Commie Plants

Yes, I had to work today. Plants are very unpatriotic and don't seem to care if it's a holiday or not. They are going to grow regardless. Perhaps it's all the That 70's Show I've been watching since I move out here (just watched all of seasons 5 and 6), but I have been referring to the plants as Commies today. (These are the things that happen in the valley, ok?).

Lunch Menu: veggie and ham soup, buttermilk biscuits and salad of mixed greens, spinach and watercress tossed with julienne beet and Spanish black radish and curry vinaigrette

Since it is Memorial Day, so I hear, I decided it was necessary to grill out for dinner.

Dinner Menu: Burgers topped with ramp cheddar, grilled balsamic onions, spinach with homemade (grilled) focaccia buns, sweet potato and parsnip fries, raw beet salad and for dessert strawberry shortcake!

You might be thinking, 'Sweet potatoes? parsnips? beets? strawberries? hey! none of those are in season right now!' Well, not to fear. I assure you they are all grown right here in Harmony Valley. Luckily, root veggies store amazingly well, when stored properly of course. And the strawberries were frozen from last years harvest. I just couldn't wait any longer for strawberry short cake! A friend of the farm happens to be a cheese maker and makes a yogurt-esque cheese (think loose chevre) from sheep's milk called Labneh. We always have some in the fridge so I sweetened it with some honey and thinned it out with cream, topped a left over buttermilk biscuit with the sweetened cheese and macerated strawberries. Summer at it's best.

Since my last raw beet salad went over so well with my family, I tried a new variation.

1 lg beet, matchsticked
1 orange; zested, segmented and juice reserved
mint, chiffonade
shaved coconut

Alright....Here is your culinary sermon/lesson for the week.

1. Buy a Japanese mandolin.

I don't know about all these attachment blades or guard. I only use the flat blade and usually without the guard. However, the guard would probably be nice. You can shave of a good portion of your hand before you know it with one of these things! ...see previous post 'First Blood'.

They are not very expensive and are a very handy kitchen tool. I used a mando to slice the beets super thin and then cut them into matchsticks with a knife.

2. Orange supremes or segments. Very easy to do and it removes all of the pitch which can be sour and the membrane which can have an unpleasant texture. Rather than trying to explain the prosses myself, here is a link that explains it much better than I could.

3. Chiffonade. A french term that means thin like rags or made of rags. In the culinary world, it means to cut something into thin strips. Again, here is a 'how to' link. My tip: make sure your knife is sharp! If it is dull, you will jsut bruise the leaves and discolor them. The chiff in these pictures are fairly wide, I make mine as thin as I can.

4. Use shaved, unsweetened coconut. I grew up on that sweetened coconut flake too...but the more I used the shaved coconut, the more I prefer it. It's not hard to find. Look in the bulk area or with dried fruit.

I'm not sure I would buy Red Mill brand...maybe if I had to. But you can at least see what I'm talking about.

Ok. I'll get off my soap box...for now.

Back to the salad. I mixed the orange zest and juice with the beets, but held the segments and mint and coconut separately. Beets bleed into everything. I don't mix everything together until just before I'm going to serve it. I really liked this salad. So fresh and light. I thought about adding some toasted pecans or walnuts, but I didn't have any. But I bet they'd be good with it too!

After dinner I was determined to do something Memorial Day-ish. I drove into town and bought some plants and a 22 oz. When I got back I remembered I don't have a hand spade nor could I find my bottle opener. I tried several ways to open my beer; a key chain, a lighter, my porch railing...all failed attempts resulting in 3 gouges in my fingers. I finally opened my Lagunitas WTF (Wilco Tango Foxtrot) Ale on the switch plate cover and put on my gloves and started digging. With just my hands. Until I dug up a small rock and used that to dig through the rich, thick, clay soil that is here in the valley. I tried to recruit Jack to help me dig, but I think he knew he'd be in big trouble if he came in for the night with dirty paws. At the end of it, my finger nails are dirty and my fresh cuts are packed with dirt (natures bandaid, right?), but my condo now has reorganized (pre-existing, unidentified) flowers, 2 new sungold cherry tomato plants, 4 scarlet runner bean plants and a beautiful fuchsia dahlia!!

If you are wondering, yes, I am still nursing my room temp beer and have been for 2 hours now. Even though a quarter of it foamed out when I was kamikazed by some sort of huge bug or rodent with wings and forced to defend myself by flailing about. Laugh all you want, but that thing realized I was crazier than it and left me alone!

Also...the last week's newsletter is posted to the website. My contribution to the May 28 newsletter is (most of) the veg feature and the recipes.

Hope you all had a fab Memorial Day!

