Ninecooks

Everyday Food magazine for $5 (for a year!)

People, this is a steal of a deal. Everyday Food magazine, from the Martha Stewart folks, just $5 for a full year. Limited time offer. Subscribe here.

How to preserve the harvest (even if your harvest comes from the market)

Every year in May, Candy and Dave come from Boston to help plant the herb garden. Throughout the summer, Ted delivers herbs to them in the city on Monday mornings. We call it our "herb CSA".

And at this time of year, they come back to the herb garden to help put up the harvest. That means making pesto for the freezer, chutney for Thanksgiving with the last of the season's pears, and -- new this year -- a mint-jalapeño infusion, inspired by this post on Julia's wonderful food blog.

We also set some herbs into the drying screen. It's nothing more than a large window frame (recycled, of course), with two pieces of screening. One piece of screen is stapled to the frame. The other, stapled at the top, allows us to sandwich the herbs in between the layers.

After the herbs are spread out on the fixed screen, the other layer rolls down and gets tacked to the frame with push pins.

As the frame stands on the porch for three weeks, air circulates around the herbs and dries them completely. Then they're packed into glass jars for use throughout the winter.

Dave is a primo chutney maker, and the last of the season's pears from our trees went into this year's batch along with a stray apple and a couple of plums, plus lots of ginger and hot red pepper. (I'll post the recipe on The Perfect Pantry next weekend.)

Here's our mint-jalapeño syrup, following the recipe for jelly or mojito base on Grow.Cook.Eat.

The syrup infuses for 24 hours and the peppers are removed. Then, you can freeze it, either with the mint or by straining the mint to yield a clear, mint flavored sugar syrup. Freeze it in ice cube trays, and add it to cocktails, jams, or dessert sauces.

We put two types of pesto into the freezer: a traditional Genovese basil-pine nut pesto, and a sage-pecan pesto from Kalyn's Kitchen.

We still have time to get the flat-leaf parsley, lemongrass and horseradish root out of the garden, and the rosemary will last a while longer, too. Stay tuned for more harvesting tips from my garden.

Remember: you can make all of these wonderful dishes and preserve the herbs you buy at local farm stands, farmers markets, or even at your grocery store. Just use the freshest herbs you can find, and you can enjoy your "harvest" all winter.

Share Our Strength/Operation Frontline wish list

If you've been thinking about doing some belated Spring cleaning, perhaps you can help with some items on Share Our Strength/Operation Frontline's wish list.

Boston Operation Frontline trains chefs, nutritionists and volunteers to teach cooking and nutrition to people at risk of hunger, with a special commitment to ending childhood hunger in the United States. Six-week classes for adults and school children teach the fundamentals of healthy eating, basic kitchen sanitation, and how to stretch your shopping dollars.

Please contact Alison McCabe (amccabe AT ofl DOT org, or call 617-772-1324), program manager, if you can donate any of the following:

• A car! (It must be in good working condition.)
• Gift cards to Stop & Shop or Shaw's
• Sets of measuring cups or spoons for class gifts
• Gently used cooking supplies: pots, pans, bowls, etc., to help stock the cabinets of class graduates.
• Reuseable grocery bags.
• Magnetic grocery list pads.
• 5"-8" chef's knives for adult OFL graduates

If you're not in the Boston/Rhode Island area, contact a Share Our Strength/Operation Frontline organization near you. The SOS web site will give you more information.

Thank you!

Tagine Cuisine: registration opens Monday, July 28

Registration opens on Monday. July 28, for my next hands-on cooking classes offered by Rhode Island School of Design.

Tagine Cuisine: The Art and Craft of Moroccan Cooking

Course CULIN-4359, Section I (October 18) and Section II (October 25)

Saturday morning, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Location: The Ninecooks kitchen in Glocester, Rhode Island (30 minutes from Providence, 75 minutes from Boston)

  Small group (limited to 8 per session), hands-on cooking plus a visit to the studio of Scituate potter Bob Fishman for a demonstration of how the unique conical shape of the tagine is formed. Guaranteed to be a great morning of cooking -- and of course we eat everything we make! Space is very limited, so register early. Click here to sign up.

Digging for ginger, and beef-and-radish curry

Yesterday morning I braved the heat and humidity to visit the Cambridge garden of my friend Julia: chef, food blogger, and consultant to restaurants, farms, and businesses.

Yes, I was tempted by the delicious iced coffee, and fresh vegetable tartlets, and the promise of lively conversation, but what I really wanted to do was see a successful urban garden -- and dig ginger.

Julia had left a comment during Ginger Week on The Perfect Pantry about how she stores her ginger in the ground during the summer months.

This I had to see -- and in this photo, you can see it, too. That's Julia's hand holding a "hand" of fresh ginger, which has sent out new roots. In the front are three "fingers" of new ginger growth, brighter white than the old part, and with new green shoots coming out the top.

Buy a large "hand" of ginger at the supermarket -- look for one that's fresh, not one that is already completely dessicated and shriveled -- and bury it in your garden (or flower pot) in a sunny location. Eventually it will send down roots, and where there's a new "finger" forming, you'll start to see thin green shoots above the surface (a big help if you've forgotten where you planted the ginger!).

Whenever you want to use some ginger in your cooking, dig up the whole clump, break off as much as you need (old root or new growth -- the taste of the new is slightly milder and sweeter than the original part of the root), and return the rest to the ground.

It's weird and wonderful!

Julia grows a whole range of herbs, plus cauliflower, tomatoes, eggplant, scallions, and flowers in her small back yard garden. There's room for a compost bin, too.

BEEF AND RADISH CURRY
Instead of the typical sliced radishes eaten raw in salads, this recipe treats radishes like turnips, cut into chunks and stewed. A lovely recipe if you have radishes in your garden! Serves 6.
1 onion, minced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
3 Tbsp corn oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1-1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 lb stew beef or lamb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1-1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
2 Tbsp tomato puree
2 cups water
12 oz radishes, trimmed, cut in half

In a large frying pan, cook the onion, garlic, ginger, paprika and turmeric in the oil over medium-high heat. When the mixture is sizzling, add cumin and coriander, and then the meat; continue to sauté, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until the meat is browned. Add salt, tomato, water and radishes, and cook, covered, until the meat is tender and the radishes are cooked, approximately 30 minutes.

Please help farmers in the Midwest

Please, please please: read this post at The Inadvertent Gardener, and do what you can to help small farms devastated by the recent floods.

Thank you.

Tidbits: Asparagus love, cookbook love

Are you sick of asparagus yet?

Please say no.

And then, if you are within hailing distance of Oneco, Connecticut, get yourself to Falls Creek Farm before June 8, which is the last picking day of asparagus season. At the farm, owner Laura Pailthorpe will help you select your asparagus by size, from pencil thin to medium ($2.75/pound) up to super-fat ($3/pound), on the day they were picked. After June 8, call to check on availability: 860-564-5554.

Falls Creek Farm's farmstand is open all summer; you can find Laura and husband Mark also at the Danielson Farmers Market (Saturdays 9 am-12 noon, opening June 14) and New London, CT (Tuesdays 2:30-5:30 pm).

Looking for asparagus here in Rhode Island? Check at some of the local farmers markets that are open early in the season, including Pawtuxet Village in Cranston, where one of the more unusual farms is Pak Express, run by Laotian farmer Chang Xiong, who grows a wide range of Asian vegetables. Farm Fresh Rhode Island has the complete list of farmers market dates and locations.

If you've been watching Top Chef this season, you'll remember the famous pairing of asparagus with Boucheron, an orange-rinded goat's milk cheese from the Loire Valley. For suggestions of other cheeses that pair with asparagus, ask a cheesemonger like chef/owner Matt Jennings and his knowledgeable staff at Farmstead, now in two locations (Wayland Square and Westminster Street). Sign up for Farmstead's free mailing list, and find out about classes, new cheeses, wine events, and more.

I love thyme. In my herb garden, I have four English thyme and one lemon thyme. In fact, I often add a bit fresh from the garden when I'm making asparagus frittata.

Last week at the Scituate Farmers Market, Rhode Island Soap Works, which has a lovely barn/shop on Joe Sarle Road in Glocester, RI, was selling herb plants from their greenhouse. I purchased lime thyme and carraway thyme, both new to me, and I don't think either will pair well with asparagus. Any suggestions for how to cook with them?

