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Harvest Corn + Potato Chowder

September 12, 2015 By Lauren

brightcorn

We’re deep into late summer, the season where all is ripe, ready to be pulled from soil, stalk, vine.  It’s harvest-time and for me that means 2 things: #1. cramming as many summer activities (swimming in the lake and biking long-stretches beneath already-starting-to-fade green and eating as many raspberries/tomatoes/summer squash as possible) as I can into these ever-shortening days and #2. preserving, because this harvest season, like all seasons, is turning and for this Winter I dream of a cupboard lined w/ jars of home-canned tomatoes, a freezer-drawer filled w/ home-frozen berries and cracking open a jar of home-fermented dill pickles on some bone-chilling night.

In Geneva, we’ve already had a few down-right Fall-like days and I made this chowder one fresh evening with some frozen chicken broth from last Winter.  The recipe was adapted from Jessica Prentice’s Full Moon Feast, a beautiful book about what feeds us (and it’s so much more than just food, y’all) throughout the year.  Each chapter is named for each month’s full-moon–harking back to an age where time was so deeply interwoven w/ what was on (or missing) from our plates– and Prentice uses a mix of history, folk-lore, nutritional science, and personal anecdote to deepen our connections between ourselves and our food.

twopotatoes

The first full-moon of late summer was traditionally called the “Corn Moon”–corn meaning “grain” long before European colonialists encountered zea mays (or the corn in this recipe).  Prentice talks about agriculture–how it’s shaped our social, cultural and environmental landscapes–and about balance.  To paraphrase: yes, the way most grains are grown in the U.S. are corrosive to both our planet and ourselves and yes, many folks would agree that the rise of agriculture was, indeed, the starting point of this anthropocene epoch.  But also: grains have seen us through many a long-mooned night, and, when prepared properly, nourished us for thousands of years.

shuck

Like corn.  Corn was held, in many cultures, as something sacred–a symbol of survival and sustenance, something that could be stored to see one’s community through the barren Winter.  The corn that has nourished indigenous Americans for centuries has little to do w/ the majority of corn grown in N.America (and shipped elsewhere) now.  Genetically-modified, grown in petroleum-based fertilizers, sprayed with petroleum-based chemicals–this kind of corn is not a symbol of life, but of war and death.

Perhaps that’s why so many nutritional camps have sounded alarm.  Many foods have become controversial in these past years, but none more so than wheat and corn.  For me, these foods are prime examples of why nutritional guidance should be nuanced and not applied with such broad strokes.  The corn I used in this recipe is an old variety, grown in organically-cultivated soil from a neighboring farm.  If I wanted to, I could shell and dry its kernels and use its flour all Winter long.  Sounds pretty sacred to me.

When I say nutrition should be nuanced, I don’t mean complicated.  Sometimes it can be as simple as just eating the foods around you.  Like a corn and potato chowder on a harvest new-moon.

corn-chowder

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Harvest Corn + Potato Chowder

Adapted from Prentice's Full Moon Feast

Ingredients

  • 3 ears corn and the cob
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons ghee
  • 2 tablespoons za'atar or dried thyme
  • 3 small leeks, sliced into rounds
  • 1 carrot, diced small
  • 4 handfuls potatoes, cut into chunks
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup raw sour-cream + 1 tablespoon for garnishing

Directions

  1. Slice the kernals of your corn into a bowl and scrape the corn "milk" into the bowl, as well.
  2. Heat your broth in a small pot with the corn cobs and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, add ghee to a heavy-bottomed soup-pot. Saute the leeks until translucent. Add carrots and cook and stir for another few minutes. Add potatoes and enough stock to cover (if you don't have enough, just add a little water). Add big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer (covered) until the potatoes are well-cooked (about 15 minutes).
  4. Add corn kernels and simmer for another 5 minutes or until tender.
  5. Remove from heat and add sour-cream and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Garnish w/ a spoonful of sour-cream and enjoy w/ a slice of buttered rye-bread.
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Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Plant, Recipes, Summer, Vegetable Tagged With: chowder, corn, dinner, harvest, latesummer, potatoes, seasonal, vegetables

Midsummer Cherry Clafoutis

June 21, 2015 By Lauren

clafoutisLong before my interest in lunar rhythms or yearly wheels, I celebrated the Summer solstice by chance.  Midsummer, or “midsommer” as I was introduced to it, is the longest day of the year, the official start of Summer and, perhaps, the national holiday of Sweden, similar in scope to the American fourth of July but without all the hot-dog-and-fireworks patriotism.  It was there, amongst maypoles and floral wreaths and silly songs and schnapps, that I was introduced to this kind of seasonal celebration: of abundance, community, fertility, light.

flower

The first potatoes of summer, the first strawberries dipped in cream, a jar of pickled herring preserved and soured over Winter; these foods become precious, even worth national celebration, when considered after a long and dark Winter.