Behind Restaurant Lines

Today is my first day off since....before easter really. After working about 60 hours a week for the past few weeks, I was quite happy to stay in bed until noon and not have a single obligation for the rest of the day.

The restaurant has been busy since I started 3 weekends ago. My first weekend was UW graduation, so we did 2-3 times the covers as usual. Last weekend and this weekend seemed to be more the norm, serving about 250 people in three days. Last night's service got pretty crazy for a little bit. Moods were....elevated. But at the end of the night, guests were happy (I assume) and after the floors were scrubbed, we all toasted a happy drink to (one of) our sous chefs last day.

Right now, I am working garde manger station, which is a catch all station for salads, cold apps, or other random mid-course dishes that need a place to be made. This weekend I had:
a tossed salad (mixed greens, french breakfast radish, SerVecchio cheese, sungold cherry tomatoes, toasted hazelnuts and dijon vinaigrette)

Bottarga salad (celery, parsley leaves, red onion, sorrel, bulgur, lemon zest and juice with bottarga over top)

Grilled Octopus salad (grilled marinaded octo leg with heirloom cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, pickled red onion, kalamata olives, red radish and dill cream dressing)



Carpaccio (beef tenderloin wrapped in herbs and baaaarely seared, sliced thin and served with a salad of pea shoots, watercress, pickled mushrooms, crispy shallots, brioche croutons and dunbarton blue cheese)

Snails&Tails (ramp bulbs, green garlic, morels, asparagus, snails and crawfish tails sauted in a butter-wine-cream sauce served on a toasted slice of croissant and arugula puree)

I tried snail for the first time this weekend and it wasn't as bad at all. Granted, anything covered with butter-wine-cream sauce and served with morels is bound to be amazing, but the texture was actually quite nice. Sort of like a mussel. It was one of those things, I would never had ordered, but would gladly eat the whole bowl of someone who had!

Here are some more pics from the restaurant...

The Line
Fish station in the front, meat in the center and on the far end, pastry.

Front of the line
expo and dish

My hot mess of a station
unfortunately, there is no better way to do this with the space provided.


(part of) the produce cooler
Ha! It's crazy in here. It's like one of those mind trap puzzles, that you have to move 6 other piece just to get to the piece you want to move. There is one other walk in and a freezer that look pretty much like this too.


Found this on the bulletin board in the kitchen, when I asked chef why my resume was posted, he said they all voted to determine whether I was qualified...I'm hoping he was kidding. Then I noticed that my article about nettles was also posted, to which chef wrote 'i wrote this! OMG!'. Thank you chef.

Late Night Rain

It's raining here in the valley.
It's so beautiful.
A soft, but steady down pour.
I don't even know how to describe it.
So, I'm just going to go sit on my porch, in the dark, and listen.

Good night, y'all.

Day Tripper

Today was my first 'day off' in a couple weeks, however, I'm not really sure I count it as a day off. Sure I didn't clock in, nor did I even touch my knives, but I did spend it with coworkers and around food. Today, some of us lucky and overly ambitious folks from L'Etoile and Graze toured a few really great facilities in the area.

Our sweet ride. kickin' it old school.

We started at Just Coffee, a coffee roaster here in Madison...just a few blocks from our restaurant! I have toured a coffee roasting company before but it was great to see someone doing it on a smaller scale and with much better product, and dare I say a little more passion for what they are doing! Just Coffee sees beyond the cup of coffee you hold in your sleepy hands in the morning. They work with coffee farmers directly in several countries, paying fair prices and enabling the farmers to advance their business. They roast lighter than most conventional roasters in order to bring out the nuances in each bean variety. They also develop special blends for area businesses (including L'Etoile!) that are only available through that specific business. They are committed to sustainability and just to prove how much so, they get a lot of their products to Madcity shops via bike delivery!!

Delivery bike

After being loaded with coffee and doughnuts, we piled back into our yellow limousine and headed north to Milwaukee. There we visited Sweet Water Organics and Lakefront Brewery.


Sweet Water is a sustainable aquaponics system that combines the ideas of hydroponic plant growing and aquaculture, which is fish farming. The co-founder, and our, self proclaimed obsessive compulsive, tour guide described it as a 'fish farm, plant farm, science lab, research lab and a community scale industrial production' firm. Basically, think beta fish and plant system. Byproduct from the fish (amonia) feeds the plants (they convert it to nitrate) and by doing so, the plants purify the water for the fish. They farm perch and talapia and grow lettuces, herbs, chard and other leafy greens. They have seven 10-12,000 gallon tanks that hold 5-7,000 fish! We were told more specifically about the workings of the farm by a kid, probably 18 or 19, who got involved somehow and has really discovered it to be a passion! He has only been on the team for less than a year, but you would think he started the whole company! He knew about how everything worked and told us about sustainable honey farming, efficient aquaponic greenhousing and has already restructured the composting system that was in place there.

