Conversations on Food

Brussels Sprouts are at their peak right now, and we’ve been preparing them in lots of different recipes.  These little green vegetables have an undeserved bad reputation, largely because most people don’t really know how to cook them.  If you overcook brussels sprouts, just as with cabbage, you’ll have with a stinky, unappealing result.  Treat them right, and they’re delicious, beautiful, and perfect for the holidays.  If you’d like to saute your brussels sprouts, you’ll want to par-cook them first – toss into a pot of rapidly boiling water, cook about 2 minutes, remove and shock with cold water to stop the cooking and then saute.  If you’d like to roast them, no pre-cooking is necessary.  Here’s one roasted brussels sprouts recipe that Nadine made recently.   It’s a holiday favorite.

Ingredients
15-20 brussels sprouts, depending on size (or enough to feed your guests)
3-4 shallots
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
sea salt to taste

Method
1. Toss brussels sprouts with olive oil and roast at 35oF for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, peel and slice the shallots and pan fry with salt and olive oil until soft.  Add 2-3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar and continue cooking, developing a glaze, until shallots are very soft.
3. Mix the shallots with the brussels sprouts and serve!

It’s extra chilly this week, and we’ve got snow!  This soup is a perfect winter warmer.  Our Broccoli at the farm is still snappy and fresh, and with good local cream, it can’t be beat.  I’ll be making some this weekend.  Pick up a loaf of crusty balthazar bread and try the recipe yourself!  - Nadine

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion
2-4 cups chicken stock or water
1 large or 3 small heads of Broccoli, chopped
fresh parsley, sea salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup cream, more if you like

Method

1. Sweat onions and garlic in olive oil or butter over medium heat until slightly soft.  Add broccoli and continue to cook.
2. Add chopped fresh parsley to taste, and then 2-3 tablespoons of flour to the vegetables and stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. Add stock or water to cover and bring to a boil. Strain, reserving some of the cooking liquid.
4. When soup has cooled a bit, blend gently, either in batches in a blender, or using an immersion blender.
5. Add cream until soup reaches desired consistency.  You can add back in some of the cooking liquid.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

This week I’m making Black Bean Stew.  It’s simple, warm and uses lots of vegetables.  Come by this weekend and taste it, and then make your own! ~Nadine

Ingredients
2 stalks Celery
2 leeks1 winter squash(rough chop)
2 carrots
3 cloves garlic
2-3 cups dry black beans

Method
1. Soak Black Beans overnight in water.
2. Several hours before you want to prepare the soup, start cooking your beans in fresh water with a bay leaf.  Water should cover the beans by at least a couple of inches, but you can always add more if it gets low.  Cook the beans until they’re nearly done and then set aside.
3. Saute vegetables in olive oil or butter for 5-10 minutes over medium heat.
4. Combine vegetables and cooked beans in a large soup pot.  Add stock or more water to cover and bring soup to a simmer – you don’t want to overcook the beans!
5. Add cumin and chili powder to taste.  If you have dry peppers, put them in a cheese cloth and let simmer in the soup.
6. Season with salt to taste.
Garnish with sour cream, or creme fraiche, and serve with some crusty Balthazar bread!

The Thanksgiving meal is a rich one, to be sure, and even if you only take a bit of each dish on the table, you always seem to end up stuffed. Sometimes, in the week after Thanksgiving, we feel like keeping it a clean when it comes to cooking – taking a break from rich, hearty comfort foods, and instead savoring kale, spinach, light soups and even fall salads. Here are a few suggestions from our farm’s kitchen to yours.

Fall Salad
Make a mixed salad of our mesclun, lettuces, and some finely shredded young kale. Grate a carrot or two and add to the greens in a large bowl. Make a simple dressing with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and small amounts of dijon mustard and maple syrup. Toss the salad lightly with the dressing. Some toasted walnuts and dried cranberries are a nice addition.

Spigarello Cider Saute
Chop some spigarello (or any braising green) and saute in a small amount of olive oil or butter for a few minutes. If you like, saute some red onion first and then add the greens. Add about 1/4 cup or less of local apple cider, stir and cover. Let cook for 4-5 minutes until spigarello is bright green but cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

Turkey Stock with Kale
If you hung onto your turkey carcass after the big feast, try making a simple stock. Simply add water to cover the carcass and add salt and pepper, fresh thyme and parsley, a few carrots, some celery and an onion. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 2-3 hours, adding water as needed to keep the volume up. Strain the stock and discard vegetables and bones, return liquid to the pot, and add lots of chopped fresh kale. Cook until just wilted.

