Garden Tour: Late May 2013

by Deanne

It is time again to share our garden updates like we did last summer. Luke took photographs in Late May 2012, Late June 2012, Late July 2013, and Late August 2012.  Living in a northern landscape like Minnesota makes one truly celebrate the growing season.

As a reminder, Steve built raised beds  outside our restaurant building during the summer of 2011.  We utilize our garden for what we call FarmerChef specials. 

Since Luke moved to Los Angeles earlier this year, we have been working with Amanda Petersen Photography.  We love the images Amanda has captured of our space.  You will know if a photo comes from her work if you see her  signature….we will be using many shots in our blog.  

Our little lettuce plants get going during our cool month of May.

The strawberry blossoms are a good sign if we hope to have delicate sweet berries in June.

Eager little pea plants establishing themselves and claiming their space.

We look forward to crisp radishes soon!

How big will our tomatoes grow this year?

Photo credits:  Amanda Petersen Photography

FarmerChef Smoothie

by Deanne

Do you think it is still possible this time of year to eat food gathered locally?  We’ve discovered that once a FarmerChef  has the whole grow your own food, preserve your own food routine down, it is easy to incorporate the fruits of our labour into our life.  I was able to use spinach from our raised bed garden, yes it is near 50 degrees here in Minnesota, and strawberries from the freezer that we picked last summer.

This morning I used our basic recipe, which is really more of a framework for making smoothies. My mind is on no added sugar because I am working on a post for my business Solar’s Real Food blog about the latest research on sugar, especially fructose and the link with health.    (It really makes a person re-think how much sugar a person consumes during the first meal of the day.)

FarmerChef Smoothie

Veggie – add something green like spinach or kale: fresh or frozen

Fruit – berries, apples, bananas: canned or frozen fruit

Fat – seeds or oils like chia seeds or flax seed oil (for more on chia, check out this blogger)

Grains  – quinoa or oat bran

Liquid – juice or milk (can be dairy-free)

Protein – lentils or nutritional yeast

Probiotic – sauerkraut, kombucha or plain yogurt

This recipe works really well if you are on a rotation diet to deal with food intolerance.  I added chia seeds but didn’t include grains  and extra protein today.  I used almond milk (yes it does contain sugar) and took a probiotic supplement rather than include it in my smoothie.  The recipe is pretty flexible and good for those that prefer using what they have on hand rather than following detailed recipes.  The version I made was gluten-free and dairy-free.

If you try this basic framework for making a smoothie tell us what you ingredients you used to make your version. Did you find that is was possible to eliminate or cut back on added sugar?

Garden Tour: Late August 2012

by Deanne

Wow!   We can’t believe it is time to share another garden tour.  I am excited to get this posted today because it is Francine’s birthday and she loves to see what is happening in Minnesota.  While she is enjoying the historic places in England…she often mentions missing the Minnesota sunshine.  Happy birthday to my lovely daughter, Francine!

During August we were able to plant a few crops for the fall growing season.

Our new plants include snow peas, lettuce, spinach, and turnips which we planted for the greens. Since this was a last minute decision, we bought the new seeds for ten cents at the local farm and garden store instead of the Henry Field’s seed catalog like we used when we did our winter planning. The seeds were left over from this spring but if they don’t work out, we don’t have a lot invested.  So far all are looking good.

However, we are still getting plenty of bounty from our summer crops!

Green Peppers + Tomatoes = Salsa

We look forward to using our salsa in upcoming FarmerChef recipes when the growing season comes to an end.

We haven’t tried it yet, but we’ve read that it is possible to eat squash blossoms. 

Have you tried that before?

Do you plant new seeds for the fall growing season?

(Another BIG thanks to Luke for taking the photos.)

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

by Deanne

We were hoping to serve Coronation Chicken Salad as our Wednesday FarmerChef special, but instead we decided to make and serve a Spinach and Strawberry Salad after picking up some lovely (and tasty!) strawberries from the Mankato Farmers’ Market.  We also wanted to use some of the final cuttings of our spring spinach crop. (The remaining spinach is tucked away in the freezer, waiting until we’d like to use it in soup or quiche during the the hot summer months.)

