At the Henniker Community Market

One of my goals in this food journey is to explore local markets that offer fresh local food. Today I went to visit the Henniker Community Market to see what it was all about. I knew that I would find my favorite farm, KGF, set up there, but otherwise it was all new to me.

The market takes place on the community green with music playing in the gazebo and kids running around. It is a truly lovely setting. I first made my way to the KGF stand and picked up some tomatoes, jalapenos and lettuce.

I really didn't need much since I just got my CSA on Tuesday, but you can never have too many tomatoes in my opinion.

I moseyed around and found some incredible homemade bread. There were lots of options to choose from, like sweet breakfast breads, pastries and various loafs. I picked up a loaf of anadama (a delicious cornmeal/molasses creation) and some honey oat. You really cannot find this kind of bread in the grocery store (at least not that I know of!). I would love to know how I can find this all year long, since I know that (sadly) farmer's market season is coming to a close. I'll have to do some research and get back to you on that!

Then I found an old friend selling some amazing mustards from Blackwater Mustard Co.

There were a few different kinds of craft mustards for sale, all of which available to taste. And all of which are truly delicious!! I picked up a jar of the Hot and Sweet variety. Goes great on the bread...

Finally I browsed the Warner River Organics stand. It was like the produce isle in a grocery store, so much variety. 

I grabbed some eggplant, two different kinds, which I have never seen before. I am excited to try them out!

This experience reminded me that there is absolutely no reason to buy produce in a grocery store in the summer time in New Hampshire. The good stuff is all around us! 

For more information on the Henniker Community Market, check out their Facebook page! 

Zucchini, Two Ways

One of the best aspects of culinary bricolage style cooking is that you get to craft meals based on what you have available. It's like being on one of those cooking shows where you have to make something with the ingredients you are given. This is awesome for many reasons. It helps to cut back on food waste because instead of seeking out ingredients to use, you use up what you have around you. It works great with receiving a weekly CSA, as I have learned. I look forward to planning meals around the veggies I get each week. Also, it takes the pressure off because instead of coming up with meals out of thin air you have something to work with.

And right now, I have a lot of zucchini to work with. My parent's garden is overflowing with the green beauties.

It is easy to stir-fry or grill zucchini and it will always be yummy. But I have a couple of other ideas I would like to offer: Baked zucchini napoleon and zucchini bread.

BAKED ZUCCHINI NAPOLEON
I love stacking things on each other as a way of making creative meals. I guess this style is called napoleon in the cooking world, which refers to a specific kind of dessert (as described here) but can apply to whatever ingredients you choose to use. For this meal I had lots of zucchini to work with, as well as eggplant and tomato from my CSA and some random cheeses. Here is what I did.

I sliced the zucchini, tomato and eggplant into uniform pieces for stacking on top of each other. I oiled a large glass baking dish and began building each stack. Here is the order:

• A slice of zucchini
• A layer of garlic 
• A layer of basil from the garden
• A layer of cheddar cheese 
• A slice of eggplant
• A slice of tomato
• A layer of mozzarella cheese
• Another layer of zucchini
• A layer of parmesan cheese
• More garlic
• Balsamic vinegar drizzled over the whole thing

Here is what it looked like before going into the oven (at 350 degrees):

It baked for about 30 minutes and the cheese got nice and melty. I thought the melty cheese would hold it all together, but sadly the stacks began to tip over a bit. Oh well, it was still delicious!

ZUCCHINI BREAD

I don't know about you, but I love zucchini bread! The grated zucchini makes the bread super moist and yummy. I just googled recipes and ended up using this one.

I exercised some creative license to use dark chocolate morsels instead of nuts. Overall, it came out pretty great! And I was able to use up a big zucchini in the process. Success! 

Main Street Warner Evening Farmer's Market

I have mentioned this market in passing, but I thought it was time to give it it's own post! Since I can't make it to the Warner Farmer's Market on Saturdays, and since I am already in Warner on Tuesdays picking up my CSA, I always stop at the market and finding amazing things.

The two vendors at the Tuesday market are:

Michelle's Garden

and Greenhill Collective Farm.

For more information, visit the Facebook page here!

