Oh yeah, that’s me…and that’s the sky.  As you can clearly see, there is a man strapped to my back and I’m pretty much hurtling to the ground.  I was bat shit terrified on the plane, but I did it…and it was fan-fucking-tastic!

As you may remember, I was supposed to have jumped eons ago, but to say Skydive Orange is unorganized is an understatement.  On our first attempt to jump, we were skipped over.  When I noticed everyone in my training class had finished their jumps, I started to wonder.  But when I noticed people who showed up waaaaay after me and my friend were jumping, I got pissed.  And no one wants to deal with a pissed Shaw Girl.  I may come off all cheery and “Oh, let me bake you some fresh scones” nice, but the bitch comes out when she’s needed.  I firmly pointed out that my friend and I had been skipped.  They alleged there were scheduling issues with the videographer, but that was hard to believe since there was always at least one videographer on the ground…idly chatting away with his buddies.  But almost immediately, as if by magic, our names showed up on the board for the next jump…just in time for plane malfunctions.  We got in our suits, even got on the plane and went up in the air.   But the engine couldn’t get us up high enough to jump, so the pilot headed back to the hangar.  All jumps were shelved until the plane could be fixed.  By this time, we’d been there for well over five hours and there was no telling when (or even if) the plane would be operational again.  So we begrudgingly rescheduled…something I didn’t want to do at all.  While there were some nice people there, there was also a lot of (how can I say this nicely?) frat boy behavior.  I’m not a prude in the least, but when I’m about to jump out of a freakin’ plane, I don’t want to see numerous bumper stickers expressing your extreme fondness for a particular sexual activity.  I also would prefer not to see you rudely throwing gear at a woman obviously frightened out of her mind because this is her first jump.  On that first trip, the tandem students were pretty much treated as an inconvenience…something only marginally better than what was at the bottom of the tandem instructor’s shoes.  Considering how excited we were when we arrived at the hangar, it was crushing to be greeted with this disorganized, rude and often callous attitude.  The staff’s attitude could best be summarized by a sign prominently posted at the front desk:  “Quality, Safety, Customer Service…Pick Two”.  But Skydive Orange doesn’t offer refunds, so we were forced to either eat the over $300 cost or reschedule.  I left so disappointed, I was almost in tears.  As you know, we stopped at Ray’s Hellburger to console ourselves, but I dreaded having to deal with Skydive Orange again.

On the morning of our second attempt, I woke up to a lot of cloud cover.  Because Orange, Virginia is over an hour and a half away from DC, I called to check and see if the cloud cover would be a problem.  I was told there wasn’t any cloud cover in Orange and that the forecast looked great.  I nervously asked “Are you sure? We’re scheduled to jump at 10 and the clouds here look bad.”  I was assured the clouds were fine and that there shouldn’t be a problem.  Uhmmm…no.  As we were pulling up to the PARKING LOT, my friend gets a call from one of the employees saying the clouds were delaying all jumps…since 8 FUCKIN’  a.m.  Wanna know what time I called?  Around 7:50!  When we walked into the hangar, there were a ton of people…apparently no one had jumped yet that day!  Seriously????? I was so upset, I was practically shaking.  We had driven all the way to Orange…for nothing.  As with before, there was no organization…tandem students were trying to find out from each other what was going on (as the instructors were once again treating the students as if they didn’t exist).  We finally found out from (of all people) the mechanic that the chance of anyone jumping that day was nonexistent.  I didn’t trust myself to be civil, so I let my friend do most of the talking, scheduling us for a THIRD attempt to skydive.

On our third attempt, I woke up to a gorgeous day…and something told me in my gut that we were going to finally jump.  When we arrived at Skydive Orange, the atmosphere was completely different.  The front desk was being managed by a woman who clearly knew what she was doing.  She collected our receipts and assured us we would be jumping shortly.  We still had to go through the ground training (even though this was our third time), but I’m very glad we did!  The guy leading this training was much more thorough than our previous ground training instructor.  I learned several tips that I can confidently say helped to make my jump so smooth.  I was assigned to an excellent tandem instructor.  He was quiet, which at first made me think he was aloof.  But it turned out he was just very calm and very level headed.  Unlike the many young maverick wanna be’s floating around the hangar (some walked around without their shirts, doing push ups and handstands to prove their strength…I was seriously waiting for a bunch of them to whip out their units and start measuring each other), this guy was experienced and professional.  He completely lacked the cockiness (and annoying douchebaggery…oh yeah, that’s a word) of the others.  My friend was also lucky enough to be assigned a great instructor…a laid back and all around friendly guy who flat out said he loved sharing the experience of a person’s first skydive.  Hands down he was one of the few tandem instructors who seemed to have that attitude.  I once again saw other students being treated like dirt by a few instructors, but we lucked out.

I’m not going to lie…once we got on the plane, I was fucking terrified.  I usually don’t mind flying, but the wind was causing a bit of turbulence.  And considering how small the plane was, that little turbulence was magnified to scary proportions.  It helped tremendously to have my friend with me on the plane.  My instructor also calmly assured me that the turbulence was nothing and that if worse came to worse, we’d just jump off early.  To help allay my fears, he had me watch as he hooked our harnesses together.  He also went over some additional tips and let me know what to expect at every stage.  I think I mostly nodded and sat open mouthed, staring out into the sky.  I kept thinking to myself “What the fuck are you doing??? There’s nothing wrong with this plane!!! Why are you jumping out of it??? Stay the fuck inside!!!”

But something inside of me clicked and I realized this was about so much more than just a simple jump.  And here is the cathartic revelation (insert cheesy mellow music here):

I have always been a good girl…always doing what was expected of me, what was right.  I never did anything to upset the apple cart because I was afraid…afraid to reach for something higher…afraid to try something new for fear of failure.  That fear has led me to abandon things that could have been fruitful…not try harder because a voice said inside of me to be happy with the status quo.  I never did a lot of things because of fear…including my almost crippling fear of heights.  I had let fear rule my life for a long time…and I was tired of it.

