Fosston Farmers’ Market Cultivates Food Revolution

Note: This is an article I wrote for the newspaper about the Fosston Farmers' Market.

When you hear the word “revolution” you probably think about Paul Revere’s ride and fighting off the redcoats. But over the last few years, there’s been a revolution in the way people think about what’s on their plate. America’s food revolution is happening in response to the alarming statistics we see on the news every day. Heart disease, stroke, diabetes are the nation’s top killers and directly linked to what we choose to eat.

Starting May 1st, Fosston will have its own weekly farmers market where you can visit with your neighbors and buy fresh food that has been grown or produced in the area. As you might expect, the season will dictate what’s available at the market. But even in spring, you’ll be able to find freshly baked, organic bread, locally produced honey, jams and jellies and cool weather crops like asparagus, lettuce and rhubarb. You can also find bedding plants so you can grow your own fresh vegetables and herbs.

Across Minnesota, farmers’ markets and roadside stands are nothing new, but it’s still a bit surprising that in this area where agriculture predominates, there aren’t even more opportunities to buy fresh, locally grown food. It’s great to be able to go into the grocery store in February and buy perfectly ripe fresh fruit and vegetables from Mexico or Chile, but in this era when we’re trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels – especially foreign oil – it’s a good idea to think about how many gallons of fuel it takes to ship all that food from one end of the world to another.

You may have seen “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” on TV. It’s a reality show about the popular British chef’s journey to get the schools in one West Virginia town to switch to a healthier diet. Week after week, we see him facing institutionalized bad food habits and a general lack of openness to change. But slowly, one meal at a time, he’s able to get through to even his harshest critics as they discover it’s not the end of their world and even making small changes can have a big impact.

Now that spring is finally here, this is the perfect time think about how what you eat affects your health, your family and even the country. Start your own food revolution.

Fosston Farmers’ Market is open every Saturday at 8 a.m. starting May 1st through the end of September. Located on the lawn of the East Polk Heritage Center on Hwy 2 East, Fosston. For more information, visit www.FosstonFarmersMarket.org or call (218) 209-2091.

Lemon Meltaway Cookies

Every time I bring these cookies to the farmers market in Bemidji, they are the first ones to sell out. If you like lemon, you will definitely like these cookies. Made with fresh lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract, they are tart and sweet at the same time. And then they're covered in powdered sugar, so how can you go wrong?

Lemon Meltaway Cookies
1 lb. softened butter
1 Cup corn starch
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 Teaspoon salt
Zest of a lemon
1 Teaspoon vanilla
2 Teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 Teaspoon lemon extract
3 Cups all purpose flour

Cream together the butter and sugar.
Add corn starch, mix well.
Add salt, lemon zest, juice, extract and salt, mix well.
Add flour, one cup at a time, mix until combined.
Wrap dough and chill for at least 30 mins and up to 2 days.
Scoop into small balls using a small ice cream scoop or teaspoon.
Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 375 for 12-14 mins.
Cool completely on cookie sheet. (Cookies will crumble if you try to move them while warm.)
Roll in powdered sugar.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. (These cookies also freeze well.)


Here's my second attempt at making a Youtube video:



Visit me online at www.Kaffehus.com

Party of Five

You would think that with as many cookbooks as I own, I'd always be using them to cook, but it's not usually the case. I do use many of the baking books over and over again, but there's something about cracking open a new cookbook to discover all the new recipes that's very exciting. That new book smell and how the pages are pressed tightly together--never been touched by hands--that just adds to the pleasure of soaking in the beautiful pictures and lists of ingredients. I'll probably never make even a fraction of all those recipes, but I guess it's like watching the Food Network--you get the pleasure of it without all the cleanup.