Here is what I found this week.

From Michelle's Garden:

• Fresh Eggs 
• Parsley
• Handmade organic soap (there are many delicious fragrances, all free of chemicals and unwanted fillers. We should be just as conscious about what we put on our bodies as we are about what we put in them!)
• Hot peppers - jalapenos and habaneros 
• Beets

From Greenhill Collective Farm:

• PEACHES!
• Squash
• Green peppers

All of these goodies are great additions to any kitchen and make it that much easier to avoid the grocery store!

Check out the Main Street Warner Evening Farmer's Market Tuesday nights, 3-6pm. 

Kearsarge Mountain CSA: Weeks 10 and 11

Sadly I have been a little behind on documenting my CSA. It has been a busy time for me - housesitting, being in my best friends wedding, moving into a new apartment and having an adorable baby who is too much fun to play with -

But this doesn't mean that I haven't been receiving amazing veggies in my CSA over the past couple of weeks. Here are the details.

WEEK 10

• EGGPLANT!
• Garlic
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• PEACHES!
• Salad Mix
• Green beans

I think it is pretty obvious that this was a great week of veggies. And FRUIT! PEACHES! Very exciting. It is very easy to properly store these items in the kitchen. 

The garlic, tomatoes and peaches just hang out in a bowl on the counter.

The beans, eggplant, salad mix, and cucumber go in the crisper draw in the fridge. Too easy. 

WEEK 11 

• Corn
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Green beans
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Cucumber 

Yet another fantastic week! Another new item - corn! I try to limit my corn intake (because it's an ingredient that runs rampant through our modern food supply, plus patronizing the corn industry raises some moral concerns) but fresh, local corn is undeniably delicious. So it is exciting! This week's share is, once again, very easy to store in the kitchen. 

The kale, cucumber and green beans go in the crisper drawer in the fridge. Kale is a really hardy green so, in my experience, it needs little attention when storing.

Tomatoes and onions hang out on the counter (not to be refrigerated!).

Potatoes go in a paper bag in a drawer where it is cool and dark. They keep for a very long time.

The only thing I did was tend to the lettuce. I separated the leaves and washed them thoroughly. Then I stacked them in a container and put them in the fridge. In past experiences, this has been the most effective way to store lettuce, which can otherwise wilt very quickly.

Some ideas on using these ingredients to craft delicious meals will be coming soon!

5 Tips for Healthier Eating!

I think we can all agree that there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of the health of our food. And I am not just referring to eating less fried food or junk food (although that is certainly important), but also to incorporating nutritious foods into our meals (it's just as much about what you do eat as it is about what you don't). Rather than setting grand, unrealistic goals to completely overhaul our diets, I think the most effective thing to do is start with small steps. Here is a list of 5 little things that can help us to maximize nutrition in every meal.

1.) CITRUS: Adding citrus is an excellent way to add lots of flavor and lots of incredible health benefits to any meal, including balancing the body's pH (sounds counterintuitive, but it's true) and aiding in digestion (see here for more details!). I personally squeeze lemon onto everything. I have learned from experience that lemon cures many ailments, from heartburn to indigestion to lack of energy. Limes work great to!

2.) LEAVE THE SKINS ON: I am referring here to the skins on our fruits and vegetables. Most veggies store their nutrition in their skin. For example, eggplant and cucumber are practically nutritionally barren except for their skins (see here for more details on the benefits of vegetable skins!). Don't hold back, you can eat virtually any fruit and vegetable skin (I have even eaten lemon rinds...yum!).

3.) INCORPORATE FLAX SEEDS: Flax seeds are incredibly nutritious little guys. Among their benefits are their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as being high in omega-3 fatty acids (see here for more details!). It is just too easy to add flax to any meal. I add flax seeds to salads, stir-fry, etc., and ground flax meal to smoothies and for use in baking.

