Blue Ribbon BBQ Sauce

Many seek out their local farmer's market, farm stand or CSA for seasonal fruits and veggies. And while they may make up the majority of offerings throughout the summer season here in the Northeast, meat is a growing feature at these venues - and for good reasons!

• Consumers want to know that the meat they are buying is free of added hormones and antibiotics and the animals have been fed an appropriate diet (often times they are raised organically)! 
• They also want to know the chicken, beef, pork (bacon!), etc., that they're buying has been raised in a kind and humane manner by people who prioritize the needs of their animals over producing as many animals as possible as quickly as possible.
• The quality is generally MUCH better than you will find at your local grocer!

In addition to our vegetable, egg and flower CSA's, we also belong to a chicken CSA at Square Roots Farm.  I'll be the first to admit that eating farm fresh chicken has turned me into a bit of a chicken snob. We haven't purchased chicken from the grocery store since our chicken CSA kicked off at the beginning of June and I don't miss it one bit!

We generally get two chickens every two weeks (the day after they are processed, I might add). Occasionally, we grille one on our rotisserie, but more often I cut them up into parts - some to use right away and others to freeze for later. And nothing goes to waste - the remaining carcasses are either frozen right away or go straight into a pot for some of the best chicken stock you'll ever taste!

We use a lot of boneless chicken breast to make stir fries, salads or shish kebobs throughout the summer, with whatever fresh vegetables we have on hand. Bone-in drumsticks and things are great roasted (particularly on cold winter's day), but our favorite way to enjoy them is right off the Weber (preferably with some farm fresh corn and perhaps a sun-kissed tomato right off the vine)!

This summer, I've mastered BBQ chicken. While trying to avoid going to the store more than I absolutely have to throughout this pandemic, I've come up with a rub and sauce that is as good better than any you find on a shelf. While I'll admit, this BBQ sauce has not (yet) won a blue ribbon, it IS that good, trust me!

Blue Ribbon BBQ Sauce

1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed

1 1/2 cups ketchup

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup of molasses

1 Tablespoon Worcester sauce
2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons dried onion flakes

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt

dash or two of red pepper flakes

Chicken and Rib Rub
1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sea salt (kosher salt will work too)

1/4 cup paprika

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/4 teaspon cayenne pepper

To make the chicken, I apply rub (hence the name) a generous amount of Chicken and Rib Rub on each piece of meat about a 1/2 hour or so before I put it on the grille.

In the meantime, light your grille, but leave one burner off (we have a three-burner Weber, so I turn on the middle and right-hand burner and leave the left one off). 

When I'm cooking legs (i.e. the drumstick and thigh together), I place them skin-side up over indirect heat (the burner on the left) and cook them for 20-25 minutes then turn them over for an additional 15-20 minutes. At that point, I brush each piece with a generous amount of BBQ sauce then cook for 5-7 minutes turn the chicken over and repeat the process. I do this a couple of times, until I feel like the meat is going to fall off the bone(s) if I turn it over any more. 

This recipe also works really well on baby back ribs!

If you haven't had an opportunity to try pasture-raised, farm fresh meat, I encourage you to do so - it's not only better FOR you and your family, it's better for the land. If you live here in the BRK, both Forthill Farmstand and Square Roots Farm offer pork and beef, the latter also sells poultry (both chickens AND Thanksgiving turkeys). 

'Til next time, happy BBQing.

Buon appetito!

THE Very Best Peanut Sauce

See the picture below? It's a simple photo of five basic ingredients, some (if not all) of which I bet you have in your pantry right now!

Okay, you may argue the red curry paste, but can I just tell you, I tried to find red curry paste at our local grocer for over two weeks and they were completely cleaned out? So there are a lot of people, somewhere in this community, with red curry paste in their pantry/fridge, but I digress.

These five simple simple ingredients are going to change your life. Trust me (unless you have a peanut allergy, in which case all bets are off). 

Photo courtesy of Lynne Cannon O'Connell. 

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while, know that every year or so, I wax poetic about peanut sauce. I love it. And, well, it's time has come!

We've received napa cabbage in a couple of our CSA shares this season and it pairs so incredibly well with the sauce, that I made it my mission to incorporate it into our dinner menu one night last week. 

I simply grilled some boneless, skinless chicken breast (which we bought through our chicken share at Square Roots Farm). Once it was cool enough to handle, I sliced it thinly and placed it on top of a bed of chopped napa cabbage that had been tossed with some shredded carrots and onion greens, also from Square Roots Farm (except for the carrots - it's not quite time for those yet).

