Week Six: In A Pickle

Another great week at the farm. We got regular AND pickling (Kirby) cucumbers, onions, lettuce, beets, zucchini, carrots, and fennel. I still haven’t made it out to the self-pick field, but I know there’s some dill there, calling my name!

I made cupcakes with the beets (obviously) – I had been planning on making chocolate cupcakes (the beets were red), but I discovered that I’d gotten candy cane beets! They’re striped pink and white on the inside. Unfortunately they don’t retain their color when cooked, so after I pureed them for the batter it looked like a pile of pinkish-orange mush. Not particularly appetizing, but luckily, cocoa powder covers up a lot!

Surprise! We're stripey.

I’m planning to use the onion in fajitas tonight. I also made some pickles and pickled carrots, which are chilling in the fridge with some garlic getting all yummy.

We <3 vinegar and garlic!

Cute, isn't he?

Also on this week’s menu is the beet and potato hash that I made last season, topped with fried eggs. I’m going to try baking it in the oven instead of cooking it on the stovetop so I can avoid the hilarity that is “just slide the thing onto a plate, put another plate over top, flip, and slide back into the skillet to finish cooking”. Because anything that starts with “Just…” is never that easy. (Exhibit A)

I wasn’t over the moon about the fennel slaw I’d made a couple weeks ago, so I’m reevaluating what I want to do with my fennel. Maybe make it into a risotto again (I’ll use the whey left over from my homemade yogurt, cut with water or chicken stock to make it less sour). I did save a couple of chunks of the stalks for stock – hopefully it won’t be overwhelming once cooked! Google also tells me there are both roasted and lightly-fried options for fennel, which also sound good.

Week Five - Catching Up!

It’s been a busy couple weekends – our usual 4^th of July celebrations got rained out, which was a bummer since the rest of the weekend was beautiful! Last weekend I was in Knoxville, TN with my family – what a drive! We passed a Wal-Mart distribution center that was at least a mile long (below), drove the long way through Virginia, and at really good food in downtown Market Square (think Faneuil Hall/Quincy market area without the market buildings in the center).

Allll those trucks are Wal-Mart branded.

This is about the longest direct route you can take through Virginia.
I-81 all the way, through the beautiful Appalachians.

We had a good harvest last week – Matt & Aly dropped off cucumbers, golden beets (you know what that means – cupcakes! Yay!), summer squash, and green and gold zucchini for us. I made some yummy fridge pickles – I can’t wait for my dill to get a little bigger so I can use it for extra flavor. I may also try spears, too. They take a little longer but I'm sure they're worth it!

Mmmm pickles

Easy Fridge Pickles

inspired by Smitten Kitchen

As I was re-reading the ingredients to list here, I noticed that I had accidentally doubled the vinegar and halved the cucumbers. I don't know if I mind, but that would explain how incredibly pickly and spicy they turned out... Her recipe uses 8-10 Kirby cukes and 1/2 cup of vinegar. My version is below.

4 small to medium cucumbers, washed and sliced thin (she recommends Kirby or pickling cucumbers)

1 cup white vinegar 

5 teaspoons salt (coarse, pickling, or kosher)

Optional tasty things:

  1 to 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

  1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

  1/2 teaspoon or so red pepper flakes

  freshly ground black pepper

Slice up the cucumbers super thin with a mandoline if you have one, or carefully on a cutting board. Put them in a large bowl with a leakproof lid, then add the salt, vinegar, and your choice of optional tasty additions. Close the lid and shake everything up. Chill in the fridge, shaking occasionally, until ready to eat (wait at least an hour - they'll supposedly last 3 weeks).

The fun part about using a mandoline is that the slices just stack up all on their own!

I roasted up the summer squash to have alongside some chicken. I did a quick marinade with olive oil, garlic, and salt & pepper, tossed the chicken and then the squash in that, and cooked everything at 400* for about 20 minutes. Delish! (Tip: preheat the baking sheet in the oven while you prep everything!)

And a quick garden update: We have pumpkins! No pictures yet, but there are at least three that are fist-sized or bigger and growing every day. The vines are reaching out to the radishes and broccoli, and will probably be at the driveway soon. My radishes went a little wild when I was gone, so I'm not sure if any are now too big to be tasty - some of them have flowered, so I need to clear those out and give everything else some space to breathe.

Another update soon!

