As rhubarb season comes to an end and berry season begins, I've got cobblers on my mind. Cobblers are pretty simple to make, and yet still manage to be an impressive dessert. Here's how to make one:
Stuff You Need To Make Food:
To Make Cobbler Filling:
approximately 4 cups of rhubarb, diced (or berries)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
To Make Cobbler Crust:
2 cups flour
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
How To Make The Stuff Above Into Food:
Get a big bowl, and mix your diced rhubarb with the cornstarch, sugar, and first round of spices. Sit it aside and let all of the flavors get happy. If you're using berries, you may want to skip the spices in the berries and just use the vanilla extract (or some rose water). Also, if you're using berries or just worried about keeping your rhubarb looking pretty, add a squeeze of lemon juice.
While the fruit gets all happy with its spicy friends, make the cobbler crust. Mix your flour with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add in the spices--if you want to mix it up a bit, substitute in some almond extract for vanilla. Chop up your stick of butter into small pieces, and add that to the mix. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to mix the butter into the flour, until it looks like oatmeal. Add the milk and egg, and stir until it just starts to combine.
When you're ready to bake your cobbler, find a pan--an 8x8 or 9x13 will work. Grease it with butter or brush it with a little bit of oil to keep things from sticking, then dump in the fruit. Top with the cobbler dough--just kind of chunk it over the fruit. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling up through the crust. If you're like me and have no patience, scoop some out and top it with vanilla ice cream to cool it down enough to devour.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Vitamin C!
And by vitamin C, I mean caffeine. Those who know me know that I don't function without at least a minimal caffeine flow into my system. Here's how this hippie stays caffeinated, at least during the summer months!
Iced Tea (Without the Wait)
What you need to make caffeine:
6 tagless (or tagged, with the staples removed) tea bags, basic black tea variety*
2 cups of water, to get you started
1/4 cup of sugar
enough water and ice to bring you to the 2 quart mark
How to turn the above into useable caffeine:
Put your tea bags into a glass 4-cup measuring cup--Pyrex is good, so is Anchor Hocking. Fill the measuring cup to the 2 cup line. Put the measuring cup in the microwave for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pull the tea bags and give them a good smoosh with the back of a spoon to release all of that caffeine goodness. If you're feeling ambitious, add up to 1/4 cup of sugar into the hot tea concentrate in your measuring cup and give it a good stir to dissolve the sugar crystals. **Important** DO NOT USE MORE THAN 1/4 CUP SUGAR. If you do use more sugar, you're making hummingbird nectar, not iced tea. Take your tea concentrate, pour it into a 2 quart pitcher, and add water and ice to make 2 quarts. Drink and enjoy.
Now, I know that as a hippie, I'm supposed to be able to do things like make tea using solar energy. And I can, and sometimes do. Same idea: 6 tea bags, but in a lidded 2-quart jar filled with--wait for it--2 quarts of water. You put it in a sunny place in the morning, and by evening, you've got yourself some tea. However, there are two problems with this plan, generally speaking. First, I'm not a morning person, in large part because I'm not sufficiently caffeinated when I first wake up, at least not to the point that I can plan in advance for my caffeine needs. Second, it takes all day to get caffeine. I need caffeine, and I need it now. 5 minutes--acceptable. 8 hours--not. (And really, for a microwave, there's not too much difference in taste.)
*Wait. Before we go on, I must confess that I'm somewhat of a bad hippie here. I buy cheap black tea for iced tea. Honestly, I do. It's not organic, Fair Trade, hug a farmer tea. It's Lipton. Or Red Rose. Or sometimes it's the stuff in the black box marked "Tea" on the bottom of the grocery store shelf. The point is that in the heat of summer, I drink a pitcher of iced tea a day. I like it how my Dad likes it, and how Grandma likes it--black tea, not too much sugar, not too fancy, served with lots of ice in a frosty glass. And Dad used Lipton and Grandma used Red Rose. But if you're a better hippie than I, use something better. If you want variety, try Celestial Seasonings fruit teas or add some dried peppermint to your brew. Now, back to getting caffeinated.
