Black-eyed Peas, Collards, & Cornbread

Collards, cornbread, and peas with black eyes will make your New Year healthy, wealthy, and wise.  Or at least that's how the saying goes in the south this time of year.  I love celebrating food traditions and that was the traditional meal at my house growing up in Alabama.  Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s has been considered good luck for at least 1,500 years, beginning as a Jewish custom first appearing in written history around 500 AD where black-eyed peas were consumed in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Sephardic Jews, who migrated to Georgia in the 1730's, brought the tradition to the south and the tradition spread after the Civil War. The Northern Army destroyed or stole many of the crops of the south land, but considered the black-eyed peas to be suitable only for animal feed and left it alone.  This made the black-eyed pea a humble, but incredibly important source of nourishment for the surviving Confederates.  These days, the dish is consumed to bring luck and prosperity to the New Year with the collards symbolic of money, the peas as coins, and the cornbread said to represent gold.  I mostly just like to eat it because it wouldn't feel like New Year's day without it.

I let the dried black-eyed peas soak all day while I took down the Christmas decorations, reflected on this past year, and thought about my hopes for the new year ahead.  Once all the peas had plumped and I picked out the occasional bad ones that floated to the top, I gave them a final rinse and gathered the rest of my ingredients.  Here is what I will need to make this southern New Year's specialty:

Black-Eyed Peas:


3 cups black-eyed peas, soaked and rinsed
1 lg onion, chopped
2 small shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 smoked ham bone
6-8 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
2 cups cooked brown or white rice
2 cups cooked ham, chopped (optional)

Heat the oil in a dutch oven or stock pot.  Add the onion, shallots, and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions turn translucent.  Then add the black-eyed peas, bay leaf, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, water, and the ham bone to the pot.  I used the leftover ham bone from our Christmas ham.  I chopped the remaining ham off the bone and set it aside to add later, once the peas are cooked.    Let the peas simmer, uncovered, for about an hour or until the peas are soft.  Add the two cups of cooked rice and the chopped ham.  Simmer another minute or so then serve with the cornbread and the collards.



Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread:

1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup milk
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Heat the oven to 425 F and place a 12 inch cast iron skillet in the oven to get it hot.  Meanwhile, mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.  Next, whisk in the milk, buttermilk, eggs, and all but two tablespoons of the melted butter.  Once the oven is preheated, remove the skillet and reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.  Coat the skillet with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, then pour in the cornmeal batter.  Cook at 350 F for 20-25 minutes.  The edges should be golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center should come out clean.  Let the cornbread sit for 10 minutes or so before serving.

Collard Greens

10-12 collard greens
3 strips bacon
6-8 cups water
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes

Cook the three strips of bacon in the dutch oven or stock pot.  Remove the bacon and set aside for later.  Allow the bacon grease to cool a bit.  Add the water,pepper, red pepper flakes, and a generous portion of salt and bring to a rolling boil.  Cut the stems out of each of the greens and then cut each leaf into two or three pieces.  Add them to the boiling water and boil for 15-20 minutes or until the greens soften.  Ladle out the greens and a good portion of the stock into bowls, then crumble the bacon on top of each portion.  Be sure to have enough of the stock to crumble your cornbread into after you have eaten the greens.  This is called the pot liquor and is the best  part of the whole dish, if you ask me.

This meal is traditionally served just after midnight New Year's Eve or as the main meal on New Year's Day, but we went ahead and had ours for dinner on the Eve and will have the leftovers tomorrow.  This is one of those meals where the leftovers are even better than the original.  I wish everyone a very happy New Year filled with peace, love, joy, and plenty of good food!

Pasta Sauce and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

In August and September, when I am canning tomatoes with all the windows open and the fan on, struggling to keep cool in a cabin without air conditioning, I daydream about the winter days when I will pull a jar of tomatoes out of the pantry to make a warm winter dish.  Now those winter days are here and I'm using my jar of tomatoes to make a simple pasta sauce.  I don't always make the sauce the exact same way.  It depends on what ingredients I have on hand and whether or not I want to add meat.  Today I'm keeping it meatless so that I can make one of Brad's favorite meals:  ricotta stuffed shells.  Brad is a dedicated carnivore and rarely loves a meal that doesn't have meat, so I think the fact that he considers this one of his favorites speaks volumes about how delicious this dish is.  I was a vegetarian for several years when Brad and I first met and now I try to only eat meat sparingly, so I jump at the chance to make a meatless meal that both of us will like.  I begin by assembling my ingredients and turning on some music.  Here is what I will need:

Basic Pasta Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small shallots, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of chopped Crimini mushrooms
1 jar tomatoes (or 1 16 oz. can)
8 oz tomato paste
1 Parmesan or Romano rind (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, shallots, carrots, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and spices.  If I had fresh spices, I would most certainly use them, but this time of year I settle for dried.  Also, if you can't find crimini mushrooms, white button mushrooms will work fine.  I just like the slightly stronger flavor of the criminis, which are actually baby portabellas.  Cook for 7 or 8 minutes, stirring, until the onions begin to turn translucent.  Add the garlic and cook an additional minute, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and the Parmesan or Romano rind.  I happen to have a rind of Peccorino Romano, which is an Italian sheep's milk cheese that has a great salty, nutty flavor.  The rind is completely edible, but not exactly palatable on its own, so a good way to use it is to drop it into a soup or sauce such as this one.  It helps to thicken it and imparts a delicious flavor.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer 20- 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If I were pouring the sauce over pasta, I would leave it chunky, but since I am using it in my stuffed shells dish, I use an emulsion blender to puree it until it is smooth.

