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 Ten: Holy Tomatoes + Bonus Fruit

My friend recently tweeted a complaint that I’ve never been able to articulate very well myself, wondering if it was a “New England thing to only enjoy the beginning of summer and spend the rest dreading the coming of winter.” I’ve also wondered the same thing – we still have beautiful long evenings, after all, and oh right, six more weeks of summer, according to the calendar! Even the farm newsletter referenced the dreaded onset of autumn – so the weather’s been a little chilly (75º instead of 95º), fine, but jeez, people! It’s bad enough we’re putting out fall scents at the store... I'm even drinking a pumpkin beer as I write this.

Carrots, white peppers, and dill, cilantro, and jalapenos.

Anyway. Despite the farm’s concerns over tomato blight lately, we were allowed to take five pounds (!) of tomatoes this week – in addition to 2 pints of cherry tomatoes from the picking fields. Matt, Aly, and Dan are in heaven – me, I’m indifferent. I tried my first cherry tomato last night, after admitting that “I don’t like tomatoes” actually meant “I’ve never really eaten a tomato”… not sure I’m impressed. But now I know!

Tomato-y glory. I think there are only three pounds left.

In addition to tomatoes, Aly got some cucumbers (none for me – I've still got three in the fridge!), lettuce, onions, and corn (which was grilled to have with dinner). I got more carrots and potatoes for our rescheduled fancy dinner party, and some celery and white peppers. I’m excited to try the celery – the newsletter hinted that it’s really different from the grocery store stuff, so hopefully it’ll make a good stock addition! I’ve been saving vegetable peelings for a while (carrots, onion skins, etc.) with a master plan of making vegetable stock sometime in the future… yum.

Lettuce and onions

Skinny celery

We also got a “bonus melon”. Jury’s out on whether it’s a cantaloupe or honeydew.

Yeah bonus!

We had to reschedule dinner with our parents for this week, but since I’d prepped a bunch of the food earlier in the week, we had some friends over instead… and I’m glad I had a test run! Turns out that you need to keep an eye on cheeses while they’re baking in the oven, otherwise their containers might lose the ability to contain the melty goodness, and then you have melted Camembert all over the floor of your oven. It missed the electric heating coil… Barely.

I tried a recipe for an onion jam to have with the cheese, which turned out pretty well – although I wasn’t really thinking about the recipe’s intended purpose/volume versus mine when I was shopping… so I ended up with way more than we could eat on Friday. Noted for this week! I did have a chance to bake those beet cupcakes as well, which I brought to a party on Saturday night. They were a hit, happily, and it’s always fun to let people in on the secret ingredient!

Onion Jam (from Weber) (This week I will likely halve this recipe)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 large sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup balsamic vinegar (not aged)

½ cup packed golden brown sugar

¼ cup dried currants or raisins

Warm the butter and oil over medium-high heat in a big (really big) skillet. I used my mandoline slicer with the "thin" blade option to slice the onions - add these and the salt to the skillet.

Lots of onions!

Cook about ten minutes until the onions are tender and they've reduced in volume by about half. I always have to guess at what that might look like, so I generally go by time here. Stir frequently so they don't burn. 

A half cup of sugar makes the vinegar and onions go down...

Add the vinegar, sugar, and raisins to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 35 minutes until the onions become "jam-like" (again, not positive what that means!) and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat; serve at room temperature. I reheated it for dinner on Friday:

Fairly certain I made gillyweed?

I'm going to change up with way I pre-cut the onions before I mandoline-d them; I found the slices of onion halves ended up being too big and stringy. I think I'll quarter along the stem next time.

Golden Beet Cupcakes (from The Ivory Pomegranate)

I doubled this recipe and got exactly 18 cupcakes, so I think a safe assumption is that the amounts in this list makes nine cupcakes.

1 medium-sized golden beet

2 eggs

1 cup and 2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 

Wrap the beet in foil and roast at 350º for about an hour until tender. When it's cool enough to handle, peel and chop. (Mom and I steamed our beets.)

They're striped! How pretty?

Blend the beet pieces and eggs in a food process or blender until smooth. Whisk together dry ingredients, then use an electric (handheld or stand) mixer to incorporate the butter. Fold in the beet/eggs mixture until just combined - don't overdo this, otherwise the cupcakes will get tough. Line cupcake pans with papers and spoon batter in. Bake at 350º 18-22 minutes, rotating back to front and switching racks if needed halfway through. Let cool before frosting.

I have to admit, I was a little wary of these instructions while I was putting everything together, but they seem to have turned out ok. Next time I think I'll try the standard "cream butter and sugar, add eggs, then add dry stuff" method and see if that turns out any different.

Buttercream Frosting (roughly adapted from FoodNetwork.com)

Head over to the site if you need lots of frosting - theirs makes enough to fill and frost a  9"x13" sheet cake or two 9" layers. I didn't need nearly that much, so I used roughly the following amounts:

12 ounces powdered sugar 

1/2 stick ish of room-temperature butter

1/4 cup milk, barely

1 capful vanilla extract (you could also use mint or almond flavoring, whatever floats your boat)

Food coloring if desired

Combine everything in a big mixing bowl and combine at low speed until well incorporated and no butter lumps remain. Add food coloring, if using, and frost away. If it's too runny, add more sugar/too thick, add milk a spoonful at a time.