But...sometimes, I need a cup of coffee. And it's summer and it's hot, and I don't want a hot cup of coffee. I also don't need to walk to the coffee shop and spend $4 on a latte (although it's a darn good latte). So, here's how to make your own iced coffee.
Iced Coffee (In A Jar):
What you need to make caffeine:
about 1/2 a cup of freshly ground coffee, medium-fine grind
enough water to fill a quart mason jar
How to turn the stuff above into caffeine:
Break out that hippie coffee, the good stuff. Organic, Fair Trade, dark roast, roasted at the local coffee shop, the same place that makes those amazing lattes (the same place you bought the beans in an attempt to "save money" by brewing your own). That stuff. Grind up some beans--you want about 1/2 cup of ground coffee. Don't grind it too fine, or you'll have issues with filtration later. Toss the ground coffee into your mason jar. Cover the grinds with cold water to the top of the jar. Give it a good shake to make sure everything is covered, and stick it in the fridge. At least overnight. You can do this--you've been sufficiently caffeinated through your day to have some foresight when it comes to your coffee needs tomorrow morning. Now this next step is important:
How to turn the stuff above into a frou-frou coffee shop drink while you're in your pjs and without leaving the house:
While the above iced coffee concentrate is good, you can make it better. You'll need half and half--not that fat-free garbage, and not that flavored non-dairy liquid creamer crap. You'll also need sugar, but in liquid form. You can either buy a flavored coffee syrup (I love Torani's syrups, in particular the hazelnut and the caramel ones) or chocolate syrup. Or you can make your own simple syrup. How? It's simple: put 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan with 1 cup of water. Heat it up until the sugar dissolves. Voila! Simple syrup!
Now, it's morning, and you're up and groggy and need caffeine. Take your mason jar out of the fridge and break out your measuring cup and some cheesecloth. Put the cheesecloth over the measuring cup, pour the mason jar contents into the cheesecloth, and filter it into the measuring cup. There will be some pretty wet grounds in the jar, so add a little water--1/4 cup--to rinse those out of the jar. Let your coffee filter through the cheesecloth, and rinse out your mason jar. Now, squeeze out your coffee grounds through the cheesecloth. Shake your grounds into your compost bin*, and rinse your cheesecloth. Drape it over the mason jar, and filter the stuff in the measuring cup back into the jar. Add enough water to bring it almost to the top. You've got your iced coffee concentrate.
To make your iced coffee, take a pint glass and fill it with ice. Add some coffee concentrate. Add some half and half. Add some simple syrup. Give it a stir and taste it. Adjust to your preference. If you need more coffee, add more. More sugar? Add more. Enjoy your coffee.
*Another note. You know how much you love to be caffeinated, right? Well, tea bags (minus the staples) and coffee grounds are compostable. So save them for your compost pile. Don't have a compost pile? Start one. If you're urban without a yard, consider vermi-composting--a bin of worms that live in a container in your kitchen to munch your organic waste. Have a yard? Easiest thing I can tell you is to get a trash can and cut off the bottom. Dig a little hole in your yard, about 6 inches deep, big enough to hold the trash can with it's bottom missing. Put the trash can into the hole, and mix the dirt that you just dug out with your compostable stuffs. Put the lid on it, and stir it occasionally. When you're in need of compost, simply lift the can a bit, and take out the stuff on the bottom. Worms need caffeine, too, and I find that they work a little faster when they have some coffee grounds or tea leaves to nosh. (Also, your local coffee shop is probably willing to give you their grounds if you ask. Just means they don't have to pay to throw them away.)
Iced Tea (Without the Wait)
What you need to make caffeine:
6 tagless (or tagged, with the staples removed) tea bags, basic black tea variety*
2 cups of water, to get you started
1/4 cup of sugar
enough water and ice to bring you to the 2 quart mark
How to turn the above into useable caffeine:
Put your tea bags into a glass 4-cup measuring cup--Pyrex is good, so is Anchor Hocking. Fill the measuring cup to the 2 cup line. Put the measuring cup in the microwave for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, pull the tea bags and give them a good smoosh with the back of a spoon to release all of that caffeine goodness. If you're feeling ambitious, add up to 1/4 cup of sugar into the hot tea concentrate in your measuring cup and give it a good stir to dissolve the sugar crystals. **Important** DO NOT USE MORE THAN 1/4 CUP SUGAR. If you do use more sugar, you're making hummingbird nectar, not iced tea. Take your tea concentrate, pour it into a 2 quart pitcher, and add water and ice to make 2 quarts. Drink and enjoy.
