Concord Grapes

Our family shares a home in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, where Andrew and I were married in 2005. We were pleased to find that Concord (pronounced "concerd" not "con-chord", by the way) grapes grow throughout the property - and at the entrance to our wedding field. My mother and I harvested these for the first time several years ago and made a spectacular jar of Concord grape jelly together. I have since done this on my own, but I was unable to find any grapes this year. Perhaps it was the terrible rainy weather we had, or maybe the animals beat me to it, but I left our anniversary weekend in New Hampshire empty-handed.



My mother, being much more persistent, was able to collect a substantial bag of grapes when she made her visit this October. She has given up on grape jelly, so I am using these grapes to make our winter supply of this treat. We will use it sparingly, but its flavor is so bold and powerful that a little definitely goes a long way. Our technique:

Remove the grapes from the stems and rinse.
Boil the grapes, skins and all, until they are falling apart.
Work the boiled grapes gently through a sieve until the juice stops flowing.
Boil the juice with sugar until it gels (~3/4-1 c. sugar per c. of juice - this sounds like a lot, but the juice is *really* sour).

This "recipe" is suspiciously free of measurements - this is because we have never measured, but have experimented instead. I use the Joy of Cooking guidelines for making jams and jellies. So far I haven't had a disaster...

Root Vegetable Season

Root vegetable season has begun! Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I love the comforting, earthy flavors of fall and winter vegetables. In my research, I found this poem, so there are obviously others as passionate as I about the humble root vegetable:

Root Vegetable Ghazal

The moon swings off in a bag like a market lettuce

And everyone gropes home by ant glint & beetle shine.

In the Hotel Potato, in waxy marble ballrooms,

The waltzers rustle to the croon of enzymes.

In the curved corridors of the onion palace,

The smell of mushrooms seeps from unlit closets.

Our city is littered with wormseed & forcemeat;

Mummies are hymning in our turnip-purple church.

Radishes cruise through the revenant storage warehouse.

The bones of a goose mark the way to an amphitheater.

Now we can scale the carrot, our tapering campanile,

To watch the platoons of gravel, the water-bead parade.

We with our thorn-wrapped hearts & ivory foreheads!

We with our mineral tunnels awash in mole-glow!

from David Young, The Planet on the Desk. (1991)

When I came home at 9 pm tonight, after teaching my class, I found Chef Andrew hard at work preparing dinner from the vegetables we got in our CSA box last week. He created a fantastic curried leek, potato, and carrot soup, which was a scrumptious meal - especially with his homemade bread, too. What a cozy way to finish my evening, and what a spectacular husband I have!

Recipe:

Sautee one leek (or whatever you have) in the bottom of a soup pot with a bit of water, olive oil, and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Add to this a few chopped vegetables: sweet potatoes, one regular potato, and approximately 6 carrots. Cover with chicken or vegetable stock (homemade is always good!), and add 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. dried mustard, 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. ground black pepper, and salt to taste. Let this simmer until veggies are soft, then blend into a soup. Add water, milk, or soy milk to adjust the consistency.

For the love of fall: cider doughnuts

Anne and I were inspired to make cider doughnuts this weekend, which we fed to a group of our favorite, hungry guys. We had intended to go on an outdoor adventure to enjoy our beautiful New England autumn, but we were foiled by rainy weather and decided to stay inside instead. Watching the leaves swirl by the windows in the warmth of our kitchen was adventure enough, and Anne kept the boys busy with pumpkin cake while we worked on the doughnuts. We chose to double the recipe posted on katyelliot.com, who adapted her recipe from the Washington Post. We used King Arthur flour and Kate's butter, though the "local" in these doughnuts was less important to us than their fabulous-ness. Using a pint glass and a shot glass, we cut out the little doughnuts and prepared them for frying. Initially, we were both terrified of the 350-degree oil, but once the first doughnut went in we lost all fear and threw ourselves into the process!


We would recommend extending the cooking time. The first doughnuts came out goopy in the middle, so we cooked the large doughnuts for 1:30 on the first side and 1:00 on the second side. Warm doughnuts rolled in cinnamon sugar, with a mug of hot cider laced with rum = perfection! We're both obsessed with becoming farm stand owners, and have added cider doughnuts to our imaginary offerings...

Farm Potluck

To celebrate the end of harvest season, Susan, Tim, and I attended a potluck lunch at Waltham Fields on Saturday. In honor of Halloween, many people (and all the kids) were dressed in costume - we loved watching the kids' costume parade. In true farm spirit, there were lovely vegetarian dishes and a variety of homemade desserts, as well as crafts for the kids, and a slide show of the summer season. We all agreed we loved being part of our farm community, since it has become much more than just our weekly veggie pick-up. We already can't wait 'til next year!


Photo courtesy of Waltham Fields Community Farm

To add to the lunch bounty, I made a butternut squash pie from farm veggies, and Susan made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart

pastry dough (I used Whole Foods organic frozen tart shells)
1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound)
olive oil
1 small-medium onion
a bit of unsalted butter (optional)
1 whole large egg and 1 egg yolk (2 whole eggs would probably be fine)
1/3 cup heavy cream (yipes - I used nonfat buttermilk, but nonfat milk or soy milk would also work - try less liquid for a firmer pie)
3/4 cup grated hard cheese (like Parm, Fontina, or Pecorino)
1/4 cup crumbled mild soft goat cheese (about 1 ounce)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh or dried herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and marjoram leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Halve squash and scoop out seeds. On a baking sheet roast squash, cut sides down, in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until soft (I often pour water around the squash to help it steam).

While squash is roasting, thinly slice onion and in a heavy skillet cook in a bit of butter (optional) and olive oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool squash and scoop out flesh. In a food processor purée squash. Add egg, liquid, and blend well. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in cheeses, herbs, onion, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour filling into shell, smoothing top.

Bake tart in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool tart.

This recipe is adapted from Gourmet, November 1998