In the Garden Now - June '15

When it comes to eating out of the garden June is a slow month although the flowers are showy, frequent and fragrant. Early roses, peonies, phlox, iris, delphinium and nameless ones

For food there is chives, green onions, shallots and leeks [from last year]. Some tender spears of asparagus.

There is sorrel for sauce and fish soup. This is been wonderful. I love making a light, creamy fish soup with daikon and stirring hand fulls of sorrel in at the very end.

The queen of June may be strawberries, which I have been showing on instagram. Along with other delights of the season. We have full and happy strawberry beds, the drought is over and we are eating them with joy. While standing in the garden, with cream and almond biscuit/shortcake. Next there will be a tart.

Wishing everyone sweetness today...

cold so soup

The late November weather continues. Of course October is barely half over but I survive. I don't like to complain about the cold too much, since usually I don't mind it all that much, after all I do choose to live here in Minnesota. I feel silly complaining about cold here, like complaining about rain when you choose to live in Seattle. But seeing it snow again this morning as I drove to work was...a downer. I love autumn and I would really love it if the weather would go back to average so that I could enjoy autumn.

In the meantime my best response to the weather is soup. There was a ham bone waiting so it's making yummy broth right now and the beans are soaking. Tomorrow I'll take the fat off the top of the chilled broth and make white bean soup. I have a plethora of veggies to choose from so who knows what will go into it. Definitely kale since I have bags of it and leeks and who knows--soup adventures!

The supporting reason for my beginning this soup...I can step into my kitchen again, the new floor is grouted. Rosie was adorable the first time she picked her way daintily across the new floor, seeing a rottweiler be light-footed is not something you see every day. The floor is still a work in process though absolutely gorgeous. Although we sealed the slate first it did absorb some of the grout, which we have to get off the tiles before the second coat of sealer goes on. And of course the grout needs to be sealed as well. But still big progress.

Now to mull over paint colours for the walls. Stay warm.

CSA start 2009

So last week was the week, Thursday the day. Our CSA started for 2009! It amuses me to think of how excited I am about our CSA this year. And I am reminded that although it is very common here in Mpls it is not in many parts of the country so I feel grateful as well. It's exciting to get a box of yummy fresh stuff and try to make stuff out of it. Try to not let it go to waste. Certainly challenging.

So one of the things I love about my CSA already is that they post on their website what they hope to have in the box come Thursday/Friday. That way if you are a planner, and you know I am, you can think about meals and so forth.

Another thing I like about them is that the weekly newsletter is typewritten. My old CSA used to hand write their newsletter. I think they were going for the personal touch but I always found it very hard to read. A minor thing but an improvement for me.

In the first box: Arugula, Spinach, Kohlrabi, blue Potatoes, radishes, green garlic, scallions, rosemary and lettuce. Everything I have tried so far is yummy. I had an arugula/spinach salad last night. I cooked the kohlrabi leaves this morning and had some of them topped with fermented soy sauce aside a fried blue potato with scallions and a poached egg. There are 3 of us trying to eat it up, we'll see how we do.

It's a bit overwhelming for some reason. Then I think how common this kind of eating was a century ago. You had a garden, things were ready to be eaten and you figured out what to do. It took thought, but also you probably get better at it the more you do. Just like pie crust.

I see that as a great line to end a post with, so more CSA adventures next week.

Just like pie crust.

fresh fava beans

In my quest for seasonal eating I have been reading several cookbooks. I want to be more engaged in my meals and appreciate my food. Get off the whole buying out, eating automatically tilt a whirl. Several places I read mentions of fresh fava beans a spring time delicacy. I read that they took some effort to cook, but the writers all claimed they were more than worth it. I noted it was spring now, but went no further.

Then at the coop this weekend there they were. Great big pods with a sign beside them 'fava beans' and I knew the moment had come. I bought a big bag and cooked them up.

The commonest recipe [even in the Silver Spoon] seems to be making a puree out of them and eating with bread. So after I shelled them, blanched them, iced them and skinned them that is what I did. It was fine, but worth all that work, I don't think so. They were more work than pitting cherries, more work than the homemade meatballs I also made today, but not worth it in my opinion.

Perhaps like so many fresh beans [and peas] the best thing to do is to pop them raw directly into ones' mouth. I have never been a Lima bean fan either so perhaps that's why I found them just ok. So my quest for newness satisfied I don't think Fava beans will be reappearing on my plate any time soon.

cast of millions...in my fridge

Have I ever mentioned my sweet pets that live in my fridge? [quick check for tag] Nope, I don't think so. [or maybe I did in the artisan bread post] They are no trouble at all, so happy, useful and yummy. It's my sour dough starter.

Apparently I am a goofball, but I think it's hysterical to start talking to someone about my many pets...in the fridge...who are my starter. My inner-chef must be about 12 years old.

I have had a starter for about 6 months now and it has been an interesting road. A lot of information on the web has been too scientific for me to bother to wade through. Also I like to cook with whole wheat, almost exclusively, and I have not yet found many doing that. Add my not baking with processed sugar, you probably are not surprised to hear I make a lot of things up.

I have had triumphs. My WW dark chocolate chip cookies are really good. They are made with agave nectar and chips are grain sweetened. However my second attempt at WW sourdough cinnamon rolls was a complete flop, although the dogs are enjoying them.

I made them once before, spur of the moment, and they turned out ok. Too sweet though with all the agave and pecans I thought. They didn't rise enough either that first time. I tried v2 this week, I was so in the mood for yummy yet semi healthy sweet rolls, but they were horrible. They weren't sweet enough for me! It's been a long time since I thought something wasn't sweet enough. They took forever to rise. No, I am not putting a recipe out here, although I guess I could as a grim warning.

It was so disappointing. Notes on possible fixes:
-more sweetener, this may be the recipe to try out rapadura.
-starter more robust so that it happily doubles in the 2-3 hours given
-pecans always make things better.
-don't skimp on butter, or cinnamon in the middle.

Once I and the dogs recover, my feelings and their stomachs, I'll have to try again.