Notes From the Farm

This week has been fun filled with moving cows to new pastures, weeding, mulching, planting the last starts in the ground, irrigating and, of course, harvesting. Never a dull moment.

This Week’s Veggie Feast

Lettuce Mix, Oyster Mushrooms, Chives, Bok Choy, Asparagus, Radishes

New This Week

A mixture of buttercrunch, red salad bowl, red deer tongue and endive.

This is our third year of growing mushrooms. The fruiting has been sporadic so we will do our best to make sure you either get a portion this week or next.

A delicate member of the onion family, chives provide a discreet onion flavor that works well with egg dishes, mild cream based sauces, or as a garnish to salads or soups. Chives are best used fresh and added at the end of cooking. Snip them with scissors or cut with a sharp knife straight across. Store fresh chives in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Recipes

Wild Mushroom Chowder

Ingredients

Liaison

• 6 oz bacon (optional) sliced into ½ inch strips
• ½ cup all purpose flour

Soup

• 12 oz fresh wild or cultivated mushrooms *see note
• 8 oz russet potatoes diced ½ inch (2 cups)
• 3 oz 3/4 cup diced carrot
• 4 oz 1 small finely chopped onion
• 4 oz 2 ribs celery, trimmed and diced ½ inch
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 5 cups light colored chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup heavy cream

For serving

• Fresh chopped herbs especially chives, dill, or tarragon
• Wedges of fresh lemon

Instructions

• Render the bacon on medium heat in the soup pot you will cook the chowder in. While the bacon renders, chop the vegetables and mushrooms.
• When the bacon has given up most of it’s fat, drain off the fat into a small mixing bowl and reserve. Cool the fat for a few minutes, then stir in the flour and reserve, it should make a loose paste.
• Add all the soup ingredients except the cream to the pot with the bacon, cover, bring to a simmer, turn the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
• When the vegetables are tender, scrape the flour paste into the soup, whisk briskly, and simmer until thickened and you can see the flour has activated. Thickening soup this way is called using a “beurre manie”.
• Add the cream to the chowder, mix to combine and heat through. Do not boil it.
• Finally, double check the seasoning one last time, adjust as needed, and serve, garnished with the herbs and lemon wedges on the side.

Notes

* I prefer light colored mushrooms here for a mellow flavor, but you can use what you like. Chanterelles are particularly good. *Using dried mushrooms 1 oz of dried mushrooms can be substituted for the fresh mushrooms, or you could use a combination. If you use dried mushrooms, rehydrate them in some of the chicken stock for 15 minutes, judge their shape and size, chopping coarsely if needed, making sure to agitate them around to remove grit that you will strain out or make sure not to add to the chowder.

Source: Forager Chef

Creamy Pasta with Crispy Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1lb. mixed mushrooms (such as maitake, oyster, crimini, and/or shiitake), torn into bite-size pieces
• Kosher salt
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• 1lb. spaghetti or bucatini
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ⅓ cup finely chopped parsley
• Zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• ½ oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about ½ cup), plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a Dutch oven or other large pot over medium-high. Cook half of mushrooms in a single layer, undisturbed, until edges are brown and starting to crisp, about 3 minutes. Give mushrooms a toss and continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until all sides are brown and crisp, about 5 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to a plate; season with salt. Repeat with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil and mushrooms and more salt.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and return all of the mushrooms to the pot. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until shallots are translucent and softened, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions.
• Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with mushrooms and add cream and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Increase heat to medium, bring to a simmer, and cook, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and liquid is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat. Add lemon zest and juice, parsley, butter, ½ oz. Parmesan, and lots of pepper and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Divide pasta among bowls and top with more Parmesan.

Source: Bon Appetit