This week it was neat to be inspired by fresh spinach and juicy strawberries…a FarmerChef is flexible and being a FarmerChef is fun!

Here’s how we made this salad.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Adapted from Taste of Home

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 quarts fresh spinach
• 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower kernels

Dressing Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dijon mustard

Directions:

Place spinach in bowl.

In a separate container make the dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together.

Then add the strawberries and onions to the dressing and mix together.  Then add mixed strawberries to the large bowl and lightly toss to coat the spinach.  Top with sunflower kernels.

*Note…As you can see from the photo, we mixed the salad all together. But next time we plan to serve the strawberries/dressing on a bed of spinach because we think it will look prettier.*

Have you ever made a savoury salad using strawberries?

A Quick and Crustless Quiche Recipe

It’s said that something can be as easy as pie (or maybe it’s as easy as pi {π}).  But pie isn’t very easy to make (or that easy to recite), but this quiche is quick and easy to make!   You could say it’s as easy as quiche.  ;)

We prepared it yesterday for our FarmerChef special. 

We used freshly harvested spinach from our garden and goat cheese from a local goat farmer.  But you could use any cheese or vegetable you have on hand.  We served it with a side of radish relish (recipe coming soon).

It was a treat to have quiche for lunch. And we’re delighted by the simplicity of the recipe we were able to develop.  There’s no crust to worry about preparing…the cheese simply becomes the crust!

Early in the Season Vegetable Quiche (Crustless)

(makes one quiche)

Ingredients

Wet ingredients:

• 1/2 cup diced onions
  
• 5 eggs (we used farm fresh eggs)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 scallions, diced
• 2 cup spinach, blanched then diced
• 1 cup feta cheese (we used fresh goat cheese from a local farmer)

 Dry ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of black pepper

Directions:

Put butter in a frying pan and slowly caramelize onions. Transfer onions to a plate and set aside once caramelized.

Wash spinach and boil a pot of water.  Once boiling, put the spinach in the boiling water for 30 seconds. (This is called blanching.)  Remove the spinach quickly (you don’t want it to cook)!  Immediately rinse the spinach in cold water.  Then squeeze water from the spinach. You will be left with a green spinach ball.  Now dice the blanched spinach and set aside.

In a large bowl mix eggs, cream, butter, scallions, blanched spinach and caramelized onions.

In a smaller bowl mix dry ingredients.  Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Crumble feta cheese in the bottom of a greased pie pan (we sprayed ours with pan release).

Pour the egg mixture (which has the dry ingredients mixed in) over the cheese. Spread lightly to make an even surface.

Bake at 350 F for 35 min.  The top of the quiche will be lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Egg Drop Soup with Fresh Spinach

What to do when you have lots of eggs and the first snips of spinach from the garden? 

You make egg drop soup topped with garden fresh spinach!

Luke put on the FarmerChef hat yesterday and created this quick and easy soup.

Egg Drop Soup with Fresh Spinach

(makes 8-10 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts chicken broth
•  1/4 tsp white pepper
•  1/2 tsp sesame oil
•  1 tsp soy sauce
•  1 cup mushrooms, cut into strips
•  6 green onions, sliced
• 5 eggs,beaten
• 1 cup spinach leaves, chiffonade (a cooking technique in which herbs or leaves are cut into long thin strips)

Directions:

In a large pot, bring the chicken broth, white pepper, sesame oil and soy sauce to a boil.

When the broth is boiling, add the mushrooms and green onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat until the rolling boil returns to a simmer.

While stirring the broth with a fork or chopstick, slowly pour a steady stream of eggs into the broth. Continue to stir until the eggs are cooked. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings if necessary.  You can add more soy sauce or sesame oil if you like.

When ready to serve, ladle into a bowl and top with the fresh spinach.

One day sunny, windy snow the next…

Yesterday was the last in a series of spring-like days here in Minnesota (at least for a few days).  The days have been so spring-like that tiny green spinach leaves could be found close to the soil, under the dead and dried out leaves.And today it’s like the abominable snow monster moved into the neighborhood, began blowing up his air mattress and knocking on our doors, trying to introduce himself.