Checking out the root system on the Swiss chard.
The white pipes bring the water from fish tanks to the plants.

It was a truly amazing facility, located in an old warehouse home to other warehouse farmers who raise bees, mushrooms, restore old bikes and soon to be, rooftop chickens!

Sustainable beekeeping.

After a quick pizza party picnic we loaded the bus and headed to our last stop.

Lakefront Brewery was also located in an old (coal) warehouse right on the river. There we got a crash course on the brewery founders history (two brothers, who were constantly trying to out brew each other at home) and the brew process. Our tour guide was a full time math teacher and works part time at the brewery saying, "I teach therefore I drink!". She was energetic and engaging, just the kind of tour guide you always hope to get! I have never had brewing explained so colorfuly and in a way I could actually remember! After our glasses had been filled three times and we all joined in signing the theme song to Lavern and Shirley and one member of our group was made to hula hoop as punishment for spilling his beer, we were sent back on the bus for a very long trip back home.

Patio behind the brewery. Complete with beer pulls and a dock for boats!

We had to stop three times, (2 bathroom breaks and once to shut the emergency exit on the roof after someone failed to close it properly and thus setting off the fire alarm), got caught it post Brewer's game traffic and construction. Needless to say, it was a very long, noisy ride home, putting us back at our rendez-vous three hours after our projected time. I was a little annoyed that my plans for the evening were more or less ruined, but I was grateful for the opportunity to visit the amazing companies we got to see and also to spend sometime with my new coworkers off the clock.

Afterward, it was time to come back to the valley...

So there I was, quite literally driving off into the sunset after a long day of school bus riding, touring and tasting. I found it a little difficult to be ornery about the 3 hour setback while I was driving into one of the most beautiful skies I have ever seen. Ahead of me, the sun was low and bright casting golds and oranges into the horizon. Above me, the clouds were large, puffy and every tone of blue. Behind me, the sky was dark and threatening, flashing with lightening every few minutes. Looking between my review mirror and the road ahead, I was reminded, of course, of the scene in Beauty and the Beast when Philippe (Belle's horse) looks down one path that is bright and green and birds are chirping and then down a second path that is dark, foggy and looming. It seems odd that two opposite conditions can exist so close together. Unlike poor Philippe, who reluctantly had to travel the dark and dangerous path, I got to go forth into the color and beauty. As I drove back to the valley, the skies turned from blue to pink and violet highlighted with lavender clouds, and from orange and gold to slate clouds silhouetted against salmon and mauve. As I descended into a valley, thick fog hid the hill tops and masked the turns and curves of the road ahead. When I came back up to the top of the ridge, the sun had set completely and the stars were already out, shining bright. Officially out of cell phone reception, the last few miles were taken slowly and cautiously. Just when I thought the drive couldn't get any better, the local radio station played 'She's a Super Freak". Driving/dancing along, I managed to avoid a fox, 2 deer and a baby fawn still sporting his spots all running across and along the road. I arrived safely back at 3442 Wire Hollow and to my wooden condo once again.

...all in a days 'day off' out here in the valley.

**I have included hyperlinks to all three of the companies we visited today so that, if your little hearts desire, you can look them up and get more info! I would recommend it! They are worth a look!**

Mali-Rhu Barbi

Good news people! It's rhubarb season! Rhubarb is one of my favorite flavors and all winter I look forward to early spring for rhubarb! (and asparagus...and green grass...and well, just green things in general)

Some of my favorite things to make with rhubarb are; jam, Rhuberry crisp (with strawberries) and braised with honey and served with creme fraiche or vanilla yogurt. This season I will be trying out some savory applications and making a simple syrup to use in cocktails and drinks! It also is great for freezing! Just cut it up, portion in zip-locks and store away for when you need a spring fix in the dead of winter!

What will you be doing with your rhubarb this season!?!?? I am always looking for new ideas!

I had a request from a blog reader for the rhubarb muffin recipe I mentioned in a previous post. But before I post it, remember, recipes should be guidelines. If you don't like coconut, leave it out. If you don't have pecans, use walnuts, or almonds. Cooking should be fun, and what is more fun than breaking the rules laid out in black and white? (or shall I say black and green).