Recipe: Sausage and Kale Pasta

Success! This got two thumbs up from Dan, which, as I've mentioned before, is really all I look for when I cook. I streamlined this a little bit and cut out a few things that I didn't have (and, uh, forgot to get at the grocery store) and subbed for things I did have. No pictures, but I promise it was good!

Sausage and Kale Pasta
adapted from Serious Eats
You might want to halve this if you don't have a large stockpot. I had hopes that everything would fit into this bad boy, but it was dangerously full (to the point that I couldn't stir anything) so I opted to dump everything back into the pasta pot. This would probably also be good with spinach.

1 pound fusilli or other short pasta (I used cavatappi)
1 large bunch kale, leaves chopped and stems discarded
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from skins and crumbled (I used Al Fresco sweet Italian-style chicken sausage)
1 clove garlic, minced
12-15 whole cherry tomatoes, such as Sungolds (forgot these!)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping (lots of this)

Remove the stems from the kale and clean the leaves. I cut the leaves into ribbons and then chopped across the long way to make smaller pieces, but I'll need to do more chopping next time to get the pieces a little smaller. Boil the kale in well-salted water until tender - I have no idea how long this "should" take. I'd guess I boiled mine maybe 5 minutes. If you have a stockpot with a colander insert, use that and keep the hot water for the pasta. Mine turned a weird greenish brown color because the kale had a purplish tinge to it.

Return the hot water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook to your preferred done-ness and reserve at least a cup of the cooking water. Drain if it finishes cooking before the sausage is ready (toss the water).

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the sausage. Break up with a wooden spoon and cook until completely browned. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and fennel seeds (if using) and continue to cook until sausage caramelizes and turns golden brown. Add more oil to the pan if needed. Put the kale in the pan and stir/toss to coat. Cook a couple of minutes, and if using cherry tomatoes, add them now and cook until they start to lose their shape. 

Scrape contents of skillet into your big pasta pot (my skillet wasn't big enough for all this goodness!) and add the pasta back to the pot. Stir everything together and add the cheese and enough pasta water to make a sauce. I loaded up on the cheese because it's delicious. 

Top with additional cheese for serving.

Week Three: Forest in the Fridge + DIY + uber-local

We had a great time on vacation last week - lots of family and laughs. And the view wasn't too bad, either:

Lake Canandaigua way in the distance

And in farm news, we're back to leafy greens. The fridge, once again, looks like a prehistoric forest. We had lots to pick from this week. I ended up with beets, chard, kale, and fennel (yay!). Aly got collards, green garlic, summer squash (which made her day), and lettuce. I forgot to take a picture, but between the big leaves on the chard and the crazy fronds on the fennel, the fridge is overwhelmingly green.

I found a pasta recipe for the kale, and a salad idea for the fennel (today's lunch!). Still need to figure out what to do with the chard... most likely will to make it less bitter.

Fennel, Apple, and Carrot Salad
Adapted liberally from Martha Stewart

2 medium bulbs fennel, cored, halved, sliced thing
4 carrots, shredded
1 apple, cored and sliced thin
1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 bell pepper, cut into matchsticks

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Martha recommends a yogurt and white wine vinegar dressing, but I wasn't up for it, so I'll see how it tastes plain. If it's weird, I have some homemade yogurt that I can add on top.

Let's see... I also made some cashew butter last week, because I sometimes can't help myself doing fun-sounding things! It's not too bad, although the texture, obviously, is a little different from commercially processed nut butter. I'd definitely try again with peanuts.

So easy!

It couldn't be easier: just throw a few handfuls of nuts (or seeds like sunflower or pumpkin) into your food processor and whiz away. Mine makes a pretty high-pitched grating noise so I closed the windows in the kitchen. It took about a minute or so in the food processor plus about two teaspoons of vegetable oil. (Inspiration: Macheesmo)

And last but not least, I went uber-local last week and harvested TWO radishes from our garden! They were a little bitter, unfortunately, so I might pickle them next time (I added them to my salad one day). I'm mostly impressed that I was able to grow something at all - I've killed a cactus, after all - so I have high hopes for the rest of our garden!

They are really small. 

Happy holiday weekend!

Recipe: Rhubarb Bars

I'm not overly thrilled with these guys, but Dan appears to be enjoying them. I didn't have enough rhubarb (or other fruit filler) to really cover the crumb base, and what I did end up with didn't turn into yummy bubbly jammy goodness.

