Categories
Recipes

Baked Beets with Maple Syrup and Horseradish

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds red and golden beets, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
  • 6 ounces white or yellow onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 T. butter
  • 3 tsp. cream-style prepared horseradish
  • 3 T. raspberry vinegar

Preparation
Layer sliced beets and onions in a buttered shallow 2- or 3-quart baking dish. Stirring constantly, heat maple syrup, butter, horseradish and vinegar over medium-high heat until butter is melted and mixture is just below a boil. Pour maple syrup mixture over the sliced beets and onions.

Cover casserole tightly with lid or aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 1 hour or until beets are tender. Halfway through, remove lid or foil. 

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Categories
Recipes

Moroccan Root Vegetable Stew

Ingredients

  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped white or yellow onion
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 T. minced fresh garlic
  • 1 T. seeded and minced hot fresh chile pepper
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups diced potatoes
  • 1 cup chopped orange, golden and red carrots
  • 1 cup chopped sweet potatoes or yams
  • 1/2 cup chopped turnips
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsnips
  • 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1½ cups chopped tomatoes
  • 1 cup chopped turnip and beet greens
  • 1 small or 1/2 large lemon, cut into quarters
  • salt to taste

Preparation
In a large pot with a heavy bottom, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt. Sauté, stirring constantly, until onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and hot pepper. Sauté for 1 more minute.

Add broth, water, chopped root vegetables and chickpeas. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook approximately 30 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. 

Stir in tomatoes, greens and lemon quarters. Add salt to taste. Return mixture to a simmer, and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Serve hot over couscous or rice, if desired, and pass the harissa, a hot chile paste used in North African cooking.

Makes approximately 5 to 6 servings.

Categories
Recipes

Roasted Root Vegetable Purée

Roasting, as opposed to boiling, vegetables before puréeing intensifies their flavor. Because roasted root vegetables tend to become gluier than boiled vegetables when puréed or mashed with milk or cream, this recipe uses broth and butter only.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound golden potatoes
  • 1/3 pound celery root
  • 1/2 pound rutabaga
  • 1/2 pound leeks
  • 2 fresh bay leaves, cut in half lengthwise
  • 3 T. olive oil
  • 1/2 T. coarsely chopped fresh garlic
  • salt and freshly ground coarse black
  • pepper to taste
  • 1½ to 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
  • 2 T. butter

Preparation
Peel and dice potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Peel and dice celery root and rutabaga into 1/2-inch chunks. Wash leeks, peel off tough outer leaves, and cut off root end. Starting at root end and going up to about 1 inch below where the leaves start branching out, cut leeks into 1-inch slices.

In a large bowl, toss vegetables with bay leaves, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a large, shallow baking pan. Roast at 400 degrees F for approximately 45 minutes, stirring 3 times throughout. When vegetables have 15 minutes left to roast, pour 1/2 cup broth over. Continue cooking until vegetables are fork-tender. 

Remove from oven. Remove bay leaf pieces and discard. Heat 1 cup of broth with the butter until steaming hot.

Working in batches, purée vegetables with broth and butter mixture; use additional heated broth if necessary. Spoon purée into a buttered 1-quart casserole dish, and return to oven until heated through. If desired, top with bits of crispy bacon or pancetta. 

Makes approximately 6 servings.

Categories
Recipes

Sweet Potato-parsnip Cakes

Serve up some Sweet Potato Parsnip Cakes from Hobby Farms

Serve these hash-brown-like cakes as a side dish with roasted meats; with a dollop of sour cream mixed with horseradish for an appetizer; or topped with a mixture of smoked trout or salmon, lemon mayonnaise, and diced celery for lunch.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 pound sweet potatoes or yams
  • 1/2 pound parsnips
  • 2 cups ice-cold water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • salt

Preparation
Peel sweet potatoes and parsnips, and remove woody centers from parsnips, if necessary. Using the large holes on a grater, shred parsnips and sweet potatoes. Place in a bowl and pour water on top. Let soak for 20 minutes, then drain off water.

Use your hands to squeeze water out of shredded vegetables, then pat and squeeze with paper towels. Add eggs, flour and ginger. Stir to combine.

Pour vegetable oil into a cast-iron skillet to a level of 1/4-inch. Heat skillet over high heat until oil sizzles when you drop in 1 teaspoon of the vegetable mixture for a test.

Scoop or spoon vegetable mixture into a 1/3-cup measure. Invert into the hot oil, and use a spatula to flatten the mixture into a cake approximately 3 inches across. Repeat to fill, but not crowd, the skillet. Sprinkle each cake with salt. Fry until deep golden brown, approximately 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.  

