Say Cheese...

Last weekend, my wife and I took a trip to Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  We love traveling to Maine at least once a year and we wanted to make sure to get in one last small trip for ourselves before the baby comes.  Nothing fancy--just an opportunity to take small day trips up and down the Maine coast during one of the quieter and prettier times of the year.

Thanks to a little research on the Interwebs prior to the trip, my wife found a new place for us to stop at this year called The State of Maine Cheese Factory.  It's a small-batch local cheese producer and their cheesemaking facility and retail store happens to be on scenic Route 1 between downtown Rockport and the picturesque town of Camden.

I love visiting small artisan food producers whenever we're traveling.  A few years ago, we were in Grafton, Vermont and had a similar opportunity to visit the Grafton Village Cheese company.  It's great when you can sample a fantastic product and speak to the people who make it at the same time.  They're always so passionate about what they do.  They weren't making cheese the day we visited, but the woman manning the store was eager to answer any questions we had about the product and the process.

Even more fantastic is that stops like these are often a great time to get outrageous discounts.  You see, most cheesemakers form the cheese into large blocks and then cut the blocks to make the familiar 8 or 12-oz packages you see on store shelves.  Since a block never divides evenly, they end-up with ends and trimmings.  These ends, they often package in a vacuum-pack bag and sell at a deep discount.  It's not uncommon to find $10/pound cheese at 30 to 50% off.  You just have to slice it a little more creatively to fit on your cracker (or better yet...cook with it).

We ended-up walking away with a large package of their Katahdin Cheddar (named for Mount Katahdin, of course) and a container of their popular snacking curds (unaged chunks of cheese with a mild sweet, almost mozzarella flavor).  I absolutely love the cheddar.  It's made in the traditional style of a Vermont sharp cheddar, without being overly bitter.  It has a nice creamy finish that goes great with just about anything.  I've been eating it on Ritz crackers with a glass of apple cider.  I'm also hoping to use some of it to make Homemade Mac & Cheese.

Do you ever stop at local food producers when traveling?

Pick-Your-Own Day

On Saturday, we took a ride to Barden's Family Orchard.  It's a family-run farm that's just up the street from us.  We've been purchasing their delicious veggies at the farmer's market but this is the first opportunity we had to actually visit the farm itself (they don't open the stand till August).

They were doing something unique this year--Pick Your Own Cherry Tomatoes.  I've never seen that before and they claim to be one of the only farms doing it, so we just had to try it out.

All I can say is WOW...what a great idea.  And now, I know why people who like fresh tomatoes love cherry tomatoes so much.  Those yellow ones are literally like eating a piece of fruit (yes, I'm aware that tomatoes are botanically a fruit).  They're candy-sweet and I'm thinking they'd make a great snack dried--if we don't eat them all before I can get them into the dryer.

We also picked a few raspberries and blackberries.

The blackberries were probably the biggest I've ever seen!

We didn't pick nearly as many as I would have liked or as many as I did last year.  Unfortunately, this particular farm was charging supermarket prices for their berries--not sure why.  I'm going to call the farm I usually visit and see if they have a better price.  I'd really like to make a few jars of raspberry jam.  It was one of my favorites last year and it makes a great raspberry vinaigrette in the dead of winter.

They were doing pick-your-own peaches but only white peaches.  Their yellow ones weren't ready yet.  Their white peaches were delicious--sugary with an almost coconut/tropical flavor, but I want to do jam and canned peaches and something about white jam just didn't seem right to me.  We ended-up stopping at another local farm that did have its yellow peaches ready.  Must have been a different variety.

$15 for a peck basket is not bad.  I'll be working hard to can these and make some jam in the next couple of days.  Can't wait!

Have you done any pick-your-own trips yet?

A Bargain at the Farm Stand...Or Was It?

Last Sunday, I went to my favorite farm on my annual pilgrimage to pick blueberries.  When I went up to the farm stand to pay and pick-up a few items for dinner that night, I spotted something I just couldn't resist...

...an overflowing basket of "Grade B" tomatoes marked "Canning Tomatoes," with a price tag of only $12  It had to be a good 7+ pounds worth of tomatoes.

Now I have to say that I'm no stranger to this stunt.  I was suckered-in by the very same trick last year.  Grade B tomatoes are really just the farm's ordinary variety of slicing tomatoes (often "Beefsteaks") except that they might have a very small blemish on them that prevents them from charging two bucks a pound.  Instead, they stuff them into baskets (not the one in the photo...they don't let you keep theirs), and mark them "Grade B" or "Canning Tomatoes," and charge twelve bucks for the whole lot--quite the steal.