But they are being eaten, so I guess that's the success I always look for!

Rhubarb Crisp Bars (adapted from the Smitten Kitchen)
You can supposedly make these in the dish you bake them in - I found that a little awkward so next time I'll probably just suck it up and use a mixing bowl! I'll also toss the rhubarb with the sugar instead of sprinkling it over, and skip my cornstarch substitute (I used a little extra flour). I may also have overcooked them a bit, or at least overdried the rhubarb, so I will definitely try to get some berries next time!

1 cup (80 grams) rolled oats
3/4 cup (95 grams) plus up to 2 tablespoons (15 grams) extra all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (95 grams) light brown sugar
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon table salt (you'll probably need less if you use salted butter)
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cornstarch (helps firm up the filling - optional)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated sugar, divided
2 cups (250 grams) rhubarb, diced small (from about 4 medium stalks)

Preheat oven to 375* F. Line bottom and sides of 8x8 baking dish with crisscrossed parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. (No need if you plan to serve out of the pan.)

Mix together oats, 3/4c flour, brown sugar, and salt in the bottom of the dish. Add melted butter and stir until clumps form (I found it easiest to do the last bits of mixing with my fingers). Add additional flour if needed. Remove 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture and set aside, then press the remaining crumble evenly into the pan.

Spread half the rhubarb over the crust. If using cornstarch, sprinkle evenly over the rhubarb, then the lemon juice and half the sugar. Spread the rest of the rhubarb over and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Scatter the reserved crumb mixture over everything and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Cool in the pan and serve dusted with powdered sugar, if desired.

Week One: Slow Start

Hello and welcome back! Hard to believe we’re into another year at the farm already, but I’m excited for all the goodies to make their way into the fridge. Yesterday was the first official day of the CSA season, so I headed over after work to see what was available. I grabbed lettuce and collard greens for Matt & Aly, spinach, rhubarb, bok choy, and scallions. There’s a slow start this year - I had a choice of kale, collards, or chard this week, unlike last year when I think they had all of those available. They say it’s because of the wacky weather patterns (high of only 45 degrees in the middle of May? No, thank you!), and promise there will be more in the coming weeks.

Collards are photo-hogs! You can almost see the lettuce under there.
Rhubarb and scallions are sticking up.

 Dan and I only have a couple of days this week to use up what I brought home, so Matt & Aly will get most of the goodies this week. I do, however, have a master plan for my four stalks of rhubarb that I’m looking forward to making soon. I will be sure to post the recipe.

A half-pound of spinach. I have no idea what happened to the bok choy...
it's in there somewhere.

We've also started a garden project of our own this summer – after lots of manual labor (and help from our parents!) we've cleared out our previously mulched-over garden and planted grass and some veggies. Our radishes are coming up super fast, and the broccoli seems to be pretty happy as well. We transplanted some mature chives and oregano, which are doing very well, and also planted some basil and dill (time will tell on those). And the pumpkins are practically exploding overnight. Rumor has it that it’s not too late to plant a couple more plants (tomatoes, cucumbers), so I’ll see if I can find some soon!

We’ll be off on adventures next week, so if I post it will be delayed and/or not farm-related. Til then!

Week Twenty: All Done

Sometime over the weekend, fall snuck up on me. Mostly it was the waking up in the dark all week that threw me – it makes Monday that much harder to start off when I have to fumble around the house in the dark. It also started getting REALLY cold at night… like frost advisory cold! Hard to believe that this time last year we were enjoying high 60s to low 70s and sunshiny days (and getting married! … oh, and prepping for Sandy!). 

Rainbow over Lexington Center.

We had our final pickup in almost total darkness – the farm parking lot isn’t lit (and had next to no cars in it), so I actually wondered for a minute if the pickup time had changed. But we turned the corner and there was the barn, lit up and waiting for us. We got lettuce, potatoes, scallions, broccoli, sweet potatoes, peppers, celery, a rutabaga, and parsnips. I went a little crazy with the last chance to get new stuff. The newsletter included a recipe for a yummy-sounding spiced rutabaga cake, so I definitely wanted to try that, and I’d never had parsnips before either.

The final harvest.

