Life & Literacy at 303 Williams

COOKING WITH AMY...A BLOG POST THAT YOU MUST READ!

2010-08-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

Spent some time tonight catching up on Twitter and cooking blogs that I LOVE to read. During vacation, we watched Julie and Julia again, which prompted me to return to Julie's blog and Twitter account. The blog has a post that is a MUST READ for anyone who even entertains the possibility of cooking. Here is the link...

http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-20-cooking-myths.html

Want to have some power and control in your life???? Access this link and read on!

Vacation Reading

2010-08-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

So much for planning...Half the Sky (although VERY IMPORTANT READING) was way too downbeat for vacation reading. Stephen had bought me a copy of 52 Loaves right before vacation because he knows how much I love baking good bread. After reading one chapter, I was hooked. I read the WHOLE book and am currently building my own levain (you'll understand if you read the book or view the hyperlink). Listen to the interview that MADE ME WANT TO READ THE BOOK.

Vacation reading...cannot wait!

2010-07-27T20:10:00.001-07:00

Almost there! Vacation begins on Sunday and a week in Asheville/Hendersonville is awaiting. I'll be finishing Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. While the book is

very disturbing, it is a MUST read for every woman with any social conscience. Listen to Kristof and WuDunn's podcast...http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m1SZXQ8E4CDPB7:m24YRMAF920BNI

2009-07-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

During July, the strawberries are "long gone" so blueberries are the fruit dujour at the local farmer's market. We have eight small blueberry bushes planted in our yard, but their yield is still rather small. So to honor John Alexander's love of French toast and make the most of local blueberries, I made a DIVINE concoction that I call Blueberry Baked French Toast. I have to confess that only three blueberries were ripe on our bushes...most were from the Renston Homestead booth at the farmer's market.

Brimming with three cups of berries, dusted with confectioner's sugar, topped with freshly whipped cream, and garnished with lemon zest, a fresh blueberry, and a lemon verbena leaf...the finishing touch was a tiny pool of warm maple syrup that we added just before eating.

Easy to make as most of the steps take place the night before allowing the bread to soak before baking the next morning. Here is the recipe:

Blueberry Baked French Toast

INGREDIENTS:

1 loaf of challah or brioche cut or torn into large pieces
6 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cup milk
¾ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup brown sugar
3 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk the milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and brown sugar into the eggs. Pour the custard mixture over the bread and toss. Seal in a container and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Toss the bread mixture lightly and stir in blueberries. Butter a large 9 inch pieplate and fill with the blueberry-bread mixture. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes until it slices well.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream and warm maple syrup.

2009-07-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well, Amy Goldman has NOTHING ON US! Stephen has grown multiple varieties of heirloom tomatoes from seed and our garden is brimming with herbs and ripening tomatoes. The tiny SunGolds are coming off of the vines by the handfuls and our first WHOPPER Cherokee Purple tomato weighed in this past weekend at 1 1/2 pounds. It morphed into… not one, not two, not three, but FOUR tomato sandwiches last week! Its size was only surpassed by its delicious taste.

This past weekend, a new “record-breaker” was plucked from our vines. It was another Cherokee Purple that topped the scale at 1 9/16 pounds. The pics of this gorgeous tomato were made on the scale so that there was no question about its size. Needless to say, these beauties are very happy in the soil that Stephen worked so hard to prepare with load after load of leaf mulch… Can you believe that these tomatoes are all organic…no fertilizer, no pesticides, no chemicals of any sort?

Perfectly GORGEOUS Heirloom Tomatoes

2009-05-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

Amy Goldman's book, The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table: Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World's Most Beautiful Fruit , will simply take your breath. The recipes are "to die for" and the photographs (by Victor Schrager) are artistic masterpieces. The author's expertise is clearly evident. According to Amazon, "Amy Goldman is a passionate gardener, seed saver, and well-known advocate for heirloom fruits and vegetables. She is the author of The Compleat Squash and Melons for the Passionate Grower, and she appears frequently on such TV programs as Martha Stewart Living and Victory Gardens."

http://www.amazon.com/Heirloom-Tomato-Recipes-Portraits-Beautiful/dp/159691291X

If you love to cook, have a passion for local food, or simply want to peruse an incredible feast for the eyes, this book is for you. The sources in the back of the book allow you to order and experiment with growning a wide variety of heirlooms. My experiments are in tiny peat pots and sprouting "to beat the band."

Listen to the Wind....A Beautiful Children's Picture Book

2009-04-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

It seems that I always get some of my best recommendations about "books too good to miss" from friends and colleagues. It was only fitting that my good friend and former colleague, Francine Johnston, would come to me at the North Carolina Reading Association Conference in March with a copy of Listen to the Wind in hand. It was Francine who originally recommended Three Cups of Tea...see previous posts. Does this woman know how to recommend wonderful books, or what? Of course, I had to have my own copy.

After perusing this marvelous picture book (you can peek at the book via the active link above via Amazon.com), it not only describes Dr. Greg Mortenson's valiant efforts to provide more than 50 schools for children in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but does so within the beautifully rich context of fabric collage illustrations that will take your breath. The book details the process by which illustrator, Susan Roth, created the collages with cloth fragments, and actual artifacts from Baltistan and surrounding areas.

For those of you who have not read Three Cups of Tea, here is a bit of background information that also provides the basis for Listen to the Wind. In his quest to repay the people of Korphe who helped Mortenson when he lost his way while on an expedition to climb K2, he learned that what the people of this small village wanted more than anything else was a school. He kept his promise to build this first school and subsequently founded the Central Asia Institute and Pennies for Peace, whose mission is to build more and more schools in this remote area of the world. Mortenson contends that American efforts to fight Islamic extremism in these countries must focus on substantive efforts to address poverty by increasing access to education, primarily for girls. His story offers a message of hopefulness in terms of bridging world cultures, as well as looking beyond one's biases and perceptions, keeping promises, and helping others in need.

Video related to Three Cups of Tea

2009-04-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

I f you didn’t have the opportunity to view Frontline: Children of the Taliban (aired April 15 at 9PM on UNC-TV), you MUST view this program. Unfortunately, the UNC-TV rebroadcast is scheduled for April 16 at 3AM, but the video is posted at:http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan802/index.html

While the video takes 36 minutes to view, I assure you that you will not regret spending this time looking at the world through the eyes of the Pakistani children featured in this documentary. Additionally, the insights that reporter Sharmeen-Obaid Chinoy provides are striking within a country where schools, education, and the rights of women are being greatly influenced by the Taliban.

New Book...New Impact

2008-09-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

I have posted little on this blog in recent months due to many changes in my life. Our son's transfer to NCSU and my husband accepting a new job position have turned my world upside down and I still rely on reading significant books to help me deal with the chaos. I am still visiting the local Farmer's Market and eating as much local food as possible, so the impact of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (see earlier posts and genesis for this blog) continues. We rarely eat meat in our home anymore and if we do, it comes from Rainbow Meadow Farms in Snow Hill. I will absolutely NOT buy any more meat or eggs from CAFOs and unless the grocery can document a pasture-raised origin, I will not buy them. (Our three laying hens in the backyard are still keeping our refrigerator FULL of eggs!) Reading AVM and investigating various other resources helped us come to new realizations about how eating meat (ESPECIALLY BEEF) represents a huge waste of the earth's resources. Who could imagine that it takes approximately 441 gallons of water to produce ONE POUND of meat protein. Our son will rarely touch meat and this conviction is linked to his recent decision to explore agroeology as a minor area of study at NCSU.

The most recent book that I am reading, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver was recommended by my good friend, Francine Johnston, a former literacy colleague at UNC-G. I always rely on her book recommendations and she hasn't failed me yet. I'll write more about my thoughts related to this outstanding book in upcoming posts, but Tom Brokaw's comments (from the back of the book) provide an excellent snapshot of WHY every educator (and in my opinion, every American) should read this book.

"Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.” -Tom Brokaw

Day Eight....Egg Number Six!

2007-11-02T19:06:00.001-07:00

When I came home before lunch, I checked the Chicken Palace to see what was happening. Amber was planted in her nest and Honey and Molly were strutting about. I knew that I wanted to get the broody Amber on film in her nesting box, so I took several shots. Still no egg.

Stephen arrived for lunch and immediately headed for the hen house. He opened the door and found a warm egg, which he left until the guys across the street could officially DISCOVER it.

The doorbell rang as soon as Jacob and Joseph got in from school. DING, DING, DING, DING! I knew what was in store. Boy was I surprised as I opened the door to find the lone Jacob on our doorstep. "Can we see if there is an egg?" he asked. Jake and I went out in the backyard and opened to door to the Chicken Palace. He walked into the Chicken Palace and glanced downward. The screaming and yelling commenced, "There's an egg, an egg, an egg," with such commotion that Joseph and his friends came from across the street.

The egg was gathered and the count was taken. This was egg number six...and the seventh will belong to the guys across the street! Stay tuned!

Laid today, Eaten tonight...Eggs don't come any fresher than this!

2007-10-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

Amber has maintained quite a record! In the past 6 days, she has laid 5 eggs. According to head mathematician, Stephen Atkinson, Amber's production rate is .833 eggs per day! You go, girl!!!!

Egg number 5 was discovered with grand fanfare. Jake and Joseph, the two children who live across the street, pulled in the drive on their bikes as I parked the car. As I opened the car door, they called, "Any more eggs yet?" We walked to the Chicken Palace in great anticipation. As I opened the door, I spied a fresh egg, but didn't let on. I told the boys to go in and look. The both walked in and immediately started jumping up and down yelling, "An egg, an egg, an egg!"

The guys were so excited that I was fearful that the egg might get scrambled before it was gathered, so I told the boys that we needed to go into the house to get the egg basket. In doing so, they called Stephen at work and yelled into the phone that they had found another egg. Their excitement was priceless.

