Soup

As promised here's a simple soup using those very "earthy" potatoes

and the last of the carrots from Karen's garden

and some onions with a little local honey

and some tomatoes from the summer farmer's market which I "canned"

Start with a big cast iron pot and some olive oil and add potatoes.

Skins on or off- your decision- but since I grew these I know the skins are safe.

Add some herbs, sage, rosemary, oregano… 

(make a bouquet garni if you don't want to chew the herbs)

Add some spices, salt , pepper, red pepper flakes…

add the carrots (they take longer to cook than the onions but less than the potatoes)

add the garlic, onion and honey…

After the carrots have started to get soft add the tomatoes

 plus one jar of water

the honey from the onions sticks to the bottom of the bowl 

so I add a little red wine to get all the honey…

and add that to the pot…

The key is to balance sweet with heat- so I add a little apple cider…

and an old rind of parmigiano

the broth should taste pretty good at this stage- it should have a savory flavor with complexity from the earth tones in the honey and the potatoes and it should have some heat in the "finish"

Cover and bring to a boil.

If you want stew, uncover and let it slow boil for 20 minutes

If you want soup let it simmer with the lid cracked for 20 minutes

The soup should be clear since you're not cooking it for hours.

Serve in a bowl with grated parmesan (and maybe a crouton or two)

Summer Lunch

I pulled up one of the Red McClure potato plants early just to see how they were doing. What I got were some lovely "new" potatoes. Obviously if I'd let this plant develop into September I would have gotten a lot more.

I decided on lunch instead.

I sliced these into 1/4" slices. Please notice that these are really firm since they've only gotten natural rainfall since June 10 they're dense and have absorbed a lot of "earth" flavor.

Normally I'd steam these first and then sauté them but these are so tiny I can do a slow sauté and then braise. Get the fire under the skillet, get it hot, then add olive oil.

I like Spanish olive oil because it's made when the olives are green and it's more "olivey" but this combo of Spanish and Italian is pretty darn good and won't break your wallet the way the pure Spanish Olive oil will. 

As the oil heats I prep some baby broccoli and onion. I add garlic (from the garden) to the onion and let it sit for at least 10 minutes since I learned on my favorite cooking program The Spendid Table that you get most of the health benefits from garlic if you slice/crush it first, let it sit , then heat it.

Here's my little trick for anything which has onions *and* tomatoes. I add some local honey to the onions while they sit. This melts into the onions, counters the acidity of the tomatoes and adds sweetness.

This is wildflower honey and adds a fantastic depth of flavor. 

When the oil is hot enough I add the sliced potatoes and turn down the heat. I want these to cook slowly, not as slowly as eggs- but slowly.

As the potatoes simmer I add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh rosemary and sage (because sage and potatoes are the *perfect* combination.)

I wait till the potatoes start to brown on one side and then turn them over- gently one at a time...

I add the things which take longer to cook, the onions with garlic and honey.

and the broccoli.

... and then I add the cherry tomatoes which are perfect tart little bursts of goodness right now....

By this time the oil should have cooked down enough that the tomatoes begin to deglaze the pot. 

Turn up the heat.

If I use the word "deglaze" you have to know that the word "wine" isn't far behind. For this I use a white Bordeaux which keeps the colors fresh and mixes with the olive oil to make a bright lovely pan sauce. If you don't want to use wine then skip the honey on the onions and deglaze with apple juice or cider.

This is a ridiculously affordable White Grave from winelegacy.com it gives a good tart and tanin flavor without overpowering with sweetness.

I add one of my local favorites. Avalanche Cheese makes Goat Cheese.

That tastes, looks and feels like a pasturized Brie.

Just drop a few chunks on top....

turn off the heat ... and let the steam happen.

Slide it all into a shallow bowl and serve with a mild red wine

Add a few more cherry tomatoes on top because they are soooooo good right now!

I'm serving this with an Italian table wine Montelpulciano d'Abruzzo it's slight acidity will lend brightness to the olive oil and potatoes  and dance well with the tomatoes and honey.

Buon Appetito.

If you need desert, have a piece of fruit... 

induction deduction

On your mark get set.......

 

This is an induction portable cooktop and an electric kettle. I've been looking at an induction cooktop for awhile now for two very specific reasons which I'll tell you about at the end of the post. The online reviews had one thing on which no one could agree- which was faster- the electric kettle (1500W) or the induction (1800W). I decided to find out for myself.

 

I'm at 7000' altitude so there is less air pressure so  water boils faster and at a lower temperature than at sea level. I filled the kettle to "max"- poured that water into the pot on the cooktop and then filled the kettle to "max" again. Equal amounts of water and equally easy to start, except I don't have 3 hands so the clock is a couple of seconds behind.

 

At about 4:15 both the kettle and the pot have some bubbles forming on the bottom.

 

By 5:30 the kettle has a rolling boil going on.

 

...and less than 30 seconds later the pot is doing the same. I'd say with a lid on the pot or using a tea kettle on the induction it would have been a dead heat. Okay, that's a terrible pun but I couldn't help myself.

Now, for  the motivation behind getting this new kitchen gadget. Really, the last thing I need is another kitchen gadget- I have generations of them- not only do I have my grandmother's potato masher but I used to have a group of friends (restaurant workers mostly)  who had a tradition of giving completely incomprehensible kitchen gadgets as Christmas presents - it was the finger ring slicer which stumped everyone. 

Then there's Food and Wine which seems to bequeath me something every year (left by some lucky attendee who doesn't want to schlep the pizza slicer in the suitcase). The result is a lot of kitchen gadgets.

The first reason is boiling water faster. Canning season is almost upon us and the faster you can boil water the faster you can fire up the pressure cooker and peel the tomatoes. 

The big stove is gas so anything I can do to reduce the amount of gas I use is welcome. Since the house  electric is on Solar electric is my "greenest" solution.  Well, almost, I do have a cardboard solar oven I made at an ACES event and as hot as it's been I could be frying eggs on my rocks without having to visit Death Valley... but canning is a different type of operation. I put up 36 quarts of tomatoes a year. It's a process.

The second reason is chocolate. I do this every year for Christmas- I make bourbon balls on an industrial scale and dip half of them in chocolate. The induction has a temperature setting, an exact temperature setting. 

So instead of using this.....

 

I can use this...

 

Because tempering chocolate takes accuracy. 

I'll let you know how it works out....