It's Morel Season!

I don't want to badmouth anybody.  I did that once before, and it didn't make me happy.  And, I want to support local farmers.  I want to speak well of them, I really do.  Farmers are and should be our only source for food.  "Food" that didn't come from a farm, in my opinion, is not really food.

My friend Shannon, for example, does not believe that dandelions are food.  Okay, I can buy that.  Dandelions are weeds, and it's a big leap to go from weed to food.  But I can name other weeds that are food: Mint, oregano, dill, chives, rhubarb, raspberries, and strawberries.  Plant any of those in your back yard, and then try to get rid of them the next year.  I grow my mint under the bushes in my back yard where nothing else can grow.  They are choking out the violets (which also aren't weeds.  They're the WI state flower!)  I have oregano popping up between the cracks in my patio.  It's a weed.  But it's delicious!  I would counter that with this: fruit roll-ups are not food.  They may be edible, but they are not food.  How do they get away with calling them "fruit?"  What kind of fruit stains your lips blue?  Oreos are not food.  I LOVE Oreos.  Loyal readers may recall my having a complete freak-out when I realized that Oreos were local.  They're delicious.  They're absolutely edible.  But I'm pretty sure they're not food.  Food should have substance.  Food should be meaningful.  "Junk Food" should not be called "Junk Food;" it should just be called Junk.

***Steps down off soap box... for now***

I had a very bad, very upsetting experience over the weekend.  It is, quite possibly, my favorite time of the year.  It's morel season.  And when I got an email from Ruegsegger Farms (I'm on the email list of pretty much every farmer I can find) letting me know that they had morels for $45 per pound (a good price in my opinion), I jumped!  I reached out to anyone I thought might not judge me for wanting to pay $45 per pound for mushrooms and put together a small order of two and a half pounds.  I emailed to have them waiting for me at the next farmer's market.

Oh!  All of the farmer's markets are currently closed.  But they do have an impromptu one going at Discovery World until the West Allis Market opens on May 5th.

I went to the market to pick up my mushrooms, and also got some asparagus, and skipped happily home (or, more specifically, back to my car) and started dishing out the mushrooms for my friends and family.

That's when the first bad thing happened.  I only had 2lbs, 4 oz.  Now, I have a pretty specific scale, but that's a whole quarter pound missing.  I had people order only a quarter pound, so that was a WHOLE order missing.  And, to be fair, $11.25.

I opened the bags, and that's when the second bad thing happened.  he first few mushrooms were moldy.  Some not so bad, some really bad.  So I sorted them out and found that half a pound of the 2 1/4 lbs I had was moldy.

This is the saddest thing in the history of ever.

So I went back and complained.  The girl working the stand looked at me like it was my problem.  She literally asked me if I couldn't just cut that part off.  No.  I'm sorry.  When I'm paying $45 per pound for mushrooms, I cannot just cut that part off.  If you want to sell them to me on the cheap, I absolutely will take the moldy ones off your hands.  But, until then, you will sell me a quality product.

I went through each one of their mushrooms, one by one, and picked out the good ones.  Their scale said I was over, but when I got home mine still said I was under by an ounce.  I weighted out a pint of water just to make sure mine was right (a pints a pound the world around... but not on their scale I guess).

I don't know anything about Ruegsegger farms.  I don't go to the markets that they're at regularly.  They were at the St. Ann's Market over the winter, and I went there when the Winter Farmer's Market was closed, but not more than that - even though it was closer to my house.  It was pretty small, and there was a lot of crafting stuff which annoys me... This is my grocery store, people.  I love a good craft fair/flea market, but not at my grocery store.  Also, the two times I was there they had a clown... which just makes me lose my appetite. 

Not knowing anything about them, I don't want to imply that they're trying to cheat anyone.  Maybe their scale just got knocked out of calibration.  They sell local products, not just from their farm, which is good.  Support the local businesses!  And because of this, they always seem to have a good selection.  They've got a good website with online ordering, and some prepared stuff too, which is nice for people who aren't crazy like me.  I think they're a little expensive.  $4.25 for eggs is more than I like to spend, but I've spent $4.00 (I prefer $3.50 if I can find it...)  $4.00 per pound for whole chickens is a little high - I'm used to $3.25-$3.50.  So, not crazy expensive.  But a little higher than what I think it should be.  And, now that I don't trust them to sell me a quality product... they're probably off my list.  Make your own decision, though.

