Ramps! Ramps! Ramps!

[Today's blogpost was originally published in 2012]

It’s that time of year again…ramps season! The farmer’s market has never looked so appealing. Walls of ramps! Little wild leeks that basically haven’t really been commercially farmed yet.

Ramps grow wild by creeks and trickles of running water, so they’re perfect with folks who have soaker hoses that they run fairly regularly.

Bev Eggleston, courtesy of Cynthia Connolly
all rights reserved

Talking with Bev Eggleston at the Dupont Circle farmer’s market on Sunday, I ask him about them. He announced he’d have ramps soon; he normally just sells his incredible pork and other meat products. However, he was saying that a couple of years ago, he had given Cynthia rootstock ramps that he heard she’d planted in her backgarden (see image at the close of this blogpost today).

And lo! They are big and full and ready for prime time now.

There are a myriad things you can do with these gems. The recipes are endless, but I cook them like one might put a scallion directly on the grill after a light olive oil and salt/pepper marinade. These are terrific with grilled meats. Garlicky, but great.

Sundays are Ramps Days!

I find myself wondering what’s up with all these odd vegetables and suchlike showing up at farmers markets and in the forests around the world these days. In the (Manchester) Guardian, they published an article on wild garlic. After having read it, I began to think that Mid-Atlantic ramps might be the same thing.







In her article, the author Karen Homer writes:

“But as welcome as shop-bought offerings of asparagus, young spinach and purple sprouting broccoli are, the real treats don’t come neatly packaged. Right now, anyone fond of a woodland walk has an extra reason to don their wellies: at this time of year wild garlic is prolific.”

Courtesy of Cynthia Connolly
all rights reserved © 2012

Whatever way you look at it, I think that it’s time to take action. No literally, they're only in season for 2-3 weeks:

• Strap on your boots
• Forego the $4.50 per tiny little bunch
• Find a bog near you
• Scoop up these little gems, and
• Cook those ramps up!

Gentlemen, start your engines!

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Saucy Side Dishes, Arugula Pesto

Most evenings after work, it's all I can do to make sure I make an entree for dinner. Tonight: spaghetti. Tomorrow: broiled chicken. Blah. 

After a while, it's like, "Jeeeez, let's just go out to eat." 

Orchiette Swathed in Arugula Pesto

The trick for me is side dishes, sauces, toppings, and other accoutrements that make food more, well, interesting. You'll see in an upcoming post about sweet potato soup, it's not about the soup as much as it is about the candied bacon, the rye croutons, and the drizzle of seasoned butter. 

One of the things that helps bring more characters to a boring ol' chicken breast for me is arugula pesto. The pesto is peppery but soft on the palette quenched by the other flavours that marry nicely. It can also be a garlicky fun time, if you so choose.

The recipe I'll share today is from The Blue Bottle Cookbook. My friend Emily found this gem and it's your lucky day that it's here for you. Why? Because it is simple, fast, and every time I've made it, it's been absolutely perfect.

I struggle with basil-based pestos: 

• They go brown/off-colored quickly unless used immediately. 
• I cannot keep them tasting fresh; they seem to go off quickly or the flavors fizzle in the 'fridge.
• My basil pesto rarely folds or sticks easily and nicely to the pasta.

The reason for these problems? Probably varies, but it's most likely because basil is a tender leaf that is not also chlorophyll-laden, but also vitamin- and mineral- rich. Arugula has none of these challenges. It appears to have virtually no vitamins or minerals of note. A little frustrating because I always thought arugula was healthy for you, but hey, if I'd known this about basil before I wrote this blogpost, I'd have sought out a fool-proof basil pesto recipe. As I say, I'm not aware of one that doesn't tune the pesto into a lemony culinary detour.

In the images I have included here, I've only used this over pasta as you can see. However, this pesto works beautifully over boiled and sliced potatoes. It makes a terrific cold potato salad. But as a warm pasta dish, it's unbeatable. So attractive and so flavorful. Enjoy experimenting with this.

And don't be turned off by the rosemary or the parsley. You don't taste either very much at all. And I've made the same recipe below with 3 cups of arugula and no almonds at all, and it's just as delicious. I'm not sure the nuts are required at all. The way it blends, it's perfect without.

Orchiette Lightly Touched
With Arugula Pesto

Blue Bottle Cookbook's Arugula Pesto

1/2 c almonds

1 c arugula

1 c parsley

1/4 c Parmarsan (pecorino)

Salt

2 T EVOO oil

2 to 3 inches of rosemary leaves fresh

1/4 c water

1 clove garlic

Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Done.

Happy side-dishing. This pesto will bring zing to your humdrum 

weekday dinners.

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balsamic roasted butternut squash

Written on November 24, 2013, by Nicole Cibellis in Slow Food on the weekends

I used to make this recipe for soup, but it is so good by itself, that I have made it my Thanksgiving side dish. It is amazing how the sweetness of the balsamic and molasses caramelize the squash into this savory dish. It is shear perfection. This recipe also easily evolves into many of my favorite left over dishes such as, Ravioli’s or Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.  

