Hearty Root Vegetable Dip (vegan)
California-style Guacamole (vegan) (Bryant Terry)
Asian Chicken Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce
Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves) (vegan)
Vegetarian Nori-wrapped Sushi (vegan)
Cucumber Slices with Feta Cheese Filling
** see Liam’s Favorites (page 211) for:
“We’re going to a tapas bar,” we mentioned to Lisa’s mom one day. What she and her husband of fifty-seven years heard was “topless bar.” Stunned, they both gave us a once over. They knew we enjoyed taking soaks in hot springs, but this was something totally different.
To be fair, it’s not the first time something like this happened. There was the time we were planning a trip to a tourism conference at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. Of course, they heard “calamari resort.” It’s happened so often, we just laugh. Like the time when Lisa’s mom, an excellent cook, came out of the kitchen, announcing she had a new “concussion” ready for us to try. Yes, she meant to say “concoction.” She should have opened a restaurant; home cooking at her home is like fine dining, except you don’t need to get dressed up; one of her meals even made “Mom’s Best Meal” in Taste of Home magazine.
We love everything about eating tapas, the Spanish version of appetizers that can be enjoyed anytime. They can be cold or hot, savory, sour or sweet. At a tapas restaurant, you might start with an order of a few different dishes, served with small plates for everyone around your table to try. If you’re still hungry, order a few more. In most cases, you make a meal of the appetizers.
Strawbales stacked in timber framing of granary.
The closest thing around where we live is what the locals call “heavy hors d’oeuvres.” We’re not talking cheese slices or cut veggies with ranch dressing to dip into. Heavy hors d’oeuvres are what John’s mom serves up for gallery show openings at the Monroe Art Center; she’s surprised — and proud, rightly so — that the attendees enjoy her treats so much, like the bacon-wrapped chestnuts (see a variation on page 130) or chocolate biscotti (see a variation on page 183). Some of the gallery goers seem to be making a meal of the appetizers, just like they do in Spain. Sometimes, we do, too.
For most of us, appetizers represent a snack to whet our appetite. But appetites are no problem in this household. Our challenge is to avoid making a full meal of the appetizers before the main course is served. Here’s where the portion control police need to step in, lock down the platter and remind us that starvation is not eminent and winter, well, winter isn’t what it used to be back in the days of Ma and Pa Kettle, with the snow blowing in under the doorstop and the grain bin running low.
Which leads us to “nibble,” a more descriptive word, reflecting both our eating style and our operating philosophy. Peck-ish, if you please. We tend to nibble not just at our food, but at the challenges of farm life or the occasional harsh realities of living on a warming planet. Resilience will be essential in our present era of extreme or peak everything. So the concept of nibbles resonates, from the serving platter to our daily work styles. Group some of our nibbles together, and you have an awesome tapas meal… write a page every day, and a half year later you have a cookbook.
We often take our guests on a walking tour after they’ve settled in at our bed & breakfast. The tour ends at the dining room table or front porch, depending on the season. That’s where we’ll bring out a plate of snacks, finger food that doesn’t require silverware. With an aroma of Spinach-Cheese Bites or visual rainbow of fresh crisp vegetables surrounding the hummus platter, some guests who might have been on buzzing travel agendas instead pause, taste and linger.
Perhaps this appeal of nibbling naturally stems from our disposition to dabble, a yearning to try out and experiment with new ideas. We have a knack for nibbling; it keeps us sane. When situations bubble over in complexity or to-do lists overflow onto a second page, we regroup, hold a “staff meeting” (of two) or relax while wrapping some sushi or dolmades for a break. We identify priorities for that day: what bite-sized chunk can we accomplish during the next twelve hours. By breaking things down, we can accomplish the sum of the many parts, often in a fun way.
That’s how we managed to get our own version of a barn raising done, the deconstruction and reconstruction of what is now a straw bale greenhouse heated mostly by the sun. What started as an idea to save a historic old corn crib granary turned into “straw bale summer,” followed by “straw bale September.” During the summer, a crew of three nibbled away at removing a rotting copula and the outside wooden skin of the building. By early September, we framed in the spaces for the windows and doors while adding the ten-collector solar thermal system that would become the primary heat source for the structure. With super-insulated R-43 walls, we knew we wouldn’t need much heat. Then came the stacking, lathe and stucco work, covering up the two-story structure.
Completed strawbale greenhouse, in part, heated by the sun.
By the time it was over, more than a thousand bales were used. The walls had a wavy stucco appeal. And new friendships made with a parade of volunteers, helpers and guests who wanted to throw some mud and play in the straw. We even brewed our own beer for the occasion to share; we called it Straw Bale Stout (two would knock you off your feet and into a chair). Over the years, some papayas and avocados have reached for the sunlight while our son constructs elaborate cities of Legos below. It’s been used to start blackcurrants and flats of melon and basil. As anyone who’s ever built their own house or prepared their own meals can attest, there’s nothing more empowering than sticking with a project until it’s done the way you want. A lot of little steps will put you atop the tallest mountain, given enough time. We’re the ones we’re looking for to lead that change.
So when things overwhelm, think carrot stick, not carrot cake. What can I nibble at today?
