This week returns one of my favorite seasonal products - ramps. Ramps are a wild onion that is native to this area. One of our farmers forages for it to get you these tasty treats. Use them to make a pesto, toss them in pasta, roast them (or grill them) and serve on burgers or steak, and you can even just make a traditional "mess of ramps." Check the web and our blog for more recipes.
In addition, this week is
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Your Ingredients
Freedom Ranger Chickens
There are two options for preparing the Red Broiler chickens—also known as Freedom Rangers. You can roast the bird whole or you can separate the parts and use them in different ways.
If you are roasting the chicken, place it on a rack or on a bed of coarsely chopped vegetables—onion, carrot and celery. Place a bay leaf and a teaspoon of dried thyme as well as some salt and pepper in the cavity of the bird.
Set the oven at 450.
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Carrots
The carrots that we have been offered in December illustrate how producers, with direction and suggestions from Fresh Fork Market are truly outstanding. The sugar content increases when these root when carrots and other root vegetables remain in the ground and covered just until they are offered to us. This process represents the best of Ohio’s winter bounty.
Here are two ways to enjoy these winter treats. The carrots or, if they are small scrub them and enjoy them raw. Taste
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Watermelon Radishes
You likely saw these once during the year, but if not, here they come. It's the season for root vegetables, and one of the most interesting ones is the watermelon radish. The outside is white to light green, but cut them open and the inside is pink-usually bright fuchsia These radishes are milder and sweeter than typical radishes. They are larger, too. They are an heirloom variety that came
Beans
1 cup dried beans
½ cup each of diced onion, carrot and celery
1 bay leaf and ½ of dried thyme
Spread the beans on a tray. Pick out any broken pieces or pieces that look damaged. Shake the tray to look for pieces of bean shell or other impurities. Place the beans in a bowl and cover with water. The water should be 2 or 3 inches above the beans. Soak overnight or for 6 or 8 hours.
Strain the beans and rinse.
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Things to Not Throw Out
I hate to throw anything away. Working with Fresh Fork Market provides me ample experimental food, as I often take home damaged food. Over the summer, my crock pot was on nearly every day, turning split tomatoes into pasta sauce, tomato paste, or simmering sauces. I pickled anything that didn't move, some with better results than others (pickled snow peas showed up in my Bloody Mary cocktails last week-yum). Here are some highlights of things that you should not throw away:
Squash
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Rutabagas
The arrival of this very interesting root vegetable presents a positive challenge. What can one do with a vegetable, a root vegetable, that has never been popularized in the mainstream? Many of us have had unpleasant experiences with certain vegetables. Over cooking, bad preparation, bitter or unappealing textures and colors remain in our memories. This is not so much the fault of the cook, but of the producer. Vegetables produced in healthy, nutrient dense soil are no match for commercially
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Rutabagas
Rutabagas are often thought of as yellow turnips but actually bear the botanical name Brassica napus and belong to the highly prized family of cruciferous vegetables. The rutabaga, a relatively newcomer in the world of vegetables, is thought to have evolved from a cross between a wild cabbage and a turnip. The earliest records of rutabaga's existence are from the seventeenth century in Southern Europe where they were first eaten as well as used for animal fodder. It's curious that throughout history
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Not sure about Kale?
Just check this out...
Anything left from last week?
Golden Beets
Because of their color and a slightly more delicate texture, golden beets should be enjoyed as a vegetable on the dinner plate or served cold with goat cheese as a salad.
Boil the beets until they can be pierced easily with a knife point. Place the cooked beets in cold water. When the beets are cool enough to handle, take a thin slice from the top and the bottom. Slip off the skin and refrigerate until ready to use.
Slice
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