Next I will assemble the ingredients for the ricotta stuffed shells.  Here is what I will need:

Ricotta Stuffed Shells

24 jumbo pasta shells
16 oz. ricotta cheese
8 oz. fresh mozzarella
2-3 cups spinach
4-6 cups pasta sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 F.  Begin by boiling your pasta according to the package directions.  While pasta is boiling, set a steamer basket or strainer over the pot of boiling water and place the spinach in the basket.  Allow the spinach to steam until it wilts.  Remove from the basket, press into the strainer to squeeze out most of the excess water and chop the steamed spinach. When the pasta is done, drain and rinse it in cold water.  Set aside.
Pour your ricotta cheese in a medium bowl.  I love to use Maplebrook Ricotta from Bennington, VT.  It won  3rd place in the ricotta category from the American Cheese Society in 2012 and I can certainly see why.  It's delicious!  Add the chopped spinach, beaten egg, spices, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to the ricotta.  Next, spread a thin layer of your sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish.  Stuff each jumbo shell with a big spoonful of the ricotta mixture and place in rows in your dish.  Once all shells are stuffed and the dish is full, pour the remaining sauce over the top of the shells.  Then, take your fresh mozzarella and slice it into thin slices.  If you are using aged mozzarella, grate it instead.  I find that the fresh mozzarella turns a bit mushy when grated and is better when sliced.  The final step is to grate a little more of the Parmesan or Romano cheese over the top.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Aromatherapy Ornaments and Jambalaya

I love the way a certain scent can bring back a memory or take you back to a time long since past.  Cinnamon, cloves, citrus, balsam fir:  these are the scents that make me think of the holiday season.  They bring back memories of making Christmas cookies with my family, memories of decorating the tree together, and of meals together on Christmas Eve.  Our tree brings a great balsam fir smell to the house, and these aromatherapy ornaments I am making today will hopefully bring the other scents together.
Aside from the great smell, I also like the idea of making these ornaments because it reminds me of making Christmas ornaments with my mom.  I remember making lace snowflakes and bright red felt cardinals.  These homemade ornaments are always so much more meaningful than the store bought ones when you pull them out of the box each year to hang them.  The ornament recipe comes from Aura Cacia, a company that makes aromatherapy products.  I work  in the health & wellness department of a natural foods co-op and we sell Aura Cacia products, so they sent us these recipes to hand out during the holidays.  The recipes included some for holiday home fragrances and this recipe for aromatherapy ornaments.  With my Blue Yule album on, I gathered my supplies and got to work. 

Spicy Aromatherapy Tree Ornaments

1 cup ground cloves
1 cup cinnamon powder
2 cups applesauce
2 tsp craft glue (I used Elmers)
toothpick
ribbon
10 drops of clove bud essential oil
10 drops of cinnamon essential oil
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
cookie cutters

Combine clove and cinnamon powder.  Add the essential oils and the vanilla.  Mix well, then add applesauce and glue to form a dough.  If the dough is too wet, add more spices.  If too dry, add more applesauce.  Roll out the dough on a dry counter top until about 1/2 inch thick and use cookie cutters to cut out the desired shapes.  Use the toothpick to make a hole for the ribbon.  The recipe then says to bake in the oven at 125 F until dry, but the lowest my oven will go is 170 F.  It took them about 2 hours at 170 to get completely dry.  I think it took them an especially long time because I made them a bit too thick.  I was afraid if they were too thin they would be fragile, but in hind sight, I should have made them slightly thinner than these you see in the photo.  Once they are dry, take them out of the oven, cool them, and then attach the ribbons.  Hang them from the tree and let the comfort and joy of the season appeal to all of your senses!  Don't let the scent fool you, though.  These are absolutely not edible.  The recipe points out that the ornaments can be freshened up with a few drops of essential oil in a few weeks if needed. 
  

Now that the ornaments are done, I will move on to making one of my favorite meals for dinner.  Even though I didn't grow up in Louisiana, my dad loved cooking Cajun cuisine, so we ate lots of gumbo, low country boil, etouffee, grillades & grits, and jambalaya.  I didn't always love these meals as much as I do now, which I attribute to my wimpy palate for spicy foods as a kid.  I laugh as I picture my dad saying "I promise I didn't make it too spicy" as the sweat dripped down his face from the bite he just sampled.  The point was that it was supposed to be spicy.  Now I can't get enough of it!  I'm fascinated with Louisiana music, food, and culture and like to think that somewhere deep down, I have a little ragin' cajun in me.  Zydeco music was often playing as dad cooked his Cajun cuisine, so I'm switching my Blue Yule album for one called New Orleans Christmas, and assembling the ingredients for dad's Jambalaya (or at least the way I remember it, since he never writes his recipes down).   

 Jambalaya                                           

1 lb Andouille Sausage
1 16 oz. jar of tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
2 small shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, diced
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3 cups chicken broth
1 smoked ham hock (optional)
1 cup shrimp, peeled
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp Tabasco pepper sauce
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground allspice
salt & pepper
2 cups white rice

Andouille sausage used to be tough to find in VT, but I was thrilled to recently find some from Vermont Heritage Grazers.  If you absolutely can't find it in your area, you can use Kielbasa, but it won't be quite the same.  I was also able to find some local onions and shallots and it's nice to be able to use our home-canned tomatoes and home-grown garlic.  In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat the oil.  Slice your sausage on a bias into 1/2 inch pieces.  Add the sausage, onions, shallots, bell pepper, jalapeno and celery.  Cook 8 minutes over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.  Now the veggies should all be tender and the onions translucent.  Remove the sausage from the pan, cover it, and set it aside.
Add the chicken broth, smoked ham bone (if using), tomatoes, bay leaf, Tabasco, salt, pepper, thyme, and allspice to the pot.  Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.  You can either add the rice now to the pot, or you can cook the rice on the side in your rice cooker.  We always cooked the rice on the side and then spooned the finished Jambalaya over the steaming rice in bowls.  If you add the rice directly to the pot, cover it, and cook an additional 15 minutes.  Finally, add your sausage back to the pot, along with the raw shrimp.  It should only take a minute for the shrimp to cook.  If you cooked your rice separately, spoon it into each of your bowls.  Then spoon the Jambalaya over the rice.  Serve with crusty french bread and with additional Tabasco for those who like it extra spicy.  Enjoy!

