Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Potluck Recipe #24: Double-Ginger Sour Cream Bundt Cake

This wonderfully moist cake sings with the tang of ginger. Serve it at an Open Arms potluck with a little extra sour cream and a piece of candied ginger or fruit for a memorable end to the meal!

Double-Ginger Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Adapted from Epicurious.com
(makes 12 to 14 servings)

Softened butter (for brushing pan)
1/2 cup raw sugar*
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4 heaping tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup candied ginger, processed in a Cuisinart (or with a knife if you're handy), until it resembles a chunky paste


1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
2. Brush softened butter generously all over inside of 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle raw sugar over butter in pan, tilting pan to coat completely.
3. Whisk flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.
4. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup butter in large bowl until smooth. Add 2 cups sugar; beat on medium-high speed until blended, about 2 minutes.
5. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 egg yolk and vanilla, stopping to scrape down bowl as needed.
6. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with sour cream in 2 additions, beating on low speed just until blended after each addition. Mix in ginger paste.
7. Spread batter in pan, being careful not to dislodge raw sugar. Bake cake until top is light brown and tester inserted near center comes out with a few small crumbs attached, about 55 minutes.
8. Transfer to rack; cool in pan 15 minutes. Gently tap bottom edge of pan on work surface while rotating pan until cake loosens. Place rack atop pan and invert cake onto rack; remove pan. Cool completely.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Potluck Recipe #23: A Brine for the Dog Days of Summer

Summer is always about the barbecue, but in these days of 115-degree heat indexes, grilling is more than fun, it's just good common sense. Why tax your AC -- or lack thereof -- with a hot kitchen if you don't have to? I'm not suggesting eating outside. No, this is not the time to loiter about the barbecue with a beer in hand exchanging sauce recipes and rehashing old fishing stories. This is more of a grill and dash scenario ... toss, dash, turn, dash, done, dash, eat!

If you are inclined to prepare food ahead for simple weeknight meals, this brine is a winner. We use it on pork loin, but it would also work for pork chops, chicken breasts or a whole chicken, should you find yourself at a potluck (for larger quantities of meat, simply double the amount of brine). The pork loin is nice in that it requires a minimum of hovering.


Brine for Pork & Chicken

1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup salt
5 coriander seeds
10 to 12 black peppercorns
5 juniper berries
2 to 4 bay leaves
2 to 3 sprigs each fresh thyme, marjoram, basil or other herb
1 gallons of cold water
1-2 pounds of pork loin


1. Add the sugar and salt to about two cups of boiling water, stir and let stand until completely dissolved.
2. Smash the herbs and spices in a mortar, and then add them and the gallon of water to a non-reactive pot and stir in the brine.
3. When the mixture is cool, add the loin to it. The meat must be completely submerged; I sometimes put a plate or bowl on top of it. Refrigerate the loin for 24 hours.
4. Fifteen minutes before grilling, remove the loin from the brine and pat dry, allowing it to come up to room temperature.
5. Grill the loin over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until its internal temperature reaches 137 degrees.
6. Let the pork loin rest, tented in tinfoil, for 15 minutes before serving.


Thursday, July 14, 2011

Our New Tiller



Most farmers love talking farm machinery, especially on the rare occasions that they get to purchase a piece brand new -- and I’m certainly no different. Open Farms is now the proud owner of a new BCS 853 Diesel Tractor with Tiller. Don’t know what a BCS 853 is? Well, don’t worry I’ll be happy to explain. As the salesperson pointed out to me, it's not just a tiller, it's a tractor. What’s the difference? A tractor can utilize all kinds of attachments, such as a rotary plow, a subsoiler, a cultivator, mower, a snowblower — AND a tiller. Since all of those attachments are fairly expensive to purchase, we opted for just the tiller to start. It'll turn our beautiful, loamy soil into a perfect seedbed in no time.

I've only used the tractor for a week, but already it has made a huge difference on the farm. With this new piece of machinery we've been able to turn the remaining fallow patches into beautifully seeded cucumbers and successions of green beans. In case you’re a farm nerd like me, here's an additional detail on the tractor: It’s a Diesel.
The diesel motor will last 2 to 3 times longer than a gas-powered motor if cared for correctly and it has more torque than gasoline motors. Plus, it just sounds cool. Farm intern Samantha says it sounds a bit like a helicopter and I couldn’t agree more. It sounds like it has a lot of power – and it does have a lot of power!

So, if you haven’t already, come out to the farm, pick some vegetables and check out the new tiller, er, tractor. I’ll be happy to tell you all about it.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Potluck Recipe #22: Lentil Veggie Biryani

Our doyenne of spice, volunteer chef Carol Hancuh, served this savory Indian stew at lunch and had us all lining up for seconds. With nearly five teaspoons of curry spice, it is pleasantly piquant without burning all taste from your tongue. When she passed along the recipe, Carol noted that it is very forgiving; feel free to use substitutes for any of the veggies you don't have -- or don't enjoy.

On a nutrition note, combining lentils with rice is not only delicious, it creates a complete protein — add the egg and you've got a dish that packs an energy wallop! Serve this at a potluck and your guests will leave satiated and ready for action.


Lentils & Veggies Biryani
(Serves 6 to 8)

1/2 cup green lentils, rinsed and drained
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 onions, quartered and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1-inch of ginger root, peeled and chopped
4.5 tsp. of curry powder or:
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped
1 eggplant, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
6 1/2 vegetable stock, boiling
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 3/4 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained
1 cup green beans, halved
8 oz. of cauliflower
1 cup of mushrooms, quartered
1/3 cup unsalted cashews
3 hardboiled eggs, shelled and halved (optional garnish)
Cilantro sprigs (optional garnish)

  1. In a large stew pot, heat the oil, then add the onions and cook gently for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger and spices and cook gently, stirring frequently for one minute.
  2. Add lentils, tomatoes, eggplant and 2 1/2 cups of the stock to the pan and stir well. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
  3. Add the red bell pepper and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the lentils are tender and all the liquid has been absorbed.
  4. Meanwhile, bring rice and remaining stock to boil, adding green beans, cauliflower and mushrooms. Simmer for 15 minutes, until rice and vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and set aside, covered, for 10 minutes.
  5. Add the rice and cashews to the lentil mixture, mix lightly and pile onto a warm serving platter. Garnish with egg and cilantro sprigs — and serve hot.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Good or Bad, the Weather Affects our Farm

Farm Director Ben Penner sent us a note about weather this morning. Now that we’re experiencing a more “normal” weather pattern for Minnesota, he thought it would be a good time to reflect on how weather affects our work at the farm.

Vegetables need a lot of water to grow, he writes, but if that water comes at the wrong time or in too great an amount, as it did this spring, then it can cause problems. For example, Open Farms is still playing catch-up from the late spring, when we weren’t able to get all of our crops in the ground in a timely manner due to all the snow on the ground. Then, when it finally did warm up, it REALLY warmed up. Back in May, we had a single 100-degree day, and it caused some of our broccoli (a cool weather crop) to go to seed -- fortunately, not the whole crop, but we probably lost 1/3 – 1/4 of our plants just because of that one day.

If you’re interested in more weather news for Minnesota, a good link to follow is Mark Seeley’s “Weather Talk.” Mark is the State’s climatologist, and he has a good perspective on weather trends in Minnesota.

In the meantime, out on the farm, Ben could use some help plucking weeds and stopping the march of potato bugs across our tubers. We now offer shifts just about every day of the week, so if you have the time and want to get outdoors, please come down to the farm!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Potluck Recipe #21: Mulberry Sorbet

A confession: I wish it were possible to spay my mulberry tree. Every year it drops bland berries hither and yon, and it's impossible to clean them up to anyone's satisfaction. Outdoor dining is no fun, neighbors revolt, even complete strangers whine, stopping by the back fence to say things like, "You know, it's okay to cut down this kind of tree."

But the tree provides shade in the summer and hours of amusement in the fall, when squirrels imbibe the fermented berries in a bacchanalian fury and do a loopy dance across the top of our fence.

Why should they have all the fun? I'm not suggesting one should eat the fermented berries, but in the sorbet recipe below, a dash of fruit liqueur and lemon juice adds all the body and flavor mulberries lack. And if it's going to rain berries, you might as well get something tasty out of it.

Mulberry Sorbet
(Makes one quart of sorbet)

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup water
24 oz. fresh mulberries
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp fruit liqueur

1. Stir sugar and 1 cup water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil 1 minute. Transfer syrup to large bowl. Chill until syrup is cold, about 3 hours.
2. Working in batches, puree mulberries with cold syrup in food processor until smooth. Strain into another large bowl; discard seeds. Stir in fruit liqueur and lemon juice.
3. Process berry mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer sorbet to container; cover and freeze until firm, about 6 hours.
4. Serve with a jaunty sprig of mint.

Note: We have also made this without liqueur, instead adding a couple sprigs of rosemary to the simple syrup, which is then strained out with the berry seeds. In that case, an extra tablespoon of lemon juice is also nice. Delicious!