YaaLife » Farmer’s Market

Red Currant and Ginger Jam

YaaLife — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:17:01 +0000

If you have never tasted currants, your first impression may be that you aren’t missing anything. Don’t give up. These beautiful little berries can be addictive although a bit of an acquired taste. We grew-up with a scraggily, misshapen currant bush that each year earned its spot in the yard by kicking out baskets and baskets of red currants. This year seems to be giving Michigan a bumper crop. You can eat them raw, make them into a sauce to accompany lamb, beef or pork and most often they are turned into a delicious sweet/tart treat in a pastry, pie or jam.

This jam recipe came together as a result of watching a bit of tennis followed by the opportunity to work from home for part of the morning.

I stopped by my mom’s for a few minutes and while we caught up on the family gossip I picked a couple of pounds of currants (with my mom’s help) in under 30 minutes …plenty for weekend jam. A lot of farmer’s markets will have them for the next few weeks. Then last night while watching the heartbreaking loss of Roddick against Lu at Wimbledon (dvr’d) I picked the berries clear of stems and leaves. If I had been focused instead of yelling advice at the line judge and wiping away the tears, I could have accomplished this task in 20 minutes or so. I only needed a pound. There is a confiture (translate jam maker) in France who uses a goose feather to pick all the seeds out of the currants for their jam. There isn’t enough tennis on tv in a year for me to hit that level. My family will have to make do.

This morning, in-between reading emails and eating my yogurt, I combined 2 cups of water with 16oz of sugar. Heat the water and sugar over med-low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Bring up the heat enough to simmer and add 1 pound of the cleaned, whole currants. If you like your jam on the thicker side, throw in 8-10 raspberries with the simmering currants. The natural pectin in the raspberries will give it more holding power. Next add 2 good teaspoons of grated, fresh ginger and just under a teaspoon of fine sea salt. Simmer for 40-45 minutes. I skimmed the foam off the top a few times just to make myself feel better after reading about the French guy’s goose feather and jam.

The batch made between 2 1/2 and 3 cups of jam which is headed north with us for the holiday weekend with family. Since the jam will be gone before the weekend is over I didn’t bother to can it. There are plenty of currants left on that bush for another go next week. As the jam cools it will set. My version is not as sweet and the ginger comes through softly to give it a little different finish from traditional. As we sampled, I added in some fresh chopped mint and garnished with a few sprinkles of lemon rind. The lemon gave it some brightness that nicely offset the hot day.

Can’t wait to enjoy breakfast in Northern Michigan this weekend!

Have a great 4th everyone.

What a bunch of Buffalo!

YaaLife — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:46:31 +0000

Have you ever seen a Buffalo in person? As you know, they are ginormous, woolly things that meander around with the confidence that nothing will ever mess with them …and I agree. So when we ran into TMZ Farm at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market I was surprised by his enthusiasm over his Buffalo tenderloins “….juicy, tender, mild.” Has he seen these things???

First, the American Buffalo is actually the American Bison. I learned this while in Yellowstone from a park ranger at an age when it was embarrassing not to know that information …so let me help you out. Per Wikipedia Bison is a Greek word meaning ox-like animal. It doesn’t say ‘tender’ anywhere in the def. By tradition they are herbivores so graze on grasses and sedges. Although the Bison population was only numbered in the hundreds in the 1880′s, they are now alive and well and munching on grass in Pinckney …so we tried some.

In a few words …juicy, tender and mild!

Recipe provided by: singleGuyChef

Grilled Bison Fillets with Horse Radish, Rosemary Cream Sauce with Grilled Cumin Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients

For Bison Fillets:

2 5-6 oz. pieces of Bison fillet
olive oil
salt and pepper

For Horse Radish Rosemary Sauce:

1/2 cup of plain yogurt
3+ tablespoon of freshly grated horse radish – season to taste
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper – season to taste

For Cumin Sweet Potato Chips:

2 pounds of sweet potato
olive oil for brushing
2 tablespoons of ground cumin

Preparation

For Bison:

Preheat grill to high-heat.