After we took more pictures of the egg, we brought it inside and put it into the refrigerator. Our plans for cooking the eggs had been "hatched" earlier in the afternoon. Melissa would arrive at 6pm and she, Stephen, and I, fully dressed to eat breakfast for dinner, would greet trick-or-treaters and cook Amber's first 5 eggs.
Bacon fried, coffee brewed, mimosas mixed, the Best Drop Biscuits baked (from this month's Cook's Illustrated), and Amber's eggs scrambled ...now we were ready to sit down and enjoy. Divine biscuits, extremely crisp bacon, and everything else outstanding...nothing could top the taste of fresh eggs from Amber's nest. All that we can say is, "Well done, girl. Keep up the great work. While you are at it, clue Molly and Honey into your secrets!"

I BEEN IN TIME OUT, BUT I'M BACK...AMBER FINALLY DID IT!

2007-10-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I lost the faith. I've been in time out, and now I'm back (in the words of the famous Hannah Kate Davis). The three Buff Orpington sisters, Amber, Honey, and Molly, have been so busy enjoying themselves in the lavish Atkinson Chicken Palace that they have not seen fit to lay ONE EGG since we picked them up! I have been so disgusted with them that I have not posted an entry on this blog in a month and a half. Well, I certainly should have been sent to time out for having so little faith in these fine ladies.

As reported to many of you already, the first egg appeared on Friday, October 26. Stephen went out to feed "the ladies" (as he calls them) and made such a commotion on the way into the house that I didn't know WHAT had happened. When Stephen had opened the door on the hen house to get the feed, the nest box was empty, but a medium-sized brown egg was right in the middle of the floor nestled in the cedar shavings!

Although we couldn't prove that Amber laid the egg, we were relatively sure. Her wattle and comb are dark red and much larger than those sported by Molly and Honey. According to everything that we have read about Buff Orpingtons, no egg laying occurs in this breed until the wattle and comb are well developed and dark red. Never knew that these wattles and combs were so important to chickens (this link tells more about this)! Our recent trip to the North Carolina State Fair confirmed that our buff ladies were certainly not full grown hens as we had feared. The pullets on display at the fair looked just like our chickens! We knew after our fair visit that we simply needed to be more patient. Only two weeks later, we "hit pay dirt." This last picture shows Amber looking rather proud of her accomplishment!

Saturday Update...September 8

2007-09-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

The Pitt County Farmer's Market was rather quiet today. We bought fresh green beans, tomatoes, and cukes...that was it.

With these purchases behind us, we set out for home with the intent of making homemade pizza dough to rise until later in the day. Our niece, Leslie Anne, has asked for the recipe, so this request provides the perfect opportunity to post our pizza dough recipe below. Tonight, we topped the recipe with homemade tomato herb sauce, sauteed mushrooms, thinly sliced onions, and three cheeses (mozzarella, feta, parmesan) and pine nuts.

Les...the pizza was divine, so here is the recipe for you and Cam. You need to know the variations for your high altitudes in Colorado so that the recipe will be successful for you. Here are the high altitude facts....Looks like you will need to add a bit of additional flour and water to compensate for your 5000+ feet altitude. Here is a website providing all of the details...http://highaltitudebaking.com/adj_recipes.htm.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (makes 4 small pizzas…If you only want to make two small pizzas, freeze the other half of the dough AFTER it has risen.)

INGREDIENTS:
1 package dry yeast
1 tablespoon local honey
2 ¼ cups lukewarm water (105 degrees F/42 degrees C)
3 tablespoons canola or corn oil (this type of oil is recommended with whole wheat flour so the "earthiness" of the olive oil and whole wheat flour do not compete)
1 3/4 cups organic whole wheat flour
3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
1 tablespoon salt

OIL FOR AFTER BAKING:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper, to taste
Garlic, if you like

DIRECTIONS:
Stir honey into the lukewarm water. When honey is dissolved, add dry yeast. Let stand until mixture is creamy….7-10 minutes. Stir in oil and whisk in 1 ½ cups of the all purpose flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in remainder of both kinds of flour until the dough comes together into a rough clump. (I do all of this in my heavyweight counter-top mixer.)

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Sprinkle flour over the top and on your hands. Form the dough into a ball ASAP without kneading (adding flour as needed so the dough does not stick to your hands). Place into oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 3 hours to all day. If the dough rises more than 3 hours, punch dough down and let rise again (and again, if needed) until you begin to make the pizzas.

When “pizza-production” begins, cut the dough into four equal parts. Roll each fourth lightly in flour to make a “ball-like” shape. (Now is the time to freeze any dough that you will not use. Roll each ball to be frozen in plastic wrap and put these balls into zip-lock bag.) Grease pizza pans liberally with olive oil. Shape dough into ovals or rounds. Ensure that edges are thicker than center. PRECOOK dough with no toppings in 500 degree oven for 4 minutes. This will ensure a crisper crust. Remove crusts from oven, add toppings (see suggestions below), and bake in preheated 500 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until desired crispness has been achieved.

While pizza is cooking, heat ingredients noted above for OIL AFTER BAKING. Set the heated oil aside. After pizza comes out of oven, brush oil on pizza crust edges. This makes the crust crisp and incredibly delicious. Drizzle extra oil over pizza after serving.

Extra dough can be refrigerated for up to two days or frozen in an airtight container for up to one month.

FAVORITE TOPPINGS:
-JA’s fav… pesto sauce, pine nuts, and four cheeses (mozzarella, feta, parmesan, dollops of ricotta)

-Another JA fav…red sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, feta, parmesan

-Tonight we used… Homemade red sauce with herbs (which we had in the freezer in 2 pizza portions) sautéed mushrooms, thinly sliced onions, thinly sliced red peppers, mozzarella, feta, parmesan, pine nuts, crushed red peppers)

-Another Terry and Stephen fav….pesto sauce, fresh spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil, thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, Kalamata olives, four cheeses

Bottom line…combine any toppings that you like….the leftovers are divine!

FYI...In her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Kingsolver mentions that their regular Friday night fare is homemade pizza. Evidently, all "invited parties" bring their favorite local ingredients and multiple pizzas emerge from the oven after all ingredients are combined. What a GREAT idea!

Eating Locally or Eating Regionally?????

2007-09-05T03:29:00.000-07:00

-picture taken at Williamsburg Farmer's Market during one of Rachael and Melissa's recent visits

The Eat-Local Backlash

I agree with Josh and Ellen from Charlotte who posted this link on their blog about eating locally in Charlotte. The article The Eat-Local Backlash is worth reading from beginning to end.

"What often arises in the food-miles debate, I think, is a false dichotomy: local vs. long distance. But the most attractive model might be a regional one. McWilliams touches on it, albeit vaguely, with a mention of a "hub-and-spoke system of food production and distribution." Crucially, he clings to the notion that Western consumers can continue to commandeer the globe's bounty perpetually, season be damned...."

I'll be anxious to see what you think.

Girls Just Gotta Have Fun....

2007-09-03T18:37:00.001-07:00

Amber, Molly, and Honey had a heck of a day. They spent most of their time in their mobile pen in various locations around the backyard. Joseph (the young boy across the street) came over MANY times to bring a bevy of treats....bugs and corn on the cob...not to mention fresh cinnamon muffins that his mom, Lori, made for the humans who live at 303 Williams Street! Joseph and I searched for fresh crickets for the girls, which he eventually captured and dropped into the mobile pen as "fair game."

Later in the day, Stephen suggested that we offer the girls a fresh ear of corn, which they devoured in "short order." Watch below as they enjoy each and every fresh, juicy kernel...

Tomorrow, an account of "the PERFECT gift." Stephen LOVED it...and showed it off to the neighbors this evening...more about the perfect gift in the next post!

On A Mission...Tomato Road Trip

2007-09-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Melissa and I talked about canning tomatoes so much after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle that not following through was simply not an option. After buying quart jars when I bought jars to make fig preserves and buying the canner that Melissa found at Globe Hardware, the plans for canning tomatoes had to move forward. Unfortunately, I could not find homegrown tomatoes in bulk in Pitt County. During the past several weeks, the tomatoes offered at the Pitt County Farmer’s Market have been “few and far between.” Renston Homestead couldn’t help me (as grape tomatoes are their forte), so Stephen and I set off early Saturday morning on a “tomato road trip.”

We had several Triad locations on our itinerary, but the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh was our most important destination. We arrived shortly after 2PM and the place was bustling. We began to look for tomatoes and were overwhelmed with all of the choices. Ranging in price from $.89 a pound to $1.25 a pound, I knew that that these prices were too steep for the large quantity that I came to buy. Although Barbara Kingsolver says that she never cans tomatoes unless she has at least thirty pounds of tomatoes, Melissa thought that beginning with a smaller quantity was fine. My first “find” netted a large box of canning tomatoes for $6. The box was heavy, although HOW HEAVY I did not know...I failed to ask how many pounds of tomatoes it contained. As we put the box in the car, I continued to search booth after booth and found no one who was willing to swing a deal for a large quantity of tomatoes. Sidetracked by several very interesting vendors, Stephen purchased a brown turkey fig bush (so he could compete with the other successful fig growers in our area…including his mom!) and I bought some amazingly perfect sunflowers and beautiful cockscomb in fuschia, gold, and chartreuse colors. After buying half a loaf of LaFarm Bakery’s signature farm bread (whole wheat sourdough), we finally hit paydirt. We found a vendor offering a large basket of canning tomatoes for $6.00. We left with 17 more pounds of tomatoes and a great market basket, as well. Last, we bought several ears of fresh corn for the chickens and some gorgeous peppers in an array of colors from a farmer who lives in Climax, NC.

On the way home we bought several local cheeses (Farmer’s Cheese and Herbed Goat Cheese from the Chapel Hill Creamery) and some local milk (Maple View Farm in Hillsborough) at Whole Foods. After one more stop at the Gem and Mineral Show at the State Fairgrounds, we headed home.

This morning as we prepared to begin canning, we weighed in our tomato collection. OK…I went a little overboard! Forty-five pounds of beautiful dead ripe tomatoes waiting to be canned. I might add that at $12 for the lot, these homegrown beauties cost us $.26 per pound. (You might be saying, “But what about the trip and the gas????” We consider this a bargain and a contribution to the local economy considering that the food on the average American’s table when purchased from a supermarket has traveled between 1,500 and 2,500 miles!) After consulting Kingsolver’s directions in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and the information at http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/canning_tomatoes.htm,
we plunged tomato after tomato into boiling water, slipped the skins off, and prepared them for hot packing into quart jars.

