| Local cooking and eating in New York's Hudson Valley.

Easy Breezy Pea(sy) Salad

26 April 2009 by local kitchen

Update: Funny to see how hot it was in April, three years ago, when here we are in June 2012 and it’s been chilly, grey and rainy for days. This time around, with fresh peas-from-the-pod, ever so slightly steamed, and radishes & lettuce from the first CSA of the year, this salad was still easy, breezy, pea(sy) good. —————————– This crazy “Spring” weather, with temps approaching 90 degrees, has got me not wanting to do much of anything beyond laying in front of […]

Categories: cheese, dill, lettuce, peas, radish, salad, spring, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, radish, recipes, salad, spring, vegetarian

Seedling Update: 25 April 2009

25 April 2009 by local kitchen

Week 7 since I sowed the first seeds. I’ve noticed a lot of searches lately for seed starting and germination, usually for specific varieties (at least those who end up clicking here), like Matt’s Wild Cherry, or “cayenne pepper seedling.” So, for all those searching for info, I’ve put together a detailed post. For all those who could give a furry-rodent’s ass about gardening…skip this one and search the archive for a fun recipe. Last update, on April 13, I […]

Categories: gardening • Tags: gardening

Yeasted Pumpkin Bread

24 April 2009 by local kitchen

Hallelujah! The oven is fixed. The ‘Oven Guy’ came yesterday, replaced the igniter, and now I should, ostensibly, have much more consistent oven temps during baking. In celebration, I made one of my favorite “one-day” breads, a yeast bread with my favorite all-purpose vegetable, pumpkin. The eggs and pumpkin puree in this bread give it a moist, cakelike texture with the delicious but subtle flavor of pumpkin and a lovely golden color. The eggs also work to give the bread additional structure, […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breads, whole wheat flour, winter squash, year round • Tags: baking, bread, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Arugula Mustard

23 April 2009 by local kitchen

In one of my new cookbooks, The Glass Pantry, I found a recipe for Green Herb Mustard. Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that I don’t like mustard (not even one little bit), but The Boy loves it. It just so happens that I love him, so ipso facto…. I make mustard. This is easy-peasy to make, and quicker than most mustard recipes as you only use dry mustard powder, instead of mustard seed. The recipe suggests sorrel, […]

Categories: arugula, condiments, herbs, mustard • Tags: condiments, cooking, food, local, recipes

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How to Clarify Cloudy Chicken Stock

22 April 2009 by local kitchen

I made some turkey stock yesterday, with my stash of frozen turkey bones from this stand-by recipe, and accidentally allowed the stock to boil while I was up in the loft, tending to the seedling garden. I had read somewhere that you should never let stock boil, as it emulsifies the fat, which causes the cloudiness, and since the fat is dissolved into the water of the stock, it will not separate out on cooling, and will not be sieved out with […]

Categories: stock • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup

Cranberry Roasted Turkey Breast

20 April 2009 by local kitchen

Easiest. Dinner. Ever. Seriously, this meal is a stand-by at our house and truly could not be easier (unless you’re calling for take-out, of course). Cranberries and turkey go naturally together and make everyone think of Fall; but cranberries are excellent for much more than just cranberry sauce, just as turkey should not be relegated only to Thanksgiving. Cranberries are naturally acidic, and in addition to tasting fabulous with turkey, will work to tenderize the flesh and makes the most […]

Categories: 100% local, citrus, cranberries, roasting, sauces, turkey, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Caldo Verde

20 April 2009 by local kitchen

Ten years ago, I spent three weeks in Portugal, tooling about the countryside in a rented Suzuki (the “A” car for the “E” price), sight-seeing, visiting family & friends, and watching a whole lot of football (soccer, in our football-heathen country). I still remember having caldo verde, literally “green soup,” nearly every day. It’s a traditional dish in Portugal, and on the menu pretty much everywhere you go, with a broth as light as air but full of flavor, bright […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, kale & leafy greens, pork, potato, sausage, soup, spring, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup

Sunday Spring Cleaning: Olive Tapenade with Arugula & Sun-dried Tomato

19 April 2009 by local kitchen

I’m not really a big olive fan. I don’t mind black olives, sliced on pizza or sprinkled on the top of nachos or an enchilada, but you’ll never catch me munching on one of those monster Spanish olives, stuffed with pimentos. I think it’s a combination of texture and taste – I’m not fond of pickled things in general, but I do like olive tapenade, in moderation; something about chopping up the olives with a little garlic & oil makes them […]

Categories: condiments, non-local luxuries, olives, spreads, spring, vegetarian, year round • Tags: condiments, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Grilled Salsa Chicken & Fire-roasted Corn

16 April 2009 by local kitchen

Just in time for a gorgeous, sunny Spring weekend: quick & easy grilled marinated chicken and roasted corn – the flavors of summer (without the 98% humidity!). Given how simple this meal is, it’s unbelievable how flavorful it is. The corn is a revelation; pure summer, captured at it’s peak last August and roasted over smoky coals until the flavor makes you want to write an opera (Ode To Corn? A-Maizing Maize? Corn Cob Blues? OK, I’ll stop now). Seriously, […]

Categories: 100% local, chicken, fall, grill, main course, peaches, quick & easy, roasting, salsa, spring, summer • Tags: cooking, food, grilling, local, recipes

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Whole Wheat Rosemary Focaccia

15 April 2009 by local kitchen

This is another one of Peter Reinhart’s two-day whole grain bread recipes; this one for whole wheat focaccia bread. I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for a while – it appears that you need the right volume of dough, as well as the right hydration, in order to get a good rise and a nice, airy structure. I think I’ve finally got it right; this one was nicely browned, chock full o’ holes, and had fabulous flavor. I’ll spare you […]

Categories: baking, breads, rosemary, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Roasted Vegetable Stock

15 April 2009 by local kitchen

I picked up three(!) new cookbooks this weekend, while visiting Melissa & Erik down in PA. Yes, I probably need new cookbooks like I need new holes in my head, and I have no idea where I’m going to fit them (cookbook annex in the loft, perhaps?), but I couldn’t resist. They were all (all!) 50% off (such a sucker for a bargain); it was an independently-owned cooking store (the Cookery Ware Shop – why, oh why, don’t we have one […]

Categories: 100% local, celery, parsley, radish, roasting, soup, spring, stock, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup, vegetarian

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Sunday Spring Cleaning: Trifle

14 April 2009 by local kitchen

OK, so I know it’s Tuesday, not Sunday. But I was away visiting friends for the weekend, and anyway, last week was rough in my kitchen. No cooking other than lots and lots of cake… (Also, I apologize for the lack of pretty pictures, but I still don’t have my camera back from Kami’s birthday party). Trifle is another of those things for which about a billion recipes exist. There are many good things about trifle: it’s truly quick & […]

Categories: berries, citrus, dessert, fruit, jams, jellies, peaches, spring, summer, year round • Tags: cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

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Seedling Update: 13 April 2009

13 April 2009 by local kitchen

OK, so that’s not my garden. Although I wish it were.. and I wish that were my bathtub. Alas, I find myself cameraless; the trauma of the Kami’s Birthday Cake FAIL obviously affected my brain in that I left the camera at Kami’s house, after the party (and many glasses of champagne). C’est la vie – but you’ll have to deal without real photos for a few days. Mea culpa, mea culpa. It’s been five weeks since the first seeds were […]

Categories: gardening • Tags: cooking, food, gardening, local

Kami’s Birthday Cake: A Cautionary Tale

13 April 2009 by local kitchen

Those who have been paying attention know that I had been testing cake recipes for Kami’s birthday cake, which was due for her birthday dinner, last Thursday. Well, let’s just be brief and say “the best laid plans of mice and men (and crazy red-headed baking chicks)…” Let’s just review the cakes I’ve baked over the last couple of weeks: A mini-version of the Pink Lady cake over at Smitten Kitchen. I cut the recipe to 1/4 of the original […]

Categories: berries, dessert, spring, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cake, cooking, disaster, food, local, recipes

Mac. And. Cheese.

8 April 2009 by local kitchen

I can think of but one response to snow (yes, I said snow) on April 8th – mac and cheese. There are about a gizillion recipes out there for macaroni and cheese (actually Google informs me that there are “about 1,420,000“); this one is a classic version, with a bechamel-cheese sauce, a little salt, pepper & nutmeg, and not much else. I like a lot of different varieties of mac & cheese – the Half King in Chelsea makes a great version […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, pasta, year round • Tags: cheese, cooking, food, local, main course, pasta, recipes, vegetarian