Connie and I had another adventure this weekend, this time near Rushford, MN, where we went foraging for wild food – the coveted morels.  Neither of us had been foraging before, but morels are delicious, and hey, it’s free food, if we found them!

Given the dangers of eating unknown fungi, and our novice skills, we enlisted the help of an expert.  Our expert was eleven year old H, whose parents own Sheep Improvement Company and sell lamb and beef at our local Farmer’s Market as O’Neill Family Farms.  Since H has gone hunting for morels many times with her family, she knew right where to take us.  As I was a passenger without a notebook, I can’t tell you where exactly we were, but I believe we were within Winona County, since we were less than 30 minutes from home, and we didn’t cross the Mississippi.  We were on Sheep Improvement Company’s land by invitation, which has pasture, woods, and guard dogs.

The first thing to know about hunting morels is that they usually grow near elm trees, and most often near dead elm trees, so we learned h0w to identify elm bark, but this may or may not be helpful, since dead trees don’t always have bark left on them.

It seemed like we were in the woody area no more than five minutes before H found our first two morels.  It helps to bring the expert!  It also helps to see what they look like in situ, so you can adjust your image while you search.

Can you find them?

Here are the first two that I found, before I picked them.  You can click on the image to see it larger.  I was a bit surprised that they were not closer to the trees, but with further thought, it makes sense- they need some sunlight.

C shows us her find

Here is Connie’s daughter C, proudly showing the first one she found.

The Joy of First Discovery

Connie was very excited to find this one with no help from H.   We spent about an hour and a half traipsing around in the wooded area, and we managed to find about 16 morels of varying sizes.  Here’s a picture of the haul.

Foraging Success!

My next assignment is to cook these beauties, and provide a recipe.  I think there may be butter involved.  Stay tuned!

If there’s nothing else we’ve learned from movies like Food, Inc. and announcements like this in the New York Times last week, we’ve learned there’s a lot of value in knowing about where your food comes from, how it is handled, and what ingredients and processes are involved.

Heather Seacrist, Farmer and Dynamo

From June through October, my vegetables and eggs are coming from Suncrest Gardens in Cochrane, WI (which is 20.3 miles from my house, according to Google Maps).  My husband and I subscribe to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at Suncrest Gardens.  This is our fourth season.  Suncrest Gardens is owned and run by Heather Seacrist.  I hadn’t seen Heather since the first year I signed up for the CSA, and this was my first visit to her farm.  I wish I had visited the farm sooner.  I went on a rainy Friday with Connie (of My Part) so we could see what Heather’s operation is like, and to see how and what she is doing.

I am much better for the experience.  I already have entrusted Heather by eating her eggs, chickens, berries and vegetables for three years now, but I feel even better about it now, having talked to her and seen her operation.  It’s clear to me that she had an excellent business plan when she started, and she’s great at implementing new ideas as things have grown.   Her CSA now has 70 subscriptions,  so she feeds about 150 people through weekly and bi-weekly shares from her 16 acres, though not all of the acreage is in production.  (In Food, Inc., Michael Pollan quotes the average as 126 people fed per American farmer)

Heather and her crew of  interns and working subscribers serve more people with her wood-fired brick oven on Thursday Pizza Nights.

The Glamour and Romance of Farming in the Rain

Above is Heidi Carlson, a full-season intern on the farm this year, after picking asparagus from the front field.  You can see part of the barn to the left, and part of the hoop house off to the right.

The Apprentices in the Barn

These are the new crop of soon-to-be egg layers, hanging out in the barn where it was warm, with the adolescent rooster who is learning to crow.

Future Big Man on Campus

After meeting the “new recruits”, we got to see what’s growing outside the barn.  I don’t have pictures of everything, but here are a few highlights.

Coming Soon to a Salad Bowl Near Me

Here is some lettuce, mesclun, spinach, and kale.

Cupid's Sister

Here is a calf being raised for beef, already on its grass-only diet.  I can’t remember what this calf’s name is.

The Meat Chickens

The Camping Caravan for the Meat Birds

This movable shelter, surrounded by electrified net fence, allows the chickens to be inside out of rain and wind, or outside, eating bugs and grass, at their whim, but protect them from predators.  After a few days,  Heather will move the fencing and hoop house to fresh pasture.  The chickens eat up the grass and bugs, and fertilize at the same time.

The Gypsy Egg Crew

The laying hens have a similar caravan and fence arrangement, but with nest shelves.  I’m happy to see the birds out doing what they want to, knowing that I’ll have their eggs in my kitchen through the fall.

