Category Archives: spring

Ramps!

8 April 2010 by local kitchen

You know it’s April in the Hudson Valley when you see ramps pop up, in the farmer’s market or in the woods. Ramps are wild leeks, an allium related to onions, shallots, garlic, and of course, leeks, and they create quite a sensation each spring when the broad, waxy green leaves start popping up in the woods. With good reason: although some think we should just shut up about ramps, there is a reason that foodniks go a little mad […]

Categories: 100% local, foraging, leek, preserving, spring, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, foraging, local, preserving, ramps, recipes, spring, wild foods

Boozy Baby Chocolate Cake

6 April 2010 by local kitchen

Because sometimes, summer is right around the corner, and you don’t want a whole cake sitting around the house for just the two of you. And because, the slices will be so virtuously small, you are perfectly justified in drowning them in booze. Happy Spring, everyone! Adapted from Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Chocolate Cake ————————————————————— Boozy Baby Chocolate Cake EQUIPMENT one 6-inch X 3-inch high cake pan (for the tall & small cake pictured here) OR one 8 or 9-inch cake pan (for a regular-sized […]

Categories: baking, cake, chocolate, dessert, eggs, spring, whole wheat flour, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

Chicken & Orzo Stew

29 March 2010 by local kitchen

As noted below, the original version of this recipe is what I call “restaurant fussy:” wherein almost every ingredient is cooked separately (using several pots & pans), then combined at the end. My tweaks made it not only easier to prepare, but tastier to boot: the orzo cooks in the chicken-wine broth, the chicken soaks up flavor from herbs & greens, the apple is added at the end for maximum crispness, and the whole thing comes together in a single […]

Categories: apples, chicken, herbs, kale & leafy greens, main course, pasta, spring, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, greens, kale, local, quick & easy, recipes

Strawberry Rhubarb & Caramelized Onion Jam

16 March 2010 by local kitchen

allium canning too many good recipes strawberry rhubarb it is It’s a poetry jam, man. Today’s haiku is brought to you by the letter “A.” A is for allium and I can’t seem to stop Can Jammin’ the magical allium family: shallots, garlic and Cippolini onions (oh my!). I know Spring is not quite here yet, despite the post-Flood sunshine and 60 degree temps today, and it is cruel of me to tease you with thoughts of strawberry & rhubarb when […]

Categories: berries, breakfast, canning, citrus, jams, preserving, rhubarb, spring, year round • Tags: canning, condiments, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb, strawberries

Tuscan White Bean Bruschetta

15 March 2010 by local kitchen

An easy way to use up leftover cooked beans, yet a delicious appetizer that tastes celebratory and rustic at the same time. A win-win! It’s been all flageolet beans, all the time, around here lately, but that’s what happens when you cook up a pound at once and then keep finding new ways to enjoy their deliciousness. This recipe is quite simple, uses basic pantry staples, and is a great way to use the tag ends of frozen kale or other leafy […]

Categories: appetizer, kale & leafy greens, quick & easy, spinach, spring, vegetarian, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Dark Days: Preppy Spring Salad

8 March 2010 by local kitchen

Ah, pink & green, every Prepsters stock wardrobe must, especially in Spring. While my days of popped Izod collars and matching Tretorn-stripe tennis shoes are long gone, I can still show my love the for Pink & Green – locavore style. Three days in a row of 50-degree temps, not to mention lots of fresh Spring vegetables at the farmer’s market this Saturday, inspired a crunchy, fresh and altogether delightful pink & green salad. The pink: crisp & crunchy radishes, […]

Categories: appetizer, citrus, Dark Days Local, parsley, quick & easy, radish, salad, scallions, spinach, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Flageolet Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

5 March 2010 by local kitchen

Flageolet beans are quite wonderful. They’re small and a beautiful mix of white and pale green when dried. Cooked, they hold their shape and color well and smell amazingly wonderful while simmering away on the stove. They have a slightly spicy, very distinctive, very hard-to-describe aroma and taste, that somehow reminds me of Spring. I was lucky enough to receive some Rancho Gordo flageolet beans for Christmas from my friend Christina (the gift that keeps on giving!) and they were […]

Categories: beans, heirloom beans, main course, quick & easy, side dish, spring, tomatoes, vegetarian, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