FRIENDS ASK US FOR THIS RECIPE. We gladly share. Then they call back when they read it, protesting that we forgot an ingredient. Zucchini serves apparently as the ultimate mystery ingredient in disguise. Everyone claims to taste something different in this recipe — the ingredient they claim we forgot — from noodles to soy sauce. We smile and confess: Nope, just good ’ol zucchini.
2c. fresh zucchini, shredded (or any summer squash)
1t. salt
½c. mayonnaise
½c. plain yogurt
¼c. hard granular cheese, grated (Parmesan)
¼c. bell peppers, finely chopped
4green onions, thinly sliced
1garlic clove, minced
1t. Worcestershire sauce
1.t. canola oil
pita chips for dipping (see recipe page 64)
In a bowl, toss the zucchini and salt. Let stand for 1 hour.
Drain and press out excess liquid.
Mix in mayonnaise, yogurt, cheese, peppers, green onions, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until combined.
Pour mixture into a lightly oiled 8-inch baking pan and bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly.
Serve hot with pita chips for dipping.
YIELD: 8 appetizer servings.
If we figure out how to provide more of our food and energy close to home, the need for the kind of standing army that the founders deplored will begin to decrease — no more need to guard the five-thousand-mile-long straw through which we suck hydrocarbons from the Persian Gulf.
BILL MCKIBBEN, FROM EAARTH
IN THE 1960S OR EARLY 1970S, every house in the burbs seemed to have a fondue pot. It made the family mealtime around the table fun. By the 1990s, gourmet fondue restaurants became the rage with their soft cushions and romantic candles, turning what was a frugal Swiss way to enjoy some old bread and some odds and ends of cheeses into a pricey affair. Our version of fondue showcases our locally made and award-winning Emmi Roth Käse Gruyère and Swiss cheeses. Yodeling is optional.
4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2c. dry white wine
4c. aged Swiss cheese, shredded (1 lb.)
4c. Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 lb.)
4t. cornstarch
3T. Kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
2loaves crusty bread (like French baguettes), cut into cubes
Rub fondue pot thoroughly with garlic and discard garlic.
Heat white wine in the fondue pot on the stove. When air bubbles begin to rise to surface (do not boil), add shredded cheeses very slowly, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure eight (not circles).
When cheese melts and begins to bubble, mix Kirschwasser and cornstarch together separately, then add to cheese mixture, stirring well with the figure-eight pattern.
Remove from stove and place on fondue burner in the center of the table. Adjust burner to keep fondue bubbling slightly.
Spear a chunk of bread with fondue fork, dipping into fondue and coating bread. The stirring motion of each person’s fondue fork helps maintain proper consistency of the cheese.
YIELD: 8 appetizer servings.
The secret to a rich and creamy fondue is stirring in a figure eight; it keeps the cheese from getting stringy or globbing together.
Swiss cow from New Glarus.
CONSIDER THIS YOUR TURN-TO harvest recipe when you have a random collection of root crops that need some culinary love. This recipe readily uses a combination of shredded root vegetables; we like turnips, beets, potatoes, rutabagas and carrots, and also throw in an onion or even a leek. Traditionally a pâté is a mixture of meats blended into a spreadable paste. This recipe takes pâté where it typically doesn’t go by using all vegetables. Shred the root vegetables together in the food processor; they will blend and the color of the dip will depend on the dominant vegetable. Be forewarned, red beets add a vibrant red. Nutritional yeast is a key ingredient. It’s technically deactivated yeast (i.e., not the stuff you make bread with). Nutritional yeast is packed with protein and vitamins, especially those B-complex vitamins. We often use nutritional yeast wherever we might typically sprinkle Parmesan cheese, like over pasta, popcorn or a tossed salad.
2T. lemon juice
⅔c. canola oil
1½ c. whole wheat flour
1c. sunflower seeds
4garlic cloves, minced
1½ c. nutritional yeast
¼c. soy sauce
2t. dried basil
1t. dried thyme
1t. dried sage
½t. nutmeg
2c. boiling water
6c. root vegetables, shredded (try a combo of beets, turnips, rutabagas and potatoes)
6dried bay leaves
In a large bowl, combine lemon juice, oil, flour, seeds, garlic, yeast and soy sauce and stir well. Add basil, thyme, sage, nutmeg and boiling water.
Add vegetables; stir until well combined.
Pour mixture into a lightly oiled 9 × 13-inch baking pan and place bay leaves on top.
Bake at 350° for about 60 minutes or until firm and golden brown. Remove bay leaves.
Serve warm or at room temperature with pita chips or hearty crackers. Do not serve the dip right out of the oven or when it’s cold.
YIELD: 8 as an appetizer.
Chef Bryant Terry,
Oakland, California
When we asked Bryant Terry what influenced him to adopt a vegan diet, he launches into the rap “Beef” from rapper KRS-One:
“Let us begin now with the cow
The way it gets to your plate and how
The cow doesn’t grow fast enough for man
So through his greed he makes a faster plan
He has drugs to make the cow grow quicker
Through the stress the cow gets sicker…”
“Those words opened my mind as a teenager and empowered me to start shifting my thinking around food politics,” explains Bryant, as we sit around his sun-drenched dining room table in his Oakland, California home, the creative base for his writing and culinary passions as a vegan chef. His edgy rapper voice is now silent, replaced by the warm, gentle tone of a man soon to be a first-time dad. Lisa first met Bryant through her work as a Food & Community Fellow.
