Category Archives: Friends and Farms

Themed Baskets

Posted on May 8, 2014 by AnnieRie

The latest thing in our weekly baskets. Foods that will work together to make a meal. Not just random, ripe, in season veggies, but well thought out combinations for exotic dinner ideas.

Sort of like Food Network and Chopped.

This week: we could do Indian or Middle Eastern foods easily.

These are the contents of our small basket from Friends and Farms.

The ideas? Butter chicken. Spiced kabobs. Chorizo, eggs and asparagus. Ribs with peach yogurt barbeque sauce. Or with peppers and onions. Lots of recipes on the web site to tempt us, too.

The proteins, to start. Eggs, chorizo, chicken thighs and country pork ribs. Dairy, this week, peach yogurt and the small container of plain yogurt. To make those Indian inspired sauces and marinades.

We were supposed to get tomatoes, but a last minute change due to availability gets us tomato puree, perfect to use in marinades and sauces.

Onions. Peppers.

As in seriously sized peppers.

White potatoes. Cameo apples. Broccoli. Cilantro (again, great in so many recipes).

And the bread. Kalamata olive and rosemary. One of my favorites from The Breadery.

I am having a difficult time deciding what to make first. I think there will be spiced kabobs soon, though.

One of the broccoli crowns was steamed to use with dinner tonight. And, the peach yogurt will go two places. Scones for the Mother’s Day tea (on Saturday) at the Conservancy. The rest. In peach pops. Warm weather makes me crave peach pops.

Yogurt pops are simple. Any flavor yogurt. Appropriate fruit. Blended together with a splash of simple syrup. Tomorrow, I am using defrosted Larriland peaches, and the peach yogurt we got today. I bought my cute little pop sticks at Casual Gourmet in Glenwood.

Hey, the temps are in the 80s around here. Time to think about summer food.

#hocofood

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What’s In Your Basket?

Posted on May 2, 2014 by AnnieRie

CSA season is upon us. Baskets and pick ups will begin soon. For us, we still get our Friends and Farms weekly small basket. Which will soon change to an individual basket, if we hear that Lancaster Farm Fresh got enough people to keep our CSA alive.

One week to go for that decision. In the meantime, Friends and Farms continues to deliver their quality product. This week, much more on the fresh front.

The wide angle view of the entire May 1 delivery.

What was in there?

Arctic char. Which almost immediately was being marinated in wine, oil and spices. Next to the char was the package of sirloin steaks. They were the proteins this week.

Well, except for the ewe crème cheese and the eggs. And the usual bread, this week honey whole wheat, rounded out the non vegetable and fruit items.

Moving on to the veggies.

Red leaf lettuce. Greenhouse tomatoes. Sweet potatoes. A boatload of kale. Onions. Apples.

Oh, almost forgot about one of my favorites. The raw Virginia peanuts. There is nothing like roasting spiced peanuts, or maybe getting bold enough to make peanut butter. The peanuts have a sheet with the recipes.

How easy is that?

This week is serious small plate heaven. The cheese. Perfect for crackers. With some of my famous (?) habanero jelly on it. Peanuts. Sit out on the patio and have a snack with a beer. Kale. I like this kale for kale chips.

#hocofood

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Digging the Parsnips

Posted on May 1, 2014 by AnnieRie

A couple of dinner pictures and descriptions. Using the parsnips from last week’s basket.

See those parships hiding behind the greens? Those really good for you vegetables that no one ever seems to be buying? Turns out they are really good for you, and they taste good too.

Yesterday I made colcannon using the biggest one. I love colcannon and haven’t made it in a while. It is pretty versatile as you can use any combination of starchy vegetables and cabbage/greens.

This dinner used all sorts of items from the Friends and Farms basket. The deviled crab was baked on the portabella mushrooms. Boarman’s crab cakes covered with a sauce of sweet mustard and Old Bay. Drizzle of oil. Baked at 400 degrees.

