Talking Eggs and the wonder of Ramps!

There is much in the news over the past few days concerning horrific conditions discovered at an egg factory here in Pennsylvania.  Kreider Farms in Manheim was cited by the Humane Society for deplorable conditions.  They of course deny it.  Their statements have run all of the way from "that's the old factory" to "people don't understand egg production on this scale - what they are seeing isn't unusual or cruel".  Really?  Without going into detail, when you see the report and some of the pictures, you know that you would never, ever want to support a business like Kreider.

So, again, we are talking about eggs and egg "production".  We constantly get queries as to where to get good eggs - eggs that are fresh, disease free, and not produced by abused tortured chickens.  Many folks are especially stumped because most of the area Farmers Markets are not back yet.  So, while they buy eggs from farmers during the Spring and Summer, they don't know where to get them the rest of the year.  In my opinion, the supermarket is never a consideration.  Even "good" factory eggs are old, mostly from chickens treated with something or another, and they lack color and flavor.  That said, we are lucky in our region because, even in the absence of Farmers Markets, there are plenty of sources of fresh, non chemically treated eggs produced by pasture raised chickens.  Fair Food Farmstand in the Reading Terminal Market is for the most part, our source.  Clark Park and Rittenhouse Square Farmers Markets operate year 'round and are another source.  Green Aisle Grocery on Passyunk brings in farm eggs regularly.  And there's the Ardmore Farmers Market, and the Mt. Airy Co-op - both are also good sources of fresh eggs and local products. 

The point is, you will need to do a little "work" to see what vendor will be the best for you.  Take a drive, look for small Farmstands - do some testing.  If you have been using factory produced eggs, you will experience immediate differences:  those gorgeous orange yolks, the lucious thick whites (great in making omelets fluffy), and the wonderful flavor will hook you.  Once you've left factory eggs behind, you just can't go back!

Recipe

"Tis the season for wonderful "here today and gone tomorrow" Spring treats.  Last post was Fiddlehead Ferns.  Here is a simple recipe for another wonderful Spring offering.

Ramps sauteed in Butter

Clean ramps the same way you would green or spring onions.  Cut off the root ends and soak in ice cold water to remove excess dirt.  With these two bunches I first cut off the white part, tossed those pieces in melted butter and cooked them for about 3 - 4 minutes. Then I added the green part of the ramps - chopped in half only.  I added a bit more butter and some sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  When the whole mix is soft and the aroma is filling the whole kitchen, remove them from the heat.  From there it's up to you.  You can eat them as is.  You can make a brushetta by topping a piece of toasted bread with the mixture. I chopped up these ramps and added them to caci y pepi - pasta tossed with butter, cheese and pepper.  The flavor was amazing!  If you want to try ramps, get to the market now!  They aren't around very long at all.  I am going to try growing them from plants I got from a local farmer.  It will take awhile though - definitely until next Spring.  So, meanwhile, I am going to hunt down some more!!  Enjoy.



Ramps Sauteed in Butter with Salt and Pepper



Ramps fresh from the Farmers Market

Consider: "The Ten Dollar Solution"; Recipe: Fiddleheads

The Farmers Markets will all be open soon - both here in Philly and around the Region. The products carried by Fair Food Farms will also be changing weekly at a much faster pace than over the winter months.  Many of us will be growing lots of fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs, as well. It's all good. 

I love our local markets and cannot imagine life without them, but I also enjoy a bit of a road trip once in awhile to stroll around other markets, to stop at roadside stands, to meet other farmers and purveyors, and see what's selling.  I hear that some people look at houses!! Odd!

As we look forward to the Markets all returning, consider this, please.

If every household in Pennsylvania spent $10 a week on locally/regionally produced food, $48 million dollars would stay in the local economy each week.  Spending your money on locally grown and produced food sustains the community, provides us with a better quality of food (fresher, tastier, safer) and thus provides better nutrition, preserves family farms and the businesses of small producers, generates jobs, and beautifies the urban and rural landscape.  Ten dollars a week!

I can't imagine that this isn't the case for other regions as well, although, as I like to remind folks - we live in an incredibly rich region of farms, independent producers, and markets.  We're very lucky, but we have to sustain those farms and producers and markets.

Remember:  A typical supermarket carrot travels over 1800 miles to reach your plate and the "average" supermarket egg (not discussing all of the other things wrong with it) is at least 45 days old when you buy it. 

Check out:  www.buylocalpa.org for more information.

Enjoy these glorious days.

