Super easy, delicious hot or cold, and a great alternative to the same old roast chicken . . .

1 medium sized roasting chicken, 3 to 6 lbs.
1 C Water
1 C Honey
1 C Soy sauce
1 C Mirin (rice wine)
2 cloves crushed garlic
10 *star anise

Place all but the chicken in a Dutch oven or a soup pot, and bring to a simmer. When the brew is simmering, place your chicken in the pot and cover. Let all bubble at a medium simmer for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark, turn your chicken over with a pair of tongs. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Remove the chicken, de-fat the cooking liquid, and simmer the liquid for ten more minutes. Cut the chicken into eight pieces, drizzle with about 4 T of cooking liquid, sprinkle with a handful of chopped scallions and serve.

Serving suggestions: steamed or sautéed sugar snap peas or snow peas, sticky rice with sweet coconut milk…..

*available at specialty food stores and sometimes at the supermarket

Arty Mangan, Food Farming Director for Bioneers has worked with farmers and agriculture since 1978, when he became a partner in Live Juice, a fresh, local, organic apple juice company in Santa Cruz.

In 1986 he joined Odwalla, where he was instrumental in developing production systems, product lines and fruit supply, helping grow sales from $1 million in 1986 to $55 million in 1997. He held the position of production manager, and later was in charge of fruit sourcing.

He joined the Bioneers in 1998 as the Project Manager for the Restorative Development Initiative, which produced “Wisdom at the End of Hoe” ecological agricultural workshops, collaborated with John Mohawk and the Iroquois White Corn Project and worked with The Federation of Southern Cooperatives and African American farmers in Mississippi and Alabama. In 2005 he became a board member for the Ecological Farming Association, a nonprofit educational organization that promotes ecologically sound agriculture. Their special events bring people together from all over the world to share ideas and experiences in producing healthful food from a healthy earth. When you support the Eco-Farm Association, you are supporting the growing of abundant food, protecting natural resources, preserving diversity, honoring rural life and work, and inspiring better farming.

Bioneers was conceived to conduct programs in the conservation of biological and cultural diversity, traditional farming practices, and environmental restoration. Our vision of environment encompasses the natural landscape, cultivated landscape, biodiversity, cultural diversity, watersheds, community economics, and spirituality. Bioneers seeks to unite nature, culture and spirit in an Earth-honoring vision, and create economic models founded in social justice. Visit Bioneers at www.bioneers.org

Show Links

Bioneers

Angelic Organics

The Organic Center

Odwalla

John Mohawk and the Iroquois White Corn Project

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives

Ecological Farming Association

Soup is a model of resourcefulness - and it’s a great way to clean out the fridge. Once you have it you’ll be glad you do - it makes a healthy and satisfying lunch, and takes the worry out of what to have for dinner when it looks like you’ll be late - and it freezes beautifully - although my soup almost never makes it to the freezer. If I’ve made too much for the two of us, soup makes a welcome gift to all friends and neighbors.

I roast a chicken every Sunday, and immediately make a stock with the leftovers, you could easily do the same with just vegetables for a vegetarian stock - remember no potato skins or eggplant in veggie stock. Lay the foundation of your soup with a few aromatics; saute in butter or olive oil some chopped spring onions and garlic, leeks, or shallots. Add your spring vegetables - peas, paper-thin skinned turnips, asparagus, spinach, tiny carrots - you can add one or all. Plan on about a pound and a half of vegetables for 4 cups of stock. Your vegetable of choice can be roughly chopped. Saute briefly and add the stock, simmer gently just until the vegetables are cooked through. Remove from the heat, taste and add salt and pepper. Cool, and puree in a blender - a blender works better than a food processor. If you like a thinner soup, you can always add more stock, or a bit of milk or cream. I love to swirl a pat of butte into the soup just before serving to richen, but it’s optional. Let the market be your guide no matter what the season, but here are some recipes for what’s out there now.

