Category Archives: sustainable cooking

Sat., Dec. 14, 9-9:30AM CT – Deep Roots Radio – getting spiced

Whole & ground spices

It was time: This morning, I hopped onto a stool and reached into the back recesses of my highest spice cupboard. I pulled out several dusty bags and jars, spices I hadn’t visited in ages. (The big downside of keeping things in out-of-easy-reach spaces.)

Out went a jar of 2016 sage.I tossed a quarter cup of dusty oregano, half a jar of tasteless ground turmeric, some fennel from I don’t know when, and star anise that looked good but didn’t have a hint of fragrance. They were old and tired out. Their fragrances, and, therefore, their flavoring power was gone, gone gone.

Out went that big jar of ground ginger. It had seemed like such a bargain three years ago, but today it would pack just a fraction of its original punch. It’s essence had evaporated. An initial reaction to faded spices is to double or triple the amount used in any recipe. Guess what, it usually doesn’t work!

Favorite spice tools

So how do we keep spices in fighting shape for great flavor and good value? I mean, why buy terrific vegetables and fruit, or pasture-raised beef, lamb, pork or poultry and then diminish them with dusty pepper, paprika, cumin or allspice?  Fresh spices will enhance the work you’re doing to put great and sustainably-raised food on your table. Spices also bring a wide world of flavor to local food, no matter where you live. (Our own grass-fed-grass-finished beef can be infused with the tastes of Korea on day, Mexico the next, or carry the fragrances of India next week. And what about the great Upper Midwest aroma or cadamom in cookies and coffee cake.

Here are a few spice blends (PDF) that can bring a world of flavor and wonderful aromas. SpiceBlends

 

Tune in to Deep Roots Radio Saturday, Dec. 14, 9-9:30AM Central Time.

Tune in!

If you’re in and around Amery, Wisconsin, you can tune your dial to WPCA Radio 93.1FM. Everybody else in the world can listen live at www.wpcaradio.org.

See you on the radio!

Sylvia

 

Strategies for holiday cooking/baking and loving leftovers. And keeping down the stress.

Holiday cooking is all about sharing love, hospitality, food…and stress!!?

You never want to find yourself without enough for seconds. And you don’t love the thought of piles of food languishing in the back of the fridge. So, some thoughts:

About those leftovers. First, make sure all your dishes were cooled and stored well. You don’t want to get queasy from food left out on the table too long.

Since we just celebrated Thanksgiving and you may have already had your fill of turkey sandwiches

  • Think of changing the taste or texture of your dish so that it’s something really different, and not a replay. Think Asian spices – ginger, soy sauce, chopped scallions. Or go Italian with oregano, fragrant basil and parmesan cheese. Or Indian with oregano, cardamom, black pepper, mustard and cumin seed.
  • Got slightly stale dinner rolls, bread ends, sad slices from an appetizer tray? Make bread pudding! Scroll down for recipe.
  • Chucks of turkey are great for lots of dishes.
    • If adding to a soup or stew, be careful not to overcook the poultry. Make your broth or stew first (with all the veggies), then add the poultry (diced or shredded) to warm thoroughly.
    • Dice or shred and make creamed turkey on biscuits. Yum. Make a white sauce (first a butter and flour roux, add milk or broth, white pepper, cook for 20 minutes at lowest simmer), then add the poultry).
    • Sauté chopped onion and green pepper will just becoming golden. Add diced turkey and warm through. Add several beaten eggs and you’ve got an omelette.
    • Make bone broth. Pull all the meat from the carcass and place all the bones into a slow cooker along with a couple of large carrots and celery sticks (broken in two) and an onion cleaved in half. Add a generous teaspoon of black pepper corns, 2 bay leaves, a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of vinegar (to pull minerals from the bones). Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove all the solids. Cool and store in the fridge or freeze. Don’t toss out the fat!!! It’s got loads of flavor.
    • Use leftover wild rice in soup or stews.
    • Or combine with a bit of flour, an egg beaten with a dash of milk, salt and pepper to taste, and some finely diced turkey. Shape into patties and fry in a thin film of butter. Yum!
  • Make a creamy soup with leftover squash/pumpkin/sweet potatoes or cooked carrots. Some proportions to consider if you’ve got 2-3 cups of leftover veg.
    • First sauté an onion or two in butter. Add 1-2 cups chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Smash squash/carrots and add to soup. Add a bit of grated nutmeg, salt and pepper. If you want a cream soup, add 1/2 c milk/cream/coconut cream now and simmer gently for another 20 minutes. Be careful not to boil. Taste and add seasonings. If you’d like a curry soup, add 1 tsp curry powder along with the squash.
  • Add 1/2 c leftover wild rice or brown rice, or 1/4 c cheese to you next bread loaf.
  • Combine mashed potatoes, stuffing, a couple of eggs and splash of milk to make waffles!

