IT'S OFFICIALLY SPRING!

Today is the Spring Equinox, meaning an equal number of hours in daylight and nighttime.  From now on, the days will be getting longer.  Yea!!!  I love spring. 

A WHITE HOUSE GARDEN!!!

And today, there's GOOD news out of Washington.....there's now a vegetable garden on the White House grounds.  So many activists were calling upon the Obamas to please set an example of how to grow good food and eat well.  Michelle Obama got her hands dirty, helping to dig up the thousand square foot plot, along with 5th graders from a DC school who will help plant, then tend to the vegetables, harvest, and cook.  What a marvelous win-win!

There's a similar program in downtown Durham, called SEEDS, where community garden plots can be rented for a nominal fee.  D.I.G. - Durham Inner-city Gardeners - is another SEED program for teens who are paid minimum wage to work a market garden.  They sell their produce at the Durham Farmers Market, and also get to sample and cook.  You can read all about it in upcoming issues of edible Piedmont.  

RADISHES - try this out!

I love tender, young radishes, dipped in sea salt, then in butter, then popped into my mouth!

So I'm planting a packet of seeds this weekend in a pot on my deck, with the hopes that the deer and rabbits won't be able to reach them.

NEW FARMERS MARKET COMING TO NORTH RALEIGH, on Durant Road at the Falls River Town Center, scheduled to open May 2nd. But the first weekend in April, you'll find the 

farmers markets open at North Hills, Moore Square in Downtown Raleigh, and Wake Forest.  Or wherever you live, your market should be opening for the growing season in just two weeks!

DIY and SAVE

               Roasted Golden Beets, Chevre, Toasted Pecans Salad                                               (recipe follows)

"Life itself is the proper binge."  Julia Child

DO IT YOURSELF AND SAVE . . . .

So who doesn't want to save money these days?

Like many Americans, we've made a commitment to not go out to eat as much, to save money.  I interviewed Chef Amy Tornquist, who owns and cooks at both Sage & Swift Catering and the restaurant, Watts Grocery, in Durham, who said that at least when we DO go out to eat, to support those restaurants that buy and deal with local farmers and local purveyors rather than a chain.  Good point.  Support your neighbors.

Eating in can be a chore.  You've got to shop, and prep, and cook, and then, clean up.  However, they can all be pleasurable activities. Really. Chopping is Zen-like to me.  Planning a meal, pulling stuff from the fridge and gathering it all together is creativity at work.  Put on some good music, even pour a glass of wine, and enjoy the smells and sizzles while you create.  After savoring our dinner and conversation, the hubby and I make all the dirty dishes and pots just disappear, a small price to pay for a meal well-done.  

So I try not to make making dinner a chore, although . . . . .

EASY DIY WAYS TO SAVE MORE MONEY. . . . 

- Crunchy croutons can really make a salad.  Make your own at a fraction of what a bag will cost in the grocery store.  Take old baguettes or thickly sliced bread that's no longer really fresh, and cut them into bite-sized cubes.  Place the cubes in a bowl, and drizzle olive oil over them, turning with a spatula or your hands, until they have a bit of a oily coat.  Season if you wish with salt, or dried herbs.  Spread on a baking sheet, place in a 300 degree oven, and bake until croutons are crispy enough for you, about 10 minutes, give or take a few. 

- A delicious vinaigrette is easy to make, and will cost a fourth of what bottled versions do.  I make mine in an re-used jelly jar.  I squirt a bit of Dijon mustard into the bottom.  Add a half teaspoon or so of my seasoning salt and grind some pepper in, then pour in about a half-inch of vinegar.  Sometimes I use a wine vinegar, sometimes the cheap balsamic, depending on mood or salad variety.  Then I place the lid on, and shake the mustard, salt and vinegar all together.  

Then, I slowly add enough olive oil to have about 3 times as much oil as vinegar.  Eyeball it.  Classic recipes call for a one to two, up to a one to four ratio of vinegar to oil, so I use the magic 3.  After you've added the oil, put the lid on tight and shake real good.  The jar, that is.  Stick your finger (clean) in the mixture, and then taste.  Add more oil if it's too tart, or more vinegar if the oil is overpowering.  Maybe more salt or pepper.  Learn to trust your taste.   You can also add fresh or dried herbs, chopped garlic, grated cheese, whatever.  I store leftovers in the fridge, but have to remember to allow it to come to room temp so that it can be shaken up.  

You can also use a bowl and whisk. 

Homemade vinaigrette tastes great, and as you can see, is so simple.

-  Baby carrots have always been a favorite lunch or snack.  Then I read that they're not really baby carrots at all, just big carrots peeled, then chopped to "baby" size.  And that's why they sometimes get crusty, or else watery, in their plastic bag.

So, I was amazed at how many regular-sized carrots I could buy for the same price as one small bag of "baby" carrots.  Peanuts, in comparison.  Organic carrots will cost a bit more, but still not as much as the impostors, and they're even more healthy.

How long does it take to wash, peel, then cut up a carrot?  Not long at all.  

CAN'T BEAT BEETS

Beets are a favorite in our house.  And fuggehdahbout canned beets.  Ugh!

Buy beets with the greens attached, and you get an "extra" green to use in your salad.

Roast them.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Slice the root end off, and cut the beet where the stalk meets the bulb.  Wash.  Place beets on a large square of aluminum foil, maybe drizzle a bit of olive oil on them, then wrap the foil tight and roast in the oven for about an hour to 1 1/4 hour.  Allow beets to cool.  Use either rubber gloves or baggies over your hands to prevent staining, and peel with a sharp paring knife.  Most times, the skin can just be rubbed off anyway.  Slice or quarter.  Eat as is, in a salad, or heat with a bit of butter as a side dish.

Recipe -  ROASTED BEETS, CHEVRE, TOASTED PECANS AND GREEN SALAD

Combine the above, or arrange artfully on a salad plate.  Drizzle with a white wine vinaigrette.  

Can you say simple?  Delicious?

SHOPPING IN YOUR LARDER

THE FAT GUY challenged me and other foodies in his latest eGullet newsletter, www.eGullet.org, to go shopping in my pantry.

I would not dare show a photo of my pantry.  It's loaded, therefore messy.  We could eat for weeks off the dried pasta, cereal, cans of veggies and tuna, the odd assortment of jams bought around the world, all the flavored honey from Bee Blessed.  And the dogs have their stash, too.

FREEZER SPACE

But lately, I haven't been able to freeze extra chili or gumbo, because freezer space is gone.  Thanks to Dan and Amy, we've got loads of blueberries and pecans from their Finch Nursery and farm in Bailey.  Pounds of greentail shrimp fresh-frozen at our coast.  Some meats from local farmers.  And peaches and more peaches I froze during their season.  

So I have to ask myself, what am I waiting for?  We are in the dead of winter, with spring weeks away.  Time to really lay into those luscious peaches and blueberries - not just the polite foraging I've been doing, to make them last longer.

So, when the Fat Guy laid out his challenge, this Carolina Foodie said, bring it on.

FREEZER BURN

I'll go one-up on the Fat Guy.  I can do local, too.

I've got a hard cheese, called DEGAS, from Sleepy Goat Cheese in Pelham, NC, left from my last visit to the Wake Forest farmers market.  I'll toast some of the Finch Nursery pecans, and that's my appetizer.

Those pork chops came from Triple B Farms north of Oxford, sold at the Wake Forest Farmers Market.  I'll use an onion I have in cold storage that I bought at the State Farmers Market to saute with the chops, and bake a few sweet potatoes from Dan and Amy.  (I think I should invite them to dinner, don't you?)

Then for dessert, how about a blueberry & peach cobbler, with ice cream? (See recipe below)

Veggies & Fruits.....do they always have to be local?

I'm trying to be a good steward of the earth.  We buy local, albeit most times, when it is convenient.  I'm thinking of joining a CSA for this summer's harvest, but am concerned about how much I will be away from home, researching a new book.

This week, a big treat has been these big, juicy navel oranges bought at Costco.  I know they traveled all the way from California, but for goodness sakes, we can't grow oranges here.  And the big bag of firm yet juicy Bosc pears came all the way from Oregon.  But I did not find any pears at any NC markets this fall, and the laborers swiped all from my grandmother's tree on the farm.

So how do we balance the need for being good food stewards, with our tasteful desires and good nutrition?   I feel I'm better off eating a navel orange for my afternoon snack than I am a bag of potato chips.  So why do I feel guilty?  Lemme know your thoughts.

RECIPE - BLUEBERRY & PEACH COBBLER, adapted from THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK, by Elizabeth Wiegand, 2008, Globe Pequot Press.  Copyrighted.

During baking, this cobbler does a flip-flop; the fruit and juice go to the bottom and a cake-like layer forms on top.

For the Batter:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

For the Fruit Topping:

1 1/2 cup blueberries

2 cups sliced peaches

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup fruit juice (OJ will do, but also try peach or apricot nectar)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Spray or lightly butter one 10x5x3 inch loaf pan

3.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in alternately with milk, and mix just until smooth.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

4.  Place fruit over batter, and sprinkle with the 1/3 cup sugar.  Pour fruit juice over top.

5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until to is browned.

Serves 6

Carolina Foodie Goes Sailing

Okay, so I'm ruin't.  Last week I went even further south, to the British Virgin Islands, a favorite stomping ground where we can sail our chartered boat from island to island each night. 

I know it's not Carolina, even though we always meet somebody from our state.  May I share our culinary delights?  

ISLAND TREATS

Flying Fish sandwiches, crisply fried red snapper, grilled grouper, and spicy ribs were such treats the nights we went onshore.   But the absolute best were the hot, steaming spiny lobsters plucked from their cage right off the dock and served with lemon butter at Abe's, a simple little waterside place on Jost van Dyke.

We were told once by a prissy New Yorker that lobsters mate for life and walk hand in hand across the ocean floor.  My husband replied "that why you eat them in twos."  He's spent many hours searching for them among the rocks and coral heads, but has yet to pluck one from its hiding place. 

Saba Rock, above (photo snapped while on a hike over the island), is in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda, and serves THE best conch fritters and Painkillers.  Their fritters taste much like our hushpuppies, just with tiny chunks of conch, and usually served with a spicy aioli-type sauce.

HAPPY HOUR

I can really get into Happy Hour, when drinks are two for the price of one.  One of the BVI's specialities is a Painkiller, designed to either ease your pain or cause a great deal of it.

Try the recipe below.  They're deliciously addictive, so watch out!  And the freshly grated nutmeg is what really makes it.

BVI PAINKILLERS

1 ounce cream of coconut, like CocoLopez

1 ounce orange juice

3 ounces pineapple juice  (or use 4 oz of pineapple-orange juice)

2 ounces dark Rum

freshly grated nutmeg

Shake all ingredients together, and pour over ice. Grate nutmeg over the top.  Enjoy!!!

BE MINE, VALENTINE

"Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly."  M.F.K.Fisher
VALENTINE'S DAY is all about the romance.  Chocolates, red wine, lace. . . That said, I've found the best way to my man's heart is through his stomach.  Seduction occurs in our kitchen, lingers over a naughtily good meal, finished with - okay, I admit - chocolate, red wine and lace.

Some of the very worst dinners we've had out have been on Valentine's Day.  Restaurants are so overwhelmed on this night, that service is always poor; waits occur, even with reservations; and the food, we found, is not up to the usual quality.

A romantic dinner at home need not be a hassle.  Toss together a salad, grill some steaks, and indulge in a store-bought chocolate confection.  What counts is that you spend time - quality time - with the one you love.  

One Valentine, my folks dropped by at the last minute, so for our romantic dinner we had four adults and three cranky kids, who had been deprived of their naps so they'd go to bed early.  At least I was able to light the candles.

SUGGESTED MENU   A short tour of the state, or grocery store, can net you some very fine, celebratory foods for a really special dinner for two.  

- Sunburst Trout, at the base of Cold Mountain, near Candor, NC, produces excellent caviar that is being used in finer restaurants across the country. Even Jacques Pepin loved it.  

- I still have a few beets in cold storage from Raleigh's Farmers Market.  We've got a stash of fresh pecans in the freezer from my sister and her husband's farm in Bailey.  

- And now's the time when goats are having their kids, so local, fresh chevre is not generally available.  But you can still find logs at your local cheese counters.  

- Recipes for starred items (*) can be found in THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK.  

Sunburst Trout Caviar, Chevre & Toast Points

Champagne

Salad of Roasted Red Beets, Toasted Pecans*, and Chevre

sparkling water

Wasabi-Mine Valentine Tuna Steaks*

medley of roasted red & yellow peppers with fingerling potatoes

Pinot Noir

Chocolate Pecan Pie*

Porto

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP is a favorite on a cold winter's day.  It conjures up days sailing in and around Grenada, where we fell in love with their local gastronomic treat, Pumpkin Soup.  Fresh nutmeg from this "spice island" was always grated over the top, right before serving.  That aroma sends me images of tropical beaches, trade winds and swimsuits and warms my soul. 

Turns out their "pumpkin" is more like the butternut, which is available locally. 

Kept in a cold spot, but not the fridge, butternut squash will keep from its late fall harvest through most of the winter.  It's easy to roast, just by halving and seeding, or even to peel and saute in a bit of oil, then adding a bit of water, simmering until it's soft enough for using in recipes.  Added to risotto, it makes for such a rich dish full of flavors.  

But our favorite is SOUP. I like to roast the squash, because it seems to be sweeter and have a more intense flavor.

My family is fairly lactose intolerant, so we do not add cream or milk to the recipe below, making it a very healthy, low-cal dish.  However, for those of you who can tolerate both the dairy and the extra calories, you could add at least one cup of cream or milk.  

Just make sure you grate some fresh nutmeg over the top before serving.  One whiff can send me all the way back to Grenada.  

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Serves 6 as a first course, or 4 for lunch

1 medium butternut squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium to large onion, quartered

2 cloves garlic, peeled

about 1 quart or more of chicken broth or tock, or vegetable stock, or water

optional: 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced fine, or 1 teaspoon ground, dried ginger

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish Options: dollops of soft cheese or chevre; swirl of cranberry oil; chopped 

pistachios or walnuts; or plain or herbed croutons

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Slice butternut squash in half. Using a spoon, scoop out seeds. Rub olive oil 

over the cut surfaces, then place squash cut-side down on the foil.

3. In a small square of aluminum foil, place onion and garlic. Seal, and place 

beside the squash on the baking sheet.

4.  Bake until the squash is very tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.

5.  Peel skin from the flesh of the squash, which should come off easily, or else 

scoop flesh with a spoon.  Place squash in the bowl of a food processor.  (Or use a potato masher and chop onions and garlic).  Add onions and garlic, and process until a smooth puree.  Add chicken stock a bit at a time while machine is running, until you have the desired soup consistency.  Be careful, however, not to overfill machine, as it may ooze!

6.  Place puree and broth in a large saucepan or smaller stock pot.  eat, over medium to low heat, and simmer until mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.  Taste and add seasonings, including ginger, as desired.

7.  Serve in large soup bowls, and add preferred garnish to the center, or serve plain.

 

OYSTER BARS

Cold weather makes my mouth water for OYSTERS.  

Yeah, we all know the old rule about only eat oysters during the "R" months.  That's because the water is cold enough that they're done spawning, thus done with being "milky,"and now sport a clean, intense flavor.

You'll find local oysters from the waters of NC esp. along the Outer Banks, near Wanchese, Stumpy Point, Crab Slough and other points in the Pamlico Sound.  They're making a bit of a comeback in NC, due to efforts at restoration and cleaning up pollutants.

Buy them by the bag full and steam or roast them yourself.  Need instructions?  Check out THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK, where I tell you how.

Or try them lightly fried - one of my fav's - at Basnight's Lone Cedar on the causeway between Manteo and Nags Head.  They'll also steam them.  

OYSTER BARS

My favorite Oyster Bar is Sunny Side, in Williamston, off HWYs 13 & 17, just off HWY 64, on the way to the Outer Banks.  It's in an old building that doesn't look like much.  You enter into the main bar area, where you can belly up and order a cold brew while listening to live bands on weekend nights, and while you're waiting for your coveted stool in the BACK room, where the U-shaped oyster bar is.  Look over into the middle, where the half dozen black shuckers continue to work as they have for dozens of years, and you'll find cedar shavings on the floor.  Ordered by the bucketfuls, the oysters are steamed out back, dumped in the trough in front of you, and opened by your own personal shucker, as fast as you can slurp 'em down.  Bowls of hot sauce and hot butter are there for the dipping, too. 

Those shuckers are full of stories.  Just get them to talking, and you'll have a belly full and a good time.  They'll even sign their photos on your placemat.  1102 Washington St., Williamston, www.sunnysideoysterbar.com, (252) 792-3416.

Raleigh and Cary Oyster Bars

The 42nd Street Oyster Bar on the corner of Jones and West Streets in Raleigh has been around since 1931.  Updated, it's a lively place on weekend nights, with a true bar scene and live music.  But you can still sit at the stainless steel bar or nearby counter and enjoy buckets of steamed oysters and a cold beer.  At weekday lunch, you're likely to see politicians or businessmen slurping down oysters while ironing out details that will affect you somehow.  www.42ndstoysterbar.com, (919) 831-2811.

Tony's Bourbon Street Oyster Bar in Cary, at the MacGregor Village shopping center, has a great bar scene as well.  You have to sit at the bar in back to get steamed oysters, where your every need will be taken care of, from a cold brew to melted butter to cocktails sauce and crackers.  Lively music, and a dance floor, makes this a very fun place to seek the bivalve on weekends.  www.tonysbourbonstreet.com, (919) 462-6226.

Got a favorite?  Email me at efwrite@hotmail.com.

NEW MAGAZINE

edible Piedmont is a new quarterly publication that "celebrates local foods, from the plateau to the coast."  You'll find it, for free right now, at Whole Foods, Southern Things and NOFO, and at some farmers markets and vineyards.  Check out my article about oysters in the Winter issue, with a recipe for Ocracoke Oyster Stew & Grits from my OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK, as well as a primer on roasting oysters.