VEGETARIAN ZUCCHINI BAKE
My mom sent me this recipe years ago after visiting Nova Scotia. It's proven to be a winner and I've used it every summer since when it's you know what time ... zucchini season! I've changed it oh-so-slightly to my taste in which I've made *notations of below.
Rhubarb Shrub Recipe
by Autrumn Giles and Serious Eats
Tart rhubarb practically begs to celebrated in a shrub. Two pounds of rhubarb may seem like a lot, but a large amount is necessary to have a good concentrated rhubarb flavor in the final product. You can use your shrub with seltzer, or mix into a cocktail.
Here is a rendition of Dolores’s Rhubarb Cake by Jane Brody from the Good Food Cook Book. This is a super moist low-rise cake that reminds me a little of cheese cake with out the cheese. Jane Brody made changes to the original recipe to increase the nutrient value and decrease the sugar and calories in the original recipe. I have made some additional changes (noted) keeping up with the times.
Friends of the Farms Executive Director, Heather Burger, and Highside Distilling Co-owner Matt Glenn shake up a Plum Negroni. A farm-to-cup cocktail inspired by locally sourced ingredients, celebrating Day 2 of the Friends of the Farms Fall Fundraising Drive. Raise a glass and join us in celebrating local farms, food, and cocktails!
Your gift will be put to work for our intern housing project.
Friends of the Farms Fall 2020 Fundraising Drive: Day 1 Friends of the Farms Executive Director, Heather Burger, and Highside Distilling Co-owner Matt Glenn shake up a Blueberry Thyme Fizz. A farm-to-cup cocktail inspired by locally sourced ingredients, celebrating Day 1 of the Friends of the Farms Fall Fundraising Drive. Raise a glass and join us in celebrating local farms, food, and cocktails!
Gardening truly is a journey of discoveries.
Some people say they have a black thumb and don’t garden, but I wonder if it has more to do with what your specific planting situation is? Growing garden vegetables is not a slam dunk: soil type & ph, sunlight and water are important factors. If you’re going to invest in growing your own produce, focus on putting the right plant in the right place, at the right time. You may find your “black” thumb is garden dirt and a green thumb is underneath!
By Erin Hill
Erin: Who do you farm with?
Brendan: Our company farm is a collaboration with Kevin Block, who used to be Sol Farm. That’s our venture, financially. Kevin was someone that I bought pigs from, and worked with, and at one point he proposed that if we were to take over financial control that would allow him to get up to scale, meet certain size requirements so that he could not have to wait tables part time which made it really hard to chase the pigs around. We get endless, beautiful, best pork in the world out of the effort of doing this together. We lease his old property, he lives and works there on the farm… We have limited vegetable production there too, so we’re looking at getting a couple of WOOFers this summer.
E: Does all of what Kevin produces go to you?
SSpring is here, and with it comes many new hands to help seed, transplant, weed and pick our incredible locally grown food! This work is often done by young farmers learning the trade from experienced master farmers in our community.
Friends of the Farms feels lucky to make housing available for eight farm interns and young farmers each year. But 2019 is an especially fruitful year and some of the farmers in our community are looking for additional intern housing…
…It has to do with you and the Amazon Rainforest.
Alright, kind of…
I assume you haven’t missed all the hype in the news about gut health and the microbiome.
Did you know that in a healthy human there are over 100 trillion microbial cells that live in our digestive system? That equals about 3 to 5 pounds.
Most of the microbes consist of the bacteria, viruses and fungi.
A healthy microbiome has significantly more biodiversity than the Amazon rainforest.
Incredible, right?
How to harvest nettles, as documented by two Friends of the Farms Board Members at the M&E Property on Bainbridge Island in March of this year, 2019:
Gird thy loins. And ankles. And wrists. And basically any exposed skin, or even skin covered with light clothing. Just, be impenetrable. Long sleeves and pants are a good place to start.
Grab some gloves. No, not those. Not those either. Full on plastic or latex gloves are best. Yup, the ones from your kitchen sink that reach to your elbows.
Read on!
In all your conversations with a farmer, how often does the term “clean room” come up? Or inoculation? How about spawn? Farmer Russell Lawson (of Patchwork Farms here on Bainbridge Island) recently gave a tour of his new mushroom cultivation facility and it is a far cry from the soil and seeds of his more traditional farm work.
It starts in a clean room. Positive pressure built up by pumping clean air into a sealed room keeps contaminants out, allowing Mr. Lawson a sterile environment in which to begin.
Friends of the Farms has just signed a 21 year lease with Mark Taylor and Tracy Lang of Vireo Farms, allowing them to build a hydroponic farming facility on publicly owned farmland managed by the nonprofit on behalf of the City of Bainbridge Island. Mark and Tracy, residents of B.I. have a prototype in their home and are already selling fresh, local greens to several restaurants on the island.
By Rik Langendoen
OK, I confess I am a bit fanatic about what I eat.
(Some would say I am more than a bit fanatic…).