Suncrest Gardens Security Team

Here is Mama Llama (on the lookout) and her son, Rocky, who patrol the farm’s periphery, watching for and fending off predators.  Mama Llama has been known to wake Heather up with her whistling if she smells coyotes, and has the claim to fame of actually killing one by stomping it with her front legs.  Don’t mess with Mama Llama.

Hundreds of Dollars Worth of Garlic

Here is part of one of the vegetable planting beds, which has about 500 lbs. of garlic seed.  You can see the dog, (which is about 75 lbs). in the distance, as a scale reference.  Heather says garlic seed is very expensive as seed goes, and she’s gradually increasing her stocks by saving the best seeds each season, and adding a bit more.  This is all the same variety of garlic, a German type that is bred for hardiness.

Snap Peas companion planted with Oats

In some of her vegetable beds, Heather has grown crops like alfalfa and oats as winter cover crops that are then tilled into the soil before planting to provide nutrients for the soil. In this case, she is growing the oats with the Sugar Snap Peas as a means of structure for the pea vines.  As the plants grow taller, the vines will wrap around the oat plants, using them as a natural stakes to keep the pea plants upright.   The oat plants can also act as mulch, preventing weeds and erosion.  How cool is that?

In addition to the land that is in cultivation and pasture, an important part of Suncrest Gardens farm is the area near the farmhouse and barn, which is in production in a different way, as a place for Pizza Night.  What appears to be a bit of a playground is also an area for seating, for musicians, and for the pizza creation and service.  This is also an area where customers can see the animals, and learn more about how the food is grown.

Combination Sand Box and Fort Tower

New Pens for Animals

These new pens are near the barn, so that the calves and chickens can hang out on pizza night and be social with the pizza customers, since educating customers about the farm, what she grows, and the way she grows it is a big part of Heather’s mission.  She wants the kids and adults who come to her farm to see the animals, and see how their food is produced.

The Pizza Menu

On one side of the barn’s ell, you order your pizza.

Pizza Prep Area

Then Heather and her crew prepare the pizzas in this room off the ell,

The Big Smoke

and it’s into the hot wood-fired oven.  (We visited on a Friday mid-day, and the oven was still warm inside, after the previous night’s pizza fire.  Heather also uses the pizza oven to dry herbs and sometimes to bake bread.)

Pizza Pickup Location

On the opposite side of the ell is where you pick up your pizza when it’s done.  The number you were given when you ordered your pizza will be put up on display, so you can check where you are in the order line while you are waiting.  Once a month, Heather has live music on pizza night.  She said she likes live music, but forgets to go out to hear it, so she has them come to the farm instead.

I’m looking forward to taking a group of friends out for pizza this summer season.  I want to see the oven in action.

I don’t have pictures of the hoop house, or the cool root cellar, or the berry vines, and I haven’t told you any of the great stories or conversations we had with Heather about many more interesting things.  Hopefully I’ll have more photos and anecdotes later on.

It’s hard for me to summarize all my thoughts about this visit.  I’m so impressed with how well run this farm is, and about how smart, thoughtful, and careful Heather is about what she’s doing.   I feel lucky to know her, and to be one of her customers.  (No, I am not getting any of my eggs or veg for what I’m writing) Perhaps the best way to sum it up is to show you the sign you see as you go out the driveway.

Suncrest Gardens Philosophy?

If any of you find yourself in Plymouth, NH, this May, please check out this show.  That is, if you needed a better reason to visit New Hampshire in the spring.

My quilts are in the photo on their website.    How cool is that?  Thanks to Annie Hager for setting this up.  I’m thrilled to participate.  I just wish I could get there in person while it’s up.  Mum- are you ready for a road trip?

Hummus serving suggestion, with chives, olive oil, and pita

Hummus (There are several possible spellings for this word) is one of those foods that we see almost everywhere now, either served with raw vegetables or pita bread triangles. Or in vegetarian sandwiches, or drizzled with olive oil as a side dish with gyros. It’s one of the first Middle Eastern foods to go mainstream in the United States. It’s easy to find in tubs at grocery stores, if you need a quick dip/spread for a party. It’s even pretty good for you, nutritionally, with the fiber of the garbanzo beans and all.  Did I mention it also freezes well?

Another wonderful thing about hummus is that if you have a blender or food processor, it’s really easy to make, whether you used canned beans, as in this video from about.com,

Traditional Hummus

or if you really start from scratch and use dried garbanzo beans (aka chick peas), which takes more time (The beans need to soak for several hours- all day, or overnight). This recipe is rather flexible. You can make it with or without tahini (sesame paste), with or without garlic, with or without lemon juice, and you can modify it with herbs and spices to match your own taste. I personally use a food processor, and I like garlic, tahini, and lemon.  The recipe below makes a large quantity- enough to freeze a couple containers for later.

