Hi everyone,
Someone hacked into my gmail account this past weekend, sent spam out to all my contacts, changed my password and locked me out of my account so I was unable to notify you of the hoax until now. I was not mugged in Wales, I’m fine, and do NOT send money! I’m really sorry to everyone for the emails, and thank you to all of you who were concerned and let me know about it!
Take Care,
Sara (the real one)
I’m writing this with tears in my eyes,I came down here to
Wales,United Kingdom for a short vacation unfortunately i got mugged at the park of the hotel where i stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off but luckily for me is that i still have my passports with me.
I’ve been to the embassy and the Police here but they’re not helping issues at all and my flight leaves in few hours from now but am having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won’t let me leave until i settle the bills,I’m freaked out at the moment.
Sara..
new season! Market starts May 15, 2010, at 9 AM. All your favorite vendors and some great new ones — some from our successful winter market in Wickford, and some you haven’t seen yet! Check back for the schedule of children’s activities, chef demonstrations, and live music. We’ll have links on the website as well in the next couple of weeks.
St. Patty’s Day Mash
Aka The Blue Dack Mash from the kitchen of Andrew Plotsky, Saratoga Farmers’ Market
Basket of local potatoes, blue if possible
One good-sized onion
One medium sized leek
4 cloves of garlic
Olive oil, a few tablespoons
Rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste
Wash and cut potatoes into medium chunks. Boil in water until soft enough to mash (tender to the fork). Meanwhile, back at the ranch, slice the onion thinly and dice the leek. Peel and chop all 4 garlic cloves.
Heat olive oil on medium heat (a few tablespoons) in a large skillet and toss in the garlic. Once nice and sizzly (but not brown!) take a few spoonfuls of the garlic (and a bit of oil) and put aside in a bowl. Add the onions and leeks to the skillet. Cook until they are soft, cooked down, and getting a nice little crispiness/deliciousness on the edges.
(Stir often and cook about 15-20 minutes).
Once potatoes are boiled, drain most of water (saving A BIT). Put cooked potatoes in a bowl. Now this next step is crucial: Mash the potatoes with whatever you have on hand – I usually use a slotted spoon or a big fork for lack of anything better, and they work perfectly fine. DONT OVERMASH YOUR TATERS! It is imperative that you don’t over mash the potatoes. If you do, they will be gluey and sticky and your mouth will get stuck closed forever. Ok. maybe not, but your tuber consuming experience will be much less enjoyable if they are over mashed. I like some chunkies left over, but you can certainly mash the potatoes smooth without over doing them—get to whatever consistency is your muse and then stop!
Next, take your beautifully softened-and-browned onion/leek combination add the extra garlic set aside earlier and pour over the mashed potatoes. Add rosemary, salt, and pepper. (I recommend fresh, coarse kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, though, any form of each will suffice). I purposely have not included amounts of the previous three ingredients for two reasons – first, every palette is different. I may like enough rosemary in my potatoes to make the dish both functional as dinner and potpourri, while you may think otherwise. Second, I encourage the chef to experiment and cook with feelings. Try things out. If you blow it this time, at least you have learned for next!
FOLD the onion/leek/garlic and condiments into the mashed potatoes. This is the other crucial step. DO NOT MASH THE HERB MIXTURE INTO THE POTATOES! Rather, fold it in, allowing the flavors to be incorporated without risking the “over mashed syndrome”. If the potatoes seem dry, don’t worry. Just add some moisture – hot water or veggie broth—adding just a little at a time (we’re not trying to make soup).
Let the dish sit for a few minutes to let the flavors incorporate. After that, maybe you will serve them nicely on a plate with some finely chopped chives sprinkled overtop. Maybe you’ll put a few rosemary sprigs as garnish. Now, enjoy!
p.s. because I tend to ramble on about minutiae, here is the abridged version for those who still want it “quick and dirty”:
boil potatoes
sauté garlic, onions, leeks
mash potatoes
add rosemary, s/p, sautéed onions/leeks fold in mixture to mashed potatoes eat, drink, be happy! (after all it’s close to St. Patty’s Day)
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New England Corned Beef Dinner
Serves 6
3 lb corned beef brisket, recipe below
6 medium all purpose potatoes, quartered
8 medium carrots, halved
2 medium onions, quartered
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 large head of cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
Place all the ingredients, but the cabbage, in a large slow cooker or crock pot, cook for 10 – 12 hours on low. One hour before serving, submerge cabbage wedges in the juices in the crock pot.
Serve brisket on a platter surrounded by the veggies
Heather’s Home Cured Corned Beef
3 lb beef brisket, point or flat
3 Tbs pickling spice mix, see below
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups Kosher salt
In large sauce pan or small stock pot, bring to boil the water, spice mix and salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Place brisket in a two gallon zip bag and pour corning brine over brisket. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Place bag in a large dish and weight down brisket so that it is completely submerged in brine. Refrigerate for five days. Rinse under cold water before cooking.
Pickling Spice Mix
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons hot red-pepper flakes
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon ground mace
2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces
2-4 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger
Don and Heather Minto are the exclusive producers of 100% grass fed beef and lamb at the Coastal Growers’ Market where they are known as Conanicut Island Grass Fed Beef and Lamb, or, the Watson Farmers. They have been farming together since 1970 when Don was majoring in Plant and Soil Science and Heather in Historic Textiles and Museum Education at URI. They made a commitment to each other to pursue their dream of living a lifestyle that made sense, on the land in a natural manner, and began by cutting their teeth on a 10 acre homestead, raising an acre of vegetables, chickens, a dairy goat herd, and a few hogs. They leased a 113 acre farm for several years until reaching the "promised land" when they were chosen by Historic New England in 1980 to manage the newly preserved 265 acre Watson Farm in Jamestown. The responsibility and opportunity to work this land has been an energizing and satisfying experience for Heather and Don and their daughters, Kristin, Melissa, and Cassie, all born and raised on the farm.
musical foodie fundraising party to celebrate spring and our market because:
