Tuesday, June 21, 2016
In April, Caledonia Spirits released a limited run of its Barr Hill Reserve Tom Cat gin, which was aged in Vermont white oak barrels made by a cooper outside of Plattsburgh. On my way through Hardwick earlier this month, I stopped at the distillery and snapped up a bottle. It's a sipping gin — golden in color, smooth and honey-sweet with herbal, woody and nut-brown flavors that you can unpack for hours.
Tags: Tom Cat Gin , Cocktail , Thyme , Currant Simple Syrup , Recipes , Vegan , Gluten-free , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
I planted some in mid-April (remember how it snowed just a few weeks ago?), and expected to harvest them this week and next. But following several 80-degree days and Sunday's rain, they bolted yesterday afternoon. I saved a few, but mostly I got a sink full of greens, since the plants had converted their bulbous roots into flower stalks in a single day.
This morning, I took a bunch of those greens and cooked them into a fluffy, frothy frittata with fresh herbs, asparagus from 4 Corners Farm and a handful of cow's milk "feta" from Neighborly Farms, over in Randolph.
And life was grand...
Tags: Radish Greens , Frittata , Recipes , Vegetarian , Gluten-free , Feta , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Last night, I bathed the fungi (along with some oyster mushrooms my mom brought over) in a slap-dash marinade for 15 minutes, then passed them off to the grill man, who charred them briefly for a sumptuous supper side.
My marinade was simple — a splash of olive oil, a bigger splash of beer (I was drinking an IPA from Harpoon Brewery, but anything with some flavor — white wine, rosé or cider — would work), and a little salt and garlic. Also, this would work with other types of mushrooms, so you could use a portobello or even some big button mushrooms, if you're not into or can't get the wild stuff.
Tags: Chicken of the Woods , Grilling , Marinade , Recipes , Vegan , Gluten-free , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
There, life on the road — and, of course, the old Italian farmers and WWOOF-er weirdos I lived with — taught 18-year-old me a few things about eating and cooking.
First: The best meals often consist of sturdy bread, handmade cheese and charcuterie or fresh pesto. Second: When cooking, most dishes require just a couple quality ingredients — and a bit of salt. Combine them with care and don't fuss about it too much!
In the spirit of all that, here's an ultra-simple, eat-the-weeds dandelion pesto, made with a little Bayley-Hazen blue cheese from Jasper Hill Farm, which I grabbed at Hand Crafters Hub on my way home from Hill Farmstead Brewery last week.
Tags: Pesto , Dandelions , Recipes , Vegetarian , Vegan , Gluten-free , Cooking , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
And last weekend, I picked up some beautiful rhubarb and greenhouse cucumbers at 4 Corners Farm in Newbury. I had grand plans of making tiny rhubarb galettes, which I'd eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of the week. Tart rhubarb pie is one of my most highly anticipated spring joys.
But the motivation to make pie crust eluded me. Plus, this shiny new machine was staring me down from inside its box on the kitchen floor.
So I juiced the rhubarb with a cucumber, which made enough juice for two or three cocktails. A pour of Honeycrisp ice cider from Champlain Orchards sweetened the deal, while a shot of barrel-aged gin from Stonecutter Spirits (which nabbed a double-gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in April) gave it a boozy kick.
The gin's herby botanicals add an extra layer of fab to this drink, but really, any well-made gin (perhaps Caledonia Spirits' just-released Tom Cat gin, aged in Vermont-oak barrels) or whatever you've got in your cabinet will do.
And, please, take this drink outside — it's basically spring in a glass.
Ingredients:
5-6 stalks rhubarb
1 small cucumber
2 ounces ice cider
2 ounces gin
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup
Splash club soda
Splash Bonal Gentiane Quina
1-2 drops Citrus bitters
Preparation:
Juice the produce first and allow to settle. Pour ice cider, gin and maple syrup into a large glass and stir thoroughly. Fill glass with ice, stir again, and add juice until the liquid is about 1 inch from the top. Agitate with a spoon to mix the juice and booze slightly, then top off with club soda. Float Bonal on top and spritz with bitters. Garnish with fresh flowers or herbs or orange peel.
Tags: Cocktails , Recipes , Gin , Rhubarb , Cucumber , Vegetarian , Vegan , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Tags: Solomon's Seal Shoots , Recipes , Buttermilk-Ramp Ranch , Vegetarian , Dill , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
I love eating golden-crisp potatoes, roasted in a hot oven with plenty of space around each one, year-round. Today, I tossed some with a touch of Karim Farm & Creamery's hard Vertalia cheese, fresh dill and a few ramps I picked a couple weeks ago. I also threw in the last bit of my first-ever guanciale, now more than a year old...
Also, these little pommes are easily flexitarian. Vegetarian? Vegan? Hold the meat and cheese and swap olive oil for butter — it's a fine dish even without the animal fats. And it makes fab leftovers. Just pop it in a warm oven to reheat, and you're halfway to a proper dinner.
Tags: Roasted potatoes , dill , ramps , recipes , guanciale , vegetarian , vegan , gluten-free , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
It's snowing, so let's keep things nice and easy today, eh?
Here's a really quick, reasonably healthy, spring-invoking snack. It's kind of a non-recipe — I haven't prescribed amounts for any ingredient, though I did include an ingredients list. It's all quite flexible.
The idea is simple: toast your bread, douse it in buttermilk and pile on as many wilted greens, fresh herbs and blue cheese as you like. And, of course, eat it.
Tags: Toast , Recipes , Greens , Buttermilk , Blue Cheese , Vegetarian , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
That means it's high time to shift from red wine to white; dark liquor to light; from rich and spicy notes to more floral, fruit-forward flavors.
Here's a light, bright, not-so-boozy cocktail with which to celebrate the season. Made with Citizen Cider's Dirty Mayor, which has just a touch of ginger, and splashes of brandy and elderflower rum, it's a sparkling, citrusy quaff that won't put you under the table, should you happen to drink more than one.
Cheers!
Tags: Cocktails , recipes , rum , cider , spritzer , brandy , recipe , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
After a notably mild winter, I'd hoped that the unusual warm weather would continue through spring, so I could start early on all my big crazy garden projects. But Mother Nature had other plans, as she often does. The ground is still frozen solid, and it's snowed — or sleeted or ice-rained — for eight of the past 10 days. Suffice to say, things don't seem all that springy.
One bright side to this grim-reaper weather? It's still soup season!
Tags: Soups , Cheddar , Ale , Recipes , Vegetarian , recipe , Image , Web Only