Month: February 2011

Wild Rice with Smoked Turkey, Lingonberries, Wild Onions and Fried Sage

/ Ren

A densely nutritious meal from the Boreal forest, true Northern wild rice is cooked in roasted fowl stock with fresh lingonberries, then tossed with torn pieces of pan-fried smoked turkey, wild onions, fresh sage and rosemary.  Drizzled with hot stock and pan drippings..

Wild Rice with Smoked Turkey, Lingonberries,Wild Onions and Fried Sage

1 wild rice (if the instructions on the package call for less than 1 hour of cooking, it probably isn’t true wild rice)
2-3/4 cups homemade fowl or vegetable stock, boiling
1/2 cup fresh lingonberries, stemmed, rinsed and picked over (substitute cranberries)
1 tablespoon rendered turkey or chicken fat
pinch of sea salt

1 smoked turkey leg, skinned, pulled and torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup wild onions (both green and white sections), trimmed and cut into to 1/8-inch thick slices
12 whole, fresh sage leaves, stemmed
1 heaping tablespoon fresh rosemary needles
2 tablespoons rendered turkey or chicken fat
freshly-cracked black pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon rendered turkey or chicken fat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.  Add wild rice and stir to coat.  Continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes until each grain is coated and glossy.

Add 2-1/2 cups boiling stock and berries and stir to separate rice.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until just tender, about 1 hour.  Salt to taste.

Heat 1-1/2 tablespoons rendered turkey or chicken fat in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Add turkey and onions and quickly sear.  Add sage and rosemary and cook until herbs are crisp, about 2-3 minutes.

To serve, combine rice and turkey in warm soup bowls.  Stir the reserved stock and pan drippings together and drizzle over the top.  Season with freshly-cracked black pepper.

The species of wild rice most commonly harvested is the annual Zizania palustris.  Native Americans and non-Indians harvest wild rice by canoeing into a stand of plants, and bending the ripe grain heads with wooden sticks called knockers, so as to thresh the seeds into the canoe.

The size of the knockers, as well as other details, are prescribed in state and tribal law.  By Minnesota statute, knockers must be at most 1 inch in diameter, 30 inches long, and one pound in weight.  The plants are not beaten with the knockers but require only a gentle brushing to dislodge the mature grain.  The Ojibwa people call this plant manoomin meaning “good berry”.   Some seeds fall to the muddy bottom and germinate later in the year.

Several Native American cultures, such as the Ojibwa, consider wild rice to be a sacred component in their culture.  The rice is harvested with a canoe: one person vans (or “knocks”) rice into the canoe with two small poles (called “knockers” or “flails”) while the other paddles slowly or uses a push pole.  For these groups, this harvest is an important cultural (and often economic) event. –Wikipedia

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Family Farms and Local Foods Education Day

/ Ren

 

FAMILY FARMS AND LOCAL FOODS EDUCATION DAY
Citizens Gather at the Capitol to Speak with Legislators

 

AUSTIN, TX (February 8, 2011) – Local food supporters from all over Texas will gather at the State Capitol on Monday, February 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to meet with legislators about issues concerning family farms and local foods.  The education day is a free event, open to the public, and organized by the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA), a Texas-based non-profit that advocates for independent agriculture and citizens who support local foods.

“We are mobilizing citizens from across the state who support their local food community, purchase foods locally, and value their relationship with their farmers, ranchers, and food producers,” said Judith McGeary, director of FARFA and a leader in local food advocacy in Texas and nationally.

The Family Farms and Local Foods Education Day is an opportunity for Texas citizens, farmers, and ranchers to speak up for local food systems.  Participants will have the chance to learn about the legislative process, meet legislators and their staff, and work together in support of improved access to local foods.  Prior to the event, participants are asked to make an appointment with their legislators.  On the day of the event, the group will convene for a short meeting about citizen activism, communicating effectively with legislators, and the specific bills that the Legislature is considering.

Topics that will be discussed at the education day include:

HB 75/SB 237, (the “Raw Milk Bill”) to increase access to licensed raw dairy products;
Reducing unnecessary regulation of farmers’ markets;
Allowing “cottage food” producers to sell directly to consumers;
Reducing fees on small-scale cheese-makers; and
 Fair property tax treatment for urban farms, community gardens, and sustainable producers.

“We need laws like these that allow local farmers and rural economies to thrive,” McGeary said.  “Texans have already been voting for local foods with their dollars, buying direct from farmers in ever increasing numbers.  Now it’s time for our legislators to catch up.  If you care about what you eat, come tell your legislators.”

FARFA invites all concerned citizens to join in the conversation by attending this free event.  For more information about how to participate and to RSVP, visit www.farmandranchfreedom.org/upcoming-meetings.