Colcannon. First, peel and slice/quarter a couple of potatoes and one very large parsnip. Boil them until soft. Mash. Meanwhile sauté half a sweet onion, and add blanched greens. I used the turnip greens from last week’s basket. Once wilted add to the mashed potato/parsnip mix, and stir in one cup of buttermilk and one tablespoon of butter. Salt and pepper to taste.

Not bad for a Wednesday night dinner.

But then, tonight. A new basket with Arctic char in it. I will do my weekly basket post tomorrow. Tonight though, was all about that char.

Coated with a red pepper pesto and olive oil. Convection baked for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. As for those last two parsnips, they were steamed with some Brussels sprouts and two carrots left from an earlier basket.

I am a serious parsnip fan these days. Sweet, tasty veggie.

#hocofood

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This Week’s Basket

Posted on April 26, 2014 by AnnieRie

You know, I almost forgot to post about the goodies we got in this week’s Friends and Farms basket Thursday. That would be a result of having so many activities going on, and not getting around to it.

I did get the big picture up there the other night, but that wide angle shot doesn’t do it justice.

Some highlights.

There were pork chops and chicken legs in the basket. The legs, along with a couple of chicken breasts from a previous basket, are happily marinating in a buttermilk brine. Soon to become oven roasted buttermilk chicken. They need another day though. The pork chops will make it in the oven early next week.

Turkey sausage. A favorite to keep around for when I make lasagna, or tomato sauce. It went in the freezer for a while. If I dig around in the basement freezer I will find some peeled tomatoes to make a sauce.

The rosemary was a nice touch. It will get used, just don’t know where yet. Love the apple cider. Perfect for use in the pork chop department. Or, straight up with lunch. The black cherry yogurt keeps disappearing at breakfast. With some granola mixed in.

Those hydroponic tomatoes from Hummingbird Farms. One with dinner tonight, over the greens (not pictured above). This week we got a Breadery baguette. Already almost gone. There was garlic bread with pasta last night. Green beans. Will be served with the pork chops, or maybe the chicken. Who knows?

Eggs. A few breakfast dishes. Some egg salad maybe. The grapefruit. In a salad or two. I like that refreshing hit from the citrus in salads. The portabellas. Definitely will be made later this week with a couple of Boarmans’ crab cakes spread over them.

As for the mother of all Napa cabbages I have ever encountered, I have no idea at the moment. I usually do a slaw, but this one would feed our zip code.

Parsnips. I love them. An underappreciated vegetable. Thinking of a riff on colcannon using some greens, parsnips and a few potatoes that are left.

I really enjoy this challenge. I feel I have wandered onto the set of Chopped, on Food Network.

And, next week. Looks even better.

I just need to stop going out. We seem to be doing that often this month.

#hocofood

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Too Tired to Post

Posted on April 24, 2014 by AnnieRie

That would be a strange occurrence for me, but after just downloading 90 photos and editing them, I realized how much we had done in just a few days. The camera had pictures from:

Grilling the last of the venison.

Finishing the tilling and pathway construction of the garden.

Picking up the Friends and Farms basket.

And, socializing and dining at Petit Louis Bistro.

There will be individual posts on each of these topics coming up, but in closing tonight, before I collapse on the sofa to watch Elementary, a reminder that Lake Kittamaqundi is a special place. Go enjoy lunch or dinner there, or stop by Le Comptoir for breakfast.

I may have left Columbia nine years ago, but the lakefront is special.

Somewhere, not far from the People Tree is our brick, celebrating that move to Columbia almost forty years ago.

#hocofood

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Posted in Community, Food, Friends and Farms, Howard County, Local Businesses, Real Food, Restaurants and tagged community, Food, foodie, gardening, grilling, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Not Your Mama’s Catfish

Posted on April 18, 2014 by AnnieRie

These were some kind of catfish.

Carolina Classics Catfish. Delivered in this week’s Friends and Farms basket. Two lovely 10 ounce filets. Perfect for pan frying and serving with those grits also in the basket. Red grits, as a matter of fact. I loosely followed the recipe for the grits on the highlighted web site, but did a little substitution.

