Boeuf Bourguignon

Sorry about the picture…we’d already started the meal when I remembered!

This is another dish prepared in the cassoulet, beginning on the stove top and finishing slow and low in the oven. I really do like this method and am going to miss the winter dishes designed around it, although I’m sure I can squeeze out a few more weeks. And then there’s the grill–can’t be too nostalgic when the grill beckons.

Sources:

• bacon and stew beef from Eagle Wood Farms
• cippolini onions from Madura Farms, Goshen, NY
• carrots from Riverbank Farm
• garlic and white flour from Wild Hive Farm.
• tomato puree, from the freezer from Don Taylor Farms, Danbury, CT
• dried thyme, from here
• bay leaf from a NY farm.
• wine, Newbury from DiGrazia Vineyards (a Beaujolais-like young wine)
• spelt flour from Wild Hive Farm
• eggs from Greyledge Farm
• spinach from Fort Hill Farm and Holbrook Farm
• olive oil, salt, and pepper from out there

Served with Cabernet Franc from Sharpe Hill Vineyard.

It was quite tasty and a wonderful meal to share with family. Since the kids don’t like beef stew (and technically, this is), they had a big fat ribeye from Stuarts Family Farm.

Bon appetit!

Just for fun, here’s a little Julia, making an omelet:

Spring Dinner

Here are my sources:

• ribeye steak from Greyledge Farm
• butternut squash from Riverbank Farm
• spinach from Fort Hill Farm via New Morning Natural Foods
• red leaf lettuce from Holbrook Farm
• egg from Greyledge Farm
• bacon from Eagle Wood Farms
• oil and vinegar from the big bad world
• dried basil and thyme from my garden

What a gorgeous several days in a row! It’s been 70+ degrees and sunny. I love firing up the grill—I’ve only been grilling a short time, so I still get excited when the meals work out. I love the smell of sizzling steak in the air. It smells like summer. (I do have one neighbor that continues to light fires in her fireplace well into the 90s!).

It was so nice, I wanted to start planting, but I’m afraid the year might have at least one more freezing night in her.

And then the weather remembered what it usually is this time of year and promptly made tracks back. Today was in the 50s and raining and we’ll be back into the 40s before the week is out. Ahh, but it was nice while it lasted.

Ravioli and Creme Fraiche

The ravioli were homemade by Wild Hive using:

• their own spelt flour
• eggs from their own chickens
• cheese from Ronny Brook
• apple from Fishkill Farms
• parsnips from Four Winds Farm
• salt and pepper from away

I tossed the cooked ravioli in some melted Ronny Brook Creme Fraiche and sprinkled on some dried parsley (from Newtown Cedar Hill Farm, dried).

This was the easiest challenge meal ever! I like slow food and I don’t mind if someone else does the slow part.

By the way, the challenge is still going strong until the end of March, with the last recap being posted in early April.

The months following the DDELC are interesting up here in the northeast. Ramps, fiddleheads, and asparagus will soon be coming up and then finally, the bounty of summer! If anyone’s interested in doing a few months of a clear-out-the-freezer-and-pantry-to-make-room-for the-new-stuff challenge, let me know.

As if…

My Taza locavore chocolate arrived. I call it locavore chocolate because I can know exactly where it came from. So, first, I went to tazachocolate.com to look up my batch number, #230. Here’s what I learned about my chocolate:

Batch #230 – 70% Dark Bar – Taza Chocolate
Batch Information
Variety: 70% Stone Ground Dark Bar
Made On: September 29 2009
Ingredients: Organic roasted cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla bean.
Last Made: September 14 2009

Cacao Origin:
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Provincia: María Trinidad Sánchez
Municipality: El Factor (El Pozo)
Area: Reserva Científica Loma Guacanejo
Fermentery Location: Lat. 19.293363, Long. -69.904128
Varietal: Mostly Trinitario; Some Criollo.

Growers & Farm:
Cooperative: Red de Comercializacion Loma Guacanejo
Grower: Justo de Jesus
Farm: La Alemania

Additional Ingredients:
Pure Cane Sugar – The Green Cane Project
Origin: Sertãozinho (São Paulo), Brazil
Whole Biodynamic Vanilla Bean – Villa Vanilla
Origin: Villanueva (Puntarenas), Costa Rica
Organic Cocoa Butter, Natural
Origin: La Red Guacanejo, Dominican Republic

Roast Profile:
Lot Received On: July 7 2009
Lot #: LR17
Bean Bill: Single Origin Hispaniola Cacao
Roast Date: September 28 2009
Roaster Model: Barth Scirocco 200
Max Temp: 234° F
Roasted For: 46 minutes

Production Info:
Grind Date: September 29 2009
Made By: Mike Schechter & Kellie Silsby
Total # of Bars Made: 1,576 Bars
Wrapped On: October 1 2009

Wow! That’s more than I know about my cats!

