FARMERS' MARKETS AND GARDENS

FARMERS MARKETS AND GARDENS
Thought I would show you what is at the local farmers' markets in Nyack and Piermont  this week. See if you know what all of the vegetables are and what you would do with them. The Piermont Market has a selection of more unusual vegetables as well.
HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS FROM THE NYACK FARMERS' MARKET 
SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

AND HERE ARE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE

PIERMONT FARMERS' MARKET - SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

www.localharvest.org

RECESSION RATES 2011
Award-winning Chef Phyllis Segura has cooked for people in all walks of life, including dentists, artists, actors, storytellers, film and art critics, contractors, designers, dancers,  musicians, anesthesiologists, martial artists, holographers, bakers, lawyers, financiers, brokers, photographers, poets, princes and princesses, accountants, cross-dressers, realtors, gurus, disciples, statisticians, booksellers, publishers, doctors, comedians, meditators,  yoga teachers, mask-makers, gourmands, and other chefs, both in the U.S. and E.U. She attended the Apicius Cooking School of Lorenzo de’Medici in Florence, Italy; received a scholarship from the James Beard Foundation; attended various cooking schools; and watched her grandmother very carefully. Chef Phyllis cooks for private clients, teaches and gives cooking demonstrations regularly in  Rockland and Westchester counties.  Chef Phyllis specializes in everyday food, small dinner parties, intimate dinners, plated or buffet. Chef Phyllis has been cooking for special people in Rockland and Westchester Counties, and Manhattan since 2000.
References are available.

  RATES

PERSONAL CHEF SERVICES: Rates begin at:

• 3 MEALS: 2 SERVINGS OF EACH: BI-MONTHLY SERVICE   $299.99 per month, 
• plus groceries                 
• 4 MEALS: 2 SERVINGS OF EACH : BI-MONTHLY SERVICE  $349.99 per month, 
• plus groceries

• A meal is: 1 entree, 1-2 vegetables portioned in glass storage containers, labelled, ready to eat, reheat or freeze. Glass containers are reusable and are purchased separately.

• Menu item add-ons: side dishes, salads with dressing, etc. : add $15, per item, per session

• Price includes menu/recipe planning, shopping, cooking and clean-up.

•  Vegan, Vegetarian, all Organic and Macrobiotic available. All cooking is done in your kitchen.

DINNER PARTIES: Rates begin at:

• 6 people: 3 courses      $399.99 and up, plus groceries

• Intimate Dinner for Two:  $149.99 and up, plus groceries

COOKING CLASSES IN YOUR HOME KITCHEN:
$139.99 for 3 hours, up to 2 people, plus groceries

CONTACT INFORMATION

Phone: 845-365-0042
Webpage : www.cookingontheriver.com
Read the blog: www.cookingontheriver.blogspot.com
Recently published: Little Black Book, Memories & Recipes

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE

Little Black Book by jc | Make Your Own Book

HIP STEVE FOOD

Last week friend, actor & comedian Steve ben Israel fell and broke his hip.  Not so funny. He has been moved to a rehab place and was ready for some better food than what is offered there. However, because of the pain relieving drugs he isn't too hungry. What to do? Bring him some good food mixing colors, techniques and tastes. Steve is a lifelong vegetarian.

I'd like to share with you some of the recipes created just for him along with the photos. I would just like you to wish Steve a speedy and painless recovery while you read them. Deal?

Here is the list of dishes:

GRILLED EGGPLANT with preserved lemon peel, mint, parsley, sumac, olive oil, s&p
CANNELLINI BEANS with garlic, sage and olive oil, s&p
GREEN BEANS with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, s&p
YELLOW LENTILS & GARBANZO BEANS with onion, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, turmeric & lemon juice
RAW ZUCCHINI STRANDS with Moroccan black olives, red onion, Turkish Biber pepper, oregano, basil, champagne vinegar
RAW RED CABBAGE with mint leaves, honey, apple cider vinegar, chili powder
OAT CAKES: pinhead oats, smart balance, water, sea salt
CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES: oats, chocolate, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, sultanas, flaxseed, chia seeds, etc.

You can probably already figure out how to make these dishes just from the ingredients.

Slice the eggplant in rounds about 3/8" thick. Your choice to leave the skin on or not. Soak in salted water about 10 minutes, then drain well. Heat a cast-iron grill pan very hot. Sear the eggplant on both sides and in two directions. Remove to a plate. Cut up some rinsed, preserved lemon peel into small square pieces.
Drizzle with a copious amount of olive oil, sumac, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tear pieces of fresh mint and parsley. Toss well breaking up the eggplant in bite-sized pieces. Let rest about 20 minutes to have the flavors bloom. Eat room temperature.

Take a quantity of dried cannellini beans and cover them with water. It's always best not to use a metal pot, but if you have to go ahead. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn off heat. Let sit about an hour or overnight. Drain the water and put some fresh water in the pot. Bring to a boil, adding a couple of bay leaves, if you like. Boil, then simmer low for about an hour or until tender. Drain well. Toss with lots of olive oil, freshly torn sage leaves, slivers of fresh garlic, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let sit. Eat room temperature. Add some more olive oil when ready to serve.

Pinch off the stems of some unblemished green beans. Slice into sections about 1-1/4 inches, or whatever size you prefer. Cover with water and a little bit of salt. Bring to a boil, simmer about 5 minutes, then cover and turn off the heat. Let sit until soft and tender - about 10 minutes. I like my green beans cooked so my teeth are not met with resistance. Put about 3 tablespoons of Sahadi tahini into a bowl, add some lemon juice, minced garlic, and enough water to make a sauce. Toss in the drained green beans. Add some sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Taste. I usually add some more lemon juice.

These so-called yellow lentils start out coral colored. I wish they would stay that way, don't you? Rinse them well, over and over, until the water runs clear. Drain. If you have ghee use it, if not, use grapeseed oil.  Saute some red or yellow onion, toss in some mustard seeds - black or white - and some nigella seeds, if you like. Cook until the onion is a bit caramelized and the seeds are popping. Add the coral lentils, (1 cup to 2 cups plus of water), bit of sea salt, boil until soft and mushy. Add a good amount of lemon juice, toss in some canned garbanzo beans that have been drained and rinsed. Taste. Add salt? Add pepper? More lemon? Stir well. Hey, leave some for everyone else.

 You can't do this without one of those spiral cutting gadgets. I just got one and I'm going raw vegetable spaghetti crazy! Cut off the ends of a zucchini and cut to fit the gadget, turn the wheel and out comes strands of zucchini. One zucchini makes a ton. Take your hands and break it up a bit - permission granted to play with your food. Slice some red onion very thin and toss in along with a handful of Moroccan black olives, or whatever kind you like. Sprinkle with dried or fresh oregano , some basil, Turkish Biber pepper (www.kalustyans.com). Drizzle a bit, not too much, champagne vinegar to add an acidic note...or vinegar of your choice. Whatever you like. I like something lighter than balsamic here. Toss well. Fluff those strands!
 


Cut red cabbage into slivers. The idea here is to make it a bit sweet and sour. Drizzle honey, apple cider vinegar and toss well. Taste. More honey, more vinegar? Tear in some mint leaves and a dash of chili powder. Sea salt and fresh black pepper, too. Smallest amount of water. Toss. Toss.

Haute Oat cakes. Veddy haute. I have some Scottish pinhead oats (remember Archie comics?). There is a recipe on the package. Just melt some butter, or Smart butter. It says a dessertspoon...maybe that's 2 tablespoons? Pour into the center and mix well. Add salt and hot water to make a paste. Well that didn't work. So I put the mass into a food processor to break down the oats, then let it sit for a bit. Kneaded it well until it held together, well almost. Rolled it out on the board, then cut it irregular triangles. I did the best I could. Placed on a sheet pan and into a 400 F. oven...until the ends started to curl and they got a bit brown. Success! They held together and, though a bit dry, taste great. Put something nice on top and they aren't dry at all. Perfect. Such ruffage.


And then there's the cookies. Sorry folks. No recipe. You can order them from me. PHYLLIS' COOKIES. www.amorebakedgoods.blogspot.com
phcookies@gmail.com


Ask for the 'Hip Steve' cookies and I'll know what you mean. They are $20 a pound plus shipping. These are vegan too but not gluten free. Loaded with nuts, seeds, etc. Very rich. No eggs. Sugar, but not tons.


That's it for now. It took longer to post this than I thought. I'm starving. Gotta go make dinner.
Ciao...... PH 

• HAMANTASCHEN

(adapted from NY Times, Shmil Holland's "Schmaltz" and 2nd Avenue Deli cookbook)

There was a recipe in the New York Times in March 2011 for Hamantaschen and since I had not made any before, though I had collected several recipes, I thought it was time to give it a go. Some friends were coming by for Corned Beef and Cabbage and I thought Hamantaschen would be a great dessert, even though I was also making Flummery (more on that later). St. Patrick's Day and Purim were about a day apart this year, so I decided to celebrate St. Purim's Day!! I tried making the dough from the NY Times recipe and found that it did not hold together so I turned to the 2nd Ave Deli cookbook for the dough and pretty much followed that recipe except that I added some lemon zest. I like to put lemon zest in almost everything. Either use organic lemons or wash a lemon very well with dishwashing soap and hot water, then wipe dry. The Hamantaschen turned out  pretty good (see hips) and they weren't very sweet so if you like sweet, add sugar to both the dough and filling, you silly person.

• Almond Dough

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2teaspoon salt

1 cup pulverized almonds (Trader Joe's Ground Almonds)

Mix the above together.

1 cup or less of sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

Beaten together, then add

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Add dry to wet. Mix until it forms a ball then take out and knead.

Egg glaze:

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Divide the dough into four sections. No, you don't have to refrigerate it first. Roll each section to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut  into 4 inch diameter rounds. Put about a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold two sides together and pinch. Fold up bottom but leave an opening in the center so you can see the filling. Brush with egg glaze. Sprinkle with sugar.

Do the same to the rest of the dough and re-roll the scraps. Place on a greased or parchment covered sheetpan. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees F., until golden. Cool. Serve with some powdered sugar sprinkled on top, if you like.

Rolling out the dough.

The poppy seed filling.

Some filling on the round of dough.

Cutting out the dough.

Pinching two sides together.

Pinch three sides together.

Hot out of the oven.

Eat one!

• The Filling:

3/4 cup poppy seeds
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

3 tablespoons honey

¼ cup brown sugar

grated zest of ½ orange

2/3 cup raisins or sultanas

juice of ½ lemon

2 teaspoons lemon zest

½ tablespoon brandy

½ tablespoon cointreau or other orange liqueur

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Soak the poppy seeds in boiling water then drain. Process with honey, brown sugar, raisins, juices, zests, liqueurs, vanilla extract. If you are not thrilled with how ground up the poppy seeds are then put the entire mixture into a large mortar and grind away with a pestle until you love what the mush has become. Put it all into a saucepan and cook it, while stirring, until the ingredients all meld together. The end result looks like a poppy seed caviar. If you love it, everyone else will too.

RECIPE: COMPOTE WITH GREEK YOGURT

Half-full jar of compote with Parfait

                      in the background.                                               

The Parfait.

1 pound assorted dried fruits (pears, apricots, apples, peaches, prunes, cranberries, raisins)

1-2 cinnamon sticks

Lemon peel, about 3 strips off of a lemon, without the white pith

Star anise (optional)

7 oz. Plain Greek yogurt

Cinnamon powder

Real Maple syrup (optional)

Toasted Almond slivers

Put all the fruits into a saucepan. Cover with water. Add the cinnamon sticks and lemon peel and optional star anise. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the fruit is soft. No need to add sugar. If the water level goes down, add more. The fruits, as they are plumped will absorb the water. The water turns into a nice sauce and you want to have that moisture. Depending upon how dry the fruits are...the simmering should be for only about 15-20 minutes. I always let the fruit sit in the saucepan to cool and absorb the flavors before I remove them and put the Compote into jars.

To make the Parfait: Take a glass that pleases you and begin layering starting with a bit of the compote and sauce, then the yogurt (it helps to stir the yogurt well first), then a layer of compote. Top with the toasted almonds and a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup.

SKILL SHARE ON FEBRUARY 20, 2011 IN WALDEN, NY

at the Hodgson Farm

Went to check out some things and was pleasantly surprised. Event put together by the Hudson Valley Food Network www.hvfoodnetwork.com 

I sat in on a really good talk by Jay Levine of the Hudson Valley Backyard Farm Company, about pest management in the organic garden. He specializes in helping people set up organic gardens in their backyards (or frontyards). The talk was mostly about identifying the beneficial and harmful pests. I purchased some fresh eggs from Barbara Taylor-Laino of Midsummer Farm. She teaches lots of good workshops at the farm in Warwick, NY. The eggs were so fresh that the chickens there (see photo) were so relaxed that they were laying eggs in front of our eyes! 

I also attended the workshop about Creating Water Kefir Sodas by Dina Falconi, an herbalist of Wild Earth Programs.  She gave everyone part of the 'mother' to make their own sodas. I think I managed to 'kill' mine the other day. They require a temperature of 65-80 degrees so I kept it in the oven which was off...until I turned it on forgetting it was there....

 Barbara in background. Chickens in foreground.

 Dina Falconi discussing the kefir sodas.

 One of the workshops ending.

 Attendees browsing.

 Great Article about Grains

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/health/nutrition/21recipehealth.html?_r=2&src=tptw

in today's NY Times by Shulman.  She says she doesn't know what to do with millet. Too bad. Just toast it dry and then add water or stock and cook until soft and the liquid is absorbed. Rule of thumb (literally) is to add liquid about 1-inch above the grain, or the distance to the first knuckle on your thumb. You can also make a millet cake using millet and eggs and fry in a small frying pan. I think I saw that in one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's cookbooks and might have changed it a bit. Once I was stuck somewhere and only had a bag of millet with me, no kidding, I have no idea how that happened. The only thing that saved me and my daughter from hunger that night was cooking the millet. Nothing ever tasted so good. So now I have great respect for millet. It's a nice round grain and if you look closely it has a little dot in the center. It definitely tastes better if you dry toast it first, except if you are planning to eat it for breakfast, then don't bother. Adding some dry fruit and cinnamon, with either milk or a non-milk (nut milks) sure helps the millet go down.

I don't eat enough grains myself. When I do make rice either white or brown I'm so happy because I use it as a delivery system for my favorite hot sauces and kimchi. Spice it up!

COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS IN MARCH 2011

MARCH 8, TUESDAY, 7PM, NANUET PUBLIC LIBRARY - FREE

no reservation necessary (big room)

Mardi Gras theme

demonstrating the making of JAMBALAYA 

MARCH 26, SATURDAY, 2 PM, TAPPAN PUBLIC LIBRARY - FREE

(reservations required)

demonstrating Chicken Kiev, French Peas, Chocolate Fondue with dipping fruits

COOKING CLASSES OFFERED - SPRING 2011

This year I am offering two cooking classes through the Rockland BOCES Adult/Continuing Education Program. Sign up anytime now. Go to www.rocklandboces.org, or phone 845-348-3500.

The classes are:

FOODS OF TUSCANY

Meets from 6:30-9:30pm, Thursdays, March 31 - April 14 

(3 sessions)

Cost: $119, includes $15 supply fee

Join us in making foods from our favorite region of the Mediterranean, from starter to dessert in each session. For example: Garmugia (a spring vegetable soup), Pappa al Pomodoro, Saltimbocca, Ricotta and Spinach Crespelle with Tomato Sauce, Flourless Chocolate Cake, Prato Biscotti.

AND

BISTRO FOOD AT HOME

meets from 6:30-9:30pm, Thursdays, April 28 - May 12 

(3 sessions)

Cost: $119, includes $15 supply fee

Join this class in making hearty classic, simple satisfying meals from starter to dessert. For example: Frisee Salad with Pancetta and Poached Egg, Salmon with Sorrel Sauce, Coq au Vin, Gratin Dauphinois, Tarte Tatin, Fruit Clafoutis.

Friends Visit for Lunch

FRIENDS VISIT FOR LUNCH

Had a great time yesterday when some old friends from Italy who run a Vacation and Retreat place called Casa Garuda, located between Florence and Rome, came to visit. I didn't take any photos but here is the menu:

Celery Root Remoulade,  Marinated Red Peppers, Assorted Olives

Garlicky Bread

Sepia Tagliatelle with creamed Grape Tomatoes, Lobster, in a Lobster Butter Sauce

Braised Baby Artichokes

French-fried Parsnips

Wine-poached Bartlett Pears stuffed with a Ricotta and Chestnut Puree Cream

and topped with a sprinkling of cocoa and glazed almonds

Sugar-free Oatmeal Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

and then we took a walk.

VALENTINE'S DAY IMPROMPTU DINNER

I seem to have been doing a bit of entertaining lately since I also had a couple of friends here for Valentine's Day. I can squeeze two people in and that's about it. For a quickly prepared, same day, menu we had:

 Kir Royale

Salad of assorted baby greens, Belgian endive, radicchio, sliced pears, bleu cheese, dried cranberries, toasted pecans with a Maple-Sherry Vinegar/Walnut Oil Dressing*

Chicken Casserole with Vegetables 

(caramelized onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery, spinach in a creamy sauce topped with a mixture of breadcrumbs, ground almonds and grated parmesan cheese)

Chocolate Brownies and Rugelach

Moroccan Mint Tea

and lots of red wine.

*Recipe for Salad Dressing: equal quantities of Grade B Maple Syrup and Sherry Vinegar, double quantity of Walnut Oil (or a mixture of Walnut and Extra-virgin Olive Oil), crushed sage leaves, salt and pepper. Shake well. I usually use 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, 1/2 cup walnut oil, about 3-4 dried or fresh sage leaves crumbled, pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

INTIMATE DINNER FOR TWO.

Valentine's Day 2011 is looming just around the corner. 

Would you like me to come to your casa and cook an intimate dinner for you?

A lovely sight to see in your own home. The table is set with candles, flowers,

and your best china. The dinner is served. Or, perhaps, you would prefer tea 

for two, lunch, or breakfast in bed? Get in touch: 845-365-0042

No broken hearts here.

INDIVIDUAL MEATLOAVES FOR THE LAZY

I really am getting lazy. I had some ground beef in the fridge that needed to be cooked. What to do? Too lazy to even grate an onion. Turned the oven to 350 degrees F..

Mix together whatever quantity you have on hand of ground meat. Toss in some eggs, a few dollops of salsa, a sufficient amount of breadcrumbs, a good sprinkle of onion and garlic powder and a heaping teaspoonful of parsley paste from the jar….something old, something new. Meatloaf for a bride.

Form into 3, 4, however many, little meatloaves. Put some parchment paper on a sheet pan and place the meatloaves on it, well separated. Put about a tablespoon of the salsa on top of each loaf and sprinkle with some whole cumin seeds.

Bake until done. I really don’t know how long - maybe 30 minutes. I got busy on the computer and I started to smell something so I checked and the loaves looked very done and browned. A lot of oil oozed out of them. I took them out to cool for a bit then turned off the oven.

About 5 to 10 minutes later they were ready to eat. Except I was going out to eat so I wrapped them up in aluminum foil but not before tasting one of the loaves. Tasted great. The salsa got milder and the spiciness was just right.

This is not a gourmet recipe but good to do quickly. You could substitute the garlic and onion powders with real garlic and onion. Just think Cajun. They cook everything with these powders, even Emeril. What do you think his ‘Essence’ is? It’s garlic powder and all sorts of other dried ingredients mixed together. You think Rick Bayless would approve of this use of his salsa? 

Ground Beef (or Turkey or Chicken)

Frontera HOT Chipotle Salsa with Tomatillo and Garlic

3 eggs

Parsley paste, see previous recipe

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Breadcrumbs

Cumin seeds

Here is what it looked like. Like a hamburger. You can shape it anyway you like.