As for the basket this week, it was clearly a Southern thing.

Sweet potatoes. Turnip greens. Catfish. Grits. What can I say?

Some of the usual stuff was in the basket. The dozen eggs. The bread. Apples.

Along With some green peppers. An eye of round roast. Carrots. Spinach. Frozen squash and corn. I have been loving the corn in soups and with black beans for a savory dish.

Oh, and a killer pepper jack cheese. An “in your face” cheese. Also pictured was a special sitting in their office. Rhubarb strawberry jam. We bought a jar, to have on toast.

As for tonight’s dinner. It consisted of catfish and grits.

The catfish. Pan fried in grapeseed oil. With a dusting of paprika, garlic powder, pepper and oregano. No, I didn’t measure it. I was heavy on the garlic and the paprika. A sweet paprika.

The grits. A slight modification of the recipe on the Plated website linked above. I did use the 1/2 cup of grits, and the two cup liquid mix. I used a couple of ounces of tomato paste and some chicken base in the mix, as called for. I used the spinach from the basket.

I did not have smoked paprika so used sweet paprika with two drops of liquid smoke.

You have to try this red grits recipe if you can get your hands on good grits. This was one awesome grits dish.

My suggestion, though, is to increase the salt and pepper a bit. They were just a touch too bland.

As for the catfish, use equal amounts (1 tbsp. each) of sweet paprika and of garlic powder. Use a very healthy pinch of pepper. A touch of oregano. I sort of played around with the recipe on the Plated site, but knew I wanted pepper to be more assertive. And much more garlic.

This was good stuff. We will be ordering these catfish from the Friends and Farms website, as we really were impressed with how great they are.

#hocofood

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Keeping It Close …

Posted on April 13, 2014 by AnnieRie

… to home. As in eating regionally. More and more foods that come into our house are regionally sourced. And most of what we eat are items that we make.

I just finished the next to last lamb from England Acres this weekend. It was a loin roast, that we grilled Saturday night.

It ended up feeding us for two nights, as we finished it tonight with a bunch of thrown together side dishes. We bought half a lamb last April. All that is left are one package of ground lamb, and one rib roast. There were 24 pounds of lamb in our delivery.

We didn’t order a lamb this year, as we are getting a good variety of locally sourced meat from the Friends and Farms basket.

Along with the lamb last night, we grilled a few of those lovely potatoes that were in this week’s basket. And some pesto rubbed bread.

The potatoes were coated with garlic powder and rosemary. Olive oil too. The bread, from Wegmans bakery, had a coating of red pepper pesto.

The lamb was marinated in red wine, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.

Tonight the last few pieces were served with some collard greens, and a grilled naan with pesto.

Those greens. Sautéed in olive oil, with scallions, the last banger, garlic, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and cayenne flakes. Who can resist perfectly cooked collards with that brightness of the lemon and kick of the garlic and cayenne.

Tonight, though, the star may have been the last Elk Run 2001 Cabernet from the cellar. Yes, 2001. Thirteen years old. From Maryland. And still hanging in there. Light. Soft. Almost sweet, since the tannins have faded. Who says Maryland can’t make good wine?

So, the lamb was from Mt. Airy. The wine was from Mt. Airy. Can’t get much closer for wine and meat. And, better than many restaurants. Not a bad start to grilling season, and spring in Maryland.

#hocofood

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Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Friends and Farms, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Wine and tagged cooking, CSA, farms, Food, foodie, grilling, local businesses, Locavore, MD Wine, real food, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

If It’s Thursday …

Posted on April 10, 2014 by AnnieRie

… it must be market day.

Or maybe I should say basket day. Three months ago I decided to try out Friends and Farms, until the spring CSA starts up. Turns out I really like the variety of protein and the surprises like this one.

That would be the buttermilk. Back when I started with the CSA I enjoyed the challenge of cooking with new vegetables. Now, we get grains, beans, polenta, monkfish, and other items that aren’t on my normal shopping list. It makes me think outside that rut filled box (mixing metaphors here) that we all fall into. Cooking in our comfort zone.