Anywho, I got home with my good mushrooms, rationed them out, avoided the impulse to steal one mushroom from each of the other bags (What?  I'm only human!  You'd do the same if you were doling out tiny gold pieces!), and started cooking.  Regardless of what it took to get them, morel mushrooms are one of the most amazing foods in the world - compounded by the fact that they're only available for a few weeks each year.  If we could somehow get morel season and soft shell crab season to be at the same time... that would probably be really bad because I wouldn't sleep, I wouldn't leave the house, and I would probably put on 30 lbs because I would eat so much.

But I would be happy!

For those of you who don't know morels, they are a wild mushroom that can't be cultivated.  They only grow in the wild.  Which means they're dirty.  Also, as you can tell by the picture above, they're full of holes.  What you can't really tell is that they're also hollow.  And the bugs (which live in the wild) love to go all up inside their hollow-ness.  It's gross.  You need to clean them out well.  Really, really well.  I question the "don't wash mushrooms" mentality in general (they grew in dirt!), but especially for morels.

I prepare them like this:

Fill a large bowl with water, add a generous amount of salt, and stir to dissolve the salt.  For a quarter pound of mushrooms, I would probably use 4 cups of water and 2 tbsp salt.  Add the mushrooms to the water, and gently push them under the water.  Allow them to soak, gently stirring and submerging them occasionally, and trying not to freak out about the things that crawl out of them.  One of mine was completely full of ants.  I screamed and jumped up and down, and ran around the kitchen waving my arms around yelling "ANTS!  Ants, ants, ants, ants, ants!!!!"  If you know me, and would like me to re-enact that for you, I certainly can.  I don't like ants.

Then, after soaking the morels for about 10 minutes, take them out, shake off the water, cut them open the long way, and wash out anything that's still in there.  Which there often is.  I have seen recipes for stuffed morels.  I personally would never feel safe eating a morel unless I had seen the inside and knew that it was ant (or spider, or potato bug, or weird beetle thingy) free.

Morels have a mild earthy/woodsy flavor.  You don't want to overwhelm them.  The traditional use for morels is with eggs - either scrambled or in an omelet.  I did happily eat a morel, feta, and chive omelet.

Here are some more recipes for you.  If you don't have morels/can't justify paying $45 per pound for mushrooms/are freaked out by the thought of cleaning tiny bugs out of your food, you can substitute any other wild mushroom.  I would probably do a shiitake, but you could use portobello or oyster or anything else you could get your hands on. 

Steak with Wild Mushroom Brandy Cream Sauce

• 2 8 oz steaks (or, be like Jeff and me and just make one big porterhouse and share it)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 lb morel mushrooms, cut in half and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/4 lb mixed wild mushrooms
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 oz brandy
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Pre-heat a grill to high heat.  The mushroom recipe will take about 15 minutes total, so time your steaks based on how you prefer them cooked.  It's your opinion, but anything not medium rare is wrong.  Remember to let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting in to it!!

 Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.  Add the shallots and saute until fragrant.  Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the morels are soft - about 5 minutes.  Add the brandy, and cook about 5 more minutes.  Reduce the heat to low, add the cream, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the cream just starts to bubble around the edges of the pan.

I served this over mashed potatoes, with grilled asparagus.


Lemon Butter Pasta with Morels, Spinach, and Lobster

This is the most luxurious recipe ever.  It is not a budget meal.  I would not recommend dried pasta, because you want that silky feel of fresh.  You can generally find fresh pasta in your grocer's cooler.  Or you could make it yourself.  If you have a stand mixer, it's not that hard.

• 4 slices thick cut bacon
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced leeks (white and light green parts)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 lb well washed morel mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 to 2 tsp capers
• 1 stick butter (yup)
• 4 servings worth of cooked fresh pasta
• 2 cups fresh spinach, washed and sliced into inch thick strips
• 2 lemons
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 lobster tails, grilled (just throw them on the grill in their shells!)

Render fat out of bacon in a large frying pan with curved sides, over medium heat.  Once the bacon just starts to get crispy, add the leaks and continue to cook until leeks soften - about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and mushrooms, and continue to saute until mushrooms are very soft, about 10 minutes.  Add capers and saute briefly. Add juice of one lemon and butter, and allow to melt.  Add the pasta and spinach, and stir to combine.  Reduce heat to low, and cover, stirring occasionally until pasta is heated through and spinach is wilted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Top with lobster tails (take them out of the shells now), and lemon wedges.

For the record, I feel okay eating like this, because I've been eating canned beets for free all winter!  Happy spring everyone!!!

Week Long Episode of Chopped.

First off, I would like to apologize to any offended Russians.  I have been mistakenly assuming that Borscht is Russian, and I learned that it is not.  So, I am sorry that I said I would reward my Russian readers by making Borscht.  Please let me know what I should make, preferably out of  beets, because that's what I have.

Moving on.