Now for just a few holiday entertaining strategies

Cranberry-almond frangipane tart

  • Bake ahead. In addition to those wonderful holiday cookies, consider making and freezing bundt cakes!  They’re easy to bake, look beautiful and freeze and thaw like a dream. There are great recipes all over the internet. Cakes can be stored at room temp for 3 days. To freeze, be sure cakes are completely cooled but not glazed. Wrap the cooled cakes first in plastic and then in aluminum foil. Allow frozen cakes to thaw overnight in frig, and then give them a couple of hours to come to room temperature. If you’re going to glaze the cake or drizzle icing over, do so when completely cooled. My favorite right now is Mexican chocolate (made with cinnamon and ancho chili powder) with a dulce de leech glaze. It disappears.
  • You can also freeze cupcakes once cooled, wrapped in plastic and then in aluminum foil.
  • Make and freeze soups, chilis, and stews. Store in deli container or pint-sized canning jar, just be sure to leave a good 1-1/2 inch space at top. They’re quick to thaw when company shows up.
  • Think cornbread. It’s fast to make when company calls.
  • Make liver pate. Mine includes freshly cracked pepper, fragrant brandy and luscious butter. It freezes like a charm and I’ve watched kids lick the spoon.
  • Spices. If those jars of ground spices are over two years old, you’re note getting the best flavors into your dishes. Consider buying whole spices – peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, nutmeg – and grinding them yourself in a cheap little coffee grinder. And keep those herbs and spices in a cool, dark spot. Not out on a shelf where heat and light degrade them very rapidly.
  • Oils. Store in dark and cool places. Light and heat degrade oils. If possible, store in your frig to keep them from becoming rancid. If your olive oil is more than a year old, toss. It’s bitter and probably quite rancid. Better to buy smaller amounts and can be used up quickly.

Bread pudding

  • 3 1/2 c day-old (or older) bread cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 2 c whole milk
  • 1/3 c sugar
  • 3 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract (or add more vanilla)
  • 2 T unsalted butter, diced
  • 1/4 c sliced nuts, or sunflower seeds, or raisins, or combo of any and all

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place bread cubes on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.  Place in a  large bowl.

Lower temp to 325 degrees F.   Butter a 8×8 baking pan.

Scald the milk in a sauce pan. Pour over the bread cubes and let stand 15 minutes.

With an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar till thick and light. This can take up to 8 minutes. Add the extracts.

Pour into the bread mixture, add whatever nuts/raisins you’d like. Stir briefly. Scrape into the baking pan. Dot with the butter.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil that has been buttered. Bake 35-40 minutes.  The custard will still look a bit moist.  Serve warm or at room temp.

From veggies to flowers. Sourdough to cakes and mini-tarts.

I know better; I should never take a book to bed. Although I tell myself that I’ll read for just 15 minutes, suddently it’s 1:05AM. Drat – I’ve done it again.

