Portland Foodie

Potatoes: Lessons from the Summer

If you follow Gardener to Farmer, you know of my flagging feelings for my favorite spuds. Let's be clear, I have always been a fan of starch. I grew up in a family where a meat, a veggie and a starch were integral components of our nightly dinner. We sat together at the family dinner table and ate some of my grandmother's amazing cooking. And though I later developed an affinity for rice, I was partial to potatoes.

It should come as no surprise, then, that this summer when I had several potato preparation failures, I was dismayed. And if I can use my pain to help others...so much the better.

Failure #1: Fresh beets and carrots may roast faster than newly dug fingerling potatoes. I know, it seems like because they are small, fingerlings should cook quickly. That was not my experience...though it could just be the varieties. In any case, don't make assumptions based on size...but you should already know that size doesn't matter.

Failure #2: New potatoes do not shred well. Don't use them for hashbrowns. The end result is a sticky, gooey, swampy mess.

Failure #3: Some potatoes are not the best for boiling and mashing. And some potatoes are absolutely awful for frying (see #2). Know the difference before you start.

Failure #4: Not all potatoes cook at the same rate, even when cut to the same size. If you throw a bunch of different potatoes in a pot and boil, then try to mash, you will inevitably wind up with some that are falling apart and some that are hard as rocks.

Failure #5: Yukon Golds do not store the same as Russets. The same could be said for different varieties. Not all are meant to be keepers, some are for use in the near future.

Though there are only 5 failures listed, please note these are categorized...not completely inclusive of my frustrating experiences. Some things were not utter failures (like the fact that some potatoes were so dry when I mashed them I had to use a half a gallon of milk to make it happen) just unexpected detours.

I am thinking of growing only one or two kinds of potatoes next year. Maybe learn their habits, then add others. I don't know...maybe it is time to change starch platforms, couscous, anyone?

Locavores: Is There a Middle Ground?

I am a big supporter of eating locally...which is essentially the premise of the term locavore. But is it practical, and even desirable to eat locally all of the time?

I had this conversation with my friend Lisa King (@happyfuntime on Twitter) last night. She is admirably committed to eating her produce and dairy from local farms. Once a week, she drives with friends to farms an hour away to pick up CSA goods and milk. That is one way, folks...how many of you are committed enough to drive 2 hours each week to pick up only part of what you need to eat for the week? Lisa is really amazing...and it makes me feel like maybe I am not doing enough.

So, we talked about the difficulty with winter and the fact that essentially, a CSA will only have produce during the growing season. What then? And what about other fruits and vegetables that just will not grow in your area...In Portland, we can not grow tropical fruits...no citrus, no mangoes, no bananas...should I go the rest of my life with no BANANAS??

I think not.

We need to have balance...we have an amazing opportunity to share in the bounty of all that our country grows. Why should we refuse that? Maybe the issue is not solely about eating what is locally available. Maybe it is about finding a sustainable fuel source that has a reduced (I would prefer zero) impact on the environment.

I think there is a way for us to be balanced in our approach to eating locally. I know Lisa does too. We can start by doing our best to eat what is closest and freshest...Yes, it is worth getting to know the farmers that produce your food...and it can be really fun! But, as foodies, we should also be pushing for sustainable food transporting methods. We can make a difference and have our banana cake, too!

Grilling Chicken

Grilling chicken can either be a challenge or an amazing success, dependent upon a couple of variables. One is using a brine solution and the other is grilling over indirect heat.

Really, Fall is my favorite time to cook outside. The weather is beautiful...not raining as often as spring, and the heat isn't the blast furnace that summer often is.

Here's how I made my last chicken on the grill. I started with 6 leg and thigh sections. I created a brine solution made of enough water to cover the chicken and about a 1/4 cup of salt. Then I immersed the chicken in the solution and put the container in the refrigerator overnight.

The following morning, I drained the chicken and patted it dry. In another container, I created the marinade. I use about 1/3 cup of olive oil, 2 tbs of molasses, 1 inch ginger, sliced, 4 cloves of garlic, smashed, 1/4 cup of tamari, and pepper. Sometimes I add pineapple slices and a bit of pineapple juice.

After letting that marinate during the day, I start the grill outside. I use hardwood briquettes, not gas, because that is my preference. I get the briquettes ready in a chimney starter. When those are ready, I place a rectangular pan in the center of the bottom grate of the grill. I add the hot briquettes around the pan, creating indirect heat. Then, I place the chicken on the grill, only over the pan portion.

Use a grill thermometer to keep track of how much heat your grill is producing. Initially, the heat was at about 375 degrees, and over the course of an hour and a half or so, it went to 300 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the thickest part of the chicken reaches 170 degrees.

Grilling chicken in this way makes it so tender and juicy! It is really my favorite...tell me about yours...

