Good Cookies Gone Bad, Bad Cookies Redeemed

I'm on staycation this week and thought I'd make our favorite cookies:

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts and Orange

Makes 4 1/2 dozen

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract
zest of one orange
2 large eggs
2 cups dark chocolate chips (60% cacao or higher)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Mix the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, orange zest and orange extract in a larger bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture slowly, mixing well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment-covered baking sheets.

Bake for 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Adapted from the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

I pull batch one out of the oven and they were completely flat ~ no discernible rise.  I'd realized when mixing up the batter that I accidentally put the salt and baking soda into the butter mixture and thought that was it.  On to the next batch of dough; same problem.

After double-checking my adaption of the recipe with the original, I realized I had done one thing different this time ~ weighed the flour instead of measuring it.  Per the package, 1/4c is 30g so I added 270g of flour.  That was the problem.

I was fortunate to stumble onto a blog entry on just this issue, Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies, at the Cooking for Engineers site. Michael Chu's analysis in this article says it all.  The key takeaway was that I needed more flour ~ about 80g more.

Additional flour added, the next batch was a significant improvement.  This really is a fantastic cookie!

Grilled Pizza

This week's box contains:

• Strawberries
• Romaine Lettuce (traded for more agretti)
• Red and White Mixed Turnips
• Parsley
• Mystery (shelling peas)
• Leeks
• Agretti
• Red Orach

It's a gorgeous day in Silicon Valley.  We have plans to meet friends later today to grill pizzas and enjoy the sunshine.

Grilling pizza is a tricky, but rewarding, process.  The pizzas that result from this method are beyond compare.  Here are two toppings made from this week's box, but let your imagination run wild.  Instructions on grilling pizzas can be found here.

Two Grilled Pizzas

Lemon-Garlic Agretti with Fresh Chèvre
Tops one 15" pizza.

1 bunch agretti, cleaned and chopped in to bit-sized segments
2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely diced
2 T olive oil
1 t salt
juice and zest of one small lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
red pepper flakes to taste

Saute shallot and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add agretti and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add salt, wine, lemon juice and lemon zest, cooking till liquid is evaporated.  Set aside.

Spread agretti evenly on prepared pizza crust, top with dollops of chèvre and return to the grill.  Cook till heated through.  Serve with Sauvignon Blanc.


Mushroom-Leek Pizza
Tops one 15" pizza.

1 recipe white bean purée (below)
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 T olive oil
1/2 pound white button mushrooms, sliced (~ 3 cups)
2 large leeks, or several small, cleaned and sliced (~ 3 cups)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
parsley, finely chopped

Soak the dried  porcini in hot water for 30 minutes or more.  Remove from soaking liquid and finely chop; set aside.  Porcini can be gritty, so take care to discard any undesirable pieces.

Heat half the olive oil in pan over high heat; add white mushrooms and sear, stirring as little as possible (you're after the carmelization).  Cook till golden brown and the liquid released by the mushrooms as evaporated.  Add the porcini soaking liquid (avoiding any grit from the mushrooms) and simmer till the pan is nearly dry.   Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining oil to the pan along with the leeks and salt and pepper to tasted.  Cook for 3 minutes till the leeks begin to soften.  Add the garlic and porcini, cover, and cook till leeks are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the wine to deglaze the pan, cooking till pan is nearly dry.  Remove from heat.

Spread prepared crust with white bean purée and top with sauteed mushrooms and leeks.  Return to the grill and cook till heated through.  Serve with Chardonnay.

Recipe adapted from adapted from Fields of Greens by Annie Sommerville, page 172.


White Bean Purée

1 pound white beans
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1.5 t dried savor leaves
vegetable stock or water

Add all ingredients to stock pot, bring to a boil, then simmer till the beans are tender.  Drain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid.  Combine the beans and 1/3 cup cooking liquid in a blender or food processor.  Process till it reaches the desired consistency, adding more cooking liquid as necessary.

Recipe adapted from The Vintner's Table by Mary Evely, page 149.