1.25 c Whole wheat pastry flour*
1/2 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Salt
1/2 c Brown Sugar
1/4 c Veg oil
1/2 c Buttermilk
1 Egg
1/2 t Vanilla Extract
1 c Rhubarb, chopped
1/4 c Nuts, chopped
1/4 c Chocolate Chips
1/4 c Unsweetened coconut flake

Topping:
1/4 c Oats
2 T Brown Sugar
1 t Orange Zest
1 T Coconut oil (or butter)

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add a dash of cinnamon, if you'd like (I did!).
Combine sugar, oil, milk, egg and vanilla. Mix well.
Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix until thoroughly combine.
Fold in Rhubarb, nuts, chips and coconut.

Scoop into lined muffin pans or pour into a loaf pan.
Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes for muffins and 45-60 for loaf.
Yield 10-12 muffins or 1 loaf

*pastry flour is half bread flour and half cake flour. It is the ideal amount of gluten for pastries. But all purpose will definitely work as well. I would urge you to buy whole wheat products. Whole wheat is just so much better for you. There are a lot of products now that are offered in whole wheat options!

When I made these, we were low on oil. So, I used some pear butter that was in the fridge, but you could use anything that would add moisture to the batter, such as apple sauce or melted butter. There is a lot of controversy over coconut oil because it is high in saturated fat, but there are also a lot of health benefits. It has been said to aid in weight loss because it is easy to digest. It's also good for your hair and skin! My response to this bickering: all things in moderation! I really like the way the coconut oil worked in this crisp topping. Plus, it has an undeniable enticing aroma that is sure to impress guests as it is baking away in the oven! I know it's not an ingredient that most of us keep in our pantries, but I will be adding this to mine! You defiantly want to buy raw (unrefined) and organic.


Also, check out the newest newsletters from the farm! May 14 features my vegetable feature and recipes on Nettles and an article about the visit with Odessa Piper! May 21 features my bio!!

You Don't Know Jack?

Meet Capt. Jack Sparrow,

the resident farm dog.

Jack is head of farm hospitality. His duties include greeting farm guests, greeting crew members each morning and providing comedic relief through out the day. He also keeps a watchful eye on the goats and chickens and makes daily trips to the fields to make sure things are just right. Jack takes his responsibilities very serious, but don't worry, this Jack is NOT all work and no play. He is keen on staying in shape and is always bringing you a stick or ball or toy for you to throw. Jack also consumes an organic diet of meat cereal and liver and receives many treats through out the day.Checkin' out the fields

Hammin' it up.

Today's menus

Lunch: curry pork, rice, maple roasted veggies (carrot, watermelon radish, black spanish radish) toassed with some sauteed ramps

Dinner: Falafel with pita bread, 'tzatziki' sauce (hold the cuke), couscous salad with all things orange (orange juice and zest, carrot ribbons, and sweet potato puree) and raisins (i wanted golden raisins, but only had red) and for dessert; shortbread cookies with sauteed pear, mashed dates and sweetened labneh cheese. Veggie count was low tonight. Only 4. But to make up for it, this was nearly a vegan meal! (except the cheese)

I also made some muffins with rhubarb, pecans, coconut flake and chocolate chips for crew snack tomorrow! I used coconut oil for the fat in the crisp topping and the whole kitchen smelled delicious!!!

Secrets Revealed

What a weekend! I hope you all can find it in your heart of hearts to forgive my internet absence.

I started working at L'Etoile this weekend, and in four days put in 40 hours (that's the biz!). My first few days consisted of snapping a lot of asparagus, portioning cheese, cleaning ramps, cutting 105 portions of bison carpaccio and picking through a huge bag of watercress. The highlights of my responsibilities were plating the amuse, cleaning octopus, and grilling asparagus! It was UW graduation and the restaurant did over 600 covers this weekend. 600 covers! with 4-6 people on the line!

Although, my jobs required little thought, I was just happy to be in the kitchen again. More importantly, I was happy to be in this kitchen in particular. In some respects, a kitchen is a kitchen is a kitchen. Your mom jokes run rampant, servers date kitchen boys, kitchen girls date kitchen boys, there is never enough space to prep, nor equipment, nor room in the walk-in. However here, the kitchen is fairly quiet during service. Everyone seems to enjoy and take pride in the work they do. Yes it's a job and it pays (most) our bills, but it's also what we love to do. As packed as the walk-ins are, everything is labeled, and stacked (somewhat) orderly. The product is bought from local farms and from the farm market. I can tell I am going to like working here and that I will learn a lot. I was told that this weekend I would be able to get on the line and do some actual cooking!

I also signed a lease and 'moved in' Saturday morning before heading to work. I only stay at my new apartment one night this week and didn't get much of a chance to settle in at all. But I am glad to have a space of my own in the city!