“The term ‘soul food’ ushers stereotypes: fried chicken and all the comfort foods of the cuisine,” admits Bryant. “Back home growing up in the South, these were special holiday treats, not everyday meals. Our daily family meals tended to center around healthy choices like lima beans, okra and collard greens, picked fresh from my grandparents’ garden.” Bryant is now on a one-man mission to redefine soul food; moving back to the healthier roots he remembers growing up in Tennessee, steeped in memories of his family that loved both their food and music heritage.
“My grandparents didn’t see their garden as anything special, it was simply something you did that made common sense to bring healthy food to your table,” Bryant reminisces. He admits he’s fortunate that his grandparents’ garden instilled in him a strong passion for food security through self-reliance. “Unfortunately, as a society we’ve lost that connection with home gardens. When we produce our own food, it’s empowering. When we depend on someone else to provide all our food, it’s a form of slavery.” Like millions of Americans, he and his wife, Jidan, tore out the front lawn of their Oakland home and added two raised garden beds, inspiring some neighbors to follow their lead.
Vegan Chef Bryant Terry testing recipes in his kitchen.
“I ate my fair share of Big Macs and Whoppers when I was younger. I know they are engineered in a way to be tasty and addictive,” says Bryant. “But I now know food companies spend billions to convince us to eat these high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar and high-calorie, low-nutrient foods. Food is a springboard for folks, particularly young people, to start talking about these bigger issues.” Reflecting on his own life, Bryant sees personal relationships with food and flavor as an ongoing journey, each chapter offering lessons — even those processed, sodium-drenched ones — we can relate to.
“Before I heard those words of KRS-One and started reading books like The Jungle and Francis Moore Lappe’s Diet for a Small Planet, I was your typical, fast-food eating teen,” reflects Bryant as he offers us some of his vegan lemon cookies and a refreshing glass of lemonade, made from Meyer lemons he picked from his neighbor’s tree. “I’m thankful for that processed-food experience because it gives me perspective for my work today.”
But there’s no finger-pointing, guilt-inducing preaching coming from this author. While he wrote the acclaimed cookbook, Vegan Soul Kitchen, he doesn’t label himself a vegan. “Words trigger stereotypes, and that’s not what I’m all about,” he explains. “It’s not my place to say that people should stop eating meat. That’s a personal decision. But I am clear that we Americans definitely need to have more plant-based foods in our diet. I’m redefining soul food without artery-clogging fat and lots of sugar.”
“Growing up, food integrated seamlessly with art, music and community,” remembers Bryant. “My grandfather founded the Four Stars of Harmony, the first African American group to get on the radio in Tennessee, so there was always music in our house. My grandmother was singing African American work songs and spirituals while she cooked. Whenever she rolled out the dough for her fried pies, it was as if her spirituality through music was one of her ingredients.” Bryant blends this musical element in his culinary work, offering “suggested soundtracks” for his recipes that draw on the influences of blues, jazz and hip-hop.
Art, food and gardens merge together in Bryant and Jidan’s cozy dream home in the heart of Oakland, with regular farmers markets and a nearby park to play in with their yet-to-be-born child. But this home, like many of the elements of Bryant’s creative life, stems from first creating a clear vision.
“It’s called a ‘vision board,’” explains Bryant, as we notice the colorful pencil drawing hanging on a wall. “We use this technique frequently as a way to visualize our goals.” We study the drawing that details facets of their dream home, like being close to local shops, price range and even a visual of future family with the couple holding two kids. “We created this over a year before we found the home we’re in now, a place that met our wish list and more. Look, our house even has a red door, just like Jidan drew,” points out Bryant.
“We all have the potential to envision our future and then act to make it a reality, especially when it comes to food,” Bryant inspires. “Everyone has an inner chef. You don’t need to be some superstar to cook. Anyone can make food that’s going to come out tasty.”
The words of KRS-One still echo in our head as we share a farewell hug and high-five:
“Come on now man let’s be for real,
You are what you eat is the way I feel.”
WITH MUSIC A STRONG inspirational force in Bryant’s work, his recommended soundtrack for this dish is “Pinotepa” by Lila Downs from her La Sandunga album. As Bryant resides in the major leagues of musical hipness and we’re still playing our 1980s cassette collection, we needed to look this one up. Reinventing traditional Mexican music with influences of everything from blues, jazz to even klezmer, Lila Downs tingles your soul and tastebuds at the same time. Bring on the guac!
2ripe Hass avocados, peeled and pitted
3T. fresh cilantro, minced
½c. red onion, diced
1clove garlic, minced
1½ T. lime juice
¼t. cayenne pepper
½t. salt
In a medium serving bowl, combine the avocado and cilantro. Using the back of a spoon, mash the avocado until creamy but textured.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Serve with chips or pita chip for dipping. (See recipe page 64 for pita chips)
YIELD: 6 servings.
Bryant and Jidan Terry’s vision map for their home in Oakland, California.
THERE’S NO SUCH THING as fried mysterious chicken parts in our household. Nuggets, some fast-food restaurants call them. If we’re going to enjoy the mellow flavors of chicken — especially the pastured kind — then feast on this popular Thai dish that won’t set your tongue on fire. The peanut sauce provides an exotic and creamy dip for the flavorful skewered chicken and is also tasty on rice.
