Grow. Cook. Eat.

The Central Square Farmers' Market

A visit to the Central Square farmers' market shows that my garden is right on cue with local farmers. The lettuces are winding down, and there really is not much else. After many years of going to this market, I’ve come to recognize the usual vendors. Many were missing this week, (most notably Steve Parker who I’ve known for years because he sells to local restaurants) probably because they don’t have much to sell yet.
The farmers that were there primarily offered seedlings and lettuces. Seedlings are perfect for those who have not yet had a chance to plant vegetables in their own gardens. The tomato plants are vibrant and full, the herbs billowy and aromatic, and lettuces sprouting a few leaves.Wait… lettuces??? After all this heat, I was surprised to see farms even suggesting that we should start growing the cool weather plant. I questioned this… the gal from Kimball farm says they plant new lettuce seeds every 5 – 10 days. This makes sense: The standard method of harvesting lettuces, “cut-and-come-again,” does not work in this heat, necessitates successive planting if you want a steady supply throughout the summer.One farm was selling hot-house tomatoes, but I’m still not buying. Though this betters the California hothouse because they could ripen on the vine longer, I’ll hold out for the drippingly juicy field tomatoes.
The Herb Lyceum at Gilson Farms specializes in herbs. Herbs grow easily in pots as well as in beds, and have a great cost/benefit ratio. Garden fresh herbs are better than store bought because the aromas are more pungent.Better still, you can harvest just what you need for a single meal – unlike the predetermined pack sizes at the supermarket. Better flavor, less waste - another point in the no-waste column. Gilson Farms also owns two restaurants, including the local Cambridge favorite: Garden at the Cellar. This gastro-pub features locally inspired, European-styled cuisine. The perennial favorite is the creamy tomato soup with grilled cheese. The three-course tasting menu highlights local farmers.

Micro Climates

With the record temperatures of this past weekend, I eagerly inspected the garden for transformations from a spring garden to a summer garden.

The arugula and mizuna decidedly prefer cooler weather. In this heat, they feverishly bolt and go to seed. Unlike basil, in which you can trim the flowers to prevent this process, lettuces develop thick stalks that are impossible to retract. At the top of the stalks are the buds and flowers that are the precursor to the seeds. Leaves continue to grow, but they become bitter as the season continues.

I decided to harvest as much lettuce as possible – the lettuce at this stage will keep longer and better in my refrigerator than in the ground. In the off-chance that I have a few more salads to come from these plants, I harvest in the “cut-and-come-again” method. That is, I cut the leaves just above the smallest leafette – about 2 inches above the soil line. The smallest leaves are spared and given the chance to mature.

The first of the tomato plants started to flower last week. I’m guessing that I have to wait another 4 weeks until the first fruit is ripe. The biggest curiosity of the garden is the basil. Four weeks ago, I purchased a six-pack of basil plants. Since the garden has various degrees of sun and shade, I decided to hedge my bets and plant in different locations. Some plants get more morning sun, others afternoon sun. Here are two of the plants:

I had heard rumors that morning sun is better than afternoon sun. But intuition told me that afternoon sun would be better for “full-sun” plants like tomatoes and basil because the light is more intense. Given the huge disparity in these two plants, I decided to do a little research.

In the pro-morning sun column: The morning sun is better as it evaporates the morning dew and prevents leaf rot. Afternoon sun can be too intense and burn the plants.

In the pro-afternoon sun column: plants that like full sun do better with the intensity of afternoon sun. The best sun is between 11am and 2pm.

More important, I discovered, are the micro-climates. Believe it or not, in my little swatch of land in Central Cambridge, there are at least 10 micro-climates. The variations and sun and temperature come from the obvious: shade providing trees and structures such as houses and fences, and the position in the garden. The bit of garden on the side of the house where the lettuces grow have 4 regions. As witnessed by the vigor of the plants, the center path gets the most sun. On the right side, closest to my house, gets slightly less sun. On the left side, closest to my neighbors gets the least. The front portion gets more than the back. Less obvious are the reflections from windows. My neighbor behind me has windows that act like mirror to the sun onto my garden. Especially the morning sun hits at just an angle that the plants along the back fence get double duty – direct natural sunlight and the reflection from the windows. The plants in the “afternoon sun” section only get a single dose.

Determining the micro-climates of your garden is a matter of trial and error. Another option is to plant and see what happens. Based on what thrives and dies, you can figure out what works best where.

