Category Archives: spring

Preserving Strawberries

23 June 2009 by local kitchen

Twenty-five pounds of strawberries came and went pretty quickly; after tonight’s strawberry tart I’ve got less than a quart left. I think I might actually have to go picking again! Final totals: About 5 quarts frozen, 2 pints dried, 2 and 1/2 ice cube trays of purée, plus about 1 cup in the fridge, 3 and 1/2 pints of strawberry-rhubarb jam, one glazed strawberry tart and lots of random strawberry snacking – over ice cream, on granola, in salads, and out of the box. […]

Categories: 100% local, berries, canning, freezing, fruit, preserving, spring, summer • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, strawberries

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, Two Ways

20 June 2009 by local kitchen

This year marks my third season of canning to preserve the harvest, but only my second year of making jam. Since I am no longer a jam-newbie, I decided that this summer I would experiment with trying to make some completely local jams & preserves, using no refined sugar or commercial pectin. Due to the metric ass-load of strawberries I picked on Wednesday, and getting some more rhubarb in our CSA, I had enough to make two batches of strawberry rhubarb jam, and […]

Categories: 100% local, berries, breakfast, canning, condiments, dessert, jams, preserving, rhubarb, spring, summer • Tags: berries, canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb

Rose’s Strawberry Puree

19 June 2009 by local kitchen

Rose Levy Beranbaum developed a method for berry puree that involves extracting the juice, concentrating it down to one-fifth it’s original volume, pureeing the berry flesh and then adding back in the juice/syrup. This gives the puree maximum berry flavor without cooking the pulp, which tends to lead to a caramelized, sugary flavor rather than a pure berry flavor. While you could just puree fresh berries and call it a day, berries, and strawberries especially, contain so much water that the […]

Categories: 100% local, berries, canning, citrus, dessert, preserving, sauces, spring, summer, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, strawberries

Chock Full o’ Greens Soup

18 June 2009 by local kitchen

I made this soup on Tuesday night, in somewhat of a panic to think that the fridge was still stocked full of greens from last week’s CSA and I would be picking up another load of CSA veggies from the farm on Wednesday. I didn’t have a recipe in mind, so I just started pulling things out of the fridge and figured I would wing it. I rarely make up a recipe from scratch; I often have a base recipe that […]

Categories: Asian greens, basil, dill, grains & legumes, main course, pasta, quinoa, rice, soup, spring, summer, thyme, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup, vegetarian

Flageolet and Roasted Garlic Spread

16 June 2009 by local kitchen

More picnic fare that is easy to make, travels well, yet is impressively yummy and leaves friends wanting more. With the exception of olive oil and black pepper, this spread can be made entirely local with Navy beans from Cayuga Pure Organics; or you could do what I did and fly to San Francisco, visit friends, and hit up the Rancho Gordo booth at the Ferry Building! Adapted from Cannellini Bean Confetti Spread in Heirloom Beans, by Steve Sando […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, cheese, chives, fall, garlic, grains & legumes, heirloom beans, herbs, spring, summer • Tags: beans, cooking, food, garlic, local, recipes

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Radish Quinoa Salad

13 June 2009 by local kitchen

I was in the City last night, meeting the girls for drinks on the Rooftop Garden at the Met (as if the views from the roof weren’t reason enough, the Roxy Paine exhibit is outstanding and worth a visit), followed by a picnic dinner along the Hudson. Since we were picnicing, and I had a big bunch of radishes from this week’s first CSA of the season, I decided to make a quick & easy radish salad. Radishes are one […]

Categories: citrus, fall, parsley, quick & easy, radish, salad, scallions, side dish, spring, vegetarian, vinegar • Tags: cooking, food, local, radish, recipes, vegetarian

Cranberry Bean & Turkey Chili

4 June 2009 by local kitchen

Strangely enough, I’ve never made a traditional, American, ground-meat-and-beans chili. I’ve made authentic Mexican chile verde, plenty of bean and meat stews, and certainly do my fair share of cooking with fresh and dried chile peppers, but somehow I’ve never made the standard Sunday-afternoon-football, serve-an-army chili. (I guess I still haven’t when you consider the heirloom Vermont cranberry beans and Kosher ground turkey; “Kaela Tries to Cook American Food and Fails Miserably – Film at 11!”). It may be because I almost never […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, hot chile peppers, main course, spring, stew, tomatoes, turkey, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: beans, chili, cooking, food, heirloom beans, local, recipes, turkey

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Asparagus, Andouille & Spring Greens Frittata

