Gingered Carrots

Gingered Carrots

2 cups sliced carrots (approximately one large bunch)

1 thinly sliced onion

2-3 cloves minced garlic

1-2 tablespoons ground ginger (more to taste)

1 tablespoon ground cumin (more to taste)

some lemon or lime juice

a little water

Cook the onion in a heavy-bottomed skillet until it starts to brown, then add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the sliced carrots, spices and a little lemon or lime juice and stir to combine. Cover and lower the heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are cooked through (add more lemon juice or water if the liquid in the pan gets low). Taste and add more ginger if desired. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice and serve hot or cold.

Variation: Add a dollop of soy yogurt or sour cream when the carrots are almost done and continue cooking with the lid on. You can also sprinkle the finished product with toasted sesame seeds or minced cilantro or parsley.

Refrigerator Pickles (w/Pickling Spice)

Isn't it funny how squash and cucumbers just sneak up on you? You walk
by the plants everyday, but all of a sudden you notice a flash of
yellow, or green, or white and realize there are tons of massive
fruits on every plant! It must be those giant leaves...A few weeks
ago, I turned some of those sneaky squash into refrigerator pickles
and this week I'm devouring the result. I borrowed this recipe for
refrigerator pickles from Alton Brown (of Food Network's "Good Eats"),
but my version uses a little less sugar. For those who don't know (I
didn't when I first read this recipe!), pickling spice is just a
mixture of different whole spices - like peppercorns, juniper,
cinnamon, ginger, etc - and you can buy it already made up in the
store. Or you can make your own, and since my kitchen is already
stocked with most of the whole spices it calls for, that's what I did.
Regarding the pickles themselves, I suppose you could process them as
you would for regular canning if you want to store them on the shelf,
but they'll probably lose some of their crispness. If you've got the
fridge space, they'll keep in there as long as you can keep from
eating them! Extra: After the pickles are gone, combine the leftover
brine with some olive oil for a kickin' vinaigrette.

Refrigerator Pickles

1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 medium zucchini/cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 cup water
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
large pinch of kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon pickling spice

Layer the onion and zucchini/cucumbers in a jar (try to pack tightly).
Combine the other ingredients in a non-reactive pan (enameled cookware
works well for this) and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the hot brine over
the onion and zucchini/cucumbers to fill the jar. Remove any air
bubbles and allow to cool somewhat, top off with any remaining liquid,
then tightly lid the jars. Refrigerate at least a week before
consuming.

Pickling Spice

2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon crumbled whole mace
1 teaspoon dill seeds
4 dried bay leaves
1 small piece dried ginger

Place all spices in a sturdy plastic bag, use a mallet or rolling pin
to break up the cinnamon sticks and ginger. Store in a small, airtight
jar up to 2 months. Makes about 1/4 cup.

Dilly Beans

Looking for a good recipe to use on those buckets of u-pick beans from Dancing Crane? I've got just the thing: Dilly Beans! This recipe comes from my boyfriend's mom, Mary, whose dilly beans are the best I've ever tasted. I made six pints over the weekend, and I'm sure I'll be making a lot more. My next plan is to try this recipe with the Dragon Beans. We've got tons of beans and lots of dill and garlic, so get pickling!

Dilly Beans

Brine:
2 1/2 cups water
4 T salt
2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
4 t sugar
Heat to boiling

Method:

Wash and trim 3 lbs green beans, then cut them in 4" lengths. Blanch in small batches for 5-7 minutes, then chill in ice water and drain. In each sterilized pint jar put 1 head of dill, about a half to one whole clove of peeled garlic and some red pepper flakes (optional). Pack the beans in as tight as possible. Fill the jar to within 1/4" from the top with brine and lid tightly. Seal in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Wait at least five weeks before opening.

Spicy Peanut Stir-Fry Sauce

Stir-fry sauces don't have to be elaborate - most of mine consist of oil, tamari, some sort of juice, sweetener, and ginger and garlic. Sometimes I'll add hot sauce or cayenne for more kick. This sauce can be made spicy or mild, though I usually err on the side of spicy. I imagine cashew butter could easily be substituted for the peanut butter.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

3/4 cup peanut butter (the kind without salt or sugar is best)
3/4 cup hot water
6 Tablespoons rice or cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons tamari
3 Tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground mustard
cayenne, red pepper flakes, hot sauce to taste

Whisk the peanut butter and hot water until smooth, then whisk in other ingredients. Add sauce to stir-fry when vegetables are almost done and heat thoroughly. Top with minced cilantro and/or scallions, serve over rice with wedges of lime.

Lentils and Curried Rice with Fried Onions

This is one of my favorite waiting-for-payday-to-go-grocery-shopping recipes because the ingredients are things that I almost always have on hand, even when the fridge and pantry are close to empty. The flavors meld together even better when the mixture sits a few days in the fridge. This pairs well with a salad of greens and some grilled veggies.


