Pretty Harvest

The La Jacinto kale has been going for weeks and weeks. We are sauteing it with lemon, garlic and sea salt, and it is divine, especially next to mashed potatoes. Arugula and mizuna can also be mixed in, giving the melange a bit more of a bite. The green canteloupe (gorgeous on the inside) tastes faintly of bananas, and is very juicy. The acorn squash is sweet, not too earthy. Though we are lacking tomatoes, our neighbor's overabundance of them made up for it (seven plants in all in his lasagna garden). Luckily we had the foresight to harvest these fruits of our own garden prior to last Thursday's early morning snow.

Time Gets Eaten Up

Much time has passed. I was busy making this pie, and working in my garden. Meanwhile, our sitter purchased three goats, a mess of chickens, and is growning things up the wazoo. Maybe I should bequest this blog to her. I am fortunate to have dined at Root Down the other night, which allowed me to get back in touch with my inner foodie.

Hazel Dell Harvest Fest

A tour of Hazel Dell Mushroom Farm in Fort Collins, CO is nothing short of fascinating.  I had the pleasure of traveling to this farm a couple of weekends ago with some cohorts from The Kitchen, and left with a newfound appreciation for fungus (this was accentuated by a visit to the doctor later that day, where, ironically, I was ordered to begin a course of penicillin for strep throat). 

Where they occur naturally, mushrooms are the fruits of transformational processes that occur in nature, mostly in forests.  Essentially, they are the biproducts of creative and destructive forces.  Falling trees, decomposing elements in forest floors, and changes in humidity and temperature all spur different phases of mushroom production.  Colorado conditions are hardly conducive to such production, primarily because humidity is so low.  Hazel Dell is in the business, therefore, of simulating what happens in nature through carefully controlled environments.  And they have it down to a science.  

Hazel Dell cultivates 3000 pounds of mushrooms weekly!  They produce Shitake and Cinnamon Cap (both originating in Asia), Oyster (N. America), King Oyster (Europe), Lion's Mane, and Portabella and Crimini (which are essentially the same and which grow in all parts of the world).  Depending upon the variety, the mushrooms are grown in sawdust blocks made from oak and alder trees or composted sawdust from previously cultivated mushrooms.  All the mushrooms grown at Hazel Dell, which are packed in plastic bags that function as micro environments, are rotated through a series of "rooms" (barns) including an incubation room held at 75% humidity and a harvest room that is slightly cooler and less humid. They take from three to fourteen weeks to mature.

Hazel Dell's Harvest Day happens yearly in October.  Jim Hammond and his family open their farm to the public, cook up a feast of mushroom dishes for tourists' enjoyment, and offer self-guided tours of the "rooms".  They also sell their mushrooms by the pound so visitors can take them and experiment on their own.  Upon arriving home, I minced a mixture of Cinnamon Caps, Shitakes and Criminis, sauteed them with butter and garlic, doused them with cream, and served them on buttery crackers. 

To find Hazel Dell, take exit 262 (Windsor) of I-25 North then go West less than a mile.  See my link to their website, above, for more info.

Autumn Indulgence

The Soho Charcuterie and Restaurant (formerly at 195 Spring St. in lower Manhattan) published a cookbook two years before they closed the doors of their bright, polished eatery in 1985 (see NYT restaurant review dated May 9, 1980).  Their Soho Charcuterie Cookbook is one of my most prized volumes, as it commemorates a time when French classics including pates, creme fraiche, simple salads and casseroles were being Americanized left and right and touted as "gourmet".  The book contains reliable and elegant recipes, one of which I am about to revisit.  This time I'll use roasted homegrown pumpkin.  See "Pumpkin Cheesecake" under my recipes page.

Farmstead Fromage

A farmstead cheese is one that is made from the milk of the very farm producing the cheese (what a concept!). This is important because when the cheese maker has an intimate knowledge of the pastures, seasonal cycles and the herd itself, he is able to adjust and take advantage of the subtle variations produced by these factors. In short, the cheese maker is able to have the utmost confidence in the milk going into his cheese and this yields an impeccible product. 

James Ranch in Durango, CO produces only farmstead cheeses.  Their Mature Belford is a gorgeous table cheese that looks like a classic Netherlandish gouda but has a character all its own.  With a smooth and creamy texture and fruity taste, it goes perfectly with apples and pears.  Us Denverites can pick up a slab at The Cheese Company.

Vortex of Mouthwatering Cheese

I am delighted to have attended my first ever Colorado Cheese Fest last Saturday.  While the glossy and generic space of the Embassy Suites was an unlikely venue for earthy cheesemakers from all around the West to gather and share the fruits of their labors, the cheeses were delectible just the same. Highlights included Avalanche Goat Cheese's Cabra Blanca from Basalt (CO), Jumpin' Good Goat Dairy's First Snow from Buena Vista (CO), James Ranch's Mature Belford from Durango (CO), Cypress Grove's Truffle Tremor (CA) and Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk (CA).  It was a treat meeting the craftspeople and seeing the passion they hold for their work.  All of these cheeses can be shipped, and many are available at The Truffle in Denver or at Fromage to Yours in Centennial.  Who needs crackers when there is cheese like this to be had.