ASPARAGUS ON ASPARAGUS
This recipe for asparagus spears with an asparagus dip comes from Happy in the Kitchen, by Michel Richard. If you don't have it, check your local library, or look for a copy for your own happy kitchen at Eagle Trading Company in Assonet, Massachusetts, my favorite used cookbook store in all the land. Serves 4 as an appetizer; the dip could also be served with roasted potato wedges or as a spread on a chicken sandwich.

24 large asparagus (about 2 pounds)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
Granulated sugar
Sea salt

Set aside 4 asparagus spears for the vinaigrette. Cut off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus spears and set those aside for the vinaigrette as well. With a vegetable peeler, peel the remaining asparagus spears from about an inch below the tip to the bottom of the spear.

Set a steamer basket in a pot over simmering water. Place the peeled asparagus in the basket, cover, and steam for about 5-6 minutes, or until the spears are just tender with pierced with the tip of a paring knife. Be careful not to overcook the asparagus.

Meanwhile, fill a bowl with ice water. When the asparagus is cooked, lift the spears with a pair of tongs and submerge them in the ice bath to cool, then remove and roll them in a clean kitchen towel to dry.

For the vinaigrette, cut the reserved 4 asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Place in a small saucepan with the trimmed asparagus bottoms and add 1/4 cup water and the olive oil. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes, or until the asparagus is completely softened. The water should have evaporated, and the asparagus should be stewing in the oil.

Pour the asparagus into a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and whisk in the mustard, lemon juice, and a pinch each of sugar and salt. Serve the asparagus on a platter, with the vinaigrette in a small dish or ramekin on the side for dipping.

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Deal of the century: The absolutely best baking book ever is on sale from Jessica's Biscuit. If Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my home to yours isn't on your bookshelf, it should be. Ted's been working his way through it, and every recipe has been a winner: brioche, madeleines, World Peace Cookies. Published at $40, it's on sale for a staggeringly low $14.98 at Jessica's Biscuit.

There's always a great close-outs section on the Jessica's Biscuit web site, too. And if you spend $50 or more, you can get a free one-year magazine subscription to Gourmet, Bon Appetít, Condé Nast Traveler or Domino.

Time to get Sirius

Tune in to Sirius satellite radio channel 112 on Tuesday, May 20, at 1:00 PM Rhode Island time, when I'll be on the "Living Today" show on Martha Stewart Living Radio, with host Mario Bosquez. We'll be talking about my food blog, The Perfect Pantry, and taking calls from listeners. The call-in number is 866-675-6675. You can get a free three-day trial subscription to Sirius on their web site, www.sirius.com. Please join us!

Welcome, Tidbits readers!

Beginning in June 2008, Ninecooks' Tidbits newsletter is moving to this site.

If you received this message by email, you don't need to do a thing -- you'll automatically get the new Tidbits.

Subscribers to the "old" Tidbits who did not receive this message by email will get instructions about how to transfer your subscription here, and you'll have the choice of receiving Tidbits by email, or in an RSS reader such as MyYahoo, Bloglines, AOL, MSN, Google Reader, etc..

It's easy to subscribe; just pick one of the options under "How to subscribe" in the top right corner of this page.

More convenient for you, more efficient for us, and still free to all.

Stay tuned.

Two squash stews

If the picture tells the story, then this photo — yes, it's a pot of orange blobby-looking stuff with green things swimming in it, which is in fact a fantastic stew made this morning by the Wednesday Lunch Group — this photo is why I don't think pictures of food are the best way to tell the story of Ninecooks cooking groups.

It's not about the food.

it's about this:

and this:

and this:

and this.

Oh, I could tell you about the two stews we made, with butternut squash as the common denominator. One was Thai-inspired, with tofu in a coconut base; the other, a Native American adaptation, made with chile peppers and black beans, packed a bit more punch. Served over rice, either one could be the star of a dinner party, but each of these vegetarian stews came together in less than 45 minutes, so they'd be perfect for weekday cooking.

Because our menu was quick to prepare, we had time for a leisurely lunch: seven cooks, two stews, and one apple cake for dessert.

It doesn't get any better than that.