Last night our friend Sam had a Mary Kay party, so I needed (well, wanted!) to bring something over to snack on. This recipe for roasted broccoli queso popped up in the “other posts you might like” on Macheesmo, so of course that was going to be it! Perfect timing. It turned out pretty well, I think, although I probably shouldn’t have let it heat to nuclear temps in my tiny dipper crock pot… whoops! We still enjoyed it, though, and we had a great time getting makeovers and talking skin care and girly stuff.

Sam and the Minion!

Stay tuned later this week for a recap of the season. I may also start posting elsewhere for “other” cooking adventures, as this has been kind of fun!

We were allowed "two pounds" of rutabaga... which was, in my case, this bad boy.

 Roasted Broccoli Cheddar Queso Dip (adapted, not very much, from Macheesmo)

2 cups broccoli florets (I had about 1 cup of farm broccoli so I used up a bag of frozen broccoli)

1 four-ounce can of chopped green chiles (I did the best I could with the 7 oz can from Market Basket)

¼ white onion, grated or very very finely diced

¼ cup flour

¼ cup butter

2 cups milk, warmed

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese

Toss the broccoli with a little olive oil and salt & pepper, then roast at 350* for about 20 minutes. Stir everything around once or twice to keep from getting too brown and burn-y.

Make the queso while the broccoli does its thing:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the grated onion and chiles, and let cook about 5 minutes so the onions get nice and soft and sort of start melting away. Add the flour and whisk, whisk, whisk! Cook another 4 or 5 minutes to cook out the “flour” taste – it should be golden/tan. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened and warmed through. Add the cheese in stages, stirring, until it’s all incorporated.

Let the broccoli cool a little bit before chopping it up even more, then gently stir into the cheese. Serve with chips, thinly sliced and toasted bread, or veggies.

Recipe: Fennel Risotto

I love risotto. I would happily make it for dinner every night. To me it's totally worth all the "hassle" of stirring and slowly adding liquid. I always make it with stock, though, because it adds so much flavor. I picked up a bulb of fennel a couple weeks ago and realized I had no idea what to do with it... but then I thought risotto would be good. The internet provided plenty of inspiration, as usual, and I ended up with a pretty tasty dish!

Chop chop chop!

Caramelized Fennel Risotto (adapted from The Corner Kitchen)
Notes: Don't worry about the licorice/anise smell of the fennel. You barely notice it in the final dish. I panicked briefly when I was prepping because Dan hates licorice (to the point where he won't even kiss me if I've eaten black licorice jelly beans!) - but most recipes assured me that it wouldn't be an issue.

1 bulb fennel, cored and diced, fronds reserved
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T cooking oil
1-2 T butter
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups chicken stock or water, kept warm on the side
1 c Parmesan cheese (we have pecorino Romano at the house)

Heat the butter and oil in a medium-size, deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the fennel and cook slowly until caramelized, about 30 or so minutes. I was very impatient so I didn't cook as long as I could have.

Cook faster!

When nice and caramelized, add the rice and stir to coat in the oil. Cook a few minutes until the grains turn translucent, then add about 3/4 cup stock. It will sizzle, so make sure to stir up the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir until the liquid is almost fully incorporated, then add another 3/4 cup stock. Continue stirring and adding stock until the rice is tender and creamy. Taste to make sure it's done enough for you, adding more stock or water if needed.

Almost done.

Stir in the cheese, remove from the heat, and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with additional cheese and finely chopped fennel fronds to garnish.

Finished product. It was great!

Week Nineteen: Samesies

I got to hang out with my favorite “other guy” this weekend while Dan was away. It was a tiring weekend – between getting up at the crack of dawn for walks, running around on the beach, and chasing the laser pointer (him, not me!), I was completely wiped out by Sunday night. Dan finally got home late Tuesday night, so now I’m happy. 

Totally wiped out. 

We’ve sort of gotten into a routine at the farm – we check in, ooh and aah over the things we haven’t used before, and get mostly the same vegetables week to week. It was actually pretty hard to pick our veggies this week. Aly had the excuse of being excited for Nationals this weekend, but I think I’m in a rut! But there’s just one more week to go, and I got some butternut squash… soup is on the menu this weekend for sure. We picked up a red onion, carrots, lettuce, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes.

 

My squashes. I call them Bert and Ernie.

I made chicken soup for dinner last night with my farm carrots and onion. We didn’t have any celery, though, and I wish I’d added some garlic – but it was well-received! As an almost-afterthought I added the rice part of a rice pilaf mix, which I think worked well (I’ll use more next time). Small pasta would work well, too: stars, alphabets, stuff like that.

