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Thai Basil Rolls

I have had a long running infatuation with these delicious little wraps ever since my friend Kristin introduced me to a Lawrenceville restaurant called Lavender.  Native Sun is poised to add some additional herbs (both culinary and medicinal) to our repertoire this year and I wanted to convince Farmer Brent that Thai Basil should make the cut, so I thought I'd try my hand at recreating Lavender's recipe with a little local produce flair.  

Thai Basil Rolls

2-3 medium carrots

1 winter radish (kohlrabi would also be excellent)

Small chunk fresh ginger (about the size of your thumb)

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp vinegar (rice wine is great but I used some garlic-infused apple cider because it was available)

Squeeze of lime juice

Bean thread (basically bean noodles, can be found at Asian markets like Fooks Foods in Athens)

Spring roll wrappers (also at Asian Markets like Fooks Foods - these are NOT the same as egg roll wrappers)

Thai basil

Gyoza sauce (for dipping - I got it from Trader Joe's, but I'm sure you can find it lots of places)

 Using a food processor or cheese grater, shred your carrots, radish and ginger.  Add vinegar, oil and lime juice (and any herbs/spices you think would be fun).  If you have time, put it in the fridge and let it marinate for an hour.  You don't have to though - it's pretty great fresh too.

Prepare your noodles by placing in boiling water for a couple of minutes.  Set aside.  Prepare a shallow dish (large enough to fit your spring roll wrappers) with warm water.  Wash the basil and set aside.

It's time to start wrapping!  Dip the spring roll wrappers in the warm water for 5-10 seconds.  Place on flat surface and layer basil, half handful of noodles and half handful of vegetable mix.  Wrap up like you would an egg roll.  The wrapper should be pliable and will stick to itself.

Keep wrapping until you run out of an ingredient.  Compost (or feed to dog) whatever is left.  You can save any dry spring roll wrappers in a bag for later use.

We served ours aside Thai coconut soup (an earlier Thai basil experiment) and a side of gyoza dipping sauce.  We concluded that we will grow Thai basil and continue to experiment with different recipes.  Maybe dry it and include in an Asian spice blend?  It definitely has a strong licorice taste so it's not for every recipe, but when it works, it really works!

News for a New Year

We are really looking forward to "growing" our operation in 2013.  Farmer Brent now has three years of growing experience under his belt and each season has brought more consistency and variety to the farm's offerings.  We started this whole operation with the goal of feeding ourselves and our neighbors and nothing has made us happier than helping supply the folks of Athens and Oconee with sustainably produced fruits and vegetables.  Our goals for this year center around making that produce easier and more convenient to get a hold of.  We would like to expand the days that the farmstand is open and also to provide delivery service to nearby households. We want to expand the number of participants in our CSA so that more people can experience eating seasonally.

These are big undertakings for a farm with only 1.5 full-time employees, but we are excited and ready for the challenge.  In order to get prepared for our 2013 goals, we will be taking a few weeks off from around mid-February to early March, which just so happens to coincide with the birth of our second child.  Our big CSA season, as well as the Athens Farmers Market season, will begin in earnest in April and we plan to hit the ground running.  Make sure to keep up with the weekly newsletter for information about joining the CSA, expanded farmstand hours and delivery service so we can include you wherever you'd like to fit in.  Thanks for your support over the last three growing seasons.  Looking forward to many, many more!

Red Curry with Vegetables

I am not proud of this picture, but it was all I could muster up after I completely forgot to snap some pictures while we were cooking and eating.  Do I get any slack for being pregnant?  That alone robs me of quite a few brain cells before we even get to the part about having an almost 2-year old entertaining me with periodic head injuries and a dazed husband with a nasty head cold.

Red Curry with Vegetables
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Medium onion, chopped
Medium turnip, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste (like this)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric (read about the amazing health benefits of turmeric here)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups cooked lentils
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 bunch of kale, sliced in thin strips (or chiffonade as the pros call it)
1/4 head of cabbage, sliced in thin strips
2 cups cooked quinoa (You can cook in the microwave!  Wooooo!)
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin

Cook your lentils first; they take about 15 minutes.  About one cup dried lentils will equal out to two cups cooked.  Heat coconut oil over medium heat in large pot or dutch oven.  Add turnips and saute a couple minutes, add onion and saute until translucent.  Add in red curry paste, garlic, ginger and all spices and stir constantly (so it doesn't shellac itself to the pan).  Add in cooked lentils, tomatoes and coconut milk.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes.  This is probably a good time to cook your quinoa.  We did ours in the microwave which worked out beautifully.  Add kale and cabbage to pot and let cook down until both are soft, about another 3-4 minutes.   Just before serving, mix lime juice and cumin in with cooked quinoa.  Serve curry over the quinoa.

We added some Srirachi after we plated it up, which you could do while cooking.  Recommend keeping the heat neutral if you are sharing this meal with a toddler like we were!

This recipe was lovingly adapted from one by the blog Running to the Kitchen.

