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Posted in Eating In, Food, Vegetarian | Tags chickpeas, recipe, salads, summer, Vegetarian | No Comments »

Is that Chicken Thigh Worth $2.50?

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

These days, we’re constantly being admonished to eat better food. The environmentally conscious and the nutritionally aware communities are pushing their message like never before: our cheap, industrial food supply is probably not the best thing for us, dietary-wise. The problem is that most of us are used to our current supermarket prices, and small production organic or natural-method farms are justifiably charging a premium for their products.

Case in point – we love the folks at Springfield Farm. They’re a bio-conscious operation in northern Baltimore County that raises laying hens, roaster chickens, turkeys, hogs, and lambs on natural pasture. You can see their laying hens in the photo above. That little red building all the way in the background is the hen-house, and the food & water’s as far away from it as possible, so that the hens spend most of their time outside. They’re exercised, in the open air, and free to forage for bugs and tasty plants. They’ll strip most of the green vegetation off this section of pasture, and will be rotated onto pasture vacated by the sheep.

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Posted in Eating In, Food, For Carnivores | Tags chicken, meat, organic, recipe | No Comments »

Cold Crop, Warm Heart

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

It’s foggy and chilled outside, the end of November, and a steady, cold, drizzling rain is falling.

The lazy days of summer have given way and passed through the gentle days of a Mid-Atlantic October. Now comes the dreary onset of a Maryland winter. Around here, we always have to pass through the damp mid- to late-November rains to get to the cold, crisp clear winter days.

Today’s a day for a comforting, warming meal. Tender greens and light summer flavors are out of season. In cooler climes, this is the time of year most of us should start changing over to the flavors that sustain until warmer days return. Root vegetables, potatoes, brassicas like cauliflower, kale, brocolli, and cabbage. Now’s the time to break out the canned and preserved bounties of our summer gardens. The flavors are changed, but provide a reminder of what to look forward to next year.

I’m going to tell you how to take the humble red cabbage, much-maligned vegetable that it is, and transform it into pure autumn. All you need to do is slice it coarsely, combine it with some diced Granny Smith apple, and pan-braise it in an acidic liquid in order to keep its color. Short cooking times keep it from becoming the red mush we remember from bad childhood meals, and a finish with butter transforms the dish into a glorious representation of fall flavor.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags braise, cabbage, recipe, side-dish | No Comments »

One Last Gasp of Summer

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Lemon Shrimp with Tomato and Basil

The weather here in the Mid-Atlantic is starting to turn cooler, but I’m just not ready to let go of the last shreds of summer. So, before I delve into the earthy and warming flavors of autumn, I’ve got to give light, fresh, and vibrant one more go. Make this on a fleeting warm October afternoon, or hold onto it to spring on friends and family (ha!) come April. Or, let’s be honest, you can use this on a winter’s day to bring a little of the lazy days of Tuscan summer into the kitchen. Just be aware that some of the ingredients are only going to be available from distant climes.

This recipe is fast, fast, fast. After about 15 minutes of prep work, it comes together as a meal in less than 10 minutes in most cases. The sauce literally takes 5 minutes to prepare, so start it when your pasta has about 5 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

6 oz. (dry weight) long pasta – spaghetti, bucatini, linguini fini, etc.
1 dry pint grape or cherry tomatoes
8 oz frozen, pre-cooked shrimp, thawed with tails removed
1 lemon
6 large cloves garlic
4-5 basil tops, fresh
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp white sugar
salt
pepper

Cooking time: 6-12 minutes for pasta, depending on type, 5 minutes for sauce.

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