 

Sweet potatoes. If you were curious, my attempt at gnocchi had .... interesting results. Details to come.

Chicken and Rice Soup (cobbled together from a few different sources)

3 chicken breasts*, trimmed of excess fat

1-2 carrots, cut into ¾” cubes (I used 1.5 of my carrots)

1 small onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced or sliced thin

2 quarts chicken stock, water, or a mix of the two (veg stock might also work well)

Veg oil for browning

1 cup long grain rice

Heat a small amount of oil in a big Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add the chicken to the pan and cook until browned – you may have to do this in batches. Add in the diced vegetables and cook for a minute or two. Add the stock or water, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, add the rice and reduce head to medium-low. Simmer about 20-25 minutes, until rice is tender.

About 5 or so minutes before the rice is done, fish out the chicken and shred or chop small on a cutting board. Add back to the pot to rewarm through, and then serve hot with crackers or cheese croutons.

*You could also do this with a whole chicken, though you’d probably need to increase the proportions of the other ingredients to account for the additional meat. 

Week Eighteen: Hearty Veggies

This weekend was a success for my cooking and baking adventures. I had a couple interesting mishaps at my class (like adding about 3 tablespoons of pepper to a dish that was supposed to have a spice mix added), but my home attempts were well-received. I made gingerbread cookies, Dan’s favorite, and some rolled cookies with chocolate and plain sugar cookie dough. I’d actually meant to make those last weekend, but I forgot about the dough while it was chilling in the freezer.

Apparently I didn't take pictures of my cookie masterpieces?!
I also went to Harpoon Brewery's Octoberfest.

I also made my first successful Alfredo sauce. Just about every other time I’ve made it, I’ve ended up with a thin, weak, garlic-flavored milk sauce… but not this time! I’m not sure what I did better this time (maybe follow the recipe?), but it wasn’t too bad. I boiled up some pasta and chicken pieces, and then threw in some farm broccoli in the last minute or so of cooking, and boom. Broccoli chicken Alfredo.

Again, no pictures. I don't know what's wrong with me.

It’s a little weird to go to the farm when it’s nearly dark – and it was strangely empty last night. Maybe everyone would rather go during the daylight hours. We had a few yummy surprises this week to shake things up. We got the usual potatoes, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, and peppers. I was thrilled to find fennel – YUM – and we also got a cabbage for our friend. There were also some sweet potatoes available, so we grabbed some of those as well. Perfectly timed, too, since I just saw a recipe for sweet potato gnocchi the other day. Weekend project!

Sweet potatoes... I'm going to make pasta (ish) out of you!

Lovely peppers on top of the fennel fronds.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo (sauce adapted from AllRecipes)
This fed four of us with leftovers, but I would have liked some more broccoli and chicken. And more sauce; this wasn't quite enough to give a nice thick coating.

2 chicken breasts, cut into ¾” or 1” pieces
1 lb pasta (I used mini wheels since that's what we had)
2-3 small heads broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces (stems optional, but peel them before cutting into pieces if you use them)

3 T butter
3 T flour
2 c milk
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or mashed
½ - ¾ c Parmesan cheese, grated (I used the Romano we have in the fridge)
Salt and pepper to taste
Grate or two of nutmeg (optional)

Put a big pot of water on the stove to boil. Once boiling, add the chicken and cook for a minute or two. Add the pasta and stir to keep everything from sticking. (Add a drizzle of olive oil if you want.) When the pasta is almost done, add the broccoli to the pot. Drain and return everything to the hot pan, off the heat.

For the sauce:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then slowly whisk in the flour. Whisk over medium heat to make a roux. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened. Mine took about 8 minutes, I think. Add the cheese and keep whisking until the sauce is the right consistency for you. Taste, and if the sauce is bland, add salt until it tastes like cheese. (And/or add more cheese!) Pour the sauce over everything in the pasta pot and stir to combine.

Serve with additional cheese on the side.

Week Seventeen: Early Nights

I can’t believe it’s October already! I’m still bummed that the nights are coming faster, but I’m loving the extended summer weather we've been having. I had to go into Boston yesterday morning and ended up walking a little over 2 miles around the city in what was probably the perfect “walking” weather: not too cold in the shadows but not too hot in the sunlight. (I’m only a little sore today.)

