This gratin is quite simple to assemble, and easier to cook. It can be assembled earlier in the day and then cooked, or you can cook it off and serve it at room temperature or re-heat it. It is even good cold. It makes a great vegetarian sandwich-just smear a soft roll with tapenade and lay in some of this gratin. This gratin is really fun if you have various colors of squash to play with as it yields a nice colorful dish. Although the instructions seem long, they are not really, and once you have done this you will find a hundred variations spring to mind.
Continue reading »
Favas and Romano cheese are a classic Italian combination, from simply eating small early favas and slices of young Romano to mixing them in dishes. I recently had company that did not eat dairy, but I wanted to use pesto. If you taste a fresh young fava it has a cheesy taste, with a little tang and that hard-to-define eau de barnyard funk, along with a slightly gritty yet creamy texture. Just like Romano cheese. Turns out that tender young favas make an excellent substitute for Romano cheese in pesto. Use this vegan pesto as you would a regular pesto.
Continue reading »
It’s a berry bonanza! The addition of strawberries and blueberries both in the box AND available for special order in the web store in bulk quantities this week has led to a frenzy of berry-related activity. If you have never ordered from the web store before, all you have to do is:
Continue reading »
Making my own granola is easy, and very satisfying. I always double the recipe as it is just as easy as doing a single batch, and it lasts quite a while. A perfect partner for fresh fruit and vanilla yogurt.
Continue reading »
Here is a riff on the now ubiquitous grocery-store deli salad. This is a great way to use the stems of broccoli, and could be made entirely with stems if you wish. If you do so, back off the volume by 2 cups or you will have a lot of slaw. This is one of those recipes that can be varied a lot for different but equally tasty results.
Continue reading »
This is a super simple slaw dressing that works with the Broccoli Slaw recipe, or any other slaw type salad with assertive flavors like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or beets. This is the closest thing to the dressings on slaws in grocery store deli’s I can come up with.
Continue reading »
This dressing was designed for Broccoli Slaw, but will enhance many other things that that have a bit of peppery bite or assertive flavor, such as dishes with cauliflower, cabbage, arugula, cress, and the like. This iteration is a little lighter than v.2 as it uses less mayonnaise, and a little more oil.
Continue reading »
If you get both blue and straw-berries, this is wonderful to make with them. The granola is easy to make, but you have to be patient when making it. The parfaits can be made ahead and brought out at the last minute.
Continue reading »
This week we got the netting over the blueberry patch–just in time, as the fruit is ripening fast. If we left the patch uncovered the birds would get more berries than we would. We picked the first ripening berries this week, so a few of you will find blueberries as your mystery item.
Continue reading »
Meant originally for Salad of Butter Lettuce, Beets, and Broccoli, this is a simple and very versatile dressing. Goes well with earthy foods, or anything bland that needs a little perking up without overwhelming the base food.
Continue reading »
This is a great combination of flavors that all support and play off each other. Romano cheese is a classic pairing with early season favas, so if this is being used with pasta or as a dip add some grated or crumbled romano. This mélange is great for fish, grilled chicken, sandwiches of fresh mozzarella and salumi, or toss it with orecchiette pasta or some chunks of summer squash that have been grilled or pan seared.
Continue reading »
The combination of early season favas and mint is a vibrant flavor that speaks of spring. Young favas and romano cheese are a classic pairing, so romano is used in the risotto instead of the usual parmesan. If you have some very thin asparagus spears, you could cut a few diagonally into half-inch lengths and blanch them until just barely done and add them with the favas. Be sure to add the mint just before serving or it will turn dark and lose some of its brightness.
Continue reading »
Here is a simple yet flavorful dressing perfect for beets or other earthy elements in salads. It would go well with Middle Eastern spiced foods, or make a nice chicken salad. Although it says “Creamy” in the title, there is not much, and it is yogurt or mayonnaise based on your preference. The yogurt will be a little more tart and bright, the mayo makes for a lighter and subtler dressing.
Continue reading »
This recipe calls for a sweet mustard spiked dressing, but this combo would really well with an orangey-creamy dressing such as Creamy Orange Dressing (see recipe) or Orange Poppyseed Cream Dressing (see site for recipe). If using an orange based dressing, try adding pistachios or almonds instead of sunflower seeds.
Continue reading »
The unusually warm spring has produced favorable conditions for us to get our cover crops mowed down and lots of transplanting already done here at our home farmland. This is the first year we are not farming the land we used to lease around the Redman house, but with our 18 acres at Lewis Road and the similar size here at home we have plenty of good ground available.
Continue reading »
This is a riff on a very famous sauce from the Troisgros restaurant in Roanne, France. It was one of the dishes that launched Nouvelle Cuisine. This version is simplified, and lightened a little from the original. Use it on fish (salmon was the original fish used), shellfish (scallops, lobster, shrimp), or on poached or slow roasted chicken breasts. Sorrel has a refreshing lemony tart/sour quality that is great with richer things like salmon and cream.
Continue reading »
This was a dish that occurred from a Tour du Fridge one year. I have done this using large artichokes as well as small ones. For the large ones, I trimmed everything away from the heart (saving the leaves and steaming them until done, and then eat them as you would from a whole artichoke) and cut it into cubes. For small artichokes I just followed the basic prep as in the recipe for Braised Baby Artichokes on the site right up to the cutting them into sixths. Either way works for this recipe. The potatoes and artichokes are a wonderful combination of flavors.
Continue reading »
Use these as a side or appetizer, or use Portobello mushrooms in lieu of the button mushrooms for a first course or main. This recipe calls for scallions because they are in the box this week, but if you don’t have them to hand, use white or yellow onions, or even shallots. These can be assembled ahead of time, with the exception of the bread crumb topping which should be added only at the last moment or it will be soggy. When choosing mushrooms, look for those that are still fairly closed and the gills have not darkened yet. Dark gills on button mushrooms are a sign of age, and they are bitter when cooked. If you have your heart set on this dish and the mushrooms all have dark gills, scrape out the gills with a spoon before beginning.
Continue reading »
Among the very best improvements we have ever made on our farm is building an enclosed workshop in 2007. By most standards it is quite modest—30×30 feet, with unfinished walls and a bare concrete floor. But it does have workbenches, lots of shelf space, good lighting and enough floor space to work on two trucks or tractors at once if need be. And most importantly, it has a place for everything—(although everything isn’t always in its place).
Continue reading »
“Agrodolce” means “sweet and sour” in Italian, and is usually a reduction of sugar and vinegar applied to something else. Here I use the term loosely in that there is sugar and a balsamic vinegar applied to the fruit. This is an especially nice way to treat early season berries that smell gorgeous but might not have had the time to develop full flavor yet. Use these with plain or vanilla yogurt, make a parfait with layered berries, granola, and yogurt, or use these for topping to pancakes and waffles. Eat as is with cheese such as Gorgonzola or young Pecorino Romano.
Continue reading »
It feels like the end of May around here. The flowers on the Ceanothus in front of our house, which is usually just starting to bloom at this time, have largely faded and been scattered onto our walkways and yard. I can’t remember a winter where I have been in shirt-sleeves more often.
Continue reading »