Farm Kitchen Recipes
From our Farm Kitchen to yours! Enjoy.
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*Swoon Cookies Two Ways
*gluten free Not everyone on the Farm likes a good cookie. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but none-the-less, it’s true. There are actually those who live and visit here who prefer having their lives free from that beautiful and glorious grain some like to call wheat. So, this cookie is made for them and made often. And since every good cookie and soul who consumes them needs a bit of variety, it’s crafted two ways. And for the first: One third cup raw honey is placed in a saucepan with an equal amount virgin coconut oil and left over low heat a bit until all is melted.…
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Farm Kitchen Chilled Spring Onion Soup
Just the other week, the Farmer’s Wife went to her garden to see what there was to see. And it was just what she’d expected—filled with the debris of last summer’s good work. The tomato vines, once so vibrant and full are shriveled, sunken, clinging lifelessly to their cages. The pepper plants show what they once were with the transparent remains of a few missed fruits displayed here and there. And the weeds. Those appear to be the only green things left in the garden. But wait. Is that? Yes! It’s onions—left just like the peppers had been. Only these are Not shriveled and useless! No. These are spring onions,…
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Farm Kitchen Clams Casino
This. This it the thing I make best. Or the thing that gets requested the most. Yes, people have been known to ask for my boozy chocolate cake from time to time, and the stuffed mushrooms. Oh. Yes. The crab cakes. They ask for those an awful lot, too. And the hot chocolate and the pink drink and the Nog. But nothing like this. As far as the Farmer is concerned, I could make this each and every day and there would be no complaints. Not one. And here is how it’s done: First, three small sweet red peppers are chopped fine (to equal a half cup), along with a…
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Pan (rice) Pudding
There are few things that bring comfort like a warm pan settled on the lap, filled to the brim with rice pudding. It doesn’t hurt that it’s super creamy and flecked with freshy grated nutmeg, either. Oh. And there’s Bourbon. Didn’t I mention that? All in all, a delectable feast. And it all starts with simple rice. Well…as you may have guessed, not just any rice will do. You can’t set aside that gelatinous rectangle squeezed from your Chinese leftover container and expect the same results as say…Arborio. For those of you unfamiliar with this heaven-sent starch, it’s the short-grained Italian rice used for risotto. And that same creaminess, that…
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Farm Kitchen Spanakopita
I do not like cooked spinach-fresh is fine, good even. But cook it and it becomes a mushy pile of green goo. Unless of course you cook it in a bit of olive oil along with more than a bit of garlic, stir in some freshly crumbled feta cheese and stuff it in layers of buttered pastry. Then, it’s delicious. It is a bit cumbersome, but trust me, it’s the only right and proper way to eat cooked spinach. Unless you like your mush. If so, I leave you to it. To begin five cloves of garlic (I did warn there’d be a lot) are minced and added to a…
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Spring Bread
Some call this Easter bread, and you can, but that implies it can only be eaten one day a year, and that is a travesty. Yes, a travesty. Why would you want to limit the consumption of a bread so sweet, so tender, so full of the very best things in life to just one day a year? No. I won’t hear of it. This is Spring bread, just as it should be, to be enjoyed all the months this great earth enjoys a little warm-up of its own. To make a right and proper spring bread you will need two days. Nothing more, nothing less. And like all good…
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Dessert fit for a Seder: Baklava
Each year as Spring comes to the Farm, there is one dessert which is made without fail: Baklava. I know, I know, this makes no sense. The Farmer is German, and his Wife a strange blend of Irish/Scottish/Norwegian?. Absolutely no one on the Farm can claim Greek roots. Never-the-less, this dish makes its way into the hearts and mouths of all those who live on the Farm and a few dozen besides each and every year, because this is the very (and only) dessert that’s made for the annual Seder. This Seder has been hosted by the Farmer’s Wife and her mother for forever so long, or the last twenty…
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Golden Blondies
There are many blondies running around and about the Farm (although not the Farmer, he’s stuck with the darkest of hair). Some are light while others are golden, like the sun shining down from the Heavens. And, despite the fact we love our chocolate here on the Farm, sometimes you have to have a good golden blond. Just ask the Farmer. And the very best thing about these brownies? They’re made in a saucepan and poured into a baking dish. Easy-peasy. To start, take a quarter cup butter and a quarter cup virgin coconut oil and place in a large saucepan over medium heat until both are just melted.…
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Hannah Bakes: Fancy Pies
Hannah has started making pies. By herself. And she doesn’t make them how her Mother would. No. She makes them fancy. Her mother stands over her shoulder as she rolls out the dough. “It’s too thin,” she complains. “Not for what I’m doing,” is the answer Hannah gives in return. Her Mother hmpphhs and looks from a different angle. The dough does look a bit thin, but let’s trust Hannah here. She’s been at her Mother’s side watching hundreds of pies being made. She’s even made a few herself. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. Wait a minute! What is she doing now? She’s gotten out the cookie cutters.…
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Boozy Chocolate Cake
This cake graces the table at the Farm for all birthdays, break-ups, post-fight make-ups, or for a general Sunday afternoon. It is what every cake should be: moist, rich, and chocolate. And here is how it’s made: One and three quarters cup pastry flour is sifted with three quarters cup good cocoa powder (the Farmer’s Wife uses either Hershey or Callebaut), one teaspoon baking powder, two teaspoons baking soda, and one teaspoon salt. This bowl is set aside for now, while a half cup softened butter is creamed with two cups sugar of the granulated variety for a good three minutes until all is light and fluffy. Two room temperature…
