Shades of Blue at Restoration Farm

Have I stepped into another century?  

I am ambling down the wooded dirt road to Restoration Farm, when I stop abruptly.  Standing some twenty feet in front of me is a blue-coated Union soldier holding a rifle.  A little girl –perhaps 4-years old – dressed in a country smock, her head covered in blonde ringlets, accompanies him.    It is a strange vision.  She says “Good morning.”  He doesn’t seem to notice me, and takes a drink from his canteen.  She wanders over to admire the patch of sunflowers.

Normally I would attribute this scene to the fact that Restoration Farm shares land with a mid-19^th century historic village.   One will often hear the sound of gunshots and encounter reenactors of Civil War history.    Yet, when I turn back for another glance, I don’t see the soldier and child.   Were they apparitions?  Did they disappear into the woods, or bygone days? 

I can’t quite shake the image of the soldier in his dark blue shell jacket as I head for the berry patch.    The blueberries of Restoration Farm have come in.   At one point in my hectic life, the idea of picking blueberries on a Saturday morning might have seemed just as unlikely as the possibility of encountering a Union soldier on a dirt road.   Yet, Restoration Farm reminds us that the simple pleasures in life – like picking a pint of tart, juicy blueberries on a summer morning – are still there for our enjoyment.      

The bushes are thick with clusters of blueberries.   Planted in 2009, this is the first year the blueberries have yielded significant fruit.   Head grower Caroline Fanning is happy that the blueberries are thriving.  Planting the bushes was a grueling project, she recalls.  These blueberries symbolize the kind of patience needed when one believes in seasonality.

The rows of bushes smell of fresh mulch as I stoop to pick the dark blue berries.   Like the encounter with the soldier, the act of foraging for ripe blueberries is a snapshot in time, a moment to remember – a moment to simply be.     

So how might I enjoy Restoration Farm’s first significant harvest of blueberries?    These bright, tart berries should be served in a decidedly old-fashioned way, perhaps in a vessel that the Union soldier might have used to cook over an open hearth.  

Blueberry Dutch Pancakes adapted from Martha Stewart Living, June 2012

Makes two individual pancakes served in mini cast iron skillets

2 large eggs

½ cup whole milk

½ cup all purpose flour

1/8 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

½ cup blueberries plus more for topping

Confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Blend together eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a blender.

Heat two 6 ½ inch cast iron skillets over high heat.  Divide butter among skillets and melt.  Divide batter among skillets and then scatter with berries.  Bake until puffed and cooked through and tops are set, 15 to 18 minutes.  Top with berries and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.  Serve immediately.

©2012 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved   

Strawberries As Nature Intended

The strawberry patch at Restoration Farm is damp with the remnants of an early morning rain.   But, that doesn’t stop several of us from tugging up our cuffs and wading in to pick.   When it comes to freshly picked strawberries, you can’t let a little moisture hold you back.

It is like a treasure hunt.  Broad green leaves conceal most of the berries.   You have to lift the protective netting and then forage a bit with your hands until you find the prize.   Adults relish the satisfaction of plucking a perfect, glistening red strawberry and adding it to the basket.   Children think it’s the best game ever.    

But, be careful.    The strawberry patch is teaming with life.   One sharp-eyed forager spots a garden snake slithering through the underbrush with a small toad in its mouth.    This news sends another friend scurrying from the patch.   It’s all a far greater adventure than navigating the produce aisle to locate monstrous strawberries wrapped in clear plastic.  

Each year, the crop of strawberries seems to develop its own set of flavors and characteristics.   Some have been tart, and others dripping with juice.   These taste sweet and clean, evoking a refreshing spring rain shower.   They demand to be treated simply, celebrating that pure strawberry essence.    I choose a recipe from Jacques Pepin’s Essential Pepin -- where sliced strawberries are dressed with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled with a dash of brown sugar – just enough embellishment to highlight the natural beauty of the strawberries.  

©2012 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved  

Perseverance and Raspberry Hunting at Restoration Farm

After a two-week absence from Restoration Farm, the raspberries seem to be in scarce supply. It is a bit like a treasure hunt. I’m entitled to one quart over a fourteen-day period, but I must dip under thick clusters of leaves and weave my way through thorny bramble with the hope of finding a hidden gem.

As is often said, “seek and ye shall find.” The raspberries are small, and there are few but they are available. At first, it’s like dropping pennies in a bucket. But, I am determined that I will keep searching until I accumulate enough raspberries for a small tart – perhaps the only raspberry tart of the summer.

At times I consider giving up, but I push myself to look a little harder. There will be no tart without a little perseverance. Sometimes, I pass a section that I think I’ve picked clean and discover there is still another raspberry to pluck. Or, has another just now ripened in the heat of the morning sun?

Diligence is rewarded. It takes almost a full hour before I’ve gathered enough raspberries - slightly less than a quart, and just enough for one rustic tart.

These hard earned berries can’t be overdone. So I choose the simplest of tart recipes from Deborah Madison’s “Seasonal Fruit Desserts.” The recipe is called “Lindsey’s Austere Berry Tart” - nothing more than a jammy red raspberries and a buttery shortbread crust.

It probably took more time to pick the raspberries than it takes to eat the tart, but it is worth savoring – a delicious bite of the berry patch.

Meanwhile, the blackberry bushes at Restoration Farm have fruited, and are slowly working their way towards ripening.

©2011 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

The Berry Patch at Restoration Farm: A Field of Possibilities

The strawberries at Restoration Farm have gone through a rough patch. Maybe it’s the heavy rain. The plants look a bit trampled. But, I suppose everyone feels a bit downtrodden at times.

I can still remember last season’s pert and iridescent deep red berries. This year, the berries have been smaller and far more tart. Some are odd shapes. You really have to search to find them. I am reminded again that the farm is far from a still life, and every season is a new moment in time.

Head grower Caroline Fanning tells me it’s probably the last week for the strawberries. How did the time go so quickly? She suggests picking two quarts so the remaining berries don’t rot on the vine and loans me a second container. “You’ve really got to put in the time to find them, though,” she advises.

I stoop in a field that appears to have experienced some trauma. Some of the berries are soft, or even moldy from the rain. A woman who is picking nearby says it smells like strawberry wine. If you breathe deep, there is an intense sweet aroma, and here and there, you can still find a perfect gem. Despite the trauma, there is potential and many CSA members are in the field still searching for possibilities.

Glenn Aldridge, the caretaker of the strawberries, tells me to hunt in the heavier growth at the center of the field and I will be rewarded.

“But, I don’t want to trample the plants,” I tell him.

“Trample away,” he says. “In a week and a half, the whole field will be turned under. Next season we start fresh again.”

How many times do you get a free pass to stomp to your heart’s content? And, how often do you get a chance at a fresh start? I need to remember this when I leave the farm. My perseverance unearths nearly two quarts of strawberries.

Although the strawberries may be leaving us too quickly, all over the Sweet Field, there are signs of new possibilities, like deep pink blossoms signaling midsummer blackberries…

And, the first of the blueberries, with just a slight flush of purple visible.

A Gingered Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie (recipe found here) reminds me that while at times it may not be obvious, you can always uncover some sweet possibilities.

And, if the pie happens to crack in half if you’ve tried to move it before it’s sufficiently cooled, remember the lesson from the strawberry field of what’s possible, and turn it into a perfectly acceptable and very tasty strawberry-rhubarb crisp.

©2011 T.W. Barritt all Rights Reserved

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler and Celebrating Summer Solstice at Restoration Farm

I am a rhubarb neophyte. Despite the dozens of blog posts that sing the praise of rhubarb each spring, and those sexy cover stories in Gourmet magazine, I’d never tried it. My first experience actually came just this past April, where it was served as the garnish atop an odd luncheon tart at an industry function. At least I think that was rhubarb.

However, being a member of a CSA is all about new culinary journeys, and when the magenta green stalks were included in the first distribution at Restoration Farm this season, I was genuinely excited by the possibilities.

Back in my kitchen, I find there are many things to appreciate about rhubarb. It slices beautifully, and the crisp stalks pack a powerfully tart punch. Chopped rhubarb can be frozen and used in baked desserts, and it pairs particularly well with strawberries. So I dice up about a pound and place it in the freezer along with a quart of strawberries picked at Restoration Farm. I have learned that with proper planning, nothing will go to waste – and it never hurts to have some fresh-picked fruit ready to go in the freezer.

On the afternoon of Restoration Farm’s Summer Solstice Pot Luck Dinner in the field, I prepare a Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler as my contribution to the meal. Preparing the cobbler with the frozen fruit is – dare I say it – easier than pie. The tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries combine into a glossy thick garnet-pink fruit filling that is blanketed with crumbly sweet biscuit dough.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

(Adapted from “From Asparagus to Zucchini – A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce," Madison Area CSA Coalition, 2004)

1 pound fresh or partially thawed chopped rhubarb
4 cups partially thawed strawberries (when freezing, I combined the berries with ½ cup of sugar, and reduced the amount of sugar below to ½ cup)
¾ to 1 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Topping:
1 ¼ cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold butter, cut up
½ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons cream
Addition cream to brush biscuits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine first five ingredients in bowl and toss fruit occasionally while you prepare the topping. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. Cut butter into bits and work into flour mixture. Combine sour cream and cream in small bowl and stir into flour mixture until just combined. Turn dough onto floured surface and gently knead 4-6 times. Roll dough into ½ inch thickness and cut into rounds with 2 inch biscuit cutter. Pour fruit mixture into buttered 9 inch square pan and top with biscuits. Brush biscuits with cream and bake until golden and bubbly, about 50 minutes.

