Here is photographic evidence that I seriously need a fire pit in my backyard.

I made this perfection of a confection on a recent family camping trip in the Wind River mountains of Wyoming. Observe the perfectly toasted marshmallow—tawny and puffed and oozing out of its graham cracker confines. And the chocolate. That’s two squares of Hershey’s Special Dark, softened on a hot rock until it reached the consistency of frosting. It was, perhaps, the best thing I ate this summer.

My mom’s innovation of the toasted marshmallow brownie bite S’more took 2^nd prize.

We also marinated the trout my dad caught in the lake in limejuice and garlic, dipped them in flour, and cooked the little guys up in a cast iron skillet over the fire.

Seriously, I think food tastes better when you eat it outside. So, with summer’s days dwindling, I’m going to be eating as many meals as possible on our back deck. It doesn’t have a fire pit or a mountainous backdrop, but I’ll take it.

On Monday evening my friend Lorene and I split a bottle of wine and made pickles and sauerkraut. I highly recommend starting your week off this way. Putting away food and getting a little silly really go quite well together!

Lorene is one of those super creative, crafty people who always has something up her sleeve (you may remember the fabulous cold frames she made out of old IKEA bookcases). She has an adorable vegetable garden and she is also the author of the newly released Canning and Preserving Your Own Harvest (2009 Sasquatch Books).

As soon as I heard Lorene’s book was out, I invited myself over to her house for a little one-on-one food preservation lesson. Since the thermometer on her back porch registered 85 degrees, we decided to forgo turning on the stove and instead made fermented pickles and sauerkraut.

It’s so simple! All we did was put some cucumbers, fresh dill flowers, garlic, and a hot pepper in a huge jar and then poured brine over the top. To help the cucumbers stay submerged in the brine, we stuck a small clean plate on top of them and then filled a clean plastic Ziploc bag with water and placed it on top of the plate as a weight. Voila! The pickles are in progress.

They should be ready to eat in about 3 weeks—at which point we can either can them or stick them in the fridge where they will stay fresh for months! Lorene was kind enough to share this pickle recipe from Canning and Preserving Your Own Harvest. Try it! Just be sure to invite over a few friends. And have them bring a bottle of wine.

Old-Fashioned Crock Pickles
Crock pickles cure in a saltwater solution by means of fermentation caused by lactic acid bacteria, a cloudy film or scum that floats on the surface of the brine. Naturally, in this day and age of sanitation and concern about harmful microorganisms, this scum appears somewhat suspect. In fact, lactic acid is responsible for changing the pickles from bright green to an olive or yellow green and produces the characteristically tart, sour flavor we associate with pickles.

For every 5 pounds of cucumbers you will need one gallon of pickling capacity; for example, a 5-gallon crock will hold 25 pounds of cucumbers. Select a ceramic crock, large glass jar, or food-grade plastic container; do not use a metal pot, as it will negatively react with the vinegar.

Season: Mid- to late summer
Yield: 4 quarts
Store: Cool, dark pantry

For every gallon of finished pickles you’ll need:
4 to 5 pounds clean, unwaxed, firm cucumbers about 4 to 6 inches long
2 tablespoons dill seed or 4 to 5 heads fresh dill weed
2 cloves garlic
2 dried red peppers
8 cups water
1/2 cup pickling salt
1/4 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons whole mixed pickling spices

Carefully pick through the cucumbers and discard any that are bruised or have soft spots; wash well. Place half of the dill, 1 clove garlic, and 1 pepper at the bottom of your clean crock. Add the cucumbers and the remaining dill, garlic, and pepper.

Bring the water, salt, vinegar, and pickling spice to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow this brine to cool completely before pouring over the cucumbers in the crock. Weight a dinner plate or a glass pie plate with a heavy-duty, food-grade plastic bag filled with water and place in the crock to keep the fermenting pickles at least 2 inches below the surface of the brine.

Store the crock of cucumbers at room temperature; fermentation will take longer to complete under cool temperatures, whereas excessively warm temperatures will result in soft pickles. Check the crock daily and skim any scum that appears. A clean cloth draped over the crock will keep out dust and other contaminants. Complete fermentation for “full sours” will take about 3 weeks; however, you can remove pickles from their brine before that if you prefer what are known as kosher-style or half-sours.

Fully fermented pickles covered with brine may be refrigerated in jars for months or canned for stable shelf storage. To can the pickles, pour the brine into a pan, heat slowly to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Fill hot sterile pint or quart jars with pickles and top with hot brine, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Brine may be strained through a clean cloth or paper coffee filter to reduce cloudiness, if desired. Place lids on the filled jars and process in a water bath: pints for 15 minutes, quarts for 20 minutes.

From Canning & Preserving Your Own Harvest by Carla Emery & Lorene Edwards Forkner, 2009 Sasquatch Books

On my last day in Cuba I strolled through Vedado, a Havana neighborhood dominated by crumbling mansions from the early 20th century. The air was thick with humidity and every time I stepped out from under the leafy protection of the trees that lined the sidewalks, I was greeted with the unrelenting Caribbean sun.

I walked block after block in the heat. My sandal began to rub the side of my foot and my sweaty shirt glued itself to my skin. But I was undeterred. I’d heard there was a big, outdoor vegetable market within walking distance of the casa where I was staying and I was dying to see it.

Hung Out To Dry

So on I walked, past houses with laundry hanging from the windows and kids playing marbles in the street. When I got to the cross street where the market was supposed to be there was nothing there. Just a sad looking apartment building with a broken down Lada parked in the drive.

Ration Store Advertising Yogurt

I almost felt like crying. I’d visited farms and farm stands, bought fruit from vendors yelling out, “Mango! Mango!” in the streets, and observed Cubans patiently standing in line at ration stores. But I hadn’t been to a market and I really wanted to see one. Just as I was about to give up and catch a cab into Havana Vieja, I spied an old man carrying a bag with the green fringe of carrot tops poking out. Ah ha! I knew the market had to be close.

Gorgeous Grapes

I found it one block further down and on the other side of the street. My sleuthing and persistence paid off. The covered outdoor space was filled with all sorts of vegetable vendors, who were joking and laughing and negotiating with customers. Below you’ll find some photos I took inside. I hope you enjoy your virtual visit! If you’re ever in Havana this market is on the corner of 19 and A in Vedado and well worth a visit.

Avocados and Carrots, Oh My!

Sweet, Sweet Mangos. Two for 25 Cents!

Ripe and Green Plantains

Mystery Fruit and Corn

Anyone know what this fruit is? To eat it you break off the individual nubbins and suck the sweet white flesh off of a black seed. Tasty, but it requires almost as much effort to eat as a pomegranate.

Beans, Anyone?

I’ve spent the past few days catching up on my favorite blogs and just had to share this awesome DIY torch via Design*Sponge. I love how this project recycles a thing [wine bottles] that we all have [sometimes in excess] into a beautiful, functional outdoor fixture. The torches were created by Erik Anderson of Gerardot & Co, a design and branding agency that does some really cool work in Indianapolis.

Building an outdoor living area is our next big backyard project and the so-far-imaginary space includes a wood fired oven, flagstones, and a big, old, rectangular table for dinner parties. A perimeter of flickering firelight would complete the scene, don’t you think?

To check out the full, original post on Design*Sponge, including great photos and step-by-step instructions, click here.

Hello, hello!

I have arrived back in the States safe, sound, and full of ideas from my travels in Cuba. My plane touched down in Havana on July 13 and for the next 18 days I traveled the country, visiting eight urban, organic farms along the way.

Cuba left me feeling inspired, fascinated, frustrated, and hopeful all at the same time. It is a country full of contradictions. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the experience and what I want to say about it. My travel partner and I are in the process of sorting through our photos and thinking through our experiences, but we will soon sit down and put together a website that documents our time in Cuba and what we learned there.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share some photos that offer a window into my world for the past month. The photos here are just the first in a series that I’ll be posting in the next few days.

Also, I have to mention that my trip would not have been possible without the incredible ideas and work my guest bloggers offered all of you in my absence. I want to thank my wonderful friends John Hurd, Justine Dell’Aringa, Betsy Gardner, Dinah Dimalanta, and Aimee Theriault for taking such fabulous care of DigginFood while I was away. Coming home and discovering such a wonderful collection of guest posts was so fun. I can’t wait to make fruit infused vodka, basil ice cream, and authentic New Jersey red gravy!

While visiting Santiago de Cuba, we had the opportunity to visit a really amazing farm located right in the middle of a decaying urban landscape punctuated with tall, concrete Soviet-style apartment buildings.

This 1-hectare farm featured rows and rows of raised beds built with recycled concrete and rocks. The beds are filled with soil and amended with worm-compost that is made on site. The farm grows a wide range of fresh vegetables year round, including sweet peppers, tomatoes, greens, medicinal and culinary herbs, cucumbers, eggplants and more.

Workers, like this man named Santiago, arrive each morning early and harvest crops that are sold in the on-site farm stand and distributed for free to primary schools, old folks homes, and maternity centers.

The crops are sold at a very low price (about 4 cents for a bunch of lettuce) to members of the community and workers at the farm can purchase food at a discount twice a week. This was truly one of the most productive, organized, beautiful urban farms that I’ve seen anywhere. I was most impressed with their cropping system, which follows a strict rotation and soil maintenance plan. Each long raised bed is capped on either end with small plantings of corn, flowers, and herbs designed to lure in beneficial insects and everything was strictly organic. Totally amazing and I think a good model for urban farms here at home.

Since this is our last post on Diggin’ Food – and what a pleasure it has been! – we can’t resist anticipating the next season a bit to talk about one of our favorite local foods of Fall. Fall means one thing to me more than just about anything else – mushroom foraging season! When September arrives here in the Northwest it’s time to head out and start scouring the mountains and forests for the most delicious of all mushrooms – the porcini.

Also known as the ‘king bolete’ and cep in French, porcini is what the Italians call the Boletus edulis mushroom. It’s what I call it too because it’s the Italian styles of preparation that I use most in my cooking. Nothing compares to the flavor that porcinis add to soups and sauces or as toppings for bruschetta or filling for pasta; or just sautéed in butter and olive oil and eaten by all by themselves.

Foraging for mushrooms is like going on a treasure hunt in the forest*. There must still be a hunter/gatherer part of my brain that kicks in when it needs to. At first when I arrive in the mushroom woods I don’t see anything. Then a little stump or cap catches my eye and I look around to see that there are dozens more all around that I hadn’t seen moments before. Few thrills equal that of discovering a patch of porcinis growing in the forest!

You don’t need to go foraging yourself to taste these delicious mushrooms. Porcinis can be found dried in many stores and ordered online dried or frozen. Sometimes they even appear fresh at farmers markets in the fall. They are often expensive but don’t let that discourage you from trying them at least once. Since porcinis dry so well – indeed many believe that drying intensifies their flavor – I would recommend trying them in that form first.

Cooking with dried mushrooms is easy; you just have to rehydrate them. Here’s what you do. Put the desired amount of dried mushrooms in a bowl, then another bowl of the same size on top of the mushrooms to weigh them down. Next pour hot water (from the tap works fine) on the mushrooms until they are covered – the second bowl is to keep them submerged. Let sit for about 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and feel more or less like fresh mushrooms. Remove them from the water and treat them just like they were fresh. Don’t throw away that liquid though! It’s now a flavorful mushroom broth and can be added to whatever you’re cooking to deliver more mushroom flavor. I pour it through a coffee filter first to remove any grit.

Porcini Crostini

Simple and delicious, this recipe delivers pure porcini flavor and is super easy to make.

Take about 2 cups of coarsely chopped porcinis (fresh or rehydrated) and toss them in a hot pan with a little olive oil and a little chopped oregano. Add a pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms give up their liquid and just start to turn golden brown along the edges. Remove from heat.

While the porcinis are cooking, slice a baguette into rounds, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place on a cookie sheet into a 375º F oven for about 7 minutes or until just crispy.

Spoon little mounds of the porcini mixture onto the toasts, perhaps sprinkle a garnish of fresh chopped herbs on top, arrange on a platter and serve.

Porcini Stuffed Ravioli

This recipe is a bit involved but it’s worth the effort and gets easier every time you make it. The ravioli freeze well so I usually make a big batch; freeze meal sized portions in separate containers, and pull them out for dinners over a few months. If you do freeze them, be sure to first freeze them laid out on a cookie sheet so that when you combine them in containers they don’t stick together.

Ingredients

Fresh Pasta

½ lb all-purpose flour
½ lb durum semolina flour
4 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cold water (approximate)

Filling

1 pound / 6 cups finely chopped porcini mushrooms (fresh or dried and rehydrated)
1 ½ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
¾ cup finely chopped walnuts
2 shallots finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano finely chopped
Olive oil for sautéing
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1-2 grinds black pepper
Pinch of grated nutmeg

Making the Pasta

Put the two flours into a food processor fitted with the cutting blade and give it a pulse to mix. Combine eggs, oil, and water and with the food processor running pour into the top so that the dry and wet ingredients into a dough. Run the processor until the dough gathers into a ball – you may need to add a little more flour or a little more water depending on the mix.

Remove the dough ball from the food processor and place on a well floured surface. Divide into four equal pieces. Roll out the dough pieces into sheets using a rolling pin to about 1/16 inch thickness or use a pasta machine and roll to thickness of number 4 setting. Set sheets aside layered between floured tea towels and make the filling.

Making the Filling

Saute the shallots, oregano, and a pinch of salt in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add chopped porcini and cook until they have given up all of their liquid and just start to brown. Remove from heat.

Combine cheese, walnuts, and porcini mixture in a bowl and then mix in egg, pepper and nutmeg.

Making the Ravioli

Put a sheet of pasta on a floured surface and lay out little teaspoonfuls of filling on the pasta sheet. Space them out so that there is about as much space between them as they are big. Next, using a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or knife, trim the sheet around them so that there is enough of a flap to close over the filling like a book. Fold the flap over the filling and gently press around the edges to seal the pockets. Then cut the ravioli apart and along their edges to further seal them. Set aside on floured tea towels.

When you’re ready to cook, place them gently in boiling salted water. They should only take a few minutes to cook, keep an eye on them and test them to know for sure. Ravioli are fragile and should not be poured out with the cooking water through a colander. Instead, lift them out with a slotted spoon or pot insert.

Serve with grated pecorino romano or parmigiano cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil.

*A word of caution about mushroom foraging: there are some mushrooms that are deadly poisonous so if you are new to foraging go with an expert. Do not trust books as a means of identification and never eat a mushroom unless it’s been approved by an expert.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret:  I’m not good with tools. I have a great handyman (thanks for it all, Dad). And I like the idea of DIY, much more than actually sanding down and re-purposing an old dresser (thanks, Mom – you really out-did yourself on this one).  With that being said, I’m sure you’re not shocked to learn that I am neither the builder nor the assistant builder of the rustic entertaining hut in the photo below.  I do, however, feel lucky that I get to enjoy long weekends by the fire-pit with my family and our extraordinarily creative neighbors, Marc and Carol, who did make this 100% natural entertaining space for their rustic vacation home in the Catskills.   

Since starting their NY State home restoration project, Marc and Carol (who are true masters anything DIY) have even surprised themselves with how many furniture pieces they were easily able to make by hand with just the natural materials on their property.  And for my Dad’s birthday party a few weeks ago, Marc and Carol drove over “souvenirs” from their new upstate handmade life: 4 of the best outdoor side tables my parents have ever owned! I liked them so much, and wanted one for my apartment terrace so badly, that I let Marc convince me that I could simply make it myself.  After a lot of skepticism and a quick lesson on using an electric compound mitter saw, I was proud to call myself a rustic furniture apprentice! (See finished table below at Marc and Carol’s NY state home below)

Carol has named these the “Catskill Cocktail Tables,” and below I wanted to share the steps in making one for your outdoor patio, deck, or porch.  These all-natural tables, made from 100% recycled and reclaimed materials costs less than $10 to make, require very few tools, and can be finished in less than two hours.  If I can do it, anyone can – seriously.

Breaking it down:
Table top frame:  (Use the four 18” longs) Using your saw, create square frame by cutting approximately 45 degree angles at each end of the log. You may have to make adjustments as needed to align the frame.  To best ensure table is level on top, make sure flattest side of the log faces upward.  Next, drill pilot holes into adjoining corners and attach deck screws.  Repeat the process on all four corners. (See drill technique below)

Legs:  (Use the four 15” longs):  Do not center legs on the “corners” of the table – you will have a better, more sturdy, result if you drill and screw each leg in the middle of each frame log.  Place all logs standing upright in a square.  Place the square table top frame on top of the legs.  Ensure each leg is situated in the center of each frame section. Drill pilot hole down from table top frame into leg.  Attach with screws.  Repeat the process on each leg. (See alignment below)

Cross Members:  (Use the four 12” logs):  Turn the table upside down.  Measure between legs and cut the cross member pieces to fit your measurements.  Cross member should be positioned 6” from the bottom of the leg.  Use your clamp (if available, or use the hands of a friend) to hold cross member in place.  Drill pilot holes at each end from cross member into the legs (I learned that your drill should be at a 45 degree angle for best results).  Attach with deck screws.  Repeat the process on all 4 spaces. (See photo below)

Table Top:  (Recycled Wood Planks):  Stand table upright.  Lay planks across the hollow table frame.  Drill pilot holes through planks into frame, and attach with deck screws.  (Tip: Be careful not to drill into existing screws in the frame). 

I’ve gotten to know Willi and DigginFood through my older sister Betsy, whose posts you’ve read on Raspberry Clafoutis, Summer Risotto and Basil Ice Cream over the past few weeks. Between the two of us, Betsy is the more devoted chef. Although I love to cook (and eat), I very regularly find myself heading over to Betsy’s house for her Sunday night, family dinners or stopping by to grab one (several) of the latest baked goods she’s made. Although I can’t quite compete with my sister’s culinary repertoire, I made a discovery last summer that I hope the readers of DiggnFood will enjoy as much as I have — the discovery was grilling fruit.
 
I learned how to barbecue from my dad, whose barbecuing was a regular dinner ritual growing up (and is, to this day, on our visits home). The ritual typically included sitting on the steps to the back yard across from my dad, often smoking a cigar, reading the news paper and listening to sports radio. In between our “news hours” as we liked to call them, my dad would tend to his Weber and teach me the ways of the charcoal grill.
 
Although a bit more high maintenance than gas, I love grilling with charcoal. Below is a really simple way to get a charcoal grill going (with a chimney, an indispensable barbecuing tool) and some tips that my dad taught me during our many hours in the backyard.
 
In addition to the grilling, there is the fruit. Last summer I was home in San Francisco and my parents had some peaches from the market as well as some figs from my grandfather’s fig tree in Stockton, California. We were barbecuing some halibut and I mentioned to my dad it would be interesting to try the peaches and the figs on the grill, to which he agreed. Onto the grill with the fish went the peaches and figs sliced in half, which resulted in a delicious summer dinner.
 
The fruit charred and caramelized, enriching the peach and fig flavor and textures. Both worked perfectly with the fish and could also marry well with any kind of meat or chicken, not to mention a large scoop of ice cream. I’ve also often thought the figs would be incredible with a rich, salty cheese as well. It is such a simple combination, a grill and some fruit, and yet is incredibly delicious, healthy and versatile.
 
Enjoy and have fun grilling!

Barbecue How To

-Fill the top of the chimney with charcoal and stuff the bottom with 2 sheets of newspaper

-With the chimney sitting in the barbecue with the grill off, light the newspaper and tilt the chimney up against the side of the barbecue

-Check the chimney every 5 minutes to make sure it is heating up, in about 15 or 20 minutes there should be flame above the briquets and to the top of the chimney

-Using the handles on the chimney, carefully pour the briquets into the barbecue (I usually pour them in a mound in the center)

-Put the grill back on the barbecue and let it heat up for about 10 to 15 minutes

-You will know when the grill is hot enough when you put your hand over the heat and can’t hold it there

The Fruit

-I bought some peaches, apricots and cherries at the farmer’s market to grill but numerous other fruits will work well

-After washing and halving the fruit, place the halves face down on the hot grill and cover the grill (anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes depending on how hot your fire is)

-Flip the fruit and cover the grill for another 5 to 10 minutes

-Depending on how cooked you like your fruit, you can leave it on the grill for a bit more, or remove it and enjoy!

honeybee pollinating ecinacea flower

I never imagined myself as a beekeeper. Thanks to a generous and helpful uncle that’s what I’ve become!  We often spend thanksgiving with John’s family and over the years his uncle Marc has entertained us with stories about his honeybees. I don’t remember ever asking him directly, but Marc must have noticed the interest in our eyes because a few years ago he offered to help get us started off with our first honeybee hive. We jumped at the chance!

There is just something special about honeybees. Our honeybees have been an exciting and rewarding addition to our garden, so this year we doubled up and now have two backyard hives!  I find being in their presence to be very soothing. I can’t resist checking on them daily, and I’m never disappointed. I see them come and go along their regular flight pattern; over the fence and then swooping down to the hives. I watch as they land at the entrance with their leg pouches stuffed full of bright yellow pollen. I watch the guard bees on duty and on hot nights the ladies (almost all of the bees are female) gather on the front porch fanning their wings to cool off the inside of the hive.

As if all this entertainment weren’t enough, bees are beneficial in countless ways. First and foremost they are great pollinators – our fruit yields have noticeably increased since we began keeping bees. Their honey is also thought to boost immunity, promote healing of cuts and burns, provide a remedy for sore throats, and eating local honey can help alleviate pollen allergy symptoms. All season we’ve been reaping the benefits of our bee friends hard at work, harvesting an abundance of fruits, berries, and veggies – and recently the sweetest of all, honey!

Last week we geared up for our big honey harvest of the year. Puget Sound Beekeepers Association, an incredible local resource for backyard beekeepers, rents harvesting equipment to their members for a very small affordable fee. We rented a honey extractor and few other helpful tools and began extracting our honey. The first step was uncapping our honey. We used an electric uncapping plane. You just glide the heated plane over the frame to uncap the honeycomb so the honey can come out.

capped honey

uncapped honey

Next we loaded the frames into the extractor and spun.

All the honey collects at the bottom and is filtered to remove bits of wax as it comes out the spigot.

The result is pure raw honey that is ready for eating!  This year we yielded four gallons of honey!

We share our honey with friends and neighbors and often trade it for other backyard bounty. If you’re thinking of keeping bees, I would recommend checking out Puget Sound Beekeepers Association or your local beekeeping club to help you get started.