Category: In the garden

He would probably be surprised to learn it, but Mother Jones writer and food editor Tom Philpott has changed the way I cook. The roots of this revolution had been brewing for some time but I read his post about cookbooks and lights went off in my head. You’re Using Recipes Wrong: Here’s how cookbooks and food sites are wasting your time argues that cookbooks geared towards a single meal are exhausting, impractical and wasteful. You read a recipe and create a shopping list based on the ingredients you’ll need. You find another recipe or two, then you go to the store and shop based on this list. You make the dishes, possibly quite successfully, but you are tired, exhausted and there’s a better than good chance that the next day you have nothing in the house to eat. You work full time, you have kids maybe, other obligations certainly, and while you love your time in the kitchen, it’s a lot of effort and you still need to eat out or worse, call for delivery.

Just as I was reading Tom’s article, I was digging into what I assume is an excellent book on a foreign food that I had no expertise on. The final dishes looked terrific but as I scanned the ingredient list, my heart sank. Cooking from this book was going to mean a lot of shopping and I would need many ingredients that I wouldn’t normally use in my day to day cooking. I found myself judging new books based on their ingredient lists. Of course, I love learning new tricks and novelty but it was becoming exhausting.

At around the same time my 16 year old son came to live with me full time. The nights of wine and cheese if I didn’t feel like cooking were over. He’s a great eater and will try anything and if he knows I’ve worked hard, he’ll do his best to enjoy it but the train was leaving the station and I needed to get on board.

In Philpott’s article, he mentioned Tamar Adler’s An Everlasting Meal, which on the surface is an updated  version and tribute to M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf, a fun and important book that is sadly less than useful because our pantrys our so much different now than they were when Fisher wrote the book. But the spirit is the same. You can run an efficient kitchen and save loads of money and more importantly, always have something good eat on hand.

I had a copy of An Everlasting Meal and when I first read it, I wasn’t taken in. As a friend described it, “It’s a little too twee.” I picked it up again and this time the voice coming from the book was extremely helpful, just the teeniest bit pedantic but mostly like a friend sharing her secrets. Or rather for me, like Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz: I’ve had the secret all along! She’s just helping me figure it out for myself. I would say most of what she writes, I kind of already knew, but she puts all the pieces together in a logical, appetizing way and if you are like me, things change for the better after reading An Everlasting Feast. If you pick it up and find yourself irritated, put it away and try it later. It’s a great book, but maybe not an everyday book.

There are many great concepts in the book, but the most important for was that your food, the beautiful bounty you bring home from the farmers market or specialty store, is never going to be as good again as the moment you lay it on your counters before you put it in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. Cook them all on Sunday and keep them in the fridge and mix and match as you want throughout the week.

My son has asked to eat vegetarian during the week and freestyle on the weekends. I suggested roasted vegetables and grains for the bulk of our eating and luckily he’s on board. So Sunday morning I crank up the oven and have sheet pans and mixing bowls on hand as I chop carrots, toss them in olive oil and then roast them. While they roast I get the zucchini ready with the same treatment. Then on to broccoli rabe, etc. On the stovetop in a beloved clay cazuela I’m sauteeing braising greens. The very last thing is the black walnuts. I turn off the oven and put a sheet of walnuts in and leave them for 6 minutes. It seems to toast them perfectly and this is good as they are very expensive but add an indescribably something, especially to greens. Of course there are always beans on hand.

For grains I’ve been loving farro and wheatberries but brown rice and wild rice are also favorites. The wild rice, when cooked like pasta, leaves you with a delicious broth, which can be used on its own or matched with bean broth, vegetable broth or even chicken broth. Wild rice and mushrooms is a perfect combination, by the way.

The result of all this cooking is that the fridge is loaded with containers of cooked food. For dinner, I can take some beans, some wild rice broth and puree them, heat them and add some cooked braising greens like chard and call it soup. I can whip up a quick tahini sauce and top off a plate of roasted carrots over farro. My son can make his own lunch of brown rice, Eye of the Goat beans and salsa and make his own tiffin. I can have another cup of coffee on a busy morning.

It’s funny after 57 years to finally “get” it. I’ve been so passionate about food but now I have a real working kitchen. A meal isn’t a time to panic. How the different components work together is a fun game and I often surprise myself.

I’m not getting rid of my cookbooks and I’m probably going to keep buying books I don’t need, but I look at them in a different light now. Shopping is fun. Cooking is even more fun. The meals around here are better than ever.

Inspiration and literal recipes from cookbooks are important but it’s more important to develop your own cuisine, based on what you like and what you easily can get. I still will be cooking obscure Mexican favorites or Tuscan peasant food now and then with the help of books, travel and friends, but day to day, my own food is front and center and ready to serve.

We’re harvesting Yellow Indian Woman beans and I decided to have a little party in this fine legume’s honor. I irritated my bean farmer and had him give me 5 pounds of unmilled beans. This means they are right out of the ground, a romantic concept until you realize you have to look long and hard for organic debris that is inevitably mixed in with the beans.

I will tell you now that 5 pounds is a lot of beans to sort through but there is almost nothing worse when eating a beautiful bowl of heirloom beans than biting into a rock or dirt clod.

I did this early in the day and it’s kind of amazing how much dirt is there. I find the best way to do it is on a sheet pan. I didn’t find any rocks but clods of dirt were plentiful.

These beans were two weeks old and really, soaking was 100% unnecessary. Something in me said to go ahead and do it as with a little soaking, these dirt bombs would disintegrate and could be rinsed away with the soaking water. I started thinking that maybe this is partly why old timers insisted on soaking their beans. These bits of dirt were very sneaky and seemed determined to stay, even with my eagle eyes.

You must check your commercial beans and rinse them but these days it’s not likely you’ll find much. But the thought of a bite of dirt should be enough inspiration to keep checking and maybe soak.

When I used to work the farmers markets, the corn growers were always very popular but they would tell me it was a loss leader. People expect it to be cheap and it’s not the easiest crop to grow, especially if you’re growing a more vulnerable heirloom variety. I’m at peace with more expensive corn, especially if it’s really good.

There’s little better than corn-on-the-cob as far as I’m concerned and a squeeze of lime and a dash of Rancho Gordo Stardust powder is a fine alternative to butter. But after a lot of cobs, you start looking for something else to do corn.

I shucked several ears of corn and sauteed the kernels in garlic and olive oil with some fresh epazote. Corn and epazote is a natural but as I often say, if you can’t find it fresh, it’s better to skip it and use parsley instead.

Above, I added the corn to some cooked garbanzo beans and mushrooms made in the style of Paula Wolfert. I tossed this with tagliatelle and it was terrific.

The same corn mixture was later tossed with more garbanzos and some roasted red peppers and leftover Baia Pasta spelt pasta for a fine salad.

So I think that garbanzos + corn + pasta is a winning combination.

The good corn is coming but I had a pound of frozen corn in my freezer and I’m trying my best to actually use what’s in there. I’m very good at putting things into the  freezer compartment but I’m not so talented at actually using them. I hate wasting food, so despite corn coming into the farmers markets and stores, I used the frozen.

It was a fine dish and I plan to make it again and again. The kernels of corn pop and the beans make it seem creamy and indulgent. I used epazote, a wonderful weed mostly famous for flavoring black beans in Oaxaca but it’s a natural partner for corn, mushrooms and quesadillas. I grow it but I often see it in Mexican markets and along train tracks. If you don’t have access to the fresh, please don’t use the dried. It’s worthless. You could substitute cilantro or parsley and I won’t judge you if you don’t judge me for using frozen corn in July.

1 pound frozen corn
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup cooked Rancho Gordo Midnight Black beans
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh epazote, chopped
salt, pepper

Place the corn in a saucepan with about a half inch of water and bring to a boil. Keep cooking until the corn has separated and is no longer frozen but not quite cooked, about 3 minutes. Drain and reserve the corn, discarding the water.

In the pan, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat, until cooked, about 5-8 minutes. Add the bean and reserved corn and heat through. Gently toss with the epazote and serve.

This is also can be served room temperature and even cold as a salad.

I finished the leftovers for lunch today at the office and it was perfect, but last night we had this for dinner as a side dish for fish in a hoja santa sauce, cooked in a clay pot. Of course.

 

A while back I was visiting my friend Lucy and we stopped at Sutter Creek Provisions. They have a great space and even better beer. Owners Casey and Darren are so excited to be doing good things and the next thing you know, we were planning a party.

I write about Lucy often. She made a name for herself in Napa many years ago with Cafe Lucy. Now she’s in Amador with Lucy’s Spice Box. We met when we were both working the St. Helena farmers market and we’ve been fast friends ever since.

We knew we wanted to do something that would showcase the Rancho Gordo products, Lucy’s cuisine, Darren’s beer and the historic aspect of Sutter Creek and the building that houses Sutter Creek Provisions. The Californio-era of our state’s history was the inspiration. We weren’t literal about it. It was a jumping off point.

The best part for me was meeting all the Rancho Gordo fans, especially the Bean Club members, some who came quite a distance. Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago….I almost couldn’t believe it except that we People of the Bean are known for our obsessions.

