Green Eats

Coon Rock Farm breakfast sausage links

This morning I fired up my favorite piece of kitchen equipment – my cast iron skillet. Within a few minutes it was roaring hot and I had some breakfast sausages from Coon Rock Farm sizzling away on the stovetop. I paired them with some fresh biscuits I made this morning (using local pork lard!) and the result was a delicious, filling, and local breakfast. I can’t think of a better way to start my day!

Poulet rôti à la Normande

This past Sunday I made Poulet rôti à la Normande from the epic Julia Child tome Mastering the Art of French Cooking (with credit to Mmes. Beck and Bertholle, of course). Unfortunately due to poor planning my chicken was not local (I just plain forgot to buy one at market on Saturday) but the livers for the stuffing came from Fickle Creek Farm and the spinach for the side dish came from Ever Laughter Farm. The meal was delicious and the FCF’s livers were the perfect match for the recipe! I even have some left over that I plan on using to make some appetizers later this week.

Poulet rôti à la Normande – recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, posted to foodgeeks.com

(Side dish was mushrooms and shallots in a Madeira-cream reduction on top of a bed of local spinach)

One of my favorite food blogs, Working Class Foodies, teamed up with one of my OTHER favorite food bloggers, Adam from Amateur Gourmet, to tackle dumplings. Recent readers of Green Eats are justified in thinking that I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with biscuits, but before biscuits there were dumplings. It all started when I moved to New York City in 2007 and found Dumpling Man. Now if I see dumplings on any menu, anywhere, I have to order them. Veggie dumplings, chicken dumplings, pork dumplings, spicy dumplings, sweet dumplings; no dumpling is too crazy for me to try. That is one reason why I love this video – not only do you get a free tour of some of the best places to find dumplings in NYC, but you also get a free cooking lesson! Take a moment to watch the video, then wipe the drool off your face and get cracking on making your own delicious (and local) dumplings!

(If you live in the Triangle, making local dumplings is easy! Check out one of our many farmers markets for ingredients like pork, flour, scallions, and more!)

When you try to shop locally as much as possible you often find there is that one item, that one staple that is nearly impossible to find. For many people that one thing is butter, and if you can’t find great local butter, why not make your own? Whats more local than your own kitchen? I use cream from Maple View Farm in Hillsborough, NC, and I encourage you to find a great local dairy to supply all of your butter-making needs.

Homemade butter is simple – essentially you just whip heavy cream until it separates into butter solids and buttermilk. The easiest way is with a KitchenAid or other stand mixer, but it can also be done with an electric hand mixer (it will be messy) or even just a solid container and a marble. Once you get the hang of it the possibilities are endless – whipped butter, honey butter, garlic butter….I could go on forever. Plus you can use the buttermilk to make delicious buttermilk biscuits, pancakes, or waffles.

I used these easy instructions from Instructables – the video is great too. My one point of advice is to be patient;  the first time I made butter it took almost 10 minutes for the solids to separate. Also, I would add any large solids (green onions, fruit, etc.) after you’ve separated and washed your butter.

So go grab a pint of cream from your favorite dairy and get to work! You’ll be enjoying fresh, homemade butter in no time at all!

How to Make Butter (and Buttermilk)

My love for biscuits has been approaching addiction-like levels as of late, and this photo nearly sent me straight to the kitchen to whip up a batch. There are a zillion biscuit recipes out there (you can find mine after the jump), and almost all are quick and simple and can easily be tweaked to include local ingredients like flour, butter, and cream. Plus you can top them with a fresh fried local egg, or drizzle with some delicious local honey! So when the anemic state of your farmers’ market gives you the winter blues, just hop into the kitchen and make a big batch of buttery, flaky biscuits!

(Photo courtesy of All That Splatters via FoodGawker)

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A great way to eat more sustainably is to cook at home rather than go out to eat. Cooking from scratch using local, whole, and unprocessed ingredients is not only tastier and healthier but is also good for the planet. Many people who are intimidated by cooking are often surprised to find how easy it can be to make simple and delicious meals from just a few basic ingredients (check out my brownie recipe). Personally I cook at home as much as possible, both out of a love of cooking and economic necessity. I can't afford to eat out very often, nor can I afford to buy $5.99 boxes of granola bars or $7.99 boxes of organic cereal. If you look through my cabinets you will find that my kitchen is virtually devoid of any processed or pre-made item.

One staple that I try to make as often as possible is bread. For the cost of a loaf of organic bread you can buy all the ingredients you need to make at least six loaves of homemade bread. Plus, there is nothing more impressive than serving a gently poached egg with a big slice of toast from bread you made yourself. People will love you for it, and they'll have no idea how easy it was!

Now usually I steer clear of extra gadgets and appliances in the kitchen – most anything I need to do can be done with a few simple tools. I don't even have a toaster! However when it comes to bread I break my rule in favor of my bread machine. I rarely have time to sit and let the dough rise, then punch it down and rise again, plus as much as I like getting my hands dirty while cooking, baking bread is a messy process. The bread machine is great – toss in all the ingredients in the morning and a few hours later you have a fresh loaf! I actually have a cookbook that is designed for baking in a bread machine and it is full of some delicious recipes – mango macadamia nut bread anyone? The only downside is that the loaves turn out fairly uniform – if you like the artistic style of a free-form loaf or have a special pan you'd like to use, you can use your machine to mix and proof the dough for you and then bake it in the oven. Below you'll find the recipe for basic white bread, which is what I make most often. Enjoy!

