Accordion to the French guy (selon l'homme français)

 

la vie au printemps

There are many things about the French, but what they know of food, from the Frenchies I've met, is that they don't have to start a food movement to become conscious of what real food is. Real food is in their blood, in their stories, part of their livelihood. French Folk Music is playing in the background right this moment from the accordion which was actually invented by a German Berliner in 1822 by the name of Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann. Last night a French man, Mattieu, at my newest couch surfing locale made Lasagna, while the Italian in the room and I watched and talked economics. Right off the bat Mattieu and I dove into conversation about the notion of cooking from scratch and eating real food. Meanwhile and ever-so idyllically, he cared for each piece of the spinach that would go in our lasagna that night by pulling off the stem and washing it--care that only a person raised in a culture of food would consider important. And now, without further adieu, the recipes...

 

Paeonia tenuifolia--Fern Leaf Peony

French Man's Lasagna
* de-stem and wash fresh spinach
* sautee in EVOO
* heat tomatoes in sauce pan with EVOO + Laural leaf (aka Bay Leaf) + oregano + basil and cook until it becomes a sauce
* mix in sauteed spinach with mascarpone + dill
* layer a casserole dish with sauce, then lasagna sheets (dry)
* alternate layers of spinach mixture, tomato sauce and lasagna sheets
* here's what makes the lasagna MIND BLOWING---> after last layer of sauce, add a layer of smoked salmon
* top with more sauce and grana pradano 
* bake at 200C (375ish F) for 45ish minutes or until done and cheese is bubbly on top 

cucumber + yogurt salad
* mix plain yogurt + salt n pepper
* add thinly sliced cucmbers

and for dessert...A la Loretta ice cream
* vanilla ice cream topped with warm raspberries

et voila le dîner est servi

 fallen apple tree petals

~ fin ~

Farm Work Party

The bests kinds of days end with a bonfire and today was one of those epic days where you have amazing weather, a great group of people and hands that are eager to work. My amazing boyfriend organized a work party to get cracking on the permaculture garden, chop wood and of course eat good food. 

Breakfast
apple porridge (same as applesauce)
leftovers gratin from yesterday

Brunch and Lunch

spelt sourdough bread
* mix sourdough (more on how to make a starter later)+ spelt flour + salt + water + herb, nuts
* mix thoroughly but NO NEED TO KNEAD--getting the right consistency takes some trial and error
* let rise at least 6 hours but as much as 24 
* pour into a breadform, make a 5cm (1.5ish in) slice into wet dough
* bake at 225C (400F) for 1 hour

carrot Spread
* boil or bake carrots
* add nuts of your choice + salt + EVOO + spices 
* use a food processor or hand blender and puree

beet root horseradish 
* finely grate both roots together
* mix in apple cider vinegar (ACV) + EVOO + Salt

carrot + apple cake bread: recipe here

someone brought gluten-free brownies and I guess the recipe might go like this: 

* nut meal (flour)
* eggs (maybe two or three)
* cacao powder
* sugar
* minimal oil if any
* baking powder 
* mix and bake at 175C (350F) for 30-45 minutes

Also, here's a link to an Elena's pantry recipe that is similar and I've been wanting to try. If only nut butters weren't so expensive over here! 

Dinner

wood-fired pizza 

                   Salvatore from Napoli
* first you need an Italian, which we had on hand
* early in the day we made spelt/wheat sour-dough (same as above) and let rise all day
* make your sauces and toppings
* make pizza

                 hand-crafted earthen oven
Quick salad 
*feldsalat + carrot + apple + balsamic + EVOO + pepper

Dessert
Chocolate + beer 

Tasks:
* cook
* dig and sift grass
* plant fruit bushes 
* seeded beds--potatoes, onions, banana beans, pole beans
* chopped wood

Events:

                        
* it was a party mang!
* also, Allan had a group of 30 from Copenhagen that paid money to hang out at the farm, eat cake drink coffee and the kids baked bread on a stick--a Danish tradition. 

Friday farm day

Fridays on the farm are spent preparing new goods to supply the farm's vegetable boutique for the week. Allan serves about 25 regular families each week all year (more on how he supplies year-round later) in addition to some randoms and catering parties here or there. Somehow the weather is always cold on Thursdays and Fridays which is perfect because we spend time in the greenhouse and barn preparing. 