One book that I found myself reading cover to cover is called "Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin."  Kenny Shopsin is the owner of Shopsin's -- formerly a NYC grocery store, now a food stall in the Chelsea Market. But to just know that, doesn't begin to describe what a character Kenny is and I don't think I can appropriately describe him with mere words either. I'll let you discover him on your own. In fact, if you want the entire Shopsin's experience, there's a documentary called "I Like Killing Flies" that will immerse you in a bit of Kenny's world. That's how I first heard of him, became fascinated and count myself as one of his many fans. Now if you know anything of Kenny, you'd know that he could care less that I or anyone else considers himself as one of his fans. In fact, he'd probably throw you out of his restaurant just for saying something so rediculous. And that's what I admire about him. He doesn't give a rip what you or anyone else thinks of him. He loves to feed people, but it's definitely on his terms, not yours.

There's a poem in the book written by one of Kenny's long-suffering customers which describes one of Kenny's many "policies." Shopsin's will not serve any party larger than four. No exceptions. Kenny explains that he only has four burners on his stove and it messes up his timing if he has to try to get more than four plates out at once. Makes sense.

Party of Five
You could put a chair at the end
or push the tables together
but don't bother
This banged-up little restaurant
where you would expect no rules at all
has a firm policy against seating
parties of five


And you know you are
a party of five


It doesn't matter if one of you
offers to leave or if
you say you could split into
a party of three and a party of two
or if the five of you come back tomorrow
in Richard Nixon masks and try to pretend
that you don't know each other
It won't work: you're a party of five


Even if you're a beloved regular
Even if the place is empty
Even if you bring logic to bear
Even if you're a tackle for the Chicago Bears
it won't work
You're a party of five
You will always be a party of five
a hundred blocks from here
a hundred years from now
you will still be a party of five
and you will never savor the soup
or compare the coffee or
hear the wisdom of the cook
and the wit of the waitress or 
get to hum the old-time tunes
among which you will find
no quintets

                                 -Robert Hershon

3-Way Gingersnaps

I was looking for cookies I could make to bring to the farmers market and came across this recipe for 3-way gingersnaps in one of my favorite cook books: The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri.  It was also the same week I found a used Kook-E-King cookie depositor for sale. Since I'm always looking for ways to do things faster and more efficiently, I couldn't wait to try the Kook-E-King out. I video taped the whole thing for posterity. Click here to see it on my YouTube page.


3-Way Gingersnaps


2 Cups Flour
3 Tsp. Ground Ginger
2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 1/2 sticks Softened Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Tblsp. grated Fresh Ginger
2 Tblsp. chopped Crystallized (Candied) Ginger
2 Tblsp. Honey


Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and mix until smooth.
Mix in the rest of the ingredients except the flour until well combined.
Scape down the sides of the bowl, then
Mix in the flour until incorporated.


Scoop out small balls of dough
Roll in sugar
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet in a 350 oven for 12-14 minutes (until deep golden brown)
Let cool on a rack












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Knackerbrod (Cracker bread / Flat Bread)

I honestly never thought much of flat bread -- it was kind of, well, flat. Not much to get excited about, whole wheat, dry -- and we know how much fun that is. But the flat bread I've been bringing to the farmers market has been such a hit, I'm getting a new appreciation for it. I get calls almost every week asking if I'm going to have some more on Saturday or if I'd share the recipe. I've also started making some with flax seeds in it to add a little more crunch. [I'll add some pictures next week when I make more.]

This recipe comes from my Aunt Delores who said it was the best flat bread recipe she's used. It's actually pretty simple to make. The most difficult part is baking all those pieces one at a time -- it just gets a bit tedious, but it's not hard at all.

Flatbread (Knackerbrod)

Mix in a medium sized bowl:

2 Cups Oatmeal

1/2 Cup Whole wheat flour

1/3 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Salt (I use sea salt, but Kosher works well too)

Add 2/3 Cup melted butter and mix until everything is coated

Add 1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk, mix well.

Add 2 Cups Unbleached AP flour, mix well.

The dough will be very sticky. Cover with plastic and let it rest for at least 30 mins. (Overnight in the fridge works too.)

Rolling

Dust a piece of parchment paper with the same whole wheat flour you used in the dough. Scoop out about 1/3 - 1/2 Cup and pat into a rectangle. (Sprinkle with more whole wheat flour as needed so it doesn't stick to your hands.) Roll with a rolling pin (I use my lefse pin with cross hatch lines and a pastry stocking for this, but a plain rolling pin would probably work too.)