In case you didn’t figure it out, the sickly looking basil was in the afternoon sun section, and the thriving basil was in the morning sun section. Over the weekend I moved the smaller plants to what I hope to be a better location in the morning sun section.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

All this salad is great to ensure that I get my 5 recommend daily servings of fruits and vegetables. But salad dressing quickly cancels out the benefit with all the fat and calories. Here’s a reduced fat version of the classic balsamic vinaigrette (unlike bottled dressings, this is all natural).

2 shallots

½ cup olive oil

1 tbs. fresh thyme

½ cup balsamic vinegar

½ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. pepper

1. Peel shallots. Mix with ¼ cup olive oil and wrap in tin foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until soft, and nicely roasted

2. In a blender, puree shallots, thyme and vinegar together. If it’s too thick, add a few tablespoons of water. Slowly drizzle in remaining olive oil. Season taste with salt and pepper.

Garden Updates and Micro Climates

With the record temperatures of this past weekend, I eagerly inspected the garden for transformations from a spring garden to a summer garden. The arugula and mizuna decidedly prefer cooler weather. In this heat, they feverishly bolt and go to seed. Unlike basil, in which you can trim the flowers to prevent this process, lettuces develop thick stalks that are impossible to retract. At the top of the stalks are the buds and flowers that are the precursor to the seeds. Leaves continue to grow, but they become bitter as the season continues. I decided to harvest as much lettuce as possible – the lettuce at this stage will keep longer and better in my refrigerator than in the ground. In the off-chance that I have a few more salads to come from these plants, I harvest in the “cut-and-come-again” method. That is, I cut the leaves just above the smallest leafette – about 2 inches above the soil line. The smallest leaves are spared and given the chance to mature.


The first of the tomato plants started to flower last week. I’m guessing that I have to wait another 4 weeks until the first fruit is ripe. The biggest curiosity of the garden is the basil. Four weeks ago, I purchased a six-pack of basil plants. Since the garden has various degrees of sun and shade, I decided to hedge my bets and plant in different locations. Some plants get more morning sun, others afternoon sun.


Here are two of the plants:


I had heard rumors that morning sun is better than afternoon sun. But intuition told me that afternoon sun would be better for “full-sun” plants like tomatoes and basil because the light is more intense. Given the huge disparity in these two plants, I decided to do a little research.

In the pro-morning sun column: The morning sun is better as it evaporates the morning dew and prevents leaf rot. Afternoon sun can be too intense and burn the plants. In the pro-afternoon sun column: plants that like full sun do better with the intensity of afternoon sun. The best sun is between 11am and 2pm.

More important, I discovered, are the micro-climates. Believe it or not, in my little swatch of land in Central Cambridge, there are at least 10 micro-climates. The variations and sun and temperature come from the obvious: shade providing trees and structures such as houses and fences, and the position in the garden. The bit of garden on the side of the house where the lettuces grow have 4 regions. As witnessed by the vigor of the plants, the center path gets the most sun. On the right side, closest to my house, gets slightly less sun. On the left side, closest to my neighbors gets the least. The front portion gets more than the back.

Less obvious are the reflections from windows. My neighbor behind me has windows that act like mirror to the sun onto my garden. Especially the morning sun hits at just an angle that the plants along the back fence get double duty – direct natural sunlight and the reflection from the windows. The plants in the “afternoon sun” section only get a single dose.

Determining the micro-climates of your garden is a matter of trial and error. Another option is to plant and see what happens. Based on what thrives and dies, you can figure out what works best where. In case you didn’t figure it out, the sickly looking basil was in the afternoon sun section, and the thriving basil was in the morning sun section.

Over the weekend I moved the smaller plants to what I hope to be a better location in the morning sun section.

Balsamic Vinaigrette
All this salad is great to ensure that I get my 5 recommend daily servings of fruits and vegetables. But salad dressing quickly cancels out the benefit with all the fat and calories. Here’s a reduced fat version of the classic balsamic vinaigrette (unlike bottled dressings, this is all natural).

2 shallots
½ cup olive oil
1 tbs. fresh thyme
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. pepper

1. Peel shallots. Mix with ¼ cup olive oil and wrap in tin foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until soft, and nicely roasted

2. In a blender, puree shallots, thyme and vinegar together. If it’s too thick, add a few tablespoons of water. Slowly drizzle in remaining olive oil. Season taste with salt and pepper.