Today’s sources


I can’t help it – I love researching recipes, the histories of spices and teas, national foodways, and cuisines at different times in history. Right now, I’m finding and testing new recipes for my Cowgirl High Teas. Exciting savories, seasonal scones, unique curds and jams, off-the-chart gluten-free tarts. These high teas are informed by our farm, our commitment to sustainably grown local foods, the teas I’ve enjoyed in many parts of the world, and foods enjoyed by many cultures.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) there are a gazillion books (So glad the Amery Public Library is part of the state’s extensive lending network). Then there are the hundreds of blogs and thousands of Pinterest posts. And I’ve got to do this in between farm chores. (Can’t keep our BueLingo beef herd waiting to be moved to fresh pastures, after all!)

This intense investigation and trial reminds me of a time, decades ago, when I was planting my first garden in south Minneapolis. Copies of Organic Gardening magazine, Rodale books, and John Jeavon’s More Vegetables lay open by my new raised beds. Within weeks, their pages were dog-eared and smudged. I was determined! I tore up lawn and pulled up flower beds. You can’t eat flowers! And I needed space for all those healthful vegetables to eat and freeze for my husband, our two young children, and me.

I was a zealot. But after several years, I began to yearn for flowers. I’ve always loved them. I gift them all the time, and love getting bouquets from husband and kids. And if I’m feeling particularly generous, I’ll buy some for myself. After five or six years of nothing but edibles, I started planting a few tulips and irises. Then came the bachelor’s buttons, pincushion flowers, and rugosa roses. When I sold my house, I planted hundreds of gladiola bulbs for the new owners to enjoy that summer.

Verbena and vinca flowers among rosemary branches

I see the cycle repeating itself. I started baking bread in the 1970s, along with everyone else searching for alternatives to that white squishy stuff sold at the grocery store. My first attempts were doorstops, but I I kept plugging.

My obsession with mild French sourdough began over a dozen years ago. Again, I plunged into research, trials, sacks of flour and burbling jars of sourdough starter. Six years ago, I started teaching others how to bake artisan loaves in their home kitchens. All fall and winter, these classes focus on strategies using time, temperature and hydration to create lofty, chewy crusts, and open tender crumb. We have a good time filled with lots of conversation, flour up to our elbows, and yummy sampling.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know woman cannot live by bread alone. I will not turn down a chewy, home-made chocolate chip cookie. I can, and have, eaten them by the dozen. But cakes and pies? Nah, not so much. At least, not until recently.

A couple of years ago, the fragrance and almondy richness of fangipane caught my attention, and a recipe that included cranberries (my favorite fruit) demanded I buy a tart pan. Now, I’m baking miniature cakes and tartlets, lemon-infused bundt cakes, ginger shortbreads and cardamom cookies, strawberry scones, panna cottas, and mini-cheese cakes — bite-sized delectables just right for high tea. I’m loving the sweet end of the baking spectrum. There’s a balance they provide.

Bees hum in the garlic chives

Nutrient-dense produce and wonderful sprays of color and fragrance – a balance valuable in the garden and in the kitchen. In truth, you can’t be a vegetable gardener without flowers. It just isn’t possible because every fruit and vegetable begins with an often inconspicuous swirl of petals. Similarly, the plants we cultivate specifically for their glorious blooms are as important to the health of our natural and human landscape. They lift our hearts.

I think baking presents an analog. Bread is, I believe, a critical staple in our diet. But cakes and tartlets? Mini-muffins and tiny pies? I’m beginning to see them as the flowers in our cuisine.

Sylvia

You’re invited to a Cowgirl High Tea at Bull Brook Keep

China tea pots, linens, teas to match the food and the seasons. Flavors from around the world. Reserve now for July 28, Aug 25, Sept 22, and Oct. 20. Each tea goes from 11:30AM-3:00PM. Seating limited to 8.

I love tea, but enjoy it most when lifting a cup with good company. Come and enjoy a Cowgirl High Tea where the setting,and homemade sweets and savories are informed by travels near and very far, lucious local ingredients sustainably grown, and the love of good food.

Our BueLingo cows and I hope you’ll raise a cup with us soon!

High tea with our grass-fed herd of BueLingos at Bull Brook Keep.

