Mercury Retrograde Spring

Ah, spring, that confusing, wet New England misnomer.  And mercury retrograde: communication tie-ups, techno snafus, details missed, delays and weird dreams.  Or maybe we should blame the time change.  Friends are moving, dealing with trauma, having babies, getting divorced, re-examining their lives.  It is the flux time.  While the winter stocks are depleting (we're down to four apple sauce jars), few new foods are growing.  It's a back-and-forth of frozen meats, root vegetables, and winter squash with kale, other greens, and sprouts.  We've been eating a lot of simple salads of mixed greens and sprouts dotted with herbed cheese.  I made radish parathas, radish raita, and sautéed radish greens.  We used up the last of the frozen hen of the woods mushrooms between the stuffed acorn squash and tonight, the smoked paprika stroganoff.  I know we've gotten used to eating lean when a half cup of sour cream split six ways makes a delicious meal feel like three or four a few minutes later.  We've stopped buying "light" foods because of the added corn and chemicals, but stroganoff is heavy by definition.

Meanwhile, the kale planted in the hoop garden at school is thriving.  We planted snap peas at school and at the home front (literally, in the front yard).  I look forward to biting into the crisp, sweet pods.  It's also a good time to plant kale and swiss chard.  After all that garden clean up last weekend and turning of the compost heap, I need more than salad to keep me going, so here is the meaty recipe.  For vegetarians, you could skip the meat or use textured vegetable protein.  I used ground pork, lower in fat than ground beef.  I think ground turkey would work as well, for a lighter option, although it might taste a bit dry.  Tomorrow, I drop off student artwork for the Spring Show at the Winter's Farmer's Market and see if anything new has popped up for the menu this week.

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Smoked Paprika Stroganov

Taste of 19th Century Russia

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Prep: 10 minutes  Cook: 30-40 minutes  Makes six servings 

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 diced yellow onion

1 tbs. butter

1 tbs. olive oil

1 tbs. or more of smoked paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 cup chicken or beef broth

1/2 cup red wine

2 tbs. flour

1/2 cup sour cream

1 lb. ground beef, pork, or lamb

Melt butter in Dutch oven or large sauté pan over medium heat.  Add mushroom and cook gently, stirring to coat with butter, about five minutes.  Add onions, stirring, and cook until they begin to caramelize, 10-15 minutes.  Stir flour into mushroom mix until well-combined, then add broth.  Meanwhile, heat oil in separate skillet and brown meat in small batches, sprinkling with paprika and salt.  Set meat aside.  After meat is cooked, deglaze pan with wine.  Add drippings to mushroom mix, then stir in meat and sour cream, adding more paprika if desired.  Serve with egg noodles, other pasta, or oven fries, and peas.