My Ten Favorite Dishes: #4

All this talk of Pad Thai, besides making me hungry, was really a lead-up to the fourth dish on my 10 favorite dishes in Boston.

Believe it or not, on this trip to Thailand, I did sample a few other dishes including my new favorite vegetable “Pok Bong,” morning glory leaves. Crunchy with a slight “creaminess” to it in a light brown sauce: it was the perfect balance for all the noodles I was eating. Upon my return to Boston, friends told me that Brown Sugar Café not only has the most authentic Thai cuisine, but it also serves Pok Bong.

Once in the door, I forgot about vegetables and immediately went for the noodles section of the menu. I quickly discovered the “Country Style” Pad Thai, and all memories of other Thai noodles faded away. The slippery noodles balance the sweet, salty, sour and spicy. They are not dry, but a little saucy. The heat pleasantly builds as you work your way through the plate. Peanuts do not dominate the way so many American versions can. And as someone who does not like nuts (though I manage through most Pad Thais), this is an added bonus. The piece de resistance is the 5-spice tofu used in place of regular tofu. Little bits wiggle through the noodles, adding a depth of sweetness and warmth that make this dish irresistible. Just the right touch of bean sprouts adds texture and brightness. If it were possible to improve, I would use more scallions.

And while you’re there, be sure to try the Brown Sugar Roast Duck and, of course, the Pok Bong (when it’s in season).

Pad Thai Obsession

The national dish of Thailand… there are as many variations as there are temples in Bangkok. My quest for the perfect pad Thai began after I tried the noodle dish for the first time (about 12 years ago). I lived in the Fenway and there were at least 4 Thai restaurants within a 1 block radius. Within a week, I had tasted them all and picked Bangkok City’s version as my favorite. Though the restaurant’s other dishes were not as good, the pad Thai was far superior and that was all I needed.

The obsession continued as I tried to refine the dish at home. I went on-line and found hundreds of recipes. Though I had never studied Thai cuisine (save a one hour lecture in culinary school), I could decipher the pattern of sweet, salty, sour and hot. I created a little spreadsheet that laid out all the variations. Based on intuition and further research, I decided that fish sauce was more authentic than soy sauce, and ketchup just had no place at all. And so I began testing recipes. My friend Paul Sussman, who owned Daddy-O’s, let me use his prep kitchen during dinner service to test out recipes. At the end of the shift, I served his staff oodles and oodles of noodles. Though they were delighted, I was not pleased with my results – the flavor was always a bit off, and the texture of the noodles was never right either.

After many failed attempts at trying to unlock the secret of good pad Thai, I realized the only solution was to travel to Thailand and take a cooking class. I had been forewarned that Thai pad Thai was very different than American pad Thai.

While vacationing, I ate noodles at most every meal – at street stalls, at restaurants and cafes. Each one a little different – most used the fresh rice noodles, some were spicy, some were not. In the cooking class, the mystery of the cooking technique was revealed. After a brief pan frying, the noodles were softened with the addition of water. The sauce, I was surprised, did in fact have soy and oyster sauces.

When I got home, I experimented a little more with the sauce, and ultimately, omitted the soy sauce altogether, but kept the oyster. I call my version “Pad Thai – Type A” (and I’m sure you can guess why…). This is what I came up with:

Pad Thai - Type A

7 oz. dried rice stick noodles

Sauce
3 tbs. "prepared" tamarind pulp
2 tbs. palm sugar
2 tbs. oyster sauce
2 tbs. fish sauce
1/4 tsp. (or to taste) thai chili powder or cayenne

3 tbs. oil
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 oz. firm tofu, diced, dried well on a paper towel
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 shallot, dice (opt.)
1 tbs. ground preserved turnip
6 oz. shrimp or chicken or combination (opt.)
4 scallions, cut into 2” pieces
¼ cup roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely ground
1 ½ cup bean sprouts, soaked in cold water
1 lime quarter
1. Soak the dried noodles in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain.
2. To make the sauce: combine tamarind with palm sugar, oyster sauce, chili powder and fish sauce.
3. Heat 2 tbs. oil. Add drained tofu, and cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes, until tofu develops a brown crust on the bottom, and doesn't stick. Add garlic and shallots, and stir fry until soft. Add shrimp/chicken (opt) and preserved turnip.
4. Add noodles. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup water to soften noodles. Stir fry until the water has evaporated. Add sauce, scallions and peanuts, and stir fry.
5. Push noodles to the side of the pan, and push that part of the pan off the heat. In the open space, pour in the eggs. Let eggs set for 1 minute before stirring into the noodles
6. Cook until noodles are soft and pliable. Add in sprouts and toss.
Garnish with lime and remaining sprouts.