Six quarts of beautifully canned tomatoes behind us, the remainder of the tomatoes simmered into one of the most divine tomato sauces that I have ever tasted. Adapted from the “Family Secret Tomato Sauce” in Kingsolver’s book (p. 214), the sauce is not only beautiful, but topped whole wheat pasta, sautéed shrimp, red peppers, and garlic this evening to end our day on an exceptionally delicious note. Here is the recipe that I used for this outstanding tomato sauce:

Herb Tomato Sauce

10 quarts tomato puree (about 30 pounds)
4 large onions, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 small bunch chopped Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
4 generous sprigs rosemary
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
½ cup local honey
3 tablespoons salt
½ Moroccan preserved lemon, rinsed and slivered (fresh lemon rind if you do not have Moroccan preserved lemons...I made some this past winter with the lemons that we grew on our lemon trees.)
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Soften onions in a heavy 3 gallon kettle-add a small amount of water if necessary, but no oil if you are canning (very important!). Add pureed tomatoes and all seasonings, bring to a boil, simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours or until sauce is of desired thickness. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Meanwhile, heat water in canner bath, sterilize jars in boiling water or dishwasher, and pour boiling water over jar lids. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each quart jar before filling with tomato sauce to assure safe acidity. Ladle into jars and leave ½ inch headspace. Cap jars, lower into canner and boil for 45 minutes. Remove, cool, check all seals. Can also be frozen.

Holy Cow....Blogger Can Now Upload Videos!

2007-08-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

I've spent the past week and a half trying to determine how to upload a video of the chickens to the blog. I stayed up tonight determined to add the html code to the blog to link Site Meter or Google Analytics to the blog AND while doing so, I read a news update on Blogger stating that it now uploads video...SO HERE GOES!

Here are Amber, Honey, and Molly being coerced to move into their mobile pen which Stephen and I move to fresh grass each day. The girls are getting better and better at moving back and forth.

Incidentally, for those of you who are "staying tuned," the nesting box is in the Chicken Palace and the girls are quite curious. We wait and look each day but

STILL NO EGGS!

(If you have trouble viewing the video, click on the triangle and watch the grey bar at the bottom of the screen fill completely. When the bar is completely full, click in the area where the triangle was located again and the video will play.)

Ah yes....SWEET SUCCESS!

2007-08-30T19:20:00.001-07:00

The jars procured and canning pot purchased (thanks to my friend, Melissa's help), last night I set out to make my FIRST fig preserves. Having followed the recipe the night before, the figs had been quartered and chopped in the food processor. I stirred in only half the sugar that the recipe recommended and Stephen and I taste-tested. The ripe figs were so very sweet that we decided to add no more. The mixture "steeped" in the refrigerator the night before the preserve-making began.

As soon as I came in from work, I poured the fig mixture into a large cooking pot and it simmered on low temperature all evening. Finally as it thickened into what I thought was an appropriate consistency, I sterilized my half-pint jars, tops, and rings. Stephen schooled me in Sterilizing 101 as he had plenty of prior experience as a "canning assistant" to his mom during his youth.

I cut thin lemon slices into quarters and placed them into the jars. Just before pouring the beautiful amber preserves into the jars, I decided to be adventurous (sorry, those of you who know me well understand that I simply cannot follow a recipe verbatim) and stir in some raisins. I know that raisins and lemons are not local, but I simply could not help myself! Nine half-pint jars were filled to the brim along with one honey jar and a favorite tiny jam jar that I had saved. The tiny jar will make a trek to Blacksburg this weekend so that Rach and family can sample the preserves to see how the results of the "blog chronicle" really taste.

Breakfast proved to be a good testing ground and we thought that the preserves were divine on toasted whole grain bread with rosemary and walnuts. Our next experiment will be a wonderful savory bruschetta that our friend, Carol, made for us last fall. After grilling whole grain baguette slices brushed with olive oil, top slices with generous dollops of fig preserves. Then top liberally with crumbled blue cheese. Broil until preserves bubble and blue cheese melts. Last, open a crisp bottle of white wine (probably a pinot), cut some fresh fruit...and UMMMM!

Fig Bounty!

2007-08-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

There is a standing joke in the Atkinson family about one's fig bounty. Several years ago we planted fig bushes on Mother's Day in two different places...one in our yard and one in Stephen's mother's yard in Clayton, located about 1 1/2 hours east of us. While our bush was a Mission Fig variety and hers was a Brown Turkey Fig, we thought that since they were planted at the same time that we could expect a similar yield. We couldn't have been more wrong!

While our bush flourished and grew so tall that it had to be pruned, Stephen's mom's bush was beaten to death by the yard crew's weed eaters and looked so pitiful during subsequent visits to her house that we were sure that it would die. But alas.....Soon there were reports of small figs growing and her pathetic bush was soon covered with figs ready to pick. Our bush, on the other hand, sported a few figs that either birds or insects devoured or dropped to the ground. Needless to say, Stephen was not happy and his mom bragged about having to hire workers to come in and help pick her crop.

This past weekend when Peggy came to visit, she brought a small bag of ripe figs to us from her bush. During the "yard tour" outside our house, we viewed Stephen's magnificent fig bush....completely devoid of figs. Mission Figs must simply not like the eastern North Carolina climate.

Tonight when Stephen comes in from work, he will be stunned and most likely disgusted at his "lack of yield," compared to other fig growers in the area. My friend, Melissa, caught me before I left work to share the news that her friends, Mary and Panny, had figs and figs and figs. Since Melissa knows how much we love them, she arranged for me to go by Mary and Panny's house on the way home. I was stunned when they gave me a huge bag filled with ripe figs...weighing 5 1/2 pounds on the scale when I returned home. Panny told me that he has picked between four and five BUSHELS of figs from this one bush. As you can see by the pictures, they are beautiful and after sampling a few (yes, I couldn't resist), they couldn't be sweeter. I've read through many recipes and the fig preserves below sound most appealing. The suggestion about adding thin lemon slices really intrigued me. Now the decision before me is to consider whether or not to head out in search of small canning jars!

FRESH FIG PRESERVES

There is probably no better known use for figs (as with most fruit) than as preserves. Debates between cooks continue on whether "real" fig preserves contain some citrus (we like it) and whether one should peel the figs (don't expect me to do it).

Here's the classic guide. Ratio: one cup sugar to one cup chopped fresh figs (it works the same for one pound of sugar to one pound of fresh figs; one palmful of sugar to one handful of figs -- you get the picture...) Grated lemon zest or finely sliced bits of lemon (the paper thin slices make the preserves delightfully like a marmalade - leave them out if this does not please you)

Basic Directions: Cut up the figs as fine as you like. Mix the figs with the sugar and let rest in a covered plastic or glass container overnight. The next morning, cook the mixture down over very low heat until it is soft and thick. Spoon into hot canning jars and cover with lids you've had soaking in boiling (hot) water. The lids will seal as the jam cools. Refrigerate any jars that do not compress and seal.

That's basically it and the recipe has been winning blue ribbons for generations. Everything else is the individual cook's imagination. We like it less sweet and cut back on the sugar. We have had this with a lot of citrus grated and sliced into it; with raisins cooked into it; with cinnamon and other spices. Be careful - the taste of the figs is rich but light and can be quickly overpowered. We recommend trying a straight batch first and then getting adventurous.

Gourmet Variation: A delicious addition to a fig preserve recipe is a drop or two (per jar) of real maple syrup to enhance the natural flavor of the figs. The maple adds just the right touch to the natural flavor of the figs, but only add just a drop or two per jar -- not enough to even be able to identify it as maple. --MZ

Our thanks to Viola Dickerson and Joyce Bradshaw Maria Zee and fig lover V.R. for sharing their winning fig preserve tips with us!

-Recipe adapted from the Fresh Fig Preserve recipe at:

http://www.paradisenursery.com/frfigpr.html

New Ice Cream Experiences In Colorado

2007-08-26T19:01:00.001-07:00

Our ice cream adventures followed us across the United States as we visited our nephew, Jeff, in Fort Collins. Soon after we arrived, he showed us his thriving Chocolate Mint herb plant that resides quite happily on his back patio. I commented that Chocolate Mint herbal ice cream would taste divine. Jeff was really excited because he likes the flavor of chocolate, but has no use for the waxy base that typically accompanies it.

Following the recipe that we had used for our Lavendar Ice Cream and Lemon Verbena Ice Cream (details in earlier posts), we steeped about 2 brimming cups of chocolate mint herb leaves in scalded milk, made the cooked custard noted in the recipe below, and chilled it well. This chilling process is essential if you hope to churn it in 30-45 minutes.

The resulting ice cream was outstanding! The chocolate and mint flavors were subtly evident...all without adding an ounce of real chocolate! After returning from our Colorado trip, we stopped by the Raleigh Farmer's Market to buy some fresh vegetables. Little did we know that we would encounter an herb farm offering both chocolate mint AND Lemon Verbena... we are hoping for more of our own ice cream adventures very soon.

Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Mint experiment!

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
7 ½ cups whole milk
3 vanilla beans, split OR 2 tablespoons Neilson-Massey Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
2 cups fresh chocolate mint herb leaves, washed thoroughly
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup local honey (Jeff's honey was from nearby Greeley, CO!)
9 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
Scald the milk; then add the vanilla beans (or add vanilla) and the herb leaves. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain. Beat the sugar, honey, and egg yolks together. Add the milk (a half cup at a time) to egg mixture (stirring egg mixture constantly), until both milk mixture and egg mixture are blended thoroughly. Heat the mixture in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until it coats the back of wooden spoon and wisps of steam appear. Do not boil. When custard is sufficiently heated, leave to cool. Mixture can sit overnight in the refrigerator. Stir in cream. Put chilled custard into ice cream freezer and churn until firm.