1lb. chicken breasts
2garlic cloves, minced
11-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
½t. tumeric
½t. cumin
2T. brown sugar, firmly packed
½c. chicken stock
3T. fish sauce
3t. soy sauce
18wood kabob skewers
Cut chicken into ½-inch-wide strips and place in 9 × 13-inch baking pan.
Combine remaining ingredients for marinade. Pour marinade over chicken strips. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
Soak wood skewers in water for about an hour before making the kabobs (the skewers absorb water and are less likely to catch on fire). Thread chicken strips on skewers. Fill the first half of the kabob with skewered meat, leaving the lower half empty so you have a “handle” to easily pick up the satay.
Grill chicken satay on a BBQ, basting with the leftover marinade. You can also broil the satay in your oven. Place the satay on a broiling pan and set the broiler to a medium heat (about 350°). Place satay close to heating element and turn meat every 5 minutes until cooked, while basting with the leftover marinade. Depending on the thickness of your meat, the satay should cook in about 8 to 12 minutes, but keep a close eye to avoid overcooking or drying it out.
Serve with peanut sauce on a bed of lettuce greens.
YIELD: 6 appetizer servings.
1T. fish sauce
¼c. rice vinegar
½c. coconut milk
1t. sesame oil
¼t. red Thai curry paste
1T. hoisin sauce
½c. peanut butter
½c. chicken stock
¼c. half & half cream
¼c. soy sauce
2T. brown sugar, firmly packed
1clove garlic, minced
1T. lime juice
½t. tumeric
⅛c. chives or green onions, finely chopped
⅛c. peanuts, crushed
Combine all ingredients except chives and peanuts, with a whisk in a small bowl, adding a little more coconut milk as needed to make a sauce.
Pour into a small saucepan over medium heat until sauce starts to bubble. Remove from heat.
Serve in a bowl, topped with a sprinkle of fresh crushed peanuts and finely chopped chives or green onions.
YIELD: 2 cups.
Health as the organic pioneers conceived it encompasses the whole system, not just you and me…. Health would have to take into account the environment, the quality of drinking water, the incidence of cancer among farming families, the pesticide-poisoning incidents suffered by farming families, the risks to infants and children, and perhaps even the pleasure and taste of well-grown food.
SAMUEL FROMARTZ, IN ORGANIC, INC.
AN ELEGANT APPETIZER, these pastries showcase both our leeks and Gruyère and Swiss cheeses. The sweet richness of the leeks complements the creamy flavor of the cheese.
6c. leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced (2 large leeks)
½c. butter (1 stick), divided
1batch of pastry sheets (see page 231)
½c. half & half cream
1t. dried thyme
1t. sugar
½t. salt
1⅓ c. Gruyère or Swiss cheese, shredded
1t. paprika
Melt 4 T. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté about 15 minutes or until very tender. Stop before the leeks get brown. Mix in the cream, thyme, sugar and salt, cooking over low heat until the cream is thick and coats the leeks, about 8 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the shredded cheese.
Set the puff pastry sheets over a lightly floured work surface and roll sheet into a 10-inch by 10-inch square. With a 2-inch biscuit cutter (or a glass with about a 2-inch diameter), cut as many rounds as possible, about 20 per sheet. Make an indentation with your thumb in the center of each round, causing the sides to rise up a bit.
Melt the remaining 4 T. of butter. With a pastry brush, lightly coat the edge of each round. Place the rounds on baking sheets.
Bake the pastries at 400° for 10 minutes or until they start to rise and are golden brown. Remove from the oven.
Place about 2 t. filling in the center of each round. Return to the oven and bake about 5 minutes more or until cheese completely melts.
Serve warm with a sprinkle of paprika on top as garnish.
YIELD: 12 appetizer servings.
A PLATTER OF PIPING HOT Spinach-Cheese Bites can “Friend Me” in a way no online social network can. Little bite-sized balls, these appetizers tempt people to gather, linger and “chat” in that good old retro way: in person. As the online connection world snowballs, it takes some spinach and cheese rolled together to remind us that we are each other’s true social security, best felt when sharing snacks together.
3c. cooked and cooled spinach or Swiss chard (or a combination of both) finely chopped & tightly packed. Be sure to squeeze out as much water as you can. If using frozen spinach, this is about two 10-oz. packages.
3c. bread crumbs
1c. hard granular cheese, grated (Parmesan)
4large eggs, lightly beaten
½c. butter, softened (1 stick)
½t. salt
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well-blended. We find it’s easiest to mix using clean hands. Make sure the butter mixes in evenly.
To prepare and serve immediately, roll level tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls about the size of walnuts (about 40) and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and firm enough to pick up.
Serve immediately.
YIELD: 10 as an appetizer.
These Spinach-Cheese Bites freeze exceptionally well. Roll level tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls about the size of walnuts (about 40) and arrange them on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet, close but not touching. Freeze until hard, then pack in freezer food storage bags. To serve frozen Spinach-Cheese Bites, remove the number of Bites you’d like from freezer bags and place the frozen balls on a lightly oiled cookie sheet; bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and firm enough to pick up.