Make sure fillets are at room temperature. Drizzle fillets with olive oil to thinly coat the fillets. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

These fillets were about 1″ thick pieces. As a rule, 2 minutes per inch…so grill on high-heat for 2 minutes on each side. Flip once! After 2 minutes on the second side, turn down the heat to a medium high or move to a cooler part of the grill. Grill until internal temp is around 135 degrees for medium rare (about 6 minutes)

For Horse Radish Rosemary Cream Sauce:

Mix yogurt, grated horse radish and chopped rosemary into a small mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and freshly grated black pepper.

For Cumin Sweet Potato Chips:

Slice sweet potatoes into 1/4″ thick slices. Arrage on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle ground cuming to coat. Lightly season with salt and ground black pepper.

Grill on high heat for approximately 1 minute on each side. Remove and keep warm.

Wine Suggestions from our friends Everyday Wines:

Chateau Kefraya “Les Breteches” 2006 (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon) $13.99
Bordeaux meets the Southern Rhone and they head down to 19th century Beirut. Kefraya complicates the usual Rhone-style blend, adding Cabernet and Tempranillo, with stellar results. Dark fruit, sweet spices, black tea and some earthiness all come together beautifully to remind you of the good old days. Surprise someone, even if it’s yourself.

Domaine Monpertuis “Cuvee Counoise” 2006 (Vin du Pays du Gard, France) $14.99
Typically, Counoise is used as one of the 13 grapes allowed in the Chateauneuf du Pape. However, Domaine Monpertuis offers us this wine made from 100% Counoise for our drinking pleasure and yours. The wine displays dark fruit flavors in a slightly more reserved fashion. It’s nicely balanced with a bit of acidity and a note of peppery spice. Overall, it’s quite smooth with softer tannins, and perfect if you’re looking for a full bodied wine that’s nice and dry.

Revised Farmer’s Market Post

YaaLife — Sun, 24 May 2009 01:05:10 +0000

After attending the Ypsi Farmer’s Market several times I have learned that the Ypsi market has been in an attendance decline for several years! The sparse number of booths is not a result of the early season but the norm. Due to the sparsity of shoppers, fewer and fewer vendors are setting up shop at this great little spot. How sad! Not only are there some very nice people working the stalls they have excellent product as some of my other blogs go on about. Supply and demand people. Support your local businesses!

Crazy Little Rabbit

YaaLife — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:23:14 +0000

Spoiler Alert: All vegetarians and vegans please proceed to the next article. The rabbit dies in the end.

Last weekend while perusing the first farmer’s market of the year we met Karl. Karl has a lot of product from his farm and as it turns out …he has rabbit. Just as Karl mentioned this specialty item a man walked up and said he would take one. We were convinced the guy was a plant, but we fell for it. We never met the rabbit in person for which I am grateful. Ours came frozen and ended-up on the grill. Although I grew-up in a house where cow heart sandwiches were not an unusual item to take in my school bag, I had never had rabbit. Saturday night changed that missing element in my life. Karl’s rabbits are farm raised so mild in flavor. I anticipated a gamier or stronger flavor then what we ended-up with on our plates. I honestly think we could have served the grilled rabbit to a group and told them it was… yup, chicken. We certainly will give it another go and see if we can bring out the nuances. Anyone have suggestions?

Grilled Citrus Rabbit with Couscous and Grilled Radicchio

Ingredients

For Rabbit:

1 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
3 teaspoons salt, divided
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 whole rabbit (about 2 pounds), butterflied
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 orange

For Couscous:

1 cup couscous
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups boiling water

For Radicchio:

2 small heads of radicchio, sliced 1/2″ thick
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preparation

For Rabbit:

Combine juices, olive oil, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and garlic in a large ziploc bag or glass baking dish. Add rabbit to marinade and turn to coat. Chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours and this can be made a day ahead.