Then I drizzled the room temperature peanut sauce on top (generously) and finished the plate off with a sprinkle of peanuts for some added crunch.

The sauce recipe, which came from Alice Currah's Savory Sweet Life cookbook, is really quite quick and easy to make. 

1 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I add closer to a 1/2 cup or more)

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce (or Tamari if you're gluten free)

1 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste

Combine the coconut mile, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce and red curry paste in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally. 

NOTE: This sauce keeps well in the fridge for a couple of weeks, if it lasts that long. Use it over grilled meat, vegetables, steamed rice, your favorite pasta or eat it right off a spoon - it's THAT good! 

Buon Appetito!

PS - We drizzled this sauce on some sauteed chicken breast with snap peas served over rice a few nights later. DELICIOUS!

Farm Fresh Fried Rice

What is this and what do I do with it? That's a question nearly every CSA member asks at one point in time or another. One of the great benefits of joining a CSA is the abundance of (often times) organically raised fruits and vegetables you receive each week. Some are easily recognizable - lettuce, onions, snap peas, cucumbers, zucchini, while others may not be quite so familiar - kohlrabi, bok choi and hakurei turnips. 

NOTE: I didn't stage this photo well, there's a bundle of beets hidden in there. More on those in a future post.

I've learned a couple of things over the years. 

1. Nearly any vegetable can be tossed in EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and sea salt, then roasted. Don't pressure yourself to find a new recipe for every item in your share each week. We're all busy, and roasted veggies are GOOD (they're also good FOR you)!
2. Nearly any vegetable works in fried rice (or a frittata more to come on that too).

I had to remind myself of #2 when I received a rather large bundle of salad (aka hakurei) turnips recently and didn't have the time, nor energy, to figure out what to do with them. I immediately began chopping and the process looked something like this...

I sliced up the turnips, then halved or quartered each slice, depending on the size. I also chopped up the greens (they're loaded with vitamins A and C)! I sliced up the spring onion that was in our share, including some of the ends. I also sliced up a couple of a carrots I had left over from a package I purchased at Guido's. Once I was done doing that, I quickly fried up a couple of fresh eggs from Square Roots Farm, then I put them aside. I poured a couple Tablespoons of EVOO in a non-stick pan and added a generous Tablespoon of butter, tossed in the onions (including the green ends) and sauteed them until they were limp. Then I added the turnips and carrots, which I cooked 'til they were tender at which point I tossed in the greens and pre-cooked rice (either white or brown works here, you could even try other grains like quinoa). I added a bit more butter, a couple Tablespoons of Tamari (I used Tamari, but you can use soy sauce if that's what you have in the pantry, we're mostly gluten free here, so that's what I had on hand) and a Tablespoon or so of sesame oil and let it all heat through so the flavors meld. Last, but not least, I added the egg back in at the end.

This is one of those dishes that's just as good (if not better) reheated in the microwave the next day, so I cook a LOT when I make it and pack it for lunch!

As I said up above, this recipe works with nearly any vegetable. Personally, I always add an onion to it, cuz that's the way I roll, but it's entirely up to you! Let me know how you end up making this recipe 'your own.'

Buon appetito!

Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...

Yes, we've been absent. For quite a while...nearly 7 years (gasp!) to be exact.  It turns out when there's a global pandemic (aka COVID-19) and things basically shut down (except for your job, if you're a healthcare worker like me), you have a bit of time on your hands.

And since Square Roots Farm offered vegetable CSA shares this year (to which I immediately said, "yes, please!") and it seems that everyone and his brother has caught on to the abundance of farm fresh food available in our proverbial back yards, I figured it was time to dust off ye old blog and share some of the goodness that's been going on.

After a particularly cold spring here in the BRK, warm weather arrived and everything in the fields began growing in leaps and bounds. As a result almost everything Square Roots Farm had planted for their first week of CSA was ready to be harvested and eaten a week early. Consequently, we received a 'bonus week' and our first pick-up took place in a very responsible, social distance fashion, on June 10th.

I was in awe of the gorgeous greens we received and immediately made 'greens and beans' for dinner. I followed this recipe and the results were outstanding, if I do say so myself!

This dish took me back to conversations in the kitchen with my Italian friend's mother, Isabel. It's definitely something she would have made (sans an actual recipe) and served to her family for dinner with a loaf of crusty bread.

I served it up with some fresh grated Parmesan on top and the leftovers were just as good (if not better) the next day!

I'll be making this again before the season's through and invite you to try it too!  Greens are plentiful this time of year - just check your local farm or farm stand - there are some links to local farms/stands here in the Berkshires just to the right on this page.

Buon appetito!