4.) TRY TO HAVE SOMETHING RAW WITH EVERY MEAL: Their is a lot of debate over the health of raw food vs. cooked food. I have encountered some very compelling arguments for the raw food diet, such as cooking food lowers its nutritional value and depletes the body's enzymes (see the documentary Forks over Knives and Food Matters, or see here and here for some opinions). I wouldn't say necessarily that we should all convert to an entirely raw food diet, but I would suggest that we try to eat more raw fruits, veggies and nuts. I personally feel more energized and revitalized when eating more raw food, so that is what I use as my evidence for this claim. I suggest you try using more raw foods with each meal and see how you feel! Be your own judge!

5.) ADD BLACK PEPPER: We all know salt is a tasty flavor addition to almost anything, but we also know that salty foods are quite unhealthy. My suggestion? Add more black pepper than salt! Black pepper not only does not have the risks that salt has of messing with blood pressure and such, but it is also super nutritious, especially when it comes to digestive health (see here for more details!). It is so simple to crack some black pepper over virtually any meal, so turn it into a habit if it isn't already!


There are some of my ideas for trying to maximize health in the food that we eat. But certainly do not just take my word for it. Try it and see how you feel!

Eating Veggies: A couple ideas

There are so many delicious vegetables coming at me from all different directions right now - from my CSA, farmer's markets, my parent's garden - it is time to get super creative to make sure lots of veggies are getting eaten with every meal. Here are some of the ways that I have been putting this wonderful produce to use.

• First... BABY FOOD! Local, chemical free veggies grown with love are the perfect thing to feed my little munchkin as I introduce him to the world beyond the bottle. Here he is eating (or wearing?) pureed beets: 

• Next...BREAKFAST. Veggie omelet with homefries, yum. The omelet is filled with CSA broccoli, onion, tomato, and basil from my deck. Topped with arugula and hot sauce. The homefries are CSA potatoes, which were actually first made into a potato salad and then pan-fried. I had more potato salad than I could possibly eat so this was an attempt to make sure it did not go to waste. An interesting experiment that came out pretty good!  

• Then...LUNCH. A salad... duh! From the CSA: salad mix, tomatoes, cucumbers. Plus garden basil and cilantro. SOme mozzarella cheese and some flax seeds (so good for you!). Dressed with a squeeze of lemon, some olive oil and black pepper. 

• Finally...DINNER. FALAFEL!! I was came to the idea to make a falafel dish in part due to the overwhelming amount of cucumbers in my life right now. I was thinking... I should make tzatziki (an idea inspired by KGF superstar Sam Bower)! Which is a tangy sauce for dipping or dressing. Here is how I made it (although I am sure there are many variations! 
• I eyeballed amounts of plain greek yogurt and sour cream as the base for the sauce.
• Next I squeezed in half a lemon and half a lime
• Then I added a healthy amount of chopped farmer's market garlic
• And the best part...grated cucumber! I used a whole cucumber grated very finely until it was basically a pulp.
• Finally, some spicing with salt, pepper and dill. 

• Next I made falafel balls, which is a simple combination of garbanzo beans, citrus, and spices. You could use lots of different things, but I used:
• One can mashed garbanzo beans
• Finely chopped CSA celery
• Finely chopped garden cilantro
• Lots of garlic
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Cayenne pepper
• Lemon and lime juice
• All combined with an egg and some flour so it came together into little balls. I chose to bake them instead of fry them because it is healthier and easier clean-up. Here is how they looked on their way into the oven:

• Since I was going to have a taco set-up for my falafel, I made some simple veggies to go with it. CSA cabbage and carrots shredded with some cilantro and chopped CSA tomatoes. Easy and delicious! 

• Finally, the fun part, putting it all together! I heated some tortillas and smeared some tzatziki onto them, then added the cabbage and carrots and tomatoes. To that I added the falafel balls and I topped it all with more tzatziki and some sriracha. Deeelicious!! I highly recommend trying this one!

PICKLING!

Vegetables are abound here in New Hampshire right now. August, it turns out, is a bountiful month. I love learning about what comes into season as the summer progresses. Equally interesting and important to learn, I think, is how best to use the vegetables that our land produces, especially when there is a pretty extreme surplus for such a brief time. We have a short growing season here in the Northeast, but when things do grow they can grow in large numbers. If we don't take the time and care to preserve the bounties we produce, then lots of our crops surely go to waste.

So right now I would like to briefly discuss one incredibly effective method of preserving veggies: PICKLING!