Easy Fried Green Tomatoes

I have never made fried green tomatoes before this week, so when I say this recipe is easy, I mean it.  I made it up and it worked the first time.  That's about as lucky as it gets!

Vegetable oil (amount depends on your pan)
1 egg
3 medium green tomatoes
2 parts cornmeal
1 part whole wheat flour
Pinch each of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper

Fill a frying pan (cast iron preferred) with enough vegetable oil to a depth of about 1/4".  Heat over medium heat.  Remove stems and slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick.

Whisk up an egg and place is small shallow bowl.  Mix cornmeal, flour, salt and spices in separate shallow bowl.  Your oil should be heated by now.  Dip each tomato slice in egg (both sides) and then dredge in cornmeal mixture (again, both sides.) Place in oil.  (We have an electric range which tends to make our food go quickly from gently frying to scorched, so you'll want to keep an eye on it.)  Fit as many slices in your pan as you can without overlap.  Flip when the underside is golden with spots of brown.  I keep a fork handy and just lift them from time to time to see how they're progressing.

Remove from pan when both sides have browned and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.  If frying multiple batches, place plate in a warm oven.  Serve warm with a side of homemade ranch dressing or hot sauce.  

Krazy for Kohlrabi

(I couldn't resist spelling "crazy" incorrectly for the sake of this blog post.  Please forgive me.  I usually am quite embarrassed by spelling errors, but it was irresistible to me.  Must be how all those hair salons in tiny towns got named.  It's just too tempting to go with Krazy Kutz or Upper Kutz over the more traditional Cut n' Curl.)

Kohlrabi is a relative of both broccoli and cabbage and shares a similar flavor.  The flavor is more of an undercurrent in kohlrabi though, and there is a slight bite reminiscent of a radish.  Of course it's nutritious, packing in a healthy dose of fiber for its low calorie content.  It used to be quite a bit more common than it is these days, but you can still track it down this time of year in farmers' markets.  It grows really well in our climate with relatively few pest problems.

Kohlrabi 3-Ways

1.  RAW.  Done, easy.  Julienne these bad boys and toss them in your holiday crudite offering, or even better, put them in your kids' lunches.  They are crisp and snappy and make an excellent addition to salads.  This is our absolute favorite way to enjoy kohlrabi and the way we prefer to introduce newbies.

2.  STIR FRY:  Weeknight meals are the ideal time for stir-fry.  It's also a great way to use up your produce drawer before things start getting sketchy in there.  Chop into bite-sized chunks and throw in towards the end of your ingredient cycle to maximize crispness.  Kohlrabi is the perfect complement to cabbage and carrots in eggrolls too.

3.  ROASTED:  Did you really think I'd let an opportunity to mention roasting get away from me?  Roasting brings out the sweetness of kohlrabi (also an amazing way to do broccoli!) and it really shines with a light drizzle of olive oil and lemon.  It makes for a great pairing to heavier items like meats or carbs.  Also wonderfully adapted with olive oil, lime and cilantro as a garnish for fish.

Talking 'bout Turnips

Ah, turnips.  They used to be a staple crop around these parts, but they aren't likely to be gracing nearly as many dinner tables today as they did 50 years ago.  I'm not sure why turnips are suffering from lower approval ratings; they grow wonderfully around here and they really are quite tasty.   So in an effort to boost their acceptance back into our culinary line-up, I'm offering a couple of easy turnip recipes for a quick dinner or side item.

Creamy Turnip Soup
We were introduced to the basics of this recipe a couple weeks ago by one of the Athens Farmers Market's chefs.  We made up a big batch today and it was great.  Excellent paired with a crusty bread, like Miche's Country French loaf.

4 large turnips, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 tbsp butter
4 cups veggie broth (we used vegetable bouillon cubes)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat butter in medium pot over medium heat.  Saute onions until translucent.  Add garlic to pot and cook about a minute more.  Add turnips and broth and dash of salt to pot and bring to boil.  Drop heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Carefully transfer soup to a blender (or leave in pot and use an immersion blender) and blend until smooth.  Return soup to pot and add cream.  Add more salt if needed and pepper to taste.  Rosemary is an excellent addition to this blend.

Top with cheese if you like and serve with a side of bread.  You can top that with cheese too.

Mashed Potatoes and Turnips
Ok, so this is probably pretty obvious.  Sometimes we mash our turnips solo, but blending with potatoes is a good way to introduce turnip-newbies to the cause.

3 large turnips, peeled and cubed
7-8 new potatoes, washed and cubed (peeling is optional)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk or cream
1 tbsp sour cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring water to boil in a large pot and add turnips and potatoes.  Let boil for about 20 minutes until fork tender.  Drain and return to pot.  Heat butter and milk in microwave for about 1 minute.  Add butter/milk mixture to pot and mash, using either a potato masher or whip with a hand mixer until desired consistency (we like half smooth, half chunky).  Once blended to satisfaction add salt & pepper to tasted and mix in sour cream.

Also delicious topped with cheese.