Straight from the Farm

Okay, who’s the wise guy?  C’mon, this isn’t fair!  How did it get to be August – the fifth day nonetheless - already?!?!   I swear someone’s just messing with me and somehow got my wall calendar, my phone calendar, my computer calendar, and my multiple inbox calendars flipped forward in the middle of the night while I was blissfully unaware in my sleep.  That’s got to be it!

Well, on the off chance that it IS really the fifth day of August, now’s a great time for a chilled side dish that will perk up your wilted lunch breaks or make you look like a rock star at your collective family’s week “down the shore” in that beach house you all rent every year.  Glazed Carrots in Lavender Vinegar sounds really ooo-la-la, but it’s really an easy-peezy dish to make. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Whew, Friday night!  Finally!  Instead of going out to unwind in a bar with my peeps, I thought I’d stay home and tell you about this Green Bean Risotto.  In truth, I could really use a plate of this tonight.  I’m a little tattered around the edges after a long week of intense classes on such inspiring topics as agronomy (the science of soils) and entomology (the science of bugs), not to mention mathematics for professionals in the green industry.  I’m sure you can judge by my tone that I’m not a huge science and math fanatic.  I signed up for all of this classroom fun though so I could be a better organic and sustainable grower, and thus am ultimately pleased as punch to be learning about mud and bugs and (eek) converting improper fractions so I can better construct a greenhouse should I ever choose to do such. 

Is it any surprise then that I’d like a substantial serving of some of the best comfort food imaginable?  Too bad I ate all of it the same day I made it, which happened to be earlier this week, before the pop quiz in botany when my nerves began their unfortunate decent into “frazzled”. 

Okay, I have a secret to share.  No, it’s not the formula for calculating the volume of a square container with tapered sides (I’m not kidding; I have to learn this stuff), but it’s pretty shocking nonetheless.  Here it is: I’ve never made my own risotto before.  GASP!   Seriously, I haven’t.  I always squirmed at the idea of standing around and stirring the stuff for 20 minutes.  And frankly, no risotto I’d had out somewhere had ever piqued my interest enough to make the effort seem worthwhile.

Of course I had to pick the hottest, most humid, late summer day to finally try risotto at home (which, for those of you that are risotto virgins too, involves not one, but two steamy pots right under you the entire time).  Perspiration included (but not in the dish, I’m pretty sure…), it was absolutely, positively, beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt worth it to make risotto at home!  Yes, it was a tad time consuming, but I kept a notepad and pen handy while I was stirring and just jotted down my grocery list and then my to-do list and then a list of friends I really should take the time to call, if only I’d been smart enough to charge my phone before starting to stir…you get the idea. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Let the bean recipe parade continue!  Thanks to some great suggestions by you lovely readers, I’ve jumped out of my tattered box of typical green bean preparations to embrace some interesting uses for these crisp linear vegetables.  I feel enlightened!  And well-fed! 

Today’s recipe is a good bit healthier than my crazy beer-battered string beans.  And, truth be told, it’s not terribly creative as I’m sure you’ve all had some form of Three Bean Salad at a family reunion or other summer potluck dinner.  However, after perusing many a recipe for this dish, I feel fairly confident that mine is the only one that actually uses just three kinds of beans!  Most have at least five, some even had more!  It got me thinking.  Why the heck are they all called three bean salads then?   Do tell if you know!

Read the rest of this entry »

First, before we go any further, let me reassure you that this dish is really quite easy to make.  I swear!  That being said, it’s one of the most impressive plates I’ve put on the dinner table recently.   I had a big grin on my face, feeling all fancy and such.  Even D raised an eye brow and commented on how nice it looked (he rarely notices presentation).

Indeed, it looked like something from the best restaurant in town.  Tasted fantastic too, but that’s no surprise since it’s hard to go wrong with flaky buttery pastry encasing a melody of picked-that-day vegetables and herbs in gravy.  I was just a teeny bit tickled with myself too for coming up with such a great way to use up my onslaught of string beans.

If you have a dinner party coming up, these vegetable pastry boxes would be ideal.  You can prepare the pastry and chill it for up to several hours.  You could also pre-cook the vegetables and chill them.  When it comes time for the guest to arrive, pop the pastry into the pre-heated oven and simmer the vegetables with the gravy in a large skillet until the pastry boxes are ready.  Assembly takes only a minute or two, letting you enjoy time with your guests while still impressing them with a hot main course straight out of the oven!

Read the rest of this entry »

Heat waves on the weekend always push me to hunker down in the house with the air conditioning cranked up (or is that down? ) to 73 chilly degrees.  Pure bliss!  But hiding out from the heat has its potential drawbacks too.  For instance, Sunday evening rolled around and I started thinking about what to make for dinner.   Poking my nose into the fridge, I saw that I had a lot of stuff, but nothing in large quantities, save for a bag of lemon cucumbers picked out of the garden on Friday.  

As much as I love cucumbers, they’re not really a meal.  I started piling the mishmash of produce on the counter in an attempt to figure out a plan of action, one that would avoid stepping out the front door to go to the store.  When you sweat on the way down the deck stairs to get into the car, you know it’s too hot for a grocery run.

I pulled out a couple of plums left from a trip to Headhouse two weeks ago.  Next to them, I put down an onion that I literally picked up (off the ground) from a farm I visited in New Jersey last week.   Then came the bag of nasturtiums, starting to wilt just a bit.  The cucumbers, well, I’ve mentioned those already.  I rediscovered a little ziplock of grape tomatoes our neighbor so generously bestowed - so sweet and juicy.  And finally, there were a few leaves of Swiss chard I’d brought in from the container on the deck.  

Read the rest of this entry »