interviewing farmers and local businesses, I have decided to try and be my own farmer this season. I will try and get back to updating new recipes regularly! If you’d like to follow my backyard experiences, you can click here!
Any tips or comments would be very greatful!
I first tried this recipe at a friend’s Thanksgiving party. From what I hear, this recipe has been passed around quite a bit, but Rose is the one who shared it with me. The kale in this recipe is crisp and flavorful. This recipe makes enough for about 6 large side servings. Who knows… maybe you’ll bring it to your next dinner party!
Marinade:
Juice of two lemons
5-10 cloves of garlic (depending on your taste)
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tsp sweetener of choice (I used agave nector)
Salad:
2 bunches of kale
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (other nuts are okay, too)
1/2 cup crumbled feta*
1 cup sliced green grapes
1 avocado, diced
(*if you don’t eat dairy, you can make this without the feta OR check out Brighter Day. I just that they carry a non-dairy feta cheese! It’s made by Sunergia Soyfoods, and hey it’s not half bad.)
Prepare kale by separating the leaves from the stems. Wash the leaves and break them into bite-sized pieces in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk marinade ingredients together. Add marinade to kale and mix thoroughly.
Add all of the rest of the salad ingredients and mix again. You can eat this salad right away, or make it ahead of time and let marinade.
The fresh mint and dill in this soup really make the dish. This is bound to be a family favorite! This recipe originally found in Veganomican, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into ¼ in pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried tarragon
several pinches of fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
6 cups veggie stock
2 pounds potatoes, cut into ½ in chunks
4 cups chopped broccoli (about 1 large bunch)
¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
Heat a soup pot over medium heat and sauteé the onion in the olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, tarragon, black pepper, and salt and cook for another minute. Pour in the vegetable stock and add the potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil.
Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook for 15 more minutes.
Pureé about 1/3 of the soup in a blender or food processor, and return to pot. Add the fresh dill and mint, then let the soup sit for about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld.
This cranberry sauce is easy and delicious, with perfect texture and sweetness. Recipe originally from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan, by Dreena Burton. (She is a wonderfully sweet woman, and her recipes are wonderful!) You can find her blog here.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup fresh cranberries
1 cup maple syrup
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
Preparation:
Combine cranberries and syrup in a saucepan. Stir occasionally while heating on high heat, until syrup is boiling and berries start to pop. Decrease heat to low, and cook until cranberries break down completely. Add balsamic for a bit of tangy flavor. Cranberry sauce can be served warm or chilled.
If you live in Savannah and you haven’t visited The Starlander Café, you’re missing out. Located in the Starland district, this gem offers made-to-order paninis, homemade soups and salads. The menu items change from time-to-time, depending on what’s in stock. If you’re lucky enough to sample the tomato guacamole sandwich and creamy, tomato Thai soup, these are some of my favorites. If you visit the Starlander, located off of Drayton St on E. 41st St, you’re bound to meet John Deaderick, owner and founder of the café. This genial guy is a great host for the venue, which not only provides delicious and fresh food, but lots of character. The walls provide gallery space for works of local artists. The café provides both indoor and outdoor seating, so when you bring your furry friend to play in the Savannah Dog Park next door, you can bring him along with you to grab a bite to eat.
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John Deaderick had a hand in building the LEED-certified, Starland Lofts, as well as making a continued effort to reunite the neighborhoods surrounding the Starland District. A great deal of the beautification in the area is thanks to Deaderick and his partners.
The Starlander is open Mon-Fri, from 11am to 3pm, and located at 11 E. 41st St.
In only 2 weeks, my garlic is starting to sprout! I can’t believe how quickly it’s coming up. Garlic likes the cold, so plant your own now! I used a container, but you can plant it right in the ground if you like.
All you have to do is take a single clove and bury it about one inch below the top of the soil, keeping the pointed end facing upward. You want the plant to get plenty of sun and the soil to stay moist. The garlic will be ready to harvest in the Spring!
For tips and info about harvesting and drying, check out this site.
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This recipe is probably the most delicious butternut squash recipe I’ve ever had. It’s flavorful and spicy. It paired great with the sweet Miso-Glazed Green Beans. This recipe is interesting because you leave the skins on instead of just tossing them. Originally featured on food network, this was created by chef Mario Batali.
1 medium butternut squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch slices
2 tbsp plus 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp cup red wine vinegar
1/2 medium red onion, sliced very thin
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season the squash with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake in the oven until skin is just tender, about 18 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the remaining oil, vinegar, onion, chile flakes, oregano, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Remove the squash from the oven and pour the marinade over. Allow to cool for 20 minutes in the marinade, sprinkle with fresh mint leaves, and serve.
These beans are flavorful and sweet, with a distinctly Asian taste of fresh ginger with lemon. White mushrooms can be used in place of the oyster/shiitake mushrooms. This recipe is also thanks to Delicious Living and can be found here.
2 tablespoons mellow white miso
¾ cup warm water
1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1 shallot, sliced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
8 ounces shiitake or oyster mushrooms, stems trimmed, cut into ½-inch slices
1½ pounds green beans, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Slowly whisk miso into warm water until smooth. Set aside.
Heat a deep, 12-inch sauté pan or very wide pot over medium heat, then add oil. Add shallot and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, until shallot begins to brown. Add mushrooms and 1 teaspoon water, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover pan to allow mushrooms to sweat, about 5 minutes. Once mushrooms have begun to soften, remove lid, increase heat to medium, and cook until mushrooms brown, about 10 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl and set aside.
Drop green beans into the same pan, then pour in miso mixture. Increase heat a bit and cover to allow beans to steam. Stir periodically, replacing lid each time. Cook until beans they are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add mushroom mixture to beans. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are heated through and miso mixture reduces to a glaze. Stir in lemon zest and serve.
This gratin is incredibly delicious, but very easy to make. I urge all of you to try it with some Georgia-fresh Farmhouse Blue cheese from Flat Creek Lodge. I’m not typically a blue chees eater, but the flavor is just right for this dish.
Although the recipe is for a 2 quart pan, you can make this recipe in any size dish, using a generous layer of each ingredient. Just be sure to use less milk for a smaller size. You can find this recipe’s original, thanks to Delicious Living, here.
1 medium bunch chard
½ pound small blue or russet potatoes
¼ cup milk
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced (I used portobella)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded fontina or Muenster cheese (less is okay)
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove stems from chard leaves and chop. Thinly slice potatoes to about 1/8” thickness. Use a mandoline or food processor if possible. Set aside.
Pour milk into a 2-quart casserole dish. Layer the mushroom along the bottom of the dish. Next add a layer of chard. Sprinkle the garlic on top. Arrange potatoe slices on top of these layers. Sprinkle half of the fontina/Muenster cheese on top. If you’re using less cheese, just sprinkle evenly. Cover with foil and bake until potatoes are tender (about 25 minutes).
Preheat the oven’s broiler. Remove foil and sprinkle remaining cheese on dish. Broil in oven until cheese melts (about 2 minutes). For firmer texture, let stand 5 minutes.
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This week I interviewed Andy Schwartz, an agricultural overseer at Hampton Island. This remote resort is located about 35 minutes south of Savannah, just before a town called Riceboro, Georgia. Hampton Island is separated on three sides by marsh and one side by a tidal creek, making the only way onto the island by boat or by a single lane bridge. Extravagance is an understatement to describe this incredible getaway, which is even frequented by some celebrities. Many buildings at the cite use reclaimed wood from old barns and other structures.
In addition to having an exclusively open-air kitchen (with chefs on-site) and a sugar cane press, Hampton Island features an organic farm. The farm has a multitude of seasonal vegetables and fruit, currently including: asparagus, salad greens, Asian greens, cauliflower, broccoli, green and purple beans, a multitude of hot peppers, carrots, radishes, turnips and many more.
Four huge brick planter beds frame a courtyard, located in front of the farmhouse. Each of these beds is designated for a single type of plant. One is exclusively for tea plants, like green tea, white tea and jasmine tea. Another bed is only for culinary herbs, including plants such as dill, oregano, thyme and many more. The third bed is designated as the medicinal plant bed, and the fourth is for seedlings. The farm uses a commercial dehydrator to make its own tea blends and dried herbs.
The Island solves many problems on their farm through holistic approaches. Andy told me about how insects are part of a healthy farm, but in order to get rid of the harmful bugs, you have to keep around the helpful ones. A special area is designated as the butterfly bush area, just so butterflies can have somewhere to eat. Ground covering plants are seeded while rows are empty, in order to replenish the soil with nutrients. They use castor oil seedpods to get rid of both moles and mole crickets. When weeds invade, the employees use a blend of hot peppers to kill the plants.
Before Andy started working at Hampton Island in March of this year, he had no previous experience with agriculture. In such a short amount of time, he’s been able to not only learn about growing edible food, but alternatives to using chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, that frequently end up in our grocery stores and kitchens. Andy sells the farm’s produce at the Wednesday evening farmer’s market, and at events in the area.
I bring you a weekly look into a local or regional business or agricultural inspiration, as well as frequently updated recipes using in-season vegetables available in Savannah, Georgia.
Buying local not only helps Savannah local businesses and families thrive, it lowers the cost of transportation (nationally and overseas) and mass processing to both you the consumer and our Earth. Buying local allows you to know exactly where your food is coming from.
Have a recipe or comments you'd like to share? Email me at liz.mckibbon (at) gmail.com