Pickling is the process of preserving food in brine or vinegar (thanks wikipedia) and is in no way exclusive to the cucumber (although it is the most popular pickling vegetable). You can pickle beans, peppers, onions, cauliflower or really any vegetable you'd like. That is why this is a great preservation method to use during a time of such wonderful veggie bounty!

There are essentially two different ways to pickle something - using using salt (either dry or with a brine), or vinegar, which is a much quicker process. Whatever you are looking to pickling, you can choose a method that works for you. And don't be afraid to Google it or wing it! I personally like to do to the quick refrigerator pickling method, which is super easy and works great.

For example, I had a surplus of cucumbers (not even "pickling cucumbers", just regular cucumbers) the other day so I decided I should pickle some of them. Here is what I did:

• Sliced 3 large cucumbers into chips and set aside in bowl
• Collected my ingredients for the vinegar solution: cider vinegar, water, sugar, 3 garlic cloves, salt, dill, garlic powder, ground cloves, ground mustard seed, and celery salt.

•  I mixed about a cup of vinegar, half a cup of water, a cup of sugar, 1-3 teaspoons of each spice (totally winged it) and the garlic cloves and brought it all to a brief boil just until the sugar dissolved.

• Meanwhile, I prepared 3 jars with some strips of CSA scallions for added flavor. Some people take great care to sterilize the jars and such, which would never be a bad idea just a little more work, but I did not this time around. Oh well. 

• Once the sugar dissolved, I poured the vinegar mixture over the cucumber slices in the bowl. I let it hang out for a minute and cool down a bit before pouring in the jars. I put one clove of garlic (that had been hanging out in the vinegar solution) into each jar, then filled them with the cukes and poured in the juice. For fun, I added a little extra juice from a jar of pickled jalapenos I had from the grocery store. If you find you did not make enough liquid to fill the jar about 3/4 full, don't be afraid to substitute with pickling juice from other things you have like hot peppers or store-bought pickles. 

• The longer these jars sit in the fridge the more flavorful and pickled the contents become. I say give it about 12 hours and they will be perfect. Delicious!!! 

Kearsarge Mountain CSA: Week 9

Wahoo! Another fabulous week of vegetables. And, I think it should be noted, that I have been doing  minimal grocery shopping thanks to my CSA and that has been making me very happy. Just one of the many perks of this system!

Here is what we got this week.

• Celery
• Hot peppers
• Tomatoes
• Salad mix
• Carrots
• Cucumbers 
• Broccoli
• Onions

This particular batch of goodies required virtually no special care when storing in the kitchen. Here is what I did.

• Tomatoes and onions hang out in a bowl on the counter. They do not go in the fridge until they have been cut into. 

• Everything else goes into the vegetable drawer in the fridge!  I just cut the tops off of the carrots (which I fed to my rabbit) so they will be good to go whenever. Way too easy.

I also gathered a few other farmer's market items from Greenhill Collective Farm and Michelle's Garden:

• Green peppers
• Summer squash 
• Garlic
• Blueberries

If you are new to local shopping and want to give it a try, I would say that right now is definitely the time. You can find such a fantastic variety at farmer's markets these days, including: tomatoes, onions, potatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, celery, garlic, squash, broccoli, cucumbers, beans, beets, carrots, chard, head lettuce, herbs and so much more! New Hampshire farms are flourishing, check out what they can offer you! 

A Very Interesting Creation...

I have been so happy to be back in my kitchen creating fun meals with fresh farm ingredients. Being away in Argentina has certainly helped me to appreciate the access we have to delicious food here in New Hampshire. 

A very interesting creation I came up this week is hard to name, but consists of rice and quinoa, mushrooms, a red wine reduction and a fried egg. Here is what happened. 

• For the base of this creation, I wanted to mix brown rice and quinoa, in part because I had rice left over in the fridge that I needed to use. For the quinoa, I was excited to try cooking it in the beet juice I had left over from cooking my CSA beets. I just added some bay leaves and it was a beautiful start to this meal.

• With the quinoa done I mixed in the rice and some CSA scallions, olive oil and salt and pepper. 