Lentils and Curried Rice with Fried Onions

Oil for frying
3-5 onions, thinly sliced (choose how oniony you like yours, they add a rich, almost sweet flavor to the dish once they're cooked)
Salt
1 cup lentils
1 cup long-grain white rice (I use basmati, but I'm sure brown rice or quinoa would also work)
1 1/2 Tbs curry powder, or garam masala
1/8 tsp cayenne (or more :D )
2 cups water
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat some oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add one third of onions and fry, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate and season with salt. Fry remaining onions in 2 batches, adding more oil as necessary.

Combine lentils with cold well-salted water to cover by 2 inches in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook lentils at a bare simmer until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain in a sieve and gently rinse under cold water.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs oil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan over high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add curry and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 1 tsp salt and 2 cups water, bring to a boil, and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until surface of rice is covered with steam holes and grains on top appear dry, about 12 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, cover pan with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 15 minutes more. Remove rice from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer rice to a bowl and fluff with a fork. Add lentils and parsley and toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with onions.

Variations:
 - Top with toasted sesame or flax seeds.
 - While still warm, mix in 1/3 cup raisins or sultanas
 - If serving the lentils and rice cold, mix in grated carrots

Miso-Glazed Beets

Excellent with red or golden beets, or a mix of the two. This recipe was inspired by a recipe I've used for pickling beets, and was enough to move even beet-phobic apprentice Nathan to profess his love for them.

Miso-Glazed Beets

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cups peeled and thinly sliced beets

scant ¼ cup cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons balsamic/sherry vinegar

3 Tablespoons red/hacho miso paste

½ cup chopped scapes (or equivalent in scallions/shallots)

2 Tablespoons tamari/soy sauce

2 teaspoons mustard powder

1 teaspoon (or more) paprika

1 teaspoon (or more) powdered

ginger

water, as necessary

lemon juice and black pepper to taste (and red pepper flakes, for more kick)

Cook the onion in a little oil until soft. Add everything except the lemon juice and black pepper and stir to combine - make sure the miso paste dissolves in the pan juices. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until beets are tender (add water as necessary to keep liquid in the pan). Remove the lid and continue cooking until the juices reduce. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Serve hot over brown rice or Buddha bowls, or cold in a green salad.

Variation: Add chopped beet greens in the last few minutes of cooking.

Beet Salad

Beet Salad

 2 bunches of beets (7-8 medium beets), scrubbed and trimmed of greens

 4 shallots, or 6 cloves of garlic

 2 sprigs rosemary, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary

 2 tablespoons olive oil

 sea salt

 2/3 cup plain (soy) yoghurt

 2 tablespoons lemon juice

 2 tablespoons minced dill

 pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine beets, shallots or garlic, rosemary, olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking dish and cover with foil. Roast in the oven until the beets can be easily pierced with a fork, about one hour. Remove from oven. When beets are cool enough to handle, pull of their skins and tops, and cut into bite-sized chunks. Allow to cool completely.

When beets are cooled, combine the shallots or garlic, yoghurt, lemon juice and dill in a food processor or blender and pulse to combine. Mix the dressing into the cooled beets and season to taste with salt and pepper, and more dill if desired.

Variation: Lightly steam the beet greens with a bit of lemon juice and add to the beets with the dressing.

Strawberry Sangria

Another post clearly written in the height of summer.


Strawberries are here! This lighter twist on traditional sangria - a fruited wine concoction from Spain - got rave reviews when I brought it to last year's Hiawatha Music Festival. It's a great way to use up very ripe strawberries, as they're juicier and sweeter. Try substituting pitted fresh cherries for some of the strawberries. Perfect for a warm summer night.

Strawberry Sangria

4-5 cups sliced strawberries, fresh or frozen

1 bottle dry white wine, such as chardonnay or pinot grigio

scant 1/4 cup raw agave nectar

juice of three oranges (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and stir well to mix in the agave nectar and muddle the berries. Allow to chill 2 to 6 hours in a fridge or cooler before serving; adjust sweetener to taste. The berry pulp can be strained out before serving if desired. Use whole strawberries and zested orange peel to garnish.
 
Variation: Replace wine with lemonade for a non-alcoholic version; adjust sweetener to taste.

 

My friend, Esther, enjoying some strawberry

picking at a local strawberry farm in Skandia.

Basic Vinaigrette

Originally written in June 2009.

