Tomato Pruning

You may want to break out of your cages after viewing this great little movie. Listen to the birds as he teaches you how to grow up, not out (TOMATOES - this isn't Oprah).

Chocolate Truffles

How much can one comment on the rain? I'm jumping ship and diving into chocolate. Wild Mushroom Ragout (with chocolate) forthcoming ... but for now, here is Alice Medrich's perfect and simple truffle recipe. (They'll pair well with the strawberries you're buying at the market.) Always use fine ingredients. If you can find Valhrona (Whole Foods), use it. Scharffen Berger is another fine choice.

Truffles au Cocolat

From bittersweet by Alice Medrich

(This book was awarded IACP book of the year award and offers both sweet

and savories!)

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

10 T butter, in small pieces

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

½ c. boiling water or freshly brewed espresso

½ c. cocoa powder

1. Line an 8”x8” baking pan with parchment.
2. Melt butter and chocolate together in a double boiler, set aside.
3. Heat egg yolks and boiling water in double boiler, bringing to 160°.
4. Scrape yolk mixture over melted chocolate and stir gently to incorporate.
5. Pour mixture through sieve into prepared pan and spread evenly.
6. Cover and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

7. Remove truffles with lining to cutting board and allow to soften for 20-30 minutes.
8. Cut truffles into 1” or smaller cubes, or roll into spheres.
9. Toss shaped truffles into cocoa powder.

Never Rub Another Man's Rhubarb

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote is on the stove at Blue Heron Kitchen!
peace and love,
jane

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Several vendors at the market are offering strawberries and rhubarb. Red Jacket's Apple Cider Molasses, a sweet and tangy reduction of apple cider (you can read about it in Baked Apples) sweetens my compote. You can used this extraordinary sweetener for applesauce, iced tea, as a glaze for baked apples or chicken; and it's going to take center stage as a pork/ham glaze in the fall. But as the song goes, "summer is a cumin' in" (and my rice paddy is looking fabulous!)

Local strawberries make a brief appearance. Don't miss them. Their taste is more like Valhrona than Russell Stover, the scent more like Annick Goutal than Jean Naté.

After you've had fun following the links, here's a recipe that's very simple and very good to have around. As always, ingredients you can find at the market (open every Wednesday from 10-6) are followed by an asterisk*.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Blue Heron Kitchen

Yield: approx. 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 Qt. strawberries*, hulled and cut in half

4-6 stems thin, firm stalks rhubarb*, cut into ½” pieces

juice of ½ a large, juicy lemon or of a small, less juicy lemon

¼ - ½ cup Apple Cider Molasses* (Red Jacket Orchards), or alternatively, granulated sugar

Procedure:

Place strawberries and rhubarb in a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive (whatever) saucepan, and turn heat to med/high.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the berries and rhubarb, and mix, continue heating until simmering and cook, stirring occasionally, adjusting heat so it doesn’t boil strongly.

After about 15 to 20 minutes, begin to add sweetener and taste, continue to cook until the rhubarb is fully cooked (some of it will retain its shape), tasting and adjusting the sugar again towards the ‘end’ of cooking. Cook for approximately 10 to 15 more minutes.

Remove from heat, cool, cover and refrigerate.

Serving suggestions:

Serve over vanilla ice cream or Greek style yogurt.

Perk up some applesauce with it.

Mix some into cottage or fresh ricotta cheese.

Put a dollop over a slice of cheesecake.

Mix with other berries and fruit and whir some into your favorite smoothie.

Summer Applesauce Red Jacket Orchards, Peonies, Pickles and Last Week's Bounty at the Long Beach Farmer's Market

Fragrant and Elegant Peonies* from Stanley and Pat Osip's farm

The market is beginning to burst, and I have to share some simple recipes and beautiful images from the visit my son and I made to Kennedy Plaza this past Wednesday.  Despite the monsoon-like conditions, Bernadette reported record numbers coming out, and it's no wonder. Our vendors are extraordinary.  Their produce and wares are fantastic, and they're such cool and interesting people to talk with.  If you haven't visited yet, you have to make it your destination this coming Wednesday, open from 10-6, next to the LIRR train station, Long Beach, NY.  If the weather's nice, take the day off and go to the beach. As always, items that are available at the market are following by an asterisk*.

