Purslane peeking up through the woodchips and being tasty

So far my favorite part of growing food has been thinning the purslane. I am liberal in my seed-planting methods, which means I scatter a lot with little care to proper or orderly spacing. As a result the new plants often come up very close to one another. This is fine when they are very small, but we want them to become very big and if they are crowded together they can't grow and bigness won't be possible... so we must thin the plants. Thinning seems to just be a nice word for weeding, it's basically weeding something that was planted on purpose. You have to be strategic of course, taking the smaller ones in between the bigger ones is generally a good strategy. Every day I go out and thin the purslane, and I eat as I thin. The tender little bite-sized shoots are so delicious that I can almost sympathize with the deer who just ate off the tops of all my purple bean shoots that recently sprouted.

Today was my weekly stint at the Union Square Greenmarket! A great crowd came out to the market today, despite the erratic rain. My cousin Paulina is here visiting from Mexico and was my (much appreciated) assistant. We made Corn Fritters, the same recipe from our Narragansett Corn Fritters with Smoked Trout, but with dill and parsley in the batter. We just squeezed some lemon juice on top to perk up the dish at the end. The recipes went flying off the table, and it was really a hit. I think everyone was surprised to see how simple it was to prepare, and how few ingredients were needed for something so fun. Next week I will be either cooking Okra with Tomatoes or Cranberry Beans with Vinaigrette. I hope that you all come and stop by to say hello and grab a sample!

Sour Cherry Salty Dog

Every Friday for the rest of the Summer I will post a fun cocktail that celebrates the end of the week and ties into what we are cooking on the show. I will use fresh herbs and fruits that are in season, and keep it as fresh and simple as possible. Today's cocktail is the Sour Cherry Salty Dog. This morning I found Sour Cherry juice at the Union Square farmers market for $2, and bought a pint of sour cherries for $3. The only other thing you need are fresh limes and some salt. DJ Theresa had given me a Petal Power Salt grinder (with lavender, rose, calendula, and chamomile petals), which is what gives the salty rim its colorful specks. I double-lined the rim with honey and lime, to give extra flavor and balance out the sour and salt.

Sour Cherry Salty Dog

Freshly ground coarse salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 ½ ounces vodka
3 ounces sour cherry juice
1 lime, juiced (or two key limes)
Ice
Garnish: 2 sour cherries

Spread enough salt on a small plate to line the rims of 2 cocktail glasses. Dab the honey across another small plate. Run the juiced lime rind around the rim of the glasses, then invert the glass over the plate with honey. Coat the rim in honey, and then repeat with the plate of salt.
Combine the vodka, cherry juice, and lime in a martini shaker. Add ice and shake up well. Pour into the two salt-rimmed glasses. Garnish with the sour cherries and serve. Makes 2 cocktails.

The same recipe above can also be found in our recipe bank.

Blackberry Scone

Yesterday Emma and I left Eugene for Langlois, Oregon, which is down south on the coast of Oregon. We filmed with Zoe Bradbury at Valley Flora, the farm that she, her sister, and mother work collectively. Each one manages their own section of the business, and it was a great learning experience in sustainable farming that we will be sharing later on in September. After filming we headed over to Port Orfard where we spent the night. We enjoyed a fish and chip and Dungeness crab cake dinner at The Crazy Norwegian. Needless to say, we finished off our dinner with a raspberry and marionberry pie. A la mode. Lucky for us it was a full moon, and our hotel was perched on the cliff overlooking the bay. We sat outside at 11 pm watching the full moon’s reflection on the water. The glitter and gleam was mesmerizing.

This morning we woke up and headed over to the Hard Rain café. I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to have a descent croissant, but when we entered the café my wildest dreams paled in comparison to what we encountered – freshly baked blackberry scones. Oh yes. That was all they had and all we wanted. We spent the morning interviewing Aaron Longton at the Port Orford Ocean Research Team. He is working to create a sea to market direct supply of local, sustainable fish. Port Orford has beautiful views of the sea, with large rocks jutting out around the marine reserve that Aaron’s group just passed through legislature. It is a truly spectacular place, and his group’s work was so inspiring. After the interview we headed down to the docks, where we watched the fishing boats bring in large Dungeness crabs and rockfish and perch. We headed home so happy from seeing such a lovely fishing village that was making so much progress in moving towards a sustainable model of supplying the region.

Emma and I have been cooking every Tuesday night for friends. It is nice to have a night when we know that people will come and gather around our table and try our new recipes, ideas, and old favorites. The first night we had whole wheat linguine with egg yolk and truffle salt. Last week we had a smorgasbord of our Summer season recipes with local quesadillas. This week we did a rendition of Michael Orkin’s rosemary and sage burgers, this time with buffalo meat. The Filbert Berry Bliss has been the steadfast dessert of choice every week. Nancy, Emma and her mother’s friend, brought homemade bread this week- an inaugural baking in her new oven. She also brought wildflowers from her garden and berries for the sundaes. Charlie, another dear friend, brought potatoes from his garden, chocolates, and some of the cards that he makes. Abiel and Ross brought a gorgeous salad with carrots and roasted chickpeas. Tuesday nights have been my favorite nights around our table. I have met good friends of Emma and her mother from Eugene, and enjoyed making new recipes with what is local here. I love sharing stories with the new people that I have met; there are so many stories and so much history between everyone here. I hope to continue Tuesday night dinners back East, bringing together people of all ages around the table,