 

Cruising down Route 2 this weekend.

For the first time in ages, we didn’t walk around the picking fields – so hopefully we didn’t miss anything good! We’ve had decent luck with the raspberries, as I’ve said before, by just strolling through and snacking on what looks good. The harvest is starting to get smaller, but I’m looking forward to some yummy fall squash soon! You can probably guess what we picked up this week – we’re creatures of habit, I guess: tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, peppers (red bell and sweet frying), leeks, and broccoli rabe (new!).

It’s been a busy week so I tried to focus on “easy” veg – last night was my big cooking night. I made “Shallot Surprise” and sautéed the broccoli rabe for a side. This weekend I need to find a way to use up all of my potatoes (about 3 or 4 pounds)… maybe gnocchi? I’ve got lots of extra scallions, too, so will need to do something with those. Yikes!

“Shallot Surprise” (a riff on Rachael Ray’s “That’s Shallotta Flavor Pasta”)

~1 lb shallots

1 lb pasta

Olive oil

Butter

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c Romano cheese (grated)

Peel and slice the shallots. (I hate this part – my eyes water like crazy! I have to do this right next to the stove with the exhaust fan on high, but that doesn’t always help very much. I’m told you can also do this with your gas stove on very low heat, to burn off the sulfur fumes.) Heat a couple tablespoons each of butter and olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté til it’s fragrant, then add the shallots.

 

I was too weepy slicing these to get a picture!

Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the shallots start to caramelize. Meanwhile, cook pasta per the directions on the box. When almost done cooking, add about a cup or so of the water to the skillet (it will sizzle) and add the cheese. Add the drained pasta and carefully toss to coat with the cheese and shallots. Add more cheese and/or water as needed to evenly coat pasta with the sauce.

Serve hot with additional cheese and freshly ground pepper.

Sautéed Broccoli Rabe (based on Rachael Ray's)

1 lb broccoli rabe, stems trimmed

1-2 T cooking oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice and zest of one lemon

Salt

Bring about an inch of water to boil in a large, deep skillet. Coarsely shop the broccoli rabe, then add to the boiling water and reduce heat to simmer. Salt the water, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Drain the rabe really well, then put the pan back on the stove. Add the oil, garlic, and some of the zest and cook over medium heat for a minute or two, then add the drained rabe to the pan. Sauté a couple more minutes, and transfer to serving dish. Toss with lemon juice and remaining zest to serve.

Week Sixteen: Autumn Harvest

It's officially here. The equinox has passed and now the days are getting shorter for sure. The days are still nice, but I can feel a chill from somewhere (or maybe that's just the A/C at work?), and the nights are getting downright cold. I don't feel bad about having pumpkin beer now - especially beer that was brewed with pumpkins from the farm! (I do wish that there had been a touch less cinnamon in this sugared rim, though... talk about major dry mouth!)

Watch City Brewery's Pie-Eyed Pumpkin Ale. More sugar on the rim, please!

We were treated to a stunning sunset last night at the farm... I'm bummed that they're getting sooner, but they're so darn pretty that they almost make up for the early arrival:

Hashtag no filter! (See how silly we are here)

We had a good time at the farm again this week. The raspberries, happily, are hanging in there, so while we haven't been collecting our allotted half-pint each week lately, we do take a stroll through the rows to pick what looks good. It's totally worth it for the few perfect berries we find. Back in the barn, we got more leeks, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and beets. 

Leeks, tomatoes, and peppers

I was happy to have the pick of my "regular" haul again, mostly for pickling. We got frying peppers and bell peppers, which I sliced up to have with the carrots. I really do miss the cucumbers... but I made do! I was rather disappointed in my previous batch of pickled goods, where I'd used radishes. They weren't quite as yummy as I'd hoped.

Lettuce and broccoli

We'd split the leeks last week, so we had a double repeat for dinner tonight: potato and beet cake with bacon and leek risotto. I used the stock I made from my roasted chicken for the risotto - delicious! It's really cool to see what I can make with just the local veg - we're considering joining a meat share this winter, so that would be an interesting next step!

Both kinds of peppers, broccoli, and the ends of my carrots

I didn't realize until I started scrubbing my beets tonight that only one of them was a standard "stain everything the juice touches bright red-purple" beet - I had two pink and a golden, too! It's really hard to tell when they're dirty, in my defense... like I care. And so I leave you with these pictures of beet-and-potato cake in the making.