Are you a " Locavore? "

You’ve heard of carnivores, and perhaps even omnivores... but do you know what a locavore is? I can tell you, I am the first two and working towards the third. Yes, I eat meat (carni-) and everything (omni-) and I try to eat local (loca-). With Boston area farmers markets opening up this month for the season, my locavore efforts increase.

The Locavore Movement was founded by “a group of concerned culinary adventurers who are making an effort to eat only foods grown or harvested within a 100 mile radius of San Francisco for an entire month.” This was August 2005. The notion was that local foods are better for the environment, the economy and our health. In just a few years, the challenge has spread across the country, and people are thinking about local foods year-round.
By now, we know why local foods are better for the environment. The statistics are in every paper on a weekly basis: the average American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to table. To get the food to the table, it must be processed, packaged (think about those 3-packs of tomatoes that are in a plastic webbed container wrapped in yet more plastic), shipped (in refrigerated trucks) and warehoused (in climate controlled storage facilities). And this process of “farm to table” can take up to 3 weeks – each step adding to our “global consumption” of petroleum. By purchasing foods from local farmers, we minimize the environmental impact of each step in this literal food-chain.

Sometimes it’s hard to see how buying local is better for the economy. After all, local produce often costs more than the Californian and even Chilean counterpart. Cambridge Local First compiled a top ten list for buying from locally owned business: this can easily be applied as general reasons for buying local. I will summarize for you now: When you buy locally, the money you spend stays within the local economy. The business owners spend their profits in Massachusetts (or wherever local is for you), and those taxes go towards local infrastructure: roads, schools, police, etcetera. By supporting local farmers, you keep jobs in your local community. When you shop at large chains the profits go to the economy of the large chain’s headquarters.

The health benefits are straightforward. When food travels less, it can stay on the vine longer. The longer it stays on the vine, the more time it has to absorbed essential nutrients from the soil and sun. Further, the minute produce is picked it begins to leach out its nutritional value (this also speaks to why frozen vegetables can sometimes be better than fresh).

Let’s be honest, though… being a locavore in California is much easier than in Massachusetts… And August, the agricultural jackpot, is less oppressive than taking this challenge in February. But when I think about the resources in New England, we are really quite fortunate. We can get seafood from Maine to the Cape even in the depths of winter. King Arthur Flour is based in Vermont. And local meat and dairy suppliers abound from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. The real issue is getting fresh produce in the darker, colder months. From November to April, we’re mostly reliant on farmers farther afield.

If you want to buy local in Massachusetts, the best resource is The Federation of Massachusetts Farmers’ Markets website. The site lists all the area farmers’ markets with dates, times and locations. More importantly, all the vendors are mentioned with links to their websites and/or contact information. Many vendors will also list their product offerings to make menu planning easier. If you can’t get to the markets during the allotted times, you can always visit the farms!

Right now, strawberries, asparagus and salad greens are at their peak.
For a recent dinner party, I wanted to serve roasted asparagus (requiring a 450F oven), but was also baking the strawberry rhubarb pie (at 375F). I opted to put the asparagus on the floor of the oven for a searing heat that caramelized the spears without overcooking them. This impromptu method worked so well, it is now my standard method for roasting asparagus.

Strawberry shortcake showcases the sweet berry. This variation puts an Italian spin on the American classic.

Balsamic Glazed Strawberry Short cake

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 quarts strawberries
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

1. Put sugar in a sauce pan. Add 1/4 cup water. Put over high heat, stir sugar to dissolve. Continue cooking for about 7 minutes or until sugar turns amber brown. Add balsamic vinegar. Continue cooking until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat. Just before serving, add strawberries. Serve Biscuits with strawberries and cream.

Biscuits:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. yeast
4 tbs. butter
2/3 cup milk

1. Dissolve the yeast in milk. Combine dry ingredients. With a knife or fingers, cut in the butter. Mix in milk.

2. Roll out to 1/4” thickness. Cut into desired shapes.

3. Bake for 12 minutes at 450.

Tis the Season to Buy Local!