Category Archives: winter

Calypso Bean Minestrone

7 January 2010 by local kitchen

Calypso beans are so gorgeous. They are one of those fantastic heirloom varieties that you only see when you start searching out such a thing; a bean so gorgeous, you want to wear it as jewelry, so tasty that the unique flavor and texture are impossible to describe, so miraculous that if you push it into the soil, in Spring a plant will emerge. (That simple fact never fails to thrill me). Calypso beans, also called orca beans because of […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, kale & leafy greens, main course, soup, vegetarian, winter • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes, soup

Dark Days: Pancake FAIL

2 January 2010 by local kitchen

We’ve had many guests over the holidays and we’ve made quite a few pancake breakfasts. Tai has made a couple of batches, I’ve made a couple of batches, and while I would not say our pancakes are outstanding, they are generally pretty good (and anything that you can drown in Ronnybrook butter and New England Farms natural maple syrup can’t be all bad). In fact, Tai made a batch just yesterday, for our friends Erik & Melissa, who came up from Philly […]

Categories: 100% local, berries, breakfast, Dark Days Local, sauces, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, local, recipes

Dark Days: Sausage & Pepper Pizza

28 December 2009 by local kitchen

Last night we had the happy coincidence of two friends traveling back home from Christmas celebrations, both of whom decided to stop and spend the night with us en route. We had a delicious, impromptu, and local dinner of sausage & pepper pizza, served up with Saranac ales, good conversation, and many laughs. Thanks, Frannie & Christina, for a great night! Happy holidays everyone! ————————————————————- Sausage & Pepper Pizza INGREDIENTS 1 recipe Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza dough 1/2 lb smoked […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, cheese, Dark Days Local, main course, pizza, sausage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, pizza, recipes

Black Bean Veggie Chili

27 December 2009 by local kitchen

As a nice respite from all of the rich, heavy holiday food, as well as a warm bowl of comfort food against the chill and dreary 39-degree rainy day, yesterday I made a big pot of chili. Packed full of veggies and protein-laden black beans, this dish is winter locavore cooking at its best: peppers chopped and quick-frozen back in August only need pouring into a measuring cup; sweet corn, blanched and cut off the cob, frozen at the peak of […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, carrot, celery, cilantro, corn, garlic, hot chile peppers, main course, parsley, stew, tomatoes, vegetarian, winter, year round • Tags: black bean, cooking, food, local, recipes

Dark Days: Swiss Chard Quiche Minis

21 December 2009 by local kitchen

Undaunted by the blizzard, a few intrepid souls made it to our annual Christmas party on Saturday night. Luckily for them, there was no shortage of yummy food on hand. My kitchen counter was groaning under the weight of this sausage bread, made with linguica and local smoked mozzarella, Wild Hive rosemary bread crostini with olive oil, garlic and basil, a selection of local cheeses, curried apple chutney, sweet cherry chutney, cranberry apple butter and cranberry sauce, homemade stuffed grape leaves […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, breakfast, cheese, Dark Days Local, eggs, kale & leafy greens, main course, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Dark Days: Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast

14 December 2009 by local kitchen

Ever notice how when one thing runs out in your pantry everything else seems to follow? I had one of those weeks. We have a Christmas party every year, and I’ve been prepping all week. In making pastry dough for this apple pie and mini swiss chard quiches, I ran out of Wild Hive pastry flour and had to pick some up from the store (and let me tell you – Bob’s Red Mill is SO not the same!). Then I noticed that the all-purpose and […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local, herbs, main course, roasting, turkey, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, 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: 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

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

Drunken Cherry & Apple Pie

26 November 2009 by local kitchen

My contribution to the Thanksgiving table: preserved sweet cherries from the summer’s harvest, hand-picked, organically-grown Mutsu and IdaRed apples from Fishkill Farms, and flaky, tender pastry crust. Happy Thanksgiving! Adapted from The Best All-American Apple Pie in The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum ————————————————————– Drunken Cherry & Apple Pie INGREDIENTS double recipe of Rose’s Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust (see Options for the cream cheese variation) 2 and 1/2 lbs baking apples 1 and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp lemon […]

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

Smoked Paprika & Orange Roasted Chicken

24 November 2009 by local kitchen

Smoked paprika is a rich and flavorful spice, with no real chile heat but the warmth of paprika, the smoky flavor of a wood fire and somehow, the flavor of bacon. This orange & smoked paprika paste yields a very flavorful bird; while I’ve been unable to get a crispy skin despite a few attempts, the meat is highly flavored with smoky paprika and tart-sweet orange, so it is a worthwhile recipe (and the carcass makes an amazing chicken stock). […]

Categories: chicken, citrus, fall, main course, roasting, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, orange, recipes, roasting, smoked paprika

Dark Days: Apple Cider Chicken with Sage Mashed Potatoes

21 November 2009 by local kitchen

About a week ago, I signed up for the Dark Days Challenge, hosted by food blogger (not so) Urban Hennery, in which locavores strive to keep in touch with their local foodshed throughout the long, cold, dark days of winter and to “cook one meal each week focused on SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients” and write about it on their blogs. Shouldn’t be such a challenge for a self-styled Local Kitchen blogger, no? Well, you might be surprised. Atlhough I have a chest freezer stocked full […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, chicken, Dark Days Local, fall, main course, sage, tomatoes, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Cranberry Apple Butter

19 November 2009 by local kitchen

Really, I promise this is the last apple butter recipe. At least for this year. (It’s possible, just possible, that 110 lbs of apples was a wee bit insane ludicrous ambitious.) But this is an apple butter recipe I can get behind. It’s really a cranberry butter recipe; very tangy cranberry flavor with the apples lending their pectin and texture and a hint of sweetness. Again I dispensed with the cinnamon (lest I have to buy stock in Penzey’s), but […]

Categories: apples, canning, citrus, cranberries, fall, preserving, spreads, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes