Category Archives: fall

Toasted Israeli Couscous with Winter Squash & Preserved Lemon

10 February 2013 by local kitchen

Conversation I had with myself today: Me: “Can you still say “Israeli” couscous? I mean, is that kosher?” Myself: “Heh. Kosher. Get it?” Me: “You’re not helping. Is “Israeli” couscous still what we call it, or is that like saying “Oriental” when you’re not talking about a carpet? I: “Why don’t we call them Asian carpets anyway? How come oriental carpet is still OK, but oriental anything else is verboten?” Myself: “Well, Asian tends to piss off India, since they […]

Categories: citrus, fall, parsley, side dish, vegetarian, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, recipes, sides, winter

Pumpkin Spanakopita

6 February 2013 by local kitchen

Pumpkin spanakopita, bitches! Today the US men’s national soccer team kicks off the real deal of World Cup qualifying: The Hex. Ten games over the next eight months that will determine whether or not we go to The Big Show: Brazil 2014. The stakes are high, our fate is uncertain: of course I am nervous. So I am psyching myself up by watching inspiring US Soccer commercials, tacking “bitches!” (complete with obligatory fist pump) onto everything I say, and… making […]

Categories: appetizer, cheese, eggs, fall, kale & leafy greens, vegetarian, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, pumpkin, recipes, starters, vegetarian, winter

Cook The Books! Dancing Chicken

17 January 2013 by local kitchen

Have you heard about Cook The Books? Meg at Grow and Resist and Briggs at Oh, Briggsy dreamed up a little challenge for 2013: cooking out of those big, heavy, paper-stuffed things you have crammed onto a shelf somewhere near your kitchen. Yep, that’s right: forcing us to crack a spine, rather than tip-tap-tappity through the Interwebs to plan dinner. The nerve! I do love cookbooks, despite the fact that I rarely follow a recipe. It’s just that my recipes are […]

Categories: 100% local, carrot, chicken, fall, potato, roasting, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, main course, recipes

Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Sausage

9 January 2013 by local kitchen

I’ve mentioned Liana Krissoff’s new cookbook Whole Grains for a New Generation a couple of times now, on Facebook and Twitter, mostly because it’s been a ridiculous bargain on Amazon ($3, really?!). I ordered a copy for myself before Christmas (when it was a still-ridiculous $5) thanks to a tip from Emily at Nomnivorous, and I’ve been paging through it, planning various meals, since we returned from Maine. It’s a lovely book: nice, heavy paper stock, lots of photographs, with […]

Categories: fall, grains & legumes, main course, quinoa, sausage, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, quick & easy, quinoa, recipes, sausage, winter

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

17 December 2012 by local kitchen

Nearly two years ago, I made a pumpkin soup, and tried to sort out my grief, anger and frustration following the tragic shooting of Representative Gabby Giffords, and 17 others, on a sunny Saturday morning in Tuscon, AZ. At the time, I had some hope that we would take real steps to prevent the all too common gun violence in our country: because of the prominence of Rep. Giffords, because of the number of people injured and killed, because of […]

Categories: cauliflower, fall, side dish, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian, winter

Superstew Sandy

5 November 2012 by local kitchen

Seven days. Seven days since Sandy visited the East Coast with her high winds and devastating storm surge. Seven days that I, and hundreds of thousands of others in the tri-state area, have been without electricity. Seven days: and we are still without power Chez Local Kitchen, and our estimate for power restoration is the feels-oh-so-far-away Wednesday night at 11 pm. In some ways it feels much longer: while we are very lucky, with no damage to our property, despite […]

Categories: 100% local, bell pepper, chicken, corn, disaster, fall, main course, sausage, stew, thyme, winter • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, hurricane, local, recipes, sandy, sausage, stew

Pumpkin & White Bean Ravioli

20 October 2012 by local kitchen

Hello Fall! Can you believe that the last time I was here I was roaring about tomatoes, and now we are solidly in the heart of autumn: the leaves outside my window are a riot of yellow, red and pale green, and they drift down like snow, to crisp and brown and pile up in the corners of the deck, every time the wind blows; the annual Pumpkin Patch has taken over the church parking lot in Ridgefield; the sky […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, leek, main course, pasta, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, main course, pasta, recipes, vegetarian

100% Local: Leek, Potato & Delicata Squash Soup

25 September 2012 by local kitchen

I’ve never met a winter squash I didn’t like: pumpkin, butternut, Hubbard, Long Island cheese, even the fabulous fairy-tale pumpkins are tasty as well as gorgeous to look at. Strangely enough, I hated squash when I was young: my only experience with it was the stringy, watered-down, boiled-and-mashed variety that graced our Thanksgiving table each year. Blech. Then at some point, I’m not sure how, I discovered roasted squash; and squash soup; squash bread and muffins, stew and gnocchi and granola, […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, leek, potato, soup, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, recipes, soup, vegetarian

100% Local: Plums in Wine & Honey

18 September 2012 by local kitchen

As the nippy Fall air makes its way into New York, I heave a sigh of relief as I sense the urgency of the preserving season winding down. While I truly enjoy putting by the best of each season’s produce, even the most dedicated preserver can get a bit burnt out by the onslaught of summer produce, and I am feeling just a wee bit crispy at the edges. My back is sore, my fingernails are permanently stained red, and […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, fall, plums, preserves, preserving, summer, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, plums, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Asian Kaleslaw

20 June 2012 by local kitchen

Yes, you read that right: kaleslaw. Not coleslaw (which is somehow not called cabbageslaw. Hmm.). No gloppy mayonnaise, no pale green cabbage, no (for the love all things holy) raisins (Who’s brilliant idea was that anyway? Dear Person Who Thought Raisins in Coleslaw was a Brilliant Plan: We need to have a chat.). Just thin strips of bright green kale, crunchy carrots and radishes, toasted peanuts and sesame, all tied together with a bright, slightly sweet and just-a-hint spicy Asian dressing. I know, I know: […]

Categories: carrot, fall, kale & leafy greens, quick & easy, radish, salad, side dish, spring • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, salad, sides, spring

Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprout Salad

9 May 2012 by local kitchen

I hate Brussels sprouts. But as I say that, I realize: I’m not sure I’ve ever actually eaten Brussels sprouts before today. You see, most people generally boil them (why, oh why?) and is there anything more unappetizing than the smell of boiled cabbage? Are we living in Willy Wonka’s England? Am I Mrs. Bucket, trying to feed Charlie and Grandpa Joe and all of the other Buckets on single-leaf cabbage soup? No. No, I’m not. So why did I buy Brussels sprouts, […]

Categories: cabbage, cranberries, fall, nuts, salad, side dish, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, recipes, salad, vegetarian, winter

Use It or Lose It! Bean & Sausage Chili

22 March 2012 by local kitchen

It’s not like this site really needs another heirloom bean recipe; and I think I’ve fairly covered the spectrum of pork sausage possibilities. But this recipe isn’t really about beans, or sausage, or even chili for that matter: it’s about how “putting up” isn’t just about jam. And about how put-ups aren’t always meant to stand alone: while some, it’s true, are glorious on the oft-recommended cheese tray, I could eat a cheese tray for dinner every night of the […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, bell pepper, fall, heirloom beans, main course, pork, sausage, tomatoes, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: chili, cooking, food, local, main course, recipes

Potato Leek Gratin

14 January 2012 by local kitchen

My girlfriend Christina grew up in Schoharie County, NY: home of Howe Caverns, tragic flood damage, and the Fabulous Beekman Boys. While she was home for the holidays, she picked me up the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook for Christmas. It’s chock full of seasonal recipes, using homegrown and local ingredients, handed down through the generations and adapted by the Beekman Boys, all on a farm only a couple of hours from here. Be still my local-girl heart. Coincidentally, I had recently read the […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, fall, leek, milk, potato, side dish, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, food, leeks, local, potatoes, recipes, vegetarian, winter

Chicken Pot Pasties

27 November 2011 by local kitchen

We visited family in Maine for Thanksgiving and while I was happy to leave the task of roasting a 30-lb turkey to Tai’s Aunt Sue, I’m sort of bummed that I don’t have mountains of turkey leftovers to work my way through. Because this recipe was fantastic with cooked chicken but I’m sure would be equally wonderful with turkey: and with leftover Thanksgiving turkey gravy, some roasted carrots, creamed onions, maybe slivered green beans, you could create the entire filling from […]

Categories: 100% local, carrot, celery, cheese, chicken, fall, main course, pastry, pie, snack, thyme, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, food, hand pies, local, lunch, pasties, pastry, recipes, turkey

Use It or Lose It! Cranberry Marmalade Sauce

24 November 2011 by local kitchen

For a truly last-minute cranberry sauce: bag o’ cranberries + jar o’ marmalade + 20-minute simmer = Thanksgiving cranberry perfection! If you have a jar of marmalade that set like a rock (like mine of last year), check out my recipe below. If yours came out a bit loose, check out Shae’s version, a cranberry-marm-apple relish. Either way, you can’t go wrong; cranberries are always good. Enjoy the day, everyone! ———————————————————– Cranberry Marmalade Sauce INGREDIENTS 2 cups cranberries, fresh or […]

Categories: cranberries, fall, holiday, preserving, sauces, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: berries, condiments, cooking, cranberries, fall, food, holiday, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes, thanksgiving