Makes 8 cakes.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

2011 Lists

Flowers
Photo by Jessica Walliser

And so goes another year. Why is it always so hard to believe? Before I sat down to write this post, I looked at my January 2010 garden journal writings to see if I actually managed to accomplish any of the items the last New Year’s to-do list. I’m happy to say I managed to check off some while others—mostly the ones that have been on the list for several years running—remain untouched.  I guess I’ll tack them onto the end of 2011’s to-do list and hope for the best.

While the list for the coming year is not as extensive as 2010’s (perhaps I’m getting more realistic as I age?), it’s fairly full. I know how unlikely it is that I’ll actually ever get all of it checked off; but still it feels good to put it all on paper. Put it in order. Make some sense of it. I think I need to do that to my desk, too.

I’m good at in putting lists in order but not so good at putting items in order. The 2011 spring seed catalogs have already started rolling in. With the best of intentions, pile them on my desk, knowing it’s highly likely I’ll neatly file them away like I always mean to. Eventually I’ll get around to sifting through them, pulling out my favorites first and starting to dog-ear the pages, circling my “must-haves” and cross-referencing my selections with a list of seeds I already have on hand. It’s quite the process to do all this, but it’s a welcome diversion from winter’s lack of actual gardening.

I know many gardeners who always order all their seeds from the same catalog. Although I do have my favorites, I usually end up ordering from three or more sources. I haven’t managed to find a single seed catalog that has everything I’m looking for. The only negative to doing this is the increased shipping cost. It’s hard to justify paying $4 to ship a single $3.75 seed packet, but if it’s a tomato that only one catalog carries, there’s not much of a choice. I’ve found splitting seed packets with friends helps alleviate some of this, but I can’t always find a friend with the same seed needs.

As I compile my seed wish list for the coming season, I’ll be sure to include a handful of new varieties I’ve never grown before, both in the veggie garden and the flower beds. I have found many treasures by taking a chance on something new.

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Categories
Homesteading

Resolutions and Goodbyes

Greenhouse
Photo by Brett Langlois
The first item on my resolutions list is to finish our greenhouse and get to to seed-starting early.

‘Tis the time of year to make New Year’s resolutions (unless you’re my husband, who seems strangely immune to the resolution bug). Because we’ll be bidding farewell to good old 2010 and hello to shiny new 2011 in just a few short days, I figured I better get started. Now don’t worry—I won’t bore you with my usual list of easily broken personal-improvement resolutions (work out more often, quit procrastinating, and the like). But if it’s OK with you, I’d like to share four of my farm-focused resolutions for the New Year—and invite you to share your own rural resolutions in the comments below.                  

1. Finish our greenhouse.
This is one project on THE LIST I resolve that my husband and I will:

    a. finish
    b. finish before 2011 expires, and preferably before this winter’s end, so I can get an early start on seed-starting.

2. Learn how to prune our fruit trees and grape vines properly. 
I’ve tried to teach myself the pruning basics from books and online resources, but in the end, I always fall back on a vague sort of pruning force to make the cuts, kind of like an extremely inept Luke Skywalker wielding pruners instead of a light saber. This year, I resolve to find and take a pruning class/workshop, or at least locate a wise Jedi gardener to give me pruning instruction. 
 
3. Spend more space and time growing good food. 
I’d like to expand our vegetable garden this year, plant some hazelnut trees, add more herbs to our front yard, and spend more time immersed in the relaxing, down-to-earth pleasure of gardening and growing our own delicious, organic food. I’d also like to grow some interesting new heirloom vegetables this year, starting with that weird veggie from another planet, kohlrabi.

4. Endeavor to be a better steward of our land and environment.
We’ve done a few things in this area over the past year, such as install rain barrels to catch roof runoff, set up a worm bin and new composter to handle kitchen waste, and work on mud control, but I know we can do way more. One goal: Improve the health of our pastures and prevent over-grazing so soil and nutrients don’t run off into our local waterways.

While I’m happy to be greeting another New Year full of exciting possibilities, I’m saddened to say this will be my last Country Discovery blog.  It’s been such a pleasure sharing my country experiences with you, and I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you who took the time to ramble along with me.

Happy New Year!
~ Cherie   

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Categories
Urban Farming

Sandwich Inspiration

Squash on rye sandwich

Photo by Judith Hausman

Try this sandwhich: squash on rye—hold the mayo.

This month, as life turns toward the interior and food gets comfier and cozier, I’ve run into a few terrific vegetarian winter sandwiches at local restaurants to tell you about. None will be hard to replicate at home. Is there any better accompaniment to the homemade soup I often make than a really great sandwich?

Sandwich Find No. 1

At Restaurant North, a sleek, new, farm-to-table restaurant in my area, the kitchen mixed grated, raw winter vegetables with aioli to fill crumbly whole grain bread. Grated broccoli stems, butternut squash and sunchokes—all of which can be local and/or regional here in December—made a colorful, if humble mix, and the garlicky mayonnaise and a cushion of mashed avocado added luxury. Two-fisted, it was, and really satisfying, but my homemade version would be even more so paired with tomato soup. This summer soup recipe will work fine in December with home-canned tomatoes.

Sandwich Find No. 2

For the second sandwich, Bedford Post Inn gets the credit. It comprises panelle (Sicilian chickpea fritters, cousin to farinata) and goat cheese on crusty peasant bread, a combo as rustic and sophisticated as the restaurant. These fritters are fat patties with a crunchy outside and a smoother inside texture than the similar Middle Eastern falafel. (Secret Weapon: boxed falafel mix would approximate and simplify this sandwich.) At home, I’d partner it with a good chicken or post-Thanksgiving turkey soup. My own this year was a classic: barley, carrots, onion and the leftover Brussels sprouts.

Sandwich Find No. 3

The third sandwich hit was the creation of a young and comfortable spot on the Hudson side of my county, called Juniper. Warm-orange butternut squash, goat cheese and onion marmalade are slathered on country bread slices—so simply satisfying. The ultra-smooth apple-celery root soup I spooned up with it is a partnership worth trying to imitate.

My Sandwich Creation

These sandwiches inspired my own invention. I roughly chopped up frozen mixed greens (chard, bok choy and napa cabbage) and red and yellow sweet peppers from the summer. Capers and garlic make nice add-ins that punch up a Mediterranean theme. Then I spread this on toasted rye bread (or maybe whole-wheat flatbreads) and dollop the open-faced toasts with ricotta.

When I can find it, I prefer the wonderful whole-milk ricotta made from New England milk by Calabro, a family-owned cheese company in not-far-from-here East Haven, Conn. It’s even sold in an adorable little metal bucket. I heat the whole thing gently in the toaster oven. Piquante (but not hot) peppers, firm rye, comforting milky ricotta: Just add cider or a dark beer and a fire in the woodstove to feel cozy-issimo.

Read more of The Hungry Locavore »

Categories
Homesteading

A Pair of Plying Methods

While it’s possible to use singles (yarn that hasn’t been plied), yarn that has been plied is much stronger, easier to work with and more balanced. Balanced yarn doesn’t twist back on itself with the energy that newly spun singles will, and it makes for a more consistent finished project.
 
Many inventive spinners have adapted basic plying techniques. We’ll give you two different methods to start with: plying yarn using a lazy kate and spinning wheel and using an Andean bracelet to ply on a drop spindle. Watch the slideshow below for a step-by-step guide.

Categories
Homesteading

How To Ply Yarn

Plying yarn is a skill every fiber artist should know, whether working with the fiber from the beginning of the shearing process or using fiber from other people’s animals. By making a plied yarn, you create a material that is thicker, stronger and more balanced for your knitted or crocheted garments.

Watch the video above as fiber artist Dianne MacDonald from Kentucky guides you through this simple and soothing process.

Categories
Equipment

Buying Tools: Price Versus Quality

Tool shop
When buying tools, I consider both the quality of the tool and the amount of use I will get from it.

A reader recently responded to a July blog post that talked about buying tools locally where you could get service. Brent pointed out that tool-buying decisions should include buying the best-quality tools you can afford. He also mentioned the importance of guarantees and availability of lifetime replacement.

Brent makes a really good point on quality. When it comes to tools that are high-use and high-wear, quality and dependability trump price every time. However, I often struggle with buying a high-priced, high-quality tool versus one that will get the job done when it will be seldom used and lightly at that. Call it my use-pattern context.

As an example, I previously mentioned a company called Bad Axe Tool Works. The owner makes heirloom quality saws. Take care of one, and it will be something to pass down to future generations. I would dearly love to have one of his saws, but at $250 give or take a sawbuck or two, I have a hard time justifying it if I look at my recent use pattern. That said, I have a building permit for a small cabin this spring. As I look ahead, a really high-quality hand saw looks increasingly worthwhile. Of course with the Bad Axe waiting list, I better get my order placed sooner rather than later.

Next week, I will tackle reader Brent’s comments on guarantees.

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