In my defense, I believe I have five good reasons:
Life is blasting by waaaaayyy too fast;
I, therefore, want to be here on this Earth for as long as possible;
I have lost family members and friends to various diseases;
I want to be able to live life to its fullest by having both a happy body and mind; and
I am the healthiest I have ever been since focusing on what I eat.
I grew up on a small family-operated dairy farm here in Washington State. We raised much of our own food using what are considered today to be sustainable methods.
I didn’t know how fortunate I was at the time.
Did you know that much of the food we buy in our local grocery stores is much less nutritious than the food our parents and grandparents ate?
→Several years ago a Scientific American EarthTalk article entitled “Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?” summarized the results of landmark studies that showed a significant decline in nutritional value of commercially-grown food over the past century.
“The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion: Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows.”
Sadly, each successive generation of the food you eat is less good for you than the one before.
The article concluded the “key to healthier produce is healthier soil by alternating fields between growing seasons to give land time to restore would be one important step. Foregoing pesticides and fertilizers in favor of organic growing methods is good for the soil, the produce and its consumers. Those who want to get the most nutritious fruits and vegetables should buy regularly from local organic farmers.”
Did you also know it is estimated less than one percent of the Bainbridge Island population purchases locally-grown food? (If we don’t buy from them, we could lose them…).
And most if not all the local farmers use organic farming methods, even if they are not certified organic due to the cost, time and/or effort of obtaining the certification.
I know what you are thinking: Locally-grown food is more expensive than off-island commercially-grown food. But based on the above-mentioned studies, you are getting what you pay for.
In my next article I will tell you even more important reasons for eating locally grown food (I think you will be surprised; there was a hint earlier in this article…).
In addition, you can buy food directly from the farmers, which reduces the cost. If you want to learn more:
www.friendsofthefarms.org/links
Until next time, enjoy this last blast of winter.
From Heather Burger
I recently watched Samin Nosrat's Netflix series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. It's a delight. A welcome departure from the now ubiquitous "cooking" shows challenging chefs to prepare a dish in 10 minutes combining ingredients like jellied eel, brie, pickled okra, and caramel corn.
Nosrat's series is a primer in how by mastering four elements anyone can prepare delicious meals at home. Her recipe for buttermilk-brined roast chicken has three ingredients transformed by salt, fat, acid, and heat into a masterpiece easy enough for a weeknight dinner or a picnic lunch, but impressive enough for guests.
Get a local chicken from the Hey Day Farm Store or Bay Hay & Feed. Use Grace Harbor buttermilk, which is full-fat and cream top, from a Pacific Northwest creamery. Available at Town & Country.
Heather Burger, Executive Director
Friends of the Farms
by Samin Nosrat
3½- to 4-pound chicken (about 1.5 kilograms)
Salt
2 cups buttermilk (475 ml)
The day before you want to cook the chicken, remove the wingtips by cutting through the first wing joint with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Reserve for stock. Season the chicken generously with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Stir 2 tablespoons of kosher salt or 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the chicken in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. If the chicken won’t fit in a gallon-size bag, double up two plastic produce bags to prevent leakage and tie the bag with a piece of twine.
Seal it, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate. If you’re so inclined, over the next 24 hours you can turn the bag so every part of the chicken gets marinated, but that’s not essential.
Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour before you plan to cook it. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C), with a rack set in the center position.
Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Tightly tie together the legs of the chicken with a piece of butcher’s twine. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or shallow roasting pan.
Slide the pan all the way to the back of the oven on the center rack. Rotate the pan so that the legs are pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast is pointing toward the center of the oven (the back corners tend to be the hottest spots in the oven, so this orientation protects the breast from overcooking before the legs are done). Pretty soon you should hear the chicken sizzling.
After about 20 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 400°F and continue roasting for 10 minutes and then move the pan so the legs are facing the back right corner of the oven.
Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is brown all over and the juices run clear when you insert a knife down to the bone between the leg and the thigh.
When the chicken’s done, remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Link to recipe: https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/buttermilkmarinated-roast-chicken
Link to video on preparation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-pq7MA2ko4
Recently a dear friend and local foodie gave us a copy of Joshua McFadden’s new book called Six Seasons. His trattoria Ava Gene’s in Portland, Oregon we hear is a must-go-to. When I first cracked it open the page said ‘Pickles: Six Seasons in a Jar.' I was intrigued because pickling radishes had been on my mind since eyeing Persephone Farm’s bright red radishes at the previous Saturday’s Bainbridge Island Farmers Market. I returned last Saturday, bought four beautiful bunches from Rebecca Slattery, the Farm’s owner, went home and made this very straightforward recipe. Almost immediately, you can start enjoying these marvelous morsels in sandwiches, salads or straight out of the jar with a nicely chilled Sauvignon Blanc.
From Six Seasons:
This makes enough brine for about 3 pints of pickles.
Mix together until all dissolved. Pack your cleaned & trimmed radishes in clean canning type jars, fill with the brine to cover, screw on lid. I kept most whole and a few sliced in half for ‘effect.' You are done! Put in frig for up to 2 months.