Bull Brook Keep is just a stone’s throw from Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.
Questions? Text, call or email – 651-238-8525, sylvia@bullbrookkeep.com

Sylvia

Becca Griffith: Minneapolis/St. Paul Weston A. Price Foundation chapter brings together great food, people, science and practical know-how

Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Becca Griffith: Minneapolis/St. Paul Weston A. Price Foundation chapter brings together great food, people, science and practical know-how
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There’s nothing like a gathering of like-minded people – especially when the get-together includes delicious foods created with highly nutritious ingredients. When it’s a meeting of Weston A. Price Foundation chapter members, participants share deep commitment to foods grown to restore the environment, cooked and baked to boost flavor and health.

Cattle grazing lush pastures


These are the hallmarks of the monthly meetings of the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, one of approximately 600 chapters worldwide. Held the second Saturday of each month, the Minneapolis/St. Paul meetings are organized and led by Becca Griffith and Susie Zahratka. Chapter members and guests travel from around the metro area to share a potluck, hear a short program, and purchase locally-produced vegetables, fruit, free-range chicken and eggs, wild-caught salmon, grass-fed beef, and pastured pork and lamb from local farmers.

I trust you’ll enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview with Becca. And I hope you’ll look for the chapter closest to you.

Sylvia

New. Limited. Natural Veal – really

Veal wasn’t something my Mom put on the table when I was growing up in the Bronx. A dinner of pork or fish, rice and beans, and a salad was the usual fare at our house in the 1950s and 60s.

Veal also never made it to my shopping list in the 1970s and 80s, when I was old enough to stock my tiny kitchens in Manhattan and later in Duluth, Minnesota, because by that time, news stories told us that those pale cutlets were the result of calves kept isolated and in the dark. Ugg.

Now, here I am, selling veal! We’re offering our Nature’s Veal in limited quantity for the health of the pastures, the cattle, and for economic sustainability.
– Rotational grazing. Because we rotate the herd from paddock to paddock throughout the growing season, we have to manage the herd size to promote top-quality grass. We’ve reached our maximum herd size given the 72-acre size of the farm. Our pastures are lush and diverse, but can provide highly nutritious grasses, herbs and legumes for 35-40 animals during the growing season. It’s also about giving the pastures time to recover and regrow for 40-60 days between grazings.
– Cow, pasture and economic health. If we keep more and more cattle on the pastures, they’ll decline, and the cattle will require hay to keep growing and staying contented. Fresh grass is more desirable. An alternative would be to sell the extra calves to the conventional food system, where they would end up in feedlots. We don’t want that! So we offer naturally raised veal.
– Working in harmony with nature. All our cattle – bulls, cows and calves – are provided fresh water, open pastures and a natural diet every day of their lives. That means grasses, legumes and herbs on the fields throughout the growing months, and good quality hay in the winter. They never get grains, hormones or subclinical antibiotics. It also means the calves stay with their moms, nursing 9-10 months and grazing more and more as the season progresses.

A few of our grazing Buelingo beef cattle


Know that when you buy our veal, you’re part of a sustainable food system. You can purchase ground veal in bulk, or variety packages that include delicate, low-fat roasts, cutlets and ground veal. Order here.

Questions? call, 651-238-8525, or email,
Sylvia

Artisan baking classes scheduled for Oct., Nov. and Dec. Get up to your elbows in flour and fun!

Beef, bread and brewed tea. What can I say, I really enjoy all three.

Dave and I raise 100% grass-fed beef using sustainable practices because of the wonderful results: great-tasting beef, happy cows, restored pastures, living soil.
I love baking bread for similar reasons: using healthful ingredients; employing the power of sourdough to raise the dough and to combat many of the anti-nutrients that make breads, seeds and beans difficult to digest; listening to the “yumm’s” when friends and family savor the loaves, pizzas or biscuits; and, sharing the baking experience with students. YOU CAN all bake artisan loaves in your home oven.
Oh, and the tea? Well, I just like milky, sweet tea – English style.

