Local Pheasant, Rhubarb Pie, Watercress Salad and Asparagus

My brother Jonathan and some good friends and neighbors joined us for a spring pheasant dinner, complete with blanched asperagus and a delicious grave, enriched from Tom's collection of dried mushrooms. Two pheasants 5 people.  I  had promised Jonathan a pheasant dinner as he knew about the pheasants in the freezer -- one wild and one a new release hunted last fall. (Tooth warning: be careful of the shot.)

Our neighbors brought a ruby red rhubarb pie.  And a delicate Burgundy -- Savigny Les Beaune 2001.  Lovely.

I made a watercress salad, with bits of grapefruit, topped with toasted sliced almonds.  Sang Lee has a slightly sweet, tangy citrus dressing that made a great base for an olive oil and vinegar dressing. The almonds add a richness and nutty quality.

Then I almost forgot the wild rice!

Menu

Pheasant
Stuff with pate de canard (sauteed in duck fat) and 3 prunes, mix in dried trompette de la morte
Rub truffle oil on pheasant and butter
Always put a few shallots and an onion in the pan, for a brown gravy
Bake 425 oven 30 minutes then turn to 325

Gravy
Wine, and trompette de la morte soaked in rain water madiera

Wild rice

Asparagus
Blanch to crunchy bite, saute breadcrumbs brown to add on top

Watercress Salad
Fresh local watercress, cut off ends
Dressing - 3:1 olive oil to vinegar (mild, I used orange vinegar) and add a spoon of  Sang Lee's Citrus Dressing

Rhubarb Pie
Rhubarb cooked with butter made it rich and creamy, and ruby red!

The Delicious Taste of Spring - April Asparagus Pasta

I know this recipe by heart because I just made it.  So simple, quick, fresh, local and in season.

Fresh crisp just-picked asperagus, cut into bitsize peices -- blanched in boiling water.
Pasta cooked -- we used Capellini D'angelo, but I'd prefer something a bit thicker.
In the pasta bowl: 2 egg yolks (local of course), grated Parmesean, salt and pepper.

Toss the cooked pasta in the prepped pasta bowl, add the blanched asperagus, top with more shavings of Parmesean and black pepper.

Decorate the plate with just picked watercress (we know a source in Riverhead.)

Superb.

August Pasta in March

Tonight we continue to empty the freezer.  Something I love to do from January to March, which meets with great resistance from Tom.  He loves to stuff more things in, even when there is obviously no more space.  And nothing ever comes out.

We're going to have a simple, inexpensive dinner from a zip lock bag stuffed with leftover summer tomatoes, olive oil and garden basil.  The aromatic surprise of August in March fills the kitchen.

This fresh pasta sauce is amazingly good.  Simply heated (if it's a little watery, simmer it down.) Or thaw the frozen tomato first and drain its water out. Sauce capellini #9, and grate over it fresh parmesean reggiano. Rooting around the 'fridge I found the wedge we smuggled in our suitcase not too long ago from Venice.  In the grocery stores there you can buy beautiful hard cheeses as amazingly low prices.

So tonight I got my way -- a "no meat" "no muss" "no money" night. Tom cooked too!

OK. The cost.
1/3 of a 99C package of pasta
free tomatoes
nearly free parmesean

Sorrell Soup

Back in November we made Sorrell Soup.

Tom spotted the spikey greens in the sand alongside the drive to the house. Just where it was supposed to be. Wild sorrell is found on sandy roadsides in coastal areas on the east coast. Flowers from March to May -- Peterson's Guide.

Our neighbor with a southern facing slope planted the bigger leafed garden variety, and he gave us some. Outstanding in salads.


Sorrell Soup

Wash a handful of sorrell.
Make a roux, but don't brown.
Add chickn stock, don't brown
Add the sorrell, cook a few minutes, blend.
Add cream to taste.

Why Buy Local

It was supposed to snow today. Ten inches. But the big weather pattern stalled below Philadelphia. Washington D.C. is a playland of snow banks, cross country skiiers and site-seers. Very 19th c.

The Southold fishmarket had glistening, pinky white cod. Just right for fish 'n chips, Tom's favorite. And baked cod (in milk with potatoes) mine.

Why buy local?

So many reasons.

What it is NOT:

-on average picked 4-7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves.

-shipped an average of 1500 miles before being sold.

-had about 80 cents on the dollar taken out for packaging, shipping, marketing.

I like my money to stay local. I like to help keep the farms around. I like the taste of deliciously ripe in season. It's so worth the wait.

Helping keep another farm actually saves local taxes. Several studies in New England show that for every dollar paid in taxes on farmland the community saves about 30 cents in services. Unlike developed land, farmland and open space do not use services like police, school, hospital, etc. To compare, the tax dollar on home and business lots costs the community about 30 cents over that dollar. We could go bankrupt if we developed everything!

Another study. Guess what -- kids eating real food for breakfast, lunch and dinner raises their academic achievement. Food for thought.