Looking ahead, next week is a doozy. Catfish and grits.

This week, bangers and mash.

Along with the suggested chicken and waffles. Since I don’t have a waffle maker, I am considering scones or cornbread. Or maybe blueberry pancakes using up some of my Larriland berries from the freezer.

This week we are slowly moving into springtime. With my favorite tomatoes other than those I grow.

Hummingbird Farms hydroponic tomatoes. Grown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

This week’s basket was huge.

I had to use the wide angle setting. And this is a small basket.

We got edamame. That was a bonus. Spring greens. A mess of collard greens. Those tomatoes. Potatoes. Apples. Pea shoots. Onions. The bangers. Chicken. Breakfast sausage. I got yogurt for the eggs, and eggs for the milk. My standard switch. Grains Galore bread from the Breadery.

So far, it has been easy to use up the protein. The dairy, a little harder. The frozen items I occasionally forget to make, but I do get to them. We love the edamame as an appetizer.

So, today, I hit Wegmans for some tuna. Grilled it with the potatoes. Made a great salad using some spring mix, pea shoots, the last of the cucumbers from an earlier basket.

I mean, after all, it is springtime and the weather just invited grilling. Since it may rain tomorrow, I am thinking it will be banger and mash night.

#hocofood

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Carpe Java

Posted on April 3, 2014 by AnnieRie

Seize the Coffee. Some days I feel I need that kick to get started.

Thanks, Iron Bridge for the awesome coffee cups. Today was a bit dreary, but yet warm enough to feel like spring really may be coming.

Highlights: picking up the Friends and Farms basket.

And, heading up to the community garden to plant a few garlic chives.

I keep searching for the signs of spring in the yard, and they are getting closer.

As for the basket, those hamburger patties just scream “Fire up the grill!”.

The cod is destined for a fish and chips dinner. More on that later this weekend.

There were the usual eggs. Some nice looking Colby cheese. Cremini mushrooms. Apples, potatoes, kale, Bibb lettuce and carrots. Frozen broccoli and squash puree.

AND POPCORN.

I love getting popcorn. So much fun to make. There will be fancy popcorn while watching the final four this weekend.

Getting into that spring mood now. The garden will be coming soon. The grill is up and running. One more day of rain, and then a lovely weekend.

#hocofood

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Two Stop Shopping

Posted on March 27, 2014 by AnnieRie

As I blogged yesterday, I did the weekly pick up down on Gerwig Lane for this week’s Friends and Farms basket, then I headed over to Wegmans to get those K cups, olive oil, and a few other small items.

Of course, I never get out of there without at least two bags of stuff.

Like the fixings to make a Greek salad, since we got cucumbers this week in our basket.

I have learned to put extra items on my list by signing in on Sunday night and choosing what I know we will use. This week I added extra Asian pears, cucumbers and Bibb lettuce.

Our meats this week included turkey sausage, pork butt and chicken breasts. It was an egg week, and for me, the substitute yogurt for the eggs, and the eggs for the weekly milk, rounded out my protein and dairy.

I won’t need to purchase anything else to make dinners and lunches next week.

The pork, with the sauerkraut, and the pears will make a great dinner.

We also got frozen strawberries. Right now, I am enjoying refreshing drinks made of strawberries and seltzer.

I picked one of my favorite Breadery breads. Kalamata olive and rosemary.

We also had spring mix, sweet potatoes, onions, and broccoli crowns.

Dinner tonight was inspired by those cucumbers, and the mix of lettuces.

At Wegmans, I hit the olive bar and also picked up some Campari tomatoes. I had the last of the Bowling Green Feta in the fridge, so Greek salad got made.

The tuna. Pan seared with sesame seeds and sea salt. The last pieces of the tuna we bought last month. The fingerlings. A splurge at Wegmans. Since all I have in the house are the sweet potatoes from today’s basket. Half the plate. The Greek salad. A piece of that lovely olive bread.

A glass of pinot noir. What could be better for dinner?

#hocofood

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