Sauteed Spinach
It’s so simple it seems odd to list it as a recipe, but simply sauteed spinach is so delicious – particularly fall spinach, which is especially rich in flavor. Melt about a tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a pan and add fresh spinach. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until spinach is completely wilted. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Every family has their favorite Thanksgiving Dishes, whether it’s pumpkin pie, stuffing, or something a little more unusual, like cabbage sauteed with apples, or brussels sprouts with bacon and thyme.  We have our favorites too, and in the spirit of the tastiest holiday of the year, we’d like to share a few of them with you.

Guy’s Roasted Vegetables
This simple and delicious recipe is a great way to use up lots of different root vegetables, and to add a colorful dish to your Thanksgiving table.  Guy makes it every year.
Ingredients (amounts can change based on how many people you’re cooking for!)
baby turnips
small carrots
beets
parsnips
butternut squash
onions
fingerling potatoes
olive oil, salt & pepper
fresh rosemary and thyme
Method
1. Peel and chop butternut squash and onions into bite size chunks
2. Chop carrots, turnips, carrots and parsnips into chunks (no need to peel)
3. Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme.
4. Roast, covered, at 300F for 45 minutes.  At the same time, roast beets separately, also covered, with a bit of water in the bottom of the pan.  You can leave the beets whole, and peel when they’re done.
5. 20 minutes before mixed vegetables are done, uncover, stir once or twice, and raise heat to 375F.  Continue roasting until vegetables are crispy  and cooked through.
6. When beets are easily pierced with a butter knife, they’re done – remove from the oven and run under cold water while you slip the skins off.  Chop beets and mix with other vegetables once everything is done – this prevents your whole dish from turning red.

Nadine’s Mashed Potatoes
This dish is one of Nadine’s specialties.  It’s a classic mashed potato dish with a surprising twist – Tonjes Farm Blue Cheese mixed in at the end!
Ingredients
Yukon Gold Potatoes
salt + pepper to taste
milk, cream or creme fraiche
butter
Tonjes Farm Blue Cheese – available at our market!
Method
1. Peel and quarter potatoes, add to a large pot with water to cover, with several whole garlic cloves and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked through
3. Drain, keeping the garlic with potatoes, and either mash by hand, or put through a ricer for a fine consistency.
4. Mix in butter, milk or cream, salt and pepper.
5. At the very end, add some crumbled Blue Cheese, to your taste.

Anne’s Skillet Cranberry Sauce
This recipe is so much better than canned cranberry sauce. We’ve got beautiful fresh cranberries from Maine (where Anne grew up).
Ingredients
1 lb fresh cranberries
2 cups brown sugar or maple syrup (less if you like them more tart)
quarter cup brandy or rum (optional)
Method
1. Place cranberries in a large cast iron skillet and pour maple syrup or brown sugar over them, stirring gently to coat.  Cover pan and cook in the oven at 250F for about an hour.  Add optional liquor and continue cooking 10-15 minutes.  Do not stir!  You can do the finally cooking while the liquor evaporates over a low heat on the stovetop.

Ingredients
For the Soup:
1 onion, chopped
1 winter squash, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bag spinach
2 stalks celery
2 cup lentils
8 cups stock or water
salt and pepper to taste

For the Croutons
several slices whole wheat bread
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method
For the Soup
1. Saute onions over medium heat in olive oil or butter for 3-4 minutes
2. Add winter squash, carrots, garlic and celery cook 5 minutes more, stirring continuously.
3. Add lentils, water or stock, salt and pepper bring to a boil.
4. Reduce Heat and allow to simmer until vegetables are soft and soup has thickened.  If you like it thinner, just add more liquid!
6. Add spinach when soup is about 5 minutes from being done, and cook until spinach is wilted.

For the Croutons
1. Chop whole wheat bread into chunks and toss lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper
2. toast on a baking sheet in the oven at 250F until crispy and dry
Note: You can store un-used croutons in a plastic bag once cool.

Serve Soup topped with a few croutons in each bowl.  Fresh Parsley is a nice addition.

Jerusalem Artichokes, or Sunchokes have a very earthy flavor and a wide variety of uses in the kitchen.

The name can be deceiving – sunchokes are the tuber of a particular variety of perennial sunflower, and are not related to artichokes at all.   As a general rule, you can use sunchokes like pototatoes.  Try them sliced them and sauteed in butter or olive oil, boiled and mashed with butter and milk or yogurt, or in a simple gratin.  Just slice them thinly and pre-boil (about 5 minutes), then layer in a pan with parmesan cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 450F for 15 minutes.   You can also snack on them raw.

