Category Archives: Food

… Plus You Get Strawberries*

Posted on May 21, 2016 by AnnieRie

Strawberry season is upon us.

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Gorman Farms opened this past week. Details on their web site. TLV Tree Farm is bringing strawberries to the Howard County Farmers Markets in Oakland Mills, Miller Library, Maple Lawn and HoCo General Hospital.

Larriland has a notice up on the web site. Look for picking to start sometime next week. I will probably be there, as usual.

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It doesn’t take long to fill a basket.

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One basket is roughly ten pounds of berries. Two baskets make twenty pounds, where you get the price break. I come home and start processing. This is the easy part.

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Just hull them. Clean them up a little. Flash freeze them and put them in small bags or containers in the freezer. Perfect to drop into lemonade or wine or a cocktail.

A little harder. Make puree and freeze it in ice cube trays.

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Put one of these in a glass of wine. Chills it perfectly and makes your own wine cooler.

When we are ambitious, we make crisps and crumbles and pies and shortcake, but mostly we just enjoy the fresh berries.

*The quote from Ron Finley’s Guerrilla Gardener TED talk, a favorite of mine. “gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the inner city, plus you get strawberries”

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Hot House Tomatoes

Posted on May 17, 2016 by AnnieRie

Not something I expected from our CSA.

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We have gone regional. I assume it is to keep customers who want vegetables all year round, and not just in season. If you watch, the Community Supported Agriculture model keeps changing, to compete with the regional food source companies. Who get more customers than the traditional models do.

I can’t say I blame them. There doesn’t seem to be an exponentially growing market out there for real food, grown locally and provided fresh in season.

Lancaster Farm Fresh has thousands of clients. Besides the CSA members, there are restaurants, schools, hospitals, grocery stores and small farms buying their produce, herbs and fruit. Some weeks our email tells us we are getting the regional LFFC labeled food, instead of the local farm food.

Toigo Farms. In Carlisle PA. Home to what they say is the largest greenhouse in the USA. Video here.

Toigo Orchards is familiar to us. We bought their fruit at the Dupont Circle market. They seem to have constructed a massive greenhouse to grow tomatoes.

Don’t get me wrong. They were OK. But not as good as vine ripened tomatoes in season. And, not as good as what we get from Hummingbird Farms in MD. Maybe I need to let them hang out in a sunny window for a few days. Yeah right. Like we actually get sun around here.

All in all, today’s basket from our CSA wasn’t bad.

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It was springtime in a basket if you looked at the green garlic, the romaine, the radishes and the rhubarb. I did a few swaps this week. I really wanted good salad material, and those greens will make a killer pesto.

Still, I will wait for this type of tomato.

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Those heirloom tomatoes.

I did make a nice Caprese salad tonight. Tomaotoes, mozzarella and fresh basil. Balsamic and olive oil. Salt and pepper. IT just didn’t have that in season taste.

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Spring Cleaning

Posted on May 15, 2016 by AnnieRie

In the herb and spice world. Do you clean out your spice jars? Buy new herbs to plant in your garden? Or put out a few pots on the balcony?

For me, spring is when I do my clean out of my spice jars. Creating mixes to use up the old stuff. Planting some standbys, and trying a few new items.

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You can get many potted herbs at our farmer’s markets and at the local spots, like River Hill. Which is where I usually get my African blue basil.

This year I found the basil at Sharp’s Farm.

Still, I use enough of the dried stuff in the winter to keep most of my supply fresh and the older spices and herbs, I have a perfect use for them. Sprinkle them on the grill, or dump a tiny amount of them onto your mosquito chasing candles. Either way, the scent makes any outdoor gathering so much better.

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Try something new and different. Grow a new herb. I am really liking the bay leaf plant that I keep outdoors all summer and baby all winter in a sunny window.

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If only the weather around here would cooperate so I can get my kitchen stools back under the counter.

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All Over the Map Friday

Posted on May 13, 2016 by AnnieRie

Because. There are so many things happening that I can’t focus on just one.

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Like how happy we are to have rhubarb and garlic greens and scallions to celebrate spring cooking.

Like the fun we have in the rain while leading field trips.

Like looking forward to grilling season with all the good food we get from local vendors.

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We’ve already done the hanger steak but if the sun actually hangs around, I will be grilling chicken wings. Drenched in butter and hot sauce.

Tomorrow, I will try to hit the River Hill and Ellicott City opening day. Glenwood, I’ll save for my regular weekend trips but I want to check in with Copper Penny at Ellicott City. Their market in AACO lost its site, so I am glad they found a new home next to the Wine Bin.