I got to do my first harvesting at the farm this week - what a treat! I couldn't help feeling a little nostalgic seeing these giant plants. I thought back to planting impossibly small lettuce seeds, gently prying beet seedlings from their flats, nestling chard into a bed of mulch, and weeding all those rows of peas. Finally, here they were, out of the ground, off the vine, ready to be cleaned, chopped, and devoured. But how to do justice to these delicious plants and the countless hours we had spent tending them? How to send them to their final resting place - our bellies - in tasty, well-deserved glory? Nothing elaborate, something simple and honest, like the veggies themselves. My mind went immediately to a vinaigrette.

The vinaigrette is the most basic formula for salad dressings - just a step up from oil and vinegar - and my favorite choice for summer salads. The simple acidity of vinegar and lemon juice, deepened by oil and tahini, then accented with fresh herbs makes this dressing amenable to just about any summer food. Try brushing some on toasted bread and topping with sprouts for a light bruschetta, or use it to marinate vegetable skewers before grilling them. I've even used this formula as a base for coleslaw. And feel free to change up the herbs depending on what you want to accent in a salad or a wine. Experiment with different oils, different vinegars, different mustards. The key is to make the dressing you think your greens deserve.

Basic Vinaigrette (makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

1/3 cup flavored vinegar (I often go for a mix of tarragon and apple cider)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon prepared Dijon or stoneground mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon tahini

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 cup of olive oil

neutral-flavored oil (such as peanut or sunflower), to taste

about 10 fresh basil leaves

Whisk together first seven ingredients in a glass or plastic bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Drizzle in some of the neutral-flavored oil in the same manner if the dressing is too tangy or acidic. Slice the basil leaves into very fine strips and whisk into the dressing. You may want to give the vinaigrette a brief whirl in the blender if the strips of basil are too big and clump together. Adjust seasonings to taste. This dressing can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge up to three days.

Disappearing Greens

I can never seem to get enough greens! There's so much to love about them: their beautiful, rich color, their high calcium and vitamin content, not to mention the yummy taste. This is my favorite way to prepare just about any type of greens; it's tasty, satisfying and good for you to boot. This recipe makes a lot, but don't worry about the leftovers, they won't stick around for long!

Disappearing Greens (Serves 6)

olive oil
2 large bunches of greens (chard, spinach, beet greens), leaves cut into 1-inch strips, stems finely chopped
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2-3 Tablespoons tamari/soy sauce
2-3 Tablespoons lemon/lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
4-6 cups cooked grains (I usually use quinoa or brown rice and set it to cook while I prepare everything else)

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it is translucent and starting to brown (about 10 minutes). Add garlic and continue cooking another five minutes. Add the greens and stems along with the tamari and lemon juice. Using a pair of tongs, turn the greens frequently (if you don't have a pair of tongs, just keep everything in the pan moving so that all the greens get exposed to the heat - tongs just make this easier). When the greens start to turn dark and shiny, which should take no more than a few minutes, remove the pan from the heat. This will ensure the greens don't get overcooked, as the residual heat from the pan and the grains will continue to cook them. Add the cooked grains and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Variations/Additions:

Kale can be used in place of the other greens listed, but it will take longer to get to the "dark and shiny" stage where it is tender enough to eat.

Add grated beets or carrots, toasted nuts or seeds with the greens for extra crunch, flavor and color.

For a greens breakfast scramble, replace the grains with crumbled tofu or beaten eggs. Add them to the pan with the onions at the same time as the garlic (for the tofu) or right before the greens (for the eggs). Serve with whole-grain toast.

Vegan Collard Greens

One of my favorite parts of early summer is the abundance of fresh, tasty greens that start appearing - they just don't taste the same when you buy them in the winter! So many recipes for collards call for adding some sort of pork product to the greens while they're cooking. But you can get amazing flavor out of these tough greens using completely vegan means too! If you've got the freezer space, make up a batch of these collards and stash them away for late fall or winter when the snow is getting you down, and you'll be rewarded with a tangy, spicy taste of summer on some frosty night.

Ingredients:

1 lb collards (half and half collards and kale works too)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup prepared salsa (if you don't have salsa on hand, use a can of diced tomatoes and increase the onion and garlic by about half)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt, to taste
hot sauce (I prefer Huy Fong Sriracha, the red stuff with the rooster on the bottle, but use your favorite)
lemon juice

Directions:

1. Wash the greens and remove their tough stems; chop the stems finely - this will help them cook quicker. Cut the leaves in half length-wise and then cut into half-inch strips.

2. Put everything except the hot sauce into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are shrunk down and tender to the bite. This will take about half an hour, but collards will withstand much longer cooking times, so don't be afraid to just let them simmer away!

Serve with the liquid over brown rice, quinoa, or lentils. Add hot sauce and lemon juice to taste.

Rhubarb Syrup and Rhubarb "Butter"

Note: This is the start of a series of posts cataloging recipes that appeared in Dancing Crane Farm's newsletter for the 2009 growing season. I started writing recipes for the newsletter in late May, so most featured produce that was in season at the time, but obviously is not in season at the time of writing this post (like this recipe for rhubarb). No worries, spring will come again, just squirrel them away for the time being, or let them be a reminder of warmth and sunshine.

