Strawberries and memories

I hear a lot of stories from friends about meaningful memories they have of food that goes back to their grandparents.  Each summer, my Russian grandmother would pride herself on picking 15-20 lbs of strawberries. Fresh picked, still warm with cream and sugar - heaven.  She would make jams for the whole family, labeling each one with their names in cyrillic letters, and then freeze them, and wait for their visits. But as I got older the strawberries just didn't taste as good. I thought maybe it was bad weather, or my taste buds getting older, or my Boubie losing her touch.  One summer she pronounced that even though they were big and there were a lot, the farm changed something about how they grew them and they now tasted like "PTU" (she would spit) and we would no longer be getting jam because she didn't want to go back there. 

On one hand I was relieved that it wasn't her old age, but on the other, I was really sad.

About 15 years later at Vollmecke Orchards and CSA I finally tasted a good strawberry again and felt an incredible sense of relief and happiness. For Ruben, "eating berries is like eating the earth."

A lot of people quite intentionally search out authentic food. It's much more enjoyable and delicious to wait until something like locally and sustainably grown strawberries comes into season. Strawberries, in particular, are among the highest harborers of pesticides (others being peaches, celery, apples and spinach). New studies have simultaneously reported strong correlations that pesticides are causally related to diminished intelligence among children!  

Strawberry-mint salad
This is a terrific recipe borrowed from seasonal recipes posted by one of Inverbrook Farm's CSA members, I riffed on it a bit:

Bowl on left by Mel Griffin, Bowl on right by Ayumi Horie

Salad dressing - puree the following:
About 8 strawberries - we got amazing lovelies from Inverbrook Farm
3TB balsamic vinegar
6 TB olive oil
2 TB honey
leaves from about 2 stalks of mint

Coat the lettuce with the dressing (from Inverbrook farm)
Add almonds (toasted)
Scallions
Strawberry
Sharp Chevre from Shellbark

Summer and strawberries are even better with Matt's wonderful the May Fairy summer wheat with citrus zests.

Beer - Ben Sollee, Plutocracy, Buffalo Poop and Rapture Parties

"I can feel the mountains fallin' for my good times. And I don't want to know more, don't want to know."  Ben Sollee

I don't know much but when companies drilling for natural gas and oil, international conglomerates that don't need to have a vested interest in Americans, and don't get taxed or even subsidized and are making record profits, while the government sends our young men and women to war for oil and cuts the health care and education of our children - of our future - that this is irrefutable proof that we live in a plutocracy, not a democracy, where corporations determine the law of the land. A plutocracy is defined as "a disproportionate influence the wealthy have on political process in contemporary society; a fusion of money and government...Many corporations and business interest groups pay lobbyists to maintain constant contact with elected officials, and press them for favorable legislation. Owners of mass media outlets, and the advertisement buyers which financially support them can shape public perception of political issues by controlling the information available to the population and the manner in which it is presented." Wikipedia

The great plains are able to feed the world because of the thousands of years that buffalo pooped on the soil making the soil literally alive. After over-farming, the loss of native grasses allowed for the disappearance of topsoil during drought, (causing 'black blizzards'), there is a proposal called the Buffalo Commons to put buffalo back in the lands that can no longer be farmed. 
 
"And on the horizon, I see windmills sprouting up in rows.
There's young folks farming and a few that're gonna vote.
But this is only a song, it can't change the world.
So why try? Why even sing at all?"

If Ben weren't singing in the world, it would be a sadder place indeed. Ruben said even Dr. Seuss couldn't have thought up Ben Sollee.

There are rapture parties everywhere on May 21, including "Tomatoapocolypse" - all celebrations of  hope and community.  As Eugene Hutz so wisely and profoundly says:  PARTY!

According to the great book Sacred Herbal Healing Beers: the Secrets of Ancient Fermentation given to us by Claire Murray, in the old days people didn't know about yeast, they believed if they did all the right things, such as dancing, then the good spirits would start making the beer bubble. Here is Matt's Rapture beer, bubbling away....
 

Teach me baby! About the cutest thing ever!!!!!

