Celery Root Purée

Homely? Yes. But some of the best things come in unsuspecting packaging. Celery root (or celeriac), is one of two fall favorite ingredients of mine. The other is leeks, a vegetable I have been involved in a long standing love affair with. The two go so well together, a dish featuring their combined simplistic pleasure is worth center stage. Perfect as an accompaniment to whole roasted chicken, grass-fed burgers or steak. Enjoy.

Celery Root Purée:

*2 large celery roots

*1 large leek

*2 medium gold potatoes

*3 Tbsp unsalted butter

*1/2 cup raw goat, jersey milk or cream

*1 garlic clove, minced (optional)

*sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

*chopped parsley for garnish

Set a pot filled halfway with cool salted water over high heat. Bring to a boil.

Wash and peel celery roots. Quarter. Trim top of leek, leaving only light green portions. Slice lengthwise. Rinse well, peeling back leaves to remove any dirt. Partially peel potatoes (leaving a little skin if you like).

Drop celery root, leek and potatoes into boiling water. Reduce heat slightly. Cover and simmer until all items are tender.

Strain. Transfer potatoes and celery root to a large mixing bowl. Slightly cool leek and chop into small pieces. Add to bowl with remaining ingredients. Whip with an electric mixer until mostly smooth and creamy. Add more milk if needed. Adjust seasonings and serve hot garnished with fresh chopped parsley.

Sopa de Pescado

The gorgeous speckled trout purchased from Frank (Let It Grow Organic Gardens) at the Saturday tailgate market, insisted on being part of a lovely Fall soup. I'm glad I listened. This was one of the best dishes I've recently sat down to enjoy. While acclimating to the brisk weather, nothing, absolutely nothing, beats a good bowl of hot, brothy, salubrious soup.

Sopa de Pescado:

*4 strips thick cut grass fed bacon, cubed

*1 large leek, (rinsed well, all green parts removed but the first 2 inches), chopped

*1 med onion, chopped

*4-5 medium gold or assorted garden potatoes, cubed

*3 cloves garlic, minced

*2 celery ribs (plus any leaves), chopped

*1-2 garden tomatoes, chopped

*2 bay leaves

*5 cups fish stock (see stock making post)

*1 large sea trout, salmon, cod, haddock or other favorite fish fillet, (bones and skin removed) cut into 2 inch cubes

*1/3 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

*handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

*sea salt and pepper

Place a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until just crispy. Remove from pot using a slotted spoon. Place bacon on a paper towel and set aside.

Pour off all but 2-3 Tbsp of the bacon grease. Return to heat. Reduce to medium low. Add the leek, onion, potatoes, garlic and celery. Cook, occasionally stirring for about 7 minutes. Season with sea salt and pepper. (If need be, add a bit of butter to keep sauteing veggies well greased).

Add the chopped tomatoes and bay leaves. Allow to simmer for about 2 minutes before poring in the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

Simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Increase heat just to a low boil. Drop in the fish pieces and cover. Allow to cook about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add parsley and basil. Season with additional salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves.

Ladle into bowls and top with the crispy bacon pieces. Enjoy with thick slices of buttered sourdough toast.

*Variations:

Clams, mussels, shrimp, squid, or octopus pieces would make a great addition to this soup.

For more kick, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.

To make this into a chowder, simply add raw milk and cream to your liking.

Quince Jam

I have always misunderstood quince. After the magnificent show it puts on in the early spring, it tends to fade into the periphery of a landscape, playing the role of ugly duckling for the remainder of the year. The apple-like fruit may seem tempting in the fall, until a curious nibble proves instantly disagreeable. Rarely are you able to remove it from your landscape without a battle. It's stubborn. Thorny. A borderline menace. Until today.
My neighbors have been diligently landscaping their property, (one similar to our's), full of old-timey plantings in their mature years. The quince on the corner recently received a healthy grooming, and has been winking at me all season, especially as it began dropping its yellow fruit. So, I bit the bullet and asked my neighbor if I could collect some fruit to mess around with. He laughed and kindly told me to take as much as I liked. I filled my hat and came back to the house to look over a few recipes for jam. After reading up, I found that quince used to be in almost every backyard or garden as a hassle free addition to the homemaker's edible landscape. I ended up going back to get more.

The jam turned out to be just lovely; tart and full of that distinct flavor of times long since passed. The taste reminds me of other nearly forgotten pleasures, like sassafras tea and homemade butter.
For this gal, quince will never be the same. After our time together in the kitchen, and its beautiful dance on my tongue, I am proud to call it a friend.

Quince Jam:

*about 6 cups shredded quince (including skins), cored and seeds removed

*4 cups water

*juice from 1 lemon

*zest from one lemon

*3 1/2 cups demerara, rapadura or other form of raw cane sugar

*2 tsp high quality vanilla extract (optional)

*2 cardamom pods, grated (optional)

Wash quince and slice lengthwise in half. Cut away any wormy areas. Grate the fruit to the core. Discard core and seeds.

Place water in a large heavy pot. Bring to a boil. Add the grated quince, lemon juice and zest. Reduce heat and simmer for about 7 minutes.

Return to a boil and add sugar. Stir. Cook over med-low heat for about 40 minutes. Add the vanilla and cardamom during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Ladle hot jam into sterilized jam jars and fit with sterilized lids. You can skip this process and pack jam in clean jars and store in the fridge. Enjoy!

Sauteed Pea Shoots with Grainy Mustard Vinaigrette

With frost warnings in full swing, I headed to the garden to harvest those who may not make it through. Though peas hold up well in light frosts, I couldn't resist the tender shoots for this evening's supper. Sauteed in butter, drizzled with a tangy mustard vinaigrette and topped with toasted walnuts; for those of you with fall peas, this recipe is right on time.

Grainy Mustard Vinaigrette:

*1/4 cup high quality white vinegar

*1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

*1 garlic clove

*1 heaping Tbsp honey

*1 Tbsp high quality grainy mustard (I used locally crafted Lusty Monk Mustard)

*sea salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Adjust seasonings to taste. Set aside.

Sauteed Pea Shoots:

*1/4 cup walnut pieces

*4-5 cups loosely packed pea shoots (harvest the top 3-4 inches of vine)

*2 garlic cloves, sliced very thin

*1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Toast walnut pieces in toaster oven or in a pan placed over medium heat, stirring often. Set aside.

Place butter in a cast iron pan over medium low heat. Add garlic and saute until aromatic and golden. Add pea shoots. Gently stir to coat in the butter. Allow to wilt before removing from heat, about 1-2 minutes.

Transfer to a serving plate. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toasted walnut pieces. Serve warm.

*Pea shoots are a very high source of plant based vitamin A, vitamin C (an important antioxidant protecting the body from free radicals, great for the immune system this time of year), and folic acid. Eat up!

Local Bison Hump Roast Stew

As the leaves here in Western North Carolina turn from electric green to various shades of gold, plum, peach, auburn and lemon, nothing is more comforting than a hearty stew. Unique only to bison is the special hump roast, beautifully marbled and full of robust flavor. Slow simmered with the bounty of the fleeting season in a traditional clay pot, this dish is best enjoyed nestled in your favorite chair by a window with a view.

Local Bison Hump Roast Stew:

*1 bison hump roast

*sea salt

*cracked black pepper

*1 medium onion, chopped

*2 stalks celery, chopped

*2 cloves garlic, minced

*1 1/2 cup tiny garden potatoes, or larger potatoes cut into cubes

*3 garden carrots, chopped

*1 handful flat leaf Italian parsley

*2 bay leaves, fresh or dried

*1 bottle dry red wine

*1 Tbsp arrowroot powder

Preheat oven to 250.

Rinse hump roast and pat dry with paper towels. Liberally coat in sea salt and pepper.

Place a cast iron skillet over medium heat coated with coconut oil. Sear all sides of roast, about 1-2 minutes per side. Place in a clay pot, crock pot, or any roasting pan with a fitted lid.

Surround roast with onion, celery, garlic, potatoes, carrots and parsley. Pour wine over contents. Add bay leaves. Season with additional sea salt and pepper.

Fit dish with a lid and place on center rack of preheated oven. Bake for 6-8 hours or until roast is tender.

If using a crock pot, fit with lit and turn setting to low. Simmer for same amount of time or longer.

Allow contents to cool before skimming excess fat from top of cooking liquid.

Remove roast from pot. Trim away fat. Shred meat into generous pieces with a fork.

Place pot over medium heat. Dissolve arrowroot powder in 1/4 cup cool water. Whisk into roast liquid and vegetables, and heat until thickened. Return shredded roast pieces to pot. Stir.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, ladle into bowls, settle in and enjoy.

Fresh Cheese

My friend Donna has been making fresh cheese for ages. This go-round I asked to join in. Like so many things which previously seemed complicated, I was surprised at how simple the process is. Separate the curd from the whey, strain, compress or age, and you've got a perfect example of the subtle beauty of mild cheese.

Donna most often makes hers into paneer for Indian inspired dishes. After allowing the excess whey to drain overnight, she slices the disk and fries the pieces in coconut oil before adding them to masterfully spiced spinach for Palak paneer.

Here are simple instructions on making your own. All you need are a few simple kitchen supplies, fresh raw milk, lemon juice and sea salt.

Fresh Cheese:

*1 gallon fresh raw milk

*4 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

*sea salt to taste

Line a colander with cheesecloth. Set aside. Pour the milk into a large soup pot and place over medium low heat. Bring to a simmer and immediately remove from heat.

Slowly add the lemon juice, and gently stir. Allow the curds to separate from the whey. This will take about 2 minutes.

Once fully separated, pour contents through cheesecloth. Add sea salt, or any additional flavorings to the curds, such as red pepper flakes, rosemary, cracked pepper or sage.

Twist cheesecloth around the curds (to resemble a package reminiscent of one delivered by a stork), and begin squeezing the curds to remove excess whey.

Flatten the curds within the cheesecloth forming a disk. Wrap disk with edges of the cloth and place on a dinner plate. Place a larger plate underneath, and tip plate with cheese to one side using a small dish cloth, so excess whey may drain onto the larger plate. Weight with an additional plate on top of the cheese to compress.

Place in fridge overnight and enjoy the following day how ever you may please. Excellent for nibbling, melted over sourdough, or used as a star in your favorite Indian dish.

*Whey may be reserved for future recipes, drinking, or if you have pigs, they will welcome it wholeheartedly as a decadent treat.

Sweet Sorghum Syrup

Part of the big bluestem and sugar cane tribe, sorghum is known throughout much of the world for its use as an edible grain, in making alcohol (such as the well known maotai of China), and fermented into ethanol for bio-fuel. Here in the WNC region, the old-timey traditional art of making sorghum syrup (or sorghum molasses), is still practiced in some circles. Doubletree Farm of Marshall NC, uses draft horses to operate the farm. Sustainable timber management, artisan wood products, vegetables and sorghum syrup are their specialty.

Only this time of year does the lovely, deeply hued syrup show up at market. Tended over a continuous wood burning fire, the final product is rich, highly sweet and special. Though I often prefer savory over sweet, when the craving strikes, a drizzle of sorghum does the trick.

This evening it landed atop hot skillet cornbread with sweet cream butter. You hear that? It's me, licking every single one of my fingers.