Straight from the Farm

I finally did it!  I got D to gobble up his dish, ask for seconds, and then ask when I was going to make the next batch!  And that was exactly what I was thinking myself.  It was just that good.  In fact, it may be one of the best things I’ve ever made in my life.  Wanna know what it is??

Roasted rosemary potato leek soup… It’s a marriage of flavors that even the Pope would be willing to officiate over if he tasted it.   It all started with a gift from my coworker.  She brought me the most beautiful luscious rosemary from her garden, and it sat it my desk all day, perfuming the air and making me ridiculously hungry to the point that I started drooling on my keyboard.  Rosemary’s piney-peppery-lemony scent always reminds me of herb roasted potatoes, which I “discovered” in college when I had my own kitchen for the first time and a great farmer’s market near at hand.   So, by the time 5 o’clock rolled around, I was near desperation to get home and make some roasted potatoes with this glorious rosemary.

As I’m prone to do on my bike commute home [insert quick promo here for commuter cycling and all its benefits - exercise, save money, save the earth, relieve congestion...], I started contemplating my next foray into the kitchen and remembered I had fresh leeks from the farm that I’d been thinking of using in soup.  By the end of my 10 mile journey, I’d come up with the idea of roasting potatoes with the rosemary and some of the farm’s amazing garlic before combining them with sauted leeks and some soy bacon in a creamy soup. 

I hadn’t tried putting roasted potatoes in a soup before but thought the roasting process might help infuse the rosemary and garlic in the potatoes and, thus, concentrate the overall flavor of the soup.  I’m not one to brag generally - but boy, was I ever on the money with this one!  The flavor of the soup turned out to be dense and complex, even a little smoky in the background - and the salty bite of the soy bacon pings against your tongue just when it’s succumbing to all the silky creaminess. 

I could go on and on about this soup but I’ll spare you my lustful ramblings – I already have the ingredients on hand for another batch so I’ll content myself with daydreaming about that.  Since no doubt you’ll be making this too in the near future (you’re not??  for the love of all things delicious, why not?), you need to know the secret to its success - really fresh ingredients, including the rosemary (don’t use dried!).  

Roasted Rosemary Potato Leek Soup
A “Straight From the Farm” Original

4 large potatoes
4 large leeks
4 large cloves of garlic
1/3 large onion, minced
3 t. very finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 package of Smartlife Soy Bacon (or real bacon if you want)
4 c. vegetable stock
1 c. light cream
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. butter or margarine
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Begin by scrubbing the potatoes and dicing them into small cubes (leave the skins on).  Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the potatoes out on it.  Mince the garlic and sprinkle over potatoes along with 2 teaspoons of the chopped fresh rosemary.  Drizzle on the two tablespoons of olive oil and toss well to coat evenly.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper before placing in oven to roast for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and the skins are crisp. 

While potatoes roast, trim off dark green leaves of the leeks and wash well.  Slice the leeks in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Set aside.  Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and cook the soy bacon for 3 minutes on each side until slightly crisp.  Remove from heat and cut into small pieces.  In the same skillet, add a tablespoon of oil and of butter.  Add the sliced leeks and onion along with a generous sprinkle of salt.  Saute until translucent and soft but with some color still. 

When potatoes are done roasting, dump them into a large soup pot and add the leeks and bacon.  Toss together and then add the vegetable stock.  Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to slightly blend the soup (adjust chunkiness according to personal taste).  Slowly stir in the cream and the remaining teaspoon of fresh rosemary.  Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasonings (I added about two large pinches of salt and a bit of pepper to mine).

Serve garnished with a few extra roasted potatoes and a sprig of rosemary. 

(serves 4-5)

I spent most of the summer trying to avoid making anything too ordinary with the farm’s produce.  I thought about posting a baba ghanouj (guh-NOOSH) recipe more than once.  But it just didn’t seem to have enough “ump” to it, ya know?  That was until I had two pounds of eggplant leftover from the Headhouse Market last week and an urge for some good “baba”.  When I got home, I went to the cupboard, all revved up to get the process going, only to find the tahini jar crusty and unyielding.  Suddenly, a baba ghanouj recipe without tahini became quite interesting indeed and worthy of a post. 

Fortunately I have an abundance of middle eastern cookbooks, my favorite of which yielded this excellent recipe that makes baba ghanouj ridiculously easy and only uses standard pantry stuffs.  Where have you been all my life, tahini-less baba?!? 

And the tasting panel (an impromptu dinner party of farm “staff”) greatly approved as well.  The variety of the eggplant, or even its condition as some of what I used wasn’t in peak form, doesn’t matter terribly.  What does matter to the successful outcome of this version of baba is the use of both fresh lemon juice and garlic.  When it’s all blended together, this is one of the creamiest baba’s I’ve ever had.   And it felt so good to give that ol’ tahini jar a toss since I only kept it around for the baba.   After all, I need the extra self space for the preserves I’m making from local produce.

Baba Ghanouj
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian

1 1/2 pounds of eggplant
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 t. coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and dry eggplant before pricking several times all over with a sharp knife.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray.  Lay eggplants in a single layer on the sheet and place in oven to roast for about 45 minutes or until eggplants are soft to the touch and look deflated. 

Allow roasted eggplants to cool completely.  You can even roast them the day before and store them in plastic wrap at room temperature until ready to use. Cut off the stems and slice lengthwise.  Using a spoon, scrap out all the flesh and place it in a blender or food processor.  Repeat with all the eggplants.

To the eggplant flesh in the blender, add the oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy.  Serve at room temperature or chilled with wedges of pita bread.  Also good as a spread for sandwiches.   

(makes 1 cup)

What’s that old adage about good sometimes being bad?  Oh yeah - it’s both a blessing and a curse.  “It” being the heaps of fresh produce I inevitably bring back either directly from the farm or from Headhouse.  Don’t get me wrong - this is most definitely a blessing.  But now, six months into the season, the novelty has worn a bit thin.  I found myself staring into the fridge the other night, a huge bag of mish mashed vegetables signing softly (to the tune of Three Blind Mice), “We are fresh, we are fresh, won’t be for long, won’t be for long, what are you planning to do with us, we’d love to go into a dish tonight, for we are fresh…”

Okay, before one of you calls the local authorities to come pick up the crazy lady who hears singing vegetables, I’d best get back to my original point.  There are only two things to be done with a big bag of fresh vegetables mocking your creativity - stir fry or soup.  This time I opted for soup. 

Well, my plan was a good one, but the execution was a bit wanting.  The problem? In a word - eggplants.  I had too many of them.  My mission being to use up the whole bag of veggies in one fell swoop, I threw all six eggplants into the pot when I really should have just left it at two.  All six gave the broth a distinct bitterness.  I felt rather humbled.  But when I removed most of the eggplant slices, added more vegetable broth and another zucchini to balance out the flavor and it was just fine - very savory, yet still fairly light without any tomato base to weigh it down. 

So, go easy on the eggplants, but otherwise mix and match the ingredients in this basic vegetable soup recipe however you’d like.

Light and Savory Vegetable Soup
Inspired by a bag in my refrigerator

1 T. butter
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 small sweet peppers, diced
2 or 3 small zucchini, tops trimmed and sliced (1/4 thick)
1 or 2 small pattypan squash, tops trimmed and sliced
2 small asian eggplants, tops trimmed and sliced
1/2 lb of okra, tops trimmed and sliced
1/2 lb of artichoke hearts - frozen or canned is fine
6 c. vegetable stock
1 T. all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 T. chopped fresh marjoram
1 T. chopped fresh oregano
1 T. chopped fresh sage
1 T. chopped fresh basil
1 c. small pasta (optional)

Begin by slicing the eggplant and salting it generously to draw out some of the bitterness.  Set it in a colander to drain off while you slice the rest of the vegetables.  When done prepping all the vegetables, place a large stew pot over medium-high heat. Put in the butter and oil to heat while you pat off the eggplant slices with some paper towel. 

When oil and butter are hot, put onion, garlic and pepper in the pot and saute until translucent - about 3 or 4 minutes.  Add a little salt and pepper.  Next, add the squash, zucchini, and eggplants.  Stir often until softened - about another 3 or 4 minutes.  Sprinkle flour evenly over vegetables and toss well.  Let cook, stirring once or twice, for another 2 or 3 minutes to cook off the “rawness” of the flour.  The flour serves to thicken the broth a bit.

Add vegetable stock and bring to a rolling boil for 2 minutes.  Lower heat and add okra and artichokes, along with another pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir well and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.  Add all the chopped herbs, stir, and simmer for another 10 minutes.  If you’re adding the pasta, put it in at the same time as the herbs and be sure to continue simmering the soup until the pasta is soft. 

(makes 4 generous servings)

Five days from the official start of autumn; I’d say it’s time to start squirreling away some of those summer crops to preserve warm-weather flavors that will brighten cold-weather dishes.  Putting up all types of preserves for the winter is a long-standing tradition in my family.  I have vivid memories of shelling dishpan after dishpan of lima beans and boiling pot after pot of beets to be canned and put in the cellar cabinets. 

Those cabinets were fascinating in and of themselves.  Built into the rough stone foundation of our century-old farmhouse, those cabinets got filled to the brim by mid-October with colorful mason jars and then “mysteriously” emptied by June of the next year, just in time for the full-swing of harvest.  There was one small cabinet, just my size when I was seven or eight, which held all the fruit jams I helped my mom make - strawberry, grape, peach, blueberry, and raspberry.  Peach was always my favorite.  

The big cabinets held the large quart jars of pie fillings (peach, apple, cherry); fruit halves (pears, peaches); soup mix (for my mom’s amazing hearty vegetable soup); vegetables (green/yellow beans, lima beans, kidney beans, corn, beets, tomatoes); and sauces (apple sauce, spaghetti sauce, soup stock).  All of this had been grown in our garden and on our farm.  We had three large freezers full of meat we’d raised ourselves as well.  To say the least, it was an impressive example of sustainable agriculture and eating really really local all year round. 

But sadly, while I do have a farm right in my neighborhood, I don’t have that lovely big cellar with stone walls full of canning cabinets.  My small rowhouse does have a basement but not one that was built to provide the right climate and storage for food preserves.  Still, I’m determined to do two things this autumn - preserve our family traditions of preserving and perpetuate the eating of fresh local fare for as long as possible.  Buying mass quantities of produce from the farm stands now to can and freeze will help support those farms through the winter just as much as buying a tomato here and a squash there has all summer long.   

I began my quest by drying what remained of the large box of yellow tomatoes I had on hand.  I was pleased with how long they had lasted off the vine, but the signs of demise were close at hand so I needed to take action before they were too far gone.  I’ve never dried my own tomatoes before, nor has anyone in my family so this is actually an evolution of sorts of our family traditions.  Since my small outdoor space is lacking bright sun while overflowing with squirrels, doing the drying by natural means wasn’t an option.  Oven drying turned out to be a perfect and easy process.

OVEN DRIED TOMATOES
Researched on various websites

For this batch of oven dried tomatoes, I used a yellow medium sized variety.  You can dry any kind of tomato - for cherry and roma tomatoes, cut them in half.  For other larger varieties, cut them into 1 inch wedges.

Begin by washing the tomatoes well and removing the stem and core along with any bad spots (the great thing about drying tomatoes is that you can use a half rotten one if part of it is still good).  Cut the tomatoes in half and gently squeeze them over a bowl to release most of the seeds and juice.  Do not squeeze them too hard though as you want some of those juicy innards to remain for flavor. 

Once tomatoes are squeezed, cut into smaller wedges (about one inch) and place in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side up.  If you so choose, drizzle with just a little olive for added flavor.  Don’t add very much though as it’ll keep the tomatoes from drying out properly if there’s too much oil.

Heat your oven to 150 F or its lowest setting if it doesn’t go that low.  Since drying will take anywhere from 5 to 10 hours, this process works really well in a gas oven since the residual heat from the pilot light flame is usually enough to keep the drying process going if you need to turn the oven off when you’re in bed or not home.  If using an electric oven that doesn’t have a 150 F setting, put it on low and prop the door open slightly.  It’s okay to turn the oven off altogether and then turn it back on when you are in the kitchen again.  Just leave the sheet(s) of tomatoes in the oven uncovered.  If you’re doing multiple trays at once, rotate your baking sheets or racks every few hours.

When the tomatoes are dried they should be leathery and pliable, but not sticky.  Don’t over dry them - you don’t want dark brittle bits.  Rather, aim for a texture much like a raisin. 

To store your oven dried tomatoes, let them cool completely and then put them in ziplock bags or glass jars with an airtight lid. Apparently they will keep this way for up to 6 months, but I can’t confirm that just yet (I’ll report back later this winter).  One site I read also suggested you could freeze them for even longer storage times.

Oven dried tomatoes can also be stored in oil.  To do this, do not dry them quite as much…they should still be a little bit plump. Quickly dip them in distilled vinegar and then pack in a jar before covering with olive oil. You can also add some fresh herbs and sliced garlic if you’d like.  Allow the jars to sit at room temperature for a day and then store in the refrigerator.

These are great in any recipe that calls for sun-dried tomatoes.  Or, to rehydrate to use in soups and sauces, soak them for 5 to 10 minutes in hot water, broth, or wine.

(one tray of tomatoes yeilds about one half pint jar when dried)

Two photos to share for no other reason than they’re pretty.

Some flowers salvaged from a weeding frenzy at the farm.

An amazing salad I was able to throw together with our squash blossoms and lettuce, an asian pear from Headhouse, and some extra sharp cheddar cheese from a local farm I can’t remember the name of right now.  Tossed with fresh oregano and a snappy orange juice vinegairette, it was as tasty as it was pretty!