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Saturday,  July 31st I was out at Davidson Farmers’ Market cooking up some ostrich. Now, for all those people out there that have been to Charlotte area farmers’ markets, or other markets for that matter, and passed by the ostrich vendor without the courage to stick your neck out- Don’t be a chicken and try out the ostrich! These animals are quickly becoming a choice meat protein for consumers looking for healthier, greener products. Here is a cool link with loads of info on these amazing animals: http://cronkitezine.asu.edu/fall2007/ostrich.html.

For the demo we talked a lot about ostrich! About Bird Brain Ostrich to be exact (http://www.birdbrainranch.com/ ). What I really want people to take away is that this meat is really easy to work with; as it cooks to the likeness of beef.  We did a Picadillo (Cuban Hash for those of you that have never had it) using ground ostrich, and it was terrific over a local rice or with a lovely piece of homemade honey oat bread.  In keeping with my motto, “Recipes aren’t sustainable- focus on cooking techniques to emancipate yourselves from cookbook slavery”, we worked on sauteing Saturday.

I did post a “follow along” list of ingredients, but also encouraged folks to think what this dish would look like in October. Maybe some pumpkin and dried peppers from the summer? Who knows… the idea is to saute aromatics first over medium high heat, meat second (add some fat, and water if necessary, as ostrich is super lean and is easy to over cook), next add seasonal vegetables, spice and delicates last  (these would be fresh herbs, garlic, etc). Use what is locally available and quality ingredients you have on hand in the pantry. I always stock olives and raisins, which compliment the dish well, but if you have dried local cherries or other fruit and even some salty nuts to add it you would be there with the sweat and salty flavors that make this dish stand out.

This dish is ready to serve in about 20 minutes start to finish. We served our Ostrich Picadillo over a very versatile local grain-  Carolina Gold Rice, which you can purchase from Anson Mills at http://www.ansonmills.com/.

Mini Oranges, German Johnsons, Cherokee Purples, Abraham Lincolns and Mortgage Lifters

The garden was busy in the month of June. Tomatoes were set early on the vines at the beginning of  the month, and by the 30th we were able to harvest 60 lbs in just a few short days from our backyard. While this was a time of celebration in our house (our best yield ever), we quickly needed to get to work canning the bounty.

For those of you who would never dream of canning,  let me tell you- it’s an awesome exercise that will increase your appreciation for this time honored tradition.  It takes patience, diligence, endurance (seriously, I feel like I’ve run a race after it’s done)  and the passion to preserve the flavors of any season to be enjoyed during the “hunger gap”.  Now, you may say, “It’s too much work” or “It’s too expensive”, but it isn’t a chore once you have tasted the quality of home canned tomato sauce, juice, salsa etc compared to their store bought counterpart- There is no comparison, and no price you can put on it.  Canning is a great way to bring family and friend together- it feels like Christmas in the middle of summer! That is if you like your friends and family and want to spend a whole day in the kitchen with them:) It just so happens that I do.

Joan, Lilli and Destiney working on chopping tomatoes. Nathan in the back working pizza dough.

I invited a Joan and Destiny over to our Canning and Pesto Making Party.  After a fun day together, peeling, seeding, chopping, boiling and processing we treated ourselves to homemade pizzas with local sausage from Underwood Family Farm, pesto and tomato sauce straight from the garden with the last of the arugula.

So, how to you can? There isn’t anything to be afraid of, it’s simple really- you just follow a recipe.  I know, I know- I have said before and often say at demos that recipes are not sustainable. This is true- my only two exceptions are canning and baking.

Remember to always use a tested recipe from a reliable source when canning

The following is one of the recipes we used from the Ball Blue Book. We also used a salsa recipe and stewed tomato recipe. Again, it’s paramount that you use tested cannery recipes from reliable sources. Failing to do so puts you and your loved ones at risk of botulism and other “spoilers”.  To learn proper cannery techniques sign up for a canning class through your local cooperative extension office. These classes are inexpensive (less than $20) and time well spent.