Eggnog and Alegria

Thanksgiving is over, holiday decorations are going up all over town, radio stations are playing Christmas music, there is a nip in the air, and a light dusting of snow on the ground.  All signs indicate that the holiday season is upon us and I am loving every minute of it.  I enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the holidays so much that we begin celebrating Christmas as soon as our Thanksgiving feast is over.  On the day before Thanksgiving when we stop by our local forest ranger station to pick up a $5 permit to cut down a Christmas tree.  Then, after we have made ourselves uncomfortably full with turkey and dressing, we bundle up and wander through the Green Mountain National Forest and pick out the perfect Christmas tree.  

walking along a forest road in search of the perfect tree

The permit

This one!

Decorating the tree just isn't as fun without some eggnog.  My friend, Dani,  recently told me how easy and delicious it was to make your own eggnog at home, so I decided to give it a try.  We finally have plenty of eggs now that the chickens are all laying again, so I got out the milk, cream, vanilla and spices; cranked up the Christmas music; and got to work.  Dani warned me that after tasting this egg nog, I might never buy prepared eggnog again.  I think she might be right.  

Eggnog

4 cups milk

5 whole cloves

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

12 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups of rum (optional)

4 cups cream (or half and half for a slightly lighter version)

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Combine the milk, cloves, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and cinnamon in a sauce pan.  Heat over low for 5-8 minutes allowing it to come slowly to a very light boil being careful to not scorch the milk.  A double boiler helps, but isn't necessary.  In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and beat until fluffy.  Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the eggs.  Return this mixture to the pan or double boiler and heat gently for 3 minutes on the lowest heat setting, stirring constantly until it thickens.  Do not let it come to a boil.  Pour it into a jar and allow it to cool.  Refrigerate for at least an hour. Next, add the rum (if using), the cream, 2 tsp. of vanilla, and the nutmeg.  Strain out the whole cloves and refrigerate overnight before serving, if you can stand to wait that long.  It does taste a bit better after chilling overnight,  but I couldn't help but give it a taste right away. 

As if the eggnog wasn't decadent enough, I also decided to make some Alegria bars.  My friend, Kat, shared this recipe with me last week and I have been dying to try it.  I would go so far as to call this a healthy dessert since it uses heart-healthy amaranth and pistachios along with some cinnamon and maple syrup.  Amaranth is an ancient cereal grain (actually a pseudograin since it is a plant but is so similar to a grain) that was a staple in the diets of the Incas and the Aztecs.  It is packed with protein, essential amino acids like lysine which is uncommon in other grains, and it's gluten free.   Kat found the recipe in a book called The Splendid Grain by Rebecca Wood, but she made a few changes to that original recipe.  Wood points out in the book that alegria means "joy" in Spanish and that these bars are popular street vendor fare in Mexico and India.  Making them involves first popping the amaranth, which was a lot of fun and made the house smell so amazing.  I had no idea amaranth could even be popped and I decided that it makes a great snack all on its own.  

Alegria                                                      

1 cup of pure maple syrup

1/4 cup of pistachios

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups popped amaranth

Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan or line it with waxed paper.  Heat a large saucepan (not a frying pan or skillet) over high heat until drop of water sizzles in the bottom.  Add the amaranth a few teaspoons at a time.  If you try to pop too much at once, it won't pop and will burn (yep, I tried it, and it burned).  Stir the amaranth and within a few seconds it should begin to pop.   Continue stirring until almost all of the grains are popped.  Pour into a bowl and pop your next batch until you have 1 1/2 cups of popped amaranth.  

popped amaranth

Next, pour the maple syrup into a sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to a soft boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for 12 minutes, or until it measures 244 F on a candy thermometer.  Remove from heat and add the cinnamon and pistachios.  Mix well, then add the popped amaranth.  Pour into the greased or wax-lined pan and press it in evenly.  Allow to cool slightly before cutting, but don't let them cool all the way or they will be more difficult to cut.  These will stay fresh for several weeks if stored in an airtight container.  Ours likely won't last that long.  Yo tengo alegria!