A quick note on wine pairing.  Hands down, the very best reference I've ever found on the topic is the Mary Evely book noted above.  The book is organized by varietal and at the beginning of each is a "profile" for each, clearly summarizing food affinities and food conflicts for the varietal across each of the following categories: seafood, meat and poultry, herbs and spices, sauces, cheese and nuts, and finally, fruits and vegetables.  She also recommends the best methods of preparation.  Commentary on substitutions are peppered throughout the book.  While the recipes are great, I use this book to tweak recipes to pair well with the wine I've chosen or to choose a wine for the meal we have planned.

As for the rest of the box contents, our plan is as follows:

Strawberries
Cleaned and frozen for smoothies.

Red and White Mixed Turnips
Stored for roasting, or perhaps a turnip purée, later this week.

ParsleyWe'll reserve some to garnish the pizzas, but the rest went immediately into parsley-walnut pesto (one of my all time favorites).

[Herb of your Choice]-Walnut Pesto
... makes 25 - 2 tablespoon servings

3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 bunch herb of choice, ends trimmed
1 large garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon mellow barley miso
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender, adjust salt and pepper and use or freeze.

Shelling Peas
Going to try to make tarts to serve for lunch tomorrow.  My good friends are coming over to do a little work related brainstorming, so the least I can do is feed them well.  I got the idea from the 101 Cookbooks entry Fresh Shelling Peas: Four Ways. 

Red Orach
We use this just like spinach.   Some night this week it will be cleaned, chopped, and tossed into whatever we are eating to sneak in a few more veggies.

Family Heirloom Recipes

Holidays like Thanksgiving are rich in tradition.  Many families repeat the same meal year after year, generation to generation.

One family heirloom recipe from my mother's side is "pink dip".  My grandmother, Nonie, made it often and it was a standard part of our holiday meals.  It's a chip dip recipe from the 50s that goes incredibly well with salty things, like pretzels and potato chips.

Careful, it is addicting.

Nonie's Pink Dip
Makes just over 2 cups.

4 - 3oz packages of Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature
2T plus 2t milk
2T plus 2t red french dressing, like Kraft Catalina
1/2 cup ketchup
2t Reese onion juice
1/4t salt

Combine and blend till smooth.

What are your favorite heirloom recipes?

Individual Cipollini Onion Tartes Tatin

As I mentioned in the last post, I have a great appreciation for "fiddly" food.  To me this means a purposeful dish that is visually appealing, elegantly presented, intensely flavored, usually very small and often time intensive to prepare.

The cipollini onions in this week's box were the perfect opportunity to fiddle.  A quick Google on "onion tatin" landed me at the Really Nice Recipes web site and, not surprisingly, a really nice recipe to use as a base.

My variations were few, though would make a few more on the next pass.  This recipe is definitely a keeper and would make a great first course, a sweet accompaniment to a cheese plate, or an elegant and unique autumn dessert.

Individual Cipollini Onion Tartes Tatin

Serves 6 as a first course

6 cipollini onions, about 3" diameter

1 ounce sugar, ultra fine

1/2t fresh thyme or 1t dried (fresh strongly recommended over dried)

1/4c water

1 sheet puff pastry

parchment paper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and pull puff pastry sheet from freezer to thaw.  Next, clean and halve onions, set aside.  Cut the parchment into squares, roughly 4" by 4", and arrange on a baking sheet. 

Combine sugar, thyme and water in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and cook until a light caramel has formed; should be the color of honey.  Place a small amount of the caramel on each piece of parchment and top with an onion half, cut side down.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, roll and score the puff pastry, then cut 12 - 3.5" circles using cutters like these from Ateco.  Remove the onions from oven and allow to cool.  Top each with a circle of puff pastry, tucking the pastry tightly around the onion.  Return to the oven and cook for 20 minutes, keeping an eye on the pastry; remove from the oven when it is browned to your liking.

Once out of the oven, invert the tartes and remove the parchment immediately.  Allow to cool slightly and enjoy!

These are sweet, so next time around I'd consider a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar or serving with a small bit of fresh goat cheese.

Parmesan Corn Risotto Cakes

For dinner tonight, we took inspiration from my friend Karen.  Given that we started cooking at 7pm, we skipped making the cakes and went right for the risotto, topping it with some homemade salsa.