Now, I know that as a hippie, I'm supposed to be able to do things like make tea using solar energy. And I can, and sometimes do. Same idea: 6 tea bags, but in a lidded 2-quart jar filled with--wait for it--2 quarts of water. You put it in a sunny place in the morning, and by evening, you've got yourself some tea. However, there are two problems with this plan, generally speaking. First, I'm not a morning person, in large part because I'm not sufficiently caffeinated when I first wake up, at least not to the point that I can plan in advance for my caffeine needs. Second, it takes all day to get caffeine. I need caffeine, and I need it now. 5 minutes--acceptable. 8 hours--not. (And really, for a microwave, there's not too much difference in taste.)
*Wait. Before we go on, I must confess that I'm somewhat of a bad hippie here. I buy cheap black tea for iced tea. Honestly, I do. It's not organic, Fair Trade, hug a farmer tea. It's Lipton. Or Red Rose. Or sometimes it's the stuff in the black box marked "Tea" on the bottom of the grocery store shelf. The point is that in the heat of summer, I drink a pitcher of iced tea a day. I like it how my Dad likes it, and how Grandma likes it--black tea, not too much sugar, not too fancy, served with lots of ice in a frosty glass. And Dad used Lipton and Grandma used Red Rose. But if you're a better hippie than I, use something better. If you want variety, try Celestial Seasonings fruit teas or add some dried peppermint to your brew. Now, back to getting caffeinated.
But...sometimes, I need a cup of coffee. And it's summer and it's hot, and I don't want a hot cup of coffee. I also don't need to walk to the coffee shop and spend $4 on a latte (although it's a darn good latte). So, here's how to make your own iced coffee.
Iced Coffee (In A Jar):
What you need to make caffeine:
about 1/2 a cup of freshly ground coffee, medium-fine grind
enough water to fill a quart mason jar
How to turn the stuff above into caffeine:
Break out that hippie coffee, the good stuff. Organic, Fair Trade, dark roast, roasted at the local coffee shop, the same place that makes those amazing lattes (the same place you bought the beans in an attempt to "save money" by brewing your own). That stuff. Grind up some beans--you want about 1/2 cup of ground coffee. Don't grind it too fine, or you'll have issues with filtration later. Toss the ground coffee into your mason jar. Cover the grinds with cold water to the top of the jar. Give it a good shake to make sure everything is covered, and stick it in the fridge. At least overnight. You can do this--you've been sufficiently caffeinated through your day to have some foresight when it comes to your coffee needs tomorrow morning. Now this next step is important:
How to turn the stuff above into a frou-frou coffee shop drink while you're in your pjs and without leaving the house:
While the above iced coffee concentrate is good, you can make it better. You'll need half and half--not that fat-free garbage, and not that flavored non-dairy liquid creamer crap. You'll also need sugar, but in liquid form. You can either buy a flavored coffee syrup (I love Torani's syrups, in particular the hazelnut and the caramel ones) or chocolate syrup. Or you can make your own simple syrup. How? It's simple: put 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan with 1 cup of water. Heat it up until the sugar dissolves. Voila! Simple syrup!
Now, it's morning, and you're up and groggy and need caffeine. Take your mason jar out of the fridge and break out your measuring cup and some cheesecloth. Put the cheesecloth over the measuring cup, pour the mason jar contents into the cheesecloth, and filter it into the measuring cup. There will be some pretty wet grounds in the jar, so add a little water--1/4 cup--to rinse those out of the jar. Let your coffee filter through the cheesecloth, and rinse out your mason jar. Now, squeeze out your coffee grounds through the cheesecloth. Shake your grounds into your compost bin*, and rinse your cheesecloth. Drape it over the mason jar, and filter the stuff in the measuring cup back into the jar. Add enough water to bring it almost to the top. You've got your iced coffee concentrate.
To make your iced coffee, take a pint glass and fill it with ice. Add some coffee concentrate. Add some half and half. Add some simple syrup. Give it a stir and taste it. Adjust to your preference. If you need more coffee, add more. More sugar? Add more. Enjoy your coffee.
*Another note. You know how much you love to be caffeinated, right? Well, tea bags (minus the staples) and coffee grounds are compostable. So save them for your compost pile. Don't have a compost pile? Start one. If you're urban without a yard, consider vermi-composting--a bin of worms that live in a container in your kitchen to munch your organic waste. Have a yard? Easiest thing I can tell you is to get a trash can and cut off the bottom. Dig a little hole in your yard, about 6 inches deep, big enough to hold the trash can with it's bottom missing. Put the trash can into the hole, and mix the dirt that you just dug out with your compostable stuffs. Put the lid on it, and stir it occasionally. When you're in need of compost, simply lift the can a bit, and take out the stuff on the bottom. Worms need caffeine, too, and I find that they work a little faster when they have some coffee grounds or tea leaves to nosh. (Also, your local coffee shop is probably willing to give you their grounds if you ask. Just means they don't have to pay to throw them away.)
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Chili Today, Hot Tamale
That's been an apt description for spring in Wyoming. Scorching days followed with frigid nights--sometimes, you just need a big bowl of something warm for dinner.
Plus, the Farmer's Market is still in limited produce mode, but there are local dried beans for sale, and onions have made an appearance. I decided to whip up a vegetarian chili, to use up some beans from the market (and with a lot of help from the produce department at Safeway).
Vegetarian Chili
What You'll Need:
1 cup dried pinto beans (or kidney beans or black beans or whatever)
4 cups water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 big onion (or a 1 lb. bunch of small spring onions--I got some Egyptian Walking Onions at the Farmer's Market)
4 cloves garlic
4-5 carrots
1 big sweet potato or yam
2 tomatoes
8 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 teaspoons adobo
1/4 cup chili powder
1 lb. kale
2 cups broccoli
What To Do To Make Food:
Start prepping your beans--give them a rinse in cold water, and sort through them--you may find a rock or two. Then dump them in a saucepan, and cover them with water. It takes approximately 4 cups, but you'll need to cover the beans with about 3 inches of water. Bring them to a boil, then let them simmer until tender--fresh beans take about an hour, but can take longer. Meanwhile, grab a big stockpot. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the pan, and heat it up. (If you want more flavor, add a tablespoon of butter in with the oil.) While the oil is heating, dice up your onions (or slice them if they're spring-like onions) and mince your garlic. Throw it into the pan. Peel and slice your carrots, and add them to the pan. Same with the sweet potato/yam--peel it and dice it up, then into the pan to make happy nice-nice with everything else. Let your veggies cook for about 10 minutes to start to soften up and to get some flavor. Meanwhile, dice up your tomatoes--this is a really good way to use those tomatoes that you bought with intentions to use on your tacos, but then forgot existed. Add them to the pan, along with your veggie stock. (I use Better Than Bouillon stock base and water, because I'm lazy.) Add the spices into the pan, too. You can add your beans now, water and all, if they're tender; if not, add them when a little later. Let your chili simmer and cook until the veggies are soft--it'll take about 45 minutes, but this can simmer for a while and be okay. When you're getting hungry and ready to eat, chop your kale--start by removing the leaf from the big vein, then shred the leaves with your knife. Add this to the chili and let it wilt down. Add in your broccoli--I had some steamed broccoli leftover from steak night, so I just let it heat through, but you can add fresh broccoli to cook for a few minutes, or add in a bag of frozen. If you haven't added your beans, do that now. Serve hot, topped with salsa, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.
This is a pretty flexible, easy dish to make, and you can use whatever veggies you like and/or have on hand. Root veggies can handle a long simmering, but more delicate veggies--fresh spinach, bell peppers, broccoli, peas, green beans--need to be added at the end. Fresh or frozen veggies will work just fine, so use what you have.
