Crunchy Slaw Salad
By Leslie Kedash
This is a fresh take on over-served, over-saturated and generally cringeworthy cole slaw we are all accustomed to passing up at most summer gatherings. Obviously, I’m not a fan of the “go to” summer “healthy” side dish. With this recipe, that has all changed. This is easy to make, has a delightfully crunchy mouth feel and tastes just fabulous. A great substitute for salad, that people will actually eat, and perfect for summer’s hot weather.
So far this cookbook is batting 1,000 albeit on just two recipes, but promises to be a mainstay in the repertoire. The writing makes it easy to incorporate whole foods into your diet. Remember last years lemon cucumber salad? Another very good dish from Heidi.
I hope to find garlic scapes at the Kennett Square Farmers Market today for Garlic Scape Soup. Heidi maintains it’s good cold or hot and she’s turning me into a believer.
Crunchy Slaw Salad
Supernatural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
Creamy vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Splash of heavy cream
1 extra-crisp apple, peeled and cored
1 big squeeze of lemon juice
1 small savoy cabbage
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
To Make the dressing, whisk the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice together in a small bowl, season with a few pinches of salt and a couple grinds of pepper, then gradually whisk in the olive oil followed by the cream. Set aside.
Shred the apple on the large holes of a box grater (or use the grater attachment on a food processor), then put the shreds in a bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon; this will keep the apple from browning. Cut the cabbage into quarters and core each section, then cut them into a very fine chiffonade. Just before serving, drain the apples and toss the cabbage, walnuts, and dressing in a large bowl.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve immediately.
Happy Holidays (A Gingerbread Tradition)
By Leslie Kedash
Although the historical record is vague, the gingerbread house is thought to have originated in Germany after the Brothers Grimm published (1812) their version of an old fairy tale and entitled it Hansel & Gretel. Although the story line is a bit grimm, with abandonment, capture and the possibility of a witch eating children as the general themes, the gingerbread house lives today as a sweet treat to be constructed for the holidays.
We have a 14 year tradition of constructing at least one (and one year eight!) house to give as gifts and display at home. We make them in November and their construction brings a sweet treat with which to start the holiday season. (much of the available candy doesn’t actually make it onto the house)
This year, we decided to forgo the sugar infusion and constructed the house from gingerbread and various greens, berries and flower pods from around the property. The project offers a chance to slow down and center before the holiday madness erupts in all of its maniacal glory.
Wishing you a Happy Holiday.
Taste Buds Get Ready: 1st Annual Fermentation Fest
By Margaret Gilmour
Sweet. Salty. Sour. Bitter.
Ready for some fresh, local and lively (pun-intended) fare?
Because there will be a bountiful supply available for tasting at Friday’s Fermentation Festival at the Kennett Square Farmers’ Market.
You’ll want to attend a little bit hungry and ready to quench your thirst as the featured chefs, artisans and producers all interested in quality over quantity, are preparing a delicious spread just for you. And the farmers, of course, are selling their autumn harvest.
In addition to your favorite seasonal micro-brews and crisp wines, plan on dipping in and sipping on a variety of new-to-you flavors, like some of the featured fermented veggies and non-alcoholic beverages.
Sniff. Swirl. Sip. Repeat.
Then there’s Root, a novel root-beer liqueur, which is also ready for you to sample.
Just out this summer, Root’s successful debut comes from a Philadelphia company uniting slow design and all things handmade: Art in the Mechanical Age of Reproduction. The potent spirit is 100% organic, made from an 18th-century Pennsylvania folk recipe which eventually became birch or root beer. (more…)
Fermented Fare: Deliciously Prepared For You By Science and Nature
By Margaret Gilmour
Do you like sauerkraut? Pickles? Yogurt? Micro-Brews? Wine?
With an emphasis on healthy and a dose of fresh-flavor, a connection between all of these distinctive, lively foods and drink is fermentation: an age-old, natural process that has been around for thousands of years.
Here’s proof: a seven-thousand-year-old jar containing the remains of wine was on display at the University of Pennsylvania last year. And food fermentation is an ancient tradition our ancestors practiced annually to preserve their bounty from one season to the next.
Most of us eat fermented foods every day: chocolate, cheese, bread. Still, many of us associate fermentation with beer, wine and cider—where sugar is converted into ethyl alcohol.
Who knows if way back when the health benefits of fermentation were known? It is said, though, that Julius Caesar fed pickles to his troops to help them stay strong.
Will fermented food make you strong? Maybe not, but research shows that the process helps fight infection and increase absorption of nutrients.
Scott Grzybek, CEO and Founder of ZUKAY Live Foods, a probiotic food company in Elverson, PA (a stone’s throw from Chester County), started eating fermented foods years ago simply to maintain his well-being.
“I was sick of eating processed foods,” he says. “If it didn’t make me sick that week, I knew eventually it would.”
With that thought in mind, in 2004 he and his wife decided to try living off the land and “get back to traditional ways of cooking and preserving foods.”
That’s when Grzybek discovered fermentation and began studying the science behind the process.
“I came up with the idea that we could do this with everyday foods, and at the same time get the benefits out to everyone,” Grzybek says. A little over a year ago, he did just that by starting ZUKAY Live Foods.
To celebrate fermented fare, the Kennett Square Farmers Market is partnering with Harvest Market Natural Foods to throw a Fermentation Festival on Friday, October 9th, from 2 – 6:00 p.m.
And you are invited.
Alongside the farm stands selling fresh, local harvest, there will be specialty beer (from Victory Brewing Company and Twin Lakes Brewery) and wine tastings (from Stargazers Vineyard).
(more…)
