Eat. Drink. Better.

Premium food doesn’t have to come at a premium price.

Those big perfect peaches in the bags at the farmers market are awesome to look at. They are the “firsts”, the best looking, blemish-free, ripe peaches. They get a premium price.

The next grade down is “seconds”. Seconds have a slight blemish or bruise, a stem scar or cosmetic damage from insects or weather. They taste every bit as good as the firsts do, but at a savings of up to 50%. These are what will allow you to gorge on fresh fruit now and have enough to put up for winter.

Buy a case of seconds and freeze half of them. It’s so easy, you won’t believe it.

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It’s still August, and thus, still tomato season. Around our house, we are eating about 15 lbs. per week. It’s a lot of tomatoes. Yet, tomatoes are so versatile, so easy to cook in so many ways. Come December, they will be the first on the list of fresh produce that I miss most.

If you have been headed out to the farmers market each week and are getting used to “la vida local,” you should consider signing up for this October’s Eat Local Challenge. Here’s some details on the challenge and how you can participate.

And, here’s this week’s recipes and posts for Farmers Market Fare. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s raining zucchini!

Well, maybe not literally, but it can feel that way at this time in the summer, when home gardens, farmer’s markets and fresh produce aisles abound with these versatile and prolific veggies.

There is something kind of funny about these little green monsters. It could just be the word ‘zucchini’, which by the way has its roots in the very food-associated Italian language. ‘Zucca’ is the Italian word for squash. Not to get bogged down in an etymology thing . . . the point is that zucchini has been party to many silly jokes, such as:

What is a zucchini’s favorite sport?

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Aside from being dubbed the Green Diva, I’ve also been called the salad queen (these may actually be different variations on the same title!). Since my earliest memories of food, salads have been and remain a favorite staple in my world. I was somewhat of a natural vegetarian, gagging on most meat and thus being extremely particular about what meat I managed to stuff down as a child, I always gravitated towards any type of vegetable.

This time of year, us salad-lovers are in heaven. The fresh, crisp and colorful bounty beckons the creation of all kinds of fresh veggie meals.

I’ve become an unofficial expert on making meals out of salads. I can be extremely happy with a large bowl filled with lettuce and a variety of other food groups that make up a healthy combination all mixed up. In fact, I have a special hand-crafted wooden bowl that was given to me when I attended ‘farm camp’ in Vermont last year, that I love to make these salad meals in.

While there are several million ways to create a core group of salad meals, I’m going to pick just two that I’m currently rotating through the menu these days. Read the rest of this entry »

Farmers Market Fare is back this week for the seriously hot days of summer. Despite the heat, I’ve been out and about doing farm tours. Last weekend was Tomato Fest, with a celebration of heirloom tomatoes, chef demonstrations, barbecue, music. If you have a chance to get out to a farm tour event like this, it’s well worth it. Plus, you can see the farm where your food is grown for yourself. Try that at the grocery store.

Here’s a lovely Panzanella salad that I had to try and recreate after tasting it at the Tomato Fest, along with some recipe submissions from our favorite regular contributors. Both of which have corn on their minds this week!

Recipes and links after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in the days before refrigeration, freeze-drying, vacuum-pack processing, aseptic packaging and even canning, savvy cooks invented ways to store food for future use. Salting, smoking, pickling, confiting, canning and drying were the most common methods of food preservation, especially on country farms. Root cellars for storing vegetables like potatoes, parsnips and carrots, and fruit like apples, were also common, and a necessity.

Today, in some sense, we’ve come full circle, seeking greater flavor, taste and control of what we eat and how it’s raised, grown, processed and preserved. Happily, we can take advantage of the freezer - it really works now. We’re rediscovering methods of preserving foods that were common over a century ago. Preserving the harvest dovetails perfectly with the concept of sustainable cooking, since it’s all about using what is produced or raised locally, what’s in season, and storing it so it can be used in the future.

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It’s that time of year. My mouth is watering and a body is craving antioxidants. And there’s no better time than right now to grab, buy or even pick your own summer jewels. I’m of course talking about berries - a myriad of types and varieties can be found in virtually every area of the U.S.

So once you have your hoard, what now? My culinary intuition and memories turn to bettys, buckles, crisps, crumbles, cobblers and grunts. The questions for most home cooks is, “What does it all mean?” and “What’s the difference anyway?”

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I was thinking, last hot July Saturday, as we were stuck like sardines in the farmers market, that maybe this whole local food thing is catching on. Maybe, I thought, I don’t need to promote it so much. Well, maybe. The demand has to grow if the supply is going to. Next season, the farmers will be able to plant more, perhaps the market will expand.

The vegetables, like the people, were crowded. Tables loaded with all the abundance of summer. I brought home more than I may be able to get cooked. It all just looks so good. I stuffed my market basket full with summer melon, peaches, blueberries (lots), blackberries (even more), peppers, heirloom tomatoes, onions, beets, carrots, corn. I paused at the daikon radishes and some other unusual items. I love to buy the unique veggies because it ensures that the farmers will keep growing new things.

Caprese Salad is the first dish I prepare with heirloom tomatoes. Recipe and links after the jump.

This is one of those recipes that isn’t really a recipe at all, just some instructions. Read the rest of this entry »

Offals don’t get the respect, in and out of the restaurant community, that they deserve. This is an injustice that MUST BE corrected.

Let’s start with a few definitions so that we are all on the same page. According to Offal Good, chef Chris Cosentino’s educational and inspirational website for those who are interested in learning and cooking with offals:

OFFAL those parts of a meat animal which are used as food but which are not skeletal muscle. The term literally means “off fall”, or the pieces which fall from a carcase when it is butchered. Originally the word applied principally to the entrails. It now covers insides including the HEART, LIVER, and LUNGS (collectively known as the pluck), all abdominal organs and extremities: TAILS, FEET, and HEAD including BRAINS and TONGUE. In the USA the expressions “organ meats”, “giblets” or “variety meats” are used instead.

Bibliography: Davidson, Alan. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press, 1999. pp. 548-49

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© Karin Lau | Dreamstime.com

Midsummer is upon us. How did that happen? Our CSA bag yielded fresh corn. While many folks have vilified corn because of it’s tainted connections to HFCS, livestock feed and corn ethanol and just about everything subsidized in foods, well, fresh corn on the cob is still one of my favorites of summer. This soup makes the best of simple ingredients and the fresh corn flavor.

Fresh Corn Soup
8 ears of corn, shucked, and kernels cut from the cob
1 cup water
4 tbs. butter
1 low sodium vegetable bouillon cube
2 cups milk
1 2 oz. can of roasted mild green chiles (or roast your own poblano and chop)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup half and half
4 oz. Cotija cheese (or queso fresco)
Cilantro for garnish

Put corn kernels and 1 cup water in food processor. Pulse until almost smooth. Heat butter in soup pot. Add corn and water puree. Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer, stirring frequently for five minutes. Add 2 cups milk and the bouillon and the green chiles. Whisk to combine. Heat to boil, then reduce to simmer. Stir occasionally. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Before serving, whisk in the half and half. Add the salt, taste and adjust salt if needed. Serve warm with Cotija cheese sprinkled on top and cilantro garnish.

After the jump, this week’s links and posts. Read the rest of this entry »