MENU:
Appetizers Upon Arrival…
Mini Sopes with Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Bean, Queso Fresco & Two Salsas
Plate of Fresh Radishes with Cumin Crema drizzle

First Course…
Fresh Butter Lettuce Salad with Shaved Carrots, Pepitos, Rancho Gordo Pineapple Vinegar Vinaigrette with Rancho Gordo Stone ground Chocolate infusion
Family-style Dinner…
Wood smoked local Dal Porto Spring Lamb with Mint-Chili Salmuera served with Tres Salsas
Rancho Gordo Santa Maria Pinquito Bean slow braised in wood oven with Garlic Confit
Rancho Gordo Wild Rice & Red Quinoa Pilaf with Roast Golden Beet, Orange, Walnut Picada, Fresh baby Beet & Kale Greens
Escalivada of Seasonal Vegetables grilled on Plancha with Chili & Garlic
Ensalada Nopales (Cactus Paddle) with first of the Season Tomato, Red Onion, Fresh Citrus, Queso Fresco

Dessert…
Dulce de Leche Flan

“You really are going to take a photo, Steve? Really? Now?”

For me, it was one of those magical evenings. You got the sense that everyone who attended felt the same way. There was wine but the real excitement came from Darren’s beer pairings. Who knew?!?

Of course I’m biased but one of the best courses was the Santa Maria Pinquitos. Guests kept asking me how she made them and I am clueless but I did get Lucy to promise the recipe later. Don’t worry, I’ll be following up on this.

I came away feeling all warm and fuzzy. Amador County is a lovely place and you do worse than renting a house on a service like AirBnB, enjoying Lucy’s take out at the Spice Box and passing lazy hours at Sutter Creek Provisions. (They also have a great retail store, including Rancho Gordo products, so cooking a few meals for yourself will actually be fun.) The wines are good and the area lacks the pretentious attitude that you can see in Napa but the food scene is just starting and there are some bad options. Best to hang with Lucy, Darren and Casey and accept their guidance. With any luck, we’ll do this again soon.

 

A visiting chef friend asked me to pick up three pounds of manzano chiles for a demo he was doing. These chiles are also known as peron and sometimes rocoto chiles. Many of the Mexican families here in Napa come from Michoacan and Jalisco and for them, and now for me, this is a manzano chile. Things happened and I ended up three pounds of chiles. I shared most of them with the staff here but I took a pound home for myself.

I used a mandoline to cut the chiles and an onion razor thin. Then I added some salt, Oregano Indio and best of all, our Banana Vinegar.

Traditionally, you’d probably use lime but our vinegar was what I had and our vinegar is what was used. It was great.

Sunday supper was lazy. I got carnitas from the Mexican butcher, good tortillas and this relish. Later, it found its way on to a quesadilla.

Sometimes manzanos can be painfully hot but they have a great, meaty fresh taste and they’re just delicious. The seeds are nasty, but very easy to clean.

If you spy these chiles, go for it.

Last year I made this video with my beloved pal Taylor Boetticher from the Fatted Calf. There was a lot of information and I enjoyed it but it ran really long. I now present to you a more concise version of the encounter and I do believe that your chili con carne will not suffer one small bit from the cuts.

And yes, we discuss “with beans or without”.

I’d love to stay and chat but Hollywood is calling and my new career is about to begin.

 

 

Rancho Gordo Chili con Carne

Roughly based on Tolbert’s A Bowl of Red, our adaption includes heirloom beans. I would like to serve this to Mr. Tolbert and hope for the best. I wouldn’t dare speak for him but I do believe you’ll like this chili con carne.

Rancho Gordo Chili con Carne

3 pounds stewing beef, lean
¼ cup rendered beef suet (tallow) or a neutral cooking oil like canola or grapeseed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 yellow onion, diced medium fine
½ cup Rancho Gordo 100% Pure New Mexican Chile Powder
1 tablespoon Rancho Gordo Oregano Indio, crushed in your hands
1 tablespoon Rancho Gordo Mexican Oregano, crushed in your hands
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon powdered cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon Rancho Gordo Sal de Mar (sea salt)
2 tablespoons masa harina
2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo heirloom beans and their broth

In a Dutch oven that can hold at least four quarts, cast iron being best, heat the suet or oil and then sear the beef in batches until the outsides are brown. Remove and reserve the meat.

To the fat left in the pot, add the garlic and onions and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the chile powder and allow it to toast, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add the oreganos, cumin and optional cayenne, stirring so the ingredients are toasted but not scorching. Put the reserved meat in the pot and add enough water to cover all the ingredients by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and then let simmer for 30 minutes.

Add salt and test for seasoning. Reduce heat so that the chili is at a gentle simmer for 45 minutes. Occasionally stir gently to mix the ingredients but be gentle with the beef pieces.

In a small bowl or Pyrex measuring cup, make a slurry with the masa harina and warm water. Mix well and then add it to the chili. Bring back to a simmer and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

When there are no Texans present, add the cooked beans and broth to the pot and stir gently and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. (Steve’s note: You won’t be sorry.)

You can take the pot off the stove and chill the contents. Once chilled, you can degrease it. If you used the suet, it’s probably a good idea. If you didn’t, it’s not necessary, especially if you used lean meat.

Serve with cornbread.