Dried chick peas, before soaking

Equipment

• food processor or blender
• liquid measuring cup
• measuring spoons
• cutting board
• large bowl
• large saucepan or pasta pot
• knife
• colander
• rubber or silicone spatula
• plastic freezer containers and lids

Chick peas soaking

Ingredients

• 3 cups dried chick peas (aka garbanzo beans), picked over to remove rocks and bad beans
• water
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 6 -8 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Chick peas, re-hydrated, before cooking

Procedure

1. On the day before you want to serve your hummus, put the dried beans with 12 cups of water in a large bowl or pot with the 1/2 tsp. baking soda.  Let the beans sit in the water for 12 hours, or overnight.
2. After the beans have sit in the water, they will be re-hydrated, and gotten larger, absorbing a lot of the water.  Drain off any soaking water, then place your beans in the large cooking pot, and cover again with fresh water, so that the beans are under an inch or so of water.
3. Cook the beans at a simmer until they can be mashed easily with a fork.  This can take an hour or longer, depending on the simmer and the heat of your burner.
4. Meanwhile, peel your cloves of garlic, squeeze your lemon, and measure out your olive oil.
5. When the beans are done, reserve a cup or two of the cooking water, and then drain the beans in a colander.
6. Put the beans in your blender or food processor (you may need to do this in batches, depending on capacity), and add the lemon juice, tahini, and garlic.  Process until smooth, adding some of the cooking water as needed to thin the mixture out.
7. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil.
8. Stop the blender or processor, scrape down the sides with the spatula, and taste for seasonings.  Add more garlic, olive oil, tahini, or lemon juice as fits your taste.
9. When you have a hummus you like, you can serve it immediately, or store it in the refrigerator or freezer, in a covered plastic container.

More ingredients, ready for the processing

It’s officially asparagus season in southwest Wisconsin and southeast Minnesota.  Spring is really here.   After our success with Dilly Beans last summer, my friend Connie of MyPart and I jumped at the opportunity to pickle some of that asparagus goodness, to have throughout the year.  We got about 21 pounds of asparagus from Bronk’s, a local produce and plant vendor, who had gotten the asparagus from across the river in Wisconsin.

After a search for recipes and a collection of ingredients in our respective kitchens, we decided to pickle our asparagus with two different brines;  a basic brine for most of the jars, and a sweet and spicy brine, to make suitable garnishes for Bloody Marys.  Let’s start with the equipment needed for both of these recipes, and a few links to information on water bath canning:

Equipment

• 1-quart and 1-pint wide mouthed canning jars, with lids and rings
• canning kettle
• jar lifter
• ladle
• large saucepans
• cutting board
• tape measure or ruler
• paring knife or chef’s knife
• colander
• kitchen towels

A good explanation (including pictures of this equipment) of water bath canning is here- we did what the article refers to as “cold pack”.  We processed our jars for 10 minutes for both recipes.  Now onto the exotic sweet and spicy brine.

Mary Asparagus

modified from an original recipe by Johnnydeez on Allrecipes.com

For 4 quarts:

Ingredients

• 4 1-pound bunches of fresh asparagus
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup white wine vinegar
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 18 cloves of garlic
• 4 jalapeno peppers
• 2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 0.5 cup Old Bay seasoning
• 8 bay leaves
• 4 tsp. pickling salt
• 25 whole black peppercorns

Procedure

1. Wash the asparagus, and trim the stalks so that they will fit in the quart jars (ours were just under six inches in length).
2. Pack the asparagus spears into the jars.
3. Seed and julienne the jalapeno peppers.  Crush the garlic cloves. (I used a garlic press.)
4. Combine the non-asparagus ingredients into a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Boil hard for 1 minute.
5. Pour the hot liquid into the jars, filling to cover the tips of the asparagus.
6. Put on lids that have been rinsed in hot water, and screw on the rings so they are only fingertip tight.
7. Process in the water bath canner for 10 minutes.
8. Carefully remove jars with jar lifter to a clean flat surface, and let cool and air dry completely before moving the jars.

And now for some process photos:

Trimmed and Washed Asparagus Spears

The brine, after a hard boil

The canned Mary Asparagus

And now on to the second recipe, which we used for the remaining 17  pounds of asparagus.  We filled 11 quart jars and 7 pint jars, if my memory is correct.

