Monday, September 26, 2011

How do you like them apples?




Phillip K. Dick, the science-fiction writer, said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”  We perceive the world the way our senses and sensibilities perceive it, seeing what we understand and editing out what we don’t.  Learning to garden and forage, I can walk down an urban street and see not only houses, trees, and trash along the street, but chicken of the woods and chicory, wild carrot and endive, Concord grapes, acorns, and occasionally a rabbit.  Would I want to eat a mushroom growing so close to the street, or grapes off the vine climbing the tree that hangs over the stream posted with pollution warnings?  No.  But my eyes have adjusted to a new reality, where this is food, this is a food chain…  I’m still a novice to mushroom hunting, and even mycologists themselves will frequently report they don’t know why mushrooms appear here and not there, now and not then, to paraphrase Michael Pollan’s writings on the subject.  There is so much we don't understand about the interconnected web of life, but it's there regardless.  A butterfly and a tsunami are connected.  We just need the right filter, the visual adjustment, or maybe even a blind-fold so that other senses can awaken.

The industrial food process is anything but transparent, many of us buying foods with metaphorical blindfolds on.  We see the cheap price and don't connect the health and environmental issues later.  A month ago, I picked peaches on a farm because they were the first ones to have them.  It was not an industrial operation, but I felt itchy afterwards.  Perhaps I should have asked what sprays they used.  Then last weekend, the family went to Hill Orchards, which practices Integrated Pest Management.  IPM is not necessarily spray-free or organic, but is a method that uses many natural means first to control pests.  This orchard sets up traps to attract pests to see what they’re dealing with in any given season.  Beneficial insects such as ladybugs, mantids, lacewings, assassin bugs, and the like may be brought in.  Companion planting with herbs may attract these beneficials or deter pests.  Then there are sprays such as insecticidal soap or copper/sulphur to treat fungal diseases.  Rarely will growers who use IPM use wholesale insecticides.  So there we were, picking apples and peaches, grown responsibly.  When it came time to pay, both fruits were actually cheaper per pound than the first farm I picked at.  (Hillside $1.50 vs. "Other" at $2/lb.  I guess chemicals cut into their costs.)




Now how do you like them apples?  I like them in my 8 pints of apple sauce, in apple pie, in apple parsnip soup.  I like my 4 pints of peaches, chicken tangine, and Indian pudding.  But it's not just about the food.  After losing sleep trying to keep up with the canning, I took a peach, felt its fuzz peel away with my fingers, let the juice ooze over me, smelled it, inhaled it.  It was peach, and it was becoming part of me.  The pit, hard as a jewel, when broken open yielded a tiny almond-like seed.  In fact, the two are close cousins.  I smelled the seed, broke it, and chewed it slowly.  I think I may go into the garden blind-folded just to see with my nose.  

I made a pie.  Sent some over to my neighbors who cut up the tree we lost in Tropical Irene.  The logs now line our school garden.  And saved a slice for my minister, for another wonderful sermon and for just being him.  Here’s the recipe:





Vegan Option
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Basic Pie Dough
Taste of Europe
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Prep/Chill: 30 minutes  Makes two 9” double-crust pies
2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups vegetable shortening
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coriander (optional)
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 egg (or 1/4 cup oil for vegan recipe)
1/2 cup water
Sift together flours, sugar, salt, and coriander, if using.  With fork, cut shortening into dry mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar, eggs or oil, and water. Combine the two mixtures, stirring with a fork until all ingredients are moistened. With floured hands, mold dough into four balls.  Chill at least fifteen minutes before rolling.  Dough can be kept wrapped in plastic in refrigerator for three days or frozen six months.

Gramma’s Apple Pie

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. cinnamon and nutmeg
Dash salt
6 cups thinly sliced, pared tart
apples (Granny Smith or Cortland)
2 tbsp. butter

Heat oven to 425ºF. Prepare pastry.  Stir together sugar, flour, nutmeg,cinnamon, and salt. Mix with apples. Turn into pastry-lined pan.  Dot with butter. Put top crust on.  Seal edges and cut slits in top. Cover edges of pie crust with two to
three inches of aluminum foil. Remove in last fifteen minutes of baking
time. Bake 40-50 minutes or until crust browns and juice bubbles through slits. (Granny Smith apples may require more sugar.)

Source: Betty Crocker (?)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

It's Not Over Yet!

September...  Tomato season is nearing an end as I store my jarred salsas, ketchup, and bruschetta, and frozen sauce.  The remaining ripe plum tomatoes got dried in the oven (cored and quartered, on a foil-lined sheet, at 170ºF for 6-12 hours).  If after all the other demands of life allow the time, green cherry tomato rosemary pickles and green relish.

After losing power 35 hours during Irene, we went to Sturbridge Village to see how people lived before electricity.  We had our own plan of making shadow puppets, cooking on the grill, listening to the radio, doing crafts....  I'm the kind of person who never wants lights on when they don't have to be, but I didn't realize how dark it got without everyone else's.  Had it not been cloudy, we would have looked at the stars.  It was difficult reading and playing board games.  It was windy and raining.  The candles came out.  As it happened, the batteries in the boom box had corroded and my husband braved the weather going store-to-store for C batteries when all we had were AAs.  I made a sock monkey named "Storm".  My daughter, only four, bugged me to let her sew until I said yes and gave her a straight line and a circle to stitch.  Last week she sewed her first pillow.  I don't think I'll be saying she can't do something again.  It's funny how all the "lost arts" come out when the power fails, and how much it fascinates children.  We made coffee in our press pot by boiling water in a kettle on the grill, an hour long process.  At Sturbridge Village we listened to the actor explain how she roasted the coffee beans at the crack of dawn...I told her I hoped she saved coffee for the next day in order to make the coffee.  Not knowing how accurate her farm was, I noted the mealy moths in the grains, the bean beetles in the pole beans, the flies on the food.  I'm not sure the Indian meal moths she had would not have been present, but Colonial America did import nutmeg, also from India and other Asian countries.

Just as one season ends, another begins.  Fall is by far my favorite.  Part of me wants to slow down and enjoy the changes.  But it was a rocky road in and school has begun.  As usual, I have obligations nearly every day, taking work home while at the same time looking at what my child did in pre-school.  I look forward to all the harvest activities that pop up this time of year, knowing I can't do them all.  We've been eating anything that can be thrown into a wrap, corn on the cob, pasta, salads.  More "quick" recipes to come.  I did come up with a quick "gelato" recipe a few weeks ago when my husband brought home overripe peaches in a shrink-wrapped Styrofoam tray from somewhere...  Tomorrow we will pick peaches and apples from down the road, canning late into the night.  I'm thinking ginger apple sauce.  I guess I'll sleep this winter.






Gluten-Free/Low Sodium/Vegetarian
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Peach “Gelato”
Taste of Italy
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Prep: 15 minutes  Freeze: 1 hour or overnight  Serves 4
2 over-ripe peaches
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/8 cup local honey
1 tsp. ground ginger
Have peaches getting soft on your counter?  Make this quick dessert!  Soft peaches are easy to peel the skin from.  You can peel, then freeze, or vice-versa.  I usually freeze the peaches in their skins so I don’t have to wrap them, but peeling must be done quick so peaches don’t thaw.  Freeze peaches at least one hour, preferably overnight.  Remove pit by slicing around peach and twisting sides.  Chop pitted peaches and mix with half-and-half, honey, and ground ginger in a blender until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Taste of India


Dairy and Gluten-Free/Vegan Option
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Coconut Curry
Taste of India
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Prep: 20 minutes  Cook: 30-35 minutes  Makes 8 servings 
2 tbs. oil, melted butter or ghee* 
1/2 cauliflower, stemmed and broken into bite-sized pieces 
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2” cubes
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1 tsp. peeled, finely grated ginger root
1-2 jalapeños or other green chili, seeded and chopped
1 tbs. paprika
2 tsp. garam masala (Combine coriander, pepper, cumin, 
     cardamom, and cinnamon.  Also at stores.) 
1 tsp. organic curry powder
1 cup reduced sodium vegetable or chicken broth 
1/2 eggplant, cut into 1/2” cubes
1 1/2 cups blanched, cored, chopped tomatoes (any kind)
4 okra, sliced into 1/2” stars
1 tbs. corn starch
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
A true taste of India requires some ingredients from afar, but you’ll find all the produce at Farmer’s Markets by the end of summer.  The creamy coconut sauce is thickened with cashews (which the Portuguese brought to India from Brazil).  In a large sauté pan with lid, heat oil, butter, or ghee.  Add onion, potato, and cauliflower, and cook over medium heat five minutes, stirring frequently.  Add garlic, ginger, and spices, stirring well and cooking one minute.  Add stock, stirring up any bits from pan.  Add eggplant and tomatoes, mixing well.  Cover and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add okra and cook 10-15 minutes more, or until tender.  In blender, blend corn starch,coconut milk, and cashews until smooth.  Stir into vegetable mixture, stirring constantly, about two minutes.  Serve hot, with jasmine rice if desired.
* Ghee is butter that has been melted and the fat skimmed off when cool.  It can be prepared ahead and stores well.  It can also purchased at Indian specialty shops, where you may find better prices for the curry and garam masala.

Mushrooming in RI?

Learn more through the RI Audubon Society:


Mushrooming with Audubon  

Join Audubon for an introduction to mushrooms and fungi and learn how to identify species that grow in the area. Visit www.asri.org and click on the calendar date noted below each program for details. These are some of our most popular programs, so register early.  Space is limited.

Wild Mushroom Walk                                              
September 17, 2011; 2:00 - 4:30 pm 
Kimball Wildlife Refuge, Charlestown RI

Taking the Mystery Out of Mushrooming
September 24, 2011; 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge, Coventry, RI

Wild Mushroom Workshop
October 8, 2011; 1:00 - 3:30 pm
Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge, Smithfield, RI