Household Blog

As part of my herbalism class, this past week we had a guest teacher, the lovely Suzanna Stone, to teach us about fermented foods, fermented beverages, and above all, the importance of joy and courage in the kitchen. We all left the class thoroughly blissed, with happy tummies and tons of inspiration to digest.

Over the course of the day, we sampled and/or made sauerkraut, kimchi, ginger carrots, beets, brined garlic cloves, herbal soft drinks, kombucha, and t’ej – an exquisite no-heat Ethiopian honey wine. Needless to say, I can’t wait to try out these wonderful ideas in my kitchen at home. Currently percolating, I’m planning to make a fermented green tomato salsa with the last of the tomatoes left on the vine. I’ll keep you posted as I progress.

Suzanna introduced us to a wealth of wonderful information about the health benefits of fermented foods. My favorite quote of the day: “’Rotten’ is a culturally-determined concept.” That made me chuckle. In addition to adding a couple fabulous new books to my wishlist (especially Steven Buhner’s book on sacred and herbal beers) and nifty way of peeling ginger with a spoon (again, how have I missed this!)  we were introduced to Lehman’s Non-Electric, a catalog wonderland of do-it-yourself whizgiggery, sturdy tools, enough non-electric (and some electric, to be fair) items for the home, kitchen, and farm to put a tear in any luddite’s eye.

I placed my first order on the Web site (funny that – non-electric and available on the Web) this morning and am eagerly anticipating my first shipment, along with a free copy of the paper catalog, which will be my evening harlequin romance reading for many an evening, tucked under the covers with a warm dog at my side. I feel almost a little cheated that I’ve missed out on this for almost thirty years, but I’m happy to make up for lost time.

It’s fall, full-fledged and fiery on the trees, and as all the leaves turn golden, orange, and crimson, I’ve got greens on the brain.

When we picture our fall cornucopia, we often think of pumpkins, sturdy winter squash, onions, garlic, potatoes, appples, and looming over all of these is the ominous T-Day turkey. But most of all, I am thrilled by the bevy of greens - swiss chard, spinach, watercress, kale, collards - the southern girl in me is salivating at the thought. The theatre geek in me can’t help but thinking of Bernadette Peters’ vegetable rap from Sondheim’s Into the Woods. Oh Bernadette, how I love you.

I’ve begun studying herbalism this year, and more and more I return to the thought that we aren’t meant to receive our nourishment from pills and vitamins, but from whole foods. As Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine.” And you can’t beat dark, leafy greens for a healthful meal. I gather them up by the basketful and fling them with abandon into soups, stews, salads, and sautes. The morning after could very well find the remnants in a quiche or omelette. I just can’t get enough.

Here are a couple of my favorite ways of preparing greens, very simple, oh so good:

Greens—Mediterranean Style

1 bunch greens, any kind, clean and dry
1/2 c. raisins (adjust according to taste)
olive oil
champagne vinegar (or your favorite vinager)
salt & pepper to taste

Bring a teakettle of water to a boil on the stove. Place raisins in a heat-safe bowl and pour boiling water over them till they are covered. Set aside.

Heat a glug of olive oil in a skillet or crock over medium heat. Add the greens, toss briskly, sprinkle on a bit of seasalt, and cover. Allow to steam just until softened but still brilliant green - do not overcook. Remove from heat and stir in a tablespoon or two of vinager, salt and pepper to taste. Drain the raisins well and toss these with the greens. Serve.

Greens—Asian Style

1 bunch greens, any kind, clean and dry
olive oil
1 T. fresh minced ginger
1 - 2 T. tamari (soy sauce)
1 T. honey

Whisk together ginger, tamari, and honey, adjusting amount to your particular tastes. Set aside.

Heat a glug of olive oil in a skillet or crock over medium heat. Add the greens, toss briskly, sprinkle on a bit of seasalt, and cover. Allow to steam just until softened but still brilliant green - do not overcook. Remove from heat and toss with the tamari dressing. Serve.

What are your favorite ways to prepare greens?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting my favorites of the recipes I put together for Agriberry over the warmer months. This was one of my absolute favorites - a taste of sunshine.

Joyful Peach & Blueberry Pie

• 3 c. peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped (about 3 peaches)
• 1 to 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 T. lime juice
• 3 T. cornstarch
• 1 gluten-free piecrust (thawed if frozen; I use WholeFoods - best I’ve found yet)

Topping:

• 1/2 c. GF flour (I prefer Pamela’s)
• 1/2 c. GF oats (Bob’s Red Mill or other)
• 1/8 c. sunflower seeds
• 1/8 c. sesame seeds
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 t. salt
• 6 T. butter, cut into small pieces

Set oven to 375. In a large, bowl, mix, the peaches, blueberries, sugar, lime juice, and cornstarch. Pour into your pie crust and bake for 30 minutes. While that bakes, use a fork or cutting tool to cut the butter into the remaining ingredients for the topping - you will have loose crumbs. After pie has baked its 30 minutes, remove from oven and lightly spread the crumb topping over the top of the pie, from the center out to the crust. Return the pie to the oven to cook another 30 - 45 minutes, until the juice starts to bubble up around the edges of the crumb topping. You may want to put a cookie sheet a rack below the pie to protect from dripping, and if the topping starts to get too brown, cover it loosely with fool for the last few minutes of baking. Cool 1 to 2 hours before serving - goes great with vanilla ice cream or yogurt!

My second year participating in the pumpkin carving tradition. This year, we opted for a theme—the weirdly amorous duo, Gomez and Tish. I did Morticia. MrPikes did Gomez. Apt, methinks.

Even super pup Rowan thought they were pretty keen. Any ideas for next year?