Last Crop of Greens?

This may be last batch of Kiwimagi arugula, frisee, oak leaf, baby romaine and mizuna this season.  How we have enjoyed them!  We will plant the same version of mesclun again next year as this is the best we've found. The seeds are manufactured by Lake Valley Seed Co. (Boulder, CO)   Our favorite way to have them is picked fresh out of the garden and tossed with 3 T. good olive oil mixed with 1 T. fresh lemon juice.  We season the leaves with sea salt after they are coated with dressing, which allows the bite of the salt to really bring out the characteristics of each separate leaf.  Wow are they good!

Juicy Pinot

Pennywise Pinot Noir (2008) is a ruby colored pinot blend with aromas of cherry and plum and a dry, oakey finish.  A nicely balanced wine for $12.

Avery's Rumpkin Pleases

If you are Avery's Rumpkin Ale, you defy any category. This Imperial Pumpkin Ale is brewed with pumpkin puree and a blend of five spices, and is aged in fresh Gosling's Rum barrels for six months. Rumpkin is currently on tap at The Avery Tap Room in Boulder and truly is God's gift to Fall.  Trouble is, the only places you can find it are The Kitchen  in Boulder or at the brewery itself as it is a draft only release available for a limited time.  Visit the Tap Room at Avery any night of the week to savor the stuff while it lasts. 

Those outside of Colorado can track down Rumpkin at the Cambridge Brewing Company Great Pumpkin Festival (Cambridge, MA) and at the Elysian Brewing Great Pumpkin Beer Festival (Elysian Capitol Hill, Seattle WA).  Avery says that kegs of Rumpkin will also be made available at a select few beer bars nationwide.

You better just have one ten ounce glass as the alcohol content is 13.2%.  Pure gold.

Eat Local Honey

The benefits of eating local honey are well documented.  Honey is used to combat seasonal allergies, to moisturize your skin, as a hair conditioner, and for its anti-inflamatory and antiseptic properties.  The quality of the honey depends on the flowers visited by the bees, since it retains their fragrance and other properties, whether beneficial or (very rarely) toxic.  For futher reading on the uses and benefits of and lore surrounding the golden stuff, consult chapter 1 in The History of Food (Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated from the French in 1992 by Anthea Bell), entitled "Collecting Honey".

With an artisan philosophy and emphasis on sustainability, Kentner Farms was established in 2007 to produce pure raw Colorado honey as well as provide pollination, honey extraction, honeybee removal and personal beekeeping services. They use chemical-free methods to raise their honeybees, and hold an artisal philosophy with an emphasis on sustainability.

Kentner Farms' honey is highly viscous and extremely sweet!  A little goes a long way!  We stumbled upon their charming little roadside stand in Lakewood, CO where we left our five dollars in a cracked wooden box and walked away with a one pound bottle of local goodness.  A delightful find on a fall day!

Good Food is Crucial

Ever since I was able to hold my maternal grandmother's carbon steel Sabatier, I have been charmed by good food.  The smell of a bowl of ripe lemons in Gaga's kitchen galley, the texture of her fantastic creme caramel, and even the simple enjoyment to be found in the plate of Lemon Coolers she offered us slippery granddaughters following a summer swim.  Some of my fondest memories are tied to the smells, flavors and visual beauty of simple and exquisite foods.

As far back as I can remember, cooking and eating have been at the center of my universe.  My father's roasted duck, Yorkshire pudding, jams and jellies, and winter soups enchanted and comforted us.  My mother's nightly suppers including Spaghetti a la Carbonara, Sole a la Pea Street, breaded pork chops with stewed tomatoes, and flank steak with twice baked potatoes and creamed celery nourished and soothed. In my high school years, forays with a Fairfield County (CT) caterer introduced me to the realm of mass production.  In college, I stayed up late with my roommate reading The Silver Palate cookbooks and making vats of pesto.  I experimented with local ingredients and cooked for my parents' Bed & Breakfast in rural Connecticut in my twenties, started my own catering company with a host of tried and true recipes in that same decade, and worked on and off in restaurants of all shapes and sizes in the ensuing years.  Even today, I work part time in a restaurant to feed my gastronomic fascinations.  And, I'm married to a chef.

[Then there's my career, from which I hope this blog will provide a healthy escape!]

So here I am compiling the beginnings of a food diary, surprised that it has taken me this long.

My primary aim is to chronicle my research of edible (and drinkable) ingredients ranging from basic to special, and to share them with those who share my obsession. Stay tuned...