Early spring brings longer, light-filled days, bursts of growth in the farm field and increased egg production in the barnyard. It’s an opportune time to consider the good fortune of the pasture-raised hens at Glaum Egg Ranch. Our feathered girlfriends at Glaum are genuinely free to roam their range. That freedom means good health for the chickens. And superior eggs for Freshness Farms.
Today’s post is the first in an occasional series of articles exploring basic cooking technique, with step-by-step guidance and tips. Today, we focus on how to sauté.
If there were a Hall-of-Fame for culinary technique, sautéing would be a first-round pick. This classic method is simple, versatile and a wise choice for healthy, fresh-tasting meals. In our kitchen we sauté nearly every day — in a simple preparation of seasonal vegetables, or as part of a larger process such as creating a soup, saucy curry or even a baked frittata.
The word sauté comes from the French as a form of leap or jump. Imagine ingredients jumping on a hot metal surface (who wouldn’t?) as a cook shakes her skillet and stirs its contents. To sauté is to cook food in a shallow pan, coated lightly with oil, butter or other fat, over relatively high heat. It is distinguished from deep-frying in the amount of oil involved (less), and from stir-frying in the degree of heat and length of cooking (less and more). As a catalyst for developing deep flavor, there is no method more useful, and understanding the technique opens the door to a wealth of delicious possibilities in the kitchen. Continue reading
This article was contributed by guest writer, Nasim Hashemi.
Respecting Earth and the rebirth of nature, for many cultures in western Asia once part of Ancient Persia, the New Year celebration, NoRuz (“New Day”) begins on the first day of spring. In ancient times our calendar year began at springtime. “September” was the seventh month and “October” was the eighth month. This year at 10:14 p.m. on Monday, March 19, winter gave way to spring. Let’s take a moment to honor our Earth and celebrate spring, our new season. Continue reading
Here’s a couple of simple recipes to try, if you still have some chard hanging around from last week’s delivery. We’ve got a couple of rows growing in the garden on top of what we receive from Freshness Farms, so there’s never enough fresh ideas for using those big, beautiful leaves (and stems).
Savory Bread Pudding with Chard, Mushrooms and Goat Cheese
Feta, Chard and Sun-dried Tomato Dinner Pastries
Happy NoRuz!
Cooking can be a solitary endeavor — each of us foraging alone in our pantries, trying to muster a tasty bite for dinner. Day in, day out. No small task. And one that cries out for fresh ideas and coaching — a wise friend with a winning recipe employing just the ingredients we have on hand.
In earlier days a resourceful cook turned to a reliable cookbook or recipe box. Perhaps phoned a friend or knocked on a neighbor’s door. The same process still works, but in addition I consult a resource pool my parents didn’t have — an on call line-up. 24/7. There’s Mark and Melissa. And Heidi and Sarah. Not to mention Tori and Elise. In this age of Facebook and Twitter, where friends can sometimes be more illusory than real flesh and blood — people we may never exchange words with and perhaps never meet — these are my cooking buddies, my culinary coaches. Not treasured in the same fashion as the friends I genuinely know, but when faced with putting dinner on the table tonight, a virtual friend with a tasty solution is as good as gold, or a pot of fragrant stew — which is really what has value at dinnertime, anyway.