Oh Minnesota winter, you’re always full of surprises…not that I mind, riding my bicycle in January is always a treat. I just feel bad for our cool weather crops, they don’t know if they should grow or sleep.

What’s the winter weather like in your neck of the woods? Has he paid you a visit this winter?

A Recipe for a Saturday Afternoon

by Francine

Hello there!

We hope your weekend has gotten off to a great start. It’s a grey day here with a whisper of snow in the air.

Spicy smells fill our house as I’m preparing spinach (the last of our bowlful) and lentils with cloves, turmeric and other yummy spices.  I was inspired by this recipe on Not Eating Out…Consuming Less, Eating More.

Do you have any recipes lined up for this weekend?

PS. Isn’t this print of lovely? You can buy it (any many other seasonal food prints) from redcruiser on etsy.com.

Lessons from a Spinach Salad

by Deanne

With a beautiful bowlful of spinach sitting in the fridge, I decided to try making a spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. If you love bacon like I do, you’ll agree this is an excellent way to eat your spinach.

The recipe that looked the most interesting is from The Pioneer Woman. The recipe appealed to me because the onions and mushrooms were cooked rather than served raw as they are in most recipes for this salad. I also appreciated the step by step pictures Ree, the Pioneer Woman, took while she was preparing the dressing and salad.

I read the recipe a few times, gathered up my ingredients and put the bacon in a small frying pan to start cooking. It wasn’t long before I noticed the bacon had burned while I was cutting the mushrooms and onions. :( (But I would not be defeated!)

I discarded the bacon and started over. My son came into the kitchen and told me that I needed to cook the bacon on medium heat. (Silly me, I had the heat too high and the bacon burned because I wasn’t watching it.) I remembered his advice when it was time to cook the onions.  I cooked them gently over medium heat and they caramelized very nicely, so nicely that my chef husband complimented me. Before I knew it, I was munching on a lovely bacon-y salad.

While eating my salad I pondered, “What lessons have I learned that can help me in my future cooking adventures?” I reflected on 2 lessons that apply to cooking in general not just to preparing spinach salads.

1.   Cook at the appropriate temperature…not too high and not too low.

Starting with the burner on high is a bad habit that started when I began cooking as a teenager. I did it then because I was impatient and didn’t really care that much about the food or ingredients.

Now, I know I can preheat the pan and adjust as I go. Also it’s important to cook at medium to medium-high heat when using non-stick cookware. And now I’m more careful with my ingredients because I don’t want to be wasteful.

2.   Start again, if a misstep will affect the overall taste of the dish.

This is a habit I picked up as a young wife—I would just keep going if I made a mistake in the cooking process. I suppose I didn’t want to throw out food because of the cost/ waste or admit that I’d made a mistake (because I wanted to be a perfect wife…who cooked perfectly all the time).  Unfortunately this led to sorry tasting dishes and a bad attitude about my cooking abilities.

Back then, if had taken the time to start over a few times, I would have felt success instead of failure. This time, because I truly wanted to learn (which involves learning from one’s mistakes), I discarded the burnt bacon and started over, cooking it to crispy perfection. Here is an encouraging tip that shows me others have made the same mistake.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Reviewing The (39) Most Common Cooking Mistakes on Cooking Light gives me hope. I did do a few things right when I was making my spinach salad—I carefully caramelized the onions rather than trying to speed up the process and I read the recipe all the way through before I began.

I look forward to my next cooking adventure, even if there are a few mistakes along the way. I feel a bit more competent because the salad tasted great and satisfied my craving for warm bacon dressing.

Are there any bad habits you’ve had to overcome as you’ve learned something new?

A Bowlful of Spinach

It’s a good thing I harvested the spinach yesterday afternoon because it’s snowing today!

The spinach didn’t do so well in the late summer; the bugs chomped away at it. But the recent cold weather has eliminated the bugs and left us with the healthiest spinach of the season!

Now…what to do with all this lovely spinach?

Does anyone have a spinach recipe they’d like to share?