Water and Our Trip to Colorado

2007-08-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Colorado was outstanding! The high plains of the state are dramatically different from North Carolina and returning from there gave us a new appreciation for how easily we access water in the east. The climate is so arid there, that it is almost impossible to NOT think about water every time you step outside during the summer months, especially in August. It is imperative that you take water with you wherever you go or dehydration can creep up on you without even realizing it. With water bottles all around us, I thought again and again about the first chapter in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle when Barbara Kingsolver and her family cite lack of access to water as their main reason for leaving Arizona and moving to the mountains of Virginia. I wonder if others share their great concern for living in an area where you don't even have the rights to use water from streams on your own property unless you own the water rights to do so.

I've read much more about this since returning and will admit that I never knew that east of Kansas City, the Riparian Rights to water are dramatically different from the rights west of the same locale. What we take for granted here in the east (in terms of water access on our own property) is against the law in Colorado. Collecting rain water for watering plants or animals is not allowed as water is the property of the state and it cannot be diverted from draining back into the public water system. Such a concept seems inconceivable to me, but it is indeed true. I am grateful for informative websites that have helped further explain these rights and how they evolved in further detail.

I add this entry post to my blog because Kingsolver's book has helped me gain a greater understanding of one of Americas' many wasteful obsessions....drinking bottled water. Although I certainly visit soft drink machines much less than the typical American, I can remember deciding to select bottled water as a "healthier" choice, not realizing how detrimental the bottled water industry is to the environment. Within a country where our tap water is typically safe, clean, and appealing to taste, Americans guzzle more bottled water than any other country in the world. A recent report compiled during four years of investigating the bottled water industry, The Natural Resources Defense Council concluded "there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle, it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap."

Moreover, the amount of plastic that fills American landfills as a result of our bottled water obsession is mind-boggling. Environmental Products (EPI) is a Colorado-based proponent and leader of oxo-biodegradable plastic additive technology. They strive to promote the use of Totally Degradable Plastic Additives (“TDPA™”) technology as an environmentally friendly and practical solution to the world’s plastic waste problems. Officials from the Earth Policy Institute offer a tangible estimate of how much plastic is generated by bottled water -hungry Americans. "Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year." An article from National Geographic News offers additional information about this appallingly wasteful American addiction.

I fill my water bottles with Brita filtered water daily and wish that others would realize how much waste is filling our landfills for no good reason. Perhaps, the only reason that might convince SOME Americans to give up their addiction is to realize how much money they are wasting. Typical bottled water, which in most cases comes from a PWS (public water source), costs as much as $2.50 [U.S.] per liter [$10 U.S. a gallon], more than three times as much as gasoline. Many public officials are banning the use of bottled water by their agencies. I say, "Bravo," to such moves and hope that more public action gains a groundswell.

We made Chicken Flicker's Chicken a day...

2007-08-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the word....our chickens, Honey, Amber and Molly are featured on the web....Check it out! Here is the message that I received via email:

Your beautiful new chickens are featured on Chicken Flicker's One a Day series where we feature a chicken a day.http://chickenflicker.com/1aday/. Click on the August 16 entry!

Moving Day AT LAST!

2007-08-13T22:16:00.001-07:00

John Alexander and I worked on finishing the chicken pen all day on Thursday and quit at dark. Stretching chicken wire tautly was not as easy as it looked. Up at 6 AM the next morning, we finished adding the final wire to the side of the cage, built a ramp, spread cedar bedding in the coop, and added a latch to the pen. A roosting stick was added inside the house, but nesting boxes and the front steps would have to wait until later.

We wanted the girls to get acclimated to their new surroundings during the day since we had to leave our house at 1AM to drive the RDU Airport for a 6AM departure to Denver. So as soon as the pen and Chicken Palace interior were ready, we prepared for the big move. The tin roof still had to be screwed in place, but that could take place AFTER Amber, Honey, and Molly moved in.

Temporary pen in transport, the girls clucked happily outside their new home. Stephen suggested that we wait to feed them until they had been moved, which proved to be a brilliant idea. Net in hand, Amber was the first to be scooped up and put in the pen to check out the new digs. Honey and Molly followed with little reluctance until Stephen attempted to soothe Molly before she joined her sisters. OOPS! Too bad about those black pants, Stephen. JA and I hooted, Molly officially joined the girls and the gate was shut. A celebratory repast of chicken feed and fresh corn was enjoyed by all.

Soon after chowing down, the REAL CELEBRATING began. Because the pen area enclosed a shaded area under the pine tree (formerly full of Jerusalem artichokes), a loose dirt floor was the perfect venue for a spa adventure of unending dust baths. Clouds of dust rose from the pen as the girls nuzzled into the cool soil, scratching and throwing dirt with wild abandon.

Most of the day was spent exploring the pen, dust bathing, and exploring again. Their one exposure to the coop’s interior occurred in the late afternoon as a thunderstorm erupted, JA scooped each girl into the side door of the coop where they stayed until the rain subsided. But as soon as the storm ended, they were back in the pen exploring again As we packed inside, we worried about what the hens would do as night fell. Would they willingly scale their ramp and head into the Chicken Palace for the evening? We all took ringside seats on the back deck to watch their antics as the roosting urge struck. As we expected, Amber was the first one inside. One sister followed and we all breathed a sigh of relief. But our lack of anxiety was short lived as the two emerged again. The next fifteen minutes yielded a hilarious shell game of one in, two in, one out, two out, etc. FINALLY, all three girls were in for the night and Stephen crept out to the palace to peek in the window. His eyes left the empty roosting bar and scanned the length of the house to the other end where the large plastic buckets of chicken feed and scratch were stacked. True to form, chickens always seek the highest place they can locate to roost. There they piled, on top of the buckets where they slept.

Before we departed for the airport at 2AM, Stephen stole into the backyard, flashlight in hand, to leave feed and scratch for the girls so they would have fresh food when they “awoke with the chickens” in the morning. Our official “chicken sitters,” our fine neighbors Pam and Tony have kept the girls well fed and watered while we have been gone and as of 7PM this evening, the girls were all doing well. Yes, anxious as we were, we had to phone home to see how Amber, Molly, and Honey were doing. As you must have surmised, there were no eggs sited before we left to take John Alexander back to Colorado State. Now we have fingers and toes crossed that the girls wait until we return home so that we can record the laying of the first egg on film!

The Chicken Palace...continues under construction!!!

2007-08-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

Complete with a roof, the Chicken Palace is now "taking shape." Home Depot is now on our list of FAVORITE PLACES!!!

You've heard of "gated communities"? Here is JA painting the posts to be used to erect the "gated pen" beside the palace. A ramp will allow Amber, Honey, and Molly to move between the house and pen at their leisure.

The folks at Sherwin Williams also smile when they see the Atkinsons pull into their parking lot. Here Stephen trims the chicken abode with a lovely shade of green called ROSEMARY.

The lattice is added beneath and the pen takes shape. Stephen insists that Amber, Honey, and Molly will move in tonight....WE SHALL SEE!

The girls anxiously wait to make their call to Allied Van Lines!

The Chicken Palace...Down to the wire!!!!

2007-08-08T05:47:00.000-07:00

Finishing the Chicken Palace has evolved into a race for time as Saturday approaches. Amber, Honey, and Molly are as happy as clams in their temporary pen, but since we leave on Saturday for Colorado to take John Alexander back to college, the permanent house and pen MUST BE finished. Thus, from its early beginnings in plan on pieces of paper, to evolving across weeks and now months, we worked last night in the dark with flashlights and backyard lights until almost 9pm. The date is August 8, 2007 and three more days remain before we leave. Will the girls move into their permanent quarters on time? Will the chicken wire get attached to the pen without putting us all in the nuthouse? AND ALL OF THIS TROUBLE FOR THREE DARN CHICKENS???????

Check out the next post to see the progress made in completing this grand structure and...also stay tuned to see if an egg makes its appearance before we leave town. We are hoping that Amber rises to the occasion soon!!!

The flag is raised for the "topping out ceremony."

The Buff Orpingtons Arrive!!!!

2007-08-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, Stephen and John Alexander have talked about getting chickens for several years. Back in March on JA's spring break, they really became excited after traveling to NC State to a workshop about raising backyard chickens. Many books were read and hours of research conducted to gather information and early in June, I couldn't say, "No," anymore, because making the most of every minute that JA is home during the summer is so important. Gathering fresh eggs was my desired outcome, thus my qualifier was that we only buy hens...no roosters!

After MUCH deliberation, John Alexander and Stephen decided that considering the size of our yard and the chicken coop to be built, that three chickens were as many as we wanted to purchase. Buying chicks online was not an option because hens take about four months to begin laying (and we wanted eggs ASAP) and minimum online orders typically designate 25 chicks. After calling around the local area, we found a man in Ayden who raises and sells a variety of chicken breeds. We visited several times and put three Buff Orpingtons "on the chicken layaway plan" until we could build a coop.

Building that coop (that is called the Chicken Palace....remember that Stephen is an architect) has become a LONG TERM project that will take at least several more posts to fully describe. As weeks ticked away and we came to realize that only several weeks remained before John Alexander heads back to Colorado to CSU, last weekend became the target date to bring the hens home. Last Sunday at noon after the boys had worked all day Friday and Saturday on the chicken house, it was still far from finished. So, in lightning fast time (3 hours), they built a temporary pen for the hens that has allowed us to move them about the yard all week so they could have fresh insects, grass, and shade.

Neighbors and friends have come from far and wide to visit the three sisters...two of whom JA swears are twins. They seem quite content and John Alexander is very taken with his new pets, whom he has affectionately named Amber, Honey, and Molly (short for Molasses). Our neighbor, "JoJo" across the street tried to convince JA to name them K, F, and C, but he was certain that they needed to be named respectfully, in honor of their beautifully colored feathers.

Yesterday, the girls busily chomped on two ears of fresh corn from the Farmer's Market and made real "pigs of themselves." They "zero" in any bug that happens by their cage and happily let John Alexander hold them whenever he wants. Of course, he already has them eating out of his hand!

The Chicken Palace is still UNDER CONSTRUCTION. We all worked until dark last night and the boys are outside working now as I write...more later!

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream...What the heck is that?