The image at the top of Blue Heron's blog are strawberries from Dan Madura's farm. Strawberries* will be available from several vendors at the market in the coming weeks. Don't miss them. These are sweet, delicate and unsprayed local strawberries.  Once you've tasted them, you'll take one look at those strawberries in the supermarket and say, "yeah, right".  My son and I ate almost an entire quart that night, but what was left over, I threw into my Red Jacket Orchards Summer Sauce. (recipe below).

Dan Madura's mushrooms* are magic (and they're legal)   (I combined Shitake, Hen of the Woods (my fave!) and Pearl Oysters) and sauteed them in some extra virgin olive oil, added some freshly ground pepper, some fleur de sel (the best coarse salt from France) and some freshly chopped parsley* (available at the market ... or in my case, from my garden), and threw them over some fresh whole wheat fettucini* from Papa Pasquale.  

Then, grated some Parmaggiano Reggiano with my Microplane Zester!  

(doesn't this look great?)  

I put together a simple salad of mixed field greens*, also from Dan Madura,

and put out some French Sour Dough* from Bread Alone and, you should excuse the expression, a ball of Papa Pasquale's fresh mozzarella* (for fun).

Strawberries* for dessert.

oh .. I had to buy a quart of amazing pickled tomatoes* from Horman's Best Pickles for my fabulous daughter, Captain Kitchen (see "Mother Blogs").  

Summer Applesauce Red Jacket Orchards

Blue Heron Kitchen

Yield: approx. 5 cups "Summersauce"

Applesauce is one of those always great comfort foods, and this is a summery applesauce that needs no sweetener (and if you must, use Red Jacket's Apple Cider Molasses*, a natural sweetener that's fantastic and can be used as a glaze, used in hot beverages and can be used to sweeten iced tea ("sweet tea") too!)

Red Jacket Orchards comes to the Long Beach Farmers Market every Wednesday.  Their selection of apples is extraordinary, and you can use any combination of apples you like for this applesauce.  Macintosh work well, but I'm partial to Empires.                          

                           

Their Joe's Summer Blend juice is available now.  It's a delicious blend of pure apple juice with a splash of lemon juice.  It's tart and refreshing on its own, but it's a perfect liquid for applesauce. 

Strawberries* turn this into a 'summersauce'. Their season is brief, so grab them while you can.  Several of our vendors carry them.  You'll only need a cup for this recipe.  The house will fill with their unique aroma.  There is no match for local strawberries.  Once you've tried them, you'll be hooked, and you'll count the days until they make their appearance again next June!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. (approx. 8 medium) Empire (or other variety of your choice) apples*, cored and coarsely chopped, skins on

1 cup Red Jacket Orchards Summer Blend* juice

1 cup local strawberries*, tops removed and sliced in half

Procedure: 

Bring cut up apples to a boil, in a non-reactive (not aluminum) pot over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to medium/low and cover, simmering for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. 

Reduce heat to low and cook, with lid slightly off, simmering the apples until they begin to become 'mushy', approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  (The required cooking time will vary, depending upon the liquid content of the apples you're using.)  

Add the cup of strawberries and cover completely.  Cook until the mixture has come together, stirring occasionally, about 10-15 minutes. Taste and add sweetener (I recommend Red Jacket's Apple Cider Molasses) if you feel it requires sweetening.  I feel that this is not at all necessary, but you may prefer sweet applesauce, or the apples you're using may be of a tart variety.

Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Using the medium disc of a food mill, pass the mixture through the mill into a bowl. (Alternative solution if you don't own a food mill:  first peel the apples, then core and chop them.  The end result will differ slightly - especially in color - but you will be able to cook the applesauce and then simple stir vigorously or pass the mixture through a medium strainer.) 

Serve warm, room temperature or refrigerate prior to serving. This keeps well for at least a week in the refrigerator, if you can hold onto it that long.  

Stay tuned for another recipe, using Summersauce as an ingredient in a fabulous cake! 

10 1/2-cup servings