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To receive email updates throughout the legislative session, join our mailing list.
To support our work on the local foods campaign during the legislative session, please make a donation today!

About Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA)

FARFA advocates for farmers, ranchers and homesteaders through public education and lobbying to assure their independence in the production and marketing of their food, and to prevent the imposition of unnecessary regulatory burdens that are not in the public interest.  FARFA also advocates for consumers’ access to healthy foods of their choice. For more information, please visit www.farmandranchfreedom.org.

Native Vegetable Stew w/Cumin-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Wild Onions and Fresh Chiles

/ Ren

Inspired by a recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant, this vegetarian dish features cumin-roasted sweet potatoes with assorted fresh chiles, green garlic and wild onions in a light vegetable stock-based sauce with tomatoes, cilantro and a bit of chipotle salsa.

Vitamins A & C and fiber- rich, naturally sweet, smokey and dense, with a moderate heat.  Serve with flat-bread or Anasazi beans..

Native Vegetable Stew /Cumin-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Wild Onions & Fresh Chiles

The Moosewood Restaurant was founded by Mollie Katzen and others in 1973 in downtown Ithaca, New York, a university town in New York State which is the location of Cornell University and Ithaca College.

Known for its vegetarian cooking, Moosewood was named one of the thirteen most influential restaurants of the 20th Century by Bon Appetit magazine.  It won a James Beard Foundation “American Classic” Award in 2000. –Wikipedia

This post is part of Meatless Monday, a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns,
in association with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health

Creamy Risotto with Baby Peas, Jamón Serrano, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Fresh Herbs

/ Ren

The finest Carnaroli rice is cooked in a soffritto of fresh garlic and raw olive oil, with Pinot Gris, homemade chicken stock, baby peas, soft sun-dried tomatoes, bits of Jamón Serrano ham, fresh herbs, cold butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano..

Creamy Risotto with Baby Peas, Jamón Serrano, Parmigiano-Reggiano & Fresh Herbs

“There are many different risotto recipes with different ingredients, but they are all based on rice of an appropriate variety cooked in a standard procedure.

The rice is first cooked briefly in a soffritto of onion or garlic and butter or olive oil to coat each grain in a film of fat, this is called tostatura; white or red wine is added and has to be absorbed by the grains. When it has evaporated, the heat is raised to medium high and very hot stock is gradually added in small amounts while stirring gently, almost constantly: stirring loosens the starch molecules from the outside of the rice grains into the surrounding liquid, creating a smooth creamy-textured liquid. At that point it is taken off the heat for the mantecatura when diced cold butter and finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are vigorously stirred in to make the texture as creamy and smooth as possible. It may be removed from the heat a few minutes earlier, and left to cook with its residual heat. Fish and seafood risotti generally do not include cheese.

Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy but still with some resistance or bite: al dente, and with separate grains. The traditional texture is fairly fluid, or all’onda (“wavy, or flowing in waves”). It is served on flat dishes and it should easily spread out but not have excess watery liquid around the perimeter. It must be eaten at once as it continues to cook in its own heat and can become too dry with the grains too soft.”  –Wikipedia

French Onion Soup with Parmigiano-Reggiano-Crusted Sourdough Croutons

/ Ren

Yellow onions and leeks are mandoline-sliced and browned in a little butter with fresh thyme, bay and cracked allspice, then simmered in equal parts homemade chicken and beef bone broth, a little raw cider vinegar, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.  Served with Parmigiano-Reggiano-crusted sourdough croutons..

French Onion Soup with Parmigiano-Reggiano-Crusted Sourdough Croutons

3 medium yellow onions, peeled and quartered
1 medium leek, trimmed and rinsed free of dirt and sand
1-1/2 tablespoons cultured/pastured butter
1 teaspoon freshly-cracked allspice
2 small bay leaves
1 small bunch fresh thyme, stripped
3 cups homemade beef stock or broth
3 cups homemade chicken stock or broth
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

2 slices sourdough boule, torn into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 tablespoons cultured/pastured butter
2 tablespoons shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

Combine beef and chicken broth in a heavy pot and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer until reduced in volume by about 25%.  Add vinegar, reduce heat to medium-low and keep hot.

Meanwhile, slice onions and leeks to about 1/8-inch thickness (a mandoline makes this easy) and add to a hot, dry skillet.  Stir often until onions begin to brown, then add butter, bay, allspice and thyme and continue to cook until onions are well browned, about 10-15 minutes.

Pour onion mixture into reduced stock and stir to combine.  Allow to simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

Meanwhile, saute torn sourdough in butter until golden brown on all sides.  Sprinkle croutons with Parmigiano-Reggiano and allow to melt and get a little crisp.  Remove from heat.

Ladle hot soup into bowls, dress with croutons and serve immediately.