Mix remaining 2 teaspoons salt, paprika, ground cumin and pepper in small bowl.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Remove rabbit from the refrigerator to let it warm to room temperature…about 30 mins. Slice orange into 1/4- to 1/8-inch-thick slices. Wrap 2 heavy bricks with aluminum foil. Remove rabbit from marinade; pat dry. Rub spice mixture over both sides of rabbit. Place rabbit, skin side down, on grill. Place orange slices all over the rabbit. Place foil-wrapped bricks or cast-iron skillet atop rabbit (if using bricks, position 1 brick over top half of rabbit and 1 brick over bottom half). Cover and grill until skin is crispy and brown, about 15 minutes. Remove bricks or skillet. Using tongs or 2 large spatulas, turn rabbit. Replace orange slices. Replace bricks or skillet and cook, covered, until rabbit is cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. Cooking times can vary depending on your grill. You’ll want to get to a 160 degrees F. Remove from grill and the rabbit will continue to cook. Let rabbit rest 10 minutes.

For Couscous:

Bring water to a boil in a small pan. Add butter and couscous. Remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For Radicchio:

Slice radicchio heads into 1/2″ slices. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt. Grill on both sides until slightly softened. About 4 minutes total.

Meet Farmer Sam and Everything Meat Karl!

YaaLife — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:57:58 +0000

Grand Season Opening April 25th 8am – 2pm
May 9th – Paint a Pot for Mother’s Day – FREE
May 16th – Make a Card for Recovering Soldiers and Veterans – FREE
May 30th – Plant Day – Come to the Market, get your Plants and Flowers and start planting!

The Ypslanti Farmer’s Market opened last Saturday. Their new location has them parked next to the old caboose with a view of the river …if you stand on something. So early in the season had the booths a bit thinned out selling products of the home-made variety vs the home-grown variety. Even so we managed to fill up a few bags worth of stuff overloaded into one satchel since we were ill-prepared.

We bought creamed honey from Sam of Fairview Farms. He promised to bring pepper jam next week. Apparently, the deer don’t munch on his peppers so he always has plenty to preserve and I love pepper jam. After a lengthy conversation about Meade, which I’ve never tried, I have a feeling Sam may be treating us to a taste testing next week as well. That will help get me out of bed early. Norris had plenty of fresh cut flowers and our delicious molasses cookie was from Maggie’s booth.

Next we hit Karl’s stand. Karl claimed he had just 10 seconds of a buyer’s attention to educate them on his 50+ meat products. He had to be selective. Karl underrated himself considering we hung for a good 5 minutes chit chatting about the various sausages, links and tenderloins he supplied from his farm. The minute he mentioned rabbit we were in. Saturday dinner was decided. Karl did fail to tell us about his bacon so we had to go back for a few lbs which we willingly waited for as he chatted up someone else. Lastly, Gunther from the Ypsilanti Food Co-op not only told us about Karl’s bacon, he sold us on a few varieties of bread and gave us the inside on Growing Hope a non-profit that will be hosting a 2 day plant and seedling sale May 1st and 2nd. I was looking for organically grown herb plants and they will be my connection.

All and all, not the fanciest of farmer’s markets, but then again what other market is going to slip me a sip of Meade as part of my shopping experience?

Farmers Markets

YaaLife — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:54:11 +0000

I’m a total sucker for Farmer’s Markets. I buy bread I can’t possibly finish, preserves that will be in my frig for months, eggs that come in brown, blue and green, but it’s all good. Typically these products are grown locally. They are produced by smaller farms that often use more ecologically sound growing methods and offer better nutrition since those eggs had only to travel from the next county rather than across the country. So why do I go when I never manage to use up everything I buy and eat out way too much? For one I live with a cook so he gets to be creative with my market finds, but honestly I’m just a sentimental sap some days. The kids running around, the old guy with the sparkly eyes working you for $2 asparagus and my hope that all that goodness will later infuse the egg sandwich I make on that good bread.

Crazy Little Rabbit