What Am I Going to Do with All This Food? | Sequatchie Cove Farm

The past two letters I wrote started with- where have I been? and…I FULLY intended to write a letter when I came home from the market but instead winded up sweeping to kitchen floor (I’m sure it needed it- but that’s no excuse). BUT this is a New Year and those intentions are now becoming action. (My New Year’s celebration was nothing short of that- and the pork roast was amazing. I cooked it with a beer, tons of garlic scapes, lots of chopped leeks, and some of Trea’s famous sausages I had stored away in my freezer, for about four hours)

Today I am QUITE sure where I’ve been. On Main Street at the most happenin place in Chattanooga. Of course I didn’t sit down right away- I had to properly store my loot in the fridge. But my excitement from today is still as fresh and crisp and the snap peas I got from Alexzanna Farms (which I don’t know if it’s ok to say this because she might have a million young women writing letters about her nettles and lush asparagus but she GAVE them to me just because of the nice things I write! Now that was rather kind if I may say so myself. I traded her a nice cold cup of strawberry lemonade I bought from Candice from Crabtree Farm. (that was really nice too- it is hard and thirsty work standing around in a parking lot and having fun…)
 I felt like the richest woman in the world driving home with leek stalks bumping against my knee. I had just spent the afternoon talking about what I love most- food and cooking and was full just with the ideas I had for the carful of veggies.

I got snap peas from Alexzanna, beets(!) (three little sweet ones- Butch said- here are the beets Ann- I think that is in answer to my last letter where I said it’s great to walk up and ask the farmer when the beets are coming on… ask no more) from Clover Wreath, fennel bulb, nappa cabbage, bok choy, kale, collards, and kohlrabi from Tom at Signal Mountain Farms (his nappa are SO HUGE- we always like to tease him about it and he complains he can’t make them any smaller… ah what a problem…), more dill plants from Raymond at Irie Hill Farm, leeks and radishes from Padgett at Sequatchie Cove, ‘perpetual spinach’, Asian green mix, and garlic scapes from Ashley and Noah at Williams Island Farm, and a loaf of cinnamon raison bread from Niedlov’s.

I know- if YOU aren’t thinking this I sure am- what am I going to do with all that FOOD? My mother asked the same question…. I think I might just roll around in it and be very very happy. And then I think I am going to make a little roasted beet and fennel salad (I slice them both thin and roast them at about 350 til the are all shriveled up) and toss them with some arugula if I can find some and a lemon, honey dressing.

And then with the leftover fennel I think I am going to make a big batch of kimchee. I really like fennel in kimchee but not too much- it is a strong flavor. I think to this batch I will use bok choy, nappa (I have decided that I only like using mainly stalks from these cabbages and the green part for other things- like salads), kohlrabi, a few radishes, some scapes, and maybe possibly some snap peas. I don’t know how they will turn out but it is worth a try…. (If anyone has kimchee questions I would be more than happy to answer them- Butch and I were talking today about our mutual fermentation fetishes… I know that my counter is slowly being overtaken by bottles and crocks and jars bubbling things- and he said that one of his favorite rainy day activities is fermenting whatever happens to be around… But also it is very important to add Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz to your bookshelf. Not only will it answer all questions better than I but it also sets a fermentation fire in you after the very first chapter)

Speaking of books… I saw today Dave Waters from River Ridge Farms is selling a really great cookbook called the Grassfed Gourmet by Shannon Hayes. Bill bought me one a few years ago and then proceeded to borrow it back and possibly loan it off to someone who forget where it came from so I might need to get myself another copy. I really don’t use cookbooks that often as rulebooks but I love reading them. This book is awesome because grassfed beef is totally different from the conventional grain fed stuff. If anyone is new to eating/cooking meat or just new to the ‘real stuff’ then this is also another book you HAVE to have. Or even if you’re not new to it. It is very simple and easy to breeze though and full of all sorts of very useful information that any ol meat cookbook won’t have (like how to get over the fear of ordering ‘half a beef’ direct from your local farmer).

Last week I made an AWESOME risotto (this is one of those things that makes me feel spoiled to eat- I think it is both the creaminess of the rice and the amount of time it takes to lovingly stand by the pot and stir in each new cupful of broth). First I sautéed a few leeks and garlic scapes in butter. Then I dumped in some risotto rice (I don’t remember what kind) I bought in Italy last fall when I went over for the grand Slow Food event- Terra Madre. (Greenlife also has a really good selection of rice for risotto- just in case you aren’t planning on skipping off to Italy any time soon). I don’t measure the rice because with risotto you add liquid til it’s done so there’s no point. While I was cooking the rice dry for a second I made sure I had a nice hot saucepan full of some chicken broth I had stuck away in the freezer made from River Ridge Farm’s stewing hen a month or so ago (freezers are nice. I can walk around the market and hear people say- WHEN are you getting chicken in Dave? And- TREA- where is that wonderful Italian sausage?… and think ah… if you’d only known there would be this drought you would have stocked the freezer like I did…). Then I added a mugful of broth to the rice and let it simmer til the liquid was absorbed. You just keep doing this- adding about a cup or so broth- til the rice is plump and almost-soft. Then you add in the finishing vegetables (here I used fennel fronds from my front yard, some kohlrabi from Sequatchie Cove (the bottom part I diced and the top part I sliced), and a nice big handful of snap peas from Suzanna at Alexzanna Farm. I kept adding broth and stirring til the rice was still almost-soft but a little less crunchy, tossed in some grated parmesan, made a lettuce salad with radishes and snap peas and had a wonderful dinner…

I want to write about this mystery perpetual spinach from the Island (really it is some form of beet greens and should be cooked- it is very good raw but something about the way it tastes makes me feel like our bodies might not like too much of it in that form). I want to make a nice lasagna with it (I have a pasta maker and it seems insane not to make my own noodles- it’s so easy when you have a machine to roll the dough out for you). I also want to rave about their Asian green mix- it is so tiny and baby and tender and nice and have a nice kick to it but is AMAZING raw….

But I feel like I have rambled too much. I am not sure what most people’s attention spans are but I know when enough is enough.

Also- one last thing. I know that a lot of people who come to market are in a CSA and won’t be buying all their vegetables from all of the farmers. BUT. Last week a woman from the Sequatchie Cove CSA came over to the Island’s booth while I was there chattin it up with them just to ‘make sure they didn’t have anything else that wasn’t in her box’. I thought that was SO nice- because there are things that your CSA box might not include (honey, meat, and bread are obvious examples). I love seeing that kind of enthusiasm and interest in everything at the market and I hope that this will only grow and grow until the entire city of Chattanooga is eating good….

Thanks so much for coming and I hope to see yall next week at the market.asdf O and also. Because I am saying this as the last sentence of the letter I don’t know who will see it- but I don’t know if I’ve introduced myself. Some people seem a little confused. I am Bill and Miriam from Sequatchie Cove Farm’s daughter. And also Kelsey from William’s Island Farm’s sister. I live in town (Lookout Mountain) but try to be a bit involved with both of the farms….

Until next time- good eatin

Filed under: Local Food Letter on May 28th, 2009 |