Straight from the Farm

 

I think it’s safe to say I’m on a another “kick”, thanks to the cookbook, 5 Spices, 50 Dishes, that I told you about last week.  I can’t help myself since the colorful photos are deliciously alluring and the recipes are proving to be fast, easy, and most importantly, reliable.  So here comes another Indian dish today, and another one will be along shortly, I’m sure.

I wouldn’t have thought butternut squash to be a typical ingredient in Indian cooking since I’ve not seen it on the lunch buffets or the dinner menus of the restaurants around the city.  And in fact, I couldn’t find evidence that in grows in India (although please correct me if I’m wrong since I only had Google to rely upon).  However, butternut squash is a delightfully light and sweet addition that marries well with the coconut milk in this curry.   Bravo for thinking outside the lines of “traditional!”  

This was my last butternut squash from the Headhouse Market, which signals to me that I’m finally in the depths of winter and this blogging about locally grown produce thing is going to become more and more challenging.  Fortunately I picked up some locally grown produce from farms in central Pennsylvania while I was visiting my parents for the holidays – fat round turnips, long skinny parsnips, and rosy apples.  And then of course I’m planning some special theme weeks – one for soups and one for breads and perhaps one for cheese making if I can get around to gathering the supplies.  So there’s no shortage of things to look forward to in 2008.   

But for now, let’s get back to focusing on this warmly sensual dish with the silky butternut squash, the brightly flavored green beans, the creamy coconut curry, the crunch of the toasted almonds, and the heat of the hot pepper and mustard seeds.  I also really enjoyed the colors of this dish and almost forgot it was winter for a moment, even though it’s the perfect meal to warm up on a chilly evening.  In fact, I’d dare say it would make a great addition to any gathering you might be having with friends and family tomorrow if you can hurry to get the ingredients on a final dash to the market. 

Speaking of hurrying to get ready, it’s time for me to run.  I wish you all the best for the new year!

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Here I am at 8:30 in the morning, drinking a double strength cup of tea and wondering what happened to Christmas. This year’s festive family time turned out to be a real comedy of errors that blurred the usual sleepy chats over the breakfast table and raucous dinner gatherings.  

Let’s recap — D got lost on back country roads for more than an hour, trying to find the turnoff for my parents’ house.  I ruined a batch of dulce de leche, to my great disappointment since I’d planned to use it as family gifts and shouldn’t have put making this second batch off until the last minute. Then there was the mysterious (and rather violent) stomach bug that took down first one and then later two more family members right when we were all ready to dig into the feast of holiday dishes.  Not to mention my mom couldn’t eat anything for reasons of her own.  On top of that, there was a broken furnace and a not so pleasant plumbing problem that required a hurried drive to get parts an hour away.  And on top of that, a car battery died and another car got sideswiped!  There was a funeral (old friend of the family) and a trip to the emergency room to boot.  As a result, some people left ahead of schedule while others got drastically delayed, and all of us felt a little turned on our heads.   Looking back on it now, it’s a tad bit humorous and certainly memorable.

I think I need a vacation from my vacation!!

One thing that did go right was my first attempt at using the sweet corn I’d dried back in September.  Hopefully you gave drying your own corn a shot since this dish met with rave reviews and shouldn’t be missed.  If you didn’t, there’s still hope.  I’ve recently learned that some specialty and bulk food stores do carry dried corn, although it can be a bit pricey. 

I was eager to serve this old-fashioned creamy corn at the Christmas table because both my grandmother and aunt would be there to offer their feedback.  It was my grandmother that instructed me on how to dry corn and provided some guidance as to how to then prepare this dish.  And it was my aunt who reportedly loved eating my grandmother’s dried corn casseroles as a kid.  Their stamps of approval were definitely to be sought.  

I have to admit I was at a bit of a loss on how to get started with this dish until I found a basic recipe through a link on Foodbuzz, which I then heavily adapted.  But that recipe really wasn’t much help when it came to deciding when the corn was “done”.  I had questions aplenty.  Should there be some liquid left?  Or should I cook it until everything was completely absorbed?   What texture was I aiming to get?  Soft like regular cooked corn?  Crunchy like dried?  Should I season it heavily with salt?  Or should it have more of a sweet flavor?  Does it need to be piping hot to be good?  Or can it sit around with all the other covered dishes until everyone’s ready to eat? 