I’m 33 years old folks…I may not look it, but I am.  I’ve come to a point in my life that I have to stop punishing myself for past mistakes.  I have battled weight issues all of my life and being a good cook hasn’t helped.  A few years ago, I lost a huge amount of weight, but over the last few years, I’ve slowly started to put it back on.  And in a family of thin wome with high metabolisms, it’s hard being the one with hips.  I’ve belittled myself to the point of tears because I allowed my weight to become a problem again.  I’ve longingly looked at pictures of when I was a size 2 and berated myself for gaining so much back.  A voice in my head has repeatedly said “See, you’ll always be the big girl…you’ll never be beautiful again.”  Yes, I’ve had all of these thoughts and when we got up to the opening of the plane, they were all tumbling around in my head.  I looked down at the Earth and for the first time in a long time, I thought to myself “You can do anything”…and then I jumped.  When you’ve fallen rapidly towards the ground with nothing but a (hopefully functional) parachute keeping you safe, suddenly nothing seems insurmountable.  I felt so free…the view was gorgeous and not one single bad thought came into my head.  How could it, when I got to see this view:

I wish I could describe the feeling I had floating up there…the sheer euphoria of watching my feet dangling so high above the Earth.  I can say that it’s a feeling I will never forget…something I won’t ever let myself forget.  Because I finally felt free for those few minutes I was up there.  I didn’t worry about how I looked or what I said or if I was making other people happy…I was just being me.  And as ABC Afterschool Special as it may sound, I realized being me wasn’t so bad after all.  I’m not saying this jump completely changed my life and I’m now a size 2 with no worries or cares.  This week alone I cried yet again as I tried to fit into something I no longer could wear.  But unlike before, when I would just give up and let the negative voices tell me I’d never succeed, I sucked it up.  I wrote to a few friends and they shared their take on their own struggles with weight.  But in the end, I realized it was up to me to make those changes.  And not because of vanity…but because I want to be healthy again.  I want to be able to walk up the stairs in my apartment without getting winded.  I want to eat better, not just so I can lose pounds on the scale but because I FEEL better when I do it.  I want to be free of constantly worrying…constantly fearing what others may think of my body.  I want to be free of punishing myself for loving food.

So I’ve started exercising again (it helps that the gym is literally a block from my apartment) and I’ve made a stronger commitment to being conscious of what goes in my body.  I will never go on a diet because I don’t think diets are realistic.  Sure you may lose the weight.  But once you do, unless you’ve changed your eating habits, it will come back.  Instead, I’m changing how I relate to my food and being a more conscientious food consumer.  Although I already buy a majority of my food from local sources, with a little planning, my goal is to get at least 85% of what goes into my body from farms and local food purveyors.  I want to be able to talk to the people growing and making the food I eat so I can make better choices.

But most importantly, I’m going to finally stop being afraid.  I’m not really sure how my little post about skydiving ended up being such a confessional, but there it is.  Even though the hassles with Skydive Orange were tremendous, they were all forgotten when I was floating in the sky.  Much to my mother’s chagrin, I would definitely do it again…just not at Skydive Orange.

Uhmmm, but seriously folks, all good vibrations and feel good revelations aside, don’t go to Skydive Orange.  We got lucky with our tandem instructors that day but the place is poorly run.  And knowing they’ve had two deaths in the last year (something I didn’t discover until AFTER I paid them money) doesn’t really surprise me considering the level of disorganization.  Although both deaths were ruled accidental, you have to wonder how two could occur so close to each other.  And although Skydive Orange will tell you otherwise, there is another fully accredited (and highly reviewed…oh if only I had Googled better) option for tandem skydiving in the DC area: Skydive Virginia.  It may be a little further out, but I’m definitely going to give them a try for my next jump!

]]> http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/2009/07/yeah-im-freefree-fallin/feed/ http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/2009/07/linguine-with-creamy-mushroom-sauce-and-prosciutto/ http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/2009/07/linguine-with-creamy-mushroom-sauce-and-prosciutto/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:27:21 +0000 Shaw_Girl http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/?p=1947

I was lucky enough to get out of work early this afternoon, so I headed over to Penn Quarter Farmers Market.  My co-worker James was along for the ride, as he wanted to pick up a few things for himself.  I had a list of things I wanted, including the new Ricotta Vanigla from Blue Ridge Dairy and blueberries (oh how I love blueberries) for a weekend batch of crepes.  But as often happens whenever I shop hungry, I ended up with a bit more than what was on my list.  And thus this quick, yet delicious pasta dish was created.

Even if I plan on going to a Saturday farmers market, I always make a trip to Penn Quarter on Thursdays after work to pay homage to Red Apron Butchery.  Chef Nathan Anda’s created quite a buzz around his house cured meats and the bacon alone lives up to all the hype.  I could easily shovel it down by the package full and have been known to steal a piece or two from the Boy’s plate (hey, if you’re going to leave bacon unattended in my presence, you suffer the consequences).  And don’t get me started on his hot dogs!  When I saw he had prosciutto last week, I snapped it up without even thinking twice…and wasn’t disappointed.  The prosciutto was a wonderful mixture of salt and pork goodness without any distracting spices to confuse the natural flavors of the cured meat.  So it was no surprise that I was back at the Red Apron tent this week, asking if there was anymore prosciutto.  Nathan pointed to a bin near the cash box, saying they only had 2 packages that week.  Being the greedy, evil child that I am, I bought both packages (and thanked my lucky stars I got there early enough to get them).

I continued on my merry way to pick up the rest of the items on my list but was heartbroken to find out Blue Ridge didn’t have any Ricotta Vanigla.  The vanilla infused ricotta was a fairly new item for Blue Ridge Dairy and I was curious to try it as a crepe filling.  To console myself, I got some crimini mushrooms to go with the prosciutto, along with an onion from Mountain View Farms and a big bulb of fresh garlic from another stand (there is never a sign but I always have a lovely conversation with the lady who runs it).  I made a pit stop at Cowgirl Creamery for a block of their Parmigiano Reggiano and some linguine and then headed home to experiment.

While I was being jerked about on the Metro (gotta love that manual operation) on the way home, the idea of a creamy mushroom sauce came about.  By the time I made it to the house, the entire recipe had been formed and I got to work almost immediately (hunger is a strong motivator…and a bitch until satisfied).  After reading the directions on the back of the Pasta Abruzzese, I opted to follow their suggestion and toss the pasta with cheese before adding the sauce.  When all was said and done (a mere 35 minutes later), I had an amazingly simple but flavorful dinner.  And a nice glass of Sangria to toast my success (it’s a holiday weekend…I can drink on a Thursday night).

Linguine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Prosciutto (4 servings)

1-16 ounce package linguine

1 container crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 large clove of garlic, diced

1 small onion, chopped

8 ounces prosciutto, sliced lengthwise (I simply shredded mine with my hands)

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Approximately 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded

Bring a large pot of water to boil, salt it liberally and add the linguine.  While the pasta is cooking, get started on the sauce.  Make sure to stir the pasta periodically to prevent it from burning and clumping up.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat and add the garlic.  Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic takes on a golden hue.  Add the onions and cook until soft before tossing in the mushrooms.  Stirring constantly, allow the mushrooms to reduce and release their juices into the butter.  Start slowly pouring in the heavy cream, adding enough to cover the bottom of the pan.  If you like a thinner sauce, use closer to 1/2 cup of cream.  If you like a thicker sauce, use closer to 1/4 cup of cream.  Continue stirring the sauce, allowing it to thicken slightly.  Once it reaches your desired consistency, remove the sauce from the heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta and pour it into a bowl.  Add the grated cheese and toss.  Add the shredded prosciutto in four batches, tossing the pasta after each batch is added.  Add most of the mushroom sauce, reserving a bit to top the pasta.  Toss the pasta once more, making sure the sauce evenly coats everything.  Serve with a small spoonful of the reserved sauce on top (and a grating of the cheese if you wish…which I usually do).

]]> http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/2009/07/linguine-with-creamy-mushroom-sauce-and-prosciutto/feed/ http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/2009/06/chilled-corn-soup-with-sourdough-parmesan-croutons/ http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/2009/06/chilled-corn-soup-with-sourdough-parmesan-croutons/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:04:28 +0000 Shaw_Girl http://www.adventuresinshaw.com/?p=1903

Let me be honest here:  I wasn’t impressed with season 5 of Top Chef.  From Leah’s whining to Hosea’s sense of entitlement, it was hard to see the few quality chefs on the show.  Sure Carla was overly enthusiastic at times, but her love of cooking was evident from day one.  And yes I couldn’t understand half of what Fabio said, but his sense of fun was a welcome respite from Hosea bitching to the camera constantly about Stefano.  Then there was Jamie…Jamie who constantly complained whenever she didn’t win a challenge.  Yes, I thought there were a few times she may have deserved the win.  But her attitude wore on me quicker than Rosie Perez’s voice.  I had almost written her off completely as a waste of space until she presented the judges with a wonderful Chilled Sweet Corn Soup with Mint and Chili Oil.  The way they cooed over the velvety texture of the soup convinced me it was something I had to make at home.

The one thing I could respect about Jamie was her committment to using local, in season produce in her cooking.  I could have rushed out to the grocery store and bought out of season corn to make this soup.  But I knew only fresh corn could produce the results I saw on my television screen.  So when I spotted the first of this season’s corn at Bloomingdale Farmers Market on Sunday, I snatched up a bunch.

The recipe was fairly simple, using a combination of flavors that normally one wouldn’t associate.  Corn and mint? Really?  Yes really…the layers of taste meld unexpectedly well together.  And serving this soup chilled only enhances those flavors.  Although Jamie topped this soup with a chili oil, I decided to use up the extra sourdough in our house to make croutons to top it.  The resulting combination of crunchy sourdough and the corntastic soup (corntastic is a word…adding “tastic” to anything instantly turns it into a word) made for the perfect Summer lunch.  The recipe below makes either about 15 appetizer size portions or 8 entree size portions of soup.

NOTE:  I used bi-color corn, as it’s what is currently in season.  The bi-color corn will lead to the soup being a more muted color yellow.  If you use yellow corn, your soup will be a brighter shade of yellow.

Chilled Corn Soup with Mint

15 ears corn, cleaned and kernels removed from the cob

1 bunch celery, chopped

5 onions, diced

10 garlic cloves, smashed

5 potatoes (I used white, as they are in season), peeled and quartered

1 bunch mint (if using farm fresh mint, use a small bunch)

5 quarts vegetable stock

1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)

1 quart heavy cream

Salt to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and cook until golden brown (stirring constantly to make sure the garlic doesn’t stick or burn).  Add a dash of salt and then add the onions.  Continue to cook until the onions are soft.  Add another dash of salt before stirring in the celery.  Cook until the celery is semi-soft, about 4 minutes.

Using kitchen string, tie the bunch of mint securely.  Add the potatoes, corn and mint to the pot and then cover everything with the vegetable stock.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat until the boil turns to a simmer.  Continue to let the soup cook until the potatoes are tender.  Once the potatoes are tender, check the soup for seasoning and adjust if needed.  Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

Working in batches, ladle some of the soup into a food processor, turn it on and pour heavy cream in until smooth.  Pour the smoothed soup into a new bowl with a lid.  Repeat this process until all the soup has been blitzed.  Refrigerate the soup for at least four hours or until it’s completely chilled.

When serving, ladle the soup into a bowl and top it with the croutons (see recipe below).

Sourdough Parmesan Croutons

6-8 slices sourdough bread, cubed

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and lightly grease them.

Place half the bread cubes in a large bowl and pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil evenly over them.  Toss quickly to ensure the cubes are evenly coated.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese over the cubes and toss again.  Place the cubes in a single layer on one of the baking sheets.  Repeat this entire process with the remaining bread cubes, olive oil and parmesan cheese.  Bake the cubes in the oven for five minutes and then flip over each cube (this can be done easier with a spatula).  Bake for another 5 minutes, being careful to check frequently to make sure the croutons don’t burn.  Once the croutons are a nice golden color and hard (but not burnt), remove the pans from the oven and allow them to cool before using.

The local food movement has gathered steam over the last two decades, bringing with it an intent to educate the American public about the food they eat.  Considered one of the founders of this movement, Alice Waters has been championing organic and locally grown, in season produce for years.  Her teachings have helped to bring about a higher consciousness of agribusiness and how it feeds us.  Taking this idea of following the food we eat from its beginnings one step further, Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” showed how corn truly is king in the United States.  This movement towards more informed food choices is even the subject of a new documentary, Food Inc.  And as more people demand to be better informed about the food they are placing on their family table, farmers markets have become a hot commodity.

The desire to speak directly with those who are growing your food has helped to make the farmers market concept popular throughout the United States.  In the DC metro area, there are well over 30 farmers markets (in my neighborhood alone, there are three).  These markets not only help to bring healthy, quality, locally grown produce to the urbanites of DC, it also provides the farmers a steady consumer base for their products.  The markets also give consumers the opportunity to learn about the farms and the farmers, providing a direct pipeline of information from the farm to the table.  This concept of understanding the transition from the farm to the table has been taken one step further with farm to table events.  One such event was held in Loudon County, Virginia on the Moutoux Orchard and hosted by Vermillion Restaurant.  I was lucky enough to be able to attend thanks to a proposal I submitted for the FoodBuzz 24, 24, 24 monthly blog event.  So last Saturday, under a gorgeous blue sky, I headed out to Loudoun County, Virginia to find out where my food comes from.

Vermillion Restaurant, located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, is known for its conscientious efforts to use locally sourced produce, meats, dairy products and other ingredients.  Executive Chef Tony Chittum, a recent Rammy award winner for Rising Culinary Star, seeks out local farmers and producers to partner with, bringing farm fresh ingredients to the heart of Old Town.  Out of this partnership came the natural progression of bringing diners to the farm itself for an evening of stellar food and the chance to break bread with those who grew it.  The setting for this event was the Moutoux Orchard in Purceville, Virginia, a little more than an hour’s drive from Washington, DC.  The Moutoux Orchard is a tapestry of beautiful trees bearing the fruit of their famous peaches.  Driving up to the site, I saw an endless stretch of the peach trees juxtaposed against a crisp, blue sky.  The orchard has been owned by the Moutoux family for three generations and has expanded with its own community supported agriculture program.  Their fruits can also be found at the Dupont Circle Farmers Markets on Sunday mornings.  Rob Moutoux, Jr. has also begun growing wheat, spelt, rye and barley, using chemical free farming practices.  The Moutoux family graciously opened up its orchard for the Summer Solstice Supper, allowing guests to meander around their orchards and fields.

The event started with a reception in the peach orchard, which included a selection of Horton Wines.  Dennis Horton first began making wines in earnest in 1983 on a small vineyard in Virginia.  Dennis grew his vineyard into a very successful winery, bringing distinctly French winemaking techniques to the Virginia countryside.  After carefully researching the numerous variety of grapes, Dennis found that the Viognier plant would thrive in the humid Virginia climate.  His work with these grapes have led to award winning wines, including the first and only sparkling Viognier wine in the world, the “Dom Virginion”.  I was hesitant to try any of the wines because I am not an oenophile and find that wines tend to muddy my taste buds.  However, after hearing the compliments being bandied around the reception, I decided to try their orchard peach champagne cocktail, a glass of their Sparkling Viognier NV with a splash of their peach wine.  I was pleasantly surprised by the clean and crisp flavor of the cocktail and the immediate essence of peach permeating it.  I will not even begin to attempt a description of its taste, as I haven’t a clue what terms wine lovers use to describe it.  But I will say the cocktail left me with a willingness to try the other wines available throughout the night.

To offset the flow of wine, platters of appetizers were circulated throughout the white tent erected for the reception.  Fresh sausage was tossed with a snap pea slaw while the sweetness of beets was paired with an Alberene ash goat cheese.  The start of Summer squash season was heralded with grilled Summer squash coupled with a Virginia feta.  And fresh eggs were highlighted in a frittata of potatoes, leeks and Virginia ham.  All of the produce was harvested the day before – evident by the sweetness of the beets and the tangy earthiness of the squash.  A live blue grass band rounded out the trifecta of good wine, good food and good music, making for a lovely start to the warm Summer night.

We were allowed to wander around the orchard, so I headed off to take a closer look at the peach trees.  Being from Georgia, I should be more familiar with peach orchards and trees.  Sadly, however, my years in Augusta did not afford me the opportunity to pick my own peaches straight from the trees.  Because of this, I never had a fresh peach until I moved to Washington, DC.  And one of the very first peaches I ate was a Moutoux Orchard peach I bought from the Dupont Circle Farmers Market.  The peach was sweet and soft, reminding me nothing of the hard and bitter peaches I was used to from the neighborhood Piggly Wiggly.  The Moutoux Orchard was breathtakingly beautiful, a surreal experience coming from the concrete of DC to the serenity of this striking land.  Not far from the barn was a small patch of lettuce, some of the very same varieties I had purchased that morning from the 14th & U farmers market.  Some of the lettuce was hooded with thick plastic sheeting, one of the many non-chemical methods used by farmers to ward off pests.  And even further out was a staked out pen of chickens, all freely roaming the land and eating the grass.  Unlike the crowded pens of the larger chicken companies, there were only a small amount of chickens aimlessly wandering a large section of land.  After seeing footage of the Purdue and Tyson chicken coops, it was refreshing to watch these animals walk around free of cages.

The reception gave guests the chance to not only sample the Horton Wines, but also a wonderful opportunity to speak with the farmers.  Ellen Polishuk of Potomac Vegetable Farms, one of my favorite Takoma Park Farmers Market vendors, discussed how Potomac Vegetable Farm is actually a consortium of three farmers working land in Fairfax and Loudoun County.  Ellen works 20 of the 180 acres of land owned by the Newcombs in Loudoun County, while Hiu Newcomb and her daughter Hana work the original farm land in Vienna.  Ellen begun working the original Vienna farm back in the ‘70’s because of her interest in farming and alternative farming practices.  Organic farming got its first huge hay day in the ‘70s and Ellen was fascinated by using non-chemical techniques to grow produce.  Her passion led her to get a degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech.  Now the manager of the production farm in Loudoun County, Ellen takes seriously the business of organic farming.  On several occasions throughout the evening, Ellen was more than happy to discuss her love of composting and offered tips on modified composting for those who live in the heart of a bustling city like DC.  She jokingly lamented the problems with deer, saying they just adore beets.  As a deterrent, the farms cover the crops with the thick, white plastic sheeting I saw earlier covering the lettuce.  Fencing also is used to help keep the deer away from the crops and was evident all around the orchard and neighboring farmland.

Organic farming techniques were a continued point of conversation throughout the night.  Chip and Susan Planck of Wheatland Vegetable Farms were happy to talk about the methods they used to preserve their crops without the use of chemicals.  The Plancks have been farming since the early 70’s and have always had an eye for using methods that were ecologically friendly.  “It’s not just good food, it’s a responsible way of life,” Susan said, echoing the same sentiment heard over and over during the night.  Like Ellen, the Plancks first started working on the Potomac Vegetable Farms in the ‘70s.  Out of their work came a strong love of the land and of farming, leading them to start their own farm on 35 acres of land adjacent to the Potomac Vegetable Farms.  Chip sees himself not only as a farmer but a steward of the land, passing on what he’s learned to the many college students who work the land during their Summers.  Like the Newcomb family, Chip and Susan want to pass on the information they’ve learned to encourage future generations to continue the legacy of sustainable agriculture and responsible farming.  Although they had been working earlier in the day, the Plancks showed no signs of fatigue as they mingled with the guests at the reception.

As it reached closer to dinner time, Clare Parker, director of private dining, special events and wholesale accounts for the Neighborhood Restaurant Group (the force behind Vermillion among other noted DC area restaurants), suggested I head over to the farm to get pictures of the table before the start of the meal.  The walk from the orchard to the farm took us through Rob’s wheat fields, the golden rods blowing seductively in the breeze.  Because so many of us had never seen wheat fields, several groups stopped along the way to take pictures of the stalks.  During the reception, I heard Rob say his intent was to mill some of the wheat, barley and rye into flour and possibly sell it at DC farmers markets.  As an avid baker, the thought of having locally milled flour to work with was almost mind blowing.  Rob said he was still working on getting approved to sell it at a few markets, but believed he would be starting as soon as the end of July.  Seeing the wheat that could potentially be milled into the very flour I use brought this experience full circle.  As we continued on, I saw an entire patch of rainbow chard off to the side of where the dinner tables were placed.  “I just picked up some rainbow chard this morning at Arlington,” I heard a guest say, referring to the Arlington Farmers Market, where both Potomac and Wheatland Vegetable Farms sell their produce.  This was the essence of this farm to table experience:  seeing the very food you eat growing from the Earth and being served to you on a platter.

The dinner table was a long expanse of white jutting out from the green of the farmland.  A makeshift kitchen was set up close by, with Tony and his staff working feverishly over the open flames of the grill.  To allow for the guests to easily talk with the farmers during dinner, certain spots were “booked” for them.  Ellen and her husband Richard were seated two seats down on my right, while Susan and Chip sat one seat down on my left.  Georgia O’ Neal and Zach Lester of Tree and Leaf Farm were seated further down the table, but Georgia made a point of introducing herself to the other sections of the table.  “I’m just glad the weather is so beautiful for tonight,” she exclaimed as shook hands with those who regularly buy her produce at Dupont Circle, Falls Church and Mt. Pleasant Farmers Markets.  A New York City native, Georgia married Zach in 2002.  Together they turned Zach’s gardening business into a successful year round farm, emphasizing a pesticide free, sustainable approach to farming.  Located in Waterford, Virginia, Tree and Leaf Farm celebrate the cycles of nature, growing produce with the seasons.  In addition to their sales at local farmers markets, Tree and Leaf have their own community supported agriculture program, allowing consumers to buy shares of their farms harvest.

I sat next to an engaging couple I had met earlier during the reception, Amy and Ryan (not their real names - I forgot to ask for permission to use their names).  Both strong proponents of buying local, they made for wonderful dinner companions.  The first course was set before us, a chicory salad with deviled eggs and a Summer squash and cornbread panzanella.  The eggs were gathered that very morning from the chicken coops, bringing new meaning to farm fresh eggs.  The yolk was smooth and creamy, requiring little seasonings to bring out its rich flavor.  Knowing this, Tony and his staff used a minimal amount of ingredients to create the deviled egg, allowing its natural flavors to shine.  The salad course was paired with Horton’s Viognier 2008, a crisp wine that didn’t interfere with the taste of the food.  Ryan jokingly tried to get his wife Amy’s deviled egg, but was quickly rebuffed.  Ellen commented that the chicory salad greens were fresh from the farm that day, something that was evident by its sharp flavors.  The greens were tossed lightly with a vinaigrette of freshly picked herbs, providing an added depth to the salad.  The couple to my right, Carlea and Geoff, was frequent Vermillion guests and commented that the salad was quintessential Tony.  The buzz of conversation went up and down the large table, giving the dinner a communal feeling.  But plates were quickly polished off, with compliments to the chef echoing throughout the field.

The second course was quickly placed in front of us, a duo of the region’s seafood accented with fresh vegetables.  A Virginia wrapped local scallop was paired with a Hampton jumbo lump crab cake, served on large, family style platters to encourage guests to pass the plate and start a conversation.  The Boy was hesitant to try the crab cake because he wasn’t a fan of seafood.  Geoff encouraged him to at least give it a try, saying “Since you’re here, you may as well get the full experience!”  Convinced, he took a crab cake and scallop, taking a small bite of the crab cake first.  Even though he’d grown up on the Eastern Shore, his previous experiences with crab cakes had left him with a less than favorable impression.  But the simplicity of the jumbo lump crab meat tossed with fresh herbs won him over.  “This is a damn good crab cake,” he proclaimed as he continued to dig in.  Although he didn’t like the texture of the scallop, he appreciated the freshness of both the scallop and its ham companion.  The crab cake was served on a bed of oak leaf lettuce, tossed with the same fresh herb vinaigrette used on the chicory salad.  Rounding off the second course was a crudo of spring root vegetables, including fresh radishes and beets.  The gorgeous, deep red of the beets permeated the rest of the crudo, giving the dish a bejeweled quality.  The second course was paired with my favorite wine of the evening, Horton’s Petit Manseng 2007.

During the break between the second and third courses, I was able to get a closer look at the kitchen created in the middle of the farm land.  Tony, an easy going and affable guy, chatted freely with guests as he maneuvered the Piedmontese beef, rabbit and bison skirt steak around the huge, open flamed grills.  “The menu was driven by the harvest,” he said as he wiped his brow and turned over a massive piece of beef.  Tony’s drive to use local produce started with a simple pursuit of quality ingredients.  This pursuit led Tony and Vermillion to partner with local food sources, bringing the farm straight to the diners at the restaurant.  As they worked more and more with local food producers, their commitment to these producers grew stronger.  Events like the Summer Solstice Supper allows Vermillion to bring their diners in contact with the farms who supply feed them.  It also gives the diners an opportunity to learn how to incorporate more local foods into their diets.  Carlea lamented the fact that she and Geoff have yet to take advantage of the farmers markets in their area.  A chorus of farmers market suggestions met Carlea’s statement, ranging from the Arlington Courthouse market to the one held in Old Town early on Saturday mornings year round.  Geoff being the foodie of their family said he would love the opportunity to cook with farm fresh ingredients and we all encouraged him to do so.  “The difference in taste is phenomenal…after having a fresh beet, you can never go back to that vile stuff they throw in a can!” Ryan said, proudly showing off his “Support Local” t-shirt.

Before the third course was presented, a Cabernet Franc 2006 appeared in my glass.  Although I’m not a fan of reds, I could appreciate the clear, full bodied taste of the Cabernet and believed it to be a fitting accompaniment to the New Frontier Farm Mixed Grill.  The grill included the aforementioned Piedmontese beef, a rabbit terrine and a bison skirt steak.  Served with a red potato salad tossed in sheep’s milk yogurt and fresh dill, the meat was the star of the meal.  Seasoned only to bring out the meat’s natural flavors, the cuts were succulent and delicious.  The skirt steak was unbelievably velvety, almost melting in my mouth.  As with the second course, the mixed grill was served on heaping platters.  By this time in the dinner, everyone was relaxed and old friends, so the plates were passed around as if it was a family dinner.  As the plate was passed, the passer attempted to tell the recipient which meats were which.  This, however, proved to be difficult as we’d all had a lovely amount of wine at this point.  An attitude of “whatever, it’s all delicious” was adopted as the plates moved along the table.  The potato salad was a creamy mix of fresh dill and tangy yogurt, neither of which took away from the freshness of the red potatoes.  As with the other courses, the diners made quick work of the meat course, opting for seconds (and sometimes thirds).  The sun was beginning to set, bathing the table in an aura of oranges and reds.  The sight of the setting sun on the crops situated near the table only seemed to echo the significance of the meal.  Everything I had eaten throughout the reception and meal came from the very land I was sitting on.  The hard work of the farmers to my left and my right were celebrated by each dish and made me appreciate my close proximity to farm country all the more.

Throughout the meal, strangers conversed easily with each other, trading local food source tips and recipes to highlight the bounty of this season.  Email addresses and phone numbers were exchanged as more and more people realized how much they had in common with those they considered strangers at the start of the meal.  As dessert was served, everyone tucked into the Caromont Farm Chevre Cheesecake placed before them.  A strawberry black pepper preserves and Chantilly cream sauce accented the cheesecake, a mellower version of the heavier, traditional ricotta and cream cheese cheesecakes.  A sweet but flavorful Late Harvest Viognier NV was paired with the cheesecake – and a favorite of several of my dinner companions.  The knowledgeable servers explained how harvesting the grapes later allow for a sweeter, almost port like white wine.  Although heavier than all the other wines served throughout the meal, the Late Harvest Viognier was still a crowd pleaser.  The beautiful weather we were fortunate enough to enjoy threatened to take a turn when a few drops were released from the sky.  No one rushed to leave, however; the meal and the conversation were too good to rush.  Carlea and I discovered our families were from South Georgia – the very same city in fact!  We talked small towns, fireflies and Piggly Wiggly, while The Boy and Ryan discussed their shared career of computers.  Geoff met a fellow foodie to his left and plans were discussed for a foodie throw down sometime in the near future.  The farmers talked about their farms, but also about their love of food and their everyday lives.  Ellen said she didn’t work any of the Sunday farmers markets because, “We all have to have one day of rest, right?”  And Sandy freely admitted her unabashed love for the comfortable Crocs, a fashion no-no in the city but a wonderful treat for farmers’ feet.

A final treat of Virginia peanut cookies was served along with iced espresso before Tony came out to greet all the diners.  A rousing round of applause greeted him, along with flashes of cameras and shouts of praise.  He graciously accepted the compliments and chatted with every section of the table before heading back to clean up.  As we all headed back up to the orchard to our cars, full and happy, the sun gave way to night.  The very fireflies Carlea and I discussed seemed to be lighting the path back to the orchard, reminding me that I was a long way from the city.  This was a unique event, allowing the consumer and the producer to come together over the very food that binds them.  A celebration of the season and the hard workers who bring it to us every week, the supper was a huge success.  And I walked away richer in the knowledge that I truly know where my food is coming from.

Click here for the full set of photographs I took from this wonderful meal!

Is it just me or is Sophia from the Golden Girls the funniest television character ever created?  Between her “Picture This” stories and wise cracks about her ex-son-in-law Stan, she has me laughing every time I watch.  Which is pretty much every night since I have all seven seasons on DVD (or I turn on the Hallmark channel, which is pretty much just The Golden Girls interspersed with episodes of M*A*S*H now).  I was thinking about her as I made this classic Italian dish and laughing the entire way through.

There’s an episode where Sophia is trying to perfect her marinara sauce for the Daughters of Italy cooking contest.  She offers Blanche and Dorothy a taste of it and when they don’t get “the look” she knows the sauce isn’t an absolute winner.  Like most old world cooks, Sophia never needed a recipe…she relied on her instincts to create a wonderful meal.  For me, I still need a recipe from time to time.  But when I have fresh, good ingredients, I can throw something together fairly easy.  This is how my chicken Parmesan dish came about.  I had all these wonderful jars of tomato sauce and lovely chicken breasts from EcoFriendly Foods, so it seemed only natural to throw them together.  Toss in fresh herbs from my container garden and fresh mozzarella from Blue Ridge Dairy and it was Chicken Parm heaven.  This entire meal takes about 30 minutes to cook, so it definitely goes in my Fast Food category!

Chicken Parmesan

3 tablespoons quality extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

Salt and pepper

6-three ounce boneless chicken breasts

1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced into six pieces

2 cups fresh tomato sauce

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a small bowl, combine the chopped herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil.  Mix well and allow to stand for at least 5 minutes.  Once the herbs have marinated into the oil, brush both sides of each chicken breast with the herbed oil.  Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the chicken breasts (this may have to be done in batches).  Cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on each side, about 4 minutes.

Place the sauteed chicken breasts in a large casserole pan.  Pour the tomato sauce over the chicken, ensuring each breast is evenly coated.  Top each breast with the sliced mozarella and then sprinkle the parmesan evenly over all the breasts.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

For more information about C3, visit their website (linked above) and learn how you can get involved!

The other day I was idly going through my Google reader when I hit upon the latest entry from my blogger friend Sizzle.  She had been running a bit of a contest, giving away a CD of covers she loved.  For whatever reason, I didn’t enter…blame my forgetfulness…or laziness…whatever.  Either way, I was kicking myself when I read the list of covers she included in the CDs she gave away.  I love, love, love Katie Thompson’s cover of Crowded House’s “Fall at Your Feet” and the Postal Service’s rendition of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds” really lives up to the haunting nature of the original.  So being ever resourceful, I emailed Sizzle and begged kindly asked if she’d sell me a copy of the CD’s.  And that’s when she suggested a trade…

The deal was, I either send some recipes friendly to Sizzle’s new healthy eating lifestyle OR I bake her some diet safe cookies.  Considering the fact that I am also trying to eat healthier, I could have sent along some tasty but healthy recipes.  But I know Sizzle’s been going through a lot and I figured homemade treats from across the country would cheer her up some (I hoped).  I remember how touched I was when Joy sent me a care package, so I thought it was time to pay it forward.  Sizzle had told me she really wanted to try a coconut almond chocolate macaroon recipe she’d seen online.  I took a look at the recipe and it not only looked simple, it looked delicious.  Since I didn’t have most of the ingredients, I made a list and headed out to Target (did I mention how dangerous it was for me to live this close to a Target?).

It’s not very hard to get me to bake and I know that a good cookie can do wonders for the soul.  The very smell of the toasted coconut and almonds lifted up my spirits on a rainy day (seriously Mother Nature, I’m not kidding…I’ll totally post those pictures on the interwebs).  Sure I was getting CD’s in exchange for the cookies, but truth be told I probably would have made them for her anyways.  So Sizzle, these lovely macaroons (uhmmm, the Boy and I kinda had one or two) are on their way to you!  Let’s just hope the chocolate doesn’t melt…or the FedEx guy doesn’t get hungry.  And FYI, these cookies TOTALLY taste like the Girl Scout’s Samoas (bonus!!!).

Coconut Almond Chocolate Macaroons (adapted from A Dash of Sass)

3 cups sweetened coconut flakes

1 cup slivered almonds

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg whites

pinch of salt

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 35o degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and then grease the parchment paper.

Mix together the coconut and almonds in a large bowl.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and place half the coconut/almond mixture in the skillet.  Constantly stir the coconut and almonds to make sure it doesn’t burn.  Toast the coconut and almonds until the flakes start to turn a light brown.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a stand mixer, add the egg whites and salt and whip until the whites form sturdy peaks (but not whipped to the point of becoming dry).  Once whipped, take the bowl off the stand mixer and set aside.  In a large measuring cup, measure out the sweetened condensed milk and add the vanilla.  Stir until the milk and vanilla are combined.  Once the coconut/almond mixture is cooled, add the milk/vanilla mixture and stir.  Fold in the egg whites, making sure all the ingredients are incorporated.

Drop the batter by the heaping tablespoon full onto the greased parchment paper.  Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before handling.

While waiting for the cookies to cool, start on the chocolate coating.  Place the chocolate and the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and zap for 35 seconds.  Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the chocolate until it starts to smooth.  If the chocolate is still a bit chunky, microwave it again for 10 seconds.  Continue in 10 seconds intervals until the chocolate is smooth.  Line another baking sheet with parchment paper and then dip the bottom of the cooled cookies in the chocolate.  Place the cookies (chocolate side down) on the parchment paper.  Once all the cookies are completely dipped, use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over the top of the cookies.  Place the cookies in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set - about 20 minutes.

There is nothing in the world that makes me happier than puttering around my kitchen cooking while listening to Al Green.  “Let’s Stay Together” is hands down the most romantic song I’ve ever heard and just hearing it makes me want to sashay around my counter.  With a mixing spoon as my microphone, I sing at the top of my lungs while the kitties wonder if I’ve gone mental.  I haven’t…I just believe that the art of cooking deserves a soundtrack.  Food feeds the belly, but for me, music feeds my soul.

So what songs do I love cooking to right now?

Matt Kearney’s “Closer to Love” - a rhythm of drums, piano and his soothing but edgy voice bearing his heart to the love of his life.

Chris Botti with Shawn Colvin’s “All Would Envy” - a tale of the heartbreaks of a May-December romance gone wrong with Shawn’s haunting voice accompanied by Chris’s weeping trumpet

Jason Mraz’s “Butterfly” - a horn section to die for with lyrics that are seductively wicked…all sung by the second cutest guy who wears a fedora in my world (the first of course being The Boy)

Stevie Nick’s “Edge of Seventeen” - Stevie’s gravely, earthy voice belting out with such raw emotion demands you get up and accompany her

Melissa Etheridge’s “Similar Features” - A simple guitar rift echoes through Melissa’s aching monologue to a lover who has left her for another woman

All of these songs and a few others were wafting through my speakers as I lovingly created this homemade tomato sauce.  It was an overcast day, the perfect setting to stay in and cook up something slow and satisfyingly simple.  I adapted the recipe from Giada de Laurentiis’s Simple Tomato Sauce and the tweaks made for a richer, more complex flavor that smoked anything on the shelves at the grocery store.  It helped that I had gotten all the ingredients (except the bay leaves) from the farmers market or my own herb garden (yup…I’m successfully growing the herbs!) - so everything was fresh.  And I’d like to think my singing helped…

Simple Tomato Sauce (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)

4 pounds fresh tomatoes, diced

1 carrot, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

6 basil leaves

2 dried bay leaves

1 1/3 cup good quality olive oil

2 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

2-3 mason jars for the sauce

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add the carrots and salt and pepper to taste (I used about a small tablespoon of salt and three grinds of my pepper mill worth of pepper).  Continue cooking for another 4 to 5 minutes or until the carrots are tender.  Add the tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano and bay leaves and simmer on low, covered, for about an hour or until the mixture has thickened.  Occassionally stir the mixture to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pot, but always remember to re-cover the pot.  After the sauce has sufficiently thickened, taste it to make sure there is enough salt and pepper.  Add 2 tablespoons of butter and stir until melted.  Taste the sauce to see if it’s still somewhat acidic.  If it is, add another tablespoon of butter one at a time until the flavor is rounded out.  Once the sauce is to your taste, allow it to cool.

Working in batches, pour the sauce into a food processor.  Blitz on high until the tomato sauce is smooth (or until it reaches your desired consistency…some people like their sauces slightly chunky).  Using a funnel, pour the sauce into mason jars and firmly screw on the lids.  The recipe makes enough to fill 3 mason jars.  Place in the refrigerator and use within the next 2 weeks.  If you do not plan to use it all within 2 weeks, you can freeze some of the sauce in freezer bags for up to 6 months.

So what songs do you like to cook to?

Dear Mother Nature:

I’m not sure if maybe you’re a little confused or something, but this is Washington, DC not Washington State.  We here in the District can’t stomach all this rain.  We’re ill-equipped to deal with flash flood warnings, even if we are sitting on what was once swamp land.  I appreciate you trying to clean out all the pollen and you know, big ups to you for solving our draught problems from last year.  But I really, really miss the sun and would like to be able to walk home from the metro without getting my pants wet.

Look, I get you have a job to do…flowers and plants to water and all.  But I’m thinking you’re overwatering them and we’ve all frankly had enough.  I’m not making threats or anything but let’s just say I may know what’s going on with you and Father Time…and I may have potentially embarrassing pictures.  So either cut it out or your intimate moments with F.T. will be splayed all over the internet.  Dig?

To show good faith, I’m willing to give you a batch of these lovely scones as a peace offering.  They’re a testament to your lovely strawberries that are all over the farmers markets now.  And they’re hella good when reheated in the microwave (wait, do you use a microwave or are you like those Top Chef Masters from last night?).  All I ask is that you stop with the rain and the thunderstorms and the clouds reminiscent to the final showdown scene from Ghostbusters.  Capiche?

Yours Truly,

Shaw Girl

Strawberry Scones

1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced into bite sized morsels

3 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½  cup sugar, plus a little more for dusting the tops of the scones
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk

For the egg wash:  whisk together one egg and a tablespoon of water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift together the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Add the butter cubes and work the butter into the dry ingredients until a crumbly texture is created.  Make sure the strawberries are drained of any juices and then add them to the flour mixture.  Using a fork, stir the strawberries into the flour mixture.  Add the buttermilk and continue stirring with a fork until a dense dough is formed.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and gently knead it a little until it’s a uniformed dough.  If any of the strawberries poke out of the dough while kneading, simply poke it back into the dough.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s about an inch thick.  Then cut out triangular wedges from the dough (or you can just rip off circular hunks like I did…because I’m too impatient to cut out shapes from dough).  Place the scones on the baking sheet and brush each of them with the egg wash.  Sprinkle each scone with a bit of sugar.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Okay, so technically it’s not Summer yet, but it’s starting to get quite warm out and the farmers markets are really showing signs of life.  At the end of Summer last year, I lamented the fact that I hadn’t been proactive in preserving the fruits and vegetables I love and enjoy so much during the hot months.  I was really missing fresh corn and peas when it was cold outside and all I could find at the farmers markets were lots and lots and lots of potatoes.  So I promised myself that this Summer, I would buy a little extra produce and store it away for the Fall and Winter.  I know nothing about properly canning or freezing anything, but I figured I was a relatively resourceful gal (and there is this thing called the Internet that the young’uns are raving about).  And me being ever so generous, I thought I’d share what I learned with you.  So throughout the Summer, I’ll be posting guides on how to preserve or can or freeze a particular fruit or vegetable.  This week, we start with one of my favorites:  English peas!

Knowing I was fairly clueless about the age old practice of freezing vegetables, I googled “freezing fresh vegetables” and got a wealth of sites with countless tips, instructions and guidelines.  Honestly, it was all a bit overwhelming.  Then I hit across a blog post that extolled the virtues of a book called “Preserving Summer’s Bounty”.  According to the blog (and for the life of me, I can’t remember the name of it), the book gave simple but thorough information and steps on everything from canning and freezing to making preserves and drying herbs.  I got a copy of the book from the library and after reading up on freezing vegetables, I decided to give it a try.  I’ve been chasing down English peas for the past few weeks now, so it seemed only logical to start my little preservation project with them.  Earlier this morning, I headed out to the West End Farmers Market in Alexandria for the first time and picked up some shelled peas from J&W Valley Farm.  The entire process of freezing the peas took about 30 minutes, but would have taken less time had I not been taking pictures.  Before I knew it, I had a gallon sized Ziploc freezer bag stuffed with peas and handily labeled with the date.  So without further adieu, here is a step by step guide to freezing English peas!

I would like to think that it should go without saying the peas should be washed first before anything else is done.  But according to the book, this is an often overlooked step by people freezing vegetables.  I’m not sure what that says about the intelligence of the American people as a whole, but nonetheless, please first wash the peas.  Look for any rotten peas or stray pieces of sticks, grass or other remnants that don’t belong.

Fill a large mixing bowl with water and ice and place it near the stove.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Note:  if the water from your tap is hard, use filtered water for blanching.  Apparently using hard water will make the vegetables tougher.  Once the water starts to boil, use a slotted spoon (like the one above) or a steamer basket to submerge the peas into the water.  If you have a lot of peas, do this in small batches.

Allow the peas to cook for ONLY 1 to 1 1/2 minutes and then scoop them out with the slotted spoon.  Immediately put the peas into the ice bath next to the stove.  Continue this process until all the peas have been blanched.

Leave the peas submerged in the ice water until they’re cold to the touch.  Then drain them and put a small batch on a clean towel.  It is very important that the peas get as dry as possible before being frozen.

Fold the kitchen towel over the peas and gently roll the peas back and forth to absorb some of the moisture.

Then roll up the the peas in the kitchen towel (as seen above).  Do this gently…peas are a delicate veggie.  This will get the excess water, ensuring a dry set of peas.

Pour the peas from the kitchen towel to a Ziploc freezer bag (I used the heavy duty, double zipper gallon sized freezer bags) carefully.  Continue drying the rest of the peas until all of them are dry and in freezer bags.  Shake the peas down to the bottom of the freezer bag and half zip the bag.  Then squeeze out the rest of the air in the bag and zip it the rest of the way.  Your ziploc bag should be completely devoid of air to prevent any freezer burns.

So why not simply freeze the peas without blanching them?  Enzymes in vegetables will break down their vitamins and turn their natural sugars into starch.  If not rendered inactive, the enzymes will take away the fresh taste and beautiful colors of the vegetables when they are ripe.  The heat from the blanching process renders the enzymes inactive, while the ice bath stops the cooking process from continuing.  Without the ice bath, the vegetables will continue to cook even as they’re packed and placed in the freezer.  This will lead to a mushy vegetable once defrosted.  By first blanching the vegetable and then submerging it in ice water, you preserve the taste and texture of the vegetable (as well as its nutrients) for future use.  Hmmmm…I feel all “Bill Nye the Science Guy” now.

Hopefully when I pull out these peas in the months to come, they will be as fresh and delicious as they are now.  If not, I’ve just wasted about 30 minutes and an entire post on something that doesn’t work.  And won’t that make us all a little sad?