The problem, as I found out last year, is that slicing tomatoes don't make very good canning tomatoes.  Slicing tomatoes are bred for their heft and juiciness.  When you're canning, the last thing you want is juice.  You want a tomato with a lot of firm pulp that won't break-down from the heat of the processing.  I didn't know that last year and ended-up with jars that started full of tomatoes and ended-up half tomatoes and half-water by the end of the ordeal.

Nevertheless, I snatched-up a basket this year, determined to outsmart the mighty tomato with my knowledge of food science and clever wit.  Alas, the tomatoes showed ME a thing or two...

My plan to outsmart the tomatoes centered around a technique I recently learned by watching old DVD's of Julia Child during her black and white television days.  When Julia uses a tomato in a recipe (a "to-mah-toe" as she calls it), she "seeds it."   The process involves slicing the tomato in half along its equator (not through the stem as you'd be tempted to do) and squeezing each half over a bowl as you would a lemon.  During the process, the liquid-filled cavities that hold much of the tomato's water and seeds release their contents into the bowl. You can help it along with your fingers.  The result is a lump of seedless tomato pulp that can be chopped and added to a recipe.

My theory was that if I peeled and seeded each of the tomatoes, I'd be left with mostly flesh and that it'd hold-up better to the canning process.

I then figured I could save the liquid, strain-off the seeds, and can that separately as a vegetable stock to be added to soups.

Mu-ha-ha-ha.  What fun!  What joy! to outsmart the slicing tomato at its own game.

Boy, was I ever wrong...

In the end, after over three hours of coring, peeling, slicing, squeezing, chopping, packing, and processing tomatoes (and a sore back and feet to boot), the tomatoes won the battle!  I still ended-up with six jars of tomatoes, each with an inch or two of juice on the bottom (did you know that tomatoes float?) and two jars of "tomato juice" that had completely separated into half a jar of tomato solids and half a jar of tasteless watery liquid.

On the bright side, my idea half-worked.  Last year's jars left me with limp, mushy tomatoes in the top third of the jars and the rest was water.  I consider this quite an improvement--but probably still not worth the work.  Perhaps I should stick with the plums or san marzano's next time.

The moral of the story?  Don't try to beat Mother Nature at her own game.  She'll win every time.  :-)

Would I do it again?  Maybe...

Another Good Reason to Eat More Local/Organic/Home-Grown/Etc.

Most of the time, I don't push a specific position on most of the "earthy crunchy" movement in food (as I like to call it).  I think that you need to do the research, watch the documentaries, talk to your local farmers, and make your own choices for you and your family.  Generally speaking, I do believe that our food supply has become more factory-oriented and that we're doing ourselves and our bodies a disservice by continuing to support such practices.

At the same time, I understand the cost-prohibitive nature of eating locally or choosing organic over conventionally grown foods--even for middle-class folks like myself.  I realize that many families don't have the financial luxury to shop at places like Whole Foods, local markets, or even the higher-priced farmer's markets.  The fact is, our cost of living and our paychecks are calculated on the 99 cent per pound chicken as opposed to the $5.49 per pound chicken.

My personal beliefs on the subject aside, I think that once you've done the research and ironed-out your position, you can achieve some of your goals.  Even if we only swap-out 30% of the food we eat with something that is better or something that advocates for the better, we're doing ourselves and the industry a service--by "voting with our forks," as they say.

This morning, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Unearthing this Life and Jennifer posted this article about a recent study involving the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables we eat and how that has changed over the years as farming becomes less about agriculture and more about manufacturing food faster and with fewer resources.  In a nutshell, the study found that the less time the food is spending on the plant, the less time it has to absorb nutrients and minerals that our bodies get from eating it.  It's really that simple and, if you think about it, it just makes sense.

I'm not saying we should all go out tomorrow and buy nothing but organic produce and pay the premium for it.  However, if you can swing by a farm stand on your way home or visit the farmer's market this weekend or even support your local non-chain grocer (who, in turn, can order better products for you if they are well supported and have the cash flow to do so), you're doing your part to say, "Yes, I want 130 mg of calcium in my broccoli instead of 48 mg."  And, you're doing your body some good...

'Tis the Season...for Pick-Your-Own

One of the most wonderful things about summer is that you can get great deals on berries and fruits by picking them yourself at "Pick-Your-Own" farms.  Plus, it's a fantastic family outing at the same time.