Sunday night I made my first valley drive in the dark! I avoided 2 deer, one raccoon and one dead squirrel (sorry, J) and would say I can officially navigate the hills and turns with out second guessing or consulting my map. I am starting to get a fairly good feel for driving around Madison as well. There are a lot of one ways downtown and many streets have 2 names depending on what side of what road you are on. It can get confusing at times, but I have been able to get from point a to point b.

Today, back in the valley, was back to lunch for the crew (hamburgers, potato salad, sunchoke salad and spinach salad) and dinner for the residents (white lasagna, more spinach salad and morel poppers). Tonight's veggie count: 10. Spinach, watercress, beauty heart radish, onion, ramp, parsnip, morel, nettle, sorrel, jalapeno.

Now, I don't usually tell people that they have to try my recipe, but...you have to try this white lasagna! I'll even tell you my secret ingredient. Yes, the coveted secret ingredient. If you don't understand the importance of this, allow me to share a rarely spoken of fact. When you ask for someones recipe and are lucky enough to get it, I guarantee they intentionally leave something out. Because that recipe is your creation! You might enjoy the flattery of someone inquiring for your recipe, but truth be told you don't want anyone to be able to make it as well as you. Well, I will tell you the secret to this white lasagna, just because I like you all that much.

I don't really know an exact recipe, because as with many things I try, I make them up as I go. And this one is an easy one to tweak and customize to what you have in your fridge. Here's the general idea:

Pork: the other white meat.
I used some left over pork meatballs I had from when I made stuffed cabbage, but you can use ground pork and season with S&P (always) and fennel seed.

Onions (sorry mom, they are good) and other white things.
I used ramp bulbs, red onion and parsnip. Any type of onion will do; leek, shallot, white onion...

Earth
This weekend, the farm owner harvested a bunch of morels! Yum. However, unless you have some woods to forage or feel like dropping a pretty penny for some of these tasty babies, you might sub another mushroom. There really isn't another mushroom like morels, but chantrelles, trumpet, oyster or mitakes would probably be close enough. Please don't bother with button mushrooms. ever.

Greens
Use any green veggies you have laying about in the fridge. I used spinach, ramp leaves, nettles and sorrel. I had hoped to include asparagus, but we didn't have any extra. :( Peas would also be a tasty addition.

Cheese
I used mozzarella and goat cheese.

Secret Ingredient
Are you ready for it???
Lemon. Slice a lemon as thin as you possibly can. 1/16th of an inch or smaller if you can. Before you cook your noodles, throw the slices in the boiling water for about a minute. Remove and reserve.

Method

1. Cook pork over med-high heat, breaking up any pieces until meat is cooked through. Remove from pan and reserve.

2. In the same pan, add 2T olive oil and sauté asparagus until crisp-tender with the mushrooms. Reserve with pork. Then caramelize onions/snips over med-low heat and add some minced garlic (maybe 1T). Add to your collection of pork and veggies. Lastly, wilt your leafy greens and, you guessed it, add to your bowl of goodies.

3. To make the sauce: In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt and allow butter to slightly brown (this is gives the butter a slightly nutty flavor). Stir in flour; cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat. Simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in Parmesan and goat cheese, S&P.

Layer cooked noodles, veggies and sauce. Add a layer of lemon slices every other layer of veggies. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until top is golden and bubbly.

Amounts guidelines
1 pound ground pork
1/4 c onion, diced
1-2 c asparagus, trimmed and/or peas and/or parsnip
1/2 - 1 c mushrooms
4 c loose leafy greens
6 T butter
1/2 c all-purpose flour
4 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces mild goat cheese

I'm pretty sure I unintentionally made this sound way more difficult than it is. It's actually really easy and really worth the 3 pans you will dirty to make it (saute pan, sauce pan, baking dish). The lemon and mushrooms contrast each other, making for a delicious bright, fresh, earthy dinner that I promise, will leave you satisfied.

The Knockaround Fairy

A fancy surprise showed up in my PO Box today!!!!!

Frosted Lavender Knockarounds!!!!
The valley ain't never seen anything like these!!! :)

Today's lunch: black beans and sweet potato over brown rice and baked pears stuffed with dates.

These pears are definitely something I will be making again! I simply halved them, took out the seeds and scooped some pureed dates in to the center. Laid them out in a hotel pan, and poured a simple syrup infused with clove, cinnamon and allspice over top. Covered them and baked until they were nice and soft. They were so tasty! I wish I had had a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some toasted pecans! nom!

Wednesday is my short day and also seems to be the day I run. Today I decided to go off roading! I nearly twisted my ankle, but managed to keep my nikes clean! I ran past the kale and chives, past the empty beds and strawberry patch, along the back field near the creek, up the ridiculously steep hill, back on the road and past the dairy farm with the three legged dog that insists on barking at me every time, around the curve and to the bridge before I turned around and headed back along the same course. It might sound like a long run, but I'd guess its between 2.25 and 2.5 miles. These hills are killer out here! This city girl is used to running on flat, smooth surfaces!