Next, I made my DDELC 09/10 week 16 treat: Hot Chocolate.

It just so happened to be Cecelia’s birthday party!

• chocolate from Tazo
• raw milk from Stone Wall Dairy
• maple syrup from McLaughlin Vineyards

Yum!

This week’s Dark Days Eat Local Challenge meal was Peregion beans over wheat berries with spinach on the side.

I picked up these beans at the Coventry Farmers Market. I probably created a scene in my excitement over finding local (really local) dried beans.

Peregion beans are new to me, so I didn’t bury them inside a  recipe this time. I wanted to see what they tasted like on their own. I simmered them in lightly salted water with a bay leaf and some bacon grease. I’m thinking that perhaps even the bacon was too much extra flavor, but it was local and bottled oils are not.

The wheat berries are pretending to be rice.  I actually like wheat berries a lot—it’s like having bread or macaroni without having to go through the trouble of milling, mixing, relaxing or rising, and so on. Just add water (okay, and simmer for an hour.)

Sources:

• Peregion beans from Purity Farm in Moosup, CT
• bacon grease from Greyledge Farm bacon (I sure am getting a lot of mileage out of this!)
• bay leaf from NYS
• sea salt from Maine
• soft spring wheat berries from Wild Hive Farm
• spinach from Newgate Farms
• garlic from Holbrook

I liked the Peregion beans and would use them in recipes calling for Pintos or black beans, maybe even black-eyed peas recipes.

The dish went pretty well with Couer De Lion, a red wine from Cascade Mountain Winery & Restaurant, in Amenia, NY. (It was open, not specifically chosen for this dish.)

I’m loving cooking with the Dutch oven. I bought it to accompany my Julia Child cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but find myself using it for meals that are neither French nor Dutch. It’s perfect for meals that begin with a sear and sauté on the stove top, then go slow and low in the oven (like Osso Buco and short ribs). While the food’s in the oven, the smells that emanate throughout the house seem to say, “It’s cold and miserable out there, but comfy-cozy in here. Eat this and warm up.”

Here’s this week’s food sources:

• stew beef from New Boston Beef in N. Grosvenordale, CT
• dredging flour from Wild Hive Farm
• bacon grease, reserved from Greyledge Farm bacon
• onions from Shenandoah, Easton, CT
• garlic from Holbrook Farm
• tomato puree from Don Taylor Farms, Danbury, CT (from the Late Bloomers 2009 freezer collection)
• Vista Reposa red wine from McLaughlin Vineyards
• cranberry potatoes from Maple Bank Farm
• carrots and celeriac from Riverbank Farm
• dried thyme from here
• bay leaf — local from a NY farm
• beef broth, salt, and pepper from away

Since there are potatoes in there, you don’t need to serve it with a carb, but it really does go well over fettuccine noodles. I’ve also seen it served in a bread bowl. I suppose having it over fettuccine with dipping bread on the side would be pushing it.

Of course, a glass of McLaughlin Vineyards Vista Reposa wine compliments the dish rather nicely.

• pork chops from Greyledge Farm (Ox Hollow)
• peach salsa from Kaela’s Kitchen (one of my hostess gifts and absolutely delicious–really woke up the chops!)
• sweet potato from George Hall Farm *
• cranberry potato from Maple Bank Farm *

* oven-baked potato chips attempting to copy The Natural Princess.

Sad to say that was the last of the sweet potatoes I stockpiled when I was foraging for Thanksgiving.

• Alicia, the Natural Princess and Renato
• Maureen of Your Simple Feast
• Kaela of Local Kitchen and Tai
• Zoe of Nutmeg Kitchen
• And me, Sophie from Late Bloomers Farm and Cecelia

What a delightful group of people—I think it took us all of 10 seconds to bond! Perhaps our affinity is due to our sharing the same foodshed, eating food that grew in the same soil, and discovering that my farmers are really our farmers. There’s nothing quite like conversation among people who experience similar challenges and celebrate similar victories. Whatever our reason(s) for eating locally: taste, nutrition, food miles, food safety, food security, local pride, or some combination thereof, we found kindred food spirits.

We talked food—recipes, ingredients, vendors, and techniques. We ate. We shared stories of our adventures in finding and obtaining food ingredients. We ate. We discussed the disparities in food laws and lore between NY and CT.  Did I mention we ate?

Lisa Agee of Goatboy Soap found the idea so exciting, she donated party favors: cute little goat-faced soaps.