The Foundation

Lay your aromatic foundation: Saute your choice of chopped onion, shallot, leek, spring onion, green garlic and/or garlic or garlic scapes in butter or olive oil - about a tablespoon per cup of vegetables. Cook until softened.

Add your vegetables, trimmed and chopped. Figure on about 1 1/2 pounds of vegetables to 4 cups of stock.

Sweet Pea and Fresh Mint Soup

You must ONLY use sweet fresh peas from your garden or the market - if you can only get starchy peas, don’t bother as it will not be the same sublime soup.

3 T. virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish

1 cup fresh mint leaves (only fresh!!) - reserve 10 leaves

1 cup chopped sweet onion

3 cups shelled English peas (from about 3 pounds unshelled peas)

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or more as needed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 slices day-old baguette

1 garlic clove, halved

Creme me fraiche for garnish

To make the soup:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over moderately low heat. Add the sweet onions and sauté 10 minutes, then cover and steam, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 more minutes.

Add peas and 2 1/2 cups broth. Bring to a simmer, adjust heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, until peas are just tender, 5 to 10 minutes.

In a blender, puree half the soup and all but ten mint leaves until smooth. Return the pureed half to the pot and add enough broth to achieve the consistency you like.

Season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust, and reheat gently.

Toast the baguette slices until lightly colored. Rub one side with the cut side of the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil.

Stack the mint leaves atop one another and roll into a mint cigarette, slice thought the cigarette on the diagonal cutting the leaves into thin strips - this is a chiffonade.

Divide soup among warm bowls, topping each portion with a dollop of creme me fraiche, and a couple of toasts. Sprinkle a bit of the mint chiffonade atop the soup and serve immediately.

Jerusalem Artichoke and Potato Soup

1½ lb. Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and roughly chopped
2 T. knob of butter
2 leeks, finely chopped, white part only
1 large potato, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable stock
3 T. heavy cream
2 T. white truffle oil
2 T. fresh chives or garlic scapes, snipped
salt and white pepper

Truffle Oil (optional but wonderful)

Heat olive oil in a large pot over moderately low heat. Add the leeks and saute 10 minutes, then cover and steam, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 more minutes.

To make the soup:

Put the Jerusalem artichokes in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for eight minutes, then drain.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion and potato. Cover and sweat until soft, about ten minutes.

Mash the artichokes, then stir them into the onion and potato mixture. Add 3 cups of the stock, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender, if it is very thick add enough remaining stock to thin it a bit. Pour the soup through a sieve into a clean pan. Stir in the heavy cream and reheat the soup gently, without letting it boil. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into four warm bowls. Drizzle a few drops of the truffle oil over the surface and sprinkle with the chopped chives or garlic scapes and serve immediately.

Jerusalem Artichokes

The Jerusalem artichoke is a type of sunflower, in the same genus as the garden sunflower Helianthus annuus. Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and little to do with artichokes. The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.), also called a sunroot or sunchoke, is a flowering plant native to North America grown throughout the temperate world for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable both cooked and raw.

The Jerusalem artichoke has a delicious sweet, nutty flavor, and the texture when raw is like that of a water chestnut. It has high calcium content, and some A, B, and C vitamins, as well as the minerals iron, magnesium, and calcium.

Storage : Store them in a plastic bag, for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

Preparation: This lovely vegetable is found in late fall and early spring in most markets, and can be eaten raw in salads where they add a crunchy sweetness. If the chokes are young, their skin will be thin and they can be eaten raw peeled or unpeeled. They make a lovely soup, and can be roasted or steamed and served as a side dish with a bit of butter, or boiled and mashed with potatoes.

Chef John Cox of Baleen Restaurant writes:
Sunchokes, otherwise known as Jerusalem artichokes, are a highly underutilized vegetable. Their ginger-like knobs filled with dirt seem to discourage chefs and cooks alike. Once you get past their rough exterior, sunchokes have similar characteristics of potato-with an intriguing hint of earth and smoke. This is a fast and easy way to enjoy them.

Sunchoke Gratin
1 lb. Sunchokes (spray with cold water in sink and scrub with kitchen towel)
1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
2 roasted and peeled green chiles - or ¼ c. chopped green chile
1T. sage, chopped
1t. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 t. fresh thyme, chopped
3 T. butter
½ c. Oaxaca cheese, grated
½ c. Cotija cheese, grated
1 c. heavy cream
1 T. smoked sea salt *
Freshly ground black pepper

Slice the cleaned sunchokes into roughly even length sticks the width of a pencil. Cut the potatoes the same way, to resemble the size of the sunchokes. Toss together all of the ingredients chopped reserving half of the grated cheeses. Put the mixture into a 10″ cast iron skillet or a heavy baking dish-sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on the top. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and put into a 350º degree oven for 1 hour-remove the foil and turn oven up to 400º-cook for 20 more minutes or until golden brown. Gratin is done when you can easily poke the bottom of the pan with a butter knife.
* You can find smoked sea salt at specialty food stores.

Warm Salad of Jerusalem Artichokes, Radicchio, and Proscuitto
This recipe is for a warm salad, but I would just as easily do the whole thing as a raw salad. Also, if you can, splurge on the walnut oil - it has a distinct walnut flavor that really works here. Of course you can use olive oil but it won’t be the same…

Adapted from the Produce Bible by Leanne Kitchen
1 lb. Sunchokes, peeled and sliced not too thinly on the diagonal
½ lemon
1 head radicchio, quartered lengthwise
¼ c walnut oil
Juice and zest one orange
1 T. chopped, fresh parsley
6 slices proscuitto, sliced into thin strips

After you slice the sunchokes, squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the top so they don’t brown, set aside. Preheat the broiler. Put the radicchio, cut side up, into a medium, shallow, heatproof dish. Drizzle with half the walnut oil. Broil for about one minute, until the edges of the leaves begin to brown. Remove from the broiler and cool.

Cut out the radicchio stems if you haven’t already, and in a salad bowl toss the leaves with the sliced sunchokes, the remaining walnut oil, the orange juice and zest, parsley, and a generous pinch of salt. Sprinkle sliced proscuitto and the toasted walnut pieces over the top, and serve immediately.

Garlic Scapes
Allium is the scientific name for the garlic/onion/leek/chive family, and is derived from the classical Latin alium meaning “garlic.” “Scapes” are the flower stalks found on certain members of the allium family. Garlic scapes, which only appear on the finest hard neck garlic varieties, curl upward as they grow, ultimately straighten, and then grow little seed-like bulbs. A young scape makes one or two loops before straightening out, and then develops seeds. By snipping off the scapes before the seeds develop, more energy goes into making a bigger garlic bulb.

When the garlic scapes are still in full curl, they are tender and delicious. They have a taste that is milder than garlic cloves, and have a broad spectrum of uses from soup to salads to garnishes. Use only while the scapes are crisp and tender, still curled.

Storage: Use garlic scapes within two to three weeks, keep covered in the fridge or they will flavor your fridge and other foods.

Preparation: Scapes tend to get tough and will lose flavor if overcooked. To learn how much cooking is enough and how much is too much, cut scapes to desired lengths and saute in a little olive oil over medium heat, adding salt and pepper to taste. The end result will be an unusual and delicious side dish. Below is a list of other uses for Garlic Scapes.

Cut scapes into 2-inch lengths and saute in olive oil or butter over medium heat, adding salt and pepper to taste, when cooked, puree and add to mashed potatoes.
Add scapes to your favorite stir-fry dishes.
Chop and add raw to salads.
Add to pickled vegetables.
Use as a garnish like you would chives, on smoked or broiled salmon, cream cheese, steamed potatoes, or in egg dishes.
Use chopped fresh scapes as a garnish for pureed soups, or add to vegetable soups and stews just before end of cooking time.
Make garlic scape pesto (see recipe).
Chopped fresh on pasta, or sauteed with a little olive oil to dress pasta.
Slice and add to any sauce that you would use garlic in.
Chop and mix with softened cream cheese or butter.
Sprinkle chopped scapes on pizza.