THERE WAS A TIME in Wisconsin where chestnuts fell not far from most homesteads. That’s before the chestnut blight wiped out most of the trees by the 1950s, but not before people in the area created the delicious combo of chestnuts, bacon and a barbeque sauce, perfect for the winter holidays. With the chestnut trees gone, the food tradition is kept alive by substituting Chinese chestnuts or jicama, the softball-sized white vegetable that has a refreshing crunch and mild flavor. It’s hard to go to a holiday gathering without these in a Crock-Pot or warmed serving tray.
1lb. jicama, cubed (1 medium jicama)
1lb. bacon, ideally smoked
½c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1t. dry mustard
1½c. ketchup
1t. lemon juice
Peel jicama and cut into ¾-inch cubes.
Wrap bacon around jicama, holding together with a wooden toothpick and trimming bacon strips as needed.
Place bacon-wrapped jicama in a baking dish. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes to cook off fat content. Remove from oven and place tightly together in a clean baking pan.
Combine brown sugar, dry mustard, ketchup and lemon juice. Pour over wrapped jicama.
Bake at 350° for an additional 20 minutes.
To serve, place jicama wraps on a serving platter. Extra sauce can be placed in a bowl to use as a dipping sauce.
YIELD: 40 pieces.
If you can’t find jicama, two 8 oz. cans of whole Chinese water chestnuts can be used as a substitute. The Chinese chestnut is actually not a nut, but the edible corm from a marsh plant.
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Eggs-cellent: Hens in the Henhouse |
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What’s not to like about a gregarious hen following you around the garden or back yard, on the prowl for a grasshopper jumping to safety or a treat dropped to the ground for her to devour? Other than some clucking around, a small flock of three to five hens tend to keep pretty much to themselves, dutifully laying an egg a day for most of the year. It’s another Ponzi scheme in the making if only the hens didn’t molt (lose their feathers) during the winter months and focus their energy on keeping warm and feather replacement at the expense of egg production.
No need for a boisterous rooster, either, unless you’re getting into the chicken-raising business that requires fertile eggs (happily accommodated by the rooster). Getting roosters, as we found out about by accident, results in early morning (and seemingly around the clock) crowing, not to mention some pretty rough behavior as they take charge of “their” flock.
For urban farmers, thousands of cities from Chicago to New York to LA allow their urban or suburban residents to have a few hens in their backyard, though not all municipal zoning offices are as supportive of chickens as they are with cats and dogs. To help urban chicken farmers, numerous communities have come about on the Internet to support others seeking to tend to their flock, including Backyard Chickens.com and UrbanChickens.net.
As a cook, the best part about having your own laying hens is the flavorful, nutrient-rich fresh eggs that start showing up in the hen house (or under random trees or bushes if your hens are truly freeranging with roaming liberty of your property). They’re pets with benefits besides the cuddle factor. Unlike the factory-farmed type — kept indoors, in small cages, medicated and often covered in their own wastes — hens you might get for your backyard or farmyard provide complete nourishment in each egg and have been found to be lower in cholesterol than the factory farm ones.
Be forewarned, the firm, nutrient-rich golden yolks will turn your quiche orange. The yolks themselves aren’t runny like the store-bought ones where the hens see little or no sunlight and are usually fed an antibiotic feed. What nutrients? There’s omega-3 fatty acids (certain fish are other great options) plus protein and a dozen minerals and vitamins like iron, zinc, vitamins A, D, E and B-12. And if you love deviled eggs, you’ll be forced to let the eggs age a week or two, otherwise you’ll be frustrated by how hard it is to peel the shells off a fresh hard-boiled one.
Happy chickens in an urban backyard chicken coop.
If you can take care of a guinea pig, you can care for a small flock of hens. For the best eggs, the hens need to have access to the outdoors and organic feed, a coop or shelter of some sort for protection from predators, to roost in and lay their eggs, plus access to fresh water (making sure it doesn’t freeze during the winter in cold climates). It’s the simplicity of this that makes having your own flock so appealing. That said, it was a neighbor’s roaming dog that put the kibosh on our flock, an issue we couldn’t resolve without escalating it (which we didn’t).
There are thousands of chicken breeds, some prolific layers while others look like clowns. There are also breeds that are best for eating, so-called broilers. (It’s a separate, more involved and macabre topic we’ll leave for you to explore on your own or can read about in Deborah Niemann’s book, Homegrown and Handmade, if you’re ready to explore processing your chickens at home.)
We started out with leghorns, but quickly progressed to Araucanas that lay the multicolored eggs as well as brown eggs from Rhode Island Reds and Barred Plymouth Rocks — delivered to us as two-day-old pullets (imagine small, fuzzy bright yellow Tweety Bird) in a small cardboard box by the United State Postal Office from the McMurray Hatchery. Just for the record, shell colors have absolutely nothing to do with the quality or nutrition of the eggs; it’s just a genetic thing, like the color of our skin.
And for you kitchen gardeners, the chickens are like having roving rototillers, a chemical-free insect pest removal service and, of course, a super source for nitrogen fertilizer — just make sure you compost their poop before putting in your garden beds due to its concentrated levels. Permaculture designers tend to love chickens and you will too.
If you get a diverse flock, you might get white, brown, light blue and even pink colored eggs. By letting them free-range outside, inside a pen area or roaming without constraint, they’ll eat just about everything during the warm season months. True omnivores; if they can get it in their beak, they’ll eat it.
