Seasons of Abundance: Farm-to-Table Thanksgiving Ideas

Thanksgiving is such a confusing holiday! It’s simultaneously cozy and delicious and so hypocritical. There’s the historical injustice to consider and then there’s the factory farmed Butterball: monstrous animals so over-engineered they can’t even mate on their own. And yet, is there a better feast than the Thanksgiving shmorgasborg of autumnal abundance? Is there a meat more savory and delicious then a pasture-raised, heritage breed turkey roasted to perfection? Here in the MidAtlantic we can grow most of the components of a Thanksgiving feast right in our yards, and the holiday really gives us an opportunity to enjoy the bounty of our harvest! Here are some farm-to-table Thanksgiving ideas you can try this season. 

This year we planted sweet potatoes in raised beds and they went nuts! Some tubers were big as my arm. Sweet potatoes, like winter squash, can be harvested, cured and held in a root cellar until their starring role in the big meal. If your sweet potatoes are visually perfect you will most likely candy roast them in chunks, but if the bugs have been nibbling them, never fear, just trim the ugly spots, boil the rest and make a mashed sweet potato casserole with brown sugar and pears (or marshmallows but you didn’t hear that part from me).

Hearty fall greens like kale and collards are still growing despite the mild frosts we have had so far. Those greens start getting sweeter and sweeter as the frost brings out the sugars. They are fantastic sautéed in olive oil and served with fried shallots and pumpkin seeds on top for a healthy side dish even the vegans will love.

Some other great farm-to-table Thanksgiving ideas: apples and pears have been ripening over the past few weeks and bring a wonderful crunch to any dish. Consider a ultra-local Thanksgiving salad incorporating arugula, red meat radish, honey crisp apple and purple onion. Don’t forget a rice pilaf with wild rice, baby carrots, onions and thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms from the logs for another hearty side dish. I like to season mine with cinnamon, nutmeg and chicken broth.

Want to really confuse your cousin? Slice up a kolrabi, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt for an appetizer none of your relatives will recognize.

Another exciting, garden-to-gourmet Thanksgiving dish features mini-pumpkins. I had always thought of those little 4 inch pumpkins as ornamental; turns out they’re delicious! Scoop out the seeds and bake them with sage leaf, butter and a sliver of garlic, or consider stuffing them with other creative fillings like minced lamb or even cheesecake.

My thanksgiving tradition is to go up to one of my farm mentor’s farms and help slaughter turkeys for a day in return for the bird of my choice. Homer raises his birds on pasture and they peck on the freshest grass and bugs until their big day. Possibly an odd choice for a lapsed passionate vegetarian, but that way I get to avoid the quandary of how ethical/economical I want to be regarding the turkey I purchase.

While today supermarkets give away free turkeys as a marketing gimmick, our ancestors’ harvests were dictated by the weather, luck and hard work. These farm-to-table Thanksgiving ideas take us back to the very roots of the holiday. Growing food and learning about what it takes to get an abundant harvest helps me feel connected to those that came before me; a universal and yet ultra-local birthright that connects us to the seasons, the earth and to ourselves.

Cherry Tomato Ginger Jam

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite things to do with the end of the season glut of cherry tomatoes.

ingredients

4 qts Cherry tomatoes (any color)

1/4 cup fresh ginger, grated

Sugar, around 8 cups

1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

instructions

1. Place the tomatoes in a thick bottomed pot and begin cooking over medium flame.

2. Mash with a potato masher. Once they have begun looking like sauce, use an immersion blender to puree (optional).

3. Add the ginger, salt and lemon.

4. Now add your sugar- you have some leeway with the quantity of sugar- you want to add enough that the color and texture of the jam changes and looks more like jam and less like tomato sauce.

5. In general you can estimate around a cup of sugar per cup of tomato puree.

6. Now cook the mixture down until it reaches the texture you are looking for.

7. I put a few little plates in the freezer and when I think the jam is ready I test the texture by putting a spoonful on a frozen plate, returning to the freezer for a couple minutes and then tasting. This way you can both assess the ultimate texture of the finished jam as well as adjust the seasoning.

Cool Cucumber Soup

Most of us get distracted at some point in the season and fail to harvest some of those cucumbers- it’s hard to keep up with them when they really start fruiting! Here is a solution for those overgrown, seedy slicing cukes that are no good for pickling or salads. I like to serve in a small glasses with a crouton on top but it tastes just as good in a bowl!

Ingredients

2-3 large slicing cucumbers, peeled, de-seeded, diced

1 quart your favorite unflavored yoghurt

Handful fresh mint and /or dill and chives

1 clove garlic

1 small shallot

Salt to taste

Squeeze of lemon or vinegar

drizzle of honey

Instructions

1. Mix cucumber, shallot, yoghurt, minced herbs and garlic, salt, honey and lemon.

2. Blend in a blender or use immersion blender to puree.

3. Mix well and allow to sit for an hour or more.

4. Adjust consistency and seasoning as needed. You can use milk or veg stock to thin it out.

Josh's Favorite Beet Recipe

Ever wonder what to do with beets? Well, this colorful root crop starts sizing up in late spring and can be grown all summer and into fall. Options for preparation are diverse and numerous but this is by far my favorite!

This makes a great side-dish to serve with fish or chicken or a beautiful addition to a meal of summer salads

Ingredients

1-2 bunches beets, golden, chioggia or red, with greens

2 tablespoons honey

2 table spoons balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil (olive, vegetable, grape seed- your preference)

1 block feta cheese

1 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. First remove beet greens, wash well and put back in the fridge.

2. Trim tails and noses off beets and put in pot of water. Simmer on the stove for approximately 45 minutes or until fork tender (you can also steam them if you prefer).

3. While the beets are still hot, put them into a bowl with cold water and use your hands to slip off the skins.

4. Once the beets are skinned and cool enough to handle, slice them and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle them with the oil, honey and balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.

5. Next, put them on a sheet tray and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

6. While the beets are roasting, melt some butter in a sauté pan, chop the beet greens and sauté in butter until soft. (You can also steam the greens if you are trying to avoid the butter.)

7. Now spread the cooked greens on a plate or platter.

8. Next remove the roasted beets from the oven and carefully arrange on top of the greens.

9. Lastly, crumble feta cheese all over the dish and serve warm.

Peak Summer Harvests & Baby Rosenstein

Here we are at peak summer and all that early season work should finally be paying off. All those fruiting plants: the tomatoes and cucumbers, zucchinis and eggplants, peppers and summer squash are all ripening on the vines. The onions, garlic, shallots as well as beets have matured and can be used now. The basil and other summer herbs are still going. Now is the time to be creative in the kitchen and, if you can stand the heat, get your Farm To Table cook on.

Unfortunately, this is also the season of fungal diseases, summer pests and extreme heat- so it can be easy to get distracted worrying about your plants survival. Indeed, the game now is to see how long you can keep some of these annual plants alive and yielding before they succumb to their eventual seasonal demise and make way for the rich hearty flavors of fall.

Truth be told, one of the real skills of a grower is getting the timing right. Many of our favorite fall crops must be planted around mid-August if they are to yield before winter conditions arrive, but often those precious summer crops are still occupying garden space long past that window.

What to do? Well, the first thing is make sure to have a garden plan to serve as a roadmap and guide planting decisions over the course of the season. Edible Eden offers garden plans for any size garden that will help maximize your space over the course of the season.

If you don’t have a plan in place; consider interplanting some fall crops in and amongst your yielding plants over the next few weeks so that when they do go down your kales and cabbages will rise to the occasion and fill their space.

Here at 2601 Taney, we are thinking a lot about timing as we continue our extended baby watch. Teri was at 40 weeks a week ago and now we are trying to go about our lives knowing that at any minute labor will begin and we will need to step away from whatever we were doing and head to the hospital.

It’s a good thing we have plenty of beautiful produce to munch while we are waiting!

Stay posted for news of the soon-to-arrive baby Rosenstein and enjoy that summer produce while it’s here.

Farmer Josh

Stirrings of Spring

By Farmer Josh

With the snow coming down outside, huddled in front of the heater, you wouldn't think that spring was on its way. But while we are shoveling our sidewalks and staying home from work and school, nature is beginning to take the deep inhale that precedes the exhale of spring madness.

The light is growing. Starting at the winter solstice in December we have been gradually getting just a little bit more sunlight each day, and under the snow, under the frozen ground, the plants can feel it. It's time to tap maple trees because the sap is running. Likewise it's time to begin pruning some types of dormant fruit trees and grape vines in anticipation of their waking up. Vegetable farmers in our area are starting their first seeds beneath lights in basements and living rooms. The alliums: those straight early soldiers are beginning their long trek to April (when they finally get to go outside). For those with high tunnels, the first succession of tomatoes are sending up spunky cotyledons, rearing up their heads to the lights.

Here at Edible Eden we are also feeling the stirrings of the coming season. Josh Russakis joined the team as PR and Marketing strategist and now things that seemed to be forever on the “one day” pile, are actually happening. Check out our new online and social media presence: follow us on Twitter, see some sweet garden and produce shots on Instagram, and check out our blog to find some great farm-to-table recipes, gardening tips and produce porn.

We are also excited to be working with the St Paul Lower school on their school garden program. While the sleet and snow pile up outside we are working to design an amazing educational garden emphasizing experiential education opportunities across a spectrum of subject matters.

In other news we have begun working with Kitchen Table Consultants on our financial plan. KTC is a cool and innovative consultancy that works with small farmers and food entrepreneurs on their financial plans and business models.

Did you know that Edible Eden offers a whole series of wellness programs and workshops from fruit tree care to food preservation? If you'd like to see urban homestead style workshops at your senior center, community center, faith community, or place of work: feel free to put us in touch with your wellness director.

We'll also be offering some workshops around town this spring. Catch us on March 13 at Valley View farms for a free session on growing fruit trees and berries and don't miss the Grow Center program on April 9-10 through the Baltimore City Planning Department.

Edible Eden is growing into its mission and purpose, which is to support people in the Baltimore area in eating more sustainably raised, ultra local, healthy, organic, food. We believe that through doing this we can build soil tilth, support biodiversity, and help our customers live healthier, more sustainable, more delicious lives.

If you are ready to get started on your food journey in 2016: drop us a line to set up your initial consultation.

Read the rest of the March edition of the Gardener's Monthly Almanac here

Time to Prune the Grapes!

Now is a great time to prune your grape vines. While most fruit trees and vines need some pruning, in order to get healthy, abundant grapes: you actually have to remove between 70% and 90% of the plant every year!

Grapes fruit on one year old wood: which means, say a main trunk sprouts a vine in spring, that vine grows all summer and fall, and that winter it turns grey and smooth. The following year it sends out shoots which bear clusters of grapes. By the next year, it looks shaggy and has dark peeling bark on it and no longer bears fruit. So in pruning: keep that in mind and seek to “think like a grapevine”.

There are many methods and styles of pruning grapes which are more or less appropriate to different varieties, trellising styles and climates. In the MidAtlantic, we have three basic types of grapes we can grow.

• The Labrusca varieties are descended from an American grape and tend to produce fruit further along their vines, so they are ideally pruned in the Kniffen or Cane pruned style.

• Vinifera, decended from French grapes, and Muscadines, a southern variety, bear closer to their trunk and hence are better suited to the Spur pruning style.

If you are struggling with your vines, consider giving us a call. Edible Eden will beat any vine back into submission, no matter how grisly!