Psychedelic beets!

It's ok if you question the sanity of the food processor in the sink.
I've had a bad experience with splattering, so I opted to try and save my clothes...

They're like an art project.

Shredded potatoes. This took approximately four seconds.

Rainbow beet shards!

Week Fifteen: The Cold Begins!

The weather continues to be all confused: nights in the high 30s/low 40s and days that just seem to do whatever… yesterday (Tuesday) was 64 and today is in the low 70s. Friday may hit the near-80s. I guess it’s time to take the A/C out of the window and relocate it to the attic! I've got some grand plans for this week, including roasting a chicken for dinner tonight (with local veg, of course!), making stock and at least one kind of soup, and freezing some stuff for later. A small offshoot of the freezing task is to assess and organize what’s already in the freezer… how fun! Must be the onset of fall putting me into hibernation mode – I just wish I had more sunlight to work with ;)  

Good time to break out this candle!

This week at the farm was pretty chilly, but the harvest is still going strong. I picked up some leeks, scallions, potatoes, kale, and celery – the lightest bag I've had since June! We've definitely turned the corner back into “leafy things”. Aly got tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, and broccoli. I almost got some kohlrabi (it looks like a purple alien turnip thing – and we had no idea what to do with it), but then the scallions came out so I scrapped that. We took a short trip through the fields to grab some dill and snack on some raspberries. They were delicious, as usual.

 

Celery and scallions.

Kale! To be chipped, souped, frozen...

I still had my melon from last week, and I finally got a chance to cut it up. I’d looked up how to de-seed a watermelon, but I think the technique is better used on the ginormous ones you get at the grocery store – I don’t think there would have been much left of my little round one if I’d gone along with this plan completely! I don’t have any pictures, unfortunately (it’s really messy!), but here’s a link to the guidelines I used.

Basically, you cut the ends off the melon, and then cut a wedge into the long side (not all the way to the middle). You can then break off that chunk – the seeds will come out with it. Keep doing that all around the melon until you get back to the beginning, and then you’re left with the delicious “heart”. You can cut the seeds out of each long slice, and then use the flesh as you normally would. It seemed exceedingly wasteful to do that with mine, so I did my best to scrape out the seeds and chunk up the rest for freezing.

 

Filthy dirty leeks - who let them out of the barn?!

Bacon, Leek, and Egg Risotto (via Smitten Kitchen)

I usually halve this recipe because I feel it makes plenty for a side plus leftovers, but I've made it for a meal and been happy.

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable broth, plus some extra to thin out the rice

1 cup (4 ounces) finely chopped bacon (about 4 slices) or pancetta (I would never halve this!)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large or 3 smaller leeks, quartered lengthwise, cleaned*, and chopped small

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to fry eggs

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 cups arborio, carnaroli, or another short-grained Italian rice

1/3 cup dry white wine or vermouth

1 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish if desired

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 to 6 large eggs, you’ll want one per serving (I don't usually use them)

Put the stock in a small pot and heat gently - it should be warm but not yet simmering. Heat another pan, about 3 quarts, over medium heat, and cook the bacon until just crisp and the fat is rendered. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and put aside. Add a splash of oil to the pan if needed, then cook the leeks on medium/low for about 10-12 minutes. Scoop out and add to the bacon.

Add the butter to the same pan and cook the onion until translucent and tender, 5 minutes or so. Add the rice and saute about 4 minutes to lightly toast. Add the wine/vermouth and cook until almost gone. Add about a cup of the warm stock to the pan and simmer while it absorbs. Stir frequently. Add the rest of the stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring, until the rice is done. This usually takes me 20 minutes or so for al dente. Keep tasting to check for your personal version of "done". When you're happy, add the bacon and leeks back into the pan, then stir in the cheese. Add salt and pepper if desired, then serve.

If serving with fried eggs: Melt about a teaspoon of butter in a small nonstick pan on medium/low heat. Crack an egg into the pan and cook gently until the whites are set - you can put a lid on the pan to speed this up if you'd like. Cook to your preferred "done" - this recipe calls for sunny-side up, but if that's not cooked enough for you, keep on cookin'. Transfer to the first bowl of risotto and add more cheese and seasonings if desired.

* To clean leeks: Shake over a sink to get the easy stuff off, then peel back a couple of the dirtiest leaves if needed. Quarter lengthwise as directed, then slice thinly. Have a big bowl or pot of cold water handy. Dump the sliced leeks into the pot or bowl and gently swish them around to loosen up the dirt. Let everything sit for a couple minutes for the dirt to settle, then carefully skim off the floating leeks. Dry in a towel or salad spinner.

Week Fourteen: Mixed Bag of Weather

Over the past few years, I’ve been finding September to be a very strange month. The days leading up to Labor Day are hot and sticky, and then on that darned Tuesday everything gets all confused about what season it’s supposed to be. Do the leaves start to fall now? Do I need to keep blooming? Should it get cold at night? How hot are the days, again? Does it rain, or should it hail instead?

Seriously. Please explain.

We had beautiful days and cool nights this weekend. Friday I had to dress for two seasons: fall on top (sweater and fall-colored nails) and summer on bottom (skinny jeans, sandals, and pink toenails). I can’t say I minded; it really was a beautiful day. I unfortunately wasn't able to post last week, but don’t worry, nothing exciting happened. We got more of our usual: carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, lettuce, and so on.

More tomatoes, including a few "orange blossom", this week.

This week we got a bunch of good stuff: peppers (two kinds), broccoli, collards, a melon, tomatoes, beets, radishes, onions, and carrots. I pickled the radishes, half an onion, and a couple of the peppers... can't wait to try those! Unfortunately it does seem that most of the “delicate” summer veggies are going away for the season since the weather’s turned cooler… thanks for everything, cucumbers! It was great while it lasted

Collards and broccoli (!)

I signed up for some “techniques of cooking” classes over in Cambridge, and the first class this past weekend was knife skills – so I’ve been practicing the proper grip and slicing technique. I’ll try to play with (and document!) my newfound skills and cuts as I get more stuff to slice up. My immediate takeaway from the class was that I have a weird mental block about using the “claw” grip… I totally get that it’s supposed to protect you from slicing off your fingertips, since you have your knuckles out in front, but then I worry about slicing my knuckles off. Even though that’s not supposed to happen at all!

Frying peppers, bell peppers, and onions.

Little radishes and another melon.

I got an “all vegetables all the time” cookbook from my aunt for my birthday (wohoo!), so I’d been eager to try out one of the beet recipes in there. I got a chance to try it tonight – it’s sort of a beet and potato latke thing. I’ve also kept up (of course) with my regular pickled things… the frying peppers I got a couple weeks ago were great, and last week’s tiny bell peppers were, too. 

Golden beets this week

Crisp Beet and Potato Cake (from Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop)
We halved this recipe since I was making something else alongside... and I'm very glad! I'm sure we would have had too much for the pan if we'd used the full amounts. I think next time we'll try draining the beets a little bit; the outside seemed to be overly crisp and the inside a little mushy, although it still tasted great! It had the potato-y goodness of a latke and the "red" taste of the beets, which I thought made a great combination. Confession: Most of (okay, all) the hard work of washing, grating, and mixing was done by Dan, so thanks, honey!

1 lb russet potatoes (we used farm potatoes, no idea what kind)
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 medium beets (we used one red and one golden in the halved version)
1/4 c fresh snipped chives (subbed in leeks instead)
2 T butter

Peel the potatoes and grate with a box grater (don't forget your safety glove!) or a food processor. Toss with the salt. Peel and grate the beets, then mix with the potatoes. Throw in the chives and mix well.

Melt 1T butter in a wide (10-inch) nonstick skillet. Once the butter stops foaming, add the beet-potato mixture to the pan and press down to spread in an even layer. Cook over medium heat about 10-12 minutes until the bottom is nice and crispy. Press down with a spatula every now and then.

This is the tricky part: getting the cake out of the pan, onto a plate, and flipping it back into the pan so you can cook the top. Once the bottom is cooked, carefully slide the cake onto a big plate (ours wasn't quite done so it didn't slide very nicely). Melt the last tablespoon of butter in the pan until it stops foaming. As I'm re-reading the recipe now, I realize there is a much easier way to have done this: flip the cake onto another plate and then slide back into the skillet. (In the heat of the moment I just asked Dan for help, since I was stirring risotto and he happened to be there. He saved the day.) Cook the second side another 8-10 minutes until crisp on the bottom.

Slide onto a plate and serve in wedges.