Friday, September 19, 2008

Seattle Farmers Market Cooking Demos

This week I did a couple of farmers market cooking demonstrations. I always love to do these events, because I can give myself a challenge by arriving with just my knives, cookware and a curiosity about what’s available at the market.

On Wednesday, I was inspired by the warm and sunny September weather at the Wallingford Farmers Market. I set up my gear at the demo booth and began to wander around the market. The neighboring stand was occupied by my dear friends at Alm Hill Gardens and Carrie from Growing Washington drew my attention to the freshly shucked beans on display. I recognized (and love cooking) the Vermont Cranberry beans and Jacob’s Cattle beans but next to them was what looked like a fresh flageolet bean. Carrie informed me that the bean was actually a WSU research product that was a cross between the flageolet and the white cannellini bean. So Zach Lyons, the market demo coordinator quickly brainstormed and aptly named the new bean “flageollini”.

Because I knew this afternoon was going to be one of the final sun-drenched days we’d be seeing in Seattle for some time, I looked to the freshly harvested ingredients of the late summer to make a dish with the beans. I found some super-ripe heirloom tomatoes from Billy’s Tomatoes, sweet red bell and red lipstick peppers, corn, and red onions from Alvarez Organic Farm, and I used some of Alm Hill’s garlic and basil. My idea was to create a stew with the peppers, onions, and tomatoes, and cook the flageollini beans in the juices that came from the tomatoes.

The real inspiration, however, came from the beautiful, just-caught coho salmon brought from the coast by Wilson Fish. I’ve been lucky to develop a relationship with these fish mongers and they’ve always been excited to provide fish for me to play with. David offered me a side of glistening salmon and I demonstrated to the market-goers the simple process of deboning, filleting and cubing the fish. My intent was to quickly sear the fish and then let the warm bean and corn stew gently finish cooking it through. I grabbed a loaf of Tallgrass sourdough bread, sliced it into bite-sized pieces and fried them in a little olive oil. I served the stewed salmon with the beans and corn atop a single crunchy piece of bread. A delicious afternoon snack!

At Thursday’s Queen Anne market I was really thrilled to see some of my favorite farmers had set up stands – Oxbow Organic Farm and Local Roots – both from Carnation. I came with a little plan to this market. I had cooked some emmer farro earlier and wanted to prepare a tasting for the market as a way of promoting my restaurant, as you know, called emmer. Emmer farro is an ancient whole wheat grain. It is considered to be one of the first domesticated crops but over the centuries it lost favor to higher-yielding wheat crops. Recently this grain has been recultivated in the organic fields of eastern Washington.

I wandered down the market lane and I picked up the following ingredients: from Local Roots – purslane and shallots, from Oxbow – purple haze carrots, purple cosmic cauliflower and white cauliflower, from River Valley Ranch – fresh chevre, and from Billy’s Tomatoes – purple and red bell peppers. The emmer farro, of course, was from Bluebird Grain Farms but they were not at this market (look for them at the Saturday University District farmers market).


I made a very simple preparation for the salad I had in mind. First, I sliced and browned the cauliflower florets in a little oil with salt and pepper, and then I cut a brunoise (small dice) of the peppers and carrots. I tossed this with the prepared farro and with a vinaigrette I made with the shallots, Dijon mustard, blueberry vinegar and olive oil. Finally, I crumbled the goat cheese and tossed it into the salad. I served the farro mix on top of the succulent purslane leaves. Many people at the market had never tasted purslane before. It is a plant (actually a weed) that has typically grown as a cover crop by farmers between seasons of successions. It has a lemony bite to it and it has a nice texture that complements many salad ingredients. You can pickle the stems!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Food Lust Auction Dinner


Cascade Harvest Coalition is the type of organization that affects so many people in so many ways. Its campaigns range from seeking livestock and produce processing facilities for local farms to mediating between state organizations and local interest groups to large projects like the Puget Sound Fresh label found in grocery stores, restaurants (and the side of buses) throughout the region. They receive funding from state agencies and national grants, non-profits and small businesses. But one of the biggest sources of funding comes from the annual fund-raiser Food Lust at Fall City Farm. I’ve participated in the event for the past two years as the Executive Chef of Stumbling Goat Bistro, cooking Bluebird Grain Farm’s emmer farro with sea beans and asparagus in 2007 and preparing Bruce Dunlop’s Lopez Island Farm delicious pork this past year.

During the auction at this year’s event, a dinner for 12 was offered by Linda Neunzig of Ninety Farm in Arlington. Although this item was not on the auction sheet, an impromptu corralling (by Linda) of some of the chefs in attendance that night resulted in the largest fund-raiser of the evening. The plan was for myself, Tamara Murphy of Brasa, Autumn Martin of Theo Chocolate, Alison Leber of Beecher’s Flagship Program, and Gary Knopp of VineOne, under the “front of the house” guidance of Mina Williams, foodie-extraordinaire, to prepare a meal of farm products and scrumptious wine and cheeses for the lucky guests. Celebrating her birthday at the Food Lust that evening was Erin MacDougall, a King County Public Health official (and also foodie extraordinaire). Erin gave herself the birthday present of this wonderful dinner and invited 11 of her dear friends to join her.





The weather couldn’t have been any better – late summer sun shining on happy and hungry faces, followed by a full harvest moon rising over the jagged Cascade peaks. After a tour of the Ninety Farm property, including a demonstration of Linda’s corgi team in action while rounding up the sheep in one of the pastures, Linda brought everyone to the dinner table on the lawn between rows of lettuces and the horse corrals. The guests nibbled on and eggplant marmalade, Summer Gem tomatoes filled with gazpacho and pork (from Tamara’s pigs) and cranberry beans on crisp apple slices.

As the evening proceeded Tamara and I plated up three courses – a chanterelle and bread soup with chive crème fraiche, a raw salad composed of herbs, carrots, squash and lettuces that I’d picked from Linda’s garden only an hour before (part of our 20-foot diet we’re promoting ), and an entrée of Ninety Farm Katahdin lamb roasted in “la caja china” served with emmer farro, lobster mushrooms and braised garden greens and broccoli and sage. Each course was thoughtfully paired with wines from Gary’s collection that included a remarkable Zinfandel from Ravenswood and a 2002 Covey Run Late Harvest Riesling that poured like liquid gold.

Cheeses from Beecher’s and a fantastic molten chocolate cake with raspberries and herb-infused cream finished the meal. Autumn chose to bake her cake in the cutest little Mason jars and she showed her confectionary talents with a cocoa cookie and chocolate tuile as creative garnishes. Each guest parted with hand-made chocolates from the Theo shop in Fremont.

It is always a pleasure to cook a meal consisting of locally sourced products, but it is an even more gratifying experience when you’ve harvested the vegetables a few hours earlier and then transformed them into a delectable feast for guests who really care about this sort of thing. I am fortunate to Linda, Tamara, Autumn, Alison, Gary, Mina, Bruce and Jill for helping to put on this special dinner. But I am especially pleased that Cascade Harvest Coalition benefited from Erin’s generosity and deep regard for the local food economy.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Ritrovo Demo at Town & Country Market



As much as I attempt to limit my ingredient list geographically to the great PNW, I can’t get it all here. The great triumvirate of foodstuff that are not produced locally includes coffee, chocolate, and olive oil (I love bananas but I could do without them in the restaurant kitchen). Most of us in Seattle have no problem sourcing coffees from exotic sources that are benefiting from the roaster’s good conscience (i.e. Caffe Vita and Vivace). And lately, chocolate has been brought into the country by refiners who have met and approved of the methods and labors in a slew of worldly destinations. Look no further than Theo Chocolate for a gleaming example of a socially responsible international business.

But olive oil, a common cooking ingredient produced by many “first world” countries, has been coming to the US for over a century. Today, some very large producers produce huge quantities of varying qualities of olive oil. Although California has been able to produce small amounts of high quality oils, there rarely is enough of the good stuff to keep in the pantry on a regular basis.

Fortunately for the restaurant community in Seattle, and those foodies in the know, there is a great small company, Ritrovo. These committed educators painstakingly search the Italian countryside to find small, organic producers of highest quality oils, pastas, nuts, and grains. Founders Ron Post and Ilyse Rathet have brought their passion for the finest Italy has to the table for Seattle top restaurants. A conversation about the quality of the risotto (or chick peas, almonds, salts, or vinegars for that matter) they import versus the alternatives will have you convinced in no time, that the products with the Ritrovo endorsement are the ones you want to serve to your restaurant guests.

I’ve had the privilege of participating in cooking demonstrations for Ritrovo on a few occasions, and most recently, on Friday, I was on Bainbridge Island to create dishes for the customers of the Town & Country market near the ferry terminal. As an infrequent visitor to the islands, I was amazed that this small grocery chain invoked the spirit of a small town market where you know the clerks and other customers by name and greet them and ask “How have you been?” and actually care. While I was helping Ilyse and the store’s culinary coordinator, Sharen, to demo the Truffle and Salt and Fennel and Salt products, the grocery’s customers would stop by for a nibble and catch up on this week’s gossip.

I did manage to make a couple of tasting dishes that showed the salts versatility and range of applications. First, with a leg of Ellensburg lamb, I made a marinade of garlic, thyme, olive oil and Fennel and Salt. I then sliced a fennel bulb and sautéed it with chanterelle mushrooms and shallots, which then got a liberal season with black pepper and the Fennel and Salt. After grilling medallions of the lamb and placing it on the warm fennel slaw, I topped it with a fig and balsamic gastrique. For the second demo, I wanted to show how the simplest summer ingredients could benefit from the great flavor of the Truffle and Salt. I sliced some heirlooms tomatoes and a nice red Italian frying pepper and seasoned them with the salt and macerated them with olive oil and sherry vinegar. The fish guys gave me a nice rockfish filet that I seasoned with none other than the Truffle and Salt and I grilled small pieces. The fish was served atop the tomatoes and a drizzle of the tomato’s juices and a dash of the Truffle and Salt finished the tasting.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Visit to Carnation Farmers Market


I dropped in to the market today because I am planning to do a couple of cooking classes at Grange Cafe in nearby Duvall. Grange Cafe is a cute, year-old restaurant in a beautifully renovated Grange Hall right in the center of the quaint town of Duvall. Judy Neldham owns the place and has been making every effort to serve seasonal, locally produced food in her restaurant. That task is made a lot simpler because her brother is none other than Luke Woodward of Oxbow Organic Farm in Carnation. Most chefs and market-goers know about Oxbow's awesome produce and incredibly kind staff. I ran into Luke’s wife Sarah at the market as well as Adam McCurdy and his wife Shira who were running the stand today.
Carrots, beets, onions, zucchini and beans are all looking delicious these days. Adam says that the autumn squash are still small, but that the cucumbers are just starting to come on. We should expect the summer season to run later this year because of the cold spring. I’d imagine that soil temperatures stayed pretty cold all year after our long winter.
The Carnation Farmers Market is only running for another three weeks, but the best stuff is just coming in. I’ll be there for the next two weeks where I’ll be meeting the folks who have signed up for the cooking classes at Grange Café. We’ll do a little shopping at the market and then head to the restaurant to cook a meal that will be matched with some delicious local wines. Call Judy at Grange Café for more info.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

update on emmer

Hello friends,

As the season begins to shift into fall, I thought it would be a good time to update all of you on my upcoming events and the progress of my restaurant, emmer, slated to open in spring 2009.

emmer

As many of you know, I have completed the business plan for emmer and am in lease negotiations for a space in an incredible new building. My vision is to create a restaurant that not only showcases the best of seasonal, local cuisine, but that also reflects sustainability in its construction, design and business practices. emmer will break new ground in this area. By working with LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) standards, my hope is to create a state-of-the-art facility that can become a model for new businesses, particularly restaurants, in the coming years.

Turning a vision into a restaurant takes time, creativity, hard work, and a fair amount of capital, of course. I am extremely fortunate to have connected with many people who share my vision for creating a restaurant that is highly sustainable— from the tomatoes to the salvaged building materials. I have the seeds of a great development team in place. Yet these connections are just the beginning. I welcome interest from the Seattle community, from sharing perspectives or experiences with sustainable businesses to financial investment in emmer.

volunteering, events, and dinners

Over the course of this too-short summer, I also had the opportunity to strengthen my relationships with the local food community. After speaking to students at the University of Washington and conducting numerous farmers market cooking demos, I sweated and harvested in the fields of Oxbow Farm in Carnation. Recently, I helped organize “Taste of WSU” at Benaroya Hall, an annual event that pairs Seattle’s best chefs with the products of WSU agricultural research. (I slow-cooked Wagyu beef brisket served with cucumbers and mint.) Along the way, cooking for FareStart and Tamara Murphy’s Incredible Feast, I’ve been able to get the word out on emmer, my next endeavor. In fact, the name emmer came to me on a visit to Bluebird Grain Farms in early July as I helped Sam and Brooke Lucy sort, hull, and pack their delicious crop of organic whole grain farro that shares the same name. Sam, Brooke, and I share the ideals of strengthening our local food economy and promoting the use of local and seasonal products.

Until emmer opens in the spring, I will continue to volunteer time at farms and will also be keeping my knives sharp at a number of dinners, classes, and events. The following gives a sampling of events I will be participating in this autumn:

Thanks again to all of you for supporting me in my exciting new endeavors. Feel free to email or call me if you’d like more information on emmer or any of my upcoming events.

Best,

Seth Caswell