Apples, Salsa and Pumpkins!

As much as I hate to see summer end, my favorite season truly is fall. Perhaps that's because I'm a Libra, born in October, when the leaves are turning and everything is colorful and change is on the way. I love fall, I love the tiny golden leaves that line the streets like gold thrown by fairies at night. I love apples, salsa, and especially pumpkins!
Today I made green tomato salsa with some of the last of the tomatoes of the year. It wasn't a great year for tomatoes if you enjoy the big, juicy ripe ones, but the green ones make some great salsas, relishes and chutneys, as well as fried green tomatoes!
I look forward to Apple season almost as much as Asparagus season. I say almost as much because Asparagus season is shorter and more dear to us, here in South Central Wisconsin. In spite of the chilly spring and wet weather early in the growing season, the apples in this part of the state seem to be doing well. On Sunday when my computer printer ran out of ink I stopped at the Monona Farmer's Market while trying to find ink on a Sunday morning, and purchased some of Vivian Green's scrumptious apples. Vivian and her husband own Green's Pleasant Springs Orchards in Stoughton. They have some of the best darn apples I've ever had, and are some of the hardest working, most honest people you'll ever meet. Vivian and her husband sell at several farmer's markets around town, and in spite of that Vivian was surprised to see me at the Monona market on Sunday. I told her, I'm everywhere! If there's a farmer's market, I shop there!
On Saturday I worked at the Food for Thought Festival on behalf of Madison Originals. While chatting with people during the festival I saw some pretty awesome pumpkins going by. One was so big it looked like it had taken over the stroller it was riding in. I also saw some adorable youngsters with pie pumpkins, just the right size for little ones to carry home. I was worried about the pumpkins this year, after the late spring, hard rains early and then drought mostly all summer, I didn't know what we'd see for pumpkins. Until I cut into one and prepare it for one of our favorite pumpkin dishes I won't really know the quality, but they look awfully yummy at first glance! I'll keep you posted on what I find as I start cooking and cutting for pies, soups, bars, and yes, cheesecake. My favorite all time cheesecake has always been pumpkin, and after 20 months hiatus from baking them, I'm ready for some pumpkin cheesecake!
Enjoy the fall, bask in the warm afternoons, and enjoy the cool evenings. Roast marshmallows with the kids after dinner and watch for the harvest moon. All too soon it will be cold and we'll be stuck indoors for more hours than we'd like each day, so enjoy the fall and embrace the change of seasons.
Next time...Beast baking fall goodies!

Farm Photos and Signs

One of the things I love best is taking photos of very ordinary things. Early this summer I went out to Jordandal Farm and photographed the animals on a beautiful, sunny day between the rains. I've finally just now found the time to sort through the photos, edit them and post them, here on the website. It's a somewhat daunting task to go through 400 pictures and decide which are worth keeping, and then crop them, adjust lighting and save them for web use. I would guess that many digital photographers never get around to doing anything with all those photos they collect. I actually enjoy the entire process, from the experience taking the photos through the editing and to the printing or digital posting. Unfortunately time is like money and it doesn't grow on trees, so sometimes I don't get to my collections as quickly as I would like. In any case, Many Thanks to Eric and Carrie Johnson at Jordandal Farm for allowing me the opportunity to take up some of their precious time in order to photograph their wonderful farm in the rolling hills of Southwestern Wisconsin. When I was there Eric asked if I was going to "pick out my lamb", as I had recently ordered a lamb for fall slaughter. The thought of photographing the little darling that would later feed us so well was a bit more than I could swallow, and thankfully Eric explained that it would be nearly impossible to ensure that the one I selected would be the one that came in my packaged bundles--WHEW! They are all adorable and I had great fun chasing them about the field trying to get them to stand still long enough to photograph them. I never knew how many variations of "BLEET" there were. I suppose it's just like humans...we all have our distinct voices too.
On the way back to Madison from the farm I came across something else I enjoy photographing...signs. I'm particularly enamored with old neon signs, and I'm working on that collection to add to the website as well. In any case, I came across the one at the top of this BLOG entry and drove back around the block to photograph it...I couldn't pass it up, nor could Beast's Kitchen! Until next time...

Roasted Fennel and Garlic, YUM!