Parmesan Corn Risotto Cakes
from Karen at Promoting Central Indiana's Local Food Culture

Fresh Corn Stock:
4 ears fresh corn kernels removed and reserved
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves crushed
2 bay leaves
Few sprigs fresh oregano, parsley, thyme
1 tsp. black peppercorns
2 tsp. coarse salt
8 c. cold water

Place stock ingredients into a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes.  Strain and keep warm (you will need 4-5 cups in total for this recipe).

Risotto Cakes:
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. Arborio rice
2 c. fresh corn
1 c. white wine (optional)
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. fine cornmeal (I have made these with and without these ingredient - just depends on how "crispy" you like these)

Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy saucepan and sauté onion and garlic until translucent.  Add the rice and cook stirring until the rice is well coated.  Add the corn, season with salt and sauté several minutes.  Pour in the wine and simmer until absorbed.  Now start adding warm corn stock, one cup at a time.  Keep stirring and add the next cup of stock only when most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice looks creamy.  When the rice is tender but the grains still lightly firm to the bite remove risotto from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.  Season to taste and spread the risotto into a baking pan to speed cooling.  Cover and refrigerate.  The recipe can be prepared up to this point one or two days in advance. 

To sauté the cakes, form the risotto into round cakes and dredge in cornmeal.  Fry in hot olive oil until golden and crispy on both sides.

The risotto was fantastic and paired incredibly well with the salsa.   Formed into cakes and fried as Karen recommends, this would make an amazing first course.

Wasabi Teriyaki

Short on time and in need of a marinade for veggie kabobs, I stumbled across Soy Vay's Wasabi Teriyaki
at Whole Foods today.  This sauce is amazing!

I marinated the following for about 2 hours, assembled the skewers, then grilled the kebobs:

• zucchini
• white button mushrooms
• eggplant
• tofu
• red bell peppers
• yellow onions

My only regret is that I didn't buy two bottles, reserving one for dipping sauce.  So easy and extremely flavorful.  There is a bit of heat from the wasabi, but subtle enough that the kids in the crowd did not seem to notice.

I just ordered a six-pack of "wasabiyaki".  The first dish I have in mind is warm soba noodles with  shredded carrot and cucumber...

Tried and True Recipe for Summer's Bounty: Panzanella

A few recipes have surfaced in my repertoire as "tried and true" ways to make a quick, satisfying, beautiful meal with the ingredients on hand. Sure, there are some cornerstone ingredients that must be available, but with them on your side you can quickly make a meal suitable for guests. Those recipes are:

• Stir-fry (cornerstone ingredient: cooked rice)

• En Papillotte (cornerstone ingredient: foil, parchment -- can also be done in covered pan)

• Tartines (cornerstone ingredient: fresh baguette)

• Pasta (cornerstone ingredient: um, pasta)
  

• Panzanella (cornerstone ingredient: day-old baguette)
  

Tonight's fine meal allowed me to work through several ingredients from the farmer's market and remaining bits from our CSA box.

Today's Panzanella
Serves 2

1/3 sourdough baguette (any artisanal bread can substitute)
1T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2t parsley, minced
1c baby arugula
.5c cherry tomatoes
.5c fresh peas
1 purplette onion, minced (small shallot is a good substitute)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the baguette in half length-wise, then slice; the pieces of bread should be bite sized. Toss bread with 1/2 the olive oil, salt, and 1/2 the garlic -- toast in oven at 350 degrees till bread begins to brown -- 3-5 minutes; the bread should be crisp. Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and toss with remaining garlic, olive oil, arugula, parsley, peas and onion. Remove the bread from the oven, mix into the salad mixture, and serve.

Day old bread is the cornerstone ingredient. Everything else can be based on what you have on hand. If you don't have tomatoes, which add liquid, you can use vinaigrette. Fresh vegetables are important too.

A word of caution: panzanella does not hold well, so prepare it just before serving and make just enough, not more.