Sunchokes don’t need to be peeled, which is lucky because they’re quite knobby!  Just be sure to scrub them well.  A good starter recipe is this simple sunchoke soup:

Ingredients
1 lb sunchokes, scrubbed clean
2 medium onions, sliced
Chicken or vegetable stock, or water
olive oil or butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
fresh thyme, minced
Method
1. Chop sunchokes and saute in a large saucepan with the onions in butter or olive oil until soft.
2. Add water or stock just to cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and let cook for 5-10 minutes.
3. Allow to cool and then add salt, pepper and thyme to taste.
4. Puree in batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender.
Optional:  Add heavy cream, some milk, or yogurt for a creamier taste.

It’s the season for pumpkins, and not just carving them!  This Halloween weekend, go ahead and carve up some Jack-o-Lanterns, but be sure to make use of all the edible pumpkins that are out there as well!  We grow four kinds, all of which are great in a wide variety of recipes.  Did you know that those cute little Jack-Be-Little pumpkins are actually edible?  It’s true – just pop them in the oven whole and roast for 30-45 minutes at 350F.  They’re delicious!  And if you do carve up your pumpkins, whether Jack-o-Lanterns or Cheese pumpkins, be sure to save the seeds, toss them with salt and pepper and roast in the oven until they’re crispy and delicious.

A good starter recipe for edible pumpkins is pumpkin soup.  This is one of our favorites.

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil or butter
1 cheese pumpkin, halved
vegetable or chicken stock or water
3-4 sage leaves, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Roast pumpkin in halves at 350F until soft, about 45-60 minutes. Save the seeds to roast separately as a snack!
2. While pumpkin is roasting, saute onions in a large soup pot until soft, in butter or olive oil.  Add sliced garlic and fresh sage and saute another minute.  Turn off heat.
3. When pumpkin is done and somewhat cooled, peel gently and discard skins (in the compost!).  Add pumpkin flesh to the soup pot and stir, mashing as you go.  Add stock or water and bring to a simmer.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  You can add as much or as little liquid as you like – it depends on how thick you like your soup. Allow to cook 15-2o minutes on a gentle simmer so that flavors meld nicely.
Optional: Add heavy cream, preferably local and organic, or creme fraiche or even plain yogurt, for a creamier, richer flavor. You can add it at the last minute, or put a bowl of it on the table so that everyone can add their own!
Serve with fresh bread and some slices of local cheese.

Cauliflower is at its peak right now, and I’ve just been roasting it long and slow, letting it crisp up with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and sometimes garlic.  Roasting really brings out its flavor, especially this time of year when the cold nights mean that its quite sweet.   Cauliflower is somewhat of a neglected vegetable – maybe those big heads intimidate people.  Cauliflower is really so easy to prepare, and it can work with lots of different flavors.   This is a great recipe for easily using up a whole head, and a good introduction to this vegetable if you never know what to do with it.  We want to know what you do with our cauliflower!  Email us – anne.dailey@gmail.com and we’ll share your recipes online.

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, cut into chunks
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper and arrange in a big baking dish.  You can add some sliced or whole garlic cloves if you like.
2. Roast at 250F for about an hour , or until cauliflower is as done as you like it!

This is one of my favorite fall vegetables.  Its flavor is earthy and simple, and mixes perfectly with the flavor of potatoes and other fall vegetables like carrots and onions.  We’re just picking lots of celeriac, so I was inspired to make this soup.  You can tweak the recipe to be vegan or vegetarian, or even add chicken stock.  All of the vegetables in this soup are in season right now. Celeriac needs some prep – scrubbing and peeling – but it’s so simple to cook with once that’s out of the way, and it’s worth the effort.

Ingredients
2 celeriac
4 medium onions
2 Carrots (sweetness)
5-6 potatoes (any variety)

Method
1. Scrub any dirt left on the celeriac and peel off the outer skin.  Cut into chunks.
2. Chop potatoes, carrots and onions into chunks
3. Saute all vegetables in either olive oil or butter for 5-6 minutes over medium heat, stirring continuously. Season with Salt and Pepper.
4. Add water or stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook until all vegetables are soft.
5. Blend with an immersion blender if you have one, or allow to cool slightly and blend in batches in a blender.  For a courser consistency, just use a potato masher.  If it’s too thick, just add more liquid!
Optional: Add some local cream or yogurt for extra richness!
Serve with toasted bread and slices of sharp cheddar