Last Wednesday morning, as we received our weekly delivery of California produce, the wind was picking up and the clouds were grey and churning – a sure sign of snow on the way. As we hurriedly brought in the fresh greens, jewel-like lemons and first-of-the-season strawberries, the juxtaposition between the impending New England storm and spring produce from California was increasingly apparent. Unpacking a box of Moro blood oranges from Rancho del Sol, I was immediately hit with a rich, balsamic fragrance that was only matched in richness by the oranges’ bright ruby appearance. Having yet to preserve any of this season’s citrus fruit, I immediately decided to snap up a pound to juice and candy. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Produce’ Category
Capturing California Citrus: Candied Blood Orange Peel
Posted in Candy & Confections, Desserts, Produce, Producer Profile, Recipes, tagged Bill Zaiser, blood orange, candied blood orange peel, candied fruit peel, citrus, food, Linda Zaiser, Moro blood oranges, preserving, Rancho del Sol, recipe on March 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Organic California Produce: Fruit and Vegetables for the Winter
Posted in Farms & Gardens, Produce, Producer Profile, tagged Beck Grove, California, Coke Farm, Full Belly Farm, organic, Produce, Riverdog Farm, T&D Willey Farm, Veritable Vegetable on November 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
As many of you know, the local produce season is winding down and we’re seeing a lot less variety coming in from the fields. Like much of the country, we look to California for fruits and vegetables when our own region cannot sustainably supply them. (more…)
An Autumnal Taste Test: 10 Apple Varieties and 10 Apple Crisps
Posted in Bakery, Desserts, Produce, Recipes, tagged apple crisp, apples, baking, baking apples, crisps, eating apples, food, heirloom apples, pie, pie apples, raw apples, Recipes, taste test on October 17, 2012 | 6 Comments »
Inter-departmental cooperation? We’ve got that in spades! Two Sundays ago, this manifested itself in a team effort between the bakery and the produce departments. Emily, produce buyer and home chef extraordinaire, brought the apples: 10 different kinds, most of them heirloom varieties. I represented for the bakery and turned each variety into an individual mini-crisp and sliced extras for a “raw” tasting. Our goal? To find out which were the best baking and which were the best eating apples. (more…)
Summer Snacking: Fresh Guacamole
Posted in Appetizers & Hors d'Oeuvres, Produce, Recipes, tagged avocado, dips, food, guacamole, hors d’oeuvres, recipe, Recipes, tomato, tomatoes on August 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
At this time of year, we’re enjoying a lot of fresh, local produce – from corn, to peaches, to tomatoes. And, speaking of the latter, what better time than the dog days of summer to whip up some fresh guacamole? It pairs well with beer, doesn’t involve any slaving away over the stove and is a great pre-BBQ snack! (more…)
A Salad for All Seasons: Arugula, Blood Orange + Ricotta
Posted in Produce, Recipes, Salads & Sides, tagged arugula, blood oranges, food, oranges, recipe, ricotta on July 19, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Recently, I shared a recipe for Toasted Orzo Mac & Cheese, cobbled together after inspiration struck in the form of a couple of visits to B&G Oysters, a restaurant in Boston’s South End. For that side dish, the B&G team used Parmigiano Reggiano. At the opposite end of the cheese aging scale, however, they offered another delicious dish on their menu: arugula salad paired with citrus and their house-made ricotta – a fresh, young, milky cheese. (more…)
Farm to Table: The Importance of Soil Health
Posted in Farms & Gardens, Food Science, Produce, tagged companion planting, crop rotation, farming, Ferdinando Zanusso, food, intercropping, Mario Zanusso, organic, soil, soil test, sustainable agriculture, terroir on May 10, 2012 | 1 Comment »
At Formaggio Kitchen, serious consideration is given to the impact of the land or terroir on each bottle of wine, wheel of cheese and bar of chocolate — for familiarity with soil and its composition yields a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Earth and our food. Many of our biodynamic and natural wine producers emphasize the importance of soil composition as it relates to the health of the vineyard as well as to the expression of the wine. I Clivi winemakers, Ferdinando Zanusso and Mario Zanusso, produce, “as ‘transparent’ a wine as possible, in which soil, climate and tradition may come fully through and be perceived without interferences.” (more…)
All About Heirloom Seeds: Biodiversity and Preservation
Posted in Education, Farms & Gardens, Food History, Food Science, Produce, tagged crops, F1, genetically modified, GMO, heirloom, heirloom seeds on February 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
For a lover of words, leafing through an heirloom seed catalog is almost as delicious as eating the fruits and vegetables pictured on each page. The poetry of heirloom seeds is unabashed, starting with names such as Amish Deer Tongue lettuce, Moon and Stars watermelon, Rouge Vif d’Etamps squash, Yellow Dent corn and a personal favorite, Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter tomatoes. Nomenclature aside, heirloom crops possess a long, distinguished past. (more…)
Dried Mushrooms: Foraged and Found Edibles
Posted in Main Dishes, Produce, Producer Profile, Recipes, tagged Chanterelles, dried mushrooms, food, Foraged and Found Edibles, Jeremy Faber, King Boletes, Morels, Porcini, recipe, Recipes, roast chicken on January 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The months of January through early April in New England signify a time of rest and re-growth on the farm. While fields are quiet and covered with snow, farmers are offered a brief respite from harvesting. This time is used to select seeds and finish crop plans for spring. Naturally, this also means a lull in local produce available here at the shop, as many crops are out-of-season or grown in limited quantities at this time of the year.
Luckily, West Coast farms are able to offer and ship fresh, organic and sustainably harvested fruits and vegetables during the early months of the year. Here at our Cambridge location, we have been working closely with small family farms and foragers who practice similar growing methods to the farms we work with in New England. Among these are Foraged and Found Edibles, a purveyor and harvester of wild edibles from Northern California to British Columbia, from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide. (more…)
Heirloom Varieties: The Apples of Our Ancestors
Posted in Education, Farms & Gardens, Food History, Produce, Producer Profile, tagged Ananas Reinette, apples, Black Gilliflower, Duchess of Oldenburg, Esopus Spitzenburg, heirloom, heirloom apples, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Lady Apple, Roxbury Russet, Scott Farm, Sheep’s Nose, Zeke Goodband on October 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Crisp autumnal air. The sweet smell of leaves. Dashes of yellows and oranges and reds and browns. A quintessential New England fall. And nothing says fall to me like apples and apple picking.
As a child, roaming the orchards, climbing up the ladder to pick the fruit, and biting into a juicy red McIntosh was what thrilled me. Now that I’m a bit older, I still love to pick apples but, as a produce buyer here at Formaggio Kitchen Cambridge, what really gets my motor going is the sheer variety of apples available today.
There are, of course, the old standbys like Granny Smith and Galas. The New England staples like Cortlands and Macouns. And, with the help of seed savers and the grace of a handful of dedicated growers, like Zeke Goodband of Scott Farm in Dummerston, Vermont, there are heirloom apples. The names themselves are reason to cheer: Ananas Reinette, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Duchess of Oldenburg. (more…)