Recipe

Garlicky Fiddlehead Ferns

Ingredients:
1/4 to 1/2 pound of fiddle heads does very well for two people

Fresh garlic, peeled and minced (3 cloves)

Good extra virgin olive oil (2 or more tablespoons)

Butter, unsalted (2 tablespoons)

The Herb of your choice - we like dried Thyme, or fresh Parsley - really whatever is on hand (2 - 3 tablespoons)

Dried red pepper flakes, Sea Salt, and Freshly Ground Pepper

Technique:

Clean the fiddleheads well, remove any fuzz found in the curl of the fiddlehead (just run your finger thru the curl and then give them a rinse)

Dry the fiddleheads very well; we use our salad spinner.  You could use a produce bag and just swing it around - however you approach it,  you want to get them nice and dry

In a skillet heat the extra virgin olive oil AND the butter until hot

Add the fiddleheads and the garlic to the oil and butter mixture, cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the fiddleheads get a bit of crispiness to them - tasting them helps the judgement process

Add the herb you have selected, sea salt and freshly ground pepper and if you want a bit of a kick, add a small scattering of dried red pepper flakes and give it one more good stir

Serve Hot.  They make a great side dish and they are wonderful on brushetta.  They literally taste of Spring!

Enjoy!  They aren't around very long!

Fiddleheads before cooking

Happy Spring! The Growing Season is Here!

Hello All and Happy Spring!

What passed for Winter was pretty surprising wasn't it?  I guess we're all happy that - after things started poking up and sprouting blooms - we didn't get hit by some late year snow.  It was indeed the strangest winter I can remember, but certainly easy on those energy bills!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind here at Il Moya.  Measuring for a new, gigantic (for us) standing planter -  our third; ordering seeds & transplants; trips to the garden centers for soil, etc. and clearing all of those Christmas tree boughs that we spread throughout the garden have kept us pretty busy. 

There is a lot of start up - as you Gardeners know - to prepping for planting and growing.  This year, for the first time, we went with more seeds than transplants for edibles and herbs.  Because of that, our kitchen has become a "nursery" of sorts - seed trays are spread out all over - catching precious light from our southern facing window.  Two of our tomato seedlings  - Brandywine Pink (an Heirloom) and Sweet Current (teeny, tiny cherry tomates) - are "up" and thriving in their trays.  We have assorted sweet and hot peppers in, jalepenos, and Black Beauty eggplant as well.

Outside, the French Breakfast radishes, Arugula, Kale, Simpson "Envy" Lettuce, and Mustard Green seedlings have all appeared - we've already had to thin the radishes.  The Sorrel is just starting to emerge as of this morning. Yesterday we planted a few spinach plants - we saw them at the garden center and they looked so healthy, we couldn't resist.  We have a lot more in the way of seed planting to do as the weather warms, but this first round of "colder" crops is something we always enjoy. We both love leafy greens.  Not to mention that sitting outside with a cocktail on a Spring evening, picking mature Arugula leaves and wrapping them around little slivers of smoked salmon is an absolutely decadent and delicious way to kick off the season!

Recipe:  Spring Pasta

Ingredients

1 pound of "little" pasta - any small, compact pasta that you have on hand

2 - 3 fresh lemons

A stick of butter

Fresh Italian (Flat Leaf) Parsley

Heavy Cream  (1/4 cup or more)

A hunk of Parmesan Cheese & Salt & Pepper to taste

Dried Pepper Flakes

Boil your pasta in heavily salted water (always, always close to 'sea water') to just al dente - a few minutes short of the package instructions

While the pasta is cooking, in a saute pan, melt the butter, add the zest of one lemon, add the juice of all of the lemons - you want about a heavy 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice all told (do not use "bottled" lemon juice - don't bother).  Add some freshly group black pepper and bring the mixture to a low simmer.

Drain your pasta (save about a cup of the pasta water in case you want to thin your sauce)

Put your pasta in the saute pan and cook the pasta for a minute or two in the sauce.

Add about 1/4 cup of heavy cream - or less if you want a very light sauce, more for a richer sauce. Stir to incorporate the sauce, cream and pasta.  Add more freshly ground black pepper to taste - lots of pepper really picks this up!

Off the heat, garnish with some fresh chopped parsley and some grated cheese.  Serve immediately with the pepper flakes on the side.

Happy Spring!

What are your favorite kitchen tools? What couldn't you live without?

The Saveur 100 for this year (January 2012) lists the "antique juice press" (p.18) as their 12th favorite thing.  We were sort of thrilled because, although we have a large collection of retro kitchen tools (veg - o - matic, ice crushers, etc.) our Juice King IS our go to juicer.  People assume that being the crazed cooks that we are - and we are, we are aware of that - that we had some sort of big juicer. 