Roasted Fennel Tartines

I'm not a big fan of fennel. Happy to make pesto from the fronds, but the bulbs are never something I look forward to eating. This week's CSA newsletter recommended topping crostini with roasted fennel and goat cheese, so I thought I'd expand on that to make tartines -- open faced baguette sandwiches.

Roasted Fennel Tartines
rustic baguette
roasted fennel bulbs
fresh goat cheese
arugula
orange vinaigrette

Allow the goat cheese to come to room temperature. Slice baguette in thirds crosswise and slice each section in half lengthwise. Spread with goat cheese to taste (you can use white bean pate as a vegan alternative to cheese). Top with roasted fennel and put under the broiler until the bread begins to brown; remove from oven.

Mix arugula with the orange vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Top the warm tartines with the salad mixture. Enjoy!

Just in case you don't have an easy recipe for roasted fennel, here you go.

Roasted Fennel
fennel bulbs, halved and sliced thin
olive oil
lemon zest
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roast for 20 minutes until the fennel is beginning to brown.

This recipe really worked; the flavor combination was fantastic. A few ingredients are worth a mention:

• Nicolau Farms Chevre: Along with the rest of the fresh ingredients (besides the fennel), I found this cheese at the Mountain View Farmers' Market.

• Maldon Sea Salt: You can see it on top of the tartine above; both the taste and the texture of this salt were amazing. I also love the way it looks.
  

Warm Mixed Greens with Ginger-Miso Dressing

Excellent dinner tonight. We combined a few recipes with the ingredients on hand to come up with the following:

Warm Mixed Greens with Ginger-Miso Dressing
Serves 2

12c mixed greens, chopped (we used dandelion, beet, chard, and romaine)
1T sesame oil
1t toasted sesame oil
1T black sesame seeds
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 recipe quick radish pickles
1 recipe ginger-miso dressing

Make radish pickles and ginger-miso dressing, set aside. Heat sesame oil in large skillet. Add garlic and saute till fragrant. Add greens, stirring frequently till wilted. Add toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds, mix well. Drain greens if necessary; add radish pickles and ginger-miso dressing. Mix well and serve.

This dish stands well on its own, but would nicely top barley, brown rice, or udon. 12c may seem like a tremendous amount of greens, but they cook down significantly.

The picture below is the first tomato to appear in our garden. Our peaches and plums are just about to come into season, so we'll have plenty to keep us busy till the tomatoes are ready.

Zucchini Pesto Gratin

Dinner tonight sets us up nicely for the new box tomorrow. Following this dish, we'll have consumed all the legacy veggies and will be ready for a new batch.

I had some over zealous basil plants, 4 zucchini, some mozzarella, and some frozen marinara sauce, thus the zucchini pesto gratin was born. Using my absolute favorite recipe for pesto, below, I sliced the zucchini, tossed it with the pesto, placed in a 10" round gratin, and topped with about 1c mozzarella. The entire pan was covered with foil so the cheese would melt down into the zucchini and form a sauce that would give the dish some structure as it cooled. I baked the concoction at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, removed the foil, and baked for an additional 15 minutes. in the meantime, I cooked down the marinara to a thick, flavorful tomato sauce. The gratin was sliced like a pie and topped with the tomato sauce. Fantastico!

However ... if I were to do it again, I'd drastically reduce or eliminate the oil in the pesto for this dish in particular. Water might be a good substitute. The amount of basil, etc. was great, but there was a fair amount of seepage. Worth noting that I would *not* precook the zucchini -- it had a very pleasant crunch (not al dente) that added to the dish.

[Herb of your Choice]-Walnut Pesto
... makes 25 - 2 tablespoon servings

3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted (*far* better than pine nuts)
1 bunch herb of choice, ends trimmed
1 large garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon mellow barley miso
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender, adjust salt and pepper and use or freeze.

This pesto is incredible by itself on a spoon or used any of the ways you see pesto in the wild. It freezes amazingly well.

This pesto recipe comes from the Voluptuous Vegan, by Myra Kornfeld.

I'd like to point you towards a blog entry, and a tremendous accomplishment, my friend Karen (and her partner ChefThomE) posted earlier today: Looks Like We Made It!