Here in New England, we've already had a great strawberry season (good thing after last year's soggy mess) and we're moving quickly into blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry season.  I didn't personally get out to get strawberries but I'm not going to miss the blueberries--however hot it usually is when they're ready to pick.

Many folks like to go out and pick berries but don't know what to do with the abundance they bring home.  Strawberries, in particular, go from great to mush very quickly.  Here are a few ideas for storing and serving.

• Make Refrigerator Jam - Most people assume that making jam is difficult and that it requires a lot of fancy equipment.  The truth is that if you make a small batch and use very clean containers, you can keep it in the fridge for a few months in an ordinary plastic leftovers container.  No canning or special equipment involved!
• Freeze Them - If you have the freezer space, most berries freeze pretty well to be used later in the year in baked goods or for a summer-tasting treat.  Freeze blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries in a single layer on a large baking sheet (uncovered).  As soon as they're hard like marbles, transfer them to a zip-top bag and put into the back of the freezer far from the door so they don't accumulate  moisture and freezer burn.  Strawberries need to be washed, thoroughly dried, hulled, and cut into quarters.  Place the quarters into quart-sized zip-top bags and freeze.  The defrosted result will be a little mushy, but it's perfect as a cheesecake topping, waffle/pancake topping, or for mid-winter strawberry shortcake.
• Make and Freeze Pie Filling - This is a neat trick.  Prepare your favorite berry pie filling.  Instead of filling a pie, line a pie plate with plastic wrap and spray lightly with nonstick spray.  Pour cooled filling into the pie plate.  Freeze until solid and, using the plastic wrap as a sling, remove the frozen "pie" from the plate.  Wrap in several layers of plastic and foil and keep frozen.  When you want to use it, prepare your pastry crust, drop-in the frozen berry slab, and add the top crust.  Bake as usual.
• Make Juice - If you happen to have a juicer or a food mill or even a wire mesh strainer, you can make juice.  Puree the berries in a food processor and add a little hot water to loosen it up.  Add to a sauce pan and bring mixture up to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and let it cool.  Strain through a food mill or strainer and pour into containers to freeze.  In the winter, you can add this juice to some freshly brewed iced tea, lemonade, or add sugar and drink it straight-up.
• Dry Them -  If you happen to have a food dehydrator, dried berries can be awesome additions to salads and they can be re-hydrated with a little warm water and added to muffins and pancakes and other treats.  You can even make "fruit leather," a homemade equivalent to fruit roll-ups.  Scour the Internet for recipes.

As I come up with more ideas, I'll be sure to share them here.

Social Responsibility; GMO & Organic?

There's currently a measure on the table over at the FDA to authorize the growth of genetically modified crops of Alfalfa. This is a significant landmark situation for two reasons:

First of all, the FDA has been rubber-stamping genetically modified seeds for years and this is the first time a legal fight started by an activist group has stopped them in their tracks and forced them to use the proper approval process, which includes public commentary. This is going to set a great precedence where we actually get to help make the decision as the people who are eating the food.

The second reason this is a landmark event is because Alfalfa is a cover crop that's often planted in beds on the off-years and during the winter to give the ground time to rest and acquire nutrients. Alfalfa is an open-pollinated grass, which means that pollen will blow off of the Alfalfa fields and into other fields and pollinate other crops, producing second-generation crops with part of the DNA from the genetically modified Alfalfa, effectively contaminating the gene pool. For folks who are dead-set on eating 100% organic and non-GMO products, this is a nightmare.

I have a slightly different view on the matter. First of all, I do think that we have the right to know where our food comes from and how it was grown. That's what personal choice and American freedom is all about. If I were to choose to eat organic, I'd want to know that I'm truly doing so and not eating organically grown products that have been accidentally cross-bred with GMO crops.

My second opinion on the matter is that the politics behind GMO crops are just plain nasty and hurt the smaller, more quality-oriented farms. People don't realize this, but once you genetically alter a crop, you can patent the seed for that crop. Whenever another farm wants to grow from your seed, you are entitled to payment for using your patent and they pretty much have to buy the seed from you, the patent owner. You can't collect seed at the end of the year for re-use because they want their royalty fees. To make matters worse, there's basically only one company left, Monsanto, that owns the majority of the world's GMO seed patents. Monsanto is so large that they've got all the legal bullying power to put small farms out of business and they use it often and with a heavy hand.