I noticed today, the valley is starting to green up. The trees are starting to leaf out and the tulips have opened!!

Field Tour

I've heard you're demands. Enough with the chatter, just post some pics from the farm!

Well, here are a few from the Field Tour on May 1.

Chives...

Overwintered spinach

Onions...

Peaking at the lettuces

We checked the lettuces again today and this warm weather has been good to them! They will be ready for harvest starting the end of this week! I also heard they will be picking some asparagus tomorrow! My favorite spring time veg!!! I can't wait!!

Today's menu:
Lunch- BBQ pork, mashed parsnips, sauteed ramps and spinach
Dinner- Citrus glazed pork chops, braised cabbage and apples, spinach/watercress salad with beauty heart radish and hickory nuts

procrstination continues...

My writing assignments were put off further yesterday by the arrival of a very special farm guest! As it turns out, the farm owner is long time friends with Odessa Piper. Odessa is a hugely important person in this area. She is a pioneer of the farm to table/sustainable movement. She's been doing it before it was trendy. But wait there's more! She founded and opened L'Etoile in '76!! Sound familiar? Yup, L'Etoile is the restaurant I will be working at in Madison! So, meeting her was an incredible opportunity!

After a tour of the farm, we of course, ended up in the kitchen. Never in my life would I have imagined cooking with Odessa Piper! We started with a cheese board (all wisconsin made, obviously) and hard cider. She brought some fresh trout and we used veggies from the farm to make en papillote (fish and veggies wrapped in parchment and baked), salad with overwintered spinach, pears, cheese and ramps. For dessert we had simple maple candied hickory nuts, which were incredibly addicting. Long after the meal was finished, we sat around the table sipping Selbach Riesling Incline and discussing the future of food and how in the world we got into the food crisis we find ourselves in these days. I just sat back and soaked in as much as I could. So much experience and passion sat at both ends of the table. It was such an honor to be able to be part of it. This was defiantly one of those meals I will never forget for much more reason than just the food.

before....

...after!

Today was back to the regular. Lunch prep. Lunch clean up. Parsley drying. Dinner prep. Dinner. Dinner clean up.
I tested 3 nettle recipes for the newsletter at dinner. I made a ramp and nettle pizza, nettle and sorrel cream soup and nettle gnocchi. I was literally sweating because as I was preparing them, I was certain they were all going to turn out awful.
You see, gnocchi and I are currently having a battle. I made them once, and they turned out great! I made them a second time and they turned out...not so great. I made them a third time, and it was a success! Confidently, I made them a forth time, this time making different flavors! Sweet potato, parsnip, beet, herb, carrot.... But when I cooked them, they turned into gruel for Jail Bird Barbi. So, with an even score, I attempted them again today. I'm happy to report gnocchi:2, me:3! They turned out so perfect and crispy! But to be fair, I used Jamie's recipe as a base. I should have known to listen to Jamie all along. I served them with baked trout and just a little chive cream sauce. I was surprised (and relieved) that it and the other dishes turned out pretty darn well!

The thing to learn from this is: you don't want to be the next person I make gnocchi for. The odds don't look good.

Sunday Drive

so.... I am supposed to be working on my article for this weeks newsletter. But I have to write about nettles. And until last week, I didn't know that nettles existed. So, the obvious choice is to continue to put it off. Here is a link to the farm's newsletter archive. My first published work is under 'May 7'. I wrote the 'What's in the Box' and Ramp Feature.

It is a gorgeous day in the valley so, I have relocated to my out door office.

This morning I got up early and drove to LaCrosse on what turned into a Loch Ness Monster chase. No, not a wild goose chase. A Loch Ness Moster chase. Or perhaps a BigFoot chase. Or, wild unicorn chase. Whatever mythical creature you prefer to reference, they have one thing in common with the church I was looking for in LaCrosse. That is, they don't exist. There seem to be some relative theories about their existence, but when they are searched out, the searcher comes up empty handed.

I found the very real website of a church I was interested in visiting. I Google mapped the address. I followed the directions to the place where 130 5th avenue should have been. However, it was not there. I stood on the corner of King and 5th, looking between 203 and 126. The only thing between the two addresses was a wide street. Ten minutes before service was supposed to begin at this fabled church, I saw no evidence of church goers or people in general. I continued to circle the block until 9:03 when I gave up the search and set out on a new mission. A mission I like to call: Operation French Toast.

