A Kitchen Mystery

For a number of weeks, people have often asked inquired about the large bucket in the corner of our kitchen.  In July, it held held sour cherries that I bought in bulk from a place in Michigan, but no longer.  Any guesses?

Sauerkraut!  One week Mary and I received two huge heads of cabbage in our CSA share.  What to do when you have more vegetables than you can deal with in one week? Preserve it, of course!  The question was how.

I'd previously seen a reference somewhere to making sauerkraut at home, and after a little internet research, became convinced that it's actually very easy.  And so it was!  We chopped up all the cabbage, layered it with salt, packed it down, poured on some extra salt water to make sure the cabbage was totally immersed, covered with cheesecloth, weighted it down with two ziploc bags filled with water, and let it sit undisturbed!  Read all about what exactly happens in the process here (something called lacto-fermentation).

Four weeks later (At least? Maybe more? I can't recall when we started this), here's the result.

 We had its inaugural eating with some bratwursts before the football game last weekend.  Yum!

Green Beans, Take 2

I was headed home today daydreaming about making szechuan green beans, but when I actually got back, in a sheer fit of laziness (not wanting to walk an extra 20 feet to grab my computer and look up my recipe), I decided to look for  recipes in the cookbooks by the kitchen.  Am I ever glad that I did.  The second book I pulled off the shelf was More Best Recipes by the folks of Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen.  In this book series (I'm told that their Best 30-Minute Recipe is one of the top cookbooks around), the editors take a fairly common food and, through dozens and dozens of test runs and experiments, come up with the perfect, foolproof recipe.

Well, after checking the index, I discovered that a full four pages were devoted to green beans, both sauteed and roasted.  The common problem they saw with the former was that by the time the beans were cooked, the outsides were usually black and burnt.  Their solution?  Saute the green beans for six minutes, add a small bit of water and cover the pan, thus steaming them for two minutes, then uncover and turn up the heat to evaporate any leftover water, and finish sauteeing along with the flavorings/spices for two more minutes.  The result? Perfection.  Just the right amount of browning and wrinkling, fully cooked, yet still with a crisp bite.

Luckily for you, this recipe (along with variations, but without the long explanation of the recipe's development) is online!  I made the first variation, with smoked paprika and almonds.

Cook's Illustrated Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic and Herbs

And the list goes on

Zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, purple potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes of various sorts, green peppers, habanero peppers (much hotter than I anticipated, even at a very unripe stage), butternut squash, eggplant, pattypan squash, beets, okra, multi-colored carrots...I think that pretty much covers what I've been getting from my CSA subscription and the community garden.  Needless to say, I haven't been buying much in groceries lately except for eggs, milk, and the occasional bag of sugar for canning.  Speaking of which, I bought a half bushel of peaches the other week which I--besides simply canning a large portion of them--made into preserves as well as this delicious peach barbecue sauce (a great recipe that you could simply make fresh).  There are still a few boxes of jars sitting around waiting for an apple-picking excursion followed by applesauce making.  Hopefully they're not bothering my roommate too much!

So what does one do with all the aforementioned produce? Especially when extra, unanticipated zucchini show up on your doorstep?  Well, I've made buttermilk zucchini soup, ordinary zucchini soup, chocolate zucchini bread, pineapple-raisin zucchini bread, cucumber salad, cucumber and basil slush (I was incredibly skeptical of this, but it actually tasted fairly good), ratatouille, roasted root vegetables, sauted squash, okra and tomatoes, and borscht. For the latter (a great soup that utilizes a lot of mid- to late-summer vegetables), Mary and I used a conglomaration of a few recipes, and it turned out well.  We actually only used one beet.  One beet, which yielded 4 cups when grated.  No joke.

The beet which became the borscht:

I hope you're enjoying the bounty of summer as much as I am!

Summer's in full swing!

As if the 100 degree heat index wasn't signal enough, it's clear from the abundance at the farmers' market that summer has arrived in the Bend.  My most recent CSA batch came with some new produce for the season--cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, green beans, and onions.  The tomatoes have really taken off in our community garden, and I spied an almost fully grown zucchini today, along with a couple small peppers and yellow squash.  (I promise I'll get a photo up! Unfortunately, my camera and computer have had a slight tiff and are refusing to speak to each other at the moment.)  A friend's little brother even discovered some wild black raspberries growing nearby when he was visiting.  I think I've managed to beat the birds to them, so far.

Last week a few of us went to the Blueberry Ranch, a local joint that advertises itself as the largest organic blueberry farm in the Midwest.  We each picked a bucket or so, with most of them winding up in the freezer, if not muffins, cobbler, or pie.  Nothing says delicious like having a stock of blueberries a few feet away!

Look forward to an upcoming post about replicating the Szechuan Green Beans and Honey Chicken at one of our best local restaurants, J. W. Chen's, known affectionately to those in my program as "Mrs. Chen's" or "Madame Chen's." (I wonder why no one has suggested Frau Chen's, yet?)  In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite recipes from around the interwebs.

Forty-Four Clove Garlic Soup

Bourbon Chicken

Wheat Bread with Flax Seed (There seems to be a typo--I increase the wheat flour to 2 1/4 cups.)

Nancy Silverton's Deep Dish Apple Pie (Do not be deceived by the nature of the website.  I actually own the cookbook from which this is taken, though I've only tried two recipes so far.  This has to be one of the most complicated desserts I've ever made, as well as the most intense apple pie I've ever eaten.  It's certainly worth making...maybe once a year.)

Culinary adventures

Given the vast (read "slightly more than usual") amount of free time we have this summer, a couple friends and I decided to spend a leisurely Saturday afternoon in the kitchen. We were interested in trying out this recipe for homemade ricotta, and, also anxious to use up a pound of CSA chard, decided to cook up a Swiss Chard Lasagna with Ricotta and Mushroom.  For dessert we had Apfelstrudel, which I learned to make from an Austrian friend whose grandmother taught her.  I've vowed not to write down a recipe (and I don't even know know specific ingredient amounts), always relying on my learning experience.  Let me know if you'd like me to pass it on to you!

Making the ricotta cheese was very easy.  You boil milk and cream to a certain temperature, stir in lemon juice, let it sit, and then strain.  After an hour or two we were left with about 16 oz. of cheese and a few cups of whey.  We used some of the whey in place of water in a loaf of white bread, but it has many culinary uses, and even as the basis for a soda in the cheese-making-and-thus-whey-overload-having country of Switzerland.




















The  lasagna turned out quite well though incredibly rich (especially with the homemade ricotta).  I actually like and recommend this other (and lighter) vegetable lasagna just as much.  The new recipe had the very interesting addition of nutmeg to the sauce, and I think that would work quite well in either recipe.  One could also replace the spinach with chard in the latter and add mushrooms.

Thanks friends for your hard work!!

Tales of an Italian grocery, Austrian wine, Polish sausage, and chard.

Today I headed down to the local farmers' market to pick up some eggs, a basil plant, and to get a knife sharpened by a man who claims to be one of only two knife-sharpeners in town (and he says he often gets dissatisfied customers from the other guy!).  After acquiring said items and achieving said knife-sharpness, I ventured across the street to a small grocery that I'd frequently passed and always written off as a small store that probably didn't carry much and overall was probably not great.  You see, contrary to my expectations, I'd seen it referenced online as a great little Italian shop.  And indeed it is.  This place is immaculate inside, and carries all kinds of imported goods as well as the basics.  Shelf after shelf of cheeses and wines, pastas and sauces.  Organic dairy and meat products.  I discovered that they carried two different Grüner Veltliners, an Austrian wine that I'd recently heard about and was eager to try. (It lived up to my expectations, especially in pairing well with a variety of foods.  See this interesting article on the wine.)  I only wonder now if biking to the farmers' market (and this grocery) is out of the question, seeing as I'll probably be returning with more than in the past.

Thus armed with a 2009 Laurenz Singing Grüner Veltliner, parmesan, and pasta, and knowing that CSA chard and garlic scapes awaited me in my refrigerator, I set off on the seas of the internet in search of a recipe.  I wound up making Pasta with Kielbasa and Swiss Chard, and it turned out quite well.  Below is the recipe with my adaptations.