If you’re renting an apartment or living in a condo where having a henhouse is out of the question, for the best tasting, most nutritious eggs, go for the organic, free-range, cage-free and local kind — ideally from farmers you know and trust. Like so many marketing terms these days, there’s little substance behind the cage-free, all-natural, free-range antibiotic-free labels, so organic remains the best choice if knowing your farmer is not possible.
Urban chickens in Del Mar, California.
WHILE THIS RECIPE will get you started, you may wish to “season to taste.” Hummus pairs well with both warm pita bread and the pita chips (see page 64). We buy the dried chickpeas and the tahini paste at an ethnic grocery store or bulk bins at our food cooperative. If you like your hummus less creamy, omit the baking soda from the process. If you’re pressed for time, two 15-ounce cans of beans can also be used and skip the boiling step, but we prefer the taste with dried beans.
1½ c. dry chickpeas
1t. baking soda
2cloves garlic, minced
4T. lemon juice
2T. tahini paste (ground sesame seeds)
2½ t. salt
½t. cumin
¼t. paprika
¾c. olive oil
Mix chickpeas and baking soda and cover with water in a large pot. Soak overnight.
Drain water and rinse chickpeas, then put into a pot with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes or until beans are soft.
Drain water. Put the beans, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, salt, cumin, paprika and olive oil in a food processor. Blend until smooth. If the hummus is too thick, add more olive oil or water. Season to taste.
Serve in a bowl, topped with a little paparika for garnish. Hummus can be refrigerated in a closed container for several days.
YIELD: 10 appetizer servings.
Beans rank high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, iron and folic acid. Eating beans with grains together, like hummus and pita chips, makes a complete protein with full amino acid benefits. One cup of uncooked beans yields 2 to 3 cups cooked beans. It’s best to soak the beans before cooking for 8 to 12 hours to soften the skin so beans cook faster; it also improves their digestibility, since some of the gas-causing enzymes in the beans are released into the water.
DON’T BE SCARED OFF by the fact that it looks like you’re eating something wrapped in a leaf. You are. After your first bite, we’re pretty confident that we’ll have you hooked on the salty-sweet-crunch of these. Many dolmades have lamb in them. Ours don’t. White rice works fine, or consider the healthier alternative, brown rice.
3c. onion, chopped (3 medium onions)
4c. cooked rice
1c. pine nuts (or cashews)
1½ c. water, divided
1c. dried currants (or raisins)
1t. cinnamon
3bay leaves
½t. salt
3T. fresh mint (not necessary, but if you happen to make this during summer mint abundance, do add it in)
1large jar (16 oz.) grape leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1T. lemon juice
Sauté onions in olive oil about 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in rice and pine nuts and sauté 3 minutes more.
Add currants, cinnamon and bay leaves and 1 c. water. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in mint and salt.
Cut tough stems off grape leaves. Line a large pot with about 4 leaves.
Place one grape leaf smooth side down on a work surface and set a tablespoon of filling near base of stem end of leaf. Fold end and sides over filling and roll toward point of leaf.
Set seam side down in pot. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling, packing tightly together and layering on top of each other.
Mix lemon juice with remaining 1 c. water and pour over leaves. Cover with 3 grape leaves and invert a heatproof plate on top. Cover with pot lid and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand about 2 hours or until liquid is absorbed.
Serve at room temperature or warm.
YIELD: About 100 small rolls, depending on leaf size.
Maybe a person’s time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food.
FRANK A. CLARK
HISTORICALLY, SUSHI EVOLVED as a utilitarian food as far back as 300 BCE when fermented rice was wrapped around fish as a form of food preservation. Today, sushi reminds us of the contradictions of our modern world. Inherently, sushi isn’t just food — it’s art. Layers of nori, a super-nutritious, dried seaweed, plus fish, rice and vegetables make an amazing visual display when creatively rolled. Sadly, some of these works of edible wonder are grabbed in the takeout line as fast food, eaten alone. Instead, join us in the sushi art renaissance and bring back reasons to “play” with your food while layering your vegetables. Make an edible kaleidoscope and linger to share and eat the results. This veggie sushi travels well, though it’s best eaten within the first five hours since the rice may dry out and harden.
2c. cooked sushi rice, cooled
½c. carrots, julienned (⅛-inch-thick matchsticks)
½c. sugar snap sweet peas
½c. lettuce, shredded
½c. spinach, shredded
4sheets nori
¼c. soy sauce (for dipping)
Cook rice and cool.
Place nori on a flat surface. Arrange approximately ½ c. rice and ½ c. vegetables on long edge of nori. Use carrots, sugar snap peas, lettuce, spinach or any combination you’d like.
Gently roll nori, starting with the rice/veggie side.
Using a serrated knife, slice nori into 1-inch pieces. Slicing on a diagonal makes attractive pieces.
YIELD: 6 servings as appetizer.
Because many market growers or backyard gardeners like heirloom varieties of sugar snap peas, to prevent the string of the sugar snap from getting stuck in your teeth, make sure to snap the plant-connected end off and yank up the string that runs up the seam.
Vegetarian sushi with fresh veggies, served as an appetizer at Inn Serendipity.