When I picked up the CSA this week I noticed a lot of extra fennel in the "share box". The share box is where people exchange an item they don't like, can't eat or won't use for another they prefer. Someone commented to me that it looked like everyone had traded in their fennel. I replied, "Not me! I want more". So I reluctantly parted with a head of cabbage for extra fennel. When roasted fennel has a wonderful sweet caramelized flavor, that is nowhere near what you would expect from the strong scent of the raw veggie. Fennel is yet another of the veggies I have no recollection of eating as a child, but that is a tasty addition to our diet as adults. I can't think of too many root vegetables that I don't like roasted with olive oil and garlic, and fennel is on that list. You can certainly eat it right out of the oven, in all the caramely goodness, but here's another idea...store the roasted fennel in the fridge and add it to other dishes, like a frittata with tomato, roasted fennel and cheese for brunch. Here's how to do it--
Roasted Fennel and Garlic:
1 bulb fennel--fronds cut off and root end sliced off the bulb, slice the bulb into 1/2 inch sections and place in an oven proof pan--I use a glass dish for caramelizing veggies. Top with 3-4 cloves minced garlic, then drizzle with 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Season with salt and white pepper, and sprinkle with grated parmesan, asiago, or other hard cheese. Roast in a 350-375° oven for about 45 minutes. If you can keep from eating it all as soon as it comes out of the oven, then store in the fridge for later use.
Frittata:
Place 2 tbsp melted butter or olive oil in glass pie plate, arrange roasted fennel and garlic in pie plate, then pour in 4-6 eggs, whisked. Season with salt and white pepper, and top with grated cheese of your choice. Bake in a 325° oven for 30-40 minutes, or until puffy and slightly browned on top. Serve with your favorite beverage (mine's a Pomosa--recipe below) and side of fruit, toast, bagel, whatever. Enjoy!
Pomosa: (I get credit for the name...I invented the drink!)
Pour 1 oz pomegranate juice in a champagne flute and top with your favorite champagne. Garnish with a twist of lime, enjoy!

Food, Wonderful Food!

Today is CSA day. I often want to take photos of the wonderful boxes of food that we receive each week, but that would become redundant at some point. What never gets old though, is photos of the people, vegetables and animals that make our CSA boxes complete. Cheers to those who help make our lives healthier, happier, and much more interesting! Today I took just a couple of photos at Jen Ehr Farm when I picked up our CSA box. You see, I didn't take nearly enough photos of the staff on the farm this year, and I sense several of them are about to move on to school or other endeavors, so I thank you all for sloshing through the mud, sweating through the heat and sun, and ensuring that each and every week the CSA customers have a beautiful, healthful share to enjoy. I know that this time on the farm will last in your memories forever. I hope that it has permanently changed the way you look at and eat food. I hope that some of you will choose the difficult path that Kay and Paul have chosen, which so enriches our lives that it is worth all the heartache, sleepless nights and financial worries that come with the territory. If you take nothing more with you, please go forward with the knowledge that you have contributed to a healthy, sustainable way of eating, and we are all better off because of your efforts. Bountiful Eating!

No Child Left A Dime

You won't see this often--I'm not into politics, but this was too good to pass up. While walking home from the library 5 minutes ago, yes, walking...some of us still do that, I saw this bumper sticker, and thanks to modern technology it's now on my Blog. Recently we've been talking in the back yard with the neighbors about what a joke the "economic stimulus" checks are, how much money it will cost us and our children to pay for this foolishness and how it really isn't going to help the economy at all. So I took a few steps back and took a picture of the bumper sticker with my cell phone, and while I was taking it I read the one above...priceless. Of course, often even if you do vote people like Bush & Cheney get selected--that's how pitiful the options are. So, that's my two cents on current politics.
But while I'm on a rant, in today's Wisconsin State Journal Opinion section, there was an article about the FDA allowing irradiation of greens, and how "The move will protect Wisconsin consumers from bad spinach and food-borne illness-but only if they buy irradiated products." HUH??? Hello, nice pitch for corporate agriculture. If we all eat locally grown produce and know who our farmers are and how they handle our food we really don't have too much to worry about, AND it's good for the local economy and environmentally correct too. Buy Local--It's Fresh and Safe.

Beans, Pickles and Yes--Blueberries

Beans and pickles--dilly beans and pickles. It's canning time and just before heading to St Louis to see Tim's daughter Angela, and his grandson, Isaac I canned up some dill pickles and some dilly beans. Coincidentally while we were visiting, little baby Isaac ate some beans and pickles, at the urging of his Grandma (me!) He's only 9 months old, and has only two teeth, but he has a great appetite and so far likes pretty much everything! Last weekend my niece, Sarah, was married in Illinois. I've just added the photos to the people section of the photography pages. Check them out! And yes, FINALLY I've found blueberries. They haven't been easy to find this year, and don't come cheap, at $8 per quart, but boy are they yummy!

No Blueberries Yet, but Tomatoes!

In spite of oversleeping and not getting to the Dane County Farmer's Market until 9 am on Saturday, there were no blueberries to be found...no melons either. I had a hankering for cantaloupe and blueberries, which will have to wait a few more days. There were early Lodi apples, the tart, green early apples that let us know fall is coming. And there was Apple Cider, which is a very welcome relief to the fill-in orange juice we've been buying to get our fruit juice intake.
But Tomatoes, they are starting to ripen in the garden and we had our first summer bounty last night with fresh basil out of the garden, fresh, local mozzarella and balsamic vinegar. Can you say summer in a bowl? What a treat. And we're just at the beginning of the tomato season. I saw some awesome heirlooms at the farmer's market, but I have three plants ready to burst any time so I'd rather wait for those. Somehow it's much more fun to pick them out of the garden at home and put them on the table for lunch or dinner, or even breakfast. My largest tomato plant fell over twice due to an early morning storm on Sunday. It took some rigging to save it and to get it upright, but it's full of green tomatoes, so I didn't want to lose what is sure to be a boatload shortly.
So tomorrow at the Wednesday market I'll go in search of blueberries and melon, and probably find some other yummy things as well. Next Blog--blueberries???