Kitchen Garden Journal

Ingredients:

Cooking Oil (olive or other)

Mushrooms

Garlic or shallots or cipollini onions, usually not more than one of those

Ham, bacon or pancetta, optional

White wine, sherry, Port or Madeira, optional

Butter

Salt 

Parsley

Cream, optional

Heat the oil and mushrooms in a wide, heavy skillet over medium high heat. The mushrooms should all fit in the pan in a single layer with a bit of breathing room between them. (Otherwise, when the mushrooms start to heat up and release moisture, they will steam each other rather than brown.  If you have a lot of mushrooms to do, work in batches.) Sometimes I add some bacon as well (like 2 slices, max, diced pretty small), for that extra umami kick. Keep it moving but refrain from stirring constantly.

When the mushrooms have taken on some color and are about halfway through cooking, it’s time to add the garlic or shallot or onion and a nice knob of butter. I also usually salt and pepper them at this point. Keep sautéing them until the alliums are golden and caramelized and starting to stick to the pan. (If you had added the butter and garlic in the beginning, they would be too burned by the end.)

Now it’s time to add the wine. Stir until completely evaporated. Your pan will look greasy again like it did before. 

Just before turning off the heat add the minced parsley, not too much. If you want to turn this into a cream sauce, add the cream now, bring to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes longer. 

Now you can serve it with the starch of your choice. I like toasted white artisan style bread or fresh egg pasta like homemade tagliatelle. (I use the packaged Bionaturae brand pappardelle when I feel lazy.)

 

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This week I’m not going to talk about the weather. Well, let’s just say I feel jerked around. 

The good news is that after last week’s heat wave and storms, we had a massive bursting forth of growth on the farm. The squashes are pumping, the beets are plumping, we’ve got the first cucumbers from the greenhouse, and generally everything looks twice as big as it was last week. 

So do the weeds. We were staking tomatoes last week and kind of squandered a great opportunity for hoeing.

But let’s not dwell on that for a moment. What I’m enjoying right now is the feeling of having some real food to cook with.  Summer always seems to start for me when the first herbs come in. Our three favorite herbs are basil, cilantro and parsley and I can hardly think of a summer meal that doesn’t begin with at least one of these three. 

I love insalata caprese (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, & basil), and I am looking forward to harvesting June tomatoes next year from our newly completed greenhouse. I love pasta with the first basil and the first zucchini. I love clams or mussels steamed with garlic, white wine, and parsley. I love spaghetti alle vongole (clam sauce). 

I love pico de gallo made by dicing up whatever vegetables are fresh and combining them with chilies, lime juice and cilantro. I love it with chips, I love it with tacos and burritos and beans and rice. I love cilantro and mint wrapped into a Vietnamese rice paper roll with fresh lettuce, rice noodles and grilled lemongrass pork. I love tabouleh, the greener—with parsley and mint—the better, especially when served with a spread of Middle Eastern or Greek foods. 

Oh yes, all of this is what I think of when I think of summer. But the thing I love best about all of these foods is making them with the fresh herbs that we grow. Everything takes off from there.     

 

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Red or white?  This is our version, a nice compromise.

• 1 lb. spaghetti, linguine, or cappellini
• 2 lbs. steamer clams, or 24 littlenecks
• 1-2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 head garlic
• 1/2 glass white wine
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• fresh basil and/or parsley, chopped
• salt & pepper

Scrub the clams and soak them in cold water for an hour or so to reduce the sandiness. Put up some water for the pasta.  Meanwhile slice or chop the garlic as desired and sauté gently in the olive oil in a large pan with a tight fitting lid. When the garlic is not yet brown but starting to get sticky, toss in the clams, tomatoes, and herbs. Put on the lid and cook over high just until the clams open, shaking everything around from time to time. Remove from heat and discard any unopened clams.  Sprinkle with pepper and taste for salt.  Now, at this point you have two options*: you can fish out the clams and scrape their bodies back into the sauce (makes it less messy and time consuming to eat) or you can simply toss your al dente pasta right in the pan and serve it up, steaming, brothy, shells and all.  Almost as good as being at the Cape! (Better yet, take your veggies with you and make it out there!)
*If using steamers, you’ll need to shell and de-”sock” them before returning them to the sauce.

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• 2-3 large leeks, cleaned
• 1 large bulb fennel
• 1 pound spinach or chard
• 2 cloves garlic
• 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 eggs
• Smattering of herbs like parsley, dill, and mint
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Small pinch cayenne powder
• Salt & pepper
• 1 package frozen phyllo dough or puff pastry
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil

Thinly slice the leeks and fennel across the grain.  Heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium heat in your most capacious frying pan or wok, or in a large saucepan. Add the sliced vegetables and sauté until thoroughly softened, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, wash and chop the greens and blanch in boiling salted water for 2 minutes.  Drain, chill in cold water, wring out and reserve.  Chop the garlic very finely and add to the sautéing vegetables.  When they are ready, remove from heat and add the greens, crumbled feta, herbs, lemon juice, and eggs. Mix thoroughly and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. 

Defrost dough according to package directions.  If using phyllo, place one sheet at a time on a large cookie sheet, brushing with the remaining oil between the layers until half the package is used.  Pour on the filling and spread it out evenly.  Cover with remaining dough, brushing each layer with oil, and bake at 350° for 45 minutes to an hour, until the top is golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.  Serve at room temperature the following day for lunch.

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One of the best things to do with fully ripe tomatoes at the height of the season is to oven-roast them.  The resulting concentrated flavor is similar to that of sun-dried tomatoes. Choose firm fleshed varieties, cut them into halves or wedges (depending on size), arrange them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake in a medium oven (375 degrees) until slightly shrivelled and starting to brown. Use these roasted tomatoes in numerous ways, including this pasta.

• 2 lbs small ripe tomatoes, roasted as above
• 1-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp Italian parsley, cut into fine ribbons
• 1 lb capellini (angel hair) pasta

Roast the tomatoes as described above and set aside. Heat half the oil in a wide skillet and saute half the garlic until just beginning to brown. Add the tomatoes. Sautee briefly to heat through and set aside. This mixture should be fairly dry and not soupy. Saute the remaining oil and garlic, add the breadcrumbs*, and toast over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parsley and stir briefly to mix. Remove from the heat. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Boil the capellini until al dente.
To serve: Mix the pasta thoughouly with the garlic-tomato mixture. Serve in bowls and top with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan.
*If you are in the habit of buying artisan breads and not always finishing them before they go stale, slice the unused ends and save them in a paper bag for making your own breadcrumbs.  Simply grate the stale bread on a box grater or smash it into smaller pieces and pulse them in the food processor.  Of course, this time of year all of this is pretty much impossible due to the extreme humidity. The stale bread molds and becomes too moist to properly form crumbs. An alternative is to use oven-made dry toasts.  Simply toast bread (baguette works nicely) in the oven at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, until completely dry.   

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• 
• 1 lb. spaghetti, linguine, or cappellini
• 2 lbs. steamer clams, or 24 littlenecks
• 1-2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 head garlic
• 1/2 glass white wine
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• fresh basil and/or parsley, chopped
• salt & pepper

Scrub the clams and soak them in cold water for an hour or so to reduce the sandiness. Put up some water for the pasta.  Meanwhile slice or chop the garlic as desired and sauté gently in the olive oil in a large pan with a tight fitting lid. When the garlic is not yet brown but starting to get sticky, toss in the clams, tomatoes, and herbs. Put on the lid and cook over high just until the clams open, shaking everything around from time to time. Remove from heat and discard any unopened clams.  Sprinkle with pepper and taste for salt.  Now, at this point you have two options*: you can fish out the clams and scrape their bodies back into the sauce (makes it less messy and time consuming to eat) or you can simply toss your al dente pasta right in the pan and serve it up, steaming, brothy, shells and all.  Almost as good as being at the Cape! (Better yet, take your veggies with you and make it out there!)
*If using steamers, you’ll need to shell and de-”sock” them before returning them to the sauce.

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• 4 Tbsp butter
  1/2 cup sliced onion
  1-2 cups freshly shelled peas
  1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  1/2 cup freshly grated parmesean
  2 ounces prosciutto, sliced extremely thin
  fresh homemade or purchased egg tagliatelle or fettucine
• 2 tbsp flat Italian parsley, chopped

Boil and salt the pasta water.  In a wide skillet, saute the onion lightly in the butter until translucent.  Add the peas and saute 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the cream and bring to a boil, then simmer 3-5 minutes until slightly reduced.  Add the Parmesan and stir to incorporate.  Turn off the flame and tear bite-sized pieces of prosciutto into the sauce.  Meanwhile, cook the fresh pasta until it floats, drain well and add to the pan in which the sauce was cooked (alternately, combine in a serving bowl).  Toss and serve immediately with freshly ground pepper, additional cheese and parsley.  Hint: eat it all because if you reheat leftovers the next day, the cream disappears in a puddle of grease.

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