Food today: 

Breakfast 

* oat at porridge topped with applesauce + oat milk + some dried rosehip powder (good for the joints) + flaxseed meal + pumpkin seed oil. 

Lunch

quick salad

* feldsalat + carrot + apple (<--from the farm) + cucumber + lemon juice

* smørrebrod

Dinner (Rasmus--the other intern and I made it)

Lamb heart 

* onion + chopped heart + carrots + beet root + leeks + nettles (all from the farm)

* red wine + apple cider vinegar + EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

* salt and herbs

* cook on low heat for at least an hour

Carrot-Potato-Leek Au Gratin

* slice carrots and potatoes 1/8in (less than half cm) thick and line casserole dish and toss with EVOO 

* toast bread or use panko or breadcrumbs for topping

* chop garlic and leeks (over-wintered from farm)and sautee

* as 1/3C broth (or in my case salt + balsamic + water)after leeks are very soft

* create alternating layers of carrot/potatoes + leeks mixture

* top with shredded cheese if you like ( I used blue cheese and some ultra smelly Danish style cheese)

* bake at 450F (210ish C) for 30ish minutes

Roasted Parsnips

* bake along side gratin with a bit of water in pan

* top with honey-mustard dressing 

Quick salad--same as the lunch salad

Admittedly dinner took longer to prepare than I would have liked. The goal is to keep it quick and simple and I think these dishes could actually take less time in the future.

Tasks:

* feed animals

* stare at lambs for awhile

* sort potatoes + leeks + other roots + search for non-carrot fly infested carrots to put in the boutique

* an accidental long nap followed by staring at the lambs again

* tidy up barn

* feed cows in the field potatoes

* feed the other animals

* pick some dandelion greens for the mama sheep that isn't feeling well after birth

Events 

* Cool couple who helped organize a Ugandan farmers network stopped by to announce a visit from Ugandans in June!

* A butterfly collector places some homes in the barn for them to hatch eggs in. Allan is part of a butterfly collectors group

Farm Log

I barely have time to write here anymore but since I'm at a farm this summer and my friend is begging me to write a cookbook, I thought I could at least post some of the things we're cooking from the farm produce. I can have a tendency to spend too long in the kitchen but here's what I've learned about farm life: 

* After 7 + hours of working, food must be quick
* Simple
* Mostly vegetarian/vegan
* Creativity is a must to avoid repetition
* detailed recipes are not really my thing so it has to be an intuitive cooking process

So...here's what we made yesterday: 

Muesli for breakfast (always or porridge)

Lunch is always smørrebrød which is open face Danish sandwiches on their rugbød (rye bread). More on smørrebrød later. 

Dinner: 

root vegetable pancake
* shred root veggies (over-wintered from farm)
* slice onions and mix (over-wintered from farm)
* heat oil in a pan
* add veggies to hot oiled pan and pat down
* don't touch for 20 minutes
* use a big flat surface and flip pancake onto it (think Spanish tortilla)and turn pancake onto uncooked side
* leave for another 15 minutes
* sprinkle with salt (I've also topped with Crème fraîche, yogurt, etc and chopped green onions) 

salad of the day
* chopped jerusalem artichoke 
(over-wintered, in ground from farm)
* chopped kohlrabi 
* chopped apple (over-wintered from farm)
* chopped red pepper
* chopped greens (first greenhouse greens-eg, feldsalat)
* tossed with lemon juice

Served with a fried egg and buckwheat

Today I also made: 

carrot and apple cakebread
* Mix 1 cup flour (may need more depending on how moist you like     bread), baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt
* Add 2 eggs, 1/2 c. oil, 1/2 c. sugar (more if you like)
* Mix 1 cup shredded apple + 1.5 cup shredded carrot
* raisins, nuts, coconut if you like
* Bake 350F/175C for an hourish

apple porridge
* slice a bunch of apples and put in a pot + hot water + cinnamon and cook for an hourish

Farm tasks today:
* feed teenager cows and sheeps
* chop and stack wood
* dig up over-wintered leeks + some hard to get roots I don't know the name of
* week the strawberry patch
* harvest salad mix + early onions (green) in the greenhouse
* feed cows, sheep, ducks, chickens, harvest eggs

events
* 3 lambs were born today (a 4th one died during birth)