Yesterday was cooking demonstration day at the Wytheville Farmers Market and I got to be the Ol’ Rock’n Roll Chef one more time. Folks, I had a blast. I’d like to thank all of you who stopped by to say hello. It is truly gratifying to meet my readers.

I’d also like to thank Louise Bennett, who acted as my sous chef. Louise is a Personal Chef from Rural Retreat. She cooks, bakes, shops, and does meal plans among her many talents. This lady really knows her stuff, and I couldn’t have done it without her. If you could use her services, give her a call at 276-686-5031. Louise had to leave around 11:00am, and my lovely and talented wife Anne stepped in.

I decided to make omelets, and I was able to buy all the vegetables and eggs I used from the vendors at the market. I hope those of you who got to taste the samples we gave away enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Purchasing organic veggies from Marcie Krause as Dave Richert looks on from the next stall

Turnin' and Burnin'

Long of leaf, tender of stalk, and beautifully of green,
I rinse your stems with reverent hands
Before chopping and adding to the steam.
A few cups of water, a chunk of country ham, bring it all to boil.
Add some honey and cider vinegar when the liquid starts to roil.
Louisiana Hot Sauce, good sea salt and cracked-black to your taste,
Twist a top, simmer them down, now’s not the time for haste.
From this point ’til they’re done, you’ve got three whole hours to waste.

GETTIN’ BACK MY COUNTRY

For the last week or so, Hank, Jr.’s song, A Country Boy Can Survive, has been playing over and over in my head. Whereas I was born and bred in the briar patch, nearly 40 years of living in the Washington, DC, suburbs beat the country right out of me. This spring (35 days and counting) will mark the 6th year we have owned our humble little cottage on Galena Creek, and I’m finally learning how to be a human being again.

Here’s a little test to determine how long someone has lived in the country:

You open your sugar and find it crawling with ants.

1 – 2 years: You throw away the sugar and buy another bag.
3 – 4 years: You sift out the ants and use the sugar.
5 years or more: “Ya ever notice them sugar-coated ants are tasty                               little suckers?”

Now I’m not suggesting country folks eat bugs. . .well, most of them don’t. There was that kid, Booger Johnson, who I was in grammar school with. My point is: country folks don’t waste anything if they can help it.

THE FARMER’S ALMANAC

If you’re new to country living and only read one publication, let the Farmer’s Almanac be the one. Founded in 1818 and available both in print and online, this original “green” periodical is the bible of country living. It only took me a few minutes perusal to learn something I didn’t know that will save me money. (Here’s a hint: It’s a common sense way to conserve gasoline.) Online membership is free and entitles you to a wide range of benefits.

ROADKILL RECIPES

Some folks think squirrels are cute. Some folks think they’re the spawn of Satan. A lot of the old-timers around these parts think they’re just plain good eatin’. Here’s my recipe for squirrel gravy:

• 1 squirrel cleaned and dressed and cut into pieces [I don't recommend a PSD (Poor Squirrel Decision) off the highway unless you run over him yourself.]
• 1/2 cup each of roughly chopped onions, carrots, and celery
• a half dozen sprigs of parsley, a dozen peppercorns, and a bay leaf
• bacon grease, vegetable oil and flour
• 1 qt cold water
• salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper the squirrel pieces and roll in flour. In a Dutch oven, saute in hot bacon grease until lightly browned. Remove the squirrel pieces and add a little vegetable oil. Cook the vegetables until the onions begin to brown. Add enough flour to make a roux and cook stirring for 3 minutes. Slowly add the water, whisking to prevent lumps and then return the squirrel to the pot. Add the parsley, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce to a slow simmer. Cook for 45 mins or so until the squirrel is falling off the bone. Remove the squirrel pieces and strain the vegetables out. While the squirrel cools, reduce the broth to gravy consistency. Shred the meat and return to the gravy. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over hot biscuits and serve. If you prefer a lighter colored gravy, stir in some heavy cream or half and half with the shredded meat.

SPEND LOCALLY

Don’t forget to visit our local merchants first, especially restaurants. Wythe County has precious few restaurants that aren’t one of the national chains or part of the fast food industry. If you haven’t visited West Wind Farm Vineyard & Winery or it’s been awhile since you’ve been there, now is an excellent time.

David and Jason Manley and staff are ready to welcome you to one of the best boutique wineries in Virginia. Go out and taste some terrific wines and tour the the facilities. The first three wines you taste and the tour are free. As you can see from the pictures below, the scenery is beautiful.

]]> http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2010/02/13/this-and-that/feed/ 1 http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2008/12/02/tis-the-season-tomake-soup/ http://www.wythenotes.com/wp/2008/12/02/tis-the-season-tomake-soup/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:45:48 +0000 Ron Dees http://www.rondees.com/wp/2008/12/02/tis-the-season-tomake-soup/

In Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Mock Turtle sings the praises of “soup of the evening, beautiful soup!” The very word soup conjures up a feeling of soothing comfort. And whereas chilled summer soups are just fine, it is the hearty winter soups that we most identify with.

Soup has been a part of American diets since Colonial days, when it was often served for breakfast. Served with a salad and bread, it can be a complete lunch or dinner. The best thing about soup is that practically anything can be used to make it.