Speaking of the Wine Bin, we need Rose wine. And they have lots of it.

After I help with check in for Hike to the River at the Howard County Conservancy I am off to check out the markets.

Now do you understand why this post is all over the map? There is so much going on, and it’s that time of year when we love to get outdoors. Click on my links to hear more.

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Food Safety

Posted on May 10, 2016 by AnnieRie

Raise your hand if you were one of the millions contacted that you had bought possible listeria contaminated foods. That would include me. The ORGANIC edamame from COSTCO. Bought in 2014. Yep, it took two years for them to figure out they had a problem.

And people wonder why I stopped buying as much processed food. Why I run from my CSA to Friends and Farms to get most of the basic food we cook and eat. Why I do pick your own farm food, and process it myself.

We have seen three different recalls in May. CRF frozen vegetables and fruits from everywhere, it seems. Rice from Trader Joes and “pictfresh” veggies at Harris Teeter. Nature’s Promise at Giant Food. Around here these stores provide most of the pwople who live in the area with their weekly groceries.

I wonder why we have all these regulations driving our small local farmers crazy, while we allow mega producers to go TWO YEARS with possibly contaminated food.

Thankfully, that edamame didn’t make us sick. And, we haven’t bought grocery store frozen food in quite a while.

I have become convinced that the closer we remain to the source of our food, the better we have it. Since that “organic” label isn’t a guarantee that you get better quality, I think I will rely on knowing where my food originates.

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The Amish cooperative that gives us much of our food has that motto. Along with this philosophy.

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If we support our local farms and farmers, who feed their families with the same food they sell us, we wouldn’t have to worry about the industrial processing which may or may not contaminate our food.

It’s not as easy to take time to buy from small farms and producers, but at least you have a face to match to the food you buy.

Join a CSA if you want to take more control of the vegetables you get. Find a local meat producer to have fresher meat without hormones, antibiotics or questionable handling. Pick your own, at places like Larriland.

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And, by all means, don’t just assume because it’s organic, that it’s better. Farms around here take great care in growing food without undue use of harmful pesticides. They are an affordable alternative to mega-company organic stuff that costs more without being any better.

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Mother’s Day Weekend

Posted on May 5, 2016 by AnnieRie

Interesting and exciting things to do with mom.

Want to do something new? Not just that breakfast in bed thing?

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Look enticing? A Mother’s Day tea and scones social with the bonus of garden tours. At the Howard County Conservancy this Saturday. Sign up is here.

Or, a Sunday visit to a working farm. With an opportunity to make a flower arrangement, and take a hayride, and also, bring a picnic for the family. At Sharp’s Farm.

I suggest making this simple salad for mom, and bringing it to a picnic wherever you can.

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This salad is simple. Arugula. Marcona almonds. Strawberries. Berry vinaigrette. Pepper. The vinaigrette is from Breezy Willow. Arugula and strawberries from my Friends and Farms baskets. Almonds, Costco.

For other options to visit, there is always Brighton Dam, for the azalea gardens.

Or, the Sheep and Wool Festival. The largest we have heard of. We have to brave the traffic and visit the festival on Sunday.

Don’t just settle for a boring breakfast or brunch. Get out there and support local businesses and give mom something different.

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Healthier Options

Posted on May 3, 2016 by AnnieRie

I found a new recipe today, to use my spinner full of spinach.

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Spinach and cannellini bean dip. No cheese. No cream. Really great tasting. The perfect dip to serve at a Mother’s Day picnic. You should be able to find baby spinach at one of the farmer’s markets. If not, I think this recipe could be easily adapted to use arugula, or baby turnip greens, or garlic greens.

The greens are wilted in a pan that contains two minced cloves of garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil. I used a locally sold one. From the Breadery. An arbequina. The recipe calls for twelve ounces of baby spinach.

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I just used fresh spinach from my Friends and Farms basket. The garlic came from there also.

Wilt it down. Meanwhile, rinse and drain a can of cannellini beans. Dump the beans, a tablespoon of balsamic, a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, some salt and pepper and another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a food processor.

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Add the wilted spinach, watch the processor steam up from the heat (they do say to let the spinach cool a bit), and pulse it until it is smooth and creamy. Serve it with bread, with vegetables, with crackers. Or, like I may do tomorrow night, serve it on chicken.

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I found the recipe on my Food Network App. It’s from Everyday Italian.  This one is a keeper.

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Springing into Market Season

Posted on May 1, 2016 by AnnieRie

Yes, around here we know the seasons have changed when the farmer’s markets, and Jenny’s have opened.