Here's how it works. You're a small farmer that wants to grow non-GMO food. You plant your beds and the farm down the street that is using GMO seeds open-pollinates your field by mistake (the wind blows where it blows). You collect the seeds from your crop at the end of the year with the intention of using them again next year to save money. However, some dude from Monsanto knocks on your door and says, "Prove to us you're not collecting and re-using our genetically modified seeds." And of course, you can't because your seeds do indeed contain part of the genes from their seeds.

The small farmer then gets buried in legal paperwork by Monsanto until he can no longer afford to fight and has to close-up shop. Morally speaking, the farmer is every bit within his right--and probably legally speaking too. However, he doesn't have the money to go up against the giant, so legal or not, he loses.

Kinda sucks, doesn't it? Read more about it here and decide for yourself how you feel. If you feel as strongly about it as I do, be sure to submit your public comment to the FDA before the comment window closes on March 3rd.

Social Responsibility - Shopping Locally When You Can't.

This post is one of a series I've been writing tagged as "Social Responsibility" The series focuses on eating and shopping locally, choosing healthier food sources, supporting your local economy and merchants, and learning to do all these things without hurting your budget. I hope you enjoy the posts.

Recently, I wrote a post about shopping locally and buying local products. I'm sure many of you were thinking, "Yeah, easy for you to say. Do you KNOW how much more money you have to spend to shop locally?" Or, perhaps you thought, "But what if I don't have access to locally produced food?"

Well, there are some really great foods in the regular supermarket that qualify as "local" foods in my book. They may not be local in the traditional sense, but they're companies with the same philosophy on food...that you shouldn't compromise quality to make an extra buck. They also contribute to the communities in which they operate and take good care of their employees.

First, a few national brands...

King Arthur Flour
I've personally been up to KAF headquarters and shopped in the company store. Now here's a company that puts its money where its mouth is. They sell nation-wide but still operate out of a timber frame building in Vermont and they're entirely employee-owned. Their flour may be upwards of an extra buck over the store or national brands, but the quality and love that goes into the product makes the extra money well worth it.

Bob's Red Mill
Here in Rhode Island, you can even find Bob's products in discount stores and they're not second quality. Bob's still operates as a small operation in Oregon and you can really taste the difference. Plus, their products tend to be pretty reasonably priced.

Annie's Homegrown
Annie's is perhaps most known for its line of organic boxed Mac & Cheese, but they also make cereal and organic alternatives to a lot of other kid-friendly foods. They still hold true to their core values and still operate out of the Napa Valley area.

Green Mountain Coffee
Even though they're the parent company of Keurig, a device they themselves admit to be not so Earth friendly (they're working on it!), Green Mountain takes planet stewardship seriously in nearly all of their operations. Not only do they produce organic and Free Trade blends, but they go so far as to do things like distribute their coffee bean hulls for use as garden mulch.

Cabot Cheese
Cabot Cheese was started as a farmer-owned co-op and still operates the same way. Even though they ship throughout the northeast, they have let other farms in those states join the co-op.

More Local
Of course, if you look around you, you'll find a lot of locally owned an operated companies that you never even realized were local. Here are just a few I've found in New England:

Marshmallow Fluff
Most people don't realize that Fluff (and the Fluffernutter Sandwich) were born and are still made in Massachusetts. In fact, the state legislature tried to make the Fluffernutter sandwich the "state sandwich."

Cain's Foods
Known for their Mayo and salad dressings, Cains is based in Ayer, Massachusetts.

Pastene
Pastene, importers and distributors of great Italian food, is based in Canton, Massachusetts. Their products are top-quality and delicious.

Autocrat
Autocrat Coffee is based in Lincoln, RI and they still roast all of their beans right there at the main headquarters. In fact, if you drive-by on RI Rte 146 at just the right time of the day or evening, you can smell the roasting coffee.

Supreme Dairy Farms
Located in Warwick, RI, Supreme makes fantastic cheeses, including ricotta and mozzarella.

Rhody Fresh
Rhody Fresh is a collaborative of RI farms who banded-together to produce their own milk brand. When you buy Rhody Fresh, you're supporting local RI cows!

Social Responsibility: What's the Real Benefit to Shopping Locally?

This post is one of a series I've been writing tagged as "Social Responsibility" The series focuses on eating and shopping locally, choosing healthier food sources, supporting your local economy and merchants, and learning to do all these things without hurting your budget. I hope you enjoy the posts.

