Eat More Kale

We're eating a lot of kale around here... thought I'd share my favorite way to eat my greens right now. This version is adapted from a Food52 recipe. (if you don't know about Food 52 it's a great resource, check it out)

(and the image above is from a book by a favorite artist, Collect Raindrops by Nikki McClure)

I could have titled this piece "Massage your Kale" because that's what makes this work, Erin showed us this technique a while back in a post here, but it totally bears repeating and if you haven't try it yet, do it!

Anyway, it's super easy, I think about it as a three ingredient salad. Basically kale, or whatever other greens you have lying around (or if you are a little low on greens go forage for some dandelion to add to the mix.) Add a cubed and roasted orange (or yellow) vegetable like squash or sweet potato- I used butternut squash. Then add the nuts of your choice. I had walnuts for this but pecans, almonds or whatever you've got will work.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale (or other greens)

1 Butternut squash (or sweet potato)

1 Cup of nuts

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar (or any other vinegar)

One small shallot (or half of a large one, you could also use red onion)

One egg white

Pinch of sugar

Pinch of salt

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel, cube and then roast squash, 15-20 min

2. Toss nuts in one egg white, with a pinch cayenne (or other seasoning of choice) a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt. (You could also skip the egg step but it gives the nuts a nice crunchy coating.)

3. Roast nuts for about 6-8min checking every couple minutes after that. (I always burn the nuts/)

4. Wash and chop one large bunch of kale into shreds or bite size pieces.

5. Add 2TBS balsamic vinegar (or any other kind) into kale with about half of a finely chopped shallot. Massage the kale and shallot mixture with your hands a bit until it gets well coated and starts to wilt.

6. Toss in squash and nuts with about 2 tbpn olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

This was so delicious I only remembered to take a pic after we'd devoured most of it!

Now go- eat more kale!

Looking for Local or Seasonal Choices for Event?

A few months back I did a post on my wedding in Richmond and how I tried to focus on local options. If you are stumped about local options, give us a shout. The RFC is always millin' about town eating, reading, tasting, cooking, and such to find and share the local options we love.

Shoot us an e-mail if you have questions about local options. We loved to hear from you as well; please tell us about your finds!

Also, we are in process of updating our resource list available on this site. So, if you don't see something you are looking for, please let us know. We just did honey and will let you know as other options are updated. Enjoy this beautiful day!

From left to right: Erin, Cat, Casey, Shannon, and Rachel
Photo by Vanessa Rees

Day Trippin' on Apples and Beer

Last week my husband and I just celebrated our third wedding anniversary. We decided to stay near home for this one, leaving town just a bit for some Fall adventures. We filled a Saturday with local apple picking and local beer tasting. This is a fun day trip accessible within an hour's drive.


Before last weekend I'd not been to Carter Mountain. But, I gotta say, Rob and I certainly didn't crack the case on this one. As we traveled up the mountain road full of cars, we realized we may be the last people in VA who have not been to Carter Mountain to pick apples. If you aren't familiar with Carter Mountain Orchard it is a self-pick apple farm located just outside of Charlottesville. The place was packed with families of all ages. I have to say, I was nervous about the volume of folks up there, but it couldn't have been organized better. The parking was well managed, as was the check-out line. The orchards are large enough that it could handle many visitors at once. And, hey, it's just darn purdy.

Ahh, nice view.

Nom, Nom!

Baby apples!

For the apples, I'm looking to make some tasty treats. Right now, I'm thinking on apple and caramel - date caramel, if you please! This could be fun for Halloween as well. Check out this beautiful blog by Vanessa Rees (a NY-based photographer and my sister) on the how-to on this treat.

After we picked our apples, we went down the mountain and over to neighboring Nelson County. We drove to Blue Mountain Brewery for a beer on their beautiful patio.

We enjoyed a yummy Full Nelson IPA made with local hops available on draft (ok, we had two). I love this beer - available on draft at some RVA restaurants. This beer is in high-demand, so go for it if you see it!

Pretty IPA on a pretty porch!

My husband is an environmental engineer and he was quick to catch their cool "cover cropping" program. These folks planted soy beans over their harvested hop patch to act as a nitrogen fixer. Nitrogen is one the nutrients necessary for plant growth - so it should make for some tasty hops (and beer) next year!

See the soybeans?!

Anyway, we did this day trip and were home by 5 pm - love it! A day trip to near-by mountains is great fun for the fall. It is fun, tasty, and local. Enjoy!

Apple Down Slaw: An Accidental Dinner

So, I came home from the gym last night ready to do nothing, but dinner was unplanned and needed to happen. Well, like any good procrastinator, I did other things than the thing I should be doing (in this case making dinner). I decided it was time to wash and arrange my lovely bounty of local apples (thank you, Agriberry!).

Aren't they lovely?