I walked around the only area of town where there seemed to be signs of life for a good 10 minutes before concluding people in LaCrosse must not believe in breakfast. I was on my way back to my car, feeling just more than slightly annoyed, when I passed a window with people on the other side of it! Sitting at tables! with coffee! I found the door, which at first glance looks like it belongs to an abandoned shop. I went in and was greeted by a girl with dreads. Still not sure of the place, I glanced around and spotted a girl sitting at a cafe table, with her macbook pro open and munching a salad. Confirmed. This place is legit. After further wandering around the shop I discovered words like, 'organic', 'local' and 'live music'. I ordered and sat for a while, thinking this is shop is the only redeeming quality of the entire city.

All in all, I guess the trip wasn't a complete bust.

Now I am here. On my porch. My computer perched on wooden crates and a keyboard on my lap. Putting off my newsletter writing assignment. Just goes to prove, you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the procrastination out of the girl.

Stahje

According to the ever accurate Wikipedia, Staging is when a cook or chef works briefly, for free, in another chef's kitchen to learn and be exposed to new techniques. A stage normally is used to see how a new chef or cook can adapt to the current environment in the kitchen.

Basically it gives us lowly cooks an opportunity to work in a kitchen, under a great chef for the exchange of the experience. They get free labor, we get to say we worked for _____. Plus, it is a challenge for us to adapt to the new environment, new procedures and just finding equipment. At the risk of falling into the same-old, same-old, it gives us an opportunity to keep our minds sharp. Test our skills.

Typically you end up doing prep work. Chopping herbs, picking lettuce, portioning meatballs. But, staging isn't about making show pieces. It's about the experience. It's about networking. It's about opening doors.

Today did my first culinary stage. The farm hooked me up with the chef of the best restaurant in Madison. I met with him yesterday and we arranged for me to 'hang out' today. My stage was more of a working interview than it was your usual one day stint. I went in at 1 and spent the evening in garde manger (salad/cold app station) doing the usual; picking herbs, chopping herbs, roasting nuts, being a go-for and doing some plating during service.

Towards the end of the night chef pulled me off the station and said that I should come back next week and fill out some paper work!! sah-weet! I am very happy to have nailed down this particular job. L'Etoile has been a leader in farm to table since before it was trendy to do so. Chef Tory Miller is a James Beard nominee and has an incredible staff. This is the kind of place I could really learn some stuff!!!

http://www.letoile-restaurant.com/

Miracle on Wire Hollow

That's right. A miracle. Right here on Wire Hollow!

A hot shower.

As it turns out there was something wrong with the water heater! Luckily, Plumber Charlie was here just the other day and was able to fix it! I was quite relieved to have hot shower today.

And a second demi-miracle happened today. The internet behaved long enough for me to watch last week's episode of Gossip Girl!! Whew. I was almost behind on all the juicy drama!

I have been without internet for the past 24 hours. The wifi out here in my condo can be...unpredictable. Hence, no post yesterday.

So, to fill you in.

Last night I made dinner for two. Just the farm owner and myself. Cabbage stuffed with ground pork, quinoa, veggies and herbs, spicy tomato sauce and spinach salad with apples, almonds and citrus vinaigrette. Oh! and sauteed ramps, of course. Gotta get them while they are still here to get! The veggie count for last night was 10. Ten different veggies! Spinach, tomatoes, onion, celery root, parsnip, kale, sunchoke, ramps, yellow pepper and red cabbage.

ok, I might have gone a little over board for just two people.
Leftovers are always good!

If you think the weather in MI is unpredictable, just remember, it comes from Wisconsin first. Yesterday morning I woke up around 7, looked out my window and saw snow. Snow!!! Thoroughly confused, I figured I must have been dreaming and went back to sleep. Luckily, there was no accumulation. Then, this morning I was awoken by the sun beaming in the window, landing directly on my face. I peered out the window to see the ground covered with frost! I panicked for a moment, wondering if it would affect anything in the fields. No worries though. Temps got up to a comfy 61 by the afternoon and the attitude on the farm seemed 'business as usual'.

Today, after lunch, I went into town and was pleasantly surprised to have TWO actual letters in my post office box! Even though I am out here in the boonies, it makes me feel so 'city' to have a PO box. :)

I drove around Viroqua for a while. Just seeing what there was to see. Which isn't much. But, I have found at least 3 really cool shops that sell local and hand made crafts, clothes and art. One shop is full of farm inspired decor and vintage artifacts and advertisements. I even found some old coke ads!

Arriving back on the farm, I decided it was time to put the running shoes on again. I set out for a quick run just as the sun was beginning to fall behind the hills. I soaked up the last of it's golden rays for the day (...and probably week) as I ran along the road side fields full of sprouting plants and grazing cows.