Fiddleheads - Spirals and the Universe

Most anyone who starts out in pottery is mesmerized by how much fun it is to create spirals in clay while the wheel spins. I used to (and still do) spend quite a while just running muddy hands over the wheel making neat patterns.  At some point, I decided that putting spirals into my pottery was cliche and stopped making them.  But when Ruben was born, his belly button was a spiral. I discovered that hair grew in a spiral.  About the first things he drew were spirals.  When he was about six, on the train one day he observed that all people have a spiral on their head.  There are spirals everywhere in nature.  Spirals, I realize, are to be honored, and now I almost always put a spiral somewhere in my pots in some form or other.
 

Fiddleheads, asparagus and mushrooms with noodles
1/2 lb of Fiddleheads (we stumbled on them at Wegman's, apparently some wild foraged ones can be harmful)- blanche by putting them in a pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes and immediately cool in cold water or ice water, cut off brown ends.
Asparagus - grilled lightly in olive oil

Fry some onion, garlic, mushrooms in olive oil, whatever else, like pine nuts or bacon or pancetta
Toss in the asparagus and fiddleheads
Serve over noodles with some grated parmagan

Bowl by Shawn Spangler

The amazing Deirdre making spirals, this one reminds me of DNA

Beets - Mother's Day, Comfort

When in doubt, we turn to things we know and are comforting. Love, mom's hug.  An old friend appeared from nowhere (17 years later!) and became a new friend.  It's comforting to know that can happen.  And it's comforting to know the farmers are farming...

The rains have been constant and we're grouchy so I'm turning to something comforting - beets...


P.S. It's also comforting to read that NATO has started Buy Local Build Afghanistan in order to build stability. Indeed! (buy fresh buy local !)

Ruben's favorite line this week: Grouchy Smurf: "I HATE hug-a-smurf Day!"

Raw beet salad
Peel and grate beets

these were orange yellow-orange beets, Bowl by Willi Singleton

Marinate them in a balsamic vinegar dressing for at least 2 hours, over night is better. (Amy, unfortunately I really can't remember what I did for this last year) - a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maybe some orange juice, maybe some dijon mustard. Some grated ginger and/or some maple syrup as well, but not necessary.
Arugula, tossed with similar dressing.
Goat cheese.

While we're on the topic of beets....Here's a more wintery recipe in that it is SO comforting and satisfying. this one's for you John!

big bowls for borsht

Better than Boubi's Borsht  
1 big white onion, chopped
1-1.5 lbs cubed beef tips (prime rib ends are recommended)
3 T chopped garlic
1/2 chopped cabbage (i use purple, deepens the color, cut in long thin slivers)
1 t pepper
1 t salt
1 gallon beef stock
1/3 c vinegar (again, balsamic, deepens color and flavor)
1 c tomato paste
1/3 c sugar
2 lbs beets, chop into small cubes

also comforting - throwing like butta!

caramalize onion, add beef and garlic
add everything except beets and boil for two hours
add beets (and chopped carrots if you like) for another hour (you may need to add more water/stock)


don't forget to add a dollop of sour cream to the soup bowls.
 

My mom and Ruben's first book

Asparagus - Beltane, Yom Hashoah, May Day

Things culminate.  Mozart's Requiem sounds remarkably like Handel's "Israel in Egypt" that is on the radio right now.  Passover, Easter and Spring Equinox just ended. This is a time of exodus, migration, memory, triumph of spirit, survival and renewal. We got our first asparagus of the spring from a tiny, nearby farm we never knew about before.

Ruben's favorite saying right now is "Confucious say, he who drops watch in toilet have crappy time."

Here's the amazing recipe: Absurdly Addictive Asparagus

• 4 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch dice
• 1 tablespoon butter (we didn't use)
• 1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces on the bias (we grilled it separately)
• 1 1/4 cup leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only, we left this out)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 1-2 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large non-stick pan, sauté pancetta, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until crisp and lightly golden.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. (We didn't add butter and grilled the asparagus separately in olive oil).  We left out the leek but the recipe says to add asparagus pieces and leek and sauté until asparagus is tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, lemon and orange zest, toasted pine nuts and parsley and sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt and serve immediately.

 

Matt is brewing an Ithaca 13 inspired "May Fairy" beer, here's the various citrus zest going in: