Fall – Delicate Balance

Hello friends

You may have wondered whatever happened to me and my sometimes blog. Well, I’ll tell you. Last spring I was offered my dream job. I was hired to design, build and manage a teaching garden for the Marvelwood School, a small Connecticut private school that both my sons attend. I get to spend part of each day planning, organizing and actually digging in the dirt. It was a very successful first season, and it just keeps getting better. I was offered the use of a small greenhouse on the campus so I can continue puttering about with growing things this winter. I’ll tell you a little secret…I’m experimenting with aquaponics too! I already have 8 little goldfish working hard to produce nitrogen for my sprouts. Well, they actually produce ammonia that will turn into nitrites that will turn into…that’s a story for another day, though. Today we’re gonna talk about a freakishly warm December.

It’s freakishly warm, right? What the heck! I waited until late late late in November to plant garlic, which I usually plant in the end of October, and still the garlic has sprouted and is 4 inches tall. Further disturbing evidence of this unusual weather is the fact that my parsley is actually growing. I have been pulling it in fist-fulls to use in the kitchen, but still it grows. Hard not to when it’s 60 degrees out.

I have still been able to plant narcissus bulbs, as the ground isn’t nearly frozen yet, and whenever I hit one that’s already there I find it has sprouted and is trying to pop out of the earth. My strawberries have actual flowers, for crying out loud! What gives? Anyone? Even I, who loves growing things, am ready for the season to end. Enough already.

I’m trying to pretend it’s winter. Despite the fact that they are still green and healthy, I pulled out my leeks today. They last almost as long in the fridge as in the ground, and I keep telling myself there has to be a hard freeze soon, so I might as well get them out now. Of course I was wearing a T-shirt while I dug, so it really was pretend. I could have probably left them in another month.

I decided to make a real one pot winter style meal tonight with some of the leeks and other put-up foods to try to get in the winter mood. I used the parsley, some potatoes and onions I have in the cellar, and some pheasant leg meat I had left over from a broth I made.

I also had the good fortune to trade a venison sirloin for some guanciale with my good friend Sarah. For those of you who are scratching your head (like me the first time I heard of it), it’s a pork jowl. That’s right…pig cheeks. and I’m here to tell you that it’s one tasty item! It’s an Italian specialty food traditionally used in carbonara, and it is super yummy. More delicate than pancetta, and with a stronger taste than bacon, it ramps up the flavor of any dish. Here I sauteed it until crisp, removed it with a slotted spoon and cooked the leeks and onions in the fat left in the pan.

The potatoes I diced and cooked until soft in salted water, added them to the leeks and fried them until a little crispy. After that I added the removed guanciale, the parsley, the pheasant, salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of cayenne and finally shredded Havarti on the whole thing, covered it and turned off the heat. Meanwhile I had a nice winter cocktail to get me in the holiday spirit. Nothing wrong with rum and eggnog, am I right?

The final product was a stick to your ribs one-dish meal that made everyone happy. It’s still about 50 degrees out, but I’m going to go decorate my Christmas tree and pretend. Happy Holidays!

Wow, it’s been a long time since I wrote! I had a very busy summer in the garden. This New England summer was very mild, and the cooler than usual weather made for a lush and productive garden. It was an exceptional year for tomatoes, and as we head into October I am still picking. Most of my tomato plants got the blight, as usual, but this year it was so late as to not affect the fruit. In fact as the days get shorter the plants are having a last comeback and still producing. To prevent the fruit from splitting on the vine, I pick them under-ripe and mature them on the counter or in paper bags for a few days. The flavor is a bit tangier than the full sun ripened fruit, but they are still delicious. I will still have many green ones on the vine when the first frost comes in, so I’ve been perfecting my recipe for green tomato salsa in advance.

This time of year is almost as exciting for me as the spring. It is as much a time of abundance and good eating as the peak of summer. This may be because I usually plant a garden heavy on fall producing veggies like kale, peppers and potatoes, parsnips, beets and carrots, but it’s also a time for preparing foods for the winter. I’m spending my days chopping, stewing and freezing tomatoes, roasting hot and mild peppers and making chili sauces to spice up the long winter. I’ve got quite a few things going on in the kitchen as well as the garden.

The peppers had a nice year. I planted a mixed variety and like always, quickly lost track of what I planted where. While this might bother some, I find it exciting to watch the unknown plants grow and see how they eventually reveal themselves. This year we had a cayenne variety, jalapenos, poblanos, banana peppers, green chilies and regular old green bells. The mix was great, as some we used for stuffing, some for fresh sauces, some for cooked sauces, some roasted and jarred, and some fresh with dip. As peppers are perennial, I have even planted some in pots to bring inside and have for the winter. This is a first for me, but I have been reading up on it and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Another first for me is fermenting cayenne peppers for sauce. I’ve made plenty of hot sauce over the years, but I’ve never fermented the chilies before hand. It is exciting to watch them bubbling away on the top of the fridge. I have them soaking in a sugary Reisling mixed with 2 % salt. It can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks for the fermentation to be completed, so I just bide my time and watch the process in fascination. I’m making up my own recipe, but there are quite a few good websites on the process, and here’s one I like. http://talesofakitchen.com/raw/fermented-hot-chili-sauce/

Remember to always wear gloves when handling hot chilies. Even the milder chilies can get under rings and nails and cause irritation and burning. Lingering chili oil can make itself known when you try to take out your contacts. Never never wipe your face or eyes. I have learned these lessons the hard way and I always wear the kind of rubber gloves you find in the doctors office. They fit close and keep the capsasin off the skin. Also, instead of using a cutting board and knife, try snipping the chilies with scissors right into the bowl. This will keep the oil out of the cutting board and therefore out of the next thing you cut on it.

One of my favorite things to do with the abundance of peppers is to make green chili sauce. I first had it prepared by a very good friend and former roommate Rachael Risley (nee. Coulehan), who makes it with a slow cooked pork shoulder. As it’s very difficult to get organic free range pork of any kind, let alone a shoulder roast, we usually make it with chicken. Served with cornbread or tortilla chips, it’s a hearty and satisfying dish perfect for the cooler fall temps. I make the sauce first, pour it over shredded or cubed chicken and bake it with cheese like a casserole. The trick to really good sauce is to roast the peppers first, skin and seed them and then make the sauce. Chopped and sauteed, they just don’t have the rich flavor that roasting adds. It is an extra step, but well worth the effort.

Blister the chilies on high heat, flipping once to get both sides. Put the chilies in a glass bowl, cover with a plate and let cool. This will steam the chilies and make it easier to remove the skins. When cool, remove the skin, seeds and ribs, reserving the liquid in the bowl. Set aside.

Green Chile Sauce

2 tbs olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbs flour

2 cups broth

a dozen or so roasted and seeded green chilies, about 2 cups (any variety, but mostly not too hot)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pot, saute the onions in the olive oil until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute two minutes more. Stir in the flour. Add the broth and cook until thick and bubbly. Add the chilies and cook for 5 minutes more. With an immersion blender puree the mixture, leaving some peppers and onions whole. If you don’t have an immersion blender, add 3/4 of the mixture to a blender, cover with a dish cloth to allow steam to escape and blend on high 1 minute. Return to pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over chopped or shredded chicken, pork or enchiladas. Enjoy!

Category: Fall

Pretending, and other stuff.

Fall Harvest, peppers and tomatoes

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