Soaking the Butternut Squash in the
Melted Butter and Balsamic/Molasses
Means you can Cook it When You are Ready

Recipe by Michael Chiarello

Servings: 12+

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

·         1 large butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded** and cubed

·         1 stick of butter

·         2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

·         2 tbsp sugar

·         1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

·         1/4 cup dark unsulfured molasses

DIRECTIONS

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.     Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter ceases to foam and has turned light brown, pull pan off of heat and add: sage, sugar, vinegar and molasses. (Stand back – it can splatter), Mix well and let simmer for 2 minutes.

Basic Ingredients Providing a Not-So-Basic Taste!

3.     On a tin foil lined pan, pour sauce over squash and mix thoroughly.

4.     Cook in oven for 1 hour or until soft.

5.     Garnish with sage

** When peeling a butternut squash, it is easiest and best to use a serrated peeler. To cut the squash, use a sharp serrated knife.

Thanksgiving Hangover

Autumn in a Squash Shell

Thanksgiving was a Week Ago–What Would You Make Again and Bring to Work?

As Thanksgiving progressed this year, it became clear to me that it might turn into a lesson on making unique and attractive food side-journeys rather than learning how to make a proper turkey. Out of the depths of the cooking extravagance that is American Thanksgiving came three particularly interesting parts of the meal:

• Delia Smith’s bread sauce,

• Cooki Collinet’s Cranberry Relish, and

• a Bon Appetit recipe for wild rice-stuffed acorn squash.

Delia Smith in a Gravy Boat

These three dining event accents are elements that I would use at just about any dinner. And the acorn squash stuffed with wild rice looked perfect for a reheated lunch at work. I can easily imagine making these ahead of time and then placing them in tupperware for work–pulling out on of these golden squash will blow your colleagues’ minds.

I’ll dole these recommendations out one blog-post at a time, so I don’t overwhelm. Let’s begin with the squash as it seemed the easiest. Now, that’s easy for me to say, as I didn’t have to slice and seed the squash. Cooki told Georges to slice them horizontally, and then seed. Roasting them should have been easier. Instead, not listening to his wife, he sliced them from stem to stern and then looked a whole lot prettier. Not practical, but pretty.

The recipe is a fairly easy to assemble.

Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash

First bake the scooped out squash shells for 30 minutes to 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Take them out and let them cool.

Ready for Dinner

Make one cup of wild rice according to the instructions, then quickly fry up onion with some garlic in oil or butter with salt and pepper add in the chopped herbs near the end, as the onions begin to carmelize.

1/4 stick of butter

2 T lemon juice

2 T crumbled sage leaves

1/3 c chopped dried apricots

1/3 c chopped pecans

1 c finely chopped onions

1-2 garlic cloves minced

Garish of pomegranate seeds and with 1/8 c of finely minced parsley

Wow the visual! And the taste is very nice. These can be done waaaaaay ahead of time and then reheated in the oven just before dinner. Just stick back in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes, if the squash have been sitting at room temperature for the afternoon, add in the cooked rice mixture, and it’ll be ready in 25 little minutes to eat right there.

Or you could bring them to a friend’s house as a side dish, just finish them in your friend’s oven. Let them know ahead of time, but they’ll probably be grateful for the fancy touch to their fall/winter table.

Now imagine bringing these beauties to work!

The reheating solution here, is to refrigerate them overnight and then by the time you get to work, just don’t put them in the fridge when you arrive at 9 a.m. By the time 1 p.m. rolls around, you’ll just need to nuke them for a few minutes slowly. If at room temperature when you start, just cover and start microwaving at 30 seconds. Then let this rest for a minute. 30 more seconds and then place into the toaster oven to finish. Just put on “toast” like you are going to toast a slice of bread until dark or medium dark.

Funny, work places with toaster ovens provide the best lunchtime options, really, for reheating food. You can almost simulate home cooking.

I also think that you could just put the squash in the toaster oven on 400 for 20 minutes if you start with a room temperature squash, and it’ll be ready, tasting like you had made it at home.

One last option, if you get your squash fully thawed before you begin, you can also just scoop out the rice concoction separately and then reheat just the rice. Microwave the squash shell for about one minute separately. Once they’re both done, scoop rice back into the hot shell and toast. This final option should provide you the best approximation of what you had when you made it at home earlier in the week.

Finishing the Dish:

Another nice touch is to finish it with a chicken or turkey-based jus. Make your stock or use some from the Swanson’s box. I’m a big believer in Swansons. Then first fry up a little finely diced onion and a touch of garlic in butter, add in one tablespoon of flour and stir while it gets hot. Add in stock, until it has the consistency of a thin gravy. You don’t want a thick gravy here.

Coming Soon: Cooki's Cranberry Relish

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/thanksgiving-was-a-week-ago-what-would-you-make-again-and-bring-to-work/?preview=true&preview_id=684&preview_nonce=dde9f187c9#sthash.7PgW9uKK.dpuf

Delicata Squash...Thought I Hated it

Well, turns out, I don't hate squash like I thought I did. I don't know if it was the exceptional Mary Sue Milliken/Sue Feniger Spicy City Chicken from my 1985 cook book of theirs that I got back in the day on (...was it La Brea Boulevard) or just this simple, elegant recipe from eatingwell.com, but...I highly recommend you give this puppy a shot.

I just saw Delicata in Whole Foods on the weekend, and in Harris Teeter, so it's definitely still around. Buy some on your way into work this week. Then make it lickety split when you get home. This requires little to no marinading or special treatment.

Perfect for a cool autumnal evening.

Roasted Delicata Squash &Onions

November/December 2010, EatingWell.com

"Roasting intensifies delicata squash’s flavor. Seasoned with rosemary and maple, this recipe’s great with pork or turkey." Or the Two Hot Tamales' Spicy City Chicken, which I'll bring to you later this month. For now, let's start with the easy recipes.

Roasted Delicata Squash & Onions

4 servings, about 1 cup each

Prep: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. delicata squash (about 2 large)

1 medium red onion, sliced

2 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/4 t salt

1 t chopped fresh rosemary

1 T maple syrup

1 T Dijon mustard

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut squash in half lengthwise, then crosswise; scoop out the seeds. Cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Toss with onion, 1 tablespoon oil and salt in a large bowl. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet.

Roast, stirring once or twice, until tender and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes.

Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, rosemary, syrup and mustard in a small bowl. Toss the vegetables with the dressing.

For the record, I tossed it all together at once and roasted everything all at once, and it was great. I think dressing the roasted vegetables at the end isn't a necessary step if you toss and roast all at once. 

For our meal, it was toss, roast, serve. That simple. I encourage you to adapt the recipe as suits your dealio! Enjoy.

TIPS & NOTES

Easy cleanup: To save time and keep your baking sheet looking fresh, line it with a layer of foil before you bake.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 164 calories; 7 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 2 g protein; 6 g fiber; 203 mg sodium; 599 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (430% daily value), Vitamin C (52% dv).

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Heirloom Tomatoes

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Heirloom Tomato Heaven is Here!

I received an email from the folks at my local farmer’s market about a terrible hail storm they’d been through. Isn’t it nice how my local farmers keep me up to date with newsletter-like emails? Then about half way through the newsletter came word of the coming onslaught of August tomatoes.

Nothing makes me smile as much as summer tomatoes at discount prices. They’re invariably “seconds” or #2s as the email below says, but they make incredible Tomato Jam that I’ll share with you soon in another post. (A friend of mine calls Tomato Jam “Adult Ketchup!”)

At any rate, what is it about how local farmers are growing tomatoes better than homegrown? I think they have access to organic fertilizers that we just cannot get in Home Depot. I can only get fish emulsion and a kelp-based emulsion, but there just aren’t better products on the market. Is there anyone out there using a foolproof fertilizer that can make home grown toms taste as good as farmers market heirlooms?

If so, let me know!

Twin Springs Fruit Farm

From the farmers at Twin Springs Fruit Farm

FLAT OUT TOMATO TIME!

The biggest news is the wonderful tomato crop Arturo and the guys are picking, as it is the time of year when you can get the world’s nicest #2 tomatoes from Twin Springs to make into things like gazpacho, roasted or dried tomatoes, soup and sauce, as well as freeze and can for the winter. I sense that the old art of canning and freezing is making a bit of a come back, probably due to so many of you becoming very conscious of what you consume.

Many of my customers have stood there at the seconds display and said something like “these are nicer than most of the other vendors’ #1 tomatoes, what’s with that?” and at ½ the price; and when they get a sample of the same tomato at the “firsts” display they are just floored by how good they are. I should explain that these #2s, priced at only $1.49/pound, simply have a few cracks up at the shoulder or other minor defects which we choose to separate out to keep the #1 display looking terrific. At least 2 long term customers on Sunday said they gave up growing their own tomatoes as they just didn’t compare to ours (You can’t make this stuff up, no lie, even I was surprised to hear it). Must be Tom’s magic “JuJu” juice, secret foliar feed mix, as well as that Highfield Silt Loam fruit ground we are so fortunate to have.

We have a good enough supply to give an even better discount on the #1 beefsteak tomatoes, than the $1 a pound we dropped it a couple of weeks back. Our base price is now $2.99 per pound, but we are moving to the sale we often have at this time where if you purchase 5 or more tomatoes (Not pounds) we will charge you only $2.49 per pound. Half bushels of either #1 or #2 tomatoes may be purchased for $32.00 or $16.00 respectively, which makes #2s about 70¢ per pound and #1s about $1.40 per pound; for our quality I challenge you to beat that deal!

Twin Springs also has Heirloom tomatoes, both Cherokee Purple and German Slicers, as well as Romas. As we are picking lots of cherry tomatoes, both Sungold and Dasher, the price has dropped from $4.oo/½ pint to $4.oo/pint and $7.00/quart.

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/farmers-market-exceeding-homegrown-tomatoes/?preview=true&preview_id=3884&preview_nonce=540ca41ece#sthash.61HhCK5m.dpuf