Home Canning and You

Home Canning is all at once an amazingly rewarding experience and a big pain in the rear. I spent a significant amount of time creating canned or preserved vegetables and fruit this summer. Consequently, I have a cupboard and freezer-full of food that I grew...saving me money and reducing my paranoia about what methods were used to grow the food I eat.

This was the first summer that I intentionally grew, harvested and preserved garden goodness. In the past, I just grew what I thought looked good, in quantities that were based on no real planning process. I might have a large bounty, which I then might freeze. But this year, I decided to stop relying on my fave farmer's markets as much, and really focus on growing my own.

So, here's what I have learned, in sum...

The Good

Pickling: Preserves the harvest, creates yummy condiments, makes beautiful gifts, is a very creative process, is a great storage process for certain vegetables

Canning: extends your tomato celebration into the winter, allows you to take full advantage of veggies and fruits that are harvested once a year, makes diving fruit spreads that bring back summer memories, is a solid storage method, if you follow directions exactly, canning is relatively easy

The Bad

Pickling: veggies aren't as crisp, harder to know what will be a tasty combination, some vegetables lose color and some change the color of everything else in the jar, the amount of salt in the recipe is huge, not as easy as I thought it would be

Canning: I now have 800 jars of raspberry jam, the amount of sugar in the oringal preserving method is huge, the harvesting, cleaning and preserving can be tiring and tedious

 

The Ugly

First of All: Look at my kitchen...this is typical of my kitchen when I am canning

Pickling: some vegetables just should not be pickled and sometimes you don't know that until it's too late, veggies may look tightly packed, but after canning process, veggies float

Canning: Cool summers=less flavorful tomatoes harder to make tasty sauce, fruit jams sometimes don't set up and you have fruit sauce, you can something and give it to a friend, only to discover it tasted awful...

All in all, I was pleased enough with the outcome that I will definitely try it again next summer. I think I will restrict it to tomatoes and jams, though. It is just too easy to blanch, use the vaccuum sealer and freeze the rest of the harvest.

Grapes, Grapes Everywhere...What to DO With Them?

Aren't these red Concord grapes beautiful? if you read my last post, you have seen what happens when we have an overload of grapes...we stomp them!

We also make absolutely awesome concord grape jam...and I have to be honest, I didn't follow the recipe to make grape jelly.
That involved mushing and draining the grapes for hours in the fridge...no, not for me!

What I did do is this: I took a big batch of grapes and pulled most of the stems off...

This is one of the THREE giant bundles of grapes we had...sheesh...

Once the grapes are generally clean and without stems, drop them in a pot and cook over medium heat...Be careful not to burn the grapes if they don't release their juices early on...but you do want to boil it down a bit.

Cooking the grapes helps release the juice and concentrate the flavor.

After you have cooked the grapes and reduced the mass by about 1/3 or so, give it a taste. Chances are great you will need sugar...don't worry, there will be plenty of that in the canning process. Here, you are looking for concentrated grape flavor.

Next, put through a food mill and remove seeds, and any remaining stems. I know, you could use a sieve, but I like jam instead of jelly, so I used a food mill. Pop it back on a warm burner and get another pot on the stove.

Get out your pectin and follow the directions on the box to the letter...Mine called for 3 3/4 cup of grape concoction to 5 1/2 cups of sugar...I know, it's a lot, don't freak out. I measured out the grape and the sugar, combined in the second pot on the stove, then brought to a simmer...stirring regularly...then added the pectin.  As it cooks, it will form a more familiar syrupy consistency...and when it cools in the jar it will be a wonderfully spreadable jam.

I used a standard canning process...check here for that information. Opened one last night and it was wonderful...much more subtle than grape jam at the store...lovely tart taste, almost like wine...mmmmm...

Let me know if you try it...and tell me how it goes!

Stomping Grapes OR Are You Really Going to Drink That?

I have saved up posts this week for a super-duper, grape mashing extravaganza...to be followed this weekend by a post that will give you all of the great successes and failures for my grape harvesting season.

And really, it is best shared in picture and video. So, here we go:

Here's my little guy, trying to harvest grapes from vines with leaves as big as his head...I think he ate as many of the White Concords as he harvested...Still, isn't he absolutely adorable?

And my teen is head first into the Red Concords...believe me, this was not her first choice for activity...Cost me two weeks of allowance, but it was worth every penny!

At this point, I have moved on to tomatoes, but don't let that fool you...

There is more grape greatness to come later in the day.

I think I harvested about 15 lbs of tomatoes...no, I am not kidding...

But the most amazing part of this day is the making of the grape juice...

We decided (ok, I decided) it would be fun to make our own grape juice the old fashioned way...by stomping it!

So,  we gathered up our igloo cooler, a whole mess of red grapes and started stomping...directions are all in the video. And, if you visit my YouTube page, you will see how the kids felt about the whole stomping thing, too!