Geneva is at a far lower latitude than Sweden and though we’ve had strawberries for some weeks now and new potatoes for nearly a month, there is still something precious to celebrate: this week, the first sweet cherries appeared at the market, complete with a hand-written sign that read “goutez-moi” (taste me).

cherries

Cherries rarely appear so early where I’m from, four hours south of cherry capital, U.S.A (Traverse City, MI, by the way).  I remember a recipe from the Time-Life Foods of the World series in one of the “American Cooking” books–a picture from the 70s, a handsome group of friends clad in denim and gathered ’round a river, a fire, a cast-iron pan and a recipe for cherry pie.

eggfeather crackedegg

As romantic as it is to think of making a cherry pie around a fire, lost in some far-west American wilds, I’ve found the reality to be far less so.  First, there’s the pitting, then there’s the crust, and by the time the pie’s in the oven you feel like you’ve been cooped up in the kitchen all day. That’s where this clafoutis comes in.

Clow-fow-what-is?!  Clafoutis is a lot more common around these near-to-France parts than in, say, Michigan.  As delicious (if very distinct from) cherry pie, clafoutis is as easy to make as pouring a flan-like batter over a cherry-filled pan.  And pitting?  Forget it!  Traditionally, the pits are left in the cherries as they release the same active compound in almond extract during baking.  So as long as you enjoy spitting pits (or, at least don’t mind) from time to time it’s a win/win.

This version of clafoutis does require a bit of foresight as the batter ferments overnight, which makes this midsummer treat that much more high-vibe.

vanilla mix

Fermented Grains, The Easy Way

Can I share something with you that you might find a little crazy?  I try to eat only processed whole grains. Yep, you read that right.  Whether it’s by sprouting, soaking or full-on fermenting, the grains that I eat have been “processed” according to age-old traditional nutritional wisdom.  From the sour-oat porridge of Wales to the paper-thin dosa of India, many cultures traditional grain-based foods begin with some period of fermentation.

Scientific evidence validates this traditional wisdom as grains contain phytic acid in their bran, or outer layer.  (Fallon, 452).  Untreated phytic acid combines with minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption making a diet high in “unprocessed” whole grains an unwise choice, to say the least.

portrait

Soaking grains in warm, slightly acidic water for seven hours (or overnight) will neutralize a large portion of phytic acid.  Enzymes, lactobacilli and a slew of other helpful organisms formed during fermentation help to do this.  These same organisms also help “pre-digest” difficult to digest proteins, like gluten; which is why it’s especially important to “process” gluten-containing grains (oats, wheat, barley, rye) and why sourdough-based breads and pastries are far easier on the digestive system than their commercially-risen brethren.

So what’s the solution to making a whole-grain flour “processed” before using it in baking something, like, say, a clafoutis?  A sourdough starter is one option, but the growth and maintenance can be prickly for the non-bread-baker’s among us and it’s not really necessary to make a simple fermented dough.  In fact, all that is necessary is some yogurt or kefir or buttermilk and some time.

By allowing your flour to soak overnight in your dairy-ferment of choice, you’re unlocking all of its nutritious potential.  Grains have gotten a bad reputation as of late (cough, “wheat belly”) and one that is, in this baked-goods-lover’s opinion, undeserved.

oven

Print
Midsummer Cherry Clafloutis

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup white flour
  • 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1 & 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup rapadura (evaporated cane juice)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 kilo or roughly 3 cups cherries

Directions

  1. Mix flours and buttermilk together in a big mixing bowl. Let ferment overnight.
  2. The next morning, heat over to 350 degrees F add eggs, 1/4 cup rapadura and vanilla and beat until frothy.
  3. Pour a bit of the batter into a large, enamel baking dish. Add cherries, pressing down into dish. Pour over the rest of the batter. Place in oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until a fork-test comes out clean.
  4. Serve warm & with a side of raw cream.
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References:

Fallon, Sally, 1999, 2001. Nourishing Traditions. Washington, DC. Newstrends Publishing Inc.

 

Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Plant, Recipes, Seasons, Summer Tagged With: cherries, cherry clafoutis, dessert, late summer, recipes, summer

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