Archive for April, 2012

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April 26, 2012

Bake Olympia!

Bake Olympia, Olympia’s food blogger bake sale, will be up and running tomorrow, friends! After months of planning, meetings, coffee dates and many emails, Olympia food bloggers are converging at Arts Walk on Friday night to raise money for the food bank. Yahoo!

I had a chance to visit the Thurston County Food Bank yesterday while they were setting up. The space where the food is displayed is bright and open, so different from other food pantries I’ve visited. And there is fresh produce. So different, as I said. They even had some local rhubarb (this is my kind of place).

The first summer after I moved to Ohio, I worked at a food pantry around the corner from our townhouse. As volunteers, we pre-packed paper grocery sacks with a prescribed number of items, according to a list taped to the wall. Two cans of soup. One loaf of bread. One box of cereal. One frozen vegetable. And so forth.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine the disappointment when people got home and unpacked their bag. My son, I could hear one of the mothers saying to herself, won’t eat this beef stew.

I’m grateful that our food bank allows people to choose their own foods, picking which bunch of bok choy looks best today, which type of dried beans or loaf of bread will work in their household.

That is an incredible freedom. We talk a lot, as people involved in and smitten with food, about information – labeling ingredients properly, identifying the country where a cabbage was harvested. But there’s also access. And not only access but the right to reach out and pick up a red pepper, see that the skin is broken or bruised and choose another.

I’m proud we’re supporting the food bank, to help in a very small way to make food available and food choices possible for more people. If you’ve never visited or donated, Arts Walk is the perfect time to become familiar with their space and mission. They’ll be open (they’re number 20 on the map) and available to answer questions or, I presume, sign you up for a shift.

On a personal note, I can’t wait to meet you. Stop by the booth, on Columbia between 4th and State, eat a cookie, say hello and buy a raffle ticket. (Yes. There are prizes.)

I’m making cookies. Ginger cookies with chocolate drizzled on top. And garnished with this:

God’s honest truth is that the candied rhubarb flavor doesn’t really shine next to the spice of the cookie. But it’s so pretty (and local) that I can’t help myself.

To candy the rhubarb, I followed this recipe, heating sugar and water in a pan, slicing the rhubarb into ribbons, briefly soaking and laying them flat to dry in a warm oven.

Enjoy your weekend and pray for the rain to dry up!

Posted in Spring Vegetables | 9 Comments »

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April 19, 2012

Rhubarb compote with vanilla bean


My rhubarb memories center around a table in a red farmhouse outside Columbus, Ohio. That was where I had my first slice of homemade rhubarb pie. And this was a house known for its pie. A pie chart was taped to the back of the kitchen door – a literal one, listing the family’s favorite pies and their votes, tallied up with hatch marks.

In this same house I obtained a small stack of recipes one day when I asked how I could use the rhubarb weighing down a sack I had filled from their many rhubarb plants. Using a steak knife from the kitchen drawer I sliced the stalks close to the ground, like my friend showed me, and sawed off the enormous leaves.

Not having grown up with a garden, everything on that property seemed magical to me. Rhubarb still does. Maybe because it’s still a seasonal food, one I almost always get from friends and never see in the produce aisle during the off-season. There’s the pleasing tartness that’s only just tempered when you add something sweet. And stalks that are the red and green of a marquee sign.

But before we dive in too far, let me share pictures from another magical garden I visited with my daughter’s class yesterday. Indulge me – it’s spring!

So, then. This compote was simple, simple to make. I opted enthusiastically for the orange zest (cara cara). But the best part was the vanilla bean. I feel a little sheepish about this, but yesterday was the first time I’d ever split one open myself. I didn’t realize this because how many times have I read that you’re supposed to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife?  But yesterday I was surprised to see a black paste when I was expecting something like immature peas. Now, just like the time when the re-upholsterer pointed out how much better feather pillows are than synthetic ones, I feel like I can’t go back. The vanilla flavor is matchless and it speckles the tart pink compote with tiny black dots.

Rhubarb Compote with Vanilla Bean
by Chie

Rhubarb is really a vegetable, although I’ve always used it as if it were a
fruit. One summer I was caring for a friend’s garden full of rhubarb,
strawberries, peas and greens. That was the first time that I’d thought to use
rhubarb. I thought I’d try out a simple cobbler – a strawberry rhubarb cobbler.
Boy, it was so fragrant, sweet and tart. I wanted to try out more things and
since then I’ve made compote and ice cream. This compote can be eaten just
like it is, in plain yogurt, as a crepe filling, on ice cream or on chicken and white
fish.  Just last week The Olympia Food Co-op received the first local delivery
from Pigman’s this year. The season of abundance is just around the corner.

