bounty

ok, i know your kitchen counters probably looked like this too, but i couldn't resist capturing their beauty. with the late dry sun, for once, our normally wet climate allowed the tomatoes to ripen. favorite tomato varieties? Black Krim (a gift from my dad), Cherokee Purple and Sweet 100. Yours?

dressing a field grouse

it is a special thing you can teach your kids: to live off the land. not only is it a survival skill to be able to fend for one's self, it more importantly (and probably more realistically) teaches children the respect for the life they are about to consume. while I am not all obsessed and eccentric when it comes to "respecting" the food, I do believe there is a serious epidemic of ignorance in our youth and culture- in regards to being disconnected from where we receive our sustenance. growing up, we ate carrots with the dirt on, crab apples with enough pucker to top a lemon, venison disguised in fajitas and duck on the dinner table in the spring. as most of us do, I have come full circle and seen the value and cherish the way I was raised- taking little for granted. perhaps if we were the ones doing the killing, dismembering, gutting, feathering and preparing of the majority of out foods, we would be less gluttonous, entitled and blasé. more thankful, aware and simpleminded in our approach to consumption. one can hope.

“I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade.”


― Wendell Berry, What are People For?

belated: Fall Soup Recipe

 Autumn Curry pumpkin soup



 

3 lbs or 2 med. Sugar pumpkins, halved, seeded and cut into quarters
1 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 small onions, thinly sliced
3 tsp ea. yellow curry powder and salt
2 tsp ea. cinnamon & ginger
2 tsp . white pepper,  ground
32 oz. chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp real maple syrup



1. Preheat oven to 450. Place cut pumpkin skin side up on rimmed baking sheet- add water and roast for 30-40mins or until able to pierce with a fork.

2. Sauté onion and carrots in olive oil until onions are transparent and tender. Add pumpkin when finished roasting. Cook until all ingredients are soft. Combine seasonings in separate bowl, whisk with a fork. Stir seasonings to sauté mixture and let sweat for seasonings to permeate squash for 10 mins. Add chicken stock and simmer for 20 mins.


3. Puree soup in two batches in blender or food processer.

4. Place pot back on stove and add coconut milk. Simmer. Salt & pepper to taste.


5. Garnish with spoonful of crème fraiche or greek yogurt and toasted sage leaf.

Added to the menu:

Serve with a luscious glass of Chinon from the Loire region in France

• Wilted Rainbow Swiss Chard with toasted pecans & Balsamic glaze
•  Grilled White Cheddar on Onion Poppyseed Bread

Oysters



photo courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

as one of the best heminway quotes goes

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”


― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

a festival dedicated to those precious pearly little shellfish. i'll take 'em cooked, baked, or raw on the half shell. (no frying, please!) the festival in Shelton, on October 1st & 2nd will have tastings, pairings, schuckings, and... fresh oysters.
so, who's coming with me?

foraging for delicacies

since i was a little girl, i've had fond memories of mushroom hunting with my dad in the woods behind our house growing up. (out in good 'ol Sedro Woolley) it was a feast for the senses as we would hike through the carpeted old-growth forest and cut off the chantrelle mushrooms at the base with our little bone handled pocket knives. when we got home, dad would saute them and add them to a number of dishes- i can't quite remember what they were added to as they definitely were the star of the show.

if you live in the kitsap area, here is a mycological society: KPMS

but now its spring and the mushroom du mois is the morrel.
here is a soup recipe i'd love to try:

Morel Soup

From "mushroom" by johnny acton and nick sandler

14 ounces small Morels
cup sweet butter
2 finely chopped shallots
1 quart chicken stock
1 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fry 8 of the Morels in half of the butter for 4 minutes over medium heat. Watch out: they spit! Set them aside, leaving any excess butter in the pan.
Finely chop the remaining Morels, and fry in the rest of the butter along with the shallots. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, pour in the cream and whisk in the egg yolks along with a little salt and pepper. Return to the heat and slowly bring back up the temperature, whisking continuously. The soup will thicken slightly like a thin custard. As soon as it does, serve with the Morel garnish on top. Serves 4.
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