Early summer means rhubarb and it seems just about everyone in the U.P. knows someone who has more rhubarb than they know what to do with. I found this recipe for Rhubarb Syrup online, tweaked it a little, and after making a batch decided to turn the leftover goop into a tasty spread. The original recipe called for 4 cups of rhubarb, but for more of that distinctive rhubarb taste I'd use an extra cup. The syrup is great mixed with club soda or sparkling wine for a sweet rhubarb fizz, with lemon juice and water for rhubarb lemonade, or boil it a little longer to make syrup for pancakes. The rhubarb butter is great on toast, muffins, or oatmeal, and keeps well in the fridge. 

Rhubarb Syrup and Rhubarb "Butter"

 4-5 cups rhubarb, medium dice

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1-2 teaspoons peeled and finely minced ginger

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the rhubarb has broken down and mixture begins to thicken, about 20 minutes.

For the syrup: Remove from heat and pour into a fine mesh sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth placed over a bowl. Allow the liquid to drain out and give the cheesecloth a good squeeze to get as much liquid as possible from the mixture. You should end up with about 1 1/2 cups of bright pink syrup. This can now be reduced further if you want to use it for pancakes. The syrup will keep about a week in a sealed jar in the fridge.

For the "butter": Scrape remaining rhubarb goop into a food processor or blender. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves. Process until everything is smooth and thick. Taste and adjust the spices and lemon juice to taste. This mixture will keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for about a week.

Sauna Cake (aka Beet Cake)

The inspiration for this recipe came the day I brought my friend Emily to volunteer at the farm. It was a Thursday, so we were picking for market and while harvesting some beautiful beets, Emily wondered aloud if beets could somehow be incorporated into a cake. We seized upon the idea of substituting them for carrots in a carrot cake, and so the beet cake was born. I gave it the name Sauna Cake when we brought it to a friend's house and devoured it post-sauna. Of course you can always make this with carrots, but for me there's something very charming about a fuchsia-colored cake with pink icing. The original Sauna Cake had eggs, but this one is vegan and arguably superior :)

Sauna Cake

2 1/2 very ripe bananas, mashed well
1/2 cup oil (a little more if the batter is too stiff)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons molasses
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup soy/almond/rice milk
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups shredded beets (the finer you shred them, the better they blend into the cake)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and make sure oven rack is in the center. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Squeeze excess juice from the shredded beets and set aside for the frosting. Combine all ingredients until smooth and divide evenly between the two cake pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cakes start to pull away from the sides and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in the pan 45 minutes to an hour, then gently remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks. Frost with (vegan) cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).

(Vegan) Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Reserved juice from the beets in the cake (optional)
3/4-1 cup powdered sugar (more or less to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a non-metal bowl with a hand mixer and chill until firm. Frosts two 9-inch layers.

Purple batter! The non-vegan version turns brown in the oven, but the vegan one stays this lovely magenta/fuchsia color.

 The finished product. So dense, so delicious, so...pink. Good for breast cancer awareness month, no? :)

Zuke Soup Riot (Curried Zucchini Soup)

 This is one of the recipes I've developed this summer while volunteering at Dancing Crane Farm. I'll try to relocate more recipes from my cluttered inbox to this space as I have the time. Same with pictures of the recipes.


Great for using up that one giant zucchini that everyone always seems to get stuck with at some point during the season. Or if you've already put that giant one to use in zucchini bread, use about three of the normal-sized ones. Like most soups, this one will improve with time, so make it a day in advance if you can. Toast up some pita bread to dip and you've got a bowl of warm spicy goodness on a cool fall night.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8-10 cups finely diced zucchini or other summer squash (use one giant zuke or three average-sized ones; scrape out the seeds)
2-3 Tablespoons curry powder (the amount will vary depending on the amount of zucchini, the strength of the curry powder, and your preference for curry/spice - make it how you like it)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
scant 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2-3 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon molasses
1/2 bunch of parsley/cilantro, minced

Fry the onion with the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat until the onion starts to brown. Stir in the garlic, curry powder and cumin and keep stirring to keep the garlic from burning, about 2 minutes. Add the diced zucchini, red pepper flakes (optional) and a small amount of water (no more than half a cup). Stir to coat the zucchini with the spices, cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the zucchini starts to give up a lot of liquid, add just enough water to cover the zucchini. Continue cooking at a rapid simmer until the zucchini is soft and mashes easily, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in nutritional yeast, tamari, and molasses and remove pan from heat. Let cool slightly and blend until chunky, but not completely smooth. Stir in parsley and serve.