Pasta with Kielbasa and Swiss Chard

adapted from Gourmet

• 3/4 pound Swiss chard (1 bunch)
• 1/2 pound kielbasa, quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or 3 garlic scapes, chopped; if using scapes, cook them with the chard stems)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 1/2 pound penne
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Begin boiling salted water for pasta.  Wash chard leaves.  Cut out center ribs and stems and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Chop leaves coarsely.  Begin cooking pasta, being sure to reserve 1/4 cup cooking water before draining.

Cook kielbasa in oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Cook chard ribs and stems with salt in fat remaining in pot (add a bit more olive oil if necessary) over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chard leaves, water, and red-pepper flakes and simmer, partially covered, until chard stems are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and stir in kielbasa. 

Add pasta to chard mixture with cheese, wine, and salt to taste and toss until combined well. Thin with some of reserved pasta water if necessary.  Serve with extra cheese.

Remember Those Radishes?

Remember those radishes I got from my CSA?  Well I ate one raw, and was again reminded that I really don't like to eat radishes.  I discovered that you can cook them in various ways (sauté, boil, steam, roast, etc.) and it removes their characteristic bite.  Some folks might think this removes the reason to eat a radish in the first place, but I'm glad to have found a way I can eat them.  It's better than a slow death by rotting in the vegetable bin!  You'll find the first recipe I tried below.  If my farmer shows up with more radishes on Thursday there's another recipe I have in mind.  This one worked out pretty well, though.

Butter-Braised Radishes with Their Greens

Adapted from The Flexitarian Table

1 large bunch of radishes
3 T butter
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 T white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg.

Cut leaves from radishes, leaving about a 1/2 inch of greens on the radishes.  Wash greens and chop very coarsely. (I accidentally neglected the latter part of that! I do think it would bet better with the greens chopped slightly, otherwise they come out rather stringy).  Cut larger radishes in half or even quarters, if necessary, to achieve uniform size.

In a medium saucepan (I think I used about a 7-inch one, after first starting with something way too big [see photo]) melt the butter, brown sugar and salt over medium heat, then add the water and radishes and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until radishes are slightly cooked (so they can be pierced with little pressure with a knife but not mushy), about 3-5 minutes.

Place greens over the radishes, cover pan, and simmer gently until greens are emerald color and tender, about 5 minutes.  Remove greens and radishes and transfer to a bowl.  (It's good to get as much liquid out of the greens if possible, placing them on paper towels or draining them in a colander.  Just don't discard the liquid!)

Add vinegar, pepper, and nutmeg to the pan liquid and boil uncovered until it becomes syrupy, about 5 minutes (They originally said two minutes, but that was certainly not long enough.  I was never pleased with the consistency and might even use some cornstarch next time to artificially thicken it). Season to taste with salt and/or sugar.  Coat the radishes and greens with the sauce and serve.

Landwirtschaftsgemeinschaftshof

Today I picked up the first supply of produce from a local farm that a couple friends and I are supporting through a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.  That word in the title is the German equivalent;  I can't quite put my finger on a good translation, but it means something like agricultural-community-farm.  CSA originally developed in Germany, Switzerland, and Japan in the 1960s.  The idea is that a group of consumers get together and provide financial support for a local farm at the beginning of the growing season, and in return are provided with seasonal produce for a set number of weeks.  CSA is good for the farmer because it spreads out the inherent risk in farming between all of the "subscribers" and also drastically reduces marketing and distribution costs.  We subscribers agree to take whatever the farm grows--unfortunately, that means I might have to learn to like radishes.  But ultimately we get high quality, seasonal, organic produce (even if it's not officially certified, it usually measures up to the requirements) from a member of our own community that we see on a weekly basis.  And did I say that it's fresh?  And delicious?  Everything I got today was picked only a few hours earlier on a farm only a few miles away--lettuce, spinach, radishes (she suggested sauteing the greens in olive oil and garlic; I might try this, too), chives, parsley, oregano, cucumbers, scallions, and snow peas.

It's only the beginning of the season, so check out www.localharvest.org to find your own local CSA.  I'm a firm believer!