Plus, the Farmer's Market is still in limited produce mode, but there are local dried beans for sale, and onions have made an appearance. I decided to whip up a vegetarian chili, to use up some beans from the market (and with a lot of help from the produce department at Safeway).
Vegetarian Chili
What You'll Need:
1 cup dried pinto beans (or kidney beans or black beans or whatever)
4 cups water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 big onion (or a 1 lb. bunch of small spring onions--I got some Egyptian Walking Onions at the Farmer's Market)
4 cloves garlic
4-5 carrots
1 big sweet potato or yam
2 tomatoes
8 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 teaspoons adobo
1/4 cup chili powder
1 lb. kale
2 cups broccoli
What To Do To Make Food:
Start prepping your beans--give them a rinse in cold water, and sort through them--you may find a rock or two. Then dump them in a saucepan, and cover them with water. It takes approximately 4 cups, but you'll need to cover the beans with about 3 inches of water. Bring them to a boil, then let them simmer until tender--fresh beans take about an hour, but can take longer. Meanwhile, grab a big stockpot. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the pan, and heat it up. (If you want more flavor, add a tablespoon of butter in with the oil.) While the oil is heating, dice up your onions (or slice them if they're spring-like onions) and mince your garlic. Throw it into the pan. Peel and slice your carrots, and add them to the pan. Same with the sweet potato/yam--peel it and dice it up, then into the pan to make happy nice-nice with everything else. Let your veggies cook for about 10 minutes to start to soften up and to get some flavor. Meanwhile, dice up your tomatoes--this is a really good way to use those tomatoes that you bought with intentions to use on your tacos, but then forgot existed. Add them to the pan, along with your veggie stock. (I use Better Than Bouillon stock base and water, because I'm lazy.) Add the spices into the pan, too. You can add your beans now, water and all, if they're tender; if not, add them when a little later. Let your chili simmer and cook until the veggies are soft--it'll take about 45 minutes, but this can simmer for a while and be okay. When you're getting hungry and ready to eat, chop your kale--start by removing the leaf from the big vein, then shred the leaves with your knife. Add this to the chili and let it wilt down. Add in your broccoli--I had some steamed broccoli leftover from steak night, so I just let it heat through, but you can add fresh broccoli to cook for a few minutes, or add in a bag of frozen. If you haven't added your beans, do that now. Serve hot, topped with salsa, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.
This is a pretty flexible, easy dish to make, and you can use whatever veggies you like and/or have on hand. Root veggies can handle a long simmering, but more delicate veggies--fresh spinach, bell peppers, broccoli, peas, green beans--need to be added at the end. Fresh or frozen veggies will work just fine, so use what you have.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
It's All About the...
Recipes.
After a few false starts, I've finally figured out what this blog should be about, and that's mostly recipes (with a little bit of bad hippie behavior and fun stories thrown into the mix). It took a while to figure it out--I finished my Master's Degree at Goddard with a thesis that explores novel, self-perpetuating business ownership structures as a way to perpetuate and sustain local business ownership. I moved back to Wyoming after a stint inpurgatory Kansas. I got married, and my now-husband and I closed on a new home two weeks before our wedding. There's lots of things that I could talk about within this space, but nothing really felt right, until now, until this idea--recipes from the Farmer's Market, cooking locally in a hardiness-zone-challenged climate.
Riverton, where I am now, kicks off the Farmer's Market season for the state. In my wanderings at the weekly market (3 blocks from my house--yay!), these early sessions seem to be less about the farmers and more about the baked goods, jewelry, and street food. Not that I don't love me some street-vendor tacos or strawberry-rhubarb pie, because I do, but finding the fresh veggies can be somewhat of a challenge. I know what grows when, and I know that now is the time to harvest some very good stuff: rhubarb, asparagus, radishes, lettuces, spinach, kale, leeks, garlic scapes, mushrooms. But it's been hard to find, although when I do find it, the lines are pretty short. Which got me thinking--how many folks are there for the farmed goods and how many folks are there for the street food because they wouldn't know what to do with a vegetable if it bit them?