3 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
¼ c honey
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange, navel, valencia, cara cara, etc. (optional)

Place the rhubarb, honey and salt in a medium pan. Let it sit for 30 minutes
to let the juices come out. It will cook down to the consistency of applesauce.

Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back
of the knife. Add the pod and seeds to the pot along with the orange zest.
Bring it to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 12 minutes or until tender.

If using vanilla extract, add at this time. Cool in the pot and adjust taste as desired.
The compote will thicken as it cools.

I like to eat it cooled to enjoy the full flavor of the rhubarb. Store for up to 2 days
in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Variations

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote
Add 1-2 cups chopped fresh strawberries when bringing to a boil. Follow the
rest of the recipe. Adjust the amount of strawberries depending on much
berry flavor you’d like.

Rhubarb Citrus Compote
Add navel orange or grapefruit: 1 T zest and flesh of 3 oranges or segments
from 1 grapefruit (without the pith, which will make it bitter). Add citrus after
the rhubarb has simmered for 5 minutes and just started to soften.

Both variations will be more liquidy than the straight rhubarb.

Posted in Recipes, Spring Vegetables | 21 Comments »

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April 12, 2012

Salad with baby greens, watercress and tahini honey dressing

Apparently, the meteorological gods decided this past weekend needed to be perfect. It was glorious at home and also in Portland, where the kids and I spent a long weekend. There, Northwesterners! You had a perfect Easter. Now no more complaining until July.

To get under the wide, blue skies we took the kids to this lovely farm for an egg hunt and a hayride.

But it was really more about the pizza.

And one of my weaknesses. Yeah, that’s a close-up of a giant bag of Kettle Corn.

So I suppose after that and all those pilfered chocolate eggs, it’s appropriate to talk about salad. Lots of salad.

I shopped for ingredients yesterday and discovered that the locally grown baby greens we planned to highlight today were gone. In their place were these greens from California that I bought anyway, even though they traveled and traveled in trucks that used lots of oil to get here. Because I didn’t want to use even more oil to drive to the other side of town. And because I had only the one morning to make this salad to show you. So. California greens stand in here for the local ones that I was told should be back in stock at the co-op today, Olympia folks. And hopefully you’ll still be able to find the gorgeous Northwest-grown watercress I snatched from the top shelf. Another weakness and one I feel less guilty about.

Chie created the recipe for today’s vinaigrette, a versatile mixture that can also serve as a dip or sauce. I also tried my hand at a dressing, combining ½ cup of olive oil with the juice of ½ lemon, a pinch of sea salt and a teaspoon each of tamari, tahini and honey. So you can try that if you like, but hers is the real deal and will last you the whole of this week and beyond.

Salad with Baby Greens and Watercress
by Jenni

Whenever I make a salad, I remember one very dull summer in the
Midwest when I was in graduate school. A cast on my leg kept me
propped up on the couch in our air conditioner-free townhouse for
much of the time but one bright spot was discovering that I liked Mollie
Katzen on TV as much as I did in her cookbooks. I watched a lot of her
shows, but the episode that stuck with me was the one on green salads.
She said she tears lettuce into pieces “the size of my guests’ mouths” and
tosses only the greens with the dressing, arranging the other
ingredients on top. These have become my two golden rules for salad making.

This weekend a green salad showed up on the Easter luncheon table,
complete with quinoa and green onions. It was so good I wanted to replace
my dinner plate with the salad bowl (could it have been my body rejecting
those candy eggs? hmm?) so I thought I’d resurrect the
quinoa-in-the-salad trick, something I’ve been doing for several years.

baby salad greens
several sprigs of watercress, tough stems discarded
½ cup quinoa, cooked and cooled
6-7 leaves Thai basil, chiffonade
one green onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons raw sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
handful dried mulberries or golden raisins

Bring one cup of water and a generous pinch of salt to a boil.
Rinse ½ cup quinoa in three changes of cold water. When the water is
boiling stir in the quinoa, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10-15
minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, wash and dry the greens and watercress
leaves and place in a bowl. Prepare basil and green onion.

When the quinoa is done, fluff with a fork and place ½ cup of cooked
quinoa (or the amount you’d like to use) in a bowl to cool.

Top greens with some of the vinaigrette and toss well. Arrange remaining
ingredients on top, in the order listed.


Tahini Honey Dressing
by Chie

I was inspired to make this dressing after my son gobbled down a salad
with a dressing just like it. We’ve eaten it as a dip for broccoli and asparagus,
as well. We’ve added chopped fresh basil and used it to top baked salmon fillets.
Thin with more water to use as a dressing. I hope you will enjoy the versatility
of this simple, homemade dressing!

1 c toasted tahini
½ c apple cider vinegar
5 T raw honey
juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 c water
1 T stoneground or dijon mustard
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 c extra virgin olive oil

Place all the ingredients except for the olive oil in a blender. Blend until
smooth. You may need to stir it up a little to get it going. With the motor
running, add the olive oil in a thin stream and process until smooth.
Refrigerate and thin as needed.

Posted in Greens, Recipes, Spring Vegetables | 10 Comments »

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April 5, 2012

Nettle pesto

I’m trying not to talk about the weather at the beginning of every post. But it’s difficult after a week like this, when the changes outside were frenetic. We had a hard, day-long rainstorm last week then more rain, intermittent sunshine and pockets that were overcast and perfect for schlepping the camera along on a nature walk.

One morning my mom and I grabbed our cameras and set out for a trail that’s not far from our house. I must have two-dozen of these skunk cabbage blooms and not one of them catches the light like I remember. In real life, they looked almost luminescent against the gray water and shaded undergrowth. The flat light made everything glow.

Although we got away for an hour to snap photos along the path, I didn’t make it out to forage again. I think that’s a good thing, after reading Chie’s story about foraging (below today’s recipe). I still have some to learn about being mindful in the woods; remembering that we’re borrowing from plants that are integrated into a neighborhood that includes ferns, shrubs, animals, insects, trees and mosses. It’s not a shopping trip.

I purchased the nettles for today’s recipe from our food co-op. They were a little worse for wear after being smooshed in a bag, as you can see. But these little guys are wildcrafted and local, harvested by the farm that supplied us with vegetables last season.

I made the pesto on Sunday and my kids, who are in the habit of turn their noses up at anything green on their pasta (sigh) were enamored with the idea of a raw nettle recipe, asking the same question I did at a potluck last spring when I tried a dip made with raw nettles for the first time, “Will it sting my tongue?”

It doesn’t, incredibly. Finely chopping the nettles smashes their trichomes flat, negating the stinging effect. Eating them raw retains the full nutrient hit, too. (There are others who know much more than I do about medicinal herbs – start here for a quick overview and a tasty looking recipe).

I used the full complement of garlic but the cloves were large and the end product was pretty dang strong. Next time I’ll start with one clove and add more to taste. If you like a lemony pesto, the proportions below will delight you. If you like a little less citrus, hold back some of the zest and juice, adding in a little at a time at the end, as you would salt and pepper.


Nettle pesto
by Chie

I was honored to harvest nettles with a dear friend last week who
is an herbalist and forager. For low impact, she follows the rule to
harvest only 1 out of 10 plants in a given area. She often harvests
without gloves since she listens to the plants. She harvests only the
nettles she is drawn to, as if they are saying “take me home.” When
she doesn’t pay attention to that, a stinger gets her. She taught me
how to harvest only what I will use and to let the others grow and stay
in the forest.

The following is a recipe that I made over the weekend. I was inspired
to toss them with small, ghee-fried Yukon Gold potatoes. What a treat!

6 cups gently packed nettles, fresh leaves and tender stems
1 handful of fresh basil
½ c pumpkin seeds, raw*
2 T sesame seeds, toasted
3 cloves garlic
1 whole lemon, juice and zest
1 t Celtic sea salt
½ – ¾ c extra virgin olive oil

*I prefer to soak my seeds overnight for easier digestibility. I usually
dehydrate them and keep them on hand for making trail mixes,
sprinkling on oatmeal and making raw crackers.

Combine all ingredients, except the oil, in a food processor and
process until finely ground. Scrape the sides. While the processor
is running, slowly pour the olive oil until the mixture is fairly smooth.

Adjust with salt and lemon.

Enjoy with salmon, new potatoes, chicken, grilled vegetables,
pasta and more!

Posted in Greens, Recipes, Spring Vegetables | 8 Comments »

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