Fresh

I’m proud to say that Farm to Fork is currently in the process of rejuvenation.  Not only is the new and improved website about to be unveiled soon, but my entire operation and thought related is in make-over mode.  All businesses, no matter how small, need to accept change and be allowed to evolve in their own way.  When I began five years ago I was focused solely on my personal chef work, but now other projects have come my way such as teaching, writing, consulting, and an occasional small-group catering event.  Yes, the effects of the recession have pushed us to diversify, but we’ve found pleasure in taking up other real food work (particularly that which helps me to advocate on behalf of real food) and found that it is adding character to the business and to myself.  Here is just a shout-out to keeping chins up and to the business staying afloat, to evolution and the challenges of change.  Here is a shout-out to my new website (to come this week) and with that revision a new vision for my business which emphasizes real food for real people to bring us joy and to nourish us. 

Okay, perhaps that was dramatic but I am sincere in my excitement now.  I am looking ahead.  But there are other subjects of note.  First, I wanted to call your attention to a local exhibit called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats at the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota.  It’s an exhibit based on the book of the same name that came out a few years ago.  The book is an incredible account, in images and observations, of what people eat across the globe.  No matter your knowledge about food issues you’ll be astonished to learn and see outright what and how much other cultures eat. 

As well, I’ve noticed recently a few new-release cookbooks lists in places like the New York Times and Saveur and thought I’d send a link or two.  One of my favorite new cookbooks this season is called The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco.  The recipes tantalize, such as Raspberry-Pistachio Brown Butter Cake or Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Panna Cotta, but there’s also accesible, straight-forward recipes for things like chocolate pudding and sugar cookies.  I like the layout, the mix of old and new, uppity and low-brow recipes, and her emphasis on the value of variations.  Check it out. 

Finally, Thanksgiving is round the bend here and I thought I’d share a thought or two regarding this year’s holiday.  I am going to be feeding a cramped table of eaters this year and I figured early on that economy would play a larger part than usual when creating the menu.  My guests don’t know it yet but I’m not going to make a bird this year.  I think it’s perfectly acceptable to steer away from tradition once in a while, particularly with the expense of a turkey and of course, the fuss.  I’m not going so far as say, the writer Calvin Trillin, and pronounce that Pasta Carbonara should be the new Thanksgiving dish.  I’m going to make yet another delicous recipe from a book I’m fond of, All About Braising, by Molly Stevens.  The dish is Braised Turkey Thighs with Onions and Buttercup Squash.  Must I mention it again, that dark meat thighs not only have serious flavor (particularly versus white, lean meat) but they are far more economical.  Performing a braise is still a to-do, perfect for a soiree, but much less hassle than cooking a whole bird, much less expensive, and I think, far more interesting.

It’s been a terrific and tumultuous few months here, what with our move and some serious home improvement projects that accompanied, and so I’m glad to be writing to you now from my new desk, on a beautiful afternoon, with a strong cup of coffee at the ready.

One subject that has come up for me a lot lately is choice, the overwhelming array of options.  While trying to make our new home liveable I spent many moments scratching my chin in the aisles of Home Depot.  Not only the vast array of options for me as a consumer left me beat, but how best to use my time, or how to make smart decisions based on the past, present and future.  Anyhow, I know you all feel daunted by options too; it reaches far and wide.  We are too spoiled of a people and it leaves us, I think, dumb, dumb-founded, naive.  I’m always trying to figure out how best to get away from all the pressure of possibilities and multi-tasking that sort of fill the day, but it is hard.  And I certainly want to look out for Riley when it comes to it too, and to make sure that she has my full attention when she needs it.  But it is hard.

Why labor on the subject?  It got me thinking about food and eating.  Yes, we are spectacularly privileged when it comes to food options and accessibility.  But beyond that I was thinking of those moments when I can’t decide what to make for supper, and then it occurs to me…what’s in season now? Ah, relief.  This is simple, what is at the local market and what is at its prime?  Letting nature do the dictating can bring such relief and satisfaction.  Can’t decide what to put on the table tonight?  How about stir-fried eggplant with ginger over a grilled chicken breast?  Braised carrots with pan-fried fish or root vegetable and beef stew?  These all belong in the season.  So, if you’re just feeling generally daunted (as I seem to feel more and more) remember that eating well and deliciously can be an important ritual and healthful habit for the body and mind, and shouldn’t be a stressful thing to pull together when you know what’s growing now.

