Thursday, April 28, 2011
Taking a Leek!
 | |
| Inspecting the upstate NY woods in mid April... |
 |
| upon closer inspection, I see some leeks! |
 |
| Ramps... |
 |
| and some more ramps. |
 |
| Ramps like to grow on slopes by the sides of creeks, streams, and rivers.... |
 |
| Radiating green! |
 |
| Ascending the green slope... |
 |
| reptile brain connected... |
 |
| reptilian guardian of the woods..."please harvest sustainably" snake |
 |
| Continuing up the slope... |
 |
| fungal distraction or... |
 |
| mycelium presenting a fruiting body for a photo op. |
 |
| The black cohosh... |
 |
| a reminder that the ever elusive morel might be popping up soon. |
 |
| Back at the top! |
 |
| Fungus and ramps...the dynamic duo! |
 |
| THE END |
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Still Freekin' Out...
I got some inspiration from Chef Jessica Botta, from the Italian Culinary Academy (The International Culinary Center of NY); it came in the form of an email inquiry about whether or not CPO freekeh could be milled into flour and used for making a lightly smoked pasta, kind of like an Italian "grano arso" (burnt grain) pasta.
I had already worked my way through most of a 5# sack of freekeh flour...but I had enough to whip up a batch of freekeh pasta! (the freekeh brownie and cracker recipes are still coming...I just got a little sidetracked)
I had already worked my way through most of a 5# sack of freekeh flour...but I had enough to whip up a batch of freekeh pasta! (the freekeh brownie and cracker recipes are still coming...I just got a little sidetracked)
Freekeh Pasta By Hans Butler | Ingredients 2 cups freekeh flour (10oz) 4 whole eggs (8oz) ½ tsp sea salt 2 tbsp sunflower oil (1oz) 2-4 tbs cold water (1-2oz) |
Directions Pulse all ingredients (except water) in a food processor (or mix by hand, using the well method) Slowly add cold water a little at a time (you may need more or less than the recipe calls for) and keep pulsing the food processor, until it comes together in a ball Knead the freekeh ball until it becomes soft and it can form a smooth ball that isn’t sticky; wrap it in plastic and let it rest for 1 hour in a cool spot Bring it to room temperature (about 15 minutes) and separate into 4 smaller dough balls Use cornmeal or freekeh flour to dust rolling surfaces; using a pasta machine (setting 4-5) or rolling pin, roll to about 1mm thickness. Cut into desired shapes; I like pappardelle because it looks rustic and works well with this kind of pasta Make sure to coat the pieces in cornmeal or freekeh flour so they don’t stick together; let chill in a cool place for a ½ hour while you get a pot of salted water to a nice boil. Cook in small batches (so you don’t lower the water temperature too much), it only takes a couple of minutes for it to cook (it’s done after it floats to the top) Enjoy immediately with your topping of choice! Feeds 4-6 humans! | |
Monday, April 11, 2011
Freakin' out with CPO Freekeh Flour
First a quick description of CPO freekeh: It is young green spelt berry that has been roasted to produce a slightly smoky tasting grain; I have used it in salads, as a side dish, in risotto, as a hot cereal, pudding...the possibilities are only limited by your palates' imagination.
Erick Smith, the bearded ring-leader of Cayuga Pure Organics, was able to hook me up with a 5 # bag of freshly ground freekeh flour. Now it was time for me to decipher the code (aka figure out what the hell I was going to do with it). Erick told me that it is used to thicken soups in Eastern Europe, but other than that I didn't have much of a lead. The trick when dealing with these fancy flours and grains is not to be intimidated by them; it's only roasted green spelt that has been milled into flour. There is the key...spelt! So I did some research on spelt flour and decided to apply the findings to the freekeh flour. One important note on freekeh flour: the gluten levels are low because it is harvested before they have a chance to mature; it is not going to hold together like a high gluten bread flour. Armed with this information, I developed recipes for freekeh brownies and sourdough freekeh crackers (using whole grain sourdough starter produced from wild i-town yeast); both turned out great and recipes will be arriving here shortly!
Erick Smith, the bearded ring-leader of Cayuga Pure Organics, was able to hook me up with a 5 # bag of freshly ground freekeh flour. Now it was time for me to decipher the code (aka figure out what the hell I was going to do with it). Erick told me that it is used to thicken soups in Eastern Europe, but other than that I didn't have much of a lead. The trick when dealing with these fancy flours and grains is not to be intimidated by them; it's only roasted green spelt that has been milled into flour. There is the key...spelt! So I did some research on spelt flour and decided to apply the findings to the freekeh flour. One important note on freekeh flour: the gluten levels are low because it is harvested before they have a chance to mature; it is not going to hold together like a high gluten bread flour. Armed with this information, I developed recipes for freekeh brownies and sourdough freekeh crackers (using whole grain sourdough starter produced from wild i-town yeast); both turned out great and recipes will be arriving here shortly!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)