Despite offering free bundles with purchase for late-Wednesday wine customers, it seems we still end up with a swap box full of collards whenever they’re in the share. I don’t know why they’re so intimidating. I mean, I get they can be bitter, but a little bit of fat mellows the harsh tannins*, making those deep…
Tag: vegan
June-Swoon Salad
Here’s one from my mom, who’s been making this swoon-worthy bowl of green and red for years. I know, it seems like a lot of dressing. Trust me; you’ll want leftovers. Strawberry-Spinach Salad 1 lb fresh spinach, washed, dried, and chilled (and chopped, if the leaves are giant) 1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and halved or…
Microgreen Goddess
“What the heck is a microgreen, anyway?” That’s what a long-time Moore Brothers CSA participant asked me yesterday. “Um, I’m not sure. I’ve always assumed they’re just teensy radish greens, but I’ve never looked it up.” Well, now I have. Turns out, they’re pretty much any super-young salad green (arugula, chard, radish, mustard, beet, and…
Ketchup for What?
For fries. For burgers. For schnitzel. For brats. And, yes, for dogs. Three test batches and a couple dozen spoonfuls later, I’m ready to stop tinkering and send Curry Ketchup to the cloud for safe-keeping. I’m going to want to refer to this recipe again. Curry Ketchup So good it made me violate the Chicago Dog rule. Also…
Squishy Squash: Spreadable Summer
Decades before Farm-to-Table was a nationwide THING, Madison’s L’Etoile (est. 1976), was championing small, local growers, constructing seasonal menus, and pushing vegetable-centric cooking beyond lentil cakes and baba ghanoush. A summer-squash compendium on the kitchn last week reminded me of a meal I’d had at L’Etoile close to 30 years ago—a meal that kicked off with a warm loaf of crusty bread and…
Forage Potage
(faw-razh paw-tahzh) A thick soup, stew, or porridge in which found or scavenged items are boiled together until they form a thick mush. Yes, this one was a real hodge-podge. Ramps, the spring-heralding, wild allium that gave Chicago its name, picked up at the season’s first Headhouse Farmers’ Market Sunday. Stinging nettles—another truly foraged plant—that came…
A Stew So Nice I Made It Twice . . .
. . . just so I could eat it once. A recent all-night (and all-the-next-day) bout with a hidden crustacean left me, um, shell-shocked. I’ve been so careful these past few years. But with too many plates—and probably too many glasses—on the six-top that night, I didn’t ask our server all the questions I should have. I…
Sunny & Crisp Triple-Root Salad
Fresh and bright in a way that makes you ask the Polar Vortex how many days until pitchers and catchers report, here’s a crisp and crunchy three-root salad that’s somewhere between a slaw and a remoulade. Triple-Root Salad Really, any roots will do. I loved this combination of celery root, beets, and carrots from last week’s sharebox,…
Scary-Good Hot Sauce
Bubble, bubble, a little toil, not much trouble. In mid-September, I chunked up a whole mess of hot, super-hot, and mild peppers, stuffed them into a couple jars, added salt water, and let them burble away on my kitchen counter. Fermentation, kickstarted by the the ambient yeasts and mild fall temps in my kitchen, worked its black…
Awesome Sauce
Road trip! Fall road trip! Last Sunday’s drive up to Bucks County was a week or two before peak leaf-peeping—but was smack on for peak apple-picking (thank you, Solebury Orchards). I think Sheila and I have each had an apple a day since then, plus I made a pie Monday morning before work. But still, with…
Boxing Day 