At Restoration Farm, members arrive to celebrate the dawn of summer and carry all manner of dishes into the field - exquisite salads made with Restoration Farm greens, family recipes like Pastitsio and Spinach Pie, roasted vegetables, pasta salad and our friend George’s Iowa City Coffee Cake. It is a luminous late spring afternoon buffeted by soft breezes and the sky dappled with white clouds.

Head Grower Dan Holmes is resolute that farm dinners must occur as close as possible to the change in season. Indeed, there is something rhythmic and magical dining in the field on a glorious evening, partaking in food that has been grown on the farm, and enjoying a community meal together.

It is simplicity to be savored. We explore the berry patches and check on the heirloom tomatoes readying in the field up the hill. Rhubarb and strawberries are some of the early jewels of the spring growing season. As the sun sets on our farm dinner, we are more than ready for the rewards of summer.

©2010 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

Strawberry Fields and Salad Days at Restoration Farm

Despite the song lyric, strawberry fields are not forever. In several weeks, the plush red conical berries will be a memory, but at the moment, they are ripe for the picking at Restoration Farm.

I’ve been traveling, so I haven’t yet had a chance to taste the first fruits from the farm. The morning air is warm and sweet. I meet head grower Dan Holmes bumping along in the truck as I am walking down the path to the farm.

“Are you here for berries?” he asks. “There are bunches!”

I get to the “Sweet Field” and spend time filling a couple of containers. The strawberry plants lie low to the ground adorned with sparkling, juicy fruit. You have to forage around a bit, but underneath, there are plenty of firm, fat, lip-stick red berries. Soon, my fingers are stained a flattering shade of deep pink.

The beauty of fresh-picked berries is that they are already close to perfection and require so little manipulation. Nature and the farmer have done the work already to assure sweetness and flavor.

And, the blackberry bushes are covered in delicate lavender blossoms, a sign of the berries still ahead this summer.

It is also the first distribution of the season, and the start of my third season as a member of a CSA. People wonder if supporting local food is practical, economical or if the produce tastes any different. Yes, to all of the above. The produce from Restoration Farm will provide most of my food well into the autumn.

It has been a very long winter and it is a delicious homecoming. The “salad days” have returned at Restoration Farm, and I am just a bit cockeyed with glee. Head Grower Caroline Fanning is smiling. While I’ve noted that the farmers are reluctant to predict too far ahead, she thinks it is the start of a “good season.” The tender leaves are everywhere. Dan and Caroline and the volunteers have harvested red lettuce, green lettuce, spinach, arugula and mizuna.

I celebrate the start of Restoration Farm’s new season with the freshest of meals from the field – light, sweet, crisp and brilliant in color – a salad of many greens, Capatano Dairy Farmstead Gouda goat cheese, strawberries drizzled with balsamic syrup, and a bright glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The strawberries are tart and juicy, and the greens peppery and herbaceous. It’s pretty heavenly. (As I planned this first meal from the farm, look what my friend Julia at the blog “Grow, Cook, Eat” was putting together!)

As Barbara at the blog “Chez Aurora” has put it so well, “Green thumbs up!”

©2010 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

Berry Finale

As the curtain comes down on Berry Season 2009 at Restoration Farm, we present “berries baked two ways” for our final number.

On stage right, is the beautiful blackberry and raspberry buckle, inspired by my friend Miss Tera who believes that the true mark of someone who appreciates food is that they go out of their way to share the experience. So she shared this recipe for her grandmother’s blueberry buckle.

I guess I’m not a stickler for tradition, since I used a combination of raspberries and blackberries, which melted into a rich, deep red sauce, but Miss Tera assures me that there were, in fact, raspberries growing in her grandmother’s garden, and she was known to toss a few blackberries into her buckle.

I’ll leave it to Miss Tera to explain the different between a buckle, a grunt, a crumble, and all those other baked berry deserts. She’s the expert.

I have some experience with cobblers. My great great grandfather was a shoemaker in London. On stage left is the blushing berry cobbler. I tucked the final pint of raspberries under a mosaic of cornmeal batter. The tart, tangy berries are a tasty contrast to the nutty cornmeal crunch.

Adorn with your choice of toppings for a standing ovation.

Until next season!

© 2009 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved