This week
An American Confidence: That Anyone Can Cook
9 August 2010
Notes on deliveries for Aug 12 2010,
New this week:
- Fresh trout from the mountains filet and whole (lines 219,220)
- Great Beef from Buffalo Creek Farms (lines 221 to 228)
- A range of new sorbets Blueberry, wild cherry (lines 424-427)
Hello Arganicans,
If you have kids running under foot you cannot help sitting through a great many “made for kid” movies. For me it is a secret pleasure. I like most of the stuff and only pretend to hate seeing it about a million times (at least in the background). One of my favorites, Ratatouille, is the story of a young rat who, with a species-inappropriate gift for cooking, secretly propels a lowly restaurant mop-boy to culinary stardom, while orchestrating the kitchen hidden under the boy's chef-hat. The basic theme is that “anyone can cook,” and more precisely: greatness can come from anyone in any expression. No matter what the endeavor, step one is allowing yourself the possibility that “You can.”
It was at the Albemarle County fair this weekend that this premise was on perfect display. Row after row of pies, jams and baked goods were out there for all to judge. Though some now claimed red, yellow and blue ribbons, winning 1st place was hardly the point of the display. It seemed very American and wholesome that so many believed in the possibility of their creations. It is also my observation that in the countryside with its wide open spaces between farms and houses, a person grows up without really having too many people telling them they are inadequate. There is a confidence built on self-reliance that is not easily taken away. Isolation does have its benefits.
If you ever get a chance to drive south along interstate 81 in the vicinity of Lexington, Virginia you might take a diversion by visiting the original Cryus McCormic farm. It was here that a young man in 1846 improbably worked out the details of the 1st successful reaper that ultimately transformed the entire agricultural profession. In one photo on the original log wall of the blacksmith shop hangs an engraving of a giant manufacturing plant in Chicago that was built only a few years after the invention.
It is here among such worthy examples that we continue chipping away at the subject of local food access. Often I acknowledge that we have no right to be in this field or to set upon such ambitious goals as rethinking how Americans get their foods. I suppose it is good that we operate off our remote farm and a good distance from the more experiences professionals who logically tell us of our imminent failure.
I simply believe that everyone can cook.
How to make a most delicious syrup from wild cherries, a personal experiment:
- Take 5 qts of wild cherries and put in a pot
- Add 3.5 qts of water and 1.75qts of sugar
- Put on a simmer just below boiling for several hrs (perhaps 3 or 4)
- Strain then filter the purple liquid. (and set aside)
- Use the same berries and 3 qts of water and ½ qt of sugar
- Simmer another 2 -3 hrs, Strain, filter and reduce in volume until you have thick syrup.
- Add 1.75 qts of sugar to the 1st batch and reduce that volume as quickly as possible to a syrup state. Add the 2 batches together. You can now discard the berries.
By taking the 1st batch off early you preserve the amazing purple color, taste and aroma of the wild cherry. The second batch gets browner in comparison but adds additional flavor from the berry stock without compromising the 1st batched color and vibrancy. If your batch is still crimson purple at the point you arrive at the syrup phase you have achieved perfection.
Pour over vanilla ice cream imbedded with large hand broken chunks of semi sweet chocolate to display the incredible color and flavor of the wild cherry syrup.
Happy local eating from Dominique, Rachel, Praggie Tom, Joe, Mike, Rebecca, Jaime, and the entire staff at Arganica
