My life on the farm

Food has become my life. Not that I wasn’t already consumed with baking, reading about food and eating–now we’re selling vegetables from the garden. So far we have about five families that we’re growing for and hoping a few more join in. We’re still working out the kinks with regard to the assembly and the delivery of our produce boxes and hope to be concerned only with the finer details by the end of our first year. We are so lucky to have a supportive and understanding community in these first few months of our learning curve!

Here’s a link to a beautiful tart made with some of our spring onions. I wish I could have shared in this feast!

Fish on Friday

In my second week of experimenting with fish on Friday I bought Ahi Tuna steaks from Trader Joe’s (which unfortunately came from a faraway place). Again I read a few recipes and asked a few friends for some fish-cooking advice. In the reading I discovered that everyone likes this fish rare and many warned against cooking it all the way through. I’m not a rare meat kind of girl so decided to risk it and cook it well done.

I found a recipe for delightful marinade with lime juice, garlic, olive oil, honey and rice vinegar. I marinated the steaks for about two hours and then seared them in canola oil. Then I turned the heat down and let them cook until they were done all the way through.

Lucky for me they were a total hit with Anna. Aside from tater tots and plain noodles with butter this is the most of a dinner I’ve ever seen her eat. We liked them too, although once again I’m just not crazy for fish. I’m hoping I can get tuna from one of the fishing boats in Newport so we can have this again.

In other food news I took a few shots of Anna making pasta with Richard earlier in the week. This is usually a Thursday night affair as it’s the first night of the week where one of us doesn’t have something going on. It’s usually a fun project and Anna mysteriously transforms into “Hank” when it’s time to crank the pasta. Hank is exceptionally strong and an excellent pasta maker. Hank does all the cranking, Anna does the eating. It works out nicely.

Here’s the marinade recipe:

2 limes, juiced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup honey

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

To fish

So I braved the wilds of Trader Joe’s in Corvallis and bought a nice piece of Mahi Mahi. It’s frozen, but good and ultimately the most affordable way to go. It is wild caught, but (and I hate this!) it is from Peru. Not an everyday meal choice for us when we’ve got the Pacific Ocean about 40 miles away.

Anyway, I defrosted the fish in the frig on Thursday and cooked it on Friday. I read several recipes on epicurious.com and then just ended up making up my own based on what I read. Some of them had coconut, others nutmeg and these reminded me too much of dessert. So I improvised. Here’s what I started with:

First I put a bit of olive oil in the bottom of my favorite baking pan and then brushed the top of the fish with olive oil as well. (I lucked out and the fish didn’t have skin or bones, so after washing and drying it I was ready to go.) After the oil I sprinkled some rosemary and minced garlic over the fish and then added some sea salt to finish. Then it went to straight into the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

The shot of the cooked fish isn’t nearly as pretty as the above photo–and Richard is beginning to wonder why I keep photographing our dinner–so I didn’t take more than this one.

In spite of how the lighting looks in the photo, it looked pretty and tasted good. Next Friday I’m trying tuna steak. Stay tuned.

To fish–or not?

I’ve been thinking about food more than usual these days as Lent is upon us and I’m attempting to be more aware about what I consume. Observing Lent has offered the opportunity for me to consider once again my habits (or lack of them) with regard to eating fish. While I’ve ordered plenty of fish and chips in my day, and a blackened Caesar salad now and again, I have never cooked fish on my own. How does this happen you wonder? I’ve been living on my own for more than 20 years and I have never once cooked fish.

In my world buying fish, cooking fish, and then consuming the fish seems a rite of passage. Not to be taken lightly. So I’ve started by asking some trusted friends about where exactly to buy fish in the Corvallis area. Again, likely an obvious question as I’ve gotten a few strange looks, but part of the process nonetheless. Of the choices offered by said friends, I’ve opted for the fish market in Corvallis. Now I need a recipe, and a solid plan of attack. This Friday could be the day–my initiation into the world of cooking fish. I’ll keep you posted.