The Season of Thankfulness

The season of thankfulness is upon us and I have an unbelievably long list of things to be thankful for.  The highlights include my family, health, and happiness.  I'm thankful to be wealthy in the things that money can't buy.  I am also thankful to have Thanksgiving day off from work for the first time in 6 years.  I still have to work the day before and the day after Thanksgiving, so a trip home to Alabama was out of the question, but by celebrating in the traditional way that my family always did, I hope to be able to experience the next best thing.  I enjoy this time of year because it is filled with so many great memories.  I also love this time of year because, traditionally, it is a time to celebrate the harvest.  Even though the traditional Thanksgiving holiday is only celebrated in the US and Canada, prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are historically common among nearly all cultures after a harvest season. 
I enjoy celebrating the food traditions of the holidays and for my family, the menu included dad's smoked turkey, grandma's dressing, mashed potatoes with gravy, mom's copper carrots, peas, cranberry sauce, rolls and pumpkin pie.  There were additions and variations from year to year, but these were always the core staples that could be counted on.  My grandma's dressing was one of the highlights.  I have tried to replicate her recipe many times, but somehow it just never turns out as good as hers was.  I learned just recently from my cousin, Paula and my aunt, Kathy that the secret is in the cornmeal.  It must be one of two kinds that can only be purchased in Alabama- Pollards or Alabama King.  This cornmeal is white, not yellow, and is ground very fine like flour.  Short of having my brother overnight a package of cornmeal to me, there is no hope of being able to make my grandma's dressing this year, so we will settle for stuffing, instead.  I also ordered a small turkey from Stonewood Farm in Orwell, VT.  My dad's smoked turkey is tough to beat, but since I don't have a smoker I opt to brine it overnight in a 5 gallon bucket and oven roast it.  Here is my brine recipe:

Turkey Brine
 
2 Gallons cold water
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
6 sprigs fresh thyme
4 springs fresh rosemary

If you put your turkey in the bucket and it isn't completely covered with brine, add a little more water.  We store the bucket covered on our front porch since it will stay plenty cold out there.  In warmer climes, you can use a big bag to brine your turkey and keep it in the fridge.  After the turkey has been in the brine overnight, remove it from the bucket, pat it dry, and use a slotted spoon to remove the fruit and herb sprigs from the bucket.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Stuff the turkey with the citrus and herbs plus one quartered onion, and 2 or 3 cloves of crushed garlic.  Rub the turkey all over with butter.  For the first 30 minutes, cook the turkey breast side down and uncovered in your roasting pan.  After 30 minutes, flip the turkey over and continue to cook breast side up, uncovered, until the skin begins to turn light gold.  At this point, tent the turkey with foil and continue to cook until the temperature in the breast reads between 160-170 degrees Fahrenheit.  For a small turkey, the total time will be somewhere around 3 1/2 hours. A final crucial step to maintaining juiciness is to allow the turkey to rest 20-30 minutes before carving.

our turkey last Thanksgiving

In the spirit of celebrating the harvest we will also include as many things from the garden as possible.  Brad will make his famous mashed potatoes with stored potatoes from our garden and I will pull a bag of our garden green beans and our pumpkin puree from the freezer.  I like to keep the green beans simple with just a little butter, salt, and pepper in a pan.  With the pumpkin puree, I will whip up a fresh pumpkin pie.

Rattlesnake Pole Bean Blossom

Rattlesnake Pole Beans

Blanched Rattlesnake Pole Beans ready for the freezer

Potatoes ready for mashing

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled butter
1/4 cup ice water

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in the chilled butter and work it with your hands until it resembles course sand.  Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you can form the dough into a ball.  Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.  Roll out the dough and lay it into a 9 inch pie plate being sure to press it into the bottom and corners of the pan.  Use a fork to make a decorative edge.  You can also make this a few days before Thanksgiving, put it into your pie plate, and freeze it until Thanksgiving morning.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

15 ounces of fresh pumpkin puree
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In one bowl, combine the sugar and the spices.  In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Mix well then add the eggs, then the spice mixture, and then the cream.  Pour into your pie crust and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 and continue baking until the center is set.  About 40-50 minutes.  I like to place aluminum foil under my pie while it is baking so that if the crust begins to get too brown, I can curl up the edges of the foil to cover just the crust.  That way the pie can continue baking, but your crust won't get too dark.  I like to serve the pie with some fresh whipped, lightly sweetened heavy cream.  My mouth is watering just thinking about this pie!

There is one more exciting part of our harvest this season that we are very thankful for.  On the 18th of November, we finally got our first Araucana egg!  I have been raising these hens since the early spring and, if you read my "Chicken Saga" in an earlier post, you are aware of the many challenges we have had with our hens.  The Araucana hens were supposed to begin laying in October, but never did.  I suspect the delayed laying was a result of the stress and trauma of the predation that was going on, but I don't know that for sure.  They may simply be late bloomers.  Buff, who is older than the Araucanas and who has been laying for more than two years has also been on an egg laying hiatus.  She began laying her beautiful brown eggs again about 2 weeks ago.   I have been checking the nests daily and hoping each time to find my first blue egg (a fun feature of the Araucana breed).  Finally, on November 18th, I found Ginger on a nest and noticed that she didn't go running out into her yard as soon as I opened the door the way she usually does.  I left her alone so as not to disturb her and went out again a few hours later.  I opened the lid to the nesting boxes and there it was.  A beautiful, perfect blue egg!  I will use this egg and the others laid since then to make my pumpkin pie and to brush the tops of my biscuits.

I wish everyone a great day on Thursday!  May we all eat, drink, and be thankful!





 

The Town That Food Saved

I recently read a great book called The Town That Food Saved about a once-struggling Vermont community that found vitality in local food.  Thanks to my friend Annie at the Vermont Food Venture Center, I also had the opportunity to take a personal tour of the town that food saved and to meet a few of its key players.  The author of the book, Ben Hewitt, is a journalist and farmer who resides in Cabot, VT.  The story centers around Hardwick, VT and its surrounding communities.  It begins by giving the history of the area beginning with its booming era during the late 1800s through the 1920s in the height of the granite era.  During that span, nearly 300 granite companies operated in the Hardwick area and by 1918, the worlds largest granite operation called the Hardwick area home.  Soon, however, the granite bubble burst and the demise of the granite industry dealt a tremendous blow to the Hardwick region.  As stoneworkers fled town, they left behind acres and acres of affordable farmland, which lured scores of French Canadian dairy farmers to the area.  This is when Hardwick's agricultural era began. 