Garlic Scape Pesto
1/2 lb. organic scapes (chopped into 1″ sections)
1 c. organic olive oil
2 c. grated asiago (I like it better than parmesan - but you can use parmesan)

In a blender or cuisinart, combine the scapes and olive oil. Pour mixture into bowl and blend the cheese in by hand. Taste and add salt or a little lemon juice to taste. This pesto freezes well if you don’t use it all.

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-7f96ef0dd7e7e27590142eb42e445bb7}

Here at Kitchen Sync, we will be talking to chefs, foodies, activists, farmers - anybody who has something to say about food and the way it is produced, perceived, marketed, eaten, distributed.

We will explore everything from books, products, services, equipment, food trends, themes and ideas. There will be conversations and recipes shared. We’ll cover the delicious and fun aspects of food, as well as try to navigate through the troubling information on things that threaten our food and health. With that in mind, my goal is to broaden my community of friends in food by sharing information, ideas, inspiration, and news that affects our food supply, foodshed, and the health of our local as well as global community .

Along the way, I will invite you to participate in some of my projects, ask you for feedback, and will welcome your comments and ideas. If there is anything you would like to see discussed, or anyone you would like to see me interview, let me know and I will do my best to contact him or her. In the next few months, I invite you to stop back often and see whom we’re talking to and what we’re talking about.

For those of you who don’t know me, let me tell you a little about myself. I have been cooking professionally for 24 years as a private or a personal chef, and have accumulated a wealth of knowledge about food.

Most of the cooking I do is for families, and as you would imagine everybody wants food that is delicious, healthy, and nutritious. As a result I do lots of cooking with balance in mind, I lean towards nutritious menus, keeping in mind that it has to be delicious enough for your kids to want to eat it. I am constantly educating myself to the pleasures of the table, as well as navigating the troubling information on things that threaten our food and health. With that in mind, my goal is to broaden my community of friends in food by sharing information, ideas, inspiration, and news that affects our food and health.

Over the course of the next few months, I will be exploring everything from raw foods, talking about products, services, equipment, food trends, themes and ideas. We will be talking to chefs, cooks and foodies of all kinds. There will be recipes and shopping lists, and tips on setting up your kitchen and stocking your pantry. I will also introduce you to friends of mine who will inspire you to stay healthy by taking care of yourself from the inside out.

Along the way, I will invite you to participate in some of my projects, ask you for feedback, and will welcome your comments and ideas. If there is anything you would like to see discussed, or anyone you would like to see me interview, let me know and I will do my best to contact him or her. In the next few months, I invite you to stop back often and see whom we’re talking to and what we’re talking about.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Edible Santa Fe is a quarterly publication that promotes and celebrates the abundance of local foods in North Central New Mexico. We value local, seasonal, authentic foods and culinary traditions. We celebrate family farmers who plant the seeds and work tirelessly to bring you the freshest local produce, the ranchers and poultry farmers committed to creating healthier and more sustainable methods of working with animals and the land; the food artisans who proudly create a creamy cheese and the wines to pair them with, and the local chefs who continually create to excite us with the unique flavors of this region. We at Edible Santa Fe honor their dedication to using the highest quality, local, seasonal foods, and we want to share their stories with you.

Through our printed publication, website, and events, we aim to connect consumers with these local growers, retailers, chefs, and food artisans, enabling those relationships to grow and thrive in a mutually beneficial, healthful, and economically viable way. We are part of a growing national movement throughout this country that is encouraging people to eat more locally-grown and locally-produced foods. By eating locally, we help sustain the small family farms that grow these foods, we enjoy food that is fresher and healthier for us, and we help reduce the cost to the environment - and in dollars - of transporting foods over long distances.