I decided part of the problem of my not eating my canned goods is that they are hidden away in my basement where no-one (me) can see them.  I really wish that there wasn't the whole rule about storing your canned goods in a cool dark place.  First, out of sight is out of mind - so I don't think to use them.  Secondly, though, they're just so pretty.  I can picture a wall of fancy, module-y, Ikea style shelves, adorned with brightly colored, shiny canned jars.  But, alas, that is not an option.  In order to make the food last longer, the cans are regulated to the basement.  So, I took my garden picking basket down into the basement and picked me some basement fresh vegetables.

And this week's basket contains...

apple pie filling, yellow tomato chutney, spaghetti sauce, corn salsa, pickled fennel, and beets.

Honestly, I did not plan ahead.  I just pulled random jars off the shelf and threw them in the basket.

The spaghetti sauce was easy.  I had spaghetti for lunch on Sunday.

The apple pie filling went into an apple pie and rhubarb crisp, which I would totally show you a picture of, but I forgot to take a picture and I already ate some tonight.  And, if I have to take a picture, that means I have to eat more, which... this is sounding like a good plan.  No.  No Picture.  Willpower.  I don't need a second bowl of dessert.

Anyway, it was good.  I cooked down some frozen rhubarb (2 cups) with a little bit of honey.  Then I mixed in the apples, spread it into a baking dish, and topped it with my apple crisp topping which is:

• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 sp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, and eat with ice or whipped cream.

Sunday night for dinner (I'm a little behind) we used the corn salsa in some steak tacos.  They were delicious!

Steak, fried up in a hot pan, finished in the oven, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little bit of cayenne.  Topped with cheddar, corn salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and arugula.  The arugula, I think, was the real star.  It is such a bitter, peppery green.  It worked perfect with the sweet corn salsa.

So I push onward.  Trying to eat up as much of the preserved food as I can before new food is available.  Maybe I can keep my March and April food bills super low, and then spend all that money on seeds to put in the garden to grow more food than I can eat all of next winter!

It is an excellent cycle.

The offer is still out there, by the way.  So far, Shannon is the only one getting canned goodies.  Speak up!  You know you want some.  I haven't gotten botulism yet!

Fear Leads to Anger, Anger Leads to Hate....

And hate, as we all know leads to the dark side.

I was cranky.  It happens.  It wasn't the right thing to do.

Not that I disagree with anything I wrote, but it could have been easily written without addressing it at anyone - anonymous or not.  I was angry.  I thought I was justified.  I probably wasn't.

Here's the problem, though.  I was so busy being angry that I almost missed my deadline for the cherry contest.  And that, really, is the dark side.  I was so pissed off that the only reason I DIDN'T miss the deadline was because I wrote it down wrong.  Not cool.  Not useful.  Well, sort of useful because I'm a nerd and enjoy writing a good research paper, but other than that, not useful.

So, basically, I'm sorry.  It wasn't appropriate, and it didn't do any good.  Plus, it could have done a lot of bad.  Not just in terms of missing the cherry contest.

But, thankfully, the contest did not end on 2/12 as I wrote down in my calendar, but actually ended today, so I got a chance to turn mine in.  I find out by the end of the day tomorrow if I'm one of the five finalists.  It sounded like they got a lot of entries, so I'm not holding my breath, but it was fun anyway.

When I started creating this recipe, I really thought that the star was going to be the steak, but it ended up being the kohl slaw, which tasted so much like summer.  It was the perfect mid-winter pick-me-up.  I also like that this recipe can be done with a very inexpensive, often overlooked cut of meat.  I used a buffalo flank steak.

I don't know how this happened, but I can't find a picture.  I remember taking one, but it has vanished.  Lame.

(**UPDATE 2/22:  MKEfoodie and Cherryland's best were awesome enough to provide a picture for me!  Also, I TOTALLY WON THIS CONTEST!!!!  My first food contest win - not at work - ever!)

Cherry Marinated Steak Sandwiches, with Cherry Kohl(rabi) Slaw
(Serves 4)


   • 1 flank, skirt, or flat iron steak, about 1/2 lb
   • crusty buns or rolls



For the Marinade:

   • 1 cup CherryLand's Best 100% Cherry Juice
   • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
   • 1 tbsp honey
   • 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
   • 1 shallot, minced
   • 2 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
   • 1 tbsp freshly ground pepper



For the Kohl(rabi) Slaw

   • 1 cup julianned kohlrabi
   • 1 cup julianned carrots
   • 1/2 cup CherryLand's Best Dried Tart Cherries
   • 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
   • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
   • 2 tbsp mayonnaise (or more if you prefer a creamier kohl slaw)
   • 1 tbsp Cherry Land's Best 100% CherryJuice

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup cherry juice, red wine vinegar, and honey, and whisk until well combined. Add remaining ingredients, and continue to whisk.

Place the steak in a large zip-top bag, and pour the marinade over the top. Seal the back, pressing out any air (helpful hint! Use a straw to suck excess air out of the bag) and then mush the steak around gently to insure all sides of the meat are in contact with the marinade. Place the bag into a large bowl to catch any possible leaks, and refrigerate for up to 6 hours.

In a large bowl, combine kohlrabi, carrots, cherries, and onion. Season with salt and pepper, and mix to combine. Add mayonnaise and cherry juice, and stir gently until well incorporated. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Allow to sit, refrigerated, to allow flavors to combine.

Once you are ready to cook the meat, preheat a grill or broiler to high heat. Prepare a double thickness of aluminum foil, large enough to fully wrap the meat. Season the meat generously with salt on both sides immediately before cooking.  Cook at as high as heat possible (with the grill as close to the flames as possible, or with the broiler rack set as close to the broiler) for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. The goal is to brown the meat as quickly as possible, without cooking int all the way through. Then transfer to the foil, wrap tightly, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. The meat will continue to cook during this period.

Picnic!

What a busy weekend!  This past weekend, my dance troupe performed and taught at Tribal Renaissance in Eau Claire, WI.  With workshops, performances, and vending (not to mention staying in a hotel!) there was little time for eating much less cooking!  I was very fortunate Friday night, and we stumbled across Hooligans Steak and Seafood Pub.  Their "Just Local Combo Plate" was exactly what I needed after a long day of driving and being stuck in completely insane traffic.  Smoked trout, deviled eggs, cheese, and summer sausage, all sourced locally.  Got it to go, and went home and ate in the hotel room!

Our tour guide, Wilson

The rest of the weekend I was happy to have leftovers in the hotel fridge from the amazing date I went on with my husband on Thursday.  The weather in Milwaukee has been terrible so far this spring, but Thursday it was finally nice for us and we went on a horse drawn carriage ride through downtown, which was absolutely beautiful.  We packed a picnic dinner and a bottle of wine (not sure that's legal... but oh well, and got a tour of our own town. 

This is a date I would highly recommend, and most larger cities have carriage rides, I think.  Yes.  The ride itself is a little pricey, but if you pack your own dinner and wine it's going to be a lot less than dinner out at a fancy restaurant.  And, in my opinion, picnics can feel incredibly fancy if done correctly.  I went with the traditional sandwiches and potato salad, but by using some less traditional ingredients I got spectacular results:


Steak Sandwiches:

• Tomato Chutney:
• 3 vine ripened tomatoes (L)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey (L)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1 thin, boneless steak.  I used a flat iron, but you could use flank or anything along those lines (L)
• Salt & freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (L)
• 1 tbsp minced chives (L*)
• 1 tbsp minced oregano
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (L)
• 1/2 cup grated white cheddar cheese (L)
• Spinach (L)
• 2 long, crusty rolls

Chop tomatoes.

Bring vinegars, sugar, salt mustard seed, and black pepper to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Stir in tomatoes and chives, and simmer for about an hour and a half until thickened and reduced to approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Season steak with salt and pepper.

In a glass baking dish, combine garlic, chives, oregano and olive oil.  Add the steak and turn to coat.  Allow to marinate for about 30 minutes at room temperature, turning occasionally.  Grill over medium high heat until medium rare - only a few minutes on each side.  Steaks like this tend to be very tough if overcooked, so please don't.  If you don't like beef that's still pink, then replace the steak with roast beef from your local deli.  If you overcook the meat, you will not like this recipe!  Allow the meat to rest before slicing!

Slice the rolls and spread mayo on both sides.  Slice the steak on an angle, against the grain, into about 1/4 inch thick slices and layer on bottom of sandwich.  Sprinkle with cheese and lay spinach on top.  Add tomato chutney.

Cut in half and wrap in aluminum foil if you are picnicking!

Fancy Potato Salad

• 1 lb fingerling potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices (L)
• 1 cooked chicken breast, torn into bit sized pieces (L)
• 1 smoked trout fillet, chopped into bite sized pieces (L)
• 2 tbsp chopped chives (*L)
• 1 large handful sorrel leaves, torn into bite sized pieces (*L)
• 1/2 cup radish greens and young roots (*L) (I was thinning my radishes.  This seemed like a good use for what I pulled!)
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Place potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are soft.  Drain, and refrigerate the potatoes until they are cool.

In a large bowl, combine cooked potatoes with remaining ingredients, stirring gently to combine.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.