Major Changes

Hey folks!  Just wanted to give a reminder I will be giving a FREE workshop on cooking with herbs at the Roger Williams Park Community Garden just outside the Botanical Center in Providence, September 8th at 10 a.m.  There will also be a recipe swap, so bring copies of your favorite fall recipes to share!  I will have some food samples and hand-outs as well.  This is also part of a larger garden tour organized by URI Master Gardeners.

In other news, the cookbook is DONE aside from tweaking the very thorough index.  We did not meet our Kickstarter goal and I need to buy my ex a used car as part of our divorce settlement, so publication will be delayed about a year.  I hope it's worth the wait!  In the meantime, I'll keep posting recipes here.  

Autumn olives and peaches are in season.  If T-Bird, our very developed chicken, starts crowing, I will need to make him "delicious".  I've decided the best way to honor his presence is to prepare him in the dish below.  (I have made it with a whole chicken, but it will take longer to cook and be fattier with the skin.)  I now collect dried plant materials for creature sculptures and could certainly add a beak and feet.  I told my daughter she could have most of the feathers.  We've inched our way into discussing the possibility of eating T-Bird.  We want eggs from our "pets", but if we must eat one, let us use as much as we can, with a meal, paté, and art.  (Perhaps a Martha Stewart "sled" with the bones?)  Maybe eliminating the male of the brood is what I need right now, processing the divorce.  T-Bird will be honored for all that he was.

Low Sodium/Gluten-Free Option

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Chicken and Peaches

Taste of Tunisia

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2 tbs. oil, divided

2 cups diced red onion

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed

3 cups reduced fat, low sodium (gluten-free) chicken broth

2 organic peaches, cut into wedges then halved*

2 tbs. honey

1 pinch saffron (optional)

couscous (not gluten-free) or rice

This recipe is based on the sweet tangine dishes of North Africa, but has less sugar and fat than traditional recipes.  By using boneless chicken thighs instead of whole chicken, it also cooks faster and costs less to prepare.  In a covered skillet or Dutch oven, heat 1 tbs. of oil on medium-high.  Cook onions, nuts, and spices, stirring frequently, about three minutes.  Remove mixture and set aside.  Add another tbs. of oil and brown thighs, about 2 minutes per side.  Add stock and onion mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat slightly, cover, and poach gently 20 minutes.  Uncover and add peaches, honey, and saffron, crushing spice with your fingers and sprinkling on top.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, allowing liquid to thicken, until chicken flakes apart easily with a fork and meat thermometer reads 165ºF.   Serve over couscous or use rice for gluten-free option. 

* In other seasons, use peaches canned from summer pickings, using a tested recipe such as “Honey Peaches” from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Saturday, September 8th OPEN GARDEN DAY TOUR and  HARVEST PARTY

OPEN GARDEN DAY TOUR 10:00 - 1:00 PM   Sponsored by the  Providence Community Growers Network, OPEN GARDEN DAY will feature tours of a variety of Providence farms and gardens via three unique options:  Bike Tour ($20) Bus Tour ($35) Historic Tour ($45)  SCLT members - $5 discount Kids under 12 - $10    Attendees will have the opportunity to meet urban growers and sample fruits and vegetables grown on-site at each farm and/or garden. All tours meet at 10AM at the Roger Williams Park Community Garden and return at 1pm. Purchase Tickets

HARVEST FESTIVAL 12:00 - 3:00 pm Hosted by the Providence Parks + Recreation Department and the URI Outreach Center, the HARVEST FESTIVAL at the Roger Williams Park Community Garden is  FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Greeting those returning from Open Garden Day Tours [and welcoming all others], the HARVEST FESTIVAL will highlight the hard work and dedication of URI Master Gardeners and Outreach Center staff in the Park's community garden and nearby edible forest garden. All day: 1st Annual recipe Swap! Attendees are invited to share copies of their favorite recipes inspired by produce grown throughout the gardening season in Providence. Trade with your fellow gardeners and neighbors!

September 8, 2012 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 10:00 AM: Open Garden Day Tours Tour groups depart from Roger Williams Park Community Garden.  10:00 AM: "Cooking with Herbs" FREE Workshop with URI Master Gardener Melissa Guillet! 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM: "RWP Edible Forest Garden Tour" FREE Tour with URI Outreach Center Urban Agriculture Intern Mark Scialla! 12:00 - 2:30 PM:  URI Master Gardener Kiosk Bring soil samples for FREE pH testing and/or plant or lawn pest and disease samples for diagnosis! 11:00 AM - til it's done!: RWP Edible Forest Garden Phase II Installation Help plant nut and berry-producing plants in Providence's 1st edible forest garden! 1:00 PM: "Kids Time in the Gardens" FREE children's activities with URI Outreach Center horticulture intern Stephannie Kimura! All day: Reserve a garden plot at RWP for the 2013 season!

Connect

Cornucopia

My lovely friend Holly shared her corn harvest with us when we celebrated the harvest this past weekend.  I made ratatouille (again) and herb bread.  Other friends shared their bounty.  We found a wandering dog, then its owner.  There was a nice fire where we shared what sacred space means to us. Then there was a lot of leftover corn...

Here is my revised corn chowder recipe.  I skipped the cranberry beans since i didn't grow any this year and didn't want to wait to soak dried ones overnight.  I ended up freezing most of it in a bag laid over a cutting board in the freezer until it was solid.  Here's a gluten-free clam cake recipe as well.  Enjoy!

Gluten-Free/Vegetarian Option

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Corn & Bean Chowder

Taste of New England

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Prep: 15 minutes  Cook: 35 minutes  Makes 10 servings 

2 tbs. butter or olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 tbs. whole wheat flour or corn starch

2 cups (gluten-free) chicken or vegetable broth 

2 cups low-fat milk

4 potatoes, washed and diced with skins on

1 cup carrots, cut into half-moons

1 cup fresh cranberry beans (soak dried beans overnight)

3 cups fresh-cooked or frozen corn

10 sliced of bacon, cooked well and drained (optional)

3 tbs. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. cumin

1 tbs. brown sugar

1 cup half-and-half or light cream

Melt butter or heat oil over medium heat in large stock pot.  Sauté onions five minutes.  Stir in flour, cooking two minutes.  Slowly pour in broth and milk.  Add potatoes and carrots and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.  Meanwhile, bring water to boil in sauce pan.  Cook cranberry beans until just soft, about 20-25 minutes.  Reserve.  Add corn and mix with immersion blender (or run half of mixture through blender and return to stock pot).  Crumble in bacon, then stir in drained beans, herbs, spices, sugar, and cream.  Serve immediately.

Gluten-Free/Lower Sodium

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Clam Cakes

Taste of Rhode Island

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Prep: 10 minutes  Cook: 10-15 minutes  Makes 40 cakes

1 egg

1 cup chopped quahog (or clams)

1/4 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups corn meal

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

oil for frying

What would summer be without Rhode Island clam cakes?  Rather than a heavy, doughy blob, these cook up light and don’t skimp on the seafood.  The carrots add to the sweetness of the seafood.  Steam open quahogs, cool in cold water, and chop.  Beat egg, then add all other ingredients.  Heat about 2” of corn oil in a sauce pan on high.*  When oil sizzles when batter is added, drop one tbs. of batter at a time until a single layer of cakes floats on oil.  Cook one minute, then remove with slotted spoon to paper towels or designated oil towel.     

* I fry cakes in my smallest sauce pan to reduce the amount of oil needed.  In my pan, I can cook five cakes at a time.  After oil cools, it can be strained and kept in the refrigerator for future use.