Frankly, over the years - and it did take some time - we learned that, indeed, less is more.  We have slowly been getting rid of all sorts of nifty gadgets and machines which have ended up stored in our basement.  Let's face it, a pannini maker takes up a lot of space (which in city kitchens most of us don't have) and a cast iron pan with a stone mortar sitting in it will flatten any sandwich on earth! Frying? Certainly a Dutch Oven, a thermometer, a "spider" to lift things out of oil and you're set as far as frying goes.  Life without a good, industrial grade Kitchen Aid Mixer would be tragic and I am blessed to have one - and the ice cream maker attachment and the sausage maker attachment, and a pasta maker attachment - you get the picture. These attachments are all small and easily stored (the ice cream maker lives in the freezer).  And they make great gift ideas for folks who buy you gifts!

And, of course, as we all should know, if you are going to spend some money on something - let it be knives.  Please, let it be knives!  Having cooked in other people's kitchens a lot over the years, I am now convinced that this is the big missing piece for many home cooks.  There's only one kitchen in which we find sharpened knives - along with lots of other good stuff  and really enjoy cooking away from home (you know who you are, Larken Springs Farm!).  Also, one 12 inch non - stick pan is probably enough.  Cast iron is a necessity.  A good chef's pan is very utilitarian.  A roaster is necessary if you do Thanksgiving or roasts at any time of year. A pasta pot is great to have.  A well aged wok is a thing of beauty.  We're partial to All -Clad - it's great, durable and made in Pennsylvania.  All of these contribute to the texture and flavor of what is cooked in them and are irreplaceable for some foods/dishes. You know what you use, what kinds of food you prepare and how much room you actually have, so start from there.

What I am saying is, if you are frustrated with your overflowing kitchen cabinets  - and again, most of us whose kitchens are in the city are constantly fighting that battle - give some thought to what you really need, what kinds of food you cook,  what can serve "double duty", and what you really use - and be honest, what is totally unnecessary and spends its life in a storage closet.

What kitchen tools could you NOT live without?  What are you contemplating for the Spring tag sale?  What tools have you learned multiple uses for?  Example here:  we have a wonderful cast iron mussel pot - we love mussles and make them a lot and the pot is fun and so great to bring right to the table loaded with steamed mussles and their liquer in which to dip crusty bread.  That said, I have also learned that the same pot - with no impact on its mussel steaming capacity - makes a great loaf of "no knead" bread.  Yipee two uses!

I'd love to hear from you.  We can definitely learn from each other.

Here she is - she's a work horse, she's ancient  - and she's very, very efficient!

Where's Winter? The Olive Oil Cake Recipe - You'll be making it a lot!

Gardening Thoughts:  Who among us - and by "us" I am referring to gardeners, growers, small farmers, urban farmers, and the like - is not more than a bit concerned as we turn the corner into February and our area temperatures continue to act like it is Spring!?  This situation is not just affecting our tri-state area, but is impacting the whole of the Eastern seabord.  Any areas that should have predictably frozen ground by now and doesn't is feeling this impact. I go out to fill the bird feeders and I see buds on my flowering plants, daffs pushing up through the mulch and I cannot stop all of the garlic I planted from throwing off green shoots!  Add to all those things the fact that our ground is definitely not frozen.  The folks at Landreth Seeds are warning us that this weather may lead to widespread Blight.  They suggest using a copper fungicide, which will have to be tilled into the soil, and seedlings will need to be dusted regularly.  Worrisome.  But still I know that by now all of us have the catalogs marked up, have planting diagrams drawn, and are lusting after new "toys".  It's February and regardless of the temperatures, we're dreaming of Spring.

Food News:  Wasn't it heartwarming to see that the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - who is supposed to represent the American people - decided to hide the identity of the chain restaurant (Taco Bell) guilty of a limited outbreak of salmonella?  Reports from both the Center for Disease Controls (CDC) and the FDA refer to "the source" and/or black out the words Taco Bell from written reports.  Huh?  Again, we see the FDA serving as handmaiden to agri-business at the expense of the health of the people.  For those of us who used to think that the lobbying strength of the NRA was potent; think again.  As I have said before, agri-business is running scared.  We as consumers are getting educated, we are asking the right questions. and we are more and more choosing local, seasonal, real food.  Keep yourself up to date; these seemingly little things add up to a lot.

Recipe - Olive Oil Cake:  This recipe is ancient and it is believed to have originated in the area of Verona, using the local olive oil of that region, which many Italians believe is the best olive oil in all of Italy.  It is delicious and versatile - enough so that my little "touch", the limoncello glaze, works very well, but is not necessary; the cake alone is delicious.