2007-08-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

We love to experiment when it comes to ice cream flavors. Our first experiment, Lavender Ice Cream (recipe posted on June 9, 2007) was a resounding success. Since the bees and the heat have made our huge lavender crop no more than a wonderful memory, we are always in search of new "excuses" to get out the ice cream freezer. This particular recipe freezes really well without the grainy iced texture of many homemade ice cream. So after the ice cream is churned, we simply put the entire metal canister in the freezer and enjoy it until it is gone. Our second experiment...a Middle Eastern flavor concoction imagined by John Alexander...wouldn't churn and turn into ice cream. Evidently the entire cup of pine nuts that he added to his Cinnamon, Honey, Lemon Ice Cream with Pine Nut flavor somehow interfered with the freezing process. After letting it churn for more than an hour, we simply poured it into a container, forgot about it in the freezer for the rest of the day, and VOILA!!!! It froze and we enjoyed every spoonful. Who knows what happened?

Back to last week's Farmer's Market and an idea for ice cream. I am quite taken with the scent of lemon verbena, much in part due to the divine fragrance of an Anthousa diffuser that I purchased in Greensboro that marries lemon verbena, freesia, and lily of the valley. So, when I asked a vendor at the market who was selling herbs and flowers about a particular herb that looked unfamiliar, I was delighted when she told me that it was lemon verbena. As I rubbed a leaf between my fingers, the aroma was unmistakable. It came home with us and I substituted the lemon verbena leaves and zest of two lemons for the lavender blossoms in the Lavender Ice Cream recipe. Served with Pistachio Shortbread from the August issue of Bon Appetit, Lemon Verbena Ice Cream was more luscious than we ever expected. Now the boys and I are ready to say that it is an even greater favorite than the lavender....More ice cream adventures are sure to follow along with plans to plant lemon verbena in our herb garden next year!

Last Two Weeks at the Market

2007-08-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

I have much to report about the last two weeks of scouring the Farmer's Market. Somehow, though, posting on this blog has been beyond me since dealing with the loss of the Divine Miss Hannah. This five year old little girl was scientist, artist, and inquisitor extraordinare. Had I ever been fortunate enough to have a little girl, I would have wanted her to be just like Hannah. We will miss her terribly and as I write these next few posts about our new "family members" at 303 Williams Street...three Buff Orpington pullets, I write with the knowledge that Hannah and her baby sister, Lily, would be as fascinated with these gorgeous creatures as their cousin, Ella has been! Here is a much loved shot of Hannah in front of one of her "satellite art galleries"...our refrigerator.

Last weekend at the Farmer's Market, the organic vendor known for his luscious Sungold tomatoes made his appearance shortly before we arrived. I bought THREE POUNDS...all he had left, which meant that I needed an incredible recipe featuring tomatoes on our weekend menu. The prior week, I had saved one of Fred Thompson's recipes from his Weekend Gourmet column in The News and Observer. I went home and reviewed the recipe and knew that while I could find no local cilantro (much too hot here...we have tried again and again) that most of the ingredients could be bought locally. I used some of the Sungolds, all of the tomatoes that we could gather from our own garden, and a few other local tomatoes bought at the market. The flavor was amazing and I must agree with Fred Thompson who said, "Shed the shock of a cold soup and enjoy the flavor. You'll have a cooling and intense taste experience." You'll find his column about cold soups, entitled The Shock of the Cool fascinating. Below you will find my version of his Gazpacho with Crabmeat recipe. Stephen, John Alexander, Melissa, Jess, Ella, and I ALL TRULY ENJOYED IT! It will be on our table again this summer while local tomatoes are available!

Gazpacho with Crabmeat

INGREDIENTS:
Soup
3 pounds ripe local tomatoes
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 local red pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced (more if you like more heat)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more if you like more heat)
1 clove minced garlic
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Juice and zest of one lime
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro sprigs to garnish each soup bowl

Crabmeat salad
1 pound lump crabmeat
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Teaspoons fish sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Soup-Core tomatoes and cut into quarters. Process in food processor until large chunks of tomato disappear and soup is consistently smooth. Pour into separate bowl. Add red onion, red pepper, jalapeno, garlic, crushed red pepper, and cilantro to food processor bowl and process until mixture is finely chopped. Add tomatoes again and process until gazpacho is of the consistency that you like (smooth vs. chunky). Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl or pitcher. Add lime zest and juice, both vinegars, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Stir and sample for taste. Adjust salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper/jalapeno to suit your “heat index.” Cover and refrigerate several hours…overnight, if possible.

Crabmeat salad and serving directions-Right before serving, mix crabmeat, cilantro, lemon juice, and fish sauce. Divide the crabmeat among six soup bowls and ladle chilled gazpacho over crabmeat salad. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve.

-adapted from The Shock of the Cool by Fred Thompson, The News & Observer, Friday, July 13, 2007

Old MacDonald's...Farm Two

2007-06-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

On the way home from Rainbow Meadow Farms yesterday, John Alexander, Melissa, and I stopped at the Renston Homestead on the way back to Greenville. Lots of freshly picked veggies awaited us as we pulled in, including fresh tomatillos, patty pan squash, zucchini, green peppers, and the most beautiful grape tomatoes that we had ever seen. If I thought that the strawberries that they sold here weeks ago were gorgeous, these tiny tomatoes were equally stunning to the eye. While we brought blueberries, onions, and squash home with us, the best thing we left with was pictures of the animals that Steve McLawhorn keeps for all to admire and enjoy.

The "stars of the farmyard show" were definitely the piglets who had grown at least a foot since we were here two weeks ago. They first hid under the chicken nest boxes until we came close enough for them to run out into the chicken yard where they spend their days. They ran straight toward their "kiddie swimming pool" and jumped right in...enjoying the water and "smiling" gleefully. No sooner had they doused themselves before they ran toward us, dodging chickens and ducks in their paths...These "bacon-to-be" candidates were still jumping and playing among their many chicken companions. Outnumbered, but seemingly unaware, they skulked back underneath the shade of the nest boxes..snorting like full grown pigs.

Before we left the Renston Homestead, we visited the goats, peacocks, and rabbits housed in the barns near the road. The baby goats, born just weeks ago, had grown big enough to lose their umbilical cords and rabbits snuggling in their cages looked to us for "niblets" or perhaps an escape into Mr. MacGregor's garden. We left admitting that, while there are many other riches in the world, farms like this one are "rare jewels" that are disappearing right before our very eyes. How fortunate we are to leave such a farm with warm tomatoes and veggies in tow having walked among real farm animals who know what it is like to wake to the crow of a rooster and dine on real bugs for dinner.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm...or One or Two

2007-06-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a blast as Melissa, John Alexander, and I headed down Highway 903 early in the morning through Greene County. We were headed toward Kinston to meet Genell Prigden at Rainbow Meadow Farms. In earlier posts I mentioned the wonderful meat that we bought from her in the past. Last year's free range turkey was worth every penny that we paid for it and every mile to the farm to pick it up. Today's venture was equally worthwhile. Coolers brimming with farm eggs, pork tenderloin, pork chops, ham steak, Italian sausage, Moroccan sausage, young chickens, and French chicken breasts filled the back of the car as we pulled out of the farm.

Coming home with pasture raised meat was only a minute reward gained from visiting Rainbow Meadow. Visiting the farm itself was even more delightful. After talking with Genell Pridgen, one of the farm's owners, about the farm's history and the care with which they raise their Dorper sheep , we could better understand how true her statements (posted on the farm's website) were. Here is what she says...

"Rainbow Meadow Farms is located in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The farm has been in our family since 1746 raising tobacco, corn, soybeans, cows, chickens, and, starting in 1996, Dorper sheep.

Very little money was being made on row crops, so we turned most of our two farms into pasture land and now utilize MIG practices. As we look out the kitchen window and see the sheep grazing in the pasture, we never regret that decision! We feel that raising Dorper and Katahdin sheep will be what helps us to keep the family farm profitable for the next generation."

We visited among the sheep, lambs, and pigs while we were there and on the way home. How wonderful it must be to live in the midst of such a beautiful, pastoral setting. We learned a great deal about Dorper sheep, the need for ruminant veterinarians (They have to fly vets in from Texas and South Africa for their A.I. work...and I don't mean artificial intelligence!), and the possibility of organizing a "slow food" group here in eastern North Carolina. Right now there are active "slow foods" groups in the Triad, but none here. We are hoping to hear more from Genell about this possibility soon!

More about "farm two" in the next post....

Cooking Local This Week...Two Big Successes

2007-06-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Most of what we found at the Pitt County Farmer's Market this week was the same as last week. We did buy some "Peaches and Cream" corn on the cob grown in Greene County AND beautiful tomatillos grown at the Renston Homestead. I used them to cook the cover recipe from the June 2007 issue of Bon Appetit last night. While there were many steps involved, it was worth every one. The Stacked Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde and Cheese were DIVINE. I had made the recipe before with salsa verde in a jar and, although it was good, this version "from scratch" was one of the most interesting combinations of flavors, colors, and textures that we had ever tasted. The Pickled Red Onions that were served on top were beautiful...a combination of lime juice and oregano in the marinade yielded a most interesting flavor. We have lots of them left and I can't wait to add them to salads or the pork chops that are waiting in the fridge.

The other HUGE success was the recipe that we tried with NC Local Shrimp and green beans from the Farmer's Market. Click on the link for ROASTED SHRIMP WITH CHAMPAGNE-SHALLOT SAUCE. I used white wine, rather than champage and the dish was not only beautiful, but outstanding!

More Projects...Tomatoes, Blueberries, Grapes

2007-06-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

My sights have been set on getting some heirloom tomatoes for quite some time. Those that we had purchased in the past at Whole Foods in Raleigh were not only beautiful, but delicious. After shopping on the Internet from Garden Harvest Supply, ten varieties of tomato plants arrived at our door. They have been planted in our small garden and we are tending them carefully. We are concerned about the lack of rain here in eastern NC, so we followed Kingsolver's recommendation about mulch. After watering the soil WELL, we put down layers of newspaper and covered them with straw. Now we are watching closely, crossing our fingers, and hoping for more rain. Here are the varieties that we are "babying."