It really is quite tranquil out here...

Adventures of Beef Cheeks and My Wooden Condo

My first solo dinner here on the farm. As with any meal, I know what I would do different for next time. However, there is hardly ever a next time. Once I make a meal once, I rarely want to make it again. Not because I didn't enjoy it the first time around, but because I want to try something different!

Tonight, I made braised beef cheek (I will be making these again, and again and again...in some form or another) with ramp spiked barley and sweet potato and parsnip pangrattato. At the farm market we traded with another vendor and ended up with a Lion's Mane mushroom, so I sauteed that up as well. I had some extra time while the cheeks were braising away, so I made a quick dish of something consisting of flour, oats, honey, figs and butter...baked and topped with a little fresh whipped cream. Dinner was served (family style) promptly at 630 to the farm owner, the farm coordinator, the full time chef and myself, all of us crazy people who live right here on Harmony Valley Farm!

Gucci Mane.
Just kidding.
This is a Lion's Mane mushroom

It felt really good to be cooking with no recipes. Unlike the bakeshop, where I come from, recipes are more of an reference rather than a regulation. If you have a general understanding of cooking techniques and flavor profiles, you are ready, set, go! The absence of a recipe gives you, at least me, a more 'life on the edge' approach to cooking. As I added the last of the liquid to the pan of veggies and beef cheeks, I watched it come to a boil and thought, 'Well, I hope to hell this turns out!' Then the question crossed my mind, 'what if it doesn't?' I quickly dismissed this thought with a 'it just better.' Perhaps, if I refuse to make a back up plan, I wont have a crutch to lean on.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. And yes, I did save it for the end of my post so that you would have to suffer through reading my sentimental thoughts on not using recipes. ;)

drum roll....

Pics of my accommodations! or as I call it, my wooden condo. 'Cabin' just sounds way too rustic for me. I'm more of a condo girl.

Hey that's me! (and my condo)

Come'on in!

Not a far walk from the kitchen to the foyer.

Upstairs is the master suite.

with attached closet ....and office.

And, from the master suite, I can easily spy on any intruders!

Mad City

Major catching up to do.

Friday:

After spending 15 minutes looking for my phone and wondering how I could lose anything in such a small space, I headed into Madison. (I found it, by the way. Under some boxes, in the corner, behind the door. obviously the best place for it).

On the day's agenda...
-acquire a City of Madison street map. check.
-pick up a Toddy cold brew coffee system. check.
-sign up for a library card. check.
-get a fix at Bradbury's. check.
-eat some sushi with my one friend in all of Wisconsin. check!

Saturday: Dane County Farm Market

How does that saying go? 'Not so early to bed, very early to rise.'? Right? It may have been loosely modified as it was handed down from generation to generation.

The day started at 4:30am. I rushed down the empty streets and intersections to meet the truck by 5am. Set up finished up around 630am and I was sent to Bradbury's to deliver their order (15 pounds of spinach and ramps) and pick up our order (7 pints of coffee...6 with cream, 1 with cream and sugar). Market kicks off with the early birds between 630 and 7am and encompasses the entire capitol square. The highlight of the morning was meeting Tory Miller and Odessa Piper! They came to our stand separately and I was able to talk with both of them! As it turns out, I will be seeing them again within the next couple weeks! At the risk of looking a bit crazy, I (barely) refrained from jumping up and down as soon as they turned to walk away.

In addition to the market, Madison was hosting their annual Crazylegs 8k race...with the start line in front of the capitol. The race brought over 12,500 people to the square!

If that wasn't a big enough mob, there were also quite a few protesters circling the square. Most were your average picketers. Quietly walking down the sidewalks with posters and signs. On occasion, chanting. However, after the market some people seemed to think that there was a more effective way of getting the message across. I was sitting on the capitol lawn, chatting on the phone and flipping through a book when, all of a sudden, I heard the reeving of engines booming across the lawn. I stood up to see a line of BMW's, Harley's, Honda's, Yamaha's and everything in between (even a Vespa) approaching the square. As it seems to be a Madison tradition, the never ending stream of noisy bikers of all ages, makes and models circled the square a time or two before the cops showed up and had them pull over. The line of bikes reached from one corner of the square to the other. I'm still not sure what everyone is so upset about here.
With this, I decided I had had enough capitol excitement for the day and headed to Ben's (my previously mentioned, one friend in all of Wisconsin) for a much more chill evening of pizza, River Monsters and mustard tasting.

On the farm stand
Ramps! Black Radish, sunchokes, parsnips, nettles, sorrel, overwintered spinach and dried chilis


Dried Chilis


Also on the farm stand...

Some crazy protesters...

Look at all those bikes!