Cake Ingredients (Bakes best in a 2 1/4 quart tube pan)
2 eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
The peel of 1 lemon, grated
salt
1/3 cup of dry Marsala Wine
1/3 cup of whole milk
3/4 cup of the best extra virgin olive oil you can get, plus some oil for the baking pan
1 tablespoon baking powder
11/2 cup all purpose flour

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
Beat the eggs and all of the sugar until the mixture becomes pale and foamy
Add the grated lemon peel, salt, Marsala wine, milk, and the 3/4 cup of the olive oil - mix until all is fully incorporated

Mix the baking powder to the flour and add to the other ingredients; mix thoroughly
Smear the inside of the tube pan with a thin coating of olive oil - best done with your hands!

Pour the batter into the pan; bake in the upper third of a preheated oven for 50 minutes - again, if your oven is at all finicky or unpredictable, I would start checking at around 40 minutes.

Let the cake cook for 10 minutes, loosen it from the tube and sides of the pan with a knife, unmold it and place it on a cooling rack until it comes to room temperature.

NOTE:  if you are going to glaze the cake, do it after you put it on the rack, but do it when the cake is warm.

Limoncello Glaze Ingredients:
The juice of two lemons (use the lemon you grated!)
1/4 cup of Limoncello
Four Tablespoons of sugar
Two pats of butter

NOTE:  Limoncello is an Italian liquer made from lemons and overproof alcohol or vodka.  It is served iced cold and can serve as an appertivo or a digestivo.  There is always a bottle of limoncello right next to the vodka in our freezer - it is delicious and verstatile. And, it is readily available in Pennsylvania State Stores!

In a saucepan, put the lemon juice, the Limoncello, and the sugar.  Stir and dissolve over medium heat; when the mixture is incorporated, raise heat to medium high heat and reduce the mixture by about 1/3 - you just want it to thicken a bit.  When you are happy with the consistency, add the two pats of butter and whisk it - off heat -  until the butter is incorparated.

Brush the glaze all over the warm cake - inside and out - be generous!  The cake will absorb the glaze and that's OK.  Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if you wish.

Limoncello Glazed Olive Oil Cake

A Savory "Dutch Baby" Recipe to Chase the Chills

So the last few days have made the impression:  it's Winter, fellow foodies, and time for hot, rich, bubbly, soothing and comforting foods!

For Brunch last Sunday, I was thinking pancakes - but then that's always an issue in our home as my much better half is missing the sweet tooth gene.  So, I did what I usually do for inspiration.  I stare into the "fridge, the pantry, the freezer - one or all, depending on what I think I am looking for.  I had a lot of apples and a nice big block of a Vermont white cheddar.  I started trying to remember what those big, one pan pancakes were called and found a note in my food journal re: the "Dutch Baby". The recipe I had was for a sweet Dutch Baby - but I didn't see why I couldn't use the same basic recipe and adapt it to the apples and cheddar.  The Baby works best if baked in a well seasoned cast iron pan.  And it is best if you serve and eat it immediately.  And, like a souffle, it will rise and look absolutely fabulous when you take it out of the oven, and, yes, it will drop like a flat pancake in seconds.  Doesn't matter - it's delicious!!!

Recipe:  Savory Dutch Baby

Ingredients for a savory Baby:  2 or more tablespoons of unsalted butter for the pan; 1/2 cup whole milk; 1/2 cup of regular flour; 3 eggs; 1/8 cup of sugar (obviously the sweet Baby uses more sugar, but you do need a little sugar to get things going); 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon vanilla; two apples - cored and peeled and cut into 1/8ths; and 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Savory Dutch Baby Ingredients



Preheat oven 425 degrees

Melt a tablespoon or more of the butter in a well seasoned cast iron skillet.  Add the apple slices and allow them to brown a bit - when they are done to your liking, add the rest of the butter or more if you have already used the two tablespoons. You want the cast iron pan nicely buttered.



Cook the Apple Slices in Butter





Mix all of the other ingredients, including the grated cheese,  until well blended.  Pour the blended mixture into the skillet over the apple slices.

Put the mixture in the skillet on a center rack of your oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  Keep an eye on it.  Ovens are finicky and different and souffle - type things are as well!

When it's done, it will be starting to darken and be very puffy - again, like a souffle.  Pull it out of the oven and admire it; it will sink down on itself in a few minutes - but that's OK.

Slice it up and enjoy.  The melted cheddar "disappears" into the pancake, but it's flavor comes right through, and the apples will be very carmelized at the bottom of the Baby.  A very delicious combination.  You can dot some butter on it by the slice, which would be gilding the lilly in a very good way!




Savory Dutch Baby

Last Holiday Thoughts & "Chicken Stuffs" - the Recipe

Holiday Thoughts:  I must say that I found this Holiday season very enjoyable - from Thanksgiving on through the New Year.  I have been trying to analyze why I am holding such fond memories, more than usual, of what is always a fun, but hectic time.  And it was hectic:  cooking, home making, decorating, buying and making gifts, seeing friends and family, and being happily surprised.  I was also struck this year at the wonder of our lovely city block - folks beautifully decorating the Point (our little city "park"), and the corner coffee shop and deli folks donating hot drinks and food for our Toys for Tots event. Many of us decorated our homes, and, amidst it all, we managed to get together to exchange small gifts and tall tales.  It was all good. It was what it is supposed to be.

I know that country folks like to talk about the great "togetherness" of their small towns, but our little piece of urban heaven has a lot of that going for it.  I hope we hold on to it.  We have a few Grinches on the block, but they are vastly outnumbered!

Just a Reminder:  Two Farmers Markets remain open all year:  Rittenhouse Market and Clark Park.  And, of course, if you haven't been to Fair Food Farms in the Reading Terminal Market, you must check it out and you'll be a regular.  Another "new" favorite of ours is Green Aisle Grocery on East Passyunk Avenue (on Passyunk between Tasker and Morris).  The owners of Green Aisle are committed to local, seasonal and single producer products.  They also feature some wonderful items made for retail sale by chefs from restaurants in the area. 

"Chicken Stuffs" - A Super Comfort Cold Weather Recipe:  My better half has talked for years about the dish her Mom would make that they all loved and went crazy over. During the week after the holidays I finally talked her into to checking with her Mom and making it.  You must try it.  Now she's the youngest of nine, so I am offering here the recipe for 2 - 4 people.  The most important aspect of this recipe, called "Chicken Stuffs" by my in-laws, is that you must, must make it with a real "old hen".  Stewing chickens in a supermarket are only a month or so older than all factory produced chickens and they have not laid eggs.  A genuine old hen has had a free range life of producing eggs, pecking the ground for goodies, living a good 2 - 3 years.  These hens actually appear thin; rather long and narrow if you will. They are the ONLY chicken that will withstand the 3 plus hours of cooking that this recipe demands.  Ours is from the Livengood family - the Livengoods are at many of our local Farmers Markets all year around.  You may have to put an order in for an old hen.

Ingredients:  One old Hen - again, this may not necessarily be a supermarket "stewing" chicken - you want an old hen; a large onion; a couple of large carrots; 3 ribs of celery; 1 cup of whole milk; whole black peppercorns; bay leaf; parsley; thyme; oil or butter; flour

Method:  Cut up the Chicken - split the legs, take off the wings, cut down the middle of the breasts, remove the backbone and remove the neck.  This cutting of the chicken does NOT have to be "artistic" - you just want the pieces of a size so that you don't need too much water in the pot to cover. Chop the onion, one carrot and 2 ribs of celery, large dice or small half moons are fine.  Saute the vegetables in the smallest amount of oil for 2-3 minutes, just until you can smell the onions.  Add the cut up chicken to the pot, including the back and the neck if you have it (do not add innards).  Barely cover everything with water.  Simmer - do NOT boil - for one (1) hour.  Then add some whole peppercorns, not more than a teaspoon of salt, a few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf or two.  Simmer for another two (2) hours.  Note:  if you did this to a supermarket stewing chicken you would have broth and tasteless strings, with an old girl you'll have broth and tender tasty meat.

Remove the chicken from the pot.  Strain the broth into a bowl - be as fussy, or not, as you want.  When cool enough to handle, pick all the meat off of the bones.  Make a light roux  with 2-3 tblsps butter or oil and an equal amount of flour (you want a color similar to coffee with lots of cream) . Chop another carrot and rib of celery (chop nicely now, this will be in your dinner)  and add it to the roux.  Toss to coat.  Add the strained broth back to the pot.  Reduce until it looks like the right amount of sauce for your chicken, add salt to taste.  Add the chicken back to the pot and warm through.  Taste and add more thyme if you'd like.  Finally add about 3/4 to 1 cup of milk.  Warm through and serve over rice. 

Serving Suggestion:  a green salad and some warm dinner rolls make a nice well rounded dinner and the rolls are wonderful for sopping up the brothy sauce of chicken stuffs.  Enjoy!

A plate of "chicken stuffs"