You get the idea.

 

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I’m so fortunate to have good friends that know me well.  There are many “for instance” moments I could tell you about, but I’ll just share one in particular this time.  Fred, of homemade dulce de leche fame, reciprocated my gift to him with the most wonderful of cookbooks.  I swear the guy can read my mind sometimes…or maybe he just reads the blog more than he lets on…  In any case, not long after I’d got done lamenting about how many spices are required by most Indian culinary undertakings, he gives me 5 Spices, 50 Dishes, an Indian cookbook cleverly centered around just five spices, all readily available, and full of mouthwatering dishes.  Not only is Inidian food fittingly my most favorite cuisine, but also this handy guide is full of beautiful pictures!  You see, I’ve also been known to grumble about how I hate cookbooks that don’t have enough pictures.  This one is spot on the money in every way!

Author Ruta Kahate has an easy conversational tone to both her intro and her recipes that demystifies what might otherwise be an intimidating cuisine.  Using just coriander, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper, and ground turmeric (although she occasionally slips in a few others like ginger, hot peppers and cilantro, which probably technically sidestep a “spice” classification), she puts forth quite a spread.  I really think I’m going to use every single one of the vegetable dishes in some form or another since many of them call for the very things we grow at the farm – cauliflower, okra, eggplant, peas, spring onions, and many others. 

Unable to resist trying out a recipe the very day after I received it, my first venture into this book was a potato dish since that was the only locally grown vegetable in my kitchen at the time.  And lucky for me, I already had all five spices used in the book in my spice box (only three were required for this particular recipe though).  I was also intrigued by the name - Railway Potatoes - and the story behind them.  I obviously enjoy recipes with family heritage, and this dish was one that Ruta’s mother made to take with them on long train trips to visit family in far flung regions of India.  It stands to reason that these potatoes might not be known elsewhere as Railway Potatoes, but I like that she has chosen to pay homage to her family’s traditions in her cookbook in such a manner. 

It’s of little consequence what anyone else calls them, since I’ll just be calling them “Oh so good!” 

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Food fads – love ‘em or hate ‘em, there’s always one making the rounds.  Pomegranates seem to be the current “cool kid” and sometimes get put in recipes just for the sake of it.  Don’t get me wrong; they’re deserving of the attention but sometimes make it onto the ingredient list just for the pazzazz factor.   

Okay, I’m not going to lie to you. I became as guilty as the next fad follower when I decided to put pomegranate in this dish.  But, in my defense, once I’d thought up the combination, it seemed like parsnips and pomegranates should have always come together in one pretty little dish. 

Butter fried parsnips in and of themselves are hardly a fad.  Instead, it seems like everyone’s grandmother made these for them as kids.  Mine didn’t, but I quickly latched on to them once I got cooking for myself.  I was also tempted to make a creamy parsnip soup - another favorite standby for using up these mildly sweet root vegetables - and drizzle it with the pomegranate reduction.  That idea might be worth a try still one of these wintery days. 

Since both parsnips and pomegranates are rather traditional Christmas fare in some parts of the world, going as far back as Roman times,  I think I can safely say this dish has the potential to be a keeper and not just another one that will go out the window when the next “cool kid” ingredient shows up on the menu. 

BUTTER FRIED PARSNIPS with POMEGRANATE SAUCE
A Straight from the Farm Original

Parsnips
2 large parsnips
½ c. flour
1 t. salt
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
½ t. dried marjoram or oregano
¼ t. cayenne pepper
cooking spray, butter flavor preferred
4 T. unsalted butter

Sauce
1 large pomegranate
¼ c. water
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. raw sugar
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Scrub parsnips well and peel them very lightly.  Using a mandoline or a sharp knife cut them lengthwise into ¼ inch thick slices.  In a large sealable bag, combine flour and seasonings, shaking to mix. Coat both sides of parsnip slices with cooking spray and place a few at a time in the bag with the seasoned flour.  Toss until coated.  Repeat as necessary.   Set aside.