It's a little tricky to roll the sticky dough on the parchment while keeping it in place on the counter -- it wants to slide all over -- but once it gets started, it works ok.

Once or twice while you're rolling, peel the flattened dough off the parchment, sprinkle some more whole wheat flour on the dough and flip it over, then roll some more. It hangs together pretty well. Get it as thin as you can. One little scoop of dough will become the size of a whole cookie sheet when rolled out completely.

Once it's the size you want, then sprinkle the flax seed or whatever you like. Press in with a few rolls of the pin.

[If you want, you can score it at this point into squares with a serrated knife. After it bakes it will break apart at the score lines. I started out scoring into uniform shapes, but then I figured it was homemade anyway, so now I skip this step.]

Bake on the parchment in a 375 oven for about 10 mins. (I bake it directly on my pizza stone, but you can use a cookie sheet too.) It should be golden brown for the best flavor. The edges may get darker.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container. It keeps for a long time. (No, I mean a LONG time. The Vikings used to take it with them on their voyages because it never spoiled.)

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

So much for summer -- Fall has arrived in all it's glory. It's really my favorite season with all the great colors and the chill in the air. Ok, the chill in the air never really left this year except for a couple weeks in September, but who's counting?

This "summer" I've been busy doing lefse classes and making lefse for the farmers market in Bemidji, but a couple weeks ago, I thought I should make something with some fall flavors, so I thought pumpkin. And I found these great cupcake papers online (I know, most people don't get excited by cupcake wrappers, but that's just me) so I made some pumpkin cupcakes and I thought I'd use my tried and true cream cheese frosting, but this time with some orange zest thrown in. Well, they were a big hit at the market and have been every week since.

The recipe is really pretty easy and you can use fresh (baked and mashed) or canned pumpkin.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

(Makes about 18 large or 24 regular cupcakes)

Mix dry ingredients together:

3 cups AP flour

1 Tbls. Pumpkin Pie Spice (I mix up my own version using cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, but you can buy it pre-mixed)

2 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Tsp. Salt

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

In another bowl, mix wet ingredients together:

1/2 Cup buttermilk

About 2 cups mashed pumpkin (or one 15 oz can)

4 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

Combine wet and dry until completely mixed.

Scoop into cupcake papers and bake at 350 for 25 mins. or until toothpick comes out clean.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1- 8 oz package Cream Cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1-16 oz bag powdered sugar

Zest of one orange, plus a tablespoon juice

Mix well until creamy

Frost cupcakes when they are completely cool. (I use a pastry bag with a large round tip.)

Garden Vegetable Chowder

The string beans have started to produce so one of my favorite ways to use them is in a chowder. The great thing about this soup is you can use just about any kind of vegetable you might have. Normally, I wouldn't be thinking about making soups at this time of the year, but since it's been so cold this summer, it seems like the perfect thing to eat.

There are dozens of variations of this basic recipe, so feel free to experiment.

Garden Vegetable Chowder

Cut 2-3 slices of bacon into bite size pieces and fry in a large pot until crispy. Remove bacon and drain excess fat, leaving 2-3 tablespoons. (You could also use Italian sausage instead of bacon.)

While the bacon is frying, chop the following into about 1/2" pieces:
1 Medium Onion
3 Carrots
2 Celery Stalks
2-3 potatoes (Red skinned are great for this, but any kind will work.)
1/2 Rutabega
1 cup green and/or yellow string beans
Also, cut the kernels from 1-2 ears of corn.

Add carrots, rutabega, celery and onion to pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining vegetables and simmer another 5 minutes.

Add 4-5 cups chicken stock and 1 cup of water to the pot. (If using store bought stock, use low-sodium stock.)

Simmer over medium-low heat until all vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes).

Return bacon to the pot
Add 1/2 cup heavy cream (Optional, but it's really good!)
Add 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (optional) (parsley, chives and thyme are all good choices)

Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Serve with cornbread or biscuits.