• Next I started the red wine reduction sauce. It began by frying some onion and CSA cabbage with garlic. To this I added lots of wine, half of which I knew would ultimately boil away in the reduction process. I also added some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. This I brought to a boil and reduced to a simmer until it thickened up to my liking (the longer it simmers the thicker it will get). 

• Next came the mushrooms: black trumpets and shiitakes from Greenhill Collective Farm. I briefly cooked them together in butter and coconut oil. I was sure not to overcook them because they can disappear in a meal, especially the black trumpets, if they go too long. 

• Finally I fried a couple of eggs. For me it is very important that the yoke stays uncooked, so it can drizzle all over the rest of the meal. 

• And this is how the plate came together: a pile of the rice/quinoa mixture, topped with a spoonful of mushrooms, then the red wine reduction and finally the fried egg. Garnished with some scallions. Delicious! A very interesting creation... 

Kearsarge Mountain CSA: Week 8

So I missed the CSA weeks 6 and 7 because I was on vacation, but luckily I was able to bump those two weeks' shares to the end of the season. Perfect!

Here is what I got this week upon my return:

• Scallions
• Head of lettuce
• Green cabbage
• Beets
• Potatoes
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Chard

Amazing! Summer is in full swing and the variety in the CSA package is certainly a treat. This same variety is reflected in the farmer's markets all around NH, so definitely check them out! Especially if you usually shop at Market Basket and need to find a new place to get your produce ;) 

I also stopped, as usual, at the farmer's market in downtown Warner (that runs every Tuesday, 3-6pm). Here I picked up parsley, dill, shiitake and black trumpet mushrooms from Greenhill Collective Farm and eggs and carrots from Michelle's Garden.

Storing these goodies went something like this;

Scallions, herbs, chard, and beet greens I plunked into some water just like bunches of flowers. They live on my counter, which makes preparing meals really fun because I have a nice buffet of green to choose from. I trim the ends daily and add more water as needed to prevent wilting. 

Potatoes I put in a brown paper bag and tucked in a drawer so they stay cool and dry.

The head of lettuce I peeled apart and washed thoroughly to remove stubborn dirt particles (I really hating crunching into dirt whilst enjoying a salad). Then I stacked the leaves in a container and put it in the fridge. This method, as I have learned through trial and error, is the best for keeping the lettuce leaves fresh for at least a week, if not longer. It is really incredible.

The cabbage is super easy, I put it in the vegetable crisper drawer.

The same with the cukes.

The beets I cooked right away for 15 minutes in boiling water. This just makes them more palatable and ready for use whenever. I do like raw shaved beets, too, but this week I felt like cooking them all to make it easy.

And...the best for last... TOMATOES! I was very much looking forward to coming home to some tasty farm tomatoes. There is nothing like it in the world!!! I am sure if you have experienced the pale, flavorless excuses for tomatoes that you most often find in the grocery store, you know what I am talking about. If not, you simply haven't lived! Here is some vital information on storing and using tomatoes that I would like to share:

• NEVER PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE! They will lose their amazing flavor. Only put a tomato in the fridge if you have cut into it and need to store leftovers. 

• USE A SUPER SHARP KNIFE TO CUT THEM! They will get all smushed if you use a dull knife and that is no bueno. 

• EAT THEM WITH AVOCADO! Apparently eating tomatoes and avocados together helps your body to absorb maximum nutrients. Plus avocado and tomato salad is super easy to make... all it needs is a little lemon, salt, pepper and olive oil! Maybe some fresh herbs. There is nothing wrong with keeping it simple!

• TOMATOES MAKE LOTS OF AWESOME STUFF! Don't ever think you can have too many tomatoes because they can be crafted into so many yummy things: pasta sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, gazpacho, tomato soup, and many more! These creations take lots of tomatoes, so get them while the gettin's good! Making tomato goods and canning them for later use is always a great idea, too!
• A GOOD WAY TO CUT THE CORE OUT: Cut a triangle around the core and voila! Feed it to rabbits, chickens, goats, etc.  

       

So...this is what they eat in Argentina...

Meat. Lots and lots of meat. Beef, pork, chicken, llama...yes, llama.

