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.    

  

Back from Tour and Green Uses for Trees

My family and I just got back from a 4 hour tour of local foods and recovered resources. First, we went to the Resources (Recycling) for Rhode Island Education, where teachers and members can buy industrial cast-offs for 40¢ a pound.  I loaded up on 20 felt sheets for a dollar special, as well as some odd foam and cardboard pieces, plastic sheeting, embossed paper, wallpaper, and several handfuls of felt/cardboard hybrid circles.  Some of these materials will become characters in my upcoming show: "The 100 Mile Lifestyle", which will air on Cox local access channel 14 starting in April.  I'm on the look-out for bubble wrap so I can recreate the octopus costume from "Love, Actually" and plan to make some reusable sandwich wraps for our "Waste Free Lunch" segment in our second show.  Two bags of materials: $3.80.  Educating the world?  Priceless!

After that, we drove down Elmwood to 1577 Westminster to finally check out the local food supermarket Fertile Underground.  The store is alive and kicking, with a coffee/sandwich bar, fresh and mostly local produce, and a pantry that looks like they raided my house.  So yes, stuff I like.  The murals look great, also done by local artists including my friend Mac.  There's also a kid's play area that is visible from most of the store, so I was actually able to have an adult conversation while my daughter played with the blocks and moving parts pull grasshopper.  I picked up a turnip, rutabaga, carnival squash, dry navy beans, and Narragansett Creamery's Atwell's Gold.  I  will be making a frittata with the squash and cheese later this week.  The coffee was exceptional.  I picked up a bottle of Mrs. Squibb's ice tea which I first tried at a Festival Fete event.  Yummy stuff.  They also carry Yacht Club sodas (with returnable bottles), Trappist Monk jams, many local value-added products (more jams, honey, sauces, etc.) and Farmacy products.  I was able to stock up on mullein for Ryk's asthma. 

Then it was off to the winter farmer's market.  It was PACKED!  More cheese.  Granola.  Brussels sprouts.  We tried some gluten and sulfite free sausage.  My daughter picked out bok choy.  Ryk picked out squid.  I'll be making my "Baby's Got Bok Choy" this weekend, trying the squid instead of the shrimp this time.  The exciting thing was to see how much the market has expanded since last year.  More vendors.  More variety.  More people shopping there.  Now you can get kits to grow your own microgreens or oyster mushrooms.  If you still have a Christmas tree hanging around your house, New Urban Farmers will take it: they are recycling the trees into compost, mulch, and a substrata to grow the oyster mushrooms.  The stumps will be used for raised beds, tomato supports, and other landscaping projects.  Smithfield even brought all their curbside pick-up of trees to them.

Finally home, I noticed it was beautiful outside.  I got one shot of a nuthatch in the tangle of forsythia and bittersweet before the cat decided to join me.  Finding ice in my daughter's sand and water table, I popped it out and we played "Block of Ice" on the deck.  (Think "catch", but using your feet like hockey sticks.)  Surprisingly, the garlic chives are still out.  Then it was swing time and looking for critters under rocks.  We found slugs.  

Well, I have lots of cooking and sewing to do.  I'm close to having a low-income recipe for the recipients of the basil plants my after-school Eco-Warriors grew.  It will be garlicky and full of beans, with fresh basil mixed in.  Meanwhile, there's "Mercy Brown Bread" and fish tacos to make and chicken and worm puppets to sew.  Later.

Gluten-Free/Low Sodium/Vegetarian Option

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Baby Got Bok Choy

Taste of Thai

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Prep: 15 minutes  Cook: 30 minutes  Serves 4

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

2 tbs. mirin or local white wine

2 tsp. corn starch

1 tbs. sesame oil

1 lb. shelled, de-veined local shrimp or firm tofu

1 small yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup chopped white mushrooms

8-10 washed baby bok choy, chopped into 1/2” pieces

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro*

2” peeled, minced ginger**

2 tbs. lime juice (about one lime), plus lime for garnish

Spice it up: 1 tsp red pepper flakes or Sriracha sauce (found in Asian markets) (optional)

Whisk broth, mirin or wine, and corn starch.  Set aside.  In a large sauté pan with lid, heat sesame oil on medium-high and stir-fry shrimp until cooked through, 3-5 minutes.  Set aside.  Sauté onions and mushrooms 2-3 minutes.   Add bok choy and pour broth over all.  Cover and cook 6-8 minutes, stirring up from the bottom occasionally.  Reduce to simmer.  Add shrimp or tofu, lime, and ginger, stirring well.  Heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  Serve with jasmine rice and lime wedges.

* I find it easier to cut cilantro with kitchen scissors I only use for herbs.

** Ginger can be easily peeled around its unpredictable curved using a spoon.