I’ve been doing a lot of reading about what goes into our food lately and, to be honest, a lot of what I’ve read has either outright scared me, or just made me go EW!!!” Have you ever noticed the light “dust” on pre-shredded cheese? How would you feel if you learned that the “cellulose” used in shredded cheese and many other packaged foods such as salad dressing and ice cream is actually highly processed wood pulp? Perhaps even more disturbing than foods that are unhealthy for the consumer are foods that harm the very people making them while their companies try to sweep it under the rug. Workers in certain areas butchering division of Hormel (the makers of SPAM), for example, have come down with autoimmune disorders leading to neuropathy due to the working conditions.

For me, and to actually get onto the topic of kombucha, the real eye opener was a report put out by the University of Texas Health Science Center about the effects of aspartame in diet sodas. Apparently the self-same diet sodas we’ve been drinking to avoid extra sugar, calories and weight gain can, in fact, not only make you fat but can impair the beta cell function of the pancreas and result in elevated blood glucose levels. That report was a real eye opener for me. With a history of diabetes in my family going back two generations, I grew up on diet soda. How ironic would it be if the very soda my mother had been buying to help stave off diabetes from too much sugar had been a contributor to my developing it?

I was quite interested, then, when I ran across an article about kombucha while surfing through FoodRenegade.com. I’d actually ended up there while looking for a homemade mayonnaise recipe since, at the time, my options were to make my own or go out into the 105 degree heat just to buy a jar.

It's not the prettiest of ingredients, but it makes great fermented tea. The dark spots are just where it has oxidized or taken up more color from the tea.

So, what is kombucha then? Kombucha is just regular tea (you can use black or green tea) that has undergone fermentation.  Wikipedia actually has a very good entry about the stuff. FoodRenegade has an article on its health benefits as well as instructions for growing your own SCOBY if you can’t get one from someone else, or just don’t want to pay for one. If you have friends that brew kombucha tea they’ll more than likely be happy to share a SCOBY with you as these collection of living organisms are self-propigating and split off into pancake-like layers. I got my SCOBY from a local member of the Weston A. Price Foundation who had recently done a demo on kombucha tea.

Now, how does this all relate to my wanting to get away from diet sodas? Well, while kombucha starts off as sweet tea that would make a Southerner happy, the end product is almost completely sugar free. Just how sugar free it is depends upon how long you ferment it for. It’s also naturally effervescent. Once fermented it’s nothing like the original product. There’s no tea flavor left and much of the caffeine and sugar are gone. If you ferment too long you actually end up with a vinegar. I’d suggest trying out some of GT’s Raw Kombucha just to see if you like it. A bottle of GT’s Raw is also an ingredient you’ll need if you want to grow your own SCOBY, if you’ve got enough time (about 3-5 weeks) and patience and don’t want to order one.

Here is a fresh batch of kombucha brewing away in a secluded corner of my kitchen. The corner is out of direct light and far enough back that the kombucha won't be disturbed while it brews for a week.

Once you have a SCOBY, making kombucha is almost effortless. Some people say to use organic tea while others say plain old Lipton is just fine. I made a big  jug of tea using two family sized tea bags, just under a gallon of water, and one cup of sugar.  Be sure to use a non-reactive pot such as glass, enameled cast iron, or stainless steal for brewing your tea. When your tea is cooled to room temperature, put most of it into your fermenting jar, add the liquid your SCOBY is in (the starter liquid) and gently deposit your SCOBY on top. Cover it with a loose-weave cloth or paper towel and set it in a shaded corner where it won’t be disturbed for 7-10 days. It is important that you DO NOT MOVE your jar around or else your SCOBY won’t properly form its next layer and you’ll end up with bits of it sinking and floating around. Also, if you are using a jar with a spigot for fermenting make sure that it has no metal parts.

If you look closely you can see the SCOBY floating at the top of the tea in the fermenting jar.

After about seven days, open your jar and draw off a little bit of kombucha. Again, do not use metal. A straw with your finger over one end to make a vacuum works perfectly for this. Of course, if you are using a jar with a spigot that makes it even easier. If your tea is still rather sweet it’s not done. Put it back and leave it alone for another day or two, then test again. Keep in mind that kombucha will ferment faster in warmer temperatures so the length of time needed will vary from one season to the next. When ready it will be tangy and mildly fizzy. You can either bottle it and put it in the fridge as-is, or you can double ferment it to add different flavors and more natural carbonation.

Here I've placed bits of peeled, sliced ginger in the bottom of clean, recycled jars before filling the bottles with kombucha that has brewed for about a week.

To double ferment your kombucha just draw it off into bottles. Be sure to keep a cup (or more, more is never a bad thing!) of your batch of booch to help start your next batch. After washing your hands (do NOT use anti-bacterial soap – remember, a SCOBY is a beneficial bacteria!), reach in and take out your SCOBY. Put it in a glass dish and ladle your reserved kombucha over it.

Take your prepared bottles and flavor them as you wish. You can pour an ounce or two of 100% fruit juice into the bottom and then top off with kombucha, or you can put bits of cut up fruit, herbs, edible flowers or ginger root.

My second-ferment ginger-flavored kombucha, off to nap for a few days in a dark place.

Fill the bottles the rest of the way and then cap them and store them in a dark place to ferment for another 1-3 days. DO NOT over-ferment during this second fermentation. Pressure will build up in the bottle and it is possible to either blow the lid off or for the bottle to explode. I’ve placed my bottles in this nifty recycled 6-pack wine carrier from my local grocery to make it easy to move around as well as to help protect the kombucha from direct light and to protect my laundry room from any exploding bottles.

When your kombucha reaches your desired level of fermentation, flavor and carbonation just put them in the fridge. This will slow the process to a crawl and keep the pressure from increasing. Let it chill, then pop the top and enjoy!

OTHER RESOURCES:

 ”Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats” by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig

Kombucha Kamp has a very detailed blog as well as a YouTube channel with a lot of information and tips.

Matt Hodgson has a great series of YouTube videos as well.

If you don’t want to wait 3-5 weeks to grow your own SCOBY, and don’t know anyone who is brewing kombucha, you can order one right from Amazon. You do NOT need to buy an expensive “kit” though, which many people who sell starters will try to get you to buy. Even a recycled gallon sized pickle jar will work just fine for brewing your kombucha.

I have links both to “Nourishing Traditions” and the above SCOBY in my A-store, or you can just click on the images to check them out!

Let me introduce you to the Progressive Cherry-It Pitter. It’s a huge improvement over the single-cherry pitter such as the one seen right.

The old style pitter does ONE cherry at a time. It has a single dull-tipped pusher. The cherry sits in the little divot, and then you squeeze down on the handle, rather like one of those hand-grip exercisers, and pitted one single cherry. Juice is guaranteed to splatter everywhere, and there are chances of flying pits, as well, as they leave the pitter at high velocity. Well, I was in the middle of making homemade cherry preserves when mine broke. The little pusher broke right off and stayed planted in a cherry. I pulled it out and hammered it back in, but it kept coming out. It was time to retire the pitter.

In looking for a new one, I found the Progressive Cherry-It Pitter. Four cherries at once? And for only a couple of dollars more for the old hand-cramper? Well, sign me up!

The blades on the Cherry-It pitter are SUPER sharp. Far, far sharper than the ones on an OXO brand pitter, so be CAREFUL. That said, they’re also fully retracted behind the little panel there, so you should be just fine unless you stick your finger in and press, or aren’t careful while washing.

The Cherry-It also holds four cherries at once. The tray is reversible and has four big spots and four small. I just used the big size as my cherries varied in size. The small side is also reportedly good for olives. If you look closely, you’ll notice I stuck my cherries in stems and all, and you can see them in the bottom of the clear tray. Most of my cherries had very short stems, some less than half an inch which were hard to get ahold of, so I decided to see if the Cherry-It would eject the stems, too. It did!

To operate, you just place four cherries in the slots, then press down. Voila – four cherries, done! The pits (and in my case, the stems) get left in the clear collection tray at the bottom. Because the lid closes securely over the cherries, there’s no splattering of juice all over your counters, either. When the bottom gets full, just lift the tray the cherries sit out, dump out the pits, and continue.

The pitter breaks down into 3 parts. The tray lifts out and then the top portion pulls up off the hinge. All three parts are top-rack dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.

Just how fast and efficient is it, though? Well, you see that bowl of cherries up there? How about a closer look, hmmm?

That’s right. That’s a 12 cup bowl. That’s 4.25 pounds of cherries and I pitted them all in 30 minutes – and that was even with stopping to take pictures when I realized that I really had to share this product. Once cherries are pitted you can make them into cherry preserves, cherry pies, or just lay them out on a baking sheet and freeze them before putting them in a plastic freezer bag or container to save for when fresh cherries are out of season.

My desire to make homemade bacon was sparked by a fellow food blogger, and much, much more experienced chef. I actually stumbled across Gareth Mark’s bacon post when I was looking for his entry for Xocolatl Sorbet. Suffice to say, I was intrigued. And like many foodies, the idea sat there in my head, and it niggled at me until I sucked it up and decided to do it. I started digging deeper and now I’ve really become interested in the whole art of charcuterie. The fact that I’ve learned that the temperature is just about right in winter to hang a prosciutto off of my back porch has nothing to do with it. Of course it doesn’t! Ahem. Anyway… bacon.

If you want to see pretty bacon pictures, I’d highly suggest going over and checking Gareth’s post at StumptownSavory.com. Michael Ruhlman, author of “Charcuterie”, and sometimes judge on Iron Chef America also has a bacon entry at Ruhlman.com.

I will tell you this, it’s easier than you’d possibly believe. The bacon does most of the work itself. Finding curing salt is perhaps the hardest part, and likely you’ll have to order it online unless you’re lucky enough to have a butcher shop in your town. I just happen to be ever so lucky. The curing salt itself is cheap – I got it for $3 for a pound at Rodriguez Butcher Supply, so you may end up paying more for shipping than for your product unless you manage to bundle it into an Amazon.com order. There’s certainly no reason to pay nearly $8 for a 3.6oz jar from Williams-Sonoma though. Curing salt comes under many names, the most common of which is “Insta-Cure #1″. Do NOT buy Insta-Cure #2. This is a different formulation for dried meats such as salami.

Pink salt is 6.25% Sodium Nitrate and the rest is regular salt. It is colored pink to prevent it from being confused with table salt. In SMALL AMOUNTS it has been determined safe to use for curing meat. The small amount of risk associated with sodium nitrate (which has replaced saltpeter) far, far outweighs the risks of botulism. Using it as table salt, however, would be bad. Consider that 4 ounces of Insta-Cure #1 is enough to process 100 pounds of fresh sausage (Roughly 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat), and you’ll quickly figure out that putting it into your salt shaker would be bad news. Curing salt can be found under different names, too, such as Morton’s Tender Quick and also LEM Cure, which you can buy at Bass Pro Shop. It sounds like an odd source, but all that venison sausage hunters make needs curing salt, too!

My next obstacle was finding pork belly. I had to call around, but if your local grocery doesn’t carry it a dedicated butcher shop will. It will also likely be much cheaper at a dedicated butcher. Central Market was very proud of theirs at $3.28 a pound while Culebra Meat Market wants a mere $1.49 a pound. That said, I haven’t really vetted the latter store, and safety over cheap, always!

I did a twist on the recipe that Gareth used. For one, I don’t keep sugar around the house. I had quite a bit of brown sugar, though. I decided to go all the way towards sweet and used regular molasses instead of blackstrap, which is much somewhat bitter compared to regular molasses. For my bacon I ended up using:

1/2C brown sugar
1 T Molasses
2 T kosher salt
1 t Insta-Cure #1
2 t freshly ground black pepper.

I trimmed my pork belly up until it was roughly square and rubbed it on all sides. Unlike Gareth’s, mine came skin on, and that’s just one of the things I ended up writing to him about. Leave the skin on, then go ahead and peel it off once it’s smoked. It may make the curing take an extra day or so since the cure has a harder time getting through the skin, but having it on is going to make life easier in the long run, and Gareth says he thinks it makes for a better flavor. I, myself, found it makes for a good bit of structural integrity which makes handling the meat easier. Once the bacon is smoked, the skin is tightened up and easily peels off.

Once my pork belly was rubbed I put it in a 2 gallon ziplock and pushed out all the air I could. I flipped it each day, sometimes twice just in case I forgot, but let it spend most of its time meat-sized down, skin-side up since the cure was going to have an easier time getting in that way. I left it in there for about 6 days, and, I’ve decided now that it probably could have gone longer, but scheduling was being a bit iffy with the fact that I needed to smoke a pastrami as well and that was going to be an all-day project.

I waffled for a bit, especially after seeing the picture in Ruhlman’s post about the forgiveness of cured meat. His looked much more leathery and darker than mine, so again I talked to Gareth. Many of the posts say to pull it when it’s “firm” and “not squishy.” Gareth further elaborated that it should feel like poking your forearm rather than poking yourself in the cheek. This made it clear that if my bacon wasn’t ready, it was -darn- close, and it was so much more helpful than “firm.”

Out of the bag that bacon came to be rinsed and patted dry. I could already smell the sweetness of the brown sugar that had cured into the meat and darkened it up. Just for good measure I decided to give it another dusting of freshly cracked black pepper as I’ve always been a fan of peppered bacon. With that done it went out onto an honest-to-goodness smoker where it cooked over a combination of charcoal and hickory wood for about 3 hours until the a thermometer stuck in the thickest part read right about 160F.

I will say that that bacon didn’t make it off the smoker unmolested. There was this little piece hanging off, so of course, I had to try it while it was still hot. It was a bite of heaven. Juicy, smokey, salty pork.

On the topic of salty, homemade bacon is much less salty than store bought bacon. Store bought bacon is brined – which means it’s soaked in a saltwater solution. This draws both water and salt into the meat. This is also why store bought bacon shrinks by a good bit when you cook it.

This stuff? It doesn’t shrink. It doesn’t taste like a pork-flavored salt lick. It tastes like smoked pork with a hint of sweetness, pepper and salt. It’s a totally different experience than store bought bacon, and it’s so easy that I may never go back again.

My interests have changed, and took off for awhile in other directions. They still are, so you’ll be seeing some new additions to the blog. We just bought a big smoker/grill over Memorial Day and I’m planning to put it through its paces. There’s definitely ideas for grilled pizza, for example!
The bigger change, though, is that with a smoker my ideas have turned towards meat – specifically bacon, sausages, pastrami. And there’s definitely plans for smoking the Thanksgiving Turkey this year. My first project, however, is going to be bacon!

Look for updates soon, within the next week.

Thanks to Ipstenu of Ipstenu.org who helped customize my template and who manages some of my back-end stuff for keeping the back end neat, tidy, and updated software and security-wise while I was gone.

I was sick for a good 2 weeks, and just after that I had company for 10 days. Upon getting ready to bake again I found out that my copy of Photoshop had gone wonky and it didn’t want to allow me to reinstall. If you’ve had to deal with Adobe Tech Support you know the HOURS it can take to get something sorted out when it comes to a serial number not wanting to validate.

I’m back, I’ve baked, and I have pictures to edit! Look for an update by this weekend!

My friend Divash, came up with the perfect solution – headscarfs. Divash is Jewish and, as part of her modest dress, wears a head scarf. She pointed out that she NEVER has “bad hair days.” When I went to look at scarfs at ModestWorld I was instantly drawn to the beautiful prints and fabrics available. I was slightly worried that a scarf would make my already round face look even more so, but learned that there are many ways to tie a head scarf, some that add height to the crown of your head, and actually make your face look thinner. I was hooked!

In the summer, a scarf can keep you cool in two ways. One, it keeps the sun from baking your head. Secondly, if you wear a cotton snood or stocking cap beneath it, the cap will wick sweat away from your head and any light breeze will have a cooling effect. You can also wet the cap before going out and get a head start!

I also like wearing a scarf in the kitchen for much the same reason. Here it also has the added benefit of keeping my hair out of my face and out of whatever food I might be fixing. It’s certainly a far more attractive solution than a hair net! My favorite way of wearing my scarf in such a situation is the “Dutch Crown,” which has all the ends neatly tucked into the twist that crosses over the forehead so nothing is dangling.

How to Tie a “Crown” Style (As pictured above)
1. Start with a cotton snood and a rectangular scarf.
2. Get all of your hair tucked into the cotton snood. If you have long hair, putting your hair in a pony tail can help!
3. Lay the scarf over your head, arranged so that one side is slightly longer than the other (Off-center).
4. Pull the ends back behind you and gather them so that the scarf fits close to your head and then cross them, without tying them, at the nape of your neck. Pull the ends forward over your shoulders.
5. Take the long end and twist it, then bring it up and over the top of your forehead. Tie it into a knot and let the ends dangle free!

The “Dutch Crown” is just an extension of the “crown,” which is pictured at the beginning of this article.

How to Tie a “Dutch Crown” Style
1. Follow Steps 1-3 above, but keep the scarf centered, with equal lengths to each side.
2. Tie the ends in a half-knot at the nape of your neck.
3. Twist both ends, then bring them up to the top of your forehead and tie another half-knot.
4. Tuck and wrap any remaining length around the crown that has just been formed.

You can also find a few “how to tie a head scarf” photo instructions by  Googling it or looking on YouTube. An additional search might be “how to tie a tichel.”

ModestWorld.com has my vote for a source of beautiful scarves. The proprietess’ prices are more than fair, her service is quick and friendly, and she stands behind her products. All images courtesy of ModestWorld.com and used with permission.

This, however? This is not your grandma’s chicken pot pie.

I’ll be upfront. I luuuuuvs me some Alton Brown. There was a time when I couldn’t stand him, when his antics grated on my nerves. The Mr. Wizard of the FoodNetwork eventually grew on me though, sort of like moss. A dear friend was constantly watching him when I was over, and he and I and his wife would inevitably get into debates about ingredients and techniques. And so it is that I came to stumble upon Alton Brown’s Chicken Curry Pot Pie. While we might both be from the south, however, Alto and I have one major difference of opinion when it comes to pot pies – he uses puff pastry. For me, the only way to go is with a traditional pie crust.

In one of the most ironic moments I’ve had lately, I got a hankering to try this and found out that I, who had no less than 20 pounds of flour in the house, seemingly had nothing appropriate to baking a pie crust in the pantry. Bread flour would result in a tough crust, and the two types of rye were just right out. Spelt I pondered for but a moment before espying my King Arthur Flour White Whole Wheat. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend using any other wheat flour. This is a MUCH finer texture than most whole wheat flours and the sometimes bitter taste that others have is completely lacking. You won’t even notice that this pie crust is made with whole wheat flour.

Here’s my adapted version.

Ingredients
Filling
2 cup Peas, Frozen
2 cup Carrots, Frozen
1 cup Onions, Sweet — chopped
1 1/2 cup Stock, Chicken
3 tbsp Flour, White
2 tsp Curry Powder (As hot as you like! I used Sweet)
3 tbsp Butter
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
10 oz Chicken — cubed (Roughly 2 cups, lightly packed)
Dough
2 1/4 cup (9 1/4oz) King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour
3/4 tsp Salt
12 tbsp Water
2/3 cup Shortening

Instructions

Dough:
Combine white whole wheat flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter or two knives. Work the shortening in until it is reduced to pea-sized bits. Sprinkle 1T of water at a time over the flour mixture and fluff with a fork. Move moistened dough balls that form off to the side and repeat until all dough is moist and can be pressed into a ball that will crack slightly when pressed.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the dough is chilling, make the filling.

Remove dough from the refrigerator, divide into two portions and roll out into two 9-10″ discs on a floured pastry cloth or counter. To transfer your dough to the pan, roll it around your rolling pin and then unroll into a lightly greased pie tin.

Once the bottom crust is in the pan, add the warm filling and then cover with the top round of dough. Trim the excess dough and then crimp the two layers sealed with pinched fingers or press them together with a fork. Dock the center of the top crust several times to allow steam to vent.

Filling:
Place frozen vegetables in a microwave-safe bowl and thaw in microwave. Do not fully cook them, just bring them up to slightly warm.

In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of canola. Add the onion and a pinch of salt to sweat the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until glossy and translucent.

While the onion is sweating combine chicken stock and milk in a 2 C microwaveable measuring cup. Heat for about 2-3 minutes until hot, but not boiling.

Once onions are done, push them to the side and melt the butter. Once the butter is melted add the flour and curry powder. Stir onions back in and cook for 1-2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Once flour has had a chance to toast slightly whisk in the warmed milk and chicken stock. Continue to whisk until the mixture begins to thicken to a gravy-like consistency. Add the peas, carrots, and cubed chicken and stir to combine. Let the mixture heat through thoroughly and then remove from burner and set aside, covered, while rolling out your dough.

Once pie is assembled, bake at 350F for approximately 20 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown and the inside is warm and bubbly. Remove the pot pie from the oven and allow to set for about 10 minutes.

Serves 8
450 calories, 27g fat, 36g carbohydrate, 7g fiber
It’s pie. With gravy. If you’re doing the healthy diet thing count this as your splurge for the day and eat lighter at the other two meals. It’s worth it.

-Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”

In the culinary world, the road “less traveled by” is the road that must be traveled by those with special dietary needs. For many that need is to avoid added sugar, especially processed sugars, as much as possible. Fructose, found in agave nectar and as the natural sugar in fruit, is a bit easier for the body to handle as it has a lower glycemic index. Cherries themselves are very low on the glycemic index. Agave nectar, which is about 90% fructos, is at the very bottom of the glycemic index with a GI of a measly 11. It’s no surprise, then, that someone looking to make a low-sugar jam would go for a cherry jam.

Making sugar-free jam isn’t without its problems. The sugar often used in making preserves, gelling sugar helps the jam to set. Without this added pectin one finds themselves rather a bit on their own and in need of a bit of ingenuity to get things to come out right in the end. Even so, a sugar free jam isn’t going to be jelly as most people know it, but more of a fruit spread. To compound matters, cherries contain very little pectin. Citrus peels, however, are practically swimming in the stuff.

With all that in mind I set out to experiment.

Ingredients:

1 pound pitted cherries
1 oz agave nectar
8oz water
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1t almond extract

In order to pit cherries you will need a fancy little device to get the job done. It’s not hard to use, and in fact if you can use a stapler, you’re good to go. It is, however, a messy job. I highly suggest loading your cherry and then sticking your hand into a plastic grocery bag to catch the discarded pit, which will often zing out like a rock from a sling shot. Needless to say, this is not the time to wear your new white shirt or pull out your fancy white linen kitchen towels, or even your favorite wooden spoon as they will all be stained red. If you should decide to go outside and shoot pits at your kids or significant other while doing this… well, that’s on you. Just remember, it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Alternately, you could probably use frozen cherries in this without a problem. I simply like to stock up when cherries are on sale for right around $2 a pound for about a week out of the year. To pit a cherry (or an olive) simply rest the cherry in the bowl of the pitting tool and squeeze. Some models have a slot that you can slip the stem through, but really it doesn’t matter what direction you put your cherry in.

Once you have your cherries, pour 8 ounces of water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a near-simmer. Stir in your agave nectar, lemon juice and almond extract. Once those are in, add your lemon zest and then your whole cherries.

Bring the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Smash your fruit with a wooden spoon as it cooks. As it cooks it will become a pulpy mix. After 20 minutes, bring your cherry pan jam to a roiling bubble. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring constantly, until the liquid has reduced by 3/4ths or more and what remains has thickened.

Pull your saucepan from the burner and move to the side to cool, continuing to stir for the first few minutes so nothing scorches on the bottom of the still-hot pan. If you find that your cherries are not mashed enough you can also use an immersion blender to puree them, but this may result in added liquid and a need to re-heat and reduce further.

Once your jam is cool, transfer to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Without proper canning it is necessary to keep the jam in the refrigerator and it won’t keep as long as other types of preserves, either. On the other hand, it’s so good that a small batch like this likely won’t last that long anyway.

Shopping at the farmer’s market isn’t like going to the grocery store. When going to the store I go with a list in hand. I know what I am going to make, and I know what I need to buy. At the farmer’s market things are the other way around. I buy what is in season, what is fresh, what looks good and what is available at a good price.

It is just such a trip that saw me come home with three leeks, as three leeks for $2 is a bargain that just can’t be beat. And then its neighbor, the fennel bulb, had to jump in for the ride as well. And hey, look at those carrots! So brightly orange compared to their pale supermarket cousins! OK, so, perhaps they aren’t quite as crisp, but I’m sure that can be remedied.

Having only bought leeks once before I was more than a little unprepared for the sheer volume that three large leeks produce. Cutting a leek is a bit like taking a product out of a package. In the end you wonder how that much ever got stuffed into that tiny box. In my case I was left wondering how three leeks, even with their tops cut off, which were so compact before eventually filled and overflowed a four quart mixing bowl. Obviously, I had a problem on my hand. This was solved some time ago with a modification of Alton Brown’s Leftover Baked Potato Soup which I modified to use a bit more leek than called for. This was very good soup, but still left me with a lot of cut leek.

I had dreams of making the grilled fennel with lemon oil that I had seen posted by FoodBuzz.com the other day. Alas, I was out of charcoal and just didn’t feel like messing with the grill pan. Besides, while I was overloaded with vegetables, I was also more than a little lean on protein. The answer, of course – more soup.

I rarely measure when I cook, so you’ll have to bear with me here. While baking is a science, cooking is definitely more of an art, and I tend to cook with dashes, pinches and handfuls. The recipe, then, as best as I can approximate it is as follows:

Leek, Fennel, Mushroom & Barley Soup
1-2 large leeks – tops removed, sliced and thoroughly rinsed
1 large fennel bulb, tops and stalks removed, sliced
2 large carrots, scrubbed well or peeled and sliced into disks
1-2 ounce (A good handful) of mixed dried mushrooms including porcini, morel and lobster
2/3 cups pearled barley
2 quarts vegetable stock
Water
Olive oil
Tarragon vinegar
Fresh sage, tarragon and thyme to taste
3 Bay leaves
Salt and pepper

1. Cut the dark green portion off of your leeks and discard. Trim any roots and discard. Cut the remainder in half, lengthwise and then cut into 1/4″ thick slices. Each slice will have many layers that can trap dirt, so put your leek slices into a bowl, let them soak for a bit and give them a good stir before turning out into a colander for a second rinse.

2. Cut the stalks from your fennel bulb and set aside. They can be used for garnish or can be used in cooking for a mild fennel taste. Slice the bulb in half and remove the core, then slice the remaining bulb into julienned strips.

3. Remove greens and any root tips from carrots. Scrub your carrots well with a vegetable brush and peel if necessary. Cut the carrot into thin 1/4″ thick disks, or cut on the bias for long, decorative ovals.

4. Place a 5-quart pan on the stove on medium-high heat. Allow it to warm and then add enough olive oil to thinly coat the cooking surface. Add your fennel, leeks, carrots and a pinch of salt. Allow this mixture to cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks and fennel have sweated down to half of their volume.

5. Add in the vegetable broth, bay leaves, dried mushrooms and pearled barley. Reduce heat to a simmer.

6. Strip thyme and tarragon from sprigs by pulling backwards along the stem, set aside. Stack a small amount of sage leaves, perhaps 7-8 large leaves, and then cut into thin strips. Add your herbs to the pot and spike it with tarragon vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Add in enough water to make sure everything is covered and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. Garnish with fennel greens and a sage leaf, serve hot. I served mine with sandwiches made on the Anadama bread that I baked a few days ago.