Straight from the Farm

a turnip tucked in tulips

Port Wine and Pastries:  Yes, my dear readers, I am currently away from my desk/computer, hiking around the steep hills of Lisbon and rural sections of the northern Minho region of pint-sized Portugal.  I can’t wait to get back and tell you all about the rich old-world culture of this unique little country oft forgotten by European travelers intent on getting to Italy and Spain.  In the meantime, enjoy this post for Turnips Stuffed with Rutabaga and Peas, and please have patience with my delay in responding to comments. 

Obrigada e adeus (thank you and farewell)! 

a lone rutabaga
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a turnip shell and its insides
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top of a stuffed turnip
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rutabaga and turnip pieces for roasting
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roasting done
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peas and butter!
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the ultimate bathroom: endless reading abounds

Sustainable living practices, including “buying local”, go far beyond being a member of a CSA or shopping at the farmers market downtown or making your own bread.  Sustainability also means supporting local shops and fair trade practices whenever possible.  In this manner, the money from your purchase goes much further than just powering your day with caffeine or buying a nice present for a friend.  Rather, that cash serves as a lifeline for small business owners that support the rich diversity that makes our world so enjoyable.  And money spent close to home stays close to home so your own neighborhood improves with each and every cent you spend. 

Come along with me for a photo tour of my very most favorite neighborhood book shop, Walk a Crooked Mile Books.  Then tell me what’s the best local joint in your town…

you know you’re close when you see the shelves
of free books at the top of the street
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an old train station is the perfect home for this shop

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sign says it all
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resident putty tat looks rather bookish herself
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sunlight hits the shelves
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the holy grail
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upstairs looking through the stacks
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beautiful old books
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navigate as best you can with these directions
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Walk a Crooked Mile Books
In the Mt. Airy Train Station
Devon Street at Gowen Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215.242.0854 

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Port Wine and Pastries:  Yes, my dear readers, I am currently away from my desk/computer, hiking around the steep hills of Lisbon and rural sections of the northern Minho region of pint-sized Portugal.  I can’t wait to get back and tell you all about the rich old-world culture of this unique little country oft forgotten by European travelers intent on getting to Italy and Spain.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this post and please have patience with my delay in responding to comments. 

Obrigada e adeus (thank you and farewell)!

 

I’m so invigorated today!  Next person that asks me how I’m doing today, I’m going to energetically reply, “Invigorated!”  I wonder if that’ll elicit anything other than the normal autopilot response, “Good.”  Doesn’t matter; I’m too invigorated to care.  

Why so charged up, you ask?  Well, there’s been lots of exciting stuff happening.  First, we got snow!  Might sound silly, but boy, was I ever missing having snow around!  I finally had two or three inches to call my very own, if only for a few days, and it made me very happy.  I got to spend Saturday crunching through the virgin whiteness of the snow covered fields at the farm, snapping pictures and sucking down the cold clear air.  Take a look at this funky “old movie” slideshow or just click “View all images” to get a more straightforward look at snowy Weavers Way Farm. 

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Then, right after indulging my sense in the snowy outdoors, I took a trip over to the greenhouse to see how the seeds we planted 10 days ago were doing and give them a little pep talk (and some water).  What a world of difference it was from the white emptiness of the February fields!  The greenhouse was a riot of growth wrapped in steamy warmth and heady scents of rich soil fueling the birth of so many gorgeous little plant babies.  I nearly cried!  These little guys are just so cute and full of promise for the coming season.  Here’s my favorite picture followed by a slide show of the others.   

Already on such a high, I’ve now nearly rocketed out of invigorated orbit with anticipation for my trip to Portugal this week!  I leave on Wednesday with Taylor, who’ll be my partner in crime for the first week of prowling around Lisbon, Sintra, Leiria, and Porto.  And then I’ll be retreating to (what I hope is) a lovely little old-world cottage in the remote northern part of the country to relax for another week, sipping lots of port wine and exploring rural farming practices while hiking along ancient footpaths.  Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?