Eventually, the dairy farms of Hardwick suffered the same fate of other dairy farms throughout the state as milk prices stagnated, feed prices rose, and the second generations of the original French Canadian farmers sought careers that didn’t involve soil and toil.  The back-to-the-land movement of the 60’s and 70’s brought more farming families to the Hardwick area and they continued to survive through the next 3 decades, but the town wasn’t exactly flourishing.  The median income of the town ran 25 % below the state average and its unemployment rate was 40% higher.  The area was not immune to the pitfalls of our over-centralized, over-mechanized industrial food system.  But over the last few years, despite a crippling economic crisis plaguing our country, something wonderful began to happen in and around Hardwick, VT.  A healthy, de-centralized food system began to take shape. 

The colorful key players in this agrepreneurial movement are as follows:  Tom Stearns of High Mowing Seed Company; Tom Gilbert of the Highfields Center for Composting; Andrew Meyer of the Center for an Agricultural Economy; and Pete Johnson of Pete’s Greens.  Hewitt dubs this quartet the Mouth, the Mind, the Manager, and the Model Farmer, respectively.  The Vermont Food Venture Center, Vermont Soy, Jasper Hill Farm and Cheese Cellars, Claire’s Restaurant, True Yogurt, Applecheek Farm, the Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op, and at least a dozen other local food businesses all play very vital roles, as well.  The Vermont Food Venture Center was still in its infancy when this book was published, but thanks to a tour of the facility with my friend, Annie, I see what an impact they are now making in the area.  They serve as a small business incubator for individuals who have a great product, but lack the industrial kitchen space, equipment, and storage space to produce their product.  The VFVC serves as a place for them to produce, package, and store their product and many small VT food businesses have found their start thanks to this facility.  Additionally, the VFVC receives and minimally processes local fruits and vegetables to be distributed to local schools, hospitals, and grocery stores.   Many schools and hospitals wish to participate in farm-to-school programs, but lack the time and resources needed to receive, wash, peel, cut, and freeze fresh, local fruits and vegetables themselves.  The VFVC bridges this gap and solves that problem.  

The VFVC is just one of more than a dozen business contributing to the thriving local food scene in the Hardwick area.  Hewitt describes how each of these businesses and individuals have come to play a role in creating what is now known as the most fertile region for artisanal food production in North America.  This boom has brought jobs and young people back to the area and Hardwick’s main street is once again a thriving scene vaguely reminiscent of the booming granite era.  Locals have begun to experience first-hand the ancillary benefits of a thriving local food system:  local economic stability, social and political engagement among community members, and the preservation of a working landscape.  This has garnered attention from The New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, and similar media outlets all over the world.  Everyone wanted to come see what a decentralized food system should look like and to meet the people at the heart of this movement. 

Most in the area were thrilled with the changes and even with the attention is was drawing to the area, but many of the region’s long-established farmers were less than enthusiastic about being painted as a group of individuals who were in need of saving in the first place.  Some also worried about how quickly it was all happening and wondered if perhaps the brakes should be applied to consider whether it would unfold in a truly thoughtful way that would result in a reproducible model for others to apply in their own regions.  Hewitt concluded that the answer to that question would only come in time.  He outlined what he felt were emerging as the cornerstones to a healthy, decentralized food system.  First, it must offer economic viability to small-scale food producers.  Next, it must be based on sunshine: the sun grows the grass, the animal grazes and digests the grass, the animal eliminates waste, and the waste goes on to the field to nourish the plants.  The third concept is that it must feed the locals.  And, finally, it must be cyclical: seeds are sown, grown into fruits and vegetables, the scraps are turned to compost, the compost is returned to the land to nourish the crops.

Hardwick and the surrounding area are excelling with three of the four cornerstones.  The remaining challenge still seems to be the most obvious one- the fact that it must feed the locals.  The conundrum stems from the fact that, in order to compete in a market with big agribusiness, a small-scale producer must create a value-added product.  The challenge with a value-added product is that it is often more expensive.  Many of the residents of the Hardwick area cannot find it within their modest food budget to purchase a five-dollar loaf of bread or eighteen-dollar per-pound cheese and I can certainly relate.  This represents an ongoing challenge, which Hewitt says will be still need some work.  Many believe that as the cost of fertilizer and petroleum continue to rise, the price of “cheap” foods must also rise.  Since local foods are less reliant on these, a time will come when local will cost less.   The rise in energy and fertilizer costs has already led to double and triple-digit food inflation just since 2008.  Hewitt urges that we must also consider that in 1930, the average American family spent 24.2% of their annual income on food compared to only 9.8% in 2007.  We are now spending considerably less on our food, but failing to consider the hidden costs to our health and our environment. 

In short, The Town That Food Saved was an educational, thoughtful, and in-depth look at what local foods and a decentralized food system can bring to a community.  This new model is not without its challenges and pitfalls, but compared to our current model of agri-business, one might find the challenges of this new system to be minor in scale.  Many argue that this shift is necessary.  After reading about and visiting Hardwick, I am convinced that food really can save a community and can even do so during the worst economic times.  I don't live in the Hardwick region, but I am proud to live in a community and in a state that has such a strong, vibrant food system.   I am thankful to be able to witness first-hand what a thriving local food system looks like and how well it can work.  Above all, after reading this book, I am feeling optimistic about the future of food.  