Seasoned Tomato Sauce

25 lbs tomatoes

3 cups chopped onions

6 garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp oregano

3 Bay leaves

1/2 tbsp black pepper

3/4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp crushed red pepper

bottled lemon juice

( you may need to separate this into batches if you don’t have a vessel large enough to cook it in)

Wash tomatoes, core and chop.

Saute onions and garlic in oil, add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, black pepper and sugar. Stir in salt and crushed red pepper if desired.  Simmer 20 minutes stirring occasionally . Remove bay leaves, puree tomatoes using

food processor then strain.Cook pulp in large, uncovered sauce pan over medium heat, until sauce thickens. Reduce volume by one-half.  Add 1 tbsp  bottles lemon juice to each sterile pint jar, 2 tbsp for a quarts.

Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece  caps.

processing the jars

Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes in boiling water canner.

To learn some cannery lingo and watch some short videos on the process, go to http://www.canningusa.com/.

When I strained the pulp, I reserved the tomato juice, which we have enjoyed for several days now in the morning with breakfast and in the evening as Bloody Mary’s with horseradish and celery from the garden.  Oh, life is good.

I love to do demonstrations at the Davidson Farmer’s Market! The crowds are always fully engaged, asking great questions and giving useful feedback.  Last Saturday I wanted to share a technique for using up vegetables left in the refrigerator past their prime. I am often guilty of buying more than I need from the farmers market (because everything looks so awesome!) and under estimating what my own garden produces a week. So when there are left over vegetables, I either make stock, vegetable gratin or Kimchi. Now this is a quick Kimchi, so it’s not meant to be consumed after two weeks, unlike traditional Kimchi which can age months before it reaches it’s prime.

Celery Root infront of two jars of Quick Kimchi

I use whatever vegetables I have, cut them small, mix them with a 3/4 cup of rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp  sugar, 1 tbsp hot pepper sauce, fresh ginger and fresh garlic to taste (about 1 tbsp of each).  Last week I used, celery root (see photo above), cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, carrots, garlic scapes and ginger. I stuff my cut veggies and this mixture into a clean glass container. Once everything is in the jar, the liquid shouldn’t be more than half way up the jar, otherwise, the taste may be a bit overpowering. Fill the kimchi container the rest of the way with water to cover the vegetables. After you top or cap the cantainer, give it a good shake. Now refrigerate for at least 4 hours but up to 2 weeks and enjoy!

To accompany the Kimchi, I also made Korean BBQ with Big Oak beef. I used some flap meat and kabob meat, showing folks not to be married to short ribs or sirloin when it comes to making Korean BBQ.  Flap meat should be partially frozen in order to cut it in uniform strips.

Big Oak Beef Marinating

The meat is marinated for a minimum of 30 minutes, but can go up to 24 hours. The marinate is soy sauce, sesame  oil, ginger, garlic and you can add some hot pepper sauce for a kick.  Remove your meat from the refrigerator and from the marinate a good 30 minutes before you are planning on grilling and leave at room temperature. This will help dry the surface of the meat so that you can get a good sear on a hot grill. Skewer the beef and get it on the fire!

Skewered, and grilled. Let's eat!

Cook to your desired temperature, but remember that when using flap meat, it acts like flank or skirt steak, so you don’t want to over do it!

Lastly, enjoy the BBQ with your delicious Quick Kimchi Salad.

Samples of Korean BBQ and Kimchi Salad

There is nothing like eating the first tomatoes of the season, warmed by the morning sun, eaten like apples right out of the garden. I made myself a lovely salad of green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, celery root, peppers and a soft boiled egg on fresh made oatmeal bread. I can’t remember ever having green leaf lettuce left in the garden when the first tomatoes appeared. I can’t claim this was because of my gardening skills, but rather the doing of a wet and cooler end to the spring I believe. The sun just hasn’t been beating down with heat on a consistent basis yet, so most of my spring garden is still doing quite well.