And speaking of keep you posted…the jury is still out on whether I’ll be a graduate student this fall or not. I managed to receive an exception from the English graduate committee and they’ll be reviewing my application in the next few weeks. So many hoops, so many uncertainties. Not sure I’m cut out for academic life after all!

The hardest part

I knew when I started a blog the most difficult thing about it would be coming back to it and keeping it current. This had turned out to be the case. I think about it often, I have topics to explore, and yet, I’m still learning the discipline to sit down and write.

Since my  last post Anna and I have baked a strawberry rhubarb pie with mixed results. The crust from the Grand Central Book was excellent, but our filling wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Here’s the lesson: don’t put frozen fruit into the middle of the pie and expect all to work out well. With peaches it works beautifully–not so with strawberries and rhubarb. What a gooey, watery mess it was.

I’ve also had the opportunity to work in the kitchen at Gathering Together Farm with J.C., one of the chefs. He’s an amazing guy–talented, humble, funny, sweet. I helped prepare food for the Montessori Auction (the annual fundraiser for Anna’s school) and made the biggest batch of hummous you’ve ever seen! I’m hoping he’ll let me back now that the farm is open for the season and he’s cooking for customers in real time.

In other news, I’ve hit some snags with regard to my application to OSU. I spent far too long it seems figuring out what I wanted to study and not enough time checking the details of the deadlines I needed to meet. I truly thought I was on track, but it turns out that I missed a major deadline for the English department. Not sure yet if they’ll let me in. Stay tuned.

The truth about cookies

After asking for the chocolate chips in the cupboard everyday for the last week or so Anna finally asked if we could make cookies. While I’ve said “no” to chocolate chips from the cupboard during this last week, I said, “yes, of course” to cookies.

So we softened the butter, preheated the oven, whisked the eggs and added oatmeal at the last minute. I love it that Anna knows how to crack an egg, thinks to suggest oatmeal in chocolate chip cookies and scoops the cookies out on the cookie sheets like pro. Her impatience while they bake is endearing, her willingness to help clean up by doing the dishes doesn’t exactly make anything easier, but sure is sweet.

As the first tray of cookies was (finally) done and sitting on the island to cool I noticed her attempting to peel a hot cookie from the tray. I cautioned her, and then finally had to insist that she wait until they cool a bit more so as not to burn her fingers.

When she is (finally) allowed to go for the cookie I see her picking through the soft warm dough. Her little fingers, vehicles for her perseverance, find a chocolate chip and she quickly pops it into her mouth. Her smile is big, her eyes are bright. She has finally figured out how to get the chocolate chips from the cupboard into her mouth. The fact that it had to be put into a cookie and baked is largely beside the point.

Speaking of baking…

We were, weren’t we? Speaking of baking I mean?  Ok, maybe not, but it’s always on my mind. My most favorite new book is the Grand Central Baking Book. I am truly smitten with the text, the recipes and the solid advice. (Not to mention the oatmeal chocolate cookie recipe that tastes just like I was standing in the bakery ordering it up.) I have yet to come away unhappy when I’ve made any of the recipes. Next up is a pie crust for strawberry rhubarb.

Outside of the kitchen, my academic decisions became a little more complex today. The reality of actually applying, defining the program, and assembling a committee is daunting. My advisor advised when I was hoping she would direct. So now I climb  back on that horse and welcome the bureaucracy with open arms.

Welcome to my blog!

I’ve contemplated the idea of a blog for months, but with their popularity I have been reluctant to add to the masses. Food blogs are especially popular these days–all the recipes, photographs and helpful tips–and I am thankful for these on many an evening when I lack inspiration and dinnertime is right around the corner. While recipes and photos are often part of my exploration into food, many of my questions and interests have grown beyond figuring out what’s for dinner and how to make the best chocolate frosting (a worthy pursuit as well).

With our small farm proudly sporting a few customers late last year, and my studies in graduate school turning more toward food and culture, many questions and possibilities have emerged. I hope to share at least some of these with you, in the most coherent and helpful way I can.