat and allow tomatoes and allow to continue cooking while you sleep. 

DO NOT OPEN OVEN UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING. 

Remove and serve warm or place in jars with olive oil and herbs and refrigerate, or freeze, for later use.

RECIPE: Canned Plum Tomatoes

RECIPE: Canned Plum Tomatoes

Putting food by is the art of preserving the freshness of summer. Flavor as well as nutrition are benefits of taking the time to can summer food. 

According to the USDA, vegetables handled properly and canned promptly after harvest can be more nutritious than fresh produce sold in local stores.

Sure it can take a little bit of time to do this but look at it this way, what else can you do to get local tomatoes in winter?  Um...

RECIPE: Canned Plum Tomatoes: Yield: 1 dozen quarts. Time: 3 to 4 hours.

EQUIPMENT
12- 1-quart Ball Jars with lids and bands, cleaned and warm
1 canner (21-quart) with canning rack
1 set canning tongs 
1 canning funnel 
1 small saucepan for lid sterilization
1 stockpot for scalding tomatoes
1 large bowl or cooler for ice bath
1 small set of tongs for removing lids from saucepan
1 plastic spatula to remove air bubbles
1 cutting board
1 small paring knife
Clean Dish Rags

INGREDIENTS
36 lbs tomatoes, about 6 tomatoes per jar
24- tablespoons bottled lemon juice or 5% acidity vinegar or 6 teaspoons of citric acid   
12- teaspoons salt 

DIRECTIONS

Create this assembly line in your kitchen:

1)    Fill your canner ¾ full of water. Bring to a simmer, put the lid on and keep on a back burner until ready for use.
2)    Fill a stockpot with water to scald tomatoes in batches. Bring to a strong simmer.
3)    Fill a small saucepan half way with water and keep water almost to a boil.
4)    Wash tomatoes in batches and set aside for scalding
5)    Prepare ice bath for scalded tomatoes by filling cooler or bowl with water and ice.
6)    Place cutting board next to ice bath for skinning and coring tomatoes.
7)    Next to that, have a bowl ready for the skins and cores and line up 6 jars and bands.
8)    Place lids with rubber lining in sauce pan to sterilize.
9)    At the end of the line, have lemon juice, (or 5% acidity vinegar) salt, measuring spoons and dishrags ready.

Wash all of the plum tomatoes in cold water. In batches, place in boiling water to scald. When splits appear in skin, after around 3 minutes, remove several tomatoes at a time with a slotted spoon or small colander and place in the ice bath.

When the tomatoes are cool enough to touch, remove skins and cores with a paring knife. Try to keep them intact, if possible. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or vinegar or citric acid) and one teaspoon of salt to each jar. Using the funnel, fill each jar with tomato flesh only, leaving about 1” of headroom in the top of the jar.  

Use rubber spatula to remove air bubbles in mixture by sliding it around the edges of the jar. Wipe the neck of the jar clean with a dishtowel. Use a small set of tongs to remove a lid from the saucepan. Place lid on top of jar with a tap of the tongs and screw the band around it, “finger tight,” but not too tight. That will make it possible to allow air to escape during processing. The goal in processing is to eliminate all air to prevent contamination.

Bring water in canner up to a strong simmer. When all of the jars in the canning rack are filled with tomatoes and the lids are screwed on, place entire rack in water, turn heat up to high and process for approximately 45 minutes. Jars should be fully submerged with 2 to 3 inches of water above the jars. Add boiling water to bath if necessary.

When the jars have been processed in boiling water for the recommended time, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Wait 5 minutes before removing jars.

Using jar tongs, remove the jars one at a time, being careful not to tilt the jars. Carefully place them directly onto a towel or cake cooling rack, leaving at least one inch of space between the jars during cooling. Avoid placing the jars on a cold surface or in a cold draft.

Remove each jar with tongs and place upside down on dishtowel. Repeat this process until all of the tomatoes have been processed. Leave jars undisturbed for 24 hours. You will hear a popping sound when the seal is made.

To check to see if a seal has been created in the jar, press on center of cooled lid. If jar is sealed, the lid will NOT flex up or down. If it does flex up or down, refrigerate and use within 2 weeks. Store sealed jars in cool, dark place for up to one year.

Congratulations! You have just put canned tomatoes. Enjoy this summer’s bounty all year long. See www.valleylocavore.com for additional tomato recipes.

*USDA GUIDELINES HOME CANNING: Tomatoes and more…

Tomato Taste at Red Fire

RECIPE: FRESH CORN EARLY THIS YEAR

   
Why so soon this gift of summer?

According to the Sweet Corn Report in today's UMass Extension Vegetable Notes,  "The first early corn harvest, mostly in the Connecticut Valley not far from the river, has started this week. In many other parts of the state, first corn harvest is still 10-14 days away." Of the corn now available, "This mostly represents the early varieties that were started under plastic. Hand picked ears are full and sweet with nice color...." Asparagus was a month early this year and tomatoes are already up in at some farms. Many are taking the 'eat it while you can' approach which is sensible.

RECIPE: Early Corn 

Ingredients

6 ears of corn, preferably picked the day you eat it
1 stick of butter, or thereabouts
1 bunch basil, or thereabouts

Fresh corn from farm preferably picked that day.
Shuck enough corn for each person as per request
Fill stock put with enough water to submerge corn. Add salt to water and boil.
Plunge the corn in boil water and turn off heat.
Cook around 5 minutes.  The corn io quite young so it doesn't take much time for it to yield to heat.)
Melt enough butter for each ear, shred basil leaves and add to butter.
When corn is ready, drain and slather with basil butter.
Serve al fresco.

Recipe: Strawberries with Fresh Ricotta

Strawberry Sundae......

Photo: Mary Nelen, ValleyLocavore

This is the one and only best way to eat fresh strawberries.

All you need is a big stock pot, a thermometer that goes up to 200 degrees, something called citric acid, a white salt-like substance you can buy at the hardware store (or online), some cheese cloth and a gallon of milk, raw is good if you can get it. Mint would be nice as a garnish if it is up yet in your yard.

Here is the recipe for fresh ricotta. I got it from the Cheese Queen who is never wrong about these things. Ricki Carroll earned her crown after decades of teaching homesteaders and artisan chefs cheese making technique. Just a regular gal in Ashfield whose range runs the gamut for those who are just learning to boil milk to romano, the Italian hard cheese. If you want to bask in her spirit and knowledge, take a class or pick up her book "Home Cheese Making," Storey Publishing 2002. But ricotta is pretty easy. Here's my version of her recipe. The strawberry sauce is my own, cooked up with grade b maple syrup for dimension and depth. Enjoy!

Strawberries with Fresh Ricotta

1- quart fresh, local strawberries

1- gallon whole milk

4- tablespoons fresh mint leaves

2- tablespoons grade b maple syrup

1- cup cool water

2- teaspoons citric acid

Equipment:

1- Food Thermometer that goes to 200 degrees

Cheese Cloth

Colander

Slotted Spoon

Dissolve citric acid in water and stir. Pour gallon of milk into a stock pot. Stir in ½ cup of the citric acid into the milk. Heat milk on low to medium and stir to prevent scorching. Tiny curds will begin to appear as they separate from the whey. Bring the mixture to between 180 and 190 degrees. When the mixture gets to the temperature range, the curds will become much more fluffy and rise to the top of the pan. When the whey is no longer milky, remove from the heat. Let the curds and whey rest for ten minutes in the stock pot off the heat so they continue to set.

Line colander with cheese cloth and place over a pan. Slowly remove curds from stock pot with slotted spoon and place into colander with a slotted spoon. Work slowly to prevent the curd from breaking up. When you have all of the curd collected, take the corners of the cheese cloth and tie together to create a small hammock for the cheese. Hang from the faucet of your sink or over a wooden spoon straddling over a bowl. Allow to drain for between 10 minutes and several hours depending on the consistency you desire. The longer it rests, the more dense the cheese becomes.