I’m finishing the last bites of my salad to the chirps of our four new chicks in the back ground. I’ve been feeling a bit awkward cooking eggs in the house, while they take up temporary residency in my dining room. They are just a week old today, and will hopefully be moving to the chicken coop late next week. They are tired of being in the house I think, and seem ready to see the world. Their wings flapping now, and the pecking and scratching are constant now. Lilli, my daughter, is completely enamored with these sweet girls. She comes home from school, plops down next to the washtub we have them in, and looks at book or colors. She periodically reports to me on their behavior- which chicks are eating, sleeping or getting testy.  We know that Maple rules the hen house. From there the pecking order is Melody, Mango and Wuzz.  They all have distinct personalities and are rather amusing to watch. Having them here has brightened our household and we look forward to caring for them as long as we can.

Scottish Eggs-
1 lb of Grateful Growers breakfast sausage
8 eggs, soft boiled (start in cold water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, top pot with lid, and allow eggs to remain in water for 5 minutes). Remove eggs and peel. Set eggs aside.

*Remember, fresh eggs are more difficult to peel, so for this dish, use eggs that have sat in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks.

Divide the sausage into 8 equal parts and form meatballs. Form a patty out of each meatball, that will be large enough to completely envelop an egg. There should be no white of the egg showing, and the sausage that encases the egg should be uniform and look like a large meatball.

In a preheated cast iron skillet, add a tablespoon of grape seed oil, or other oil with a high smoke point. Over medium-high heat place Scottish Eggs into the pan and cover with a lid. Turn the eggs so that the sausage cooks evenly on all sides and is dark crispy brown. Turn heat down to medium-low once the meat is cooked on all sides, re-lid and allow to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. This will help to ensure your sausage is completely cooked through. Remove eggs and cut down the middle. The sausage should be completely brown in color with no pink, and the egg should have a soft middle, but not runny. This can be served over salad greens or can be left uncut and packed for a picnic lunch.

Crispy Prosciutto Salad-
Use a variety of any fresh vegetables you like (we used onions, yellow squash, zucchini and tomato). Cut the vegetables into a small dice. In a hot cast iron skillet over medium-high heat,  add a teaspoon of grape seed oil. Lay sheets of prosciutto down in the pan being sure not to overlap, when the prosciutto is crisp on the first side (about 2 minutes) turn it to crisp the other side. When the prosciutto is done, remove to drain on a paper towel. Keep the pan on the same heat, and in the drippings of the prosciutto, add your cut vegetables and saute.  Pour vegetables onto a plate. Tear pieces of prosciutto with your hands or cut strips with a knife and  place on top. I finished Saturdays salad with a mulberry vinaigrette made with the juice of the berries, huckleberry vinegar ( you can use red wine or balsamic), olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh basil. I garnished the salad with toasted local pecans, but goat cheese would have also been an amazing compliment.

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As winter recedes and planting efforts begin for spring and summer crops it’s time to think about how you can move towards a more sustainable way of eating during the coming growing season. For those of you new to the “growing season”, that is anytime between the last frost in spring and the killing frost in the winter.  This is the time of the most abundant and easily accessible local food for the Charlotte region.

To transition to a diet that supports the  local economy, is fresher and healthier, not to mention tastier, you will need a helping hand.  K.Leigh Cuisine offers farmers market tours, as well as purchasing advice, weekly menu planning based on market availability and demonstration on how to prepare whole food in a timely manner. We strive to empower our clients with the knowledge and skills to maximize their use of local whole foods and reach their dietary goals.

For information on how to schedule a consultation, please email kleighreid@yahoo.com.

Eat well, but more importantly eat local!

Kris Reid

Currently, K.Leigh Cuisine  is working with Carolina Farm Stewards Association. This includes building  menus and the procurement of  local food from farmers and purveyors for their Sustainable Agriculture Conference being held in Black Mountain, NC December 4-6th 2009.