Cut pomegranate in half and scoop out a few spoonfuls of seeds and set aside.  Place a strainer over a bowl and squeeze pomegranate halves over it to release as much juice as possible.  Place juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer juice until reduced by half.  Add water, balsamic vinegar, sugar and spices.  Continue to simmer for another five minutes or until sauce begins to thicken a bit.  Remove from heat and stir in reserved seeds.

Heat butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat and let it come to a sizzle.  Add coated parsnip slices, browning on one side and then the other for about 3 minutes each.  Turn the heat down to low and cover, cooking until parsnip is fork-tender, about 4 or 5 minutes longer. 

To serve, place fried parsnip on a platter and spoon pomegranate sauce over top.  Best if served immediately.

(serves 3-4)

 

This is it – the final piece in the Straight from the Farm’s First Annual Holiday Gift Round-Up bag o’ goodies.  In truth, I hadn’t necessarily planned on making anything else.  But then I figured a package that contained this and this, two items that just begged to be spread on something right out of the bag, had better have a little something else to round it all out.  A loaf of homemade bread would do just the trick. 

I’ve been making bread since before I can remember.  I know this because my mom has a picture of me, standing on a chair that I’d pulled up to the kitchen counter, kneading dough and covered in flour from head to toe.  I’ll see if I can snag it while I’m home for the holidays to put up here for your amusement.  It certainly makes me chuckle every time I see it.   

 

I’ve also been using the exact same recipe since then.  It came from my mom who snagged it from who knows where.  It’s called “Miracle Bread.”  I bet you have the same question I had….why’s it called that?  I wish I had a concrete answer for you here.  I do have two of my own theories though.  The first is that this likely came out of some old church cookbook (as so many of my mom’s standbys do) and some cheeky housewife in the ‘40s thought putting “miracle” in the title would make her holier than all the other housewives.  Amusing possibility, no? 

 

The second of my theories might be just ever so slightly more plausible, since I know for a fact it’s the truth.  I just don’t know if it’s the real reason behind the bread’s name.  See, this recipe is truly foolproof.  Besides making sure your yeast rises when you first mix it with the water, there’s no way you can mess it up – or at least I haven’t found a way yet and I’ve had my fair share of “woops!” moments with this dough over the years.  It’s also ridiculously adaptable…you can make loaves in pans, loaves of your own shaping, rolls, plain, whole wheat, rye, herbed, raisin, and even cinnamon buns.  I’m going to try to add to that list in January when I put together a Week of Bread for you.  So taking into account its indestructibility and adaptability, the bread is pretty darn miraculous. 

I used this recipe for the whole wheat rolls I made for Fred and his dulce de leche gift.  And then I decided to use it to make a very slightly sweet plain loaf to put in everyone else’s bag.  I bumped up the sugar in the liquid by a scant teaspoon to harmonize with the sweetness of the jam and dulce de leche.  The resulting loaf was proof that just a small change like that gives this bread a whole new personality.  Had I not used up all my whole wheat flour making Fred’s rolls, I might have also thought to make these loaves whole wheat with a touch of honey for the extra sweetness.  I don’t think honey matches the flavors of plain bread nearly as well, but that might just be personal taste. 

Making your own bread is very rewarding and, I dare say, relaxing.  Forget the bread machine – in my opinion, it’s one of the few modern appliances that takes away from (rather than adds to such as my new dishwasher does) the joy of cooking.   Kneading bread dough is very therapeutic, especially after a stressful day.  And since this recipe is so forgiving, you’ll not have any frustration messing with your “zen”. 

Bread making also allows you to control what goes into this cupboard staple, sidestepping all those questionable preservatives that make the Pepperidge Farm loaves I get last an unnatural month without molding.  A word to the wise though – since it has no preservatives, this bread generally doesn’t hold up for more than a week.  It’s typically gobbled up much faster than that though, and you can prolong its staying power by putting it in the fridge. 

So, I hope you’ve enjoyed the ‘07 Holiday Gifts and feel truly appreciated as readers.  Should I do it again in ‘08?  There will be a few more recipes in 2007, but just in case you’re scooting away from your computer soon, let me wish you all happy (and tasty) holidays!   It’s been a wonderful year and wonderful having you here! 

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