Comfort Food

A week ago today, I was cooped up in the cabin riding out Hurricane Sandy with some good friends who were vising from sunny California.  Now, a week later, I sit in the cabin watching the first snow fall of the season.  Wow, what change a week can bring!  We were very lucky that Sandy was so tame in our region and my heart goes out to the folks in New York and New Jersey that weren't so lucky.  Without knowing how lucky we would be, we decided to prepare for the worst.  When the power goes out, we also lose running water since the pump to our well won't work so we filled jugs with water for drinking, bathing, and cleaning.  No power also means no oven, but we can still manually light the burners to our stove top range, so I made a giant pot of chicken and black bean stew that could be reheated no matter what our power situation was.

Next, my mind shifted to all the frozen vegetables and soups in which I have invested so much time and energy from the time I planted the seeds to the time they were bagged, labeled, and placed in the freezer.  In an effort to give them their best chance of surviving a power outage of unknown duration,  we cranked the cold setting on the freezer from a three to a five and filled every empty space in the freezer with a jug of water.  These then create giant ice cubes to further insulate the precious stores of food they surround.  With our food and water secured, our candles out and ready, my friend Sara on the mandolin, and the Scrabble board dusted off, we settled in to enjoy some good company, good food, good music and a not-so-scary storm.  The rain fell and the wind howled, but we never lost power, and in the end I was thankful that the storm was kind to us.  I also was thankful to be able to take such comfort in knowing that we were prepared, had it been worse.

Now, as I sit in the warmth of the cabin and watch the snow fall out of the frost-covered windows, I find myself craving some serious comfort food.  The only vegetables left in the garden are Brussels sprouts so I will prepare them along with some chicken stuffed with herbed goat cheese and some purple sticky rice.  I turned on the new Mumford & Sons album that I have been enjoying so much, poured myself a glass of wine, and went to work on this comforting meal.
I know that Brussels sprouts get a bad rap and I agree that when they aren't well prepared, they can be less than appetizing.  But, for those of you who haven't tried them simply based on their bad reputation, I invite you to give them a try and decide for yourself.  I also think it is important to harvest them when they are still small or purchase the smaller ones from the market as they seem sweeter and more tender than the larger ones.  Brussels sprouts as we know them were first grown in Belgium in the 13th century and they are full of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and cancer preventing phytochemicals.  I like them either halved and sauteed with bacon or oven-roasted with garlic, oil, and balsamic vinegar.   Today I will go for the latter option.  Here is what I will need:


Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

2 cups of Brussels sprouts, washed, halved and peeled of their outermost layer
2 Tbsp of good high-heat oil (I choose sunflower oil)
2 Tbsp of good aged Balsamic vinegar ( I choose Alessi Balsamic Vinegar, which is aged in wood)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper


Toss the sprouts in the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.  Allow to sit, tossing occasionally, for 20-30 minutes.  You can use this time to prepare your chicken.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  When everything is ready to go into the oven,  spread the sprouts onto a roasting pan or dish.  Make sure they are in a single layer, cut side down, and not too crowded so that they can roast evenly.  Roast for 30 minutes, then remove the sprouts from the oven, flip them over, and roast 10 more minutes or until the Balsamic vinegar is beginning to caramelize on the outside of the sprouts.  They will be a beautiful golden-brown color. 

While my Brussels sprouts are marinating, I set about preparing the chicken.  Rather than go for the super expensive cut of boneless, skinless breast I always buy a whole chicken and do that work myself.  Its much more cost-effective, plus I can use the organs, spine, and skins to make a delicious chicken broth to be frozen and used later and I'm still left with two legs and thighs to use for another meal.  It takes a little extra work, but it beats the heck out of paying top-dollar for a really expensive cut of meat.  I find the best way to cut up the chicken is with a sharp pair of kitchen shears.  I start by removing the bag with the organs from inside the chicken and then I make a cut up each side of the chickens spine.  Then I make a cut that splits the two breasts, and then cut the leg and thigh portion away from each breast.  Next, remove the skins from the breasts and cut them away from the bones underneath.  I place the legs and thighs into a sealed container in the fridge; place the skinless, boneless breasts on pieces of cling wrap; and place the skin, bones, spine, and organ meat in a pot of boiling, salted water to make my broth.   Now I am ready to start preparing the chicken stuffed with herbed goat cheese.  Here is what I will need:

Chicken Stuffed with Herbed Goat Cheese:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I chose a local chicken from Misty Knoll farm)
8 oz. of plain goat cheese/chevre ( I chose a local favorite from Vermont Butter & Cheese Co.)
1 tsp dried basil
1tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary (In season I would instead use all fresh herbs)
salt & pepper
6 toasted & chopped pecans (I'm using some my mother-in-law sent us from Alabama that we store in the freezer. This comforting dish just wouldn't be as effective without a taste of home)
2 large leaves of spinach (or kale, or mustard greens, but these must be blanched first)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I heavily toast a few pieces of wheat bread, then give them a whir in my food processor or crush them with my mortar and pestle)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 egg, beaten 
1/4 cup of flour
3 bamboo kebab skewers each cut into three pieces

Place the boneless, skinless breasts between sheets of cling wrap and gently flatten them with a rolling pin or meat mallet until they are 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Set aside.  Place your pecans on a cookie sheet and toast them in the 350 degree oven that is preheating.  Allow them to cool, then chop them, whir them in the food processor, or crush them in the mortar and pestle.  In a small bowl, mix the goat cheese with the basil, thyme, rosemary, toasted pecans, salt and pepper.  In another small bowl, beat your egg.  Use a fine grater to grate the cheese into the bread crumbs.  On another separate small plate or bowl, prepare the flour.  Take the top layer of cling wrap off of each chicken breast, sprinkle them with salt & pepper,  and lay a spinach leaf on each one.  Then spread the herbed goat cheese onto each leaf.  Next, roll the chicken breasts up and, one by one, roll them in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumb-cheese mixture.  Secure each roll with three pieces of skewer and place them on a baking sheet.  Bake in the oven, along side the Brussels sprouts for 40 minutes.