Please click here for the schedule of baking classes in Oct., Nov., and Dec. Classes will focus either on baking with sourdough or baking with poolish (the basis for focaccia, ciabatta and pizza). Classes are hands-on (minimum 4, maximum 6 students, unless otherwise arranged).
Register online, or send me an email and pay with a check.
I’ll soon post the January and February schedules. Email me if you’d like an alert to the schedule.
You can also arrange for private classes with family and friends. Just contact me to schedule, 651-238-8525, sylvia@bullbrookkeep.com

Bring an apron and prepare to eat well, to get your hands covered in flour, and to have fun!
Sylvia

Three Wisconsin women farmers battle to legalize sale of home-baked goods

Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
Three Wisconsin women farmers battle to legalize sale of home-baked goods
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In this Deep Roots Radio interview, Lisa Kivirist describes the multi-year battle to legalize the sale of home-baked goods in the state Wisconsin. The Badger state has been one of only two in the entire country that has not permitted the sale of home-baked muffins, cookies and breads.
Lisa is one of three women farmers who sued the state in this effort, and recently won a state Judge’s declaration that the ban against the sale of home-baked goods is unconstitutional.Her sister champions in this effort are Dela Ends (Scotch Hill Farm) and Kriss Marion (Circle M Farm and Bed & Breakfast).
Lisa is an assertive champion of women farmers and their ability to build their farm-based businesses. The author of several books on eco-entrepreneurship, she and her husband run the award-winning Inn Serendipity Farm and Bread and Breakfast in southern Wisconsin.
I hope you enjoy this lively interview.
Sylvia

French sourdough boules

The benefits of sourdough breads of ancient grains w Therese Asmus

Deep Roots Radio
Deep Roots Radio
The benefits of sourdough breads of ancient grains w Therese Asmus
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I hope you enjoy this Deep Roots Radio interview with Therese Asmus, of Artistta Homestead, is a long-time baker and teacher dedicated to the nutritional and flavorful benefits of sourdough breads made with ancient grains. She shares research and insights into the nutritional differences among ancient grains and contrasts their digestibility with commercially varieties.

Loaves made with ancient grains


She says many customers who can’t tolerate goods baked with conventional varieties can now enjoy bread again.
Sylvia

Frost on the pumpkin means baking and cooking classes at Bull Brook Keep

What better way to warm up your kitchen – and light up the faces of family and friends – than with the aromas and flavors of freshly baked artisan breads, and luscious grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork or pasture-raised chicken?!

Lovely crispy crust

Lovely crispy crust

Yes, you can bake hearth breads in your home oven and with your busy schedule. Get your hands in dough and learn how to use time, temperature and hydration (the amount of water in the dough) to bend the baking process to fit your schedule.
Each class is limited to 4-6 students. Beverages, samples and hearty lunch provided. Cost: $48.50/student (plus small credit card fee).

  • Classes based on poolish (a bubbly, batter-like yeast starter used to make focaccia, ciabatta and pizza), Oct. 29 or Dec. 10. For details.
  • Classes based on French Sourdough (a mild, versatile country bread), Nov. 19, or Dec. 17. For details.

    • Cooking Grass-fed Beef, and pastured Pork and Chicken
    Pastured meats tend to be lean, which is why it’s so important to cook them properly. You don’t want to dry out your roast, or toughen a steak. In our meat cooking class, we’ll look at two approaches for great taste, tenderness and high nutrition: low and slow, and fast using a pressure cooker to make delicious short ribs or beef stew, fall-apart chicken or bone broth, to name just a few dishes.

    5-7-hr flamed-brandy chuck roast

    5-7-hr flamed-brandy chuck roast

    Each class is limited to 4-6 students. Beverages, samples and a hearty, meaty lunch provided. Cost: $49.25/student (plus small credit card fee).

  • Cook delicious pastured meats fast & slow, Nov.1, 1-5PM, for details.
  • li>Cook delicious pastured meats fast & slow, Dec. 3, 11AM-3PM, for details.