One of the things I've been trying to do more lately is shop locally. In his book, Food Matters, Mark Bittman says something to the effect that, if you have a choice, choose locally grown organic food first, non-organic locally grown food second, organic non-local food third, and conventional food when you can't get the other three.

Why? A few reasons, actually...

Environmental Impact
Moving our food around the country can actually have a larger impact on the environment than chemical fertilizers. Think about it. Huge factory-owned farms, even organic ones, produce our food in the warmer regions of the country (or even outside of the country). These huge farms have enormous machines pumping diesel fuel into the atmosphere to grow, pick, and then process the crops. Once they're processed, they have to be shipped somewhere via train, truck, or plane, burning even more fossil fuels. Then, they enter the "megamart," big grocery stores that also have high carbon footprints and lots of waste because of the sheer volume of product that moves through the stores. In the end, when you buy from a local source, be it a farmstand, farmer's market, or even a locally-owned grocery store, you're cutting out all that transportation and carbon overhead.

Quality and Traceability
When you buy locally, you may even get to know the farmer who grew your product. Even if you don't, you know the product probably wasn't picked before it was ripe and that it probably is fresher, will last longer, and will taste a lot better.

Supporting the Local Economy
In today's economic mess, we need to support not only our little local stores, but that "Made in America," stamp that you see oh so rarely these days. We've gotten so involved in the "global economy," that it seems we've forgotten how to make stuff ourselves. By buying locally, or even American-made products over foreign or long-distance products, you help create demand within that industry and it will ultimately end-up in job creation and prices more comparable to the nationally or globally produced items.

So next time you're out shopping for groceries, head on over to the locally owned grocer or the farm stand instead. Even if you can only afford to pick-up a few items there or go every third shopping trip, you're still doing something good for your community, the country, and the planet.

Popcorn Update

In my post the other day about the Locally Grown Popcorn, I promised a update once I popped it...



As you can see, it popped-up quite normally. And, with a little butter and some salt, it tasted great! Maybe a little more flavor than store-bought.

It strikes me odd that we've let something even as simple as popcorn go by the wayside in terms of flavor and quality. The stuff in the microwavable bags just tastes awful. I've never been able to get used to the chemical after-taste of whatever it is they put on it. Perhaps I should share my recipe for old-fashioned stovetop popcorn. It's cheaper, healthier, and requires no special equipment.

Stovetop Popcorn

A heavy-bottomed sauce pan with a lid and a long handle
About 1/2 cup of popping corn
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
table salt
2-3 tablespoons real butter

1) Add just enough oil to the pan to coat the bottom. Place three popcorn kernels in the pan, cover, and place it over high heat.
2) As soon as all three kernels pop, remove the pan from the heat. Add enough kernels to form about a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Quickly replace the lid and place it back on the burner.
3) Gently shake the pan to toss the kernels every few seconds. Once kernels start to pop, reduce the heat to medium-high and toss vigorously over the burner to prevent burning.
4) Once the popping begins to slow-down, remove the pan from the heat and crack the lid open slightly to allow steam to escape (but not popping corn!). Let the popping subside.
5) Pour hot popcorn into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt.
6) Place butter in the hot pan and swirl to melt it without turning it brown. Place pan over still-warm burner if needed. Once melted, pour the butter over the popcorn and toss well with your hands.
7) Serve, preferably while watching a great movie.

An Interesting Find: Locally Grown Popcorn

Last week, I was prowling about the farmer's market and I happened upon a table that was selling stalks of locally grown popcorn. I remembered reading a post over at the Chiot's Run about growing popcorn I'd been intrigued. I'd never put much thought into how the dried little kernels made it from a stalk into the package. So, I snatched-up a few stalks.

As I paid the woman, I asked if there was anything special I needed to know about popping them.

"Oh, you just scrape them off," she said as she mimed a scraping motion, "and pop them in a pot with some oil like usual."

As it turns out, popcorn starts its life much like sweet corn. The farmer then pulls the husks back at the end of the season and allows them to air-dry on the stalk, hoping birds don't start treating the field like their own personal buffet.

As it also turns out, the scraping of the kernels is not quite so easy as the woman made it sound. Well, not all that easy in a condo, at least. As you scrape, either with your fingers or something like a knife, the kernels pop out and probably a quarter of them land everywhere but in the bowl. I'm still finding them all over the dining room. :-)

I now have a small container of tiny kernels sitting in the pantry, waiting for a a good movie to arrive from Netflix. I'll be sure to post some photos of the popped corn when we get around to making it and let you know how it tasted.