While my chicken and Brussels sprouts are cooking, I prepare the purple sticky rice.  I've never tried this kind of rice, but I love experimenting with different types grains I have never tried before.  I can buy them from the bulk bins at my local co-op, which is often much cheaper than buying them boxed and pre-seasoned.  Aside from being more expensive, those rice mixes with the seasoning packets often contain way too much salt and ingredients I can't pronounce like preservatives, artificial colors, and flavor additives that I don't want to eat.

Rice has recently received lots of attention in the media for its arsenic content.  I read up on the topic and according to a Consumer Reports investigation, the rices found to contain the most arsenic were grown in states where more pesticides are used such as Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Louisiana.  I also discovered that rices that are eco-farmed like the Lundburg Family rices from California and international rices grown by Lotus Foods contain less arsenic so I'm sticking to those brands for now and following the recommendation to keep my rice consumption to once a week.   The farming methods used by Lundburg and Lotus also use much less water, require fewer chemical inputs, and are creating higher yields, so I like to support their efforts.  If you can't find Purple Sticky rice, try Bhutanese Red, Madagascar Pink, Volcano, Forbidden, Mekong Flower, or any variety you haven't tried before.  The point is, there are a lot more varieties of rice than just brown or white and these heirloom rice varieties are full of iron, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids.  Forbidden rice and Purple Sticky rice have as many antioxidants per serving as a serving of fresh blueberries!



I prepare the purple sticky rice by measuring out 2 cups, rinsing it well, and cooking it in my pressure cooker on the rice setting with 3 cups of water, a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of olive oil.  If you don't have a pressure cooker or rice cooker, you can cook it on the stove by simmering 2 cups of the rice in 4 cups of water, covered.  It comes out sweet and nutty and its rich color is a gorgeous addition to my plate alongside the sliced chicken pinwheels and the Brussels sprouts.  Now, time to eat and be comforted!

Two soups

One of my favorite ways to preserve vegetables is to make them into soups.  I find soups convenient for several reasons:  they allow me to use many combinations of different vegetables, when I make a batch I can hold out a bit for dinner that night, and the rest is easily frozen.  It will be really nice later in the winter to pull it out of the freezer and make a quick and easy dinner.  This preservation Monday I have the last of the fresh tomatoes that were brought in green from the garden to ripen in the windowsills.  I also have some potatoes, onions, and garlic that were harvested last month and some leeks fresh from the fall garden.  I will make two of my favorite soups:  tomato and creamy potato leek.  I turned on some music and gathered the ingredients.

For the tomato soup:

1 Tbsp sunflower oil
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
6 medium tomatoes
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots
3 stalks celery
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter, softened
milk or cream
salt and pepper
dried basil


Begin by mincing the garlic and chopping the carrot, onion, and celery.  Core the tomatoes and remove any blemishes, but don't worry about removing the skins.  Heat the oil in your soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, carrot, celery then season with the salt, pepper, and basil.  Cook for two minutes and then add the garlic.  Continue to stir over medium-high until the vegetables begin to soften and the onion begins to turn translucent.  Add the tomatoes whole, but with their cores removed, then add the chicken or vegetable broth.  If you don't have broth you can use water here, but the soup won't be quite as flavorful.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes.  As the tomatoes begin to cook the skins will slip off and you can easily remove them with tongs or a slotted spoon as they float to the surface.   My chickens love to eat the skins.

While your soup is simmering, make a beurre manie by pinching the softened butter and the flour together with your fingers in a small bowl until it resembles a rough paste.  This is an easy way to thicken any soup or sauce without making it lumpy.  When the soup has simmered 10-12 minutes, remove from heat and use an emulsion blender or regular blender to puree the soup.  You will want to have all the tomato skins removed before this step, since they won't break down well.  Return it to the stove over medium-low and add the beurre manie.  Stir and allow to simmer another 5-7 minutes to cook the flour.  If you are freezing the soup immediately, remove from heat and allow to cool.  Then freeze in dinner-sized portions.  To eat right away or when reheating, add as much milk or cream as needed to reach desired creaminess.  I think it's best served with a grilled cheese on good, crusty bread.

 For the Creamy Potato Leek Soup:

8-10 leeks
8 small white potatoes
two cloves garlic
2 slices bacon
3 cups chicken broth
splash of white wine
milk or cream
salt and pepper

Trim the roots and tops from the leeks and clean them well.  Slice them in small rings.  Peel and quarter the potatoes and mince the garlic.  We grew Nikola white potatoes and Kennebunk red potatoes this season since they both grow well in my region and both store well.  I used the Nikola white potatoes for this soup.   Heat up a soup pot over medium-high heat and add the slices of bacon.  Cook until each side is browned then remove the bacon and set aside for later.  Leave the bacon drippings in your pot and add the cleaned, sliced leeks along with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Keep in mind that your bacon is already salty, so you won't need to add quite as much salt.  Cook 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring to prevent the leeks from burning.  Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 or 3 minutes.  Add a splash of white wine to free up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot then add the chicken broth and the potatoes.  Boil 12 minutes or until potatoes are very soft. 
Remove from heat and use a regular or emulsion blender to puree until it is smooth.  If you wish to freeze now, add the crumbled bacon and freeze it or add enough milk or cream until desired creaminess is achieved.