THESE PIRAGES (pier-rogz) come from Lisa’s Baltic roots. It’s a traditional bread roll made on birthdays and holidays that tastes best warmed up in the oven. The bacon filling is rolled inside the bread dough. Sometimes during the baking process, the seal cracks and a little bacon pops out; in the Latvian tradition, these special pirages are “smiling” at you. Think of that next time the jelly drips out of the PB&J or soup drips down your chin: the mess is actually because of its joyful ingredients.
2lbs. bacon (thick-cut), diced very fine
1c. onions, chopped (1 large onion)
¼t. nutmeg
½t. salt
¼t. pepper
2t. sugar
4½ t. dry active yeast (two .25 oz. packages)
½ c. warm water
7c. or more flour
2c. whole milk
¼c. butter
2t. salt
¼c. sugar
½c. vegetable oil
3eggs, lightly beaten, divided
½c. sour cream
½t. sugar
½c. water
For filling, sauté onion and bacon together on medium heat until cooked through. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, mix sugar and yeast with warm water. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes. Yeast should bubble up to double the size.
Meanwhile, scald milk, (heat until small bubbles form but do not boil), and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add butter to milk and stir to let butter melt. Add salt, sugar and oil and stir.
Separately, mix two eggs with sour cream. When milk is cooled to lukewarm, add egg mixture.
Add yeast mixture and two cups of flour. Beat thoroughly with wooden spoon or electric mixer. Add another cup of flour and continue beating.
Remove beaters and continue kneading by hand or with a dough hook. Add almost all of the rest of the flour. The dough will be quite stiff but still sticky. Beat with dough hook or knead by hand until dough is shiny and doesn’t stick to your hands, about 6 to 8 minutes.
When the dough is ready, slap the dough down on the counter a few times.
Place ball in a lightly oiled bowl. Sprinkle some flour on the dough and cover with a clean towel. Place in a warm spot to rise, about 1½ hours, or until doubled.
Punch dough down and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long strand about 20 inches long. With a knife, cut each strand piece into even pieces about 1 inch long.
With your hands, roll and flatten each piece into a patty. Place 1 t. of filling in the middle. Fold edges up and pinch seems together. Place rolls on a lightly oiled cookie sheet with the pinched seams under. Bend rolls slightly into a crescent shape, cover with towel and let rise again until doubled, about 25 minutes.
Before putting into the oven, brush tops with lightly beaten remaining egg and stab with fork to release steam. Bake at 400° for about 12 to 15 minutes until golden light brown. Brush with sugar water (½ t. sugar mixed with ½ c. hot water). Cool on rack.
YIELD: 7 dozen appetizers.
Lisa’s last name, “Kivirist,” is rooted in stone imagery. Translated from Estonian, it means a stone marker like you’d see on a wild trail.
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Organic Eating on a Dime |
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Our notion of “savoring the good life” comes with a price tag, but not in the conventional sense. Eating seasonal, organic, local and farmsteadtarian doesn’t have to mean emptying your bank account. For health reasons alone, organic food is a steal of a deal when you weigh the costs of medical treatment or care later in life. Why gamble with your health by eating foods containing chemical residues that have been found to be possibly dangerous to your health? The US is the only place on the planet where we spend less on food than on medical costs.
When it comes to eating, we all have different living situations, tastes and preferences. Our choices are varied and personal. Empowering folks with tangible tools to eat better and more frugally impacts our food systems, our health and the environment. Here are few strategies we’ve used with great success.
Eat lower on the food chain more often
By eating lower on the food chain, we end up focusing on foods higher in nutrients and lower in inputs and costs. By incorporating more things like beans, tofu and whole grains, we increase nutritional value at a much lower cost than meat proteins, both to the environment and our bank account. Growing fruits and vegetables requires a lot less land, water and fossil fuels. For a single calorie of beef, 25 calories of fossil fuels are needed. For 1 calorie of a fruit or vegetable, it’s often only 2 calories or less of fuel required. We applaud those who have opted for meatless Mondays. We eat a meat dish about once or twice a month on average.
Eat high on quality and use less
Just a bit of high-quality flavor goes a long way. An organic, locally grown option may cost more in comparison to its industrially produced cousin across the aisle, but you don’t need to use as much of it in volume. We brew Fair Trade Sumatra coffee from Equal Exchange for our morning perk-up. Because our brew is so flavorful, we can get away using less of it every time we make it.
Ingredients should be about quality and taste, not convenience. Save money, time and fossil fuel — not to mention upping nutritional value — by dining chez you. Keeping an organized, stocked pantry goes a long way to creating a more self-reliant household. So take our Farmstead Pantry Checklist (see page 224) to the store for nearly every pantry staple you’ll need for any recipe found in this book. Your home is the most convenient convenience store.
Buy in bulk
Purchase the basics that you use regularly in bulk from a local food-buying club or food cooperative. At bulk prices, organic items like flour and sugar are often competitive in price to the non-organic kind. Most families of two to four people can stock up with 50-pound bags twice a year to meet their cooking needs. Flour, sugar, rice or other grains and beans should be stored well-sealed in heavy-duty food grade plastic bins.
Eat up
The corollary to “buy in bulk”: make sure you use it. Every winter we “eat through” our pantry, finishing off grains, rice, canned food and other oddities we accumulated over the year rather than letting it rot or go past its expiration date. We also make sure we savor the garden produce stored from the past summer. Frozen zucchini is not red wine, friends. It doesn’t get better with time. This annual process saves us more than a $1,000 a year. According to some studies, the average American household wastes approximately 15 percent of food purchased annually, or 474 pounds, costing them about $590.