Black Krim
Brandywine Pink
Cherokee Purple
Green Zebra
Old German
Pineapple
Sausage
Siberian (I'm really excited about this one..read the description!)
Tiffin Mennonite
Yellow Stuffer

In addition to the tomatoes, Stephen planted two varieties of blueberries and three varieties of grapes. He is hoping that his miniature vineyard will survive. All of the grapevines that he has planted in past have not survived.

Lovavore Project One....

2007-06-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

As we planned for our fifth week of local shopping, several projects had hatched in our household as we sought to put into place some of the suggestions mentioned in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Having already made TWO delicious Chocolate Zucchini Cakes (both received rave reviews) with farm eggs, the conversation about building a chicken coop in the backyard intensified. To be honest with you, the chicken conversation has been ongoing for months. John Alexander and Stephen attended a meeting of backyard chicken farmers this past spring at North Carolina State University and our friend, Melissa, has keep the conversation going, asking "the boys" repeatedly when they were getting their chickens!

So project one involves a great deal of "chicken and coop research." If you read back to earlier posts, cake one contained beautiful pastel farm eggs brought to us from Blacksburg by Melissa after her most recent trip to Southwest Virginia. Thus, in Chapter 6, "The Birds and the Bees", when Kingsolver describes the chickens that her daughter (Lily) acquires to begin her own chicken business, we took careful notes. Indeed, when Lily made her chicken choices, her thoughts were much the same as ours. "First of all, some Araucanas," she decided. "Because they lay pretty green eggs. My customers will like them (p. 96)."After EXTENSIVE research, John Alexander thinks that he wants to get three hens...one Araucana, one Plymouth Rock, and one Rhode Island Red. Now the issue is determining whether or not he can get three grown laying hens (that can get along) OR if he will get chicks that will not lay eggs for quite some time. Thankfully, no chickens will arrive until a coop is built. With an architect for a dad, John Alexander will most likely have LOTS of time to decide about the size and breed of his chickens. Today was spent measuring and drawing "coop designs."

More about project two in the next entry.....

-images from http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/poultry/chickens/araucana/ and flickr.com

Saving Jewels Until Later....

2007-06-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Barbara Kingsolver discusses the notion of being smitten with fresh fruits or vegetables in season in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. The beautiful strawberries that we eat here in Eastern North Carolina fit into this category of "smitten-worth" without question. Steve McLawhorn, who owns a local farm, Strawberries on 903 (also known as Renston Homestead), appreciates the worth of his "red to the center" strawberries when he told us during a recent visit that he would close his business before he stooped to growing those "California strawberries with hard white centers" when you slice them open. Nothing could be further from the truth with his the dead-ripe jewels gathered from his strawberry patch. They are red, and juicy through and through. I sliced the last two quarts of fresh strawberries gathered from his farm this past week and sealed them carefully away into zip-loc bags. Six cups of these succulent slices have been hidden away in our freezer. Later this fall or winter, they will remind us of the fresh berries that we'll wait until next spring to taste again.

Companion to Lavender Ice Cream...Chocolate Zucchini Cake??!!??

2007-06-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I never finished last week's story about the Lavender Ice Cream. It was divine and one week later after spending significant time in the freezer, it is as creamy as it was the day that we made it. The lavender flavor is one of the most memorable that I can imagine...after eating it I simply cannot get the taste "off of my mind."

As I mentioned before, I had planned for the Lavender Ice Cream to be as unusual as its accompaniment...Chocolate Zucchini Cake. I had seen the recipe several years ago in one of my favorite cookbooks, Dori Sanders' Country Cooking. After making the cake and serving both the cake and ice cream to my friend, Melissa, she indicated that she had not only heard of Chocolate Zucchini Cake, but had made it herself! Despite the fact that its "uniqueness" was no longer so unique, it was delicious. As Dori Sanders mentions in her cookbook, it is very moist and "torte-like" in consistency. I'll make it again this week for the students in my class for them to try on our final day together! Here is the recipe....

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
½ cup cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh nutmeg

¾ cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 local eggs

2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon peel

2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini

1/2 cup whole milk

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Glaze (directions follow) or 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

-Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

-Beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in orange/lemon peel, vanilla extract, and zucchini.

-Stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.

-Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.

-Drizzle glaze over cake or sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Glaze: Mix together 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.

Cut in thin slices to serve. Makes 10-12 servings.

-ADAPTED FROM DORI SANDERS’ COUNTRY COOKING, p. 141.

From farm to our mouths in less than a day!

2007-06-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

John Alexander and I rode to Snow Hill this afternoon and stopped at Strawberries on 903 (Renston Homestead) on the way home to see the baby goats and piggies that we saw last weekend. We bought eggplants picked this morning, blueberries, and tomatoes. A money box was sitting there on the counter. We followed the instructions on the sign... weighed the produce, put our $20 bill in the box, and made our own change....unbelievable. Steve McLawhorn (the owner of the farm) drove up on his tractor as we finished paying and we talked to him at length. The farm has been in his family for 6 generations. He said that his SWEET corn will be ready on about a week and a half!

Well...off to make Eggplant Papoutzakia...p. 145 in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle! I'll let you know how it tastes!

PS...the recipe was DIVINE and took little time to prepare. It is also much healthier than the traditional Eggplant Parmiagiana. This recipe (and many others from the book) are available at animalvegetablemiracle.com.

Diet for a Small Planet....Lappe had it right YEARS ago!

2007-06-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

My copy of Diet for a Small Planet is decades old. The author, Francis Moore Lappe, was so "on target" then. Her daugher, Anna, has been in the news lately and is often featured as a guest columnist in many papers. Her recommendations for how each of us can "take the bite out of climate change, by considering some greenhouse gas-lowering dietary guidelines" are fascinating.

Read them and see what YOU can do.... Here is the link:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/311991_nutrition18.html

Lavender Ice Cream...You must be kidding!

2007-06-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

It was amazingly fortuitous that one of my students brought me some recipes this past Thursday, including one for Lavender Ice Cream! Little did she know that our front sidewalk is lined with huge lavender plants, full of blossoms, bees, and fabulous lavender fragrance.

Saturday afternoon when I told John Alexander about my plans for making this recipe, he jumped in to help. In addition to gathering lavender, he shot photos and retrieved the beautiful, multicolored eggs that our friend, Melissa, had brought us from Blacksburg. He separated yolks from whites while I trimmed and washed the lavender blossoms. Aroma from the steeping flowers filled the house as we cooked the custard, cooled it and churned it into some of the most delicious ice cream that we had ever tasted. Now, you may be thinking that Lavender Ice Cream is one of the weirdest concoctions that could be imagined. Wait until you hear what we made to serve with it!

In case you are the adventuous sort, here is the recipe for our ice cream creation....

LAVENDER ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS
7 ½ cups whole milk
3 vanilla beans, split OR 2 tablespoons Neilson-Massey Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste
1 cup lavender flowers, fresh or dried, tied in a cheesecloth bag
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup local honey
9 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
A handful of extra fresh or dried lavender blossoms (blossom only…not the pod)

DIRECTIONS
Scald the milk; then add the vanilla beans (or add vanilla) and the lavender bag. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Remove the lavender bag. Beat the sugar, honey, and egg yolks together. Add the milk, a half cup at a time to egg mixture until both milk mixture and egg mixture are blended thoroughly. Heat the mixture in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until it coats the back of wooden spoon and wisps of steam appear. Do not boil. When custard is sufficiently heated, leave to cool. Mixture can sit overnight in the refrigerator. Stir in cream and extra lavender blossoms. Put chilled custard into ice cream freezer and churn until firm.

Third Week...Farmer's Market Trek

2007-06-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

We left by 7AM to see what local Farmer's Markets had to offer. Pitt County's Market was in full gear by the time we arrived. Fresh broccoli was a great find as well as the unexpected...more strawberries from Renston Homestead! Although we were told that the past Saturday would be the last appearance of these juicy spring gems, they still filled aqua paper baskets alongside zinnias and a variety of other selections. After buying berries, berries, and more berries, we searched for anything new and unusual and on our way out and couldn't pass up the beautiful carrots and beets displayed in abundance by a farmer from Plymouth. Last week we had roasted beets, pattypan squash, onions, mushrooms and other veggies in olive oil and garlic and tossed them with whole wheat pasta....delicious. We took carrots and beets home again and left to head to Little Washington in search of more veggies and fresh seafood.

Our trek to Washington met with disappointment at every turn. No fresh seafood was available and the very same veggies were for sale as in Greenville. After walking through the tents erected for the Summer Festival taking place this weekend, we settled on a beautiful wood-fired pitcher for a gift and "passed" on the funnel cakes and other interesting delicacies that were available. We drove back to Greenville in search of something to eat with our veggies in lieu of the fish that we did not find. We knew that a local seafood shop was selling pork and chicken from Rainbow Meadow Farms, so we went to buy pork chops to grill with the Peach Salsa that we had bought last week.

We found the chops we wanted, but as I approached the cash register at the seafood market, the $14.00 a pound price tallied with the 2.5 pound weight of the four chops that I held in my hand. While I wanted to support local farmers, I simply could not pay more than $30 for four porkchops. I put them back and vowed that I would place an order soon and drive to Snow Hill to buy farm-raised meat straight from the farm. Although I knew that most all of my veggies (this week and some left from last) had been purchased from local farmers, I still felt guilty as I paid $8 for a small pork tenderloin at Lowe's Foods.

Smokin' em out....Here come the beeeeeesssss!

2007-06-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

Joe swiped plastic hive frames with a hot "knife" (at least that's what it looked like), revealing golden honey galore. Mounds of beeswax piled into a vat beneath as Joe methodically primed the frames and slipped them into his stainless steel centrifuge contraption whose job it was to spin the honey free. Such an involved process I never imagined, when taking for granted that honey somehow magically flowed from inside hives into the jars that sit so nicely on the shelves in the grocery store.