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

Dark Days: Roasted Green Beans with Potatoes & Bacon

31 January 2010 by local kitchen

I discovered last week that I am on my last bag of frozen kale, which shocks me; I feel like all I did last summer was blanch and freeze kale. As I uncovered things in the chest freezer (that had been buried under the avalanche of kale) I realized that I have a lot of frozen green beans. After calling for some green bean inspiration from my fellow Dark Dayers, I got a lot of great recipe ideas, and have […]

Categories: 100% local, chickpeas, Dark Days Local, green beans, main course, pork, potato, roasting, side dish, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Dark Days: Rhubarb Rosemary Pork Cutlets with Onion & Beet Sauce

4 December 2009 by local kitchen

Some meals are a revelation. Strangely enough, I often find that when I’m not really thinking about it, throwing something together from the contents of my fridge on a busy weeknight, is when I make my most startling discoveries. This meal fits the bill. I had those pork cutlets, of the not-cutlets-but-scones fame. They were thawed a couple of days ago and really needed to be cooked. (Not only am I completely obsessive about not wasting food, there has got to […]

Categories: Dark Days Local, jellies, main course, pork, rhubarb, roasting, rosemary, sage, spring, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Apple Rhubarb Chutney with Fennel & Cardamom

17 November 2009 by local kitchen

Yet another in the long line of apple recipes, I know, but this one is a definite keeper. This chutney is delicious, and that comes from someone who doesn’t like cooked apples. Not even apple pie, apple butter, applesauce or apple jam. Nope, I only seem to like apple chutney and I think I’ve found my new favorite: apple rhubarb chutney with fennel & cardamom. The sweetness of apples, the tang of rhubarb, the licoricey bite of fennel and the subtle, […]

Categories: apples, canning, cherries, chutneys, condiments, fall, preserving, rhubarb, spring, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb

Easy Chicken Stew

23 October 2009 by local kitchen

We’re baaaaaaaaack! There’s just nothing wrong with a month-long honeymoon exploring the wonder that is British Columbia. Eventually, I have a post planned on all the various wonderful places we ate in BC, but for now, I am totally thrilled to be back in my kitchen. I really did miss cooking. Although we did rent a few places with full kitchens in our travels, there was just never time for real cooking in between the hiking, drinking, kayaking, partying, biking, […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, chicken, chickpeas, corn, fall, hot chile peppers, kale & leafy greens, main course, potato, rice, spring, stew, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, recipes

Red, White & Black

8 July 2009 by local kitchen

One last recipe for the last days of strawberry season here in the Northeast. This strawberry, white balsamic vinegar and black pepper jam has a fantastic flavor profile; almost savory, with the balsamic vinegar kick, yet sweet enough to enjoy on a muffin or scone. Lovely flecks of crushed black pepper give it added zing and visual appeal. The set was very loose, almost a thick sauce more than a jam, likely due to my overly ripe strawberries and limited sugar. But even […]

Categories: berries, canning, condiments, jams, preserving, spring, summer • Tags: balsamic, canning, cooking, food, jam, local, preserving, recipes, savory, strawberries

Homemade Berry Cordial

6 July 2009 by local kitchen

With the last two quarts of strawberries from the weekend’s picking, I decided to make some cordial. Last year I made a wild raspberry cordial (shown in the picture, mixed with seltzer), based on Leda Meredith’s recipe, that came out quite nicely. It’s a bit too sweet for me to drink on it’s own (one friend said that it tasted just like Manischewitz wine!), but it’s delightfully refreshing when mixed with seltzer or sparkling water and it adds a lovely berry […]

Categories: berries, fall, fermenting, preserving, spring, summer, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: berries, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Fresh Strawberry Tart

25 June 2009 by local kitchen

My Mom has been visiting for the last couple of days, in the midst of her annual summer roadtrip from her home in Asheville, NC, up to our hometown of Gloucester, MA. Since I still had about a pound of berries left from last week’s big strawbery haul, I decided to make us a fresh strawberry tart for dessert. This tart came together quite easily as I used frozen pastry dough scraps, strawberry syrup garnered from the frozen/juiced/dried strawberries, and […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, berries, citrus, dessert, fruit, pastry, pie, spring, summer • Tags: cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes, strawberries