Here’s a list of what’s in season now:

radishes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, beets, carrots, potatoes, apples, pears, onions, brussel sprouts, parsnips, turnips, winter squash

Braised Carrots

1 1/2 lb carrots, scrubbed and peeled; 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper, 2 teaspoons sugar or honey, few thyme or mint sprigs, 2 tablespoons parsley

Slice the carrots into rounds.  Heat the butter in a wide skillet.  Add the carrots, pinch of salt and pepper, the sugar and herb.  Add water to come just to the top of the carrots.  Bring to a boil, then cover the pan and simmer until the carrots are tender, 10-20 minutes.  Uncover the pan, raise the heat, and reduce the liquid until it’s syrupy.  Continue cooking the carrots until they begin to brown.  Check the seasonings and toss with the parsley.

So very much can happen in one month’s time, especially in the whirlwind that is summer.  First, I must report, and with glee, that we found a house and will close on it next week.  I was anticipating some anxiety around such a purchase and decision, some worry and maybe apprehension, but none of that has come to fruition.  Gladly we are stoked, absolutely ready and rearing to go.  The house, a big green ogre of a place, one hundred and one years old, needs some love and tenderness and then a bit of a makeover.  Can’t wait to sink our teeth into all of that.  (Be certain I won’t have much time to write a post in August, but I will get back to you when I can.)

Now, let’s get back to the strawberry.  Yesterday, a really splendid Saturday, Nate, Riley, and I went to one of my favorite you-pick farms outside of the Cities, Natura Farms, and harvested buckets of absolutely delicious strawberries.  Well, Riley picked then ate, picked then ate, her bucket clean as a whistle when we were done.  Natura doesn’t spray their crops, but care for them in a sustainable way, and they are always kind and welcoming, and have acres and acres of glorious food.  We picnicked by a nearby lake and just listened to the sound of nothing for a while.  Life is, indeed, good.

As well, this last weekend I wandered the St. Paul Farmers Market early on a Sunday and found that I had an opportunity to speak to the Hmong growers in more depth than usual.  The market is made up of more Hmong farmers and their families than any other group, yet they and their produce still remain a mystery.  I sometimes snag some of their greens or herbs, politely thank them, and then take them home and insert them into something I’m making.  But I’ve been really curious lately about how they eat them.  The difficulty is the language barrier and therefore the itimidation factor.  But last weekend I decided to be a bit more brazen and after I bought a really beautiful bunch of rich-colored pink and purple greens from a Hmong vendor who didn’t speak a single word of English, I found a young Hmong woman and asked if she spoke English.  She did, quite well, as I’m sure is due to her age, and asked her about these unusual greens.  Surprisingly, she didn’t know what to do with them, but was so nice and curious herself, that she left her stall, pulled me half way through the market and told me her mom, who was working another stall, would know just what to do with them.  Turns out the greens I bought are a rare, very short-season crop, and that they are used in the same way we would use spinach.  I loved this little discovery and meeting these nice women, who I think were really pleased to answer my questions, and proud.  (By the way, I stir-fried these gorgeous greens and they were so fantastic, bitter and spicy, nearly like a watercress.)

I must put in a plug here too for my upcoming classes this late summer and fall.  With each class I have more and more fun and find that I just love teaching and talking about real food with people.  I’m always trying to come up with clever class ideas and I hope you’ll join me for some of these:

Digging in to the CSA Box at Mississippi Market Co-op in St. Paul (Selby store) on September 30th, Wednesday, from 6-8pm.

Seasonal Suppers at Mississippi Market Co-op in St. Paul (W. 7th store) on October 7th, Wednesday, from 6-8pm.

Favorites from the Ballymaloe at Cooks of Crocus Hill on November 14th, Saturday, from 5-8pm.

(Please visit those websites to get more details and register for classes.) 

Finally, there’s another food that I must mention in my post today and that is the raspberry.  My good friend Liz, who lives in Madison, was telling me she has quite a bit of them on her hands and what to do now.  I mentioned that quick, unusual preserve recipe from the late southern cook Edna Lewis, found in The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper.  Highly recommended, it goes like this:

Edna Lewis’s Sugared Raspberries

2 cups (about 1 pound) fresh, unblemished raspberries; 2 cups sugar

1. Carefully pick over the berries, removing any leaves, foreign objects, or spoiled berries.  Put the berries in a mixing bowl, and pour the sugar over them.  Use two large forks or a potato masher to mash the sugar into the raspberries until they are liquefied and no trace of whole berries is left.  (A blender is not good for this, because it will pulverize some of the berry seeds, which should remain intact.)

2. Transfer the mashed berries to jars and refrigerate for atleast 2 days before using.  Stashed in the refrigerator, these berries are manna from heaven in January.  Eat them straight by the spoonful or on bread, cake, or ice cream.