Llama is really the only large domesticable animal indigenous to South America (most of the livestock familiar to us were domesticated in and around the fertile crescent way back in the day. Hence the leg up those societies, and surrounding societies like those formed in Europe, had on exploration, colonization and domination. Read Jared Diamond's incredible book, Guns, Germs and Steel, if this stuff interests you). So llama meat might have been the most Argentinian food I encountered. And I tried some. Pretty tasty, I must admit.

Rivaling llama meat for most "authentic" food I found is definitely the empanada. Yummy little pastry pockets filled with all sorts of goodness, from cheese to veggies to meat. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to get bad or mediocre empanadas, which happened to us for most of the trip. But, oh! then we found the money spot: La Casa de las Empanadas in the city of Cafayate. Incredible. My favorite was filled with onions and blue cheese. So good! So if you are ever in the area, definitely hit up La Casa de las Empanadas!

Otherwise, Argentina is very similar to the States in that it is a cultural melting pot. Modern Argentina, so to speak, began with Spanish colonizers in the 16th century (although there were, of course, peoples already settled there), thus accounting for the use of the Spanish language. From then on, many different European influences moved in to create what is Argentina today. This mixing of cultures is, at least to a degree, reflected in the cuisine. For instance, there is a very strong Italian influence, and so lots of pastas, gnocchi and pizza.

It was tough to find really good vegetarian meals, unfortunately. Most meatless meals were either bland and flavorless or over-salted. There was, however, one gem we found in the city of Salta called Chirimoya. Amazing little appetizers, eggplant lasagna, and quinoa salad (and much more!). All vegan, all amazing, and really inexpensive.

And in addition to food, there was, of course, lots of RED WINE. Argentina has world famous wine, and we tried our best to sample as much as possible. Oh, and it was very alcoholic.

And what's wine without cheese?

And what's any of it really worth without some well-dressed Argentinian wine and cheese connoisseur to tell you all about it?

Overall, I guess I have this to say: The food system, as we know, is global, so Argentina gets their food from distant lands just like we do. There were street markets but they did not really reflect nearby farms, but it is winter there so that can be expected. Much of the farmland, as I understand it, is used for one of Argentina's main crops, sugar cane, and other exported goods like cereals and oils.

And, like I said, they eat a lot of meat, so I asked some locals what that industry is like there. Not surprisingly, it is the same factory farming deal as you would find anywhere in the world today.

I was slightly disappointed but not surprised to find the food in Argentina rarely reflected any special culture that you might find there (except for, perhaps, the mixing of European influences). It did not often tell a story of the people or the land. Sadly it is, at least in my experience (and I could always try harder!) more and more difficult to come by local food no matter where you go. But, hey, what can you do? Stay positive and tell a story with the food you find whenever you can, I suppose.

Buen provecho!

Learning from the Market Basket strike

Wow a lot has happened while I was romping around down in South America! I am assuming that most people have heard about the strike currently waged by Market Basket employees due to the firing of CEO Arthur T. Demoulas. Apparently this guy is pretty great, as he is reported to actually care about the people that work for his company (shocking) and works to keep costumers happy with consistently low food prices. I mean, there are lots of people putting their livelihood on the line and boycotting Market Baskets everywhere to stand up for him so I am thinking that these claims are probably true.

But all company politics and hearsay aside, I'd like to quickly extrapolate what I think is the key take-home message here for all of us food shoppers. Specifically, how quickly and easily we can be cut off from our food supply.

We all (or most of us) rely on supermarkets for most, if not all, of our food. It is how the modern world is fed. Yet the entire food production process is entirely out of our hands (except for the consumer influence on the market, which may or may not really exist. Discuss at will). This, to me, is a little scary. Like, really scary actually. And the Market Basket strike demonstrates just one of many potential wrenches that can be thrown into the system. So all I am saying here is, whether or not you are already preparing for an impending apocalypse, it is wise that we all take a closer look at our local food sources and try to use them as much as possible in order to minimize our reliance on supermarkets. Because it is all to easy for something to cut us off from the food provided by these giant companies where any number of things that can go wrong along the supply chain. Definitely something worth thinking about...