Wash strawberries and slice in half, length wise, removing the stem. Set aside four sprigs of mint for garnish and cut the rest of the mint into thin ribbons by rolling them and slicing width-wise. Combine mint, strawberries and maple syrup and heat over a small flame. Cook down until the sauce is somewhat thickened, about 10 minutes. Take off heat and cool down

Scoop ricotta like ice cream into small bowls and drizzle the strawberry sauce over it. Garnish each plate with a big strawberry and some mint leaves.  

What is in your share? Week 1

Photo: Mary Nelen ©

What's in your share this week?

Let's say somebody's coming over and you have to make dinner with only what is in your share?

If you remember the show "Ready, Set Cook!" you will remember that contestants were assigned a similar task. They were outfitted with a kitchen full of equipment and condiments including flour, water and other basics that you would have at home anyway.

CSA Share: Week 1

Bunch Turnips
Bunch Breakfast Radish
1-large head Chinese Cabbage
1- large head Bok Choy
1- small head lettuce, green curly
2-garlic scapes

GO!

Breakfast Raddish in brown butter and greens.
Asian Greens poached and tossed with sliced garlic scapes, shaved turnip and ground pepper.
Cold spring strawberry salad with creamy mint and honey dressing. 

SOURCE:

Vegetables: Mountain View Farm, Easthampton MA 
Strawberries: Neighbor

Rookie

Photo: Mary Nelen ©

Been very busy implementing some changes to my operation, namely, I am expanding my landbase slightly by renting some acreage ....... I'm using the greenhouses there and a few nooks and crannies of the field that don't lend themselves well to baby greens but are quite suitable for vegetables.....staying away from the flood plains..... 


........from a grower's e-mail this morning. 




This year I went out on my own and decided to rent a plot at the local community farm. Ambitious mix of tomatoes and herbs. The end. Between agonizing about hay vs. wood chips, vs gravel for mulch, the wide variety of staking methodology, I am way behind the curve. 


The tomatoes have to be replanted because they are too close together, which means re-staking, the nobel and ambitious 6' stakes I put in (the Florida weave method) and because they are so leggy, they must be trench planted, meaning submerge the things sideways up to there necks so they grow bushy. Who knew? Now, even more than before, I bow down to my farmers, how, how do they do this year after year? 


Here it is only June fifth and I yearn to jump in my car and drive away to my latte place after two hours in my 10 x 20 plot. The setbacks! Slugs on the strawberries, a short-terms planting due to a gift from a permaculturist in Hadley. They didn't take but the slugs took them. Out, damn strawberries, mulch and all, to make room for the wily tomatoes. 




Now, today, mud and what, take a day off? Slug it out with the slugs and try to replant in squishy soil? When I go to the farmers' market, when I pass a big farming vehicle with it's muddy claws on the road, when I pick up my share, a prayer of thanks. These people are gods walking among us.

Recipe: Rhubarb Jonnycake

Photo: Mary Nelen©

johnnycake at the ready

2 cups sliced rhubarb, trimmed and cut in 1" pieces

1 cup strawberries, stem removed and halved
3 tablespoons honey dissolved in 1/2 C water

1 cup corn ground fine

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick of unsalted butter 

2 local eggs  

2 tablespoons whole milk yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and butter the inside of a small to medium cake pan.

Toss the sliced rhubarb and strawberries with honey. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the corn flour, baking powder, and salt.  


In a separate bowl, beat in the eggs and yogurt until mixed.

Add the dry to the wet mixture and stir just enough to combine. Add fruit and blend. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Sprinkle the top with pieces of butter.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve. Goes great with heavy cream, yogurt or ice cream.

SOURCES:

• Rhubarb - Homesteader in Hatfield
• Corn Flour – Pioneer Valley Heritage Grain CSA
• Butter – Cabot
• Eggs – Woman from Chicopee
• Yogurt - Sidehill in Ashfield
• Honey - Pine Hill Orchard, Colrain