Karen and ChefThomE have lived locally for one solid year -- in Indiana -- which is much more of a challenge than California. (I feel OK saying that since I grew up in Illinois and now live in California -- there is a difference! No state rivalries implied, just kudos to Karen and ChefThomE!) Many of their top 10 lessons learned ring true for me, but this one in particular stands out in our meal tonight:

You will cook more creatively with limited supplies. Let's face it, the beginning of Spring is a tough time for dining locally at your own home. The winter supplies have dwindled. The spring crops have yet to arrive. You will become incredibly resourceful when you start to evaluate what you can make with apples, green beans, corn on the cob, pureed peppers and plums. Danger: There are no known recipes that contain all these ingredients!

I've had a chance this week to experiment with the food on hand and making something satisfying and enjoyable - without a trip to the store. Far, far better than the alternatives.

Congratulations Karen and ChefThomE! You made it!

Warm Mustard Green & Barley Salad

Using the sweet radish pickles I made Sunday, today's lunch is a warm mustard green and barley salad, with a few additional bits added for flavor.


I started with a batch of Japanese Barley and Rice from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann and built from there. The base recipe calls for barley and short grain brown rice cooked with white miso (see page 154). It takes quite a while, so plan ahead.

Warm Mustard Green & Barley Salad
Serves 2

1 bunch mustard greens, chopped
2c Japanese Barley and Rice (prepared as mentioned above)
1c sweet radish pickles, diced
4oz seasoned baked tofu, diced (I used Soy Deli's Honey Sesame)
2T sesame seeds, toasted
1T toasted sesame oil
2t ume plum vinegar

Sweat the mustard greens till just tender. Add the toasted sesame oil, ume plum vinegar and sesame seeds. Mix well. Add the barley/rice mixture, integrate and heat through. Remove from heat and toss with pickled radishes. Enjoy!

The bits of sweet pickled radish were a perfect complement to the bitterness of the greens and absolutely made the dish. The only possible change I'd make would be adding a bit if heat -- maybe a pinch of wasabi?

"Steady As She Goes"

Notes and meals from the past week.

My family
"The" Family

Wednesday: Caramelized Spring Onion pizza with goat cheese and bacon (green garlic, oregano)

Thursday: Caramelized Spring Onion tart with goat cheese (oregano), Salad of cucumber, French Breakfast Radish and feta on Red Butterhead lettuce, Sauteed Collard Greens with bacon, Green Garlic and Leek Risotto, Strawberry Shortcake. Also a roasted vegetable and sausage pasta (broccoli).

Friday: Curried Collard Greens with Chickpeas (Wilgenburg tomato, green garlic, oregano and spring onion), Chicken sauteed with butter and green garlic.

At dinner Friday my daughters and I polished off 3 apriums and 2 apples. The Honeyrich apriums have this incredible sweet meat and tart flesh which I love. The Enterprise apples are wonderful. Dense, crisp and just the right amount of tartness. The Pink Lady was nice too, but Enterprise is my new favorite.

I would have to say that my favorite dish was the Curried Collard Greens with Chickpeas (see photo). Greens and beans are one of my favorite combinations. I will often add sausage and sometimes pasta. But tonight I was channeling the Braised Greens and Almond Butter dish at Calafia in Palo Alto. Here's what I did.

• Green garlic bulb, sliced


• Spring onion, sliced (this was one from my own garden that my darling daughter decided to harvest a tad early. It was larger than a scallion, about the diameter of a nickle)


• Collard greens, stems removed and sliced into ribbons


• Canned chickpeas, drained


• Curry Powder


• Oregano


• Tomato, diced

Saute garlic and onion in butter with a pinch of salt until tender. Add
greens, toss. Add chickpeas, curry powder and oregano. Saute until greens start to soften, add a bit of water if necessary. When the greens are just about as tender as you like them add the tomato. I added mine early on and they lost a bit of their integrity, but I liked it, so it's a personal call. Adjust
seasoning.

You could use any leafy green for this dish. I've made similar dishes with Swiss Chard, Kale and Spinach.

Grilled Pizza

It has been that kind of weekend. The weather was gorgeous, so cooking outside felt best.

Tonight we decided to grill pizzas for a change of pace, loosely following Heidi Swanson's Grilled Pizza recipe. We've grilled pizza before, following the Cook's Illustrated technique the last few times. Regardless of who's method you follow, it is a fast-paced, slightly tricky endeavor.

You start by shaping the dough as you would for a pizza cooked in an oven.



Then you brush the dough with olive oil and place the oiled side on a hot grill.



Cover the grill and let the dough cook for 2-3 minutes, checking frequently. When the crust is done to your liking, take the crust off the grill, placing the raw side up. Brush again with olive oil and flip onto a flat surface (freshly oiled side down).

Dress the pizza to your tastes and return to the grill.







Cover the grill and let the bottom of the crust cook while the cheese melts, checking the bottom of the crust frequently. The pizza is done when it looks good to the eater; tolerance for coloring of crust and expectations for the melting of cheese vary widely ...





Grilled pizzas are incredible, though vastly different than the run-of-the-mill delivery variety.



A few items of note:

• Thickness of the dough when it goes on the grill makes a difference. First, remember it's bread and will rise as it cooks. Thick dough makes for thicker crust. Second, consistency of thickness makes cooking easier. If its thin in the middle and thick on the edges, you run the risk of a perfectly crisp center and uncooked edges. Consistently thin dough works best.
  
• Juicy ingredients, like the sauteed spinach and pineapple we had on hand, can make for soggy pizza. Drain everything well.
• You'll likely make several pizzas, so it is fun to let your guest make their own individual pizzas. Little pizzas are easier to manage as well...
  
• Putting the lid on the grill is a big deal. You want heat all around the pizza to ensure the crust cooks through and the cheese melts.

Grilling pizza takes practice to master, but it is fun and well worth the effort. Plan to have extra dough and extra toppings so you can make a few practice pizzas while you get the hang of it. While it might seem like a minimalist menu, all you really need for this meal is the pizza and the beverages of your choice.

Well, maybe a little bit of dark chocolate wouldn't hurt...

Grilled Peaches

In addition to the plum tree I've written about recently, we have a humble peach tree in our backyard. It's small and a bit neglected, but produces amazing fruit.

For dessert tonight, we decided to use the embers remaining from dinner to grill some peaches.

While I'm intuitive in some areas, cooking is not one of them. The peaches are literally falling off the tree, so there was nothing to lose.

The results were exceptional.

Grilled Peaches

1 peach per person
brown sugar (~1/4t per half peach)
butter (~1/2t per half peach)
nutmeg, freshly grated (~1 twist per half peach)
cinnamon (1 pinch per half peach)

Slice each peach in half and top with brown sugar, butter, nutmeg and cinnamon.



Place peaches, cup side up, on the grill over a low fire. Cover grill and let cook for 5 minutes. Covering the grill is an important step.



Plate and serve as is or with vanilla ice cream.

A few items of note:

• The brown ball you see inside the peach is actually a clump of brown sugar, not a pit. Next time we'll crumble the sugar before topping the peach.
  
• Nutmeg is best freshly grated. We use the Nut Twister nutmeg mill. Admittedly, a bad name for a product, but it is a great tool.
• Cinnamon. Wouldn't go so far as grating cinnamon sticks, but do take care with the ground cinnamon we keep on hand. Two favorites include China Cassia Cinnamon and Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon from Penzeys.
• The butter was 'heavy' relative to the peaches; we'll try almond or hazelnut oil next time.
• Chopped, toasted nuts would be a good addition, matching the nuts to the nut oil.
• Ginger anyone?

As a side note, we tried these with a 2001 Joh. Jos Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatelese -- highly recommended pairing.

In your box this week: 03/14/2007

Tomorrow is the day -- the first box of the season. We are looking forward to the following from Two Small Farms:

Leeks
Carrots
Cooking Green: one of the following two possibilities: kale or spigarello
Fennel
Parsley
Turnips
Radishes
Pippin Apples
Cabbage: Either Red or Savoy

All are on the 'like' and 'know what to do with' lists except radishes.

Owl Bar Fire Pit -- Sundance
Originally uploaded by michellefleury.

