We came back from Boston pretty tired and glad to be home. I planted the potatoes that had arrived on Friday and thinned a salad of galia endive. There was some ground lamb in the fridge, and some big sweet potatoes that needed eating, so I stood in the kitchen for a while staring at everything like a dummy and eventually figured out what I wanted to make. Sometimes it’s hard, but eventually the wheels…
Category: Foraging
Today I had to keep it simple; it’s getting into crazy time with the number of projects looming on the near horizon. Today was rainy, but warm- another sign that we’re into the next season- and the temptation is always to rush into the summer flavors even though they’re not actually here yet. So I tried to focus on what is here, and make it as good as possible. I find it frustrating, though, since…
So as if by design, upon my return our neighbor Kenny had just brought some rainbows he caught at one of his favorite spots upstream. Combined with the (not quite seamless, but pretty close) overlapping of the bolting winter greens and fast-arriving new ones, the stage was set for exactly the kind of homecoming dinner I had been craving while I survived on coffee, carbs, and wine all weekend. Milo was so happy to see…
We’re lucky to have Kenny as our neighbor; in addition to plowing our driveway he also gives us venison around this time of year (he and his brother are both hunters.) So I set right to making a chili worthy of such a great treat. To begin, I sautéed onions in smoked duck fat, then added the meat to brown. Next, a variety of dried spices- chili, cumin, cinnamon- plus herbs, cocoa powder, and pepper.…
The happy coexistence of leftover ratatouille and homemade pizza dough in the fridge led me inexorably (and lazily, but that’s what leftovers are for) to a calzone. To accompany, fabulous salad from the newly exploding bed of fall lettuces, a side of chicken-of-the-woods sautéed quickly with guanciale, garlic, and parsley, and a sauce made from the few plum tomatoes that remained from canning. Good food for a rainy evening- hearty, but it is still summer…
One of our shortcuts to town goes right by Elijah’s, and we stopped in to give Kurt a pickle- they just came out of the crock and I must say I nailed them; they’re just like Grandpa made- and Kurt gave us some beautiful chicken-of-the-woods (yellow and orange) and chanterelles. With the guanciale ready for action, I grabbed some worthy companions from the garden and went to work turning all of it into a heavenly…
Tonight, a revised version of what I had planned for last night before the trout showed up: venison loin- the last of what Kenny gave us in the fall- some leftovers, and some other locally grown treats. To begin, and for Milo’s dinner, a pizza with pesto, sliced morels, and mozzarella. The morels have the most intensely umami mushroominess and they blended heroically with the sweet cheese and tart pesto. The second course, about an…
This morning we had an omelet made from eggs given to me by Kurt at Elijah’s Café when I stopped by for a smoothie to cheer Milo up since he has a cold, and ended up leaving with half a pound of fresh morels and the eggs as well. In keeping with such bounty, I was all set to write an entry, using the same heading, featuring the last of the venison Kenny brought us…