Basic Pickled Asparagus

Ingredients

• fresh asparagus, rinsed and trimmed to pieces that will fit in the jars
• fresh garlic cloves, whole, peeled (about 1-2 bulbs, enough for two or three cloves per jar)
• hot peppers or chilies (enough so that each jar gets at least one half a pepper, preferably one whole chile per jar)
• white vinegar
• pickling salt
• water
• pickling spice (which is a combination of things like peppercorns, coriander, cloves, bay leaves, etc)

Quantities are much less exact in this recipe, as it depends on how much asparagus you have, and how many jars it takes to contain it.  We used about two batches of the brine as described below.

Procedure

1. Wash the asparagus, and trim the stalks so that they will fit in the jars.
2. Pack the asparagus spears into the jars, with one or two garlic cloves per jar, and at least one half a chile pepper.
3. Make the brine. Add 10 cups white vinegar, 10 cups of water, and 1 cup of pickling salt to a saucepan.  Add 2 Tbsp. of pickling spice, and heat.  Stir until the salt dissolves.
4. Pour the brine into the jars, filling to cover the tips of the asparagus.
5. Put on lids that have been rinsed in hot water, and screw on the rings so they are only fingertip tight.
6. Process in the water bath canner for 10 minutes.
7. Carefully remove jars with jar lifter to a clean flat surface, and let cool and air dry completely before moving the jars.

And, of course, a picture of our finished product:

The basic pickled asparagus

We had a good time doing this, and we’re a lot more experienced at it than when we did the dilly beans last summer.   I expect that by the end of this summer, we’ll be seasoned veterans, what with strawberry season coming up, and then more beans in August.  This is very satisfying to do (I’m saving food!), and I look forward to having good pickles in a month or so.

The bresaola is now in its final stage, that of drying slowly.   I took the eyes of round out of their cure bags from the fridge, rinsed them to remove most of the curing spices, then let them sit at room temperature for two hours.

(If you watch them VERY closely… they might move!)

After resting, I tied the roasts, so that they’ll be rounder eyes of round, and I wrapped them in (unbleached) cheesecloth.

Finally, I hung them in our basement, which just happens to be 60 degrees F, and 70% humidity, according to the temperature/humidity meter I got at the hardware store.  I am pleasantly surprised that my basement’s environment happens to fit the recipe so well.  The beef will hang for another three weeks, at which time I will need to finagle the use of a slicer, so we can have tastings.

Anyone have any suggestions?  Know of someone with a slicer that I should invite to the tasting party?  Know where I can get one that’s good for not too much money?

I’m excited that our local Farmer’s Market starts up again this Saturday.  I’ll be ready to go order my chickens (even if the farmer’s not ready for me!).  I hope I’ll have time before our WAQG workshop to go down and say hello, and take some pictures, and maybe buy some seedlings for my garden!

I received some photos this week of the latest grumpasaurus sightings in the mountains of Virginia.   All photos are copyright 2010 by Janet Sanborn Jonas.  (Thanks, Janet!)  I think the first one would be great for a caption contest.

“This laundry stinks.  This pile is a mess.” – Grumpasaurus Blue

Grump on a Lump

“This is a precision Swiss machine, and it doesn’t make CHOCOLATE?” – G. Blue

Now that the jowls have cured, I rinsed and dried them, and they are now hanging for 1-3 weeks until they are completely firm. I’ve tied them with butcher string, and they are hanging in a cool dry place- in the garage fridge.  (You can view a larger photo by clicking on the one above.)

I may move these to another location when I hang the bresaola… stay tuned for more on that on Wednesday.

Today is also the day that I can take my pork fat and meat from the -10F environment it’s been in for 12 days, so I can start the salame and sausages.

Thanks to Facebook, I recently re-connected with my best friend from summer camp during my tween years.  We discovered that we both did graduate school at the University of Maine, we are both quilters, and that we share an admiration of the work of Ruth B. McDowell.  Now we share even more than our original interests in drama and skiing.  Even better, A invited me to be in a quilt show at an art gallery in Plymouth, NH that she’s involved with.  She also invited my sister J (in Virginia) to participate.    This week, I’ve been adding labels (nothing like the last minute!) and a sleeve to the smaller of the two quilts.

This morning I mailed out Japanese Gardens II (above) and Ruth said “Let us Quilt.” (below).  They should arrive at A’s on Monday, in time for the show to be hung on April 30th.  A will be sending more promotion information shortly, so I’ll pass along more show details, if any of my adoring fans will be in or around Plymouth, NH this spring.