I admit--I haven't met a plant that I haven't been able to kill. I mean, yes, my parsley seems to be doing okay, but my cilantro, cucumber, and pepper plants are long dead, and the tomatoes and basil look like they'll kick it any day now. And while I recognize that I have issues in growing food (the yard's "soil" is actually dust, I have no idea how to water, the neighbor's dog is a digger, etc.), I can cook. And that's getting to be a lost art. I mean, why go to the Farmer's Market for veggies if they're going to go to waste? Why not get a Cajun shrimp wrap and a pie instead?
Here's why: Mushroom Risotto. It can be done, and it's so awesome, I had thirds and I HATE mushrooms.
What you need:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pound of locally grown mushrooms--the plain white ones are fine, but the crimini/baby portabellas make it extra special
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
1 cup arborio rice (sounds fancy, but it's not--you can buy it at Safeway)
2 teaspoons italian seasoning (or 1 teaspoon basil plus 1 teaspoon parsley with a pinch of oregano)
4 cups vegetable stock, warm*
Parmesan cheese
What to do with that list above to make food:
In a big saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over low heat, until the butter melts into the oil. If you want to be vegan here, use 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and skip the butter; keep in mind though that this is Wyoming, and butter consumption may be state-mandated. While you're butter and oil are getting warm and happy in the pan, dice up your onion fairly fine, and mince your garlic. Dump those into the butter/oil, and cook them over low heat until the onions start to look translucent. While that's underway, clean your 'shrooms--just wipe them with a damp paper towel. I like to pull the stems out of the caps, and mince the stems and throw them in with the onions to cook while I slice the caps, but it's up to you. Once you've got your 'shrooms sliced up, toss them in the pan--you'll want a single layer in the pan, so if you have more 'shrooms than pan bottom, split them up and cook them in batches. What you'll do is cook the 'shrooms with the onions and garlic, and cook them through a few stages: first, they'll release their liquid and make a soupy-looking mess. Keep cooking, because then they'll re-absorb all of that liquid. When the 'shrooms have reabsorbed their liquid, add in your arborio rice and stir it around until it's glossy and slick from the oil/butter. Add in your italian seasoning and give it a stir. Next, add in about a cup of your veggie stock and give everything a good stir. The rice will start to absorb the liquid, and when the liquid is almost absorbed completely, add another cup. Repeat until you're out of stock. The rice will cook for about 20 minutes, absorbing liquid and releasing its starch, becoming thick and creamy and awesome. Once the rice has absorbed all of the liquid and is thick, stir in some grated Parmesan cheese--about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup, depending on your preference for cheesy things. Again, if you're vegan, you can use nutritional yeast, which I'm not convinced is a good substitute for cheese, but that's what the vegans believe. Ladle it into a bowl, top it with more cheese if you please, and eat it up.
*Two notes about vegetable stock: I use Better Than Bouillon's vegetable stock base for this recipe. I add the appropriate amount of stock base to the rice, then use water from my tea kettle to make the risotto. You can use whatever stock you want. Also, if you use a gluten-free stock, this recipe will be gluten-free. Just check the stock, as some contain MSG or other forms of processed gluten.
There you have it. An impressive-sounding, tasty dinner that serves two or three generously as a main meal, or four to six people as a side (depending on how generous you are with your ladle). If you go the side dish route, this does make a really good pair to a nice rib-eye steak from Wyoming Custom Meats (all grass beef!) or from Clark's Meat House--both have booths at Riverton's Farmer's Market.