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Jenny’s announced on their facebook page that opening day is Friday the 6th. For me, this is such welcome news. No more driving when I need some citrus, or bananas, or extra vegetables to complete a meal. Jenny’s is only a mile away from me, and open every day of the week. Yes, some of the produce is from the wholesale markets but they also support local farmers who don’t sell at the county markets. You haven’t had lima beans until you have their fresh picked, fresh shelled beans in the middle of summer.

As for the farmer’s markets around here, Wednesday is the day Miller market opens the season.

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We have to hit Love Dove Farms for fresh greens. You know it’s really the beginning of the fresh fruit and vegetable season when you can make this awesome salad.

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Greens and strawberries. A simple yogurt dressing. If you want, the addition of some ewe cream cheese.

Five of the eight Howard County markets open this week. Miller library, Wednesday. Cradlerock library Thursday. The Friday hospital market has expanded hours, opening at 11:30 am, to accommodate the lunch crowd. Saturday, Maple Lawn opens Sunday Oakland Mills. The newest market in River Hill Garden Center, opens on the 14th, and the Glenwood and Ellicott City Old Town markets return that same day.

This web site, MDSBEST, will help you find local farms, markets, CSAs and food sources in the state.

For those who read my blog and don’t live in Maryland, I found local harvest to be the best place to find local purveyors.

As for us, Tuesday our CSA begins again. Wednesday I may be hitting Miller Library to get salad fixings. If you want to change what you eat, and eat more locally produced foods, the salad greens are the easiest way to begin.

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And a couple of salad spinners are the best thing in your refrigerator.

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Shopping at Friends and Farms

Posted on April 28, 2016 by AnnieRie

Somewhere along the line, we reduced our reliance on grocery stores and increased what we bought from our CSA and our regional food bag.

Like our combinations at Friends and Farms.

The Protein and Dairy bag.

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Today we got monkfish, ground chuck, eggs, cheese and turkey filets. Instead of milk, I pick extra produce. Today it was arugula.

Arugula was also in my sample produce bag, which I went on line to choose. My CSA doesn’t start until next week so I went on line to order a produce bag.

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One with a protein option. Shrimp.

You can customize all kinds of combinations with this company. And buy extras at the warehouse.

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Like yogurt and ice cream and apples and rice. Meat options too, which I saw on the blackboard. Whole chickens. Beef brisket. Specials every week as they try to keep the inventory in the freezer at a minimum.

Most of our food comes from here, and our CSA. No recalled foods from small local suppliers. No vegetables with possible listeria contamination. No meat products with wood, metal, plastic or whatever in them. I am a true believer in buying from small local companies, and knowing who processes your food.

Just to show how easy it is to come home and make an awesome dinner.

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I sautéed that monkfish. Added it to a skillet of rice and vegetables.

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Made a fish stew that will go into my regular rotation. It was that good.

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This was simple. Yesterday I made a couple of cups of rice in my rice cooker. The leftovers from dinner become an addition to tonight’s dinner. I sautéed onions, garlic, and asparagus in olive oil. Added a container of crushed tomatoes. A container or spicy kale and bean soup. A teaspoon of sugar. A half teaspoon of salt. A splash of wine. After sautéing the monkfish I finished it in this mix.

Served with this.

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A locally produced merlot.

Between the local markets, farms, CSAs and Friends and Farms, I don’t need to go to grocery stores. Unless I need toilet paper.

Yeah I forgot to photograph the final dish. It was served over arugula. Which was in my produce bag and my sample bag.

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A double dose of arugula.

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The King’s Vegetable

Posted on April 27, 2016 by AnnieRie

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Asparagus. Heralding springtime. One of the many names in Germany for asparagus is Königsgemüse, or King’s Vegetable. It used to be quite expensive and only the wealthy could afford it. This web page has some of the history, as well as many very nice recipes.

My new garden plot is giving me a prolific harvest of asparagus. I may be overwhelmed if the weather continues to be favorable.

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Less than a week from my first spears cut, and we are getting a good amount almost every other day. Yesterday my husband counted at least two dozen more that should be ready tomorrow or Friday.

Asparagus is a perennial. It needs at least three years from initial planting to produce. These plants are at least five years old, from my understanding when I consulted with the previous garden plot “owner”.

Nothing like asparagus just a few hours out of the ground. Just a simple steaming and a pat or two of butter.

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Last night’s dinner. Rice with mushroom gravy. Asparagus, and a couple drumsticks from my Friends and Farms basket.

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