The collection process now unveiled, the robbing of the hives was next on the beekeeper's agenda. Those mesmerized by this prospect (including all three of us) followed Joe onto the front porch where two young boys clamored to get into full beekeeping garb. After attempting to convince his sons that this was a BAD idea, their reluctant father suited up lest he be left behind. Joe lit his smoker, showing us all how the device fooled the bees into worrying about a surrounding fire, rather than the invaders who had come to steal their honey. Six white marauders headed for the hives while we assumed the important job of watching and taking pictures with the zoom lens from the porch!

As promised, the bees were calm and the entire event was most uneventful. Even one of the young boys asked, "Is this it"? He most likely held the same image I had in my mind of wild, raging swarms of bees trailing out of hives on the tails of beekeepers running toward the horizon.

Since we came in quest of more honey, we left with quarts, pints, and an array of recipes. In addition, we had asked Joe and other local beekeepers about what we had heard on the news and read in the newspaper....Were honeybees disappearing? All concurred that although they do make fewer appearances in yards and local areas, there was no shortage of bees in any hives with which they were acquainted. In fact, Joe stated that one of the best indicators of a thriving honeybee population is the almond crop. Last year, he said, was the best almond crop ever. We left relieved and headed home. That night when I poured several tablespoons of Nursebees' Honey into the cruet to make a luscious Honey Viniagrette for our dinner salad, I did so with much greater awe than ever before.

Heading to Nursebees Apiary

2007-06-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

This past December, Stephen and I bought a quart of some of the most delicious local honey that we had every tasted. Beth Miller was selling her wares at a holiday show held at the Greenville Convention Center when we met her and chatted with her about the hives that she and her husband, Joe, have on their small farm in Bethel. Both Beth and Joe work full time as nurses...thus the name of their honey business, Nursebees, was hatched! After buying our first quart, Beth mentioned that we could buy more from them if we called their home. Our honey jar "went dry" last weekend when I made our favorite Four Seed Buttermilk Bread, so I gave the Millers a call. Much to our delight, they called back to tell us that Sunday, June 3 was the date of an Open House at their apiary in Bethel. We didn't know what we would find, but all three of us couldn't wait to get there.

As we cruised into the drive, a small farmhouse with a tin roof sat before us surrounded with stacks of multicolored hives. What we encountered after walking inside was even more unexpected. After learning more about bees than we bargained for from Joe, Beth, and a bevy of local bee experts, we were assured that bees had little inclination to sting people unless they invaded their hives or tried to harm them. Joe put these words to the ultimate test as he walked onto his large screened back porch containing hundreds of bees, most of which were swarmed in corners of the porch. If we wanted to see how he extracted honey from the plastic frames that fit inside his hives, we would have to follow him out. He placed his hand between two swarms, showing us that the bees were calm and that we needn't be afraid. Our curiosity getting the best of us...we all three went through the door and onto the porch!

On to Renston Farm...Last Strawberries of 2007

2007-06-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

Barbara Kingsolver mentions the euphoria of eating "in-season" produce with reckless abandon in Chapter 2 of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. While she is talking about eating asparagus as it makes its brief appearance in early spring, the premise is the same during strawberry season here in our area. Eating as many fresh strawberries as can be consumed during the short season when they can be picked from the fields and served on your table on the same day is the height of indulgence...a window of six weeks in Eastern North Carolina during which sweet succulent strawberries can be transformed into strawberry cobbler, berry sangria, strawberry shortcake...and anything else strawberried that can be imagined. The experience of slicing through a deliciously fragranced berry that is rubied to its core is one that should be savored...46 weeks of waiting until they are ready again.

Our four mile drive to Renston Farm seemed only a short jaunt allowing us to walk among the barns, farm animals, and fields of strawberries and flowers that awaited us. (For those of you who have asked how to get there, turn right toward Snow Hill off of Hwy. 11, right past Sam's Club, at its intersection with Hwy. 903.) The gentleman from whom we bought our berries reported what he would have to offer once the berries were all gone...tomatoes, squash, corn, zinnias, and snapdragons as long as they lasted. When I asked if I could count on them as "open for business" if I drove from Greenville, he reported that they were open regardless of whether or not someone was actually at their farmstand. He went on to explain that their vegetables were always available. Their customers simply took what they wanted and left their money. He continued to explain that "we work on the honor system here and its always seemed to work for us." If the rest of the world could learn from such trust and dependence, it would be such a different place.

After buying all that we needed, we walked among the fields and animals, appreciating this beautiful and unspoiled. We were unique among most of the folks who brought their young children to see the newly born baby goats...umbilical cords still intact, the peacocks, chickens, roosters, and rabbits. Last, as we approached the back of the farmhouse, the chicken pen had new inhabitants...two young pigs, laid out in the mud, among a myriad of hens and roosters of differing varieties. While Stephen commented that he had never seen pigs and chickens together like this, we all agreed that this motley crew was the ultimate representation of bacon and eggs!

Saturday on the waterfront...Little Washington Farmer's Market

2007-06-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

We approached a cluster of white canopied tents at the end of the waterfront about 9:30am and were so surprised at what we found. Most of the vendors were "backyard gardeners" selling small quantities of only a few vegetables and herbs. Scanning the small array of selections, we spotted the shiitake mushroom growers and quickly shared our story of trekking to the waterfront to buy their wares. They reported having thirteen pounds of shiitakes to sell and we chose a select 8 ounces to take home with us. As we perused other selections, we found beautiful fresh fish, scallops, shrimp, and cleaned blue crabs from Washington Crab & Seafood, Inc. A huge ziploc bag of cleaned blue crabs went for $10...and we left with her last bag of cleaned crabs. No crab recipe was on our docket for the week, but knew that there would be no problem in making a change to concoct the infamous Blue Crabs, White Sauce, and Pasta that my sister, Dana, and her husband, Skip, cook for us when we visit them in South Jersey.

Last, in addition to buying fresh red radishes and white Daikon radishes from another gentleman, we bought jars of homemade Peach Salsa and Raspberry Jalapeno Jam from a family owning a small farm-based enterprise called Petals and Produce. Every vendor we encountered thanked us for coming and invited us to next Saturday's Summer Festival. In addition to an expanded Farmer's Market and more seafood fresh from local waters, arts and crafts would be for sale. We knew that we would be back!

Saturday's finds....

2007-06-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

It is Tuesday already and I have let three days slip by without a post. I have so much to share as our shopping on Saturday was highly productive. A 7:30 AM stop at the Pitt County Farmer's Market yielded fresh onions, zucchini, pattypan squash, and homemade strawberry jam made by a local vendor's mother, Mrs. Eloise. Jam was as close as we could get to fresh strawberries as our reliable source for these sweet, juicy jewels informed us that in order to buy the last berries of the season, we would have to drive out to the Reston Farm on Highway 903.

Last week when we visited the Pitt County Market, we bought luscious shiitake mushrooms from the Jessamine Shiitake Plantation owners. All good things must come to an end and thus is the availability of these delicious morels. Since this, too, was tobe the last week for shiitakes, I had planned to purchase some for a roasted veggie and pasta dish. However, upon perusing the Jessamine website on Friday night, the owners planned to sell mushrooms at the waterfront Farmer's Market in Little Washington...25 miles away. While we questioned driving that far, it seemed like a small sacrifice considering the shocking fact that the majority of food that we eat has traveled an average of 1,500 miles in order to make its appearance on the American table. In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver's husband, Steven Hopp reports that "if every U.S. citizen ate ust one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That's not gallons, but barrels (p. 5). " So, off to the waterfront we drove and the payoff was HUGE!

Saturday morning...Off to the Farmer's Market

2007-06-02T04:14:00.000-07:00

Stephen is in the shower and we are soon to be off to the market. After reading the website for Jessamine Shiitake Plantation, it seems that they will not be at the Pitt County Market today. We will have to drive to the Little Washington waterfront, about 25 miles away, if we want fresh mushrooms.

Focaccia anyone?...

2007-06-01T19:27:00.001-07:00

Since this attempt to cook and eat based upon what I have, rather than what I want, I suspect that I should return to the Rosemary Focaccia Bread that began this story in an earlier entry. Here it is...

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

Focaccia dough is softer than pizza dough, yielding a nearly cakelike interior once it is baked. Baking the focaccia in 8 inch cake pans results in rounds 1 ½ inches thick – perfect for pairing with an unlimited variety of panini fillings (much like a sandwich) or slicing to serve plain as an accompaniment to any meal. If you prefer a crisp crust, drizzle the dough with a generous amount of olive oil BEFORE baking. For a soft crust, brush the focaccia with olive oil immediately upon removing it from the oven.

Ingredients:

1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)
1 cup/8 fluid ounces lukewarm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups unbleached all purpose (plain) flour, plus extra for
kneading
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons chopped rosemary (can substitute other herbs
such as chives, thyme, or basil…or a mixture of several) Save a
bit to sprinkle on top while baking.
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
Coarse salt (sea or kosher salt)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, stir the yeast into ¼ cup of the lukewarm water. Let stand until creamy…about 10 minutes. (This is called “proofing” the yeast to ensure that it is active.) Stir in the remaining ¾ cup lukewarm water and the olive oil. Add 1 cup of the flour and the salt and stir until smooth. Add the herbs, mix well, and stir in remaining flour.

On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough until smooth and velvety…6-8 minutes. (This is where you get to take out all of the day’s frustrations on your bread dough!!!) The dough will be soft. Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in it, and turn the dough to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel. Put in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, abut 1 ½ hours.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and knead briefly. The dough is ready to be stretched into round bread pans. Let rise about 45 minutes in the pan.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Using your fingertips, dimple the dough in several places. Let rise for another 15 minutes. Sprinkle extra herbs on top for “looks.” (You can also add chopped Greek olives, thinly sliced onions or tomatoes, Asiago cheese….or any other toppings that you like on the focaccia bread’s surface…Be creative!)

Bake until golden brown and cooked through, 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil, then sprinkle with coarse salt. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes two 8 inch rounds. This recipe doubles easily if you are having a crowd or want to share with friends and family. It is delicious and highly addictive!

Preparation time – just over two hours. I make it on the weekend and do other things while it is rising!

Enjoy!

-Adapted from pp. 26-29, Pizzas (2000) San Francisco, CA: Fog City Press.

Recipes for the week

2007-06-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Our finds were such that we planned to cook for the entire week with local vegetables and one young hen purchased from a local farm in Greene County, Rainbow Meadow Farms. Several recipes were used this week including Southern Vegetable Lasagna, adapted from Dori Sanders Farmstand Cookbook. I was most excited about this dish since I used the Swiss Chard from our flower garden as a key ingredient.

Other recipes from this week include the recipe mentioned above. This Southern Veggie Lasagna has been a favorite from years gone by, but it was particularly delicious this time. I agree with Barbara Kingsolver that when the ingredients are local (and most of them were...chard, sweet potatoes, onions, fresh herbs from our garden), food tastes more than wonderful. Here is the recipe...

Southern Vegetable Lasagna*

INGREDIENTS
10 lasagna noodles, uncooked (whole wheat is my preference)
1 1/2 pounds fresh greens (swiss chard, mustard greens, spinach), washed and cut julienne-style into small pieces
2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
2 small shredded sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped onion
2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce
2-6 ounce cans tomato paste
1-16 ounce can crushed tomatoes
3-4 tablespoons fresh herbs (Italian parsley, basil, thyme, chives)
½ cup water
1 15-ounce container cottage cheese
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup crumbled feta
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix chopped mushrooms, grated sweet potatoes, chopped onion, and minced garlic. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add these vegetables and sauté, stirring constantly for 6-8 minutes until tender. Stir greens in until wilted. Stir in water, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh herbs, crushed red pepper, and salt/pepper. Heat through and set aside.

Mix cottage cheese, ricotta, ½ cup Parmesan cheese and salt/pepper to taste.

Layer several spoonfuls of tomato- veggie mixture in well-greased 13”x9”x2” baking dish. Add one layer of UNCOOKED lasagna noodles. Sprinkle 1-2 Tablespoons of water over noodles and spread half the cheese mixture over top. Cover with tomato-veggie mixture. Sprinkle with half of mozzarella, parmesan, and feta. Add one more layer of noodles, cheese mixture (save about 3 Tablespoons for the top) and a final layer of tomato– veggie mixture. Make sure that all edges of noodles are submerged in the tomato - veggie mixture. If not, push them down and add a bit of water to the top tomato – veggie mixture to ensure that noodles are well covered.

Top with remainder of mozzarella, parmesan, and feta. Dot with remaining ricotta/cottage cheese mixture. Seal well with foil. Place in preheated 375 degree oven.

Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Cook until brown and bubbly on top…probably about 30 more minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool at least 10 – 15 minutes so that lasagna can be cut into squares.

Serve with green salad and homemade whole grain bread.

Note: I often freeze part of this lasagna. I make it in two smaller casseroles and bake the one that I plan to freeze for the first 30 minutes only. I take it out of the oven, cool it, refrigerate, and seal well before I freeze it. When I plan to cook the frozen lasagna, I simply thaw it in the refrigerator and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until brown.

* adapted from Dori Sanders’ Country Cooking: Recipes from the Family Farm Stand, pp. 98-100, Algonquin Books: Chapel Hill, NC.

Another recipe transformed the mustard greens into a divine casserole that disappeared before our very eyes....

Greens and Four Cheese Casserole

A casserole with spinach or other greens and mozzarella, ricotta, feta, and parmesan cheeses.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds greens, washed and trimmed (Swiss chard, kale, mustard, or collards)
salt and black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil (or 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. dried basil)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup half-and-half
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese (part skim)
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
4 ounces Mozzarella cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish or casserole; preheat the oven to 375 degrees or 350 degrees for oven-proof glass.

Cut out and discard the tough stems; if using kale or collards, cut out thick center ribs. Rinse all the greens and shake off any excess water, chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large skillet, sauté garlic in olive oil. Add the greens over low heat, adding them by handfuls and stirring them down as they wilt. Add 1/2 cup of water if the greens seem dry, then cover the skillet and braise for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender (only a few minutes needed for mustard greens or spinach). Pour off any liquid left in the skillet, then season the greens with salt and pepper, crushed red pepper, and basil. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Heat the broth and half-and-half in a saucepan (or in the microwave), just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan or bowl.

Melt the butter over low heat in a large skillet. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the hot broth mixture all at once and stir over medium heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Whisk in the grated Parmesan and 1/2 cup of the ricotta. Stir the greens into the cheese sauce and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and then distribute the grated mozzarella over the top along with crumbled feta. Add remaining ricotta in small dollops; bake for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the mozzarella is melted and lightly browned. Serve immediately.Serves 6.

-adapted from Greens and Cheese Bake, retrieved May 23, 2007 from http://southernfood.about.com/od/collardgreens/r/bl00311i.htm

Farmer's Market...Unexpected

2007-06-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

As we walked toward the end of the Farmer's Market building, we encountered an unexpected surprise. We approached a display from the Jessamine Shiitake Mushroom Plantation in Winsteadville, North Carolina. Their mushrooms did not even remotely resemble any shiitake mushrooms that I had purchased previously in the supermarket. They were huge, moist, and resembled the portobellas with which I was familiar.

Stephen and I bought a half pound to include as key ingredients in my Southern Vegetable Lasagna. When asked how long these beautiful mushrooms would be available at Saturday's Farmer's Markets, we were told that the following week would be their final appearance in Pitt County. After viewing their website, it seems that we will have to drive to the waterfront in Little Washington if we want fresh shiitakes.

Farmer's Market...Expected

2007-06-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Strawberries...the usual delight of late May and early June in Eastern North Carolina are always present at the Pitt County Farmer's Market at this kind of year. The juicy, deep red berries that are sold by local farmers bear no resemblance to the fruits that are sold in the supermarket at the very same time. Upon a recent visit the farm where most of our local berries are grown, Strawberries on 903, one of the owners told my friend, Melissa, and me that he would close before stooping to grow the varieties of California berries that most consumers know. According to this expert, a true strawberry, when sliced, should be red throughout, rather than white. Having bought quarts of his berries at his farm, we had smelled the difference in these berries and those found in the supermarket. Local berries filled the car with an unmistakable pungent aroma...ripe, sweet berries aching to be eaten. These are the local berries that only last for several weeks...those that Barbara Kingsolver mentions in her book as those you eat with wild abandon while they are in season. We bought 4 quarts of fresh strawberries, planning to eat them each morning for breakfast. What a fine way to begin each day of the coming week.

Shopping at the Farmer's Market

2007-06-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

Stephen and I hoped to find out what the Pitt County Farmer's Market would offer us for the week by visiting it early last Friday morning. Only two vendors were there...the grand selection is always presented on Saturday morning. We looked around and made notes about what was in season and returned home to search for a few recipes containing greens, squash, and other early summer vegetables.

We have a long-standing ritual at our house on Friday nights. I plan menus for the week on Thursday night or Friday afternoon and make a shopping list. We typically shop at Sam's Club (Yes, I admit it...we contribute to Sam Walton's empire...) and at Lowe's Foods. After searching for snacks, veggies, fruits, etc., we have a light meal when we return while watching a movie or one of the few television shows that we watch...Numb3rs. Our Friday night ritual now on hiatus, we waited to shop last Saturday morning at the Pitt County Farmer's Market. We found many items that we expected and a few wonderful surprises.

Our first stop was a booth where everything was touted as "organically grown." We bought fresh lettuce, onions, beets, baby zucchini, and summer squash and admired his gorgeous calendulas.

At our next stop, we found crisp mustard greens, sweet potatoes, and a small, crisp head of broccoli. We paid for our finds and went in search of a staple at this time of year...fresh strawberries.

A feeble attempt...

2007-06-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have been struck by so much of what I have read in this book and on Kingsolver's website, http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/, especially her claim that most Americans have come to make our food choices based on what we WANT...rather than on what we HAVE. This simple notion resonated with me such that when I arrived at home on Wednesday of last week to find that our son, John Alexander, had carefully trimmed our rosemary bushes, I pondered what I might do with the huge mound of fragrant sprigs he had saved. Immediately thinking of the luscious foccacia bread that I had made in the past, I hatched a plan to archive the recipe electronically, hoping to share it with my students on the following day. During the graduate level course that I am presently teaching, I always bring in books that I am presently reading. As I shared an excerpt from Kingsolver's book, I told my students about the have vs. want thought. My first feeble attempt to use this notion as a guiding tenet offered willing takers fresh rosemary and an accompanying copy of my Rosemary Focaccia Bread via email. The rosemary disappeared quickly and I sent copies of the recipe to 12 "takers." As many rubbed the leaves between their fingers and smelled it as we continued to talk about their future students, I wondered if any might be intrigued enough to give the recipe a try.

I made the focaccia bread the following Friday and was a bit worried that I hadn't explained more in the recipe about how to work flour into the sticky dough. I worked on a myriad of things around the house as I let it rise and the fragrance of yeast and rosemary filled the house. Later that night, hot bread, good cheese, nuts, and fresh apples (oops....obviously not in season) was all that we needed for dinner. A feeble attempt, yes....but the rewards of my effort were enjoyed and savored by all three of us.

This past Thursday, one of my students approached me as we moved into the computer lab for a final segment of our class and handed me a small sealed envelope. Curious about what it held, I opened it to read her note thanking me for sharing the rosemary and the recipe. She had made the focaccia bread for her parents and husband on the very same day that I had made it for my family! Surprised...yes...but my "feeble" attempt had prompted another to appreciate what so few have ever experienced...kneading, baking, and sharing fresh bread with those you love.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle...the one week outcome

2007-05-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, the boys and I spent some time in one of our favorite places...Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. The bookstore's e-newsletter advertised Barbara Kingsolver's new book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. After picking up one of the three autographed copies that Quail Ridge had on the shelf, I sat down to peruse. After reading the first few pages, I was hopelessly hooked. I read several passages to my husband, Stephen, who also has a sincere interest in many of the issues that Kingsolver and her husband Steven Hopp highlight in this book. I went back to snag the other two autographed copies for my sister, Dana, and my close friend and fellow booklover, Melissa.