Cookbooks will tell you that the basis for any good soup is the stock or broth. Then they proceed to try to guilt trip you into making your own, which can be very time consuming and require more time and effort than most of us have.There are a number of very good canned stocks and soup bases available. I recommend Swanson’s for the canned variety and Minor’s (available locally at King’s Produce) for a base. These stocks can be improved by the additon of onions, carrots, celery, bay leaf, herbs, and meat scraps. Just saute any additions in a little oil to bring out the flavor before adding the liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes to a half hour and strain if you want a plain broth or leave them in if they work in your recipe.

I made the smoked sausage and potato soup pictured above in about a half hour. It’s very simple to make and tastes fantastic.

Ingredients

For each person:

1/2 Idaho baking potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1 6 inch piece of your favorite smoked sausage cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
2 TBS each of  chopped onion, celery, and carrot
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
2 TBS of heavy cream or half and half
salt and cracked pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Film the bottom of a pre-heated pot with just enough olive oil (or vegetable oil) to prevent sticking and saute the smoked sausage until it begins to brown. Remove the sausage and add the onions, celery, and carrot and cook until the onions are clear. Add the stock, bay leaf and thyme, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. At this point, I use a stick blender to puree the vegetables, but this step is not necessary. It’s just my personal preference. If you do, remove the bay leaf first, then put it back in. Add the sausage and potatoes, cover and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Mash a few of the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup and add the cream. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and cracked pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf, ladle into a bowl, sprinkle with chopped parsley and dig in!

I don’t know if the seemingly inordinate number of morning spider webs I’ve been seeing lately means anything, like a hard winter, early frost, or anything like that, but they make some cool photos. Here are a couple for your perusal.

The Grits Mess

Anne tends to eat healthier than I do, particularly when it comes to breakfast. She favors whole grain cereal and fruit or juice, while I prefer a more cholesteral laden country breakfast. On those rare occasions when she does have something sturdier in the morning, it’s usually the grits mess, a creation she credits to her Uncle Mac. You start with a bowl of grits and add whatever you wish to it. Eggs, cheese, sausage, bacon, ham, onions, peppers, mushrooms, whatever blows your hair back.

When I went back to college after the army, I joined the Vets Club, a fraternity like social/service organization of military veterans who, like me, had returned to school to complete their education. We did good work, volunteering in a number of areas to benefit the school and local community. We also partied……hard. Some of our parties were legendary, like the time Anne and several other wives mooned the governor, senator, and state attorney general of North Carolina. Parties aside though, we were a fairly responsible group. We used designated drivers long before it was the fashion. And we generally ended our parties with a grits mess, one that included all of the ingredients listed above and then some. If you’ve never tried a grits mess, I highly recommend one.

The traditional recipe calls for this soup to be cooked, and served warm. I took the basic ingredients, and gave a different riff to them. The results were pretty spectacular I think. For a brief moment after taking the first bite, I imagined a Roman Gladiator, his sword raised to the heavens, booming, “I Will Eat This, And Nothing But This, For All My Days!!”. Part soup, part salad, it’s a great way to serve the excellent tasting heirloom tomatoes that are at their peak and in abundance right now.

Use whatever combination of tomatoes you have, and the best quality ingredients you can obtain. The recipe is for one person, but it can be multiplied to serve as many as you wish.

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chunked tomatoes

1/2 cup water.

6 fresh basil leaves

1 medium banana pepper, sliced into small rings

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup stale bread, torn into bite-sized pieces

parmigiano reggiano freshly grated for service

Early in the day, smash a couple of cloves of garlic, and place in a small bowl with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. I used Ottavio, a Spanish olive oil that has a spicey fruitiness to it. Cover and set aside.

Later in the day cut one cup of tomatoes into bite sized pieces. I used a red and yellow from my friend John. I failed to get the names, but I’m pretty sure one of them is a Lemon Boy and the other could be a German Johnson. I also used some Lemon Pears from our garden. Be sure to include some of the caviar, the center of the tomato with the seed mass that is often thrown away. Place the tomatoes and water in a glass bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients. Cover.

Around two hours before service, stack the basil leaves on top of each other and slice into small strips. This is called in French, a chiffonade. You may slice the leaves either lengthwise for a large chiffonade, or across for a smaller. For this recipe, I used the smaller. Add the basil, sea salt, ground pepper, sliced banana pepper and half the garlic infused oil to the bowl and lightly toss, making sure all the tomatoes are coated. Add the bread and toss  again.

Let me take a moment and talk about the bread, for it is key. I used half a focaccia roll baked by Ecce Panis in New Jersey for Wal-Mart and warmed, but not served the day before. You may use any good, day-old,  hard crusted artisan bread available to you, the drier the better. You want the bread to soak up the juices and still have some chew to it. A soft bread will just dissolve into a soggy mess.

To serve, transfer the soup to your favorite soup bowl. Remove the garlic and pour the rest of the oil over the top, along with a little more sea salt and ground pepper. Top with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. Anne brings a chunk back from Trader Joe’s in Centerville when she has to spend her week in the office every month. If you can’t obtain the real deal, use a good quality domestic parmesan.

The smells of the basil, the garlic infused oil, and the cheese combine to make a heady aroma as you bring that first bite to your mouth. Cool and refreshing and perfect for this time of year, the taste is that of an Italian summer in a spoon.