A Chicken Saga

"If I hadn't taken up painting, I would have raised chickens.  It's all art."- Grandma Moses
             

I really enjoy having chickens.  Not just for the delicious supply of eggs, but also because I enjoy caring for them and find that they help close a loop for me where the garden is concerned.  I grow fruits and vegetables in the garden, they eat the scraps of those fruits and veggies, I clean their waste out of the coop and add it to the compost bin, which finally comes back to the garden in the spring when I add the finished compost to my garden.  The compost then acts as a soil conditioner, natural fertilizer, and a natural soil pesticide for the next crop of fruits and veggies.  I like the cyclical nature of this process.  Additionally, I enjoy watching the chickens.  They all have different personalities and there is always a hierarchy or pecking order that they follow.   I find it interesting to watch this develop with each flock. 

1986

2012

 My family had chickens when I was growing up in Alabama.  They were called black sex-link chickens, which were a hybrid of Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rock hens.  In 2009, I had the opportunity to acquire a flock of Rhode Island Reds that were a few years old and I jumped at the chance to have chickens again.  The Rhode Island Reds were a medium-sized bird that were very winter-hardy, were reliable layers, and were generally very healthy.   Eventually, these hens became too old to lay eggs, so we got a new flock and decided to try out a flock of Buff Orpingtons.  These were large golden-colored birds, and while they were also capable of surviving a harsh Vermont winter, they did not seem to be as disease-resistant as the Rhode Island Reds.  They also ate more feed due to their larger size, which I hadn't considered when we first decided to try out their kind.

Rhode Island Reds

Young Buff Orpingtons

Despite the few drawbacks of their breed, we had a special bond with this flock, since it was the first flock that we raised from the time they were chicks until they were mature adult laying hens.  We learned a lot through the process and had been very lucky as far as predators were concerned.  That is, until this past spring.  A family of foxes decided to make their den in the woods to the west of the yard and one evening as they chickens were coming back to their coop after a day of free-ranging, the foxes raided the coop.  I had forgotten to close the coop door at dark after the hens went in, and left the foxes with an easy meal.  I felt terrible.  We were down to just one lonely Buff Orpington hen.   We named her Buff and realized that we had two options:  find a new home for Buff, or find a new flock of chicks and attempt to get Buff to accept them as her new family.  We opted for the latter and found some Araucana hens that were about 6 weeks old.

Young Araucanas

Buff

At that age, they were large enough to survive in the coop without a heat lamp and were large enough to defend themselves if Buff did decide to be aggressive.  We chose Araucanas this time because, unlike most breeds,  they all look a little different from one another.  We figured this would make it more likely for Buff to integrate with them without seeming like an oddball.  At the advice of some friends who also raise hens, we chose to keep Buff separated from the chicks for the first few days, but to have them divided so that they could still see each other and get used to each other slowly.  We achieved this by making a cardboard partition with windows cut out and covered with chicken wire.  This way, they could see each other and smell each other without making physical contact.  After three days, we pulled out the divider and kept a close eye on them for signs of aggression.  We were relieved when Buff accepted the new chicks and we had a happy, healthy flock once again.

Buff and the Araucanas

Things continued to go well for the next few months and we became much more cautious about letting the hens free-range while we weren't able to keep an eye on them.  One morning in late July, I was out working in the garden and the dogs were wandering around the yard.  Given the circumstances, I decided it was safe to let the hens come out and play.  I came into the house just briefly to drop off a bucket of beans and heard the chaos outside.  The foxes were back and by the time I could get back out to the yard, they were taking off with several of the Araucana hens in their mouths.  I yelled at them as they ran away and then stood there in the yard stunned by the boldness of this family of foxes.  I understood that they needed to eat, but felt they had taken more than their share from our coop.  I decided that the hens free-ranging days were over.  We instead chose to extend the boundaries of the chicken run that was attached to the coop.  That way, the chickens would still have lots of room to forage and get exercise, but would remain in the relative safety of their enclosure.

I had 5 remaining chickens and I was determined to keep it that way.  After all, we had gone three years without any run-ins with predators until this one unlucky summer.  Now they were enclosed in 200 feet of chicken wire that is 6 feet high and staked into the ground all the way around.  What we didn't plan for was a new predator that could go right up a tree and over our fencing.  We don't know for sure, but we suspect this new predator is a fisher.  A fisher is a medium-sized mammal that is in the weasel family.  It is an adept tree-climber and has a particular craving for chickens.  We found the deceased chicken this past Friday morning and I suspect a fisher because there were no visible entry points in the fencing along the ground.  We also hear that fishers are very active in this area.  Now we have resorted to keeping the remaining four hens in the coop with the door to their chicken run closed.  I don't like having to keep them confined to the indoors of the coop, but I also am determined to keep these last four chickens alive and well.  We made a scarecrow for the coop yard and plan to hang up some lights on the coop after reading that lights and human scents will keep predators away.  Ideally, we could add a roof to the chicken run to ensure that they are completely enclosed, but that would be an expensive endeavor.

Scarecrow in the chicken run

The final four:  Buff, Butterscotch, Ginger, and Robin

Although I'm feeling pretty discouraged, I am still determined.  We have learned so much over the last three years and I still believe that the positives outweigh the negatives.  I also realize that part of living in the fringes of a national forest involves learning to co-exist with the wild animals who have called this land home long before we came along with our flock of hens.   Raising chickens in this environment will have it's challenges, but I enjoy a good challenge.  I hope at the end of the day I have a few eggs to eat and an ever growing knowledge of the art of raising chickens.