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I hope none of you will be too disappointed with me when I get back and turn this food blog into a travel blog for a few days as I’m no doubt going to have lots of photos and stories to share.  In the meantime, I’ve cobbled together several posts that will pop up automatically while I’m away so you won’t be left without fresh reading material for too long. 

So I wonder how big the little plant babies will be by the time I get back?  It’ll nearly be spring!!  Now that’s an invigorating thought!

You know what I love most about blogging?  With a little dedication, time and encouragement, a virtual community starts forming and the flow of ideas starts going both directs – me to you and you back to me.  Actually, I guess ideas really start flowing three ways when you consider readers sharing hints with other readers in the comments section.  In short, you guys rock! 

Why the sudden outpouring of love?  Well, the Yeast Primer post got a lot of great discussion going in the comments, and I’ve started getting regular emails with helpful ideas and recipes too.  For example, the base recipe for today’s Seasoned Bread Bowls, the last of the bread recipes until next winter probably, comes from reader, Kim, and it helped me to offer an easy method for making bread bowls, a request made by another loyal reader, my mom. 

 

The original recipe was meant for baguettes, I believe, but I thought the seasoned dough would make nice bowls for soups too, adding a little extra flavor in the background.  This dough was very interesting to work with as it wasn’t like any other I’ve made before.  It started with making a batter!  And then beating that batter until it was nearly frothy wiht a heady yeast smell.  Then it became a very fast riser and generally much shorter process from start to finish, which is perfect if you’re trying to get a bunch of them together for a dinner party. 

Thanks to the milk, butter and egg, the resulting crumb of the bread is very light and soft with a good crust – perfect for bread bowls. The seasoning wasn’t as prominent as I expected so I’ve added some extra in the recipe below that I think will give it a boost.  I found I liked my second bread bowl better than the first since it had sat for a day, getting ever so slightly stale (I forgot to seal the bag) and developing its flavors more. 

  

I don’t have any to test it on, but I think this would be a great recipe to get the kids involved with, particularly the shaping of the dough balls.  The dough is super easy, even downright fun, to work with so have them thump it around a bit and then use their little hands, which are much better proportioned than adult hands, to rotate the dough to form small taught balls.   And how excited will the be to then eat their soup out of the bread bowls?  I know I sure was! 

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In the comments of a recent bread post, I was asked what the difference is between the available types of yeast and why I use different kinds in different recipes.  Here’s what I wrote in response:

“I don’t have a scientific explanation but I can tell you how I use them differently.

Dry active yeast: This is the kind I always proof first so it’s what I use for any type of bread that I’m afraid to make without testing the yeast, which usually includes larger loaves and/or a dough with a lot of “stuff” in it. This type of yeast is not nearly as “hungry” as the rapid rise variety so the dough takes substantial time to rise and usually is more dense once baked. [added note here:  this means the dough is sturdier so it can support larger sizes and more ingredients.]

Rapid rise yeast: This kind I almost always mix straight into the flour without proofing it. I like to use it for rolls and similar smaller airy dough creations, such as bread sticks. It lives up to its name in that a dough made with rapid rise yeast will double in size in about 30 minutes instead of two hours. Why not always use it, you ask? I personally think the flavor of the resulting bread is not at “deep” (i.e., hinting of sweetness from the yeast’s gas) when it rises so quickly. I’m sure there’s a more scientific reason too that a real artisan bread maker could explain.

By the way, there’s also something called easy blend yeast, and I think it’s a combination of the more traditional dry active yeast and the rapid rise. I had a few packs of it once, but don’t really see it all that often in the supermarket.

All in all, I’ll try to do some research and figure out more factual answers to your question. I’ll put up a yeast primer if I can get enough materials together.

Really good question, btw!!”

And indeed it was a good question, and one I wanted to answer for myself.  Luckily for me, the answer was right under my nose the whole time.  My copy of The Big Book of Bread contains more than five whole pages explaining the properties of this essential ingredient in bread making.  Turns out I wasn’t too far off in my gut instincts about what to do with which types and why. 

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