Well, as luck would have it, I let one of these beauties slip from my hands. It landed (bam!) right onto the hardwood floor. I reached down for the apple and one side was already a bit mushy - there was even a bit of apple juice bubbling off the top.

Apple juice anyone?

So, there was a choice to be made: keep or toss this damaged fruit? It wouldn't have much of shelf life and I've already told you that I was feeling SO lazy. I confess, for a moment, I thought of composting. But, then I started poking around in the fridge for ingredients that would be friendly to a bruised apple. That's when I found these guys hanging out with nothing to do....

Sweet apple with cabbage, carrots, and celery - nice! It seemed dinner was just within reach....next, I turned to the pantry and found more willing companions....

So, there it was! For dinner we'd have apple slaw served with extra sharp cheddar cheese. To make the slaw, I used the grater for all the ingredients, except for the cabbage which I thinly sliced. I combined all the fixins in a large bowl with the lemon, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. I've even tossed a few red pepper flakes.

Dinner is served!

Really and truly, this dinner was unplanned and happened in less than 20 minutes. Just what the night called for....it was light, healthy, and delicious (and did I mention easy?!). What a nice reminder of what is possible with a bit of energy, imagination, and good ingredients.

Re-Figuring Figs

So, it's fig season and I am reminded of something my friend Rowan says, "you got-ta move it!" Yes, she's 3 and that's from the movie Madagascar (can you see the dancing lemurs?). Anyway, no truer words have been spoken when it comes to figs. If you want to enjoy your fresh figs beyond the day you obtained them, you got-ta move it!

Make a decision. Eat them on ice cream with a little salt. Throw one down solo. Whatever you do, do something. Otherwise, in a short day or two, you'll have, well, spoiled fruit. You get the picture, time is of the essence here.

Our neighbor brings us figs each year from her aunt's fig tree. The other day we woke up to a bounty of fresh figs on our doorstep. This last harvest was particularly ripe, and so we needed to process them quickly. My husband took the lead on one this by drying them. This is pretty easy and they taste so good on a salad with garlic vinaigrette.

First, wash the figs, cut off the ends, and slice them into 1/4 inch slices. We went from top to bottom. Now comes the fun part! Prior to drying, the fruit needs to soak in ascorbic acid, which is just Vitamin C. So, instead of a trip to the store for this one, we went into our cabinet and got out the Vitamin C and the mortar and pestle.

You'll want to crush one to two Vitamin C tablets, depending on how many figs you have to dry. Give tablets a good pound until you have a nice powder. Once a powder, you are ready to mix with about a quart of water. We did about one teaspoon of acid to one quart of water for about a one quart of figs.

Put your clean-cut figs in the water solution to soak for about 10 mins. Once out of the water then you are ready to move to the dehydrator. Space the figs on the racks so that they aren't touching and they will be happy there for about 12 - 24 hours. In fact, we went as long as 18 hours for our juicer figs.

You'll know they are done when they are leathery, but not brittle. Check on them every few hours - you may find it helpful to move them around as the fruit closer to the bottom will dry faster than those on the top tiers.

Store the dried figs in a sealed container in a cool and dry spot. Well, the rest is up to you. Eat them as a snack. Put them in trail mix or granola. Include them in a yummy baked good. Either way, now you have more than just a few precious days with your figs. Enjoy!

Oh, and hey (!), remember this is just one way to handle figs. Please share with us your favorite recipes and tips for preserving figs! Or maybe you want to show-off your preserving skills (and we think you should) at Yes We Can!

And thank you to Mangia Con Me for the beautiful fig picture found at the top of this post!

Summer's Perfect Moment- What's in Season

 Here I go again.... It's one of those perfect seasonal moments where worlds collide and culinary possibilities seem endless.   All at once we not only have literal tons of tomatoes,  piles of peppers, summer sweet corn and endless eggplant,  but also pears, apples, figs, and other flavors some may associate strictly with fall.  Fall may be just around the corner, but now is the time when nearly everything seems at hand. 

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Serve up some pizzas: one with pears, red onion and blue cheese and one with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella.  Greens are finally showing themselves again as well so toss together a salad.  Make a quick fresh tomato and pesto pasta, or some chilled butternut squash and pear soup. How about some scalloped potatoes and chicken with plum sauce. Perhaps some fresh peach pie for dessert!

Have fun and enjoy... this is the time!

Here is a quick run down of some of the best produce our gardens and markets have to offer right now.

 

Butternut Squash
Sweet Potatoes

Pears

 Asain Pears

Honey Crisp Apples

(and a handful of others)

 Peaches

Tomatoes

Figs

 Corn

Eggplant

 Peppers of all kinds

Onions

 Potatoes

 Summer Squash

Green Beans 

 Arugula

Garlic

Long Beans

Watermelon

 Cantalope

Plums

Basil

 Shelling Beans

Okra