Basic White Bread – 1lb loaf

1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups bread flour
2 tsp yeast

Put all ingredients into bread pan in order suggested by your bread machine instructions (I add the milk and water first, then the yeast. Let the yeast sit for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients). Set for white bread, medium crust. Press start.

These days the focus seems to be on cooking faster, faster, faster! There are a myriad of cooking shows, magazines, websites, and cookbooks all catering to speedy meals. Personally I enjoy a long day spent in the kitchen with family, friends, and the reward that comes with enjoying the meal you all prepared together. I think to many people "fast" means taking shortcuts – using processed foods, pre-made stocks, canned vegetables, etc. Being both a realist (I've needed to prepare dinner in 15 minutes a time or two) and a local food devotee, I've developed a few standbys that I can whip up in under ten minutes and still have a healthy and filling meal. I start with a base ingredient that can be quickly prepared and toss in a few no-cook additions and presto! I have an instant meal without the guilt that comes with reaching for that can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom. Below is one of my favorite quick recipes, but I encourage you to experiment and come up with your own. The best part about many of these instant recipes is that they can be endlessly adjusted to fit with whatever you have on hand or picked up at the market that morning! With the exception of the olive oil, couscous, and salt and pepper, all the ingredients came from the farmer's market or my CSA box.

Couscous with Turnip Greens, Tomatoes, and Egg
serves 4 as a light lunch or side dish
1 1/2 c water
1 1/4 c french couscous*
1/4 c chopped turnip greens
3/4 c cherry tomatoes, halved or whole
olive oil
salt & pepper
4 eggs**

1) Heat a heavy 12-inch skillet over medium heat (cast iron is best, or a good-quality nonstick) .
2) Bring water to boil in a separate small saucepan. Remove from heat, stir in couscous, cover and set aside for 3-4 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, fry the eggs. I crack them each into a small bowl and then pour in one at a time. You can also melt a little butter in the pan first if you are worried about the eggs sticking. Cook 3-4 minutes or until the whites are set (gently flip each egg after 2-3 minutes and finish cooking yolk-down).
4) Add turnip greens and tomatoes to couscous, mix gently, and divide between four bowls. Top each bowl of couscous with an egg, drizzle with olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

*I buy couscous in bulk from my local natural foods store – it cooks in minutes and is infinitely adaptable to whatever you have on hand. Some other great additions to couscous include raisins, red onions, basil, or bits of shredded chicken.

**I get my eggs from Contrarian Farm in Pittsboro, NC. They are by far the best eggs I've ever bought, and at $4 a dozen are a great bargain compared to other fresh eggs. Contrarian sells at the South Estes Farmer's Market in Chapel Hill on Tuesday and Saturdays. Tell Dan & Brittany that Matt sent you!

One of my coworkers has a fig tree in her yard that was grown from a cutting of a tree that has been in her husband's family for generations – its hard to get more local than that! The other day she brought in a container full of figs that needed to be eaten or cooked ASAP, free to the first taker. Not being one to pass up a chance to cook with an unfamiliar ingredient I grabbed the lot and began looking for a great fig recipe. The gods were smiling and I came across this recipe for for Cinnamon Fig Jam from Eating Out Loud (a great blog). I made a few minor adjustments to fit my circumstances (a glut of figs, only one lemon) and the results were amazing! My recipe and some photos are below.

I chose to process a big portion of the finished jam so that I can enjoy it all fall. Processing (also known as canning, or "putting up") is a great way to make sure you have fresh, local fruits and vegetables all year long. For a little extra effort up front you can enjoy local tomatoes in January or local peaches in March. One word of caution – whichever processing instructions you use (I recommend this site), make sure you follow them exactly. Improperly processed products can grow a mold that produces botulin toxin, and that is definitely not something you want to be serving your family!

Whether you have an overstock of figs, a bowl full of tomatoes going ripe, or more cucumbers then you can shake a stick at, I encourage you to stock up on some jars and spend a weekend processing some of your favorite fruits and vegetables. You'll thank yourself when you crack open your favorite jar of local goodies later this winter!

Cinnamon Fig Jam (adapted from Eating Out Loud)

2 1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c water
3 lbs figs (about 30-34 small figs)
Juice and zest of one medium lemon
3 3" cinnamon sticks

1) In a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan* dissolve the sugar into the water over medium heat.
2) Remove the stems from the figs and cut into quarters.
3) Add the figs to the sugar mixture along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cinnamon sticks.
4) Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, then turn to low and simmer uncovered for about one hour or until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally.
5) Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before processing, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

*Never underestimate the importance of a good pan. Heavy-bottomed, cast-aluminum pans with a stainless-steel coating that distribute heat evenly through the bottom and sides are the best for this type of recipe. I used an All-Clad 4 quart saucepan, but a cast iron enameled pot (like Le Creuset) would work as well. The key is even heating to prevent burning and hot spots – light-weight pans or those made entirely of stainless steel would not work as well.

(Ed. Note – I apologize for the lack of photos. I took some great ones but can't find my camera cord!! If I find it I will add the photos later.)

There is not a single problem in the world that can't be made a little
bit better with brownies (except maybe a chocolate allergy), and when
I'm feeling down, stressed, or just plain hungry, my go-to recipe
comes from the legendary James Beard. One crack at this simple recipe
will have you banishing boxed brownie mix from your kitchen forever!
(For all you edge fans, it makes the perfect amount of batter to fit
into the Brownie Edge Pan.)