2 June 2009 by local kitchen

Leftover grilled asparagus, kale & pastured eggs from Saturday’s farmer’s market, andouille sausage, and homemade mozzarella combined to make today’s lunch something special. ————————————————————– Asparagus, Andouille & Spring Greens Frittata INGREDIENTS bacon grease, lard or olive oil 2 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and diced to 1/2-inch 2 links (about 6 oz) andouille sausage, sliced in half lengthwise 1 large onion, diced 1 large bunch (about 1 lb) kale, chard or other leafy green, coarsely chopped about 12 stalks cooked asparagus, tips chopped to 3 […]

Categories: 100% local, asparagus, breakfast, cheese, herbs, kale & leafy greens, main course, parsley, potato, sausage, spinach, spring • Tags: cooking, eggs, food, frittata, local, recipes

Tai’s Rhubarb Ginger Jam

26 May 2009 by local kitchen

As we’ve discussed before, Tai, although a pastry chef by training, almost never cooks. We have an agreement that he will cook dinner once a week, which, at this time of year is usually sausages on the grill, with some grilled asparagus or kale, and he is an awesome sous chef, especially when I am preserving the harvest. He stirs, chops, lifts, pours and does dishes with the best of them, but as for pulling out a cookbook and actually combining […]

Categories: jams, preserving, rhubarb, spring • Tags: canning, cooking, food, ginger, jam, local, preserving, rhubarb

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

21 May 2009 by local kitchen

Yes, yes, I know – who the hell makes barbecue sauce when it’s 85 degrees out? I the hell do, thank you very much. When you’ve had a seriously crazy couple of weeks, you worked last night until 1:00 am, and you still have 5 lbs of rhubarb wilting in the fridge, you make barbecue sauce when the sun shines. Despite the fact that it’s about 95 degrees in my kitchen right now, this sauce was a delightful surprise. Kind […]

Categories: canning, condiments, preserving, raisins, rhubarb, sauces, spring • Tags: BBQ, canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb

Pork Chop Heaven

19 May 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve found Pork Chop Heaven. This is one of those meals; one of those meals that made me start this blog, so I wouldn’t longingly remember Pork Chop Heaven, yet have no memory of how to get back there. One of those meals that makes me think I can never go totally vegetarian. One of those meals that makes me bless the noble pig: a magical, wonderful animal. One of those meals that makes Tai say “How do you do […]

Categories: chutneys, cranberries, garlic, jellies, main course, pork, quick & easy, rhubarb, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

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Sunday Spring Cleaning: Runner Cannellini Bean Stew with Herb Pesto

17 May 2009 by local kitchen

I generally think of bean stew as being hearty, thick with sausage, tomatoes, vegetables and a thick gravy. This one, based loosely on a recipe from Stone Barns chef Dan Barber, and presented in Rancho Gordo cookbook Heirloom Beans, is surprisingly light and Springy, with a subtle play of flavor and texture from the white beans, pesto sauce and goat cheese. Like most bean soups and stews, the recipe is extremely versatile, and well-adapted to using up odds & ends of veggies in […]

Categories: arugula, beans, fall, garlic, heirloom beans, parsley, spinach, spring, stew, vegetarian, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes

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Rhubarb Rosemary Two-fer

16 May 2009 by local kitchen

I tried out the Rhubarb Rosemary Jelly recipe from Gourmet (via VanillaGarlic). Of course I had to get all fancy-pants and macerate the rhubarb overnight in sugar (to release more juice), and then decide to use pectin instead of gelatin, for a firmer set and the ability to store at room temperature, and then realize that I couldn’t use pectin, because you need to add the pectin before you add sugar to the juice, and then dig frantically around in the […]

Categories: citrus, condiments, jellies, rhubarb, rosemary, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb

Mainely Rhubarb

12 May 2009 by local kitchen

Over the weekend, Tai & I drove up to Franklin, ME to visit family, namely, Tai’s grandmother, aunt & uncle. They live in a beautiful spot, along the water in Hog Bay in two houses separated by a grassy field, Louisa’s gardens, Charlie’s pottery studio, and a whole lot of rhubarb plants. Tai’s Uncle Charlie is a potter and his Aunt Sue is a weaver; their work is quite gorgeous and can be seen on the Hog Bay website, not to […]

Categories: rhubarb, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, rhubarb, vegetarian

Spring Green Veggie Pasta

6 May 2009 by local kitchen

On my last night in San Fran I tried to cook up all the wonderful veggies we had picked up at the Ferry Building farmer’s market. I had planned on a spring veggie risotto, maybe with some Niman Ranch bacon (which makes any dish wonderful), but it was a crazy day of running around, meeting at friend for lunch at the Beach Chalet, doing laundry, hanging prints, catching up on email… essentially, I did not get out to the store, […]

Categories: beans, farmer's markets, herbs, main course, pasta, spring, tarragon, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian