Fall farm treats

I'm not sure about where you live, but for those of us in Sonoma, 

right now the weather continues to "mess with us" a little. 

Mornings are cold, sometimes foggy assuring us that 

indeed the calendar is correct and we are well into autumn. 

Then by afternoon when the temperature has reached 

80 degrees, we think we are in summer. 

So, of course it is layering for our clothing choices, but somehow, 

love those summer salads as we do, when it comes to culinary choices, 

we really do find ourselves in sync with the calendar. 

Fortunately, our winter squash beds are prolific so "the fig's" 

popular butternut squash soup, featured on page 204 

of Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country 

will be appearing on the menu at the restaurant, or is an easy go-to meal for you too.

talk about farm to table!

butternut squash soup photo by Steven Krause for
Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country

Butternut Squash Soup, Balsamic Reduction, Fried Sage
When summer squash transitions to winter squash, soup always comes to mind. Butternut squash is a wonderful, hard variety that when cooked just right will utterly delight you. At this time of year, you’ll find several squash varieties at the market, so give the others a try in this recipe. There are a handful of options to garnish this soup. Fried sage has a nice earthy flavor and will be a wonderful flavor contrast to the creamy soup. Another option is Candied Pumpkin Seeds (page 315). They will definitely add a textural surprise!

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 large leek, white part only, cleaned and chopped
2 shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
21⁄2 pounds Butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped Salt and white pepper to taste
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
1 bunch fresh sage leaves, picked, for garnish Balsamic Reduction (page 311), for garnish

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, leek, shallots, and garlic and sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 7 minutes. Stir the vegetables occasionally to prevent browning. Add the squash to the vegetables and stir. Add 2 quarts of water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce
to a simmer, and cook until the squash is just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the heavy cream and the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Remove the vegetables from the heat and purée immediately in a blender or
food processor. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Heat a small amount of blended oil to 300°F and fry the sage leaves until crispy. Transfer the sage leaves to paper towels to drain and cool.
Ladle the soup into 6 bowls and garnish each with a drizzle of the balsamic vinegar reduction and a few fried sage leaves.
Serves 6 

By the way, as we explain in Plats du Jour cookbook: 

"Even though they are harvested in the fall, they are called winter squash 

because their hard, thick skins protect them during the winter storage, 

which was crucial in the days before refrigeration. 

Their large size and sometimes odd-looking exterior seem 

to intimidate some cooks but they are actually very easy to work with. 

Once you remove the tough outer skin or cut one in half and roast it with the skin on, 

you've got a very nutritious and adaptable ingredient." 

There are many varieties of winter squash 

and you can substitute one for the other in recipes. 

Here are some other winter squash recipe ideas. 

Planting squash always yields great bounty, 

and similarly, there is no shortage of other tips on cooking winter squash.

The recipes are all well and good you say, 

but that thick skin, which may be good for the squash, 

kind of scares you when it comes to cutting the squash? 

Of course you can't enjoy the versatility of winter squash 

and experiment with these recipes if you are unsure how to cut it. 

Check out this video for a great tip:

We have other vegetables growing at the farm that say "fall" including cauliflower.  

Our chefs feature a popular cauliflower & romanesco gratin 

with cauliflower cream, sort of a "mac & cheese in disguise!" 

caufliflower plant earlier this fall, soon ready for our chefs

Romanesco broccoli is an especially delicious variety of green cauliflower, 

but can be hard to find, so yo can substitute broccoli in the recipe. 

Did you know there is also orange and purple cauliflower? (More color in the garden). 

Chef tip: look for cauliflower heads (called curds) that are tightly closed, 

surrounded by bright green leaves.

cauliflower & romanesco gratin photo by Steven Krause
for Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country

So, you can see that cauliflower is not as dull as it might seem—it's colorful and healthy 

and much more versatile than you think. Besides our "mac & cheese" version, 

did you know that if you grate cauliflower curds to "rice like" shape, 

you can use them to make risotto? Use the cauliflower instead of the Arborio rice! 

At 25 calories per cup for cauliflower, that's tempting, right? 

Check out a cauliflower risotto recipe which ensures the flavor 

and consistency will be creamy and savory.

Got you thinking of how to be creative with cauliflower? 

How about savory kale, garlic & cauliflower puree pop tarts? 

Fun way to get your Vitamin B, C, K and manganese.

kale, garlic & cauliflower puree pop tarts
photo & recipe courtesy of reclaiming provincial

All this rivals summer's bounty at the farm, 

which helps on these cold autumn mornings. 

But actually, with recipes and ideas like this cooking, 

we might not mind if it doesn't warm up in the afternoon. 

After all, could be a perfect time for soups and stews 

and we have just the right ingredients growing at our farm.

What's growing at your farm? 

And do you have a favorite fall recipe to share?

Morning pick=evening's dinner

With everything blooming at the farm, this is the time of year 

when farm to table is as immediate as it can get. 

The chefs make a stop at the farm in the morning to see what they can pick, 

returning to the kitchen and start getting creative for you.

beans and tomatoes in upper quad beds
at the farm

bountiful bean beds in the Orchard

few of our 800 tomatoes!

beans ready for the chefs

This week's Plat du Jour at the girl & the fig shows off our farm bounty, 

starting with ENTREE of 

chilled garden squash soup with dill crème fraîche, espelette oil

and then following with PLAT dish:
braised pork cheeks with garden tomato ragoût, smoked romano beans, ricotta salata

We are loving the beans we have at the farm, so you just might see 

Grilled Lamb Loin, Summer Beans with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette, 

one of our favorite dishes from Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's 

Journey Through the Seasons in Wine County.  

As we say in the book, "in the first week in March, 

dozens of baby lamb graze at the Benziger Winery." 

We pride ourselves on sourcing as much as we can locally, 

so there is a certain symmetry to this dish in particular, 

since the vegetables (both the fresh beans and the tomatoes 

for the vinaigrette which are dried from last year's bounty) 

are grown at our farm which is on the other 

Benziger winery property at Imagery Estate Winery.

Grilled Lamb Loin with Summer Beans
photo by Steven Krause 

Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

Grilled Lamb Loin, Summer Beans, Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
In the first week in March, dozens of baby lambs graze at the Benziger Winery. Inevitably, these lambs end up on our menus through the next few months. We are conscious of using the whole animal in our cooking, so we get creative and combine the different cuts of lamb with various cooking methods. Summer means grilling; the meat’s flavor is in its prime and the grill provides just the right amount of heat without melding the flavors.

For the lamb:
3 pounds lamb loin
1 bunch fresh rosemary, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the beans:
1 pound haricots verts, blanched
1 pound yellow wax beans, blanched
2 pounds fresh Shelling Beans, cooked (page 313) 1 tablespoon blended oil
For the vinaigrette:
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned 1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1⁄4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, for garnish
2 tablespoons chives, cut into 1-inch pieces, for garnish
1⁄4 cup oil-cured olives, such as Nyons, pitted and cut in half, for
garnish

To prepare the marinade:
In a large pan place the lamb loin, rosemary, garlic, and olive oil. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
To prepare the vinaigrette:
In a small bowl rehydrate the sun-dried tomatoes in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain the tomatoes, place them in a food processor, and purée with the olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To prepare the lamb:
Preheat a grill to high. Remove the lamb loin from the marinade, removing any excess oil and the garlic. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Cook the lamb on a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
To prepare the beans:
While the lamb is cooking, place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Heat the blended oil and add the beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste and heat through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss the beans with half of the vinaigrette.
To serve:
Slice the lamb into 12 portions. Place two pieces of lamb on each plate and distribute the beans evenly over the top. Garnish with the herbs and olives and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette around each plate.
Serves 6 

Some "didja knows" about beans:

"Didja know" that a pole beans can be eaten fresh when picked young, 

or leave them to dry in the shell: The beans turn glossy black 

and are great in stew and chili. (nice reminder of summer later in the year)

And "Didja know" that Dragon Tongue beans are bush beans 

that start out light green, then grow splotchy as it ripens. 

These can be eaten as snaps when 
young or shelled for hearty beans when mature.

What's a favorite recipe of yours using summer beans?

Farm Blossoms

Don't you just love squash blossoms?  

We agree with these musings from "The Kitchn:" 

When stuffed, battered, and fried, they are one of summer's chief delicacies. 

But we always had a slight sense of unease when buying them. 

Wasn't it quite a sacrifice for the farmer to sell each flower, 

since he was essentially sacrificing a future squash? 

Wouldn't this flower someday grow into a much larger (and more substantial) vegetable? 

It seemed almost greedy to eat a flower and deny it its future as a squash!

Well, it turns out that we were wrong. Not all squash blossoms will turn into a squash, and we can eat most of the blossoms in our own squash patch with impunity. Why?"

"The answer is really quite simple. 

Squash blossoms come in two genders: male and female. 

Only female squash blossoms mature into a squash. 

The male is just there to, well, fertilize them."

Here is a little more technical info on male and female squash blossoms.

You must be seeing the beautiful squash blossoms at Farmers Markets. 

One simple way to prepare them is to fill squash blossoms 

with a soft herbed cheese, brush with olive oil and 

bake until wilted and heated through. 

What do you like to do with squash blossoms?

summer squash bounty at our farm

Summer squash at the farm inspired Chef at the girl & the fig 

to create a grilled summer squash ratatouille to serve with day boat scallops.

And our friend Kristin Jorgensen featured a great recipe 

for Ribbon Zucchini Salad in Sonoma "Sun Eats" column. 

A lot of squash inspiration for our Chefs
What do you do with summer squash?

The sunchokes are looming over the squash rows. 

Did you know they can grow to be 10' tall?

We had so many sunchokes last season that
Chef John created sunchoke chips! Rivaled potato chips.

Nearby the fertile squash beds, our raspberries are also in full bloom. 

Besides being hard to resist, there are so many health benefits to raspberries.

so delicious right off the vine

we almost can't be sure they will make it to the bowl! 

Here are some great tips from Smart Gardener about growing berries. 

Perfect for dessert just as they are....

Or do you have a favorite recipe that showcases berries?

The farm is fertile and alluring right now.
What's growing especially beautifully in your garden?