Herbs from the garden

My mom, grandma, aunts, great-aunts they were always busy preserving. One of the wonderful results of those efforts were the dried herbs we enjoyed.

In that spirit, I have been drying my garden oregano, my mint, my lavender, rosemary and sage. This year is no different and with a big garden patch of mint, I've put a lot of it in my mint jar for the winter. Mom always made us sweet mint tea whenever we had tummy aches, and I love it's soothing qualities. Even though today I prefer the tea without sugar and I also make it hot or cold, I still enjoy my cup of mint tea.

I've had some wonderful rose-petal tea at a friend's house and I looked online for edible dried rose petals to make some and also to use in some of the middle-eastern recipes from my new favorite cookbook, Jerusalem. Somehow, I couldn't feel sure that the petals came from pesticide-free plants and that they were indeed edible.

When my fragrant roses had an abundance of blooms, I had an idea! Why not dry my own rose petals? I also could make my own rose petal preserves(which are amazing!)

Drying herbs is easy to do:

Pick the herbs and roses at their peak. Wash under a soft stream of water taking care not to crush them.

Drying oregano

Lay out on the counter or a side board some thick paper towels or kitchen towels.
Shake any water from the herbs and lay out on the towels to dry. This may take several days, especially if it's humid, like it has been around here lately. When they are completely dry, you can put your herbs in small glass jars and save for the winter months when you won't be able to get them fresh from your garden. I love knowing that the herbs I use came from my own back yard, where no pesticides or fertilizers have been used.

Always remember that dried herbs are more potent than fresh. In your recipes, use less of the dried herbs than if they were fresh.

Enjoy!

Maria

Brocante Part II

Five circa 1912 volumes of Charles Dickens' stories

 

Growing up in the city, I never experienced a yard sale or garage sale like they have in the suburbs. My foray into antiques comprised of early Saturday morning expeditions to a parking lot on Sixth Ave and 25th Street that became transformed into a sprawling Antiques Market on the weekends. You paid a dollar admission and then you were in Junk heaven.

I used to browse as many stalls as I could and then carefully selected  my purchase. Money was tight in those days and I tried to keep my expenses down. I always bought something that was useful (what? jewelry is useful!!)

One of my favorite pastimes when I moved to the country was to visit yard sales in the spring. It was such a novel experience and, of course, I'm like an anthropologist. By browsing the detritus of people's lives, I paint a picture of those lives in my head. The books they read are telling signs, the discarded fishing poles, ice skating boots, gardening tools, knitting needles and yarns, all pieces to the puzzle of what constitutes a life.

Here's a few more pieces from my latest treasure hunt:

Set of three vintage L E Smith Moon and Star Amber glass canisters

 

Vintage Kanawha Milk Glass Vase

 

Enjoy!

 

Maria

Farmer's Market

Growing up in Cyprus, we always ate what was in season. I remember how sweet the first cherries used to taste when they came out, the first walnuts with their creamy center. I can still taste the peppery flavor of our own olive oil live brought home from the mill. These were special occasion still vivid in my mind.

That's why when a group of us got together to found the Ringwood Farmer's market I was all in. Today, six years later, the market is going strong. I can't wait for the summer market to open so I can shop every week, discovering all the products that are making it to market in season. There's a monthly winter market that keeps us going through those cold northern winters.

Our vendors are all exceptional and I have a special relationship with them. Here's a glimpse at the Farmer's market at just a few of the wonderful stalls.

The Red Barn Farm couple!

Red Barn Farm Local honey

Local Eggs, the best!

The Mayor of Ringwood, sampling the empanadas!

 

 

The Bialas Farm crew know how to have fun!

Young shopper

Visiting in Fontanarosa's newest food truck!

Anthony Fontanarosa  is generous with his samples! Yumm!

These are only a few of the wonderful people who welcome us at the market each week. It's a feast for the eyes, the heart and the stomach!

Visit your neighborhood Farmer's Market!

Enjoy,

 

Maria

 

 

Homemade Multigrain Bread - Stelios' recipe

My husband Stelios' father, Demetrios, was, at one time,  the owner of the largest bakery in all of Greece. That legacy has not been lost on my husband who is now in the habit of making bread about every 10 days. He likes to eat most of that bread (when our guests don't devour it or we don't bring it to a pot luck). It's not that I don't love the bread myself, but if I ate it at every meal, like he pretty much does, I would be a million pounds(don't you love hyperbole!) heavier.

He doesn't make just any bread, nor is it the bread his father made. He has settled on a yeast, multigrain, nut bread that can raise the dead. I'm amazed how effortless he makes it seem when he's baking. No drama Stelios!

 

Make sure you'll be home for at least the next four hours before you start this. You won't be working on it all this time, but the bread needs time to rise twice and about an hour to bake.

 

Here's his recipe:

 

Stelios' Multigrain Bread
1 packet of yeast
3 glasses of warm water
1 spoonful of sugar

2 cups all purpose unbleached white flour + 1 cup or more for second rise
1 1/2 cups of white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/2 of flaxseed meal
1/2 cup of wheat bran
2 teaspoons salt

1 cup of almonds or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 170 F and shut off.
In a large bowl combine the yeast, warm water and sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon to dissolve.

Add all the flours except 1 cup for second rise, add grains, salt and work into a loose dough.  Cover bowl loosely with a towel or parchment paper and place in the warmed over for 50 minutes to rise. Make sure the oven is off!

After it rises, put 1/2 cup of white flour on your counter, the nuts and empty the dough on top. Knead, adding more white flour until you have a firmer dough. This may take less than one cup or a bit more. Use your judgment.

 

Preheat the oven to 170 F. Turn oven off. Divide dough into two pieces and shape into loaves. Make sure oven is off! Place each in an oiled(olive oil works great for this) loaf pan, cover loosely with parchment paper and place in warm oven to rise for about 50 minutes.  

 

Remove pans from oven and preheat oven to 375 F. Place both pans back in the oven and bake for 55 minutes.

Let breads cool in pans for a few minutes.
 
Remove breads from pans and, if you can resist let them, cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled completely, we usually cut the second loaf into thirds  and freeze. Remember, there are no preservatives so if you're not going to eat the breads in the next day or two, freeze them in sections.

It's so hard not to eat it when the bread comes out of the oven. We usually cut an edge each(the crust is amazingly crunchy), drizzle some of that good Greek Kalamata olive oil and some fresh ground pepper and sea salt and dig in with a glass of white wine!

Enjoy!

Maria

Swans and Signets and the Secret Garden

Did you know that the baby swans are called signets? I didn't until I came to the lake and saw the swan families and heard people referring to the babies as signets! Real cute little things that bob along the water always close to mama and papa swan for protection. There's lots of dangers out there for the little signets. Turtles, dogs, hawks, eagles.

But today we see the happy family crisscrossing the lake for food and education for the young.

Our vegetable garden is looking good!

Roses and Peonies by the lake

 

Entrance to the Secret Garden

Taking the long View!

Relax!

 

Maria

Garbanzo Beans over Fresh Mesclun Salad- Bounty from my Garden

I was raised in Cyprus at a time when people grew a lot of their food. My family grew their own olives, oranges, tangerines, lemons, plums, almonds, walnuts, herbs, chickens, my grandma had a donkey and a goat(we never ate the donkey, we rode him and grandma milked the goat). They baked their own breads, made their own halloumi cheese (you haven't lived until you eat freshly made, still warm hallouni cheese.)

They also preserved a lot of their crops. We gathered the olives, loaded them on dad's VW beetle  and took them to the mill for olive oil. Mom made walnut preserves, orange rind preserves, orangeade, lemonade, watermelon rind preserves, cherry preserves. She dried her herbs and kept them in jars for the winter. What can I say? I grew up eating a lot of preserves and olive oil and I love them!

But, I don't live in a Mediterranean climate so I only have a few things growing in my garden. Yet, those formative early years have made me a person who loves to garden and bake.

This week, it's lunch with salad greens from my garden:. I picked them, double washed them, dried them and ate them!

Serves 2
1 can garbanzo(chickpeas)beans drained
1 tablespoon chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups mesclun greens
1 orange  peeled and cut into 8 pieces
4 tablespoons sautéed wild mushrooms
4 anchovy fillets

Place the garbanzo beans in a bowl. Add the onion, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. Mix.
Divide the mesclun greens between two plates.
Top with half each garbanzo mixture. To that add half each of the sautéed mushrooms. Divide orange pieces between the two plates. Place two anchovies on each plate on top.
Grind some fresh pepper and sea salt, drizzle with good Greek extra virgin olive oil (I use Kalamata from Trader Joe's) and serve with some hearty multigrain bread.

 

Kali Orexi as they say in Greece and Cyprus!
Enjoy!
Maria