Category Archives: fall

Cranberry Forsythia Scones

15 June 2010 by local kitchen

A basic cranberry scone recipe with a twist: Forsythia Syrup! I’m on the other side of the country now, on South Africa’s southwest coast, in Cape Town. And while I don’t think cranberries even grow in Africa, and I’m not sure that forsythia does either, I am wishing I had some of these scones to take with me on a hike of Table Mountain. Could you guys bake some up and drop them in FedEx for me? Thanks bunches, or as we say down […]

Categories: baking, breads, breakfast, cranberries, fall, milk, spring, whole wheat flour, wild foods, year round • Tags: baking, bread, breakfast, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Maple Walnut Scones

12 May 2010 by local kitchen

Taking a break from Laptop-Trauma Central to bring you this: another scone recipe. This is one of Tai’s favorites, sweet, but not overly so, simply flavored with maple syrup and dried New York apples, with a nice crunch and hint of bitterness from the walnuts. Perfect to warm the kitchen, and the soul, on this cold & dreary, technology-is-conspiring-to-kill-me, day. Adapted from Cranberry-Orange Scones ————————————————————– Maple Walnut Scones INGREDIENTS 1 cup (4.5 oz) whole white wheat flour (Wild Hive “all-purpose”) 1 cup (4.5 oz) whole wheat (bread) flour 1 […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, baking, breads, breakfast, fall, milk, nuts, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, bread, breakfast, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Pickled Chard Stems

9 May 2010 by local kitchen

Yesterday I scored a ridiculous amount of Spring bounty at the farmer’s market: asparagus and rhubarb, yes, but also ramps & fiddleheads, rainbow chard & curly kale, scallions, parsley & cilantro, two kinds of radishes (and of course the usual potatoes, onions and carrots). In addition to all that, thanks to Madura Farms’ greenhouses, I picked up the first Kirby cucumbers of the year, not to mention eggs, bread, butter, pork shoulder and sausage. Phew! I could barely stuff it all into the […]

Categories: canning, condiments, fall, kale & leafy greens, pickles, preserving, quick & easy, spring • Tags: canning, chard, condiments, cooking, food, local, pickles, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Cider-Brined Pork Chops on the Grill

2 May 2010 by local kitchen

I’m a 40 (something) year-old virgin: a brining virgin, that is. A neophyte. A gumby. A noob. Well, I was until yesterday. Yesterday, in celebration of the truly summer-like weather, I popped my brining cherry on some ridiculously thick pork chops that were destined for the grill. Despite all the hype, I’ve (obviously) never gotten on the brining bandwagon. I have always felt that if you are taking the trouble to buy the best meat you can find, heritage-breed, pastured, humanely-raised & […]

Categories: brining, fall, grill, main course, pork, summer, techniques, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Can Jam: Apple Cider Jelly with Rosemary & Peppercorn

22 April 2010 by local kitchen

I should have left well enough alone. After the glorious triumph of my Can Jam Lemon Lavender Marmalade, I should have known to just quit while I was ahead. Sadly, I so rarely take my own sage advice. There’s a reason why I never make jelly. Jelly is basically juice + sugar. Since there is no fruit pulp to round out the texture, a jelly really needs more sugar than a jam, or whole fruit preserve, in order to have any structure. There […]

Categories: apples, Can Jam, canning, fall, jellies, preserving, rosemary, spring, winter, year round • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Christine Ferber’s Pumpkin Jam with Vanilla Bean

24 March 2010 by local kitchen

Sigh. I tried – I really tried. Following this conversation on Tigress’ blog, regarding my disappointment in the recent purchase of Mes Confitures, Christine Ferber’s famous jam & jelly cookbook, I decided that, in order to give the cookbook a fair shake, I would attempt one of the recipes, as is, without any tweaking from me (you have no idea how hard this is for me). Since I had lots & lots of pumpkin to use up, I decided to try […]

Categories: canning, citrus, fall, jams, preserving, winter, winter squash • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, local, recipes

Pumpkin Cascabel Marmalade

22 March 2010 by local kitchen

Can you believe that I still have a pumpkin from last Fall? Well, had a pumpkin, I should say. The vernal equinox, not to mention the 70+ temps this weekend, convinced me that it was finally time to say goodbye to the Last Fall Pumpkin, which has been gracing our countertop, courtesy of Fishkill Farm, since late October. So in celebration of the first day of Spring, I took my biggest knife to this 14 lb sucker and hacked it’s […]

Categories: canning, citrus, condiments, fall, jams, preserving, winter, winter squash • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Locavirgin: Roasted Leek Confit

28 February 2010 by local kitchen

Roasted leeks: who knew they could be so awesome? In doing some advance research on allium recipes for the March Can Jam, I came across this recipe in The Glass Pantry for leeks, slow-roasted in olive oil. Simplicity itself: leeks, oil, salt, pepper. The roasting and the fat combine to extend the (already pretty impressive) storage time of the leeks, and the flavor? Outrageous. This is an easy way to work local foods into your diet even if finding […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, condiments, fall, leek, Locavirgin, roasting, spreads, spring, vegetarian, winter • Tags: confit, cooking, food, leeks, local, preserving, recipes, vegetarian

Locavirgin: Thick Cut Pork Chops with Simple Pan Sauce

19 February 2010 by local kitchen

Pork chops can be frustrating. In my opinion, few things are as simply, wonderfully good as a pan-fried pork chop. Simple, she says? Ah, therein lies the rub. As with so many “simple” recipes, it is all about the quality of the ingredients and the execution of the technique. When a recipe has only 3 or 4 ingredients, each of those ingredients really needs to shine. And, when the whole point of the recipe is to allow those beautiful ingredients to shine, there will be […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, herbs, Locavirgin, main course, pork, thyme, wine, beer & liquor, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Can Jam: Apple Carrot Chile Chutney

17 February 2010 by local kitchen

Say that 10 times fast. I have to admit that when this month’s Can Jam ingredient was announced as carrots, I was a little… uninspired. While I applaud the choice as a “stretch” goal, I just wasn’t that excited about my BWB carrot canning possibilities. Not that I don’t like carrots, I do, but they are a low-acid food and we all know that I’m no friend of the pickle. There are some carrot marmalade and jam recipes out there, but […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, Can Jam, canning, carrot, chutneys, condiments, fall, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Cranberry Apple Pie

23 January 2010 by local kitchen

Another riff on Rose’s famous apple pie. Having served many versions of this pie to friends over the past couple of years, I think I can say with confidence that this one is the crowd favorite; one of the first to disappear and the first to earn talking-with-your-mouth-full praise. This version I made in a 7-inch, deep-dish pie pan for a really stacked and fruit-packed slice o’ pie (it also uses less pastry for the carb- and butter-o-phobic). I also cut […]

Categories: apples, baking, cranberries, dessert, fall, pastry, pie, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

Cranberry Sauce with Rosemary & Juniper Berry

12 December 2009 by local kitchen

This is a beautiful sauce, a gorgeous cranberry color flecked with deep purple bits of juniper berry. The juniper gives a hint of piney bite to the sauce while the rosemary adds a mellow, savory note. And I got to use the oh-so-cute, short & squat Ball Elite jars that I found up in Maine (they are impossible to find near me). The recipe is an amalgamation of several cranberry sauce recipes I’ve tried in the last couple of years, but was mainly inspired by this […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, cranberries, fall, holiday, preserving, rosemary, sauces, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, cranberry, food, local, preserving, recipes

Sunday Spring Cleaning: Curried Pumpkin & Kale Stew

6 December 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve long been of the belief that, if you add enough curry to something, it’s bound to be good. This stew upholds the belief: nothing spectacular, just good, tasty, warm and comforting stew for a snowy New York Sunday. The bonus is that this was a freezer-clearing special: I used some cooked cranberry beans that were hanging out in the fridge, frozen pumpkin cubes leftover from this soup, frozen kale put-up this summer, plum tomatoes that I stuck in the freezer, whole, […]

Categories: beans, fall, heirloom beans, kale & leafy greens, main course, quick & easy, stew, tomatoes, vegetarian, winter, winter squash, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Rose’s Apple Pie

5 December 2009 by local kitchen

It’s a cold, grey drizzly day here in New York. What better time for an old-fashioned apple pie? As you may have noticed, Rose Levy Beranbaum is one of my baking heroes, and she doesn’t disappoint with this classic apple pie. The apples are macerated in sugar to release their juices and the sweetened and spiced apple juice reduced, with butter, to make a thick, caramel-like sauce to coat the apple filling. The pastry crust stays crisp, the apples have […]

Categories: apples, baking, dessert, fall, holiday, pastry, pie, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: apple pie, baking, cooking, dessert, food, holiday, local, pie, recipes, rose levy beranbaum, whole wheat pastry

Dark Days: Goat Cheese, Chive and Cranberry Scones

29 November 2009 by local kitchen

I had every intention of making a local dinner of Flying Pigs pork cutlets stuffed with CSA frozen arugula, Nettle Meadow chevre and Cranberry Hill organic cranberries. Tai was drooling at the mere thought. However, as the afternoon waned I realized that I was just not in the mood for meat, even though the pork was thawing away on the counter. So I stuck Flying Pigs back in the fridge for tomorrow and made the same basic flavors (and ingredients) into […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breads, breakfast, cheese, chives, cranberries, Dark Days Local, fall, herbs, quick & easy, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, whole grain breads