After a few false starts, I've finally figured out what this blog should be about, and that's mostly recipes (with a little bit of bad hippie behavior and fun stories thrown into the mix). It took a while to figure it out--I finished my Master's Degree at Goddard with a thesis that explores novel, self-perpetuating business ownership structures as a way to perpetuate and sustain local business ownership. I moved back to Wyoming after a stint in
Riverton, where I am now, kicks off the Farmer's Market season for the state. In my wanderings at the weekly market (3 blocks from my house--yay!), these early sessions seem to be less about the farmers and more about the baked goods, jewelry, and street food. Not that I don't love me some street-vendor tacos or strawberry-rhubarb pie, because I do, but finding the fresh veggies can be somewhat of a challenge. I know what grows when, and I know that now is the time to harvest some very good stuff: rhubarb, asparagus, radishes, lettuces, spinach, kale, leeks, garlic scapes, mushrooms. But it's been hard to find, although when I do find it, the lines are pretty short. Which got me thinking--how many folks are there for the farmed goods and how many folks are there for the street food because they wouldn't know what to do with a vegetable if it bit them?
I admit--I haven't met a plant that I haven't been able to kill. I mean, yes, my parsley seems to be doing okay, but my cilantro, cucumber, and pepper plants are long dead, and the tomatoes and basil look like they'll kick it any day now. And while I recognize that I have issues in growing food (the yard's "soil" is actually dust, I have no idea how to water, the neighbor's dog is a digger, etc.), I can cook. And that's getting to be a lost art. I mean, why go to the Farmer's Market for veggies if they're going to go to waste? Why not get a Cajun shrimp wrap and a pie instead?
Here's why: Mushroom Risotto. It can be done, and it's so awesome, I had thirds and I HATE mushrooms.
What you need:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pound of locally grown mushrooms--the plain white ones are fine, but the crimini/baby portabellas make it extra special
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
1 cup arborio rice (sounds fancy, but it's not--you can buy it at Safeway)
2 teaspoons italian seasoning (or 1 teaspoon basil plus 1 teaspoon parsley with a pinch of oregano)
4 cups vegetable stock, warm*
Parmesan cheese
What to do with that list above to make food:
In a big saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over low heat, until the butter melts into the oil. If you want to be vegan here, use 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and skip the butter; keep in mind though that this is Wyoming, and butter consumption may be state-mandated. While you're butter and oil are getting warm and happy in the pan, dice up your onion fairly fine, and mince your garlic. Dump those into the butter/oil, and cook them over low heat until the onions start to look translucent. While that's underway, clean your 'shrooms--just wipe them with a damp paper towel. I like to pull the stems out of the caps, and mince the stems and throw them in with the onions to cook while I slice the caps, but it's up to you. Once you've got your 'shrooms sliced up, toss them in the pan--you'll want a single layer in the pan, so if you have more 'shrooms than pan bottom, split them up and cook them in batches. What you'll do is cook the 'shrooms with the onions and garlic, and cook them through a few stages: first, they'll release their liquid and make a soupy-looking mess. Keep cooking, because then they'll re-absorb all of that liquid. When the 'shrooms have reabsorbed their liquid, add in your arborio rice and stir it around until it's glossy and slick from the oil/butter. Add in your italian seasoning and give it a stir. Next, add in about a cup of your veggie stock and give everything a good stir. The rice will start to absorb the liquid, and when the liquid is almost absorbed completely, add another cup. Repeat until you're out of stock. The rice will cook for about 20 minutes, absorbing liquid and releasing its starch, becoming thick and creamy and awesome. Once the rice has absorbed all of the liquid and is thick, stir in some grated Parmesan cheese--about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup, depending on your preference for cheesy things. Again, if you're vegan, you can use nutritional yeast, which I'm not convinced is a good substitute for cheese, but that's what the vegans believe. Ladle it into a bowl, top it with more cheese if you please, and eat it up.
*Two notes about vegetable stock: I use Better Than Bouillon's vegetable stock base for this recipe. I add the appropriate amount of stock base to the rice, then use water from my tea kettle to make the risotto. You can use whatever stock you want. Also, if you use a gluten-free stock, this recipe will be gluten-free. Just check the stock, as some contain MSG or other forms of processed gluten.
There you have it. An impressive-sounding, tasty dinner that serves two or three generously as a main meal, or four to six people as a side (depending on how generous you are with your ladle). If you go the side dish route, this does make a really good pair to a nice rib-eye steak from Wyoming Custom Meats (all grass beef!) or from Clark's Meat House--both have booths at Riverton's Farmer's Market.
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