Our Fabulous Northeast Feast Local Menu

As you’ll see, the dishes ran the gamut. My ingredient sources are listed below. Visit the other sites to see their sources and take on the day.

Appetizers

• Baked potato chips and onion dip
  
• Whole Grain Scottish rolls
  
• Savory Quinoa Cakes
  
• Pickled icebox carrots
• Sankow’s Beaver Brook Pleasant Cow cheese
• Two butters: salted from Wildowsky Dairy (Thank you Kim of Ladies of Levita Road for hooking me up!) and unsalted made from Stone Wall Dairy raw milk

Soup and Salad

• Mixed green salad with squash and apples and an exceptional dressing
  
• Potato leek soup

Main Course

• Roasted root vegetables
  
• Thai winter squash curry
  
• Ricotta gnocchi with pesto
  
• Chicken Scarpariello
  
• Kugel Gratin of greens and potatoes
  

Dessert

• Glazed Berry Tart with sweet ricotta
  
• Chocolate Espresso ice cream from Ferris Acres Creamery

Beverages

• Local beers: Arch Amber from the Hartford Beer Company and Sea Hag IPA from the New England Brewing Company
• Local wines: Cabernet Franc and St. Croix from Sharpe Hill Vineyard, Vista Riposa from McLaughlin Vineyards, and Rochambeau from Heritage Trail Winery
• Yaucono coffee (from Puerto Rico—local when I got it!)

Foodie Bloggers taking pictures of food:

Sophie’s Ingredient Sources:

Chicken Scarpariella

• chicken from Stuarts Family Farm
• chicken stock made with Kandew chicken carcasses
• Seyval Blanc white wine from Miranda Vineyard
• garlic from Holbrook Farm
• hot cherry peppers from Maple Bank Farm
• whole wheat flour from Lightning Tree/Wild Hive Farm
• canola oil from away

Potato Leek Soup

• Cranberry potatoes from Riverbank Farm
• leeks from Newgate Farm
• butter made from Stone Wall Dairy raw milk

I used the cranberry potatoes, thinking the soup would have a sort of Valentine’s look to it. Well, it didn’t. It came out to be an olive drab kind of color. Still tasty, but not pretty.

Well, that was fun. Plans are in the making for a summer feast!

Comparing recipes from Mario Batali, Giada De Laurentiis, and Emeril Lagasse, I decided to go with a combination of Mario and Giada’s versions. Emeril’s recipe was the Romagna version, made with red wine and pancetta. Sounds delicious, but not the one I wanted this time. Giada and Mario both had the Milanese version. In blending Mario with Giada, I basically went for easy! I didn’t make Mario’s tomato sauce or Gremalato and I didn’t make Giada’s bouquet garni. I used Mario’s 1:1 wine to stock ratio instead of Giada’s 1:3.

The verdict: OMG!!! Absolutely delicious.

Here’s my ingredient list:

• veal shanks from Sankow’s Beaver Brook, dredged in flour from Wild Hive Farm and Micro Mill
  
• olive oil from Italy (sadly not in my foodshed)
• carrot and celeriac from Riverbank Farm
• onion from Cedar Hill, Newtown, CT
• thyme from Holbrook Farm, dried 2009
• tomatoes from Vaszauskas Farm, Middlebury, CT, canned here in October 2008. I used 1-1/2 cups (not Mario’s tomato sauce and not Giada’s paste)
• chicken stock from my freezer, mostly from Andy’s chickens, acquired at Holbrook Farm.
• Anastasia Blush from DiGrazia Vineyards for the wine. This is not a dry white as specified; it’s a semi-sweet Rose but it was the least sweet local white wine I had on hand. It actually tastes lovely and adds an nice flavor to the dish.

I generally prefer Osso Buco over risotto, but to keep it local, I went with polenta. Good call. I spread the polenta on a sheet, let it cool, cut it into blocks, and pan-fried the blocks. I added butter to the polenta recipe which brings out the flavor of the corn. I believe I could have made a meal of just the polenta smothered with the Osso Buco gravy! The corn meal I used for the polenta was from Wild Hive Farm and Micro Mill. The butter was from away: Vermont Butter and Cheese.

One of the big thrills of Osso Buco is the bone marrow. Spread this on some bread (Wave Hill, preferably) and it’s better’n buttah!

I was wondering I was going to be able to find local food on this vacation. Google wasn’t much help in locating a farmers market within walking distance of my hotel. But there I was at this buffet, when Eniu (the Buffet Host, pictured below) shared some great news.

He let me know that the roasted pig was local.

And so was the pumpkin, onion, and other squash in this dish:

And of course, a Mojito, because Bacardi is local here and so is the mint!

Look closely and you can tell that the Mojito happened before the picture!

Buen Apetito!