I just never know what to do with radishes. Thankfully, I stumbled upon an incredible salad at the Sundance Tree Room restaurant this past weekend. If memory serves, the salad consisted of frisee, roasted baby beets, sliced radishes, and blood orange segments in a citrus vinaigrette -- all topped with a nice chunky sea salt and freshly grated black pepper.

Another certainty is making my favorite pesto, adapted from The Voluptuous Vegan.

Parsley-Walnut Pesto
... makes 25 - 2 tablespoon servings

3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 bunch parsley, ends trimmed
1 large garlic clove, pressed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon mellow barley miso
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender, adjust salt and pepper and use or freeze.

This pesto is incredible by itself on a spoon or used any any of the ways you see pesto in the wild. It really does freeze amazingly well; we've just used some from last fall and it was delicious.

Nutritional Information (per the Calorie Counter at MyFoodDiary.com)
Calories: 51, Total Fat: 5.2g, Saturated Fat: .6g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 37mg, Carbohydrate: .9g (.4g dietary fiber, .2g sugar), Protein: .7g

I'm planning a vegetable tagine with couscous for dinner tomorrow using the greens, turnips and carrots with a few other items added, like chickpeas and ras el hanout from my dear friend Mohamed. Aside from that I hope to make a veloute from the fennel and the leeks. I'll eat the apples raw.

Ambitious plans for the first box of the year no doubt ...

Getting Started with a CSA

The process of getting started with a CSA is very simple. The key steps are as follows:

1. Find a CSA farm in your area. I found our CSA farm, Two Small Farms, through the Local Harvest website.
   
   
2. Contact a few farms and compare their programs. The factors we used to make our choice were frequency of the shares (boxes of food), convenience of connecting with the food, farming practices, such as organic or not, variety of food, and of course, cost. We pick up a box of fruits and vegetables once a week at a house one-half mile from our own.
   
   
3. Try it out! Many farms offer a short term trial. Taking advantage of such a trial gives you the ability to check out the volume and quality of food. Two Small Farms offers a four week trail, which we found very useful.
   
   
4. Change the way you think about eating. I used to eat what I craved regardless of season. With a CSA, you eat what is ready when it is ready. You can of course augment the seasonal food with whatever you like, but you still have seasonal food to consume.
   
   
5. Adjust your existing shopping habits. I used to plan and shop on Sundays. With a CSA, this did not work as the contents of the box weren't always available to plan around. I got in the habit of keeping staples on hand and stopping at a market for any bits needed to complete a meal around the contents of the box.
   
   
6. Adjust your cooking habits. Fresh food is perishable, some more than others. You will need to take a look at what is in the box and use the most perishable items first.

Our first few weeks with our share were challenging.

• There was a lot of food, some of which one or both of us did not normally eat. We sadly tossed as much as we ate till we got the hang of it. We started eating new things, we learned new ways to store food and to prepare food for long term storage and we learned to share our food with family and friends.
  
• We are busy people who were used to eating in restaurants five nights a week. Cooking can feel like work, not to mention doing dishes. It took a while for us to fully appreciate what this meant. The time commitment, the absence of service, and the responsibility. The personal satisfaction, the enjoyment of the food itself, and the privilege. We changed the way we think about eating and now see cooking as self-care, not a chore.
  

What is a CSA?

So what exactly is a CSA? CSA stands for "community supported agriculture". According to the USDA, a CSA is:

"Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing."

To me a CSA is a way to sustain my family through high quality food, my community through local investment, and the planet through encouragement of sustainable agriculture by "voting with my dollars".

I learned about CSA from Jane Goodall in her book Harvest for Hope. Jane covers a lot of ground in her book, all incredibly enlightening. I personally had no idea what went into the production of the food we eat daily and was shocked by what I learned. I changed the way I live and changed the way I feed my family and friends.

The purpose of this blog is to share some of what I've learned about CSAs. My goal is to share enough realistic information with others to allow them to make an informed choice about participating in a CSA themselves. My plan is to document what we get in our box and how we use it, including recipes, every week this season. I'll start by introducing the CSA and how to get started.