Substitute ingredients if you can
Think out of your recipe box and experiment with substitutions using items you already have on hand or that are in your pantry. No buttermilk? Use 1 c. of any kind of milk, remove 1 T. milk and add 1 T. vinegar or lemon juice. Let it stand 5 minutes until it curdles. Many of our recipes provide choices for vegetables or fruits to be added as well as options for fresh or dried spices.
Prioritize your purchases
When working with limited fresh food budgets, focus on buying organic what the Environmental Working Group dubs the “dirty fifteen” — those fruits or vegetables with the highest pesticide absorption: peaches, blueberries, spinach, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, grapes (imported), carrots, pears and potatoes. Since the list sometimes changes, you can download a tip card at foodnews.org/walletguide.php or learn more at beyondpesticides.org. That said, most of us can afford to eat nearly all of our food grown organically. It’s a matter of revisiting our priorities, with our health at the top. You may have to come to terms with the reality that keeping the chemicals, GMOs and preservatives out of our food may trump one or two restaurant meals a month or a daily coffee shop fix.
GRANTED, SUMMER HEAT plus 400° of bubbling oil don’t create a comfortable environment for kitchen projects. Don’t punt, just pull out the patio chair and take the fryer outside (we often use a turkey fryer set-up). We’re not talking about frying Twinkies, but many summer vegetables make great candidates for tempura, like broccoli, summer squash and our favorite, beets. John is our resident summer fry-daddy; he makes mega batches of tempura on a picnic table set-up next to the greenhouse, pulling electric line out via an extension cord. He’ll still “complain” about the heat, but he’s really just angling for Lisa to bring him out a frozen mochaccino (page 207). An easy price to pay for heaps of these crunchy, lightly battered jewels.
1egg
⅔c. water
½c. flour
½c. cornstarch
1t. baking soda
1t. baking powder
1t. sugar
½t. salt
1c. summer squash, cut into ½-inch slices
1c. onions, quartered and layers separated
1c. beets, cut into ½-inch slices
1c. broccoli, cut into 2-inch florets
4c. canola oil for frying (or more, depending on size of fryer)
Beat egg and blend in water.
Mix flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt. Lightly stir into egg mixture. Batter will be lumpy.
Dip vegetables into batter and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels placed on top of newspaper.
Serve immediately with a sprinkle of seasoning salt and honey mustard or ranch dressing (see recipe page 229) dip sauces.
YIELD: 8 servings as appetizer.
John Ivanko with Indiana food writer Marshall King preparing tempura for an Inn Serendipity potluck.
WHEN YOU HAVE CUCUMBERS coming out of your ears, what should you do? Dressed up a wee bit, cucumbers can look spectacular on a plate. Try this recipe featuring a medley of flavors that tease your palate with sweet, sour and salty tastes, depending on what hits what part of your tongue. Adapted from Country Living: The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen by Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson, this recipe provides a stunning, but simple, way to share cucumbers.
2cucumbers
½c. rice vinegar
2T. honey
½c. sour cream
¼c. mayonnaise
½c. feta cheese, crumbled (½ lb.)
½c. chives, chopped
1T. fresh dill (1 t. dried) about 24 fresh basil leaves (optional)
Cut ends off cucumber and cut into ½-inch slices. Scoop out and remove a little pulp from the center of each slice to make a “cup” (be careful not to dig through to the other side).
Mix together the rice vinegar and honey. Place cucumbers in a bowl and drizzle with vinegar dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, feta cheese, chives and dill.
Shake marinade off cucumbers and fill each with about 1 hearty teaspoon of the filling. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf on top.
YIELD: 6 servings as an appetizer.
ASIAN EGG ROLLS ARE OUR FAVORITE way to clear out the freezer in the early spring, using up random veggies before the fresh spring harvest starts. A way to cross-pollinate global cuisine with American garden fare, egg rolls exemplify how we farmstead chefs blend cultural influences and make them our own. There’s a built-in community component to egg roll making, like sushi rolling, since we’ve learned that they taste best fresh and crisp out of the fryer. We like to make these when Liam’s buddies sleep over. Making egg rolls feels like a party, and kids eat multiple servings of vegetables.
6c. vegetables, sliced (try pea pods, broccoli, carrots or zucchini)
½jicama, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes
½c. water
2T. cornstarch
1t. soy sauce
4t. oyster or fish sauce
1package egg roll wrappers (15 wraps, 8-inch squares)
Stir-fry vegetables until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Add jicama at end to preserve its crunch. Remove cooked vegetables from pan but keep pan hot.
Combine water, cornstarch, soy sauce and oyster or fish sauce. Pour into pan and stir over medium heat until thick (will look like a gravy).
Add cooked vegetables and coat with sauce. Remove from heat and let cool before rolling egg rolls.
To wrap, place the egg roll wrapper out in front of you. Place approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of the cooked filling in the middle of the wrapper. Using your finger, spread a little water along the edge of each side of the wrapper. Flip the side in front of you up first, followed by the side on the left and then right. Roll up and seal by running a wet finger along the edge.
To fry, slide each egg roll into the oil one at a time. Deep-fry until golden brown, usually about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
YIELD: 24 egg rolls.