Here in New Mexico we seem to be blessed with an abundance of talented writers, and that just happens to be part of our mission, too: to present the unique voices of New Mexican food writers, and to coax from them the tales that don’t often get told. Through them you will find out about new products, old ways, thriving traditions or the renaissance of an old, must read books, food events and festivals, restaurants, markets - all of the things that have helped to make us a true culinary destination.

We want to hear from you. If you have questions, a pressing food issue, or know someone whom you think merits a mention or an article, please click here to contact us.

Mark J. Sciscenti is a Chocolate Historian, Chocolate Artisan.

Mark’s passion is chocolate. Having grown up in an archaeological family, he is fascinated by food and spice history. The owner of Kakawa Chocolate House in Santa Fe, NM, he has been studying the history of chocolate for many years, from it’s beginnings in Central America through the European transgression and up to the present day. He has been giving educational presentations on the history of chocolate along with professional chocolate tastings for over three years to museums, institutions, schools and business. He has lectured at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology for their 23rd Annual Mayan Weekend; at Columbia University for the 10th annual Botanical Medicine Conference at the New York Botanical Garden; the University of Arizona’s Integrative Medicine Nutrition & Health Conference; the Denver Art Museum; and the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Being an excellent alchemist, Mark has developed historically accurate chocolate drinks based upon traditional ancient Mesoamerican information, historic European and American recipes. He is a pastry chef and has been a professional and self-taught experimental baker since 1984. In 1999 he became certified as an Herbalist. He has a BA in Liberal Arts with a focus in Human Ecology, Environmental Studies, Ecology, Environmental Politics, Multicultural Spirituality; Holistic Healing Modalities; and Professional Massage Therapy.

Upcoming Tour:
Cacao and the Ancient Maya of Southern Mexico
February 19th - March 4th, 2007
Tour Leaders: Mark Sciscenti, Christopher Powell, and Alonso Mendez

This ten day tour will bring you through the birth place of one of the world’s most treasured substances - chocolate. Led by the owner of Kakawa Chocolate House and two eminent Mesoamerican Scholars, each day will feature something new - cacao plantations, ancient Maya ruins, natural wonders, and visits to local villages. You’ll learn about how the ancients used cacao and try your hand at making traditional chocolate for yourself. Evening presentation will further explain the things you learn about along the way, including a special event.

To learn more visit www.kakawachocolates.com

If you are interested in chocolate Mark recommends the following: “The History of Chocolate” by Sophie D. Coe, Michael D. Coe; “The Essence of Chocolate” by John Scharffenberger; “The New Taste of Chocolate” by Maricel Presilla; “Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao” by Cameron McNeil

We gratefully thank the Podsafe Music Network and Antonin Bastian for his song: Tu Cha Cha Cha used in the Podcast. PLEASE support his music by visiting him at http://www.myspace.com/antoninbastian

In her first Podcast, Kate talks with Carolyn Parrs, Irv Weinberg, and John Biethan of AmericaTheGreen.com Podcast. As publisher of Edible Santa Fe, Kate’s focus is on the local food or foods of New Mexico. Kate talks with America the Green about why buying local is important and the importance of creating sustainability within our communities.

Don Bustos is one of the region’s most knowledgeable farmers. He knows so much, you’d expect him to be, well, old, but when you see his bright hazel eyes and vibrant smile, you realize his understanding comes from a deeper source. His family has farmed this land for some 400 years, since the King of Spain deeded it to them. Don knows the seasons, the bugs, the gophers, and the water as though they were a part of his own body. Santa Cruz Farm is a 3-acre, 72-varieties of produce, year-round growing, certified vegan organic family farm in the Espanola valley of Northern New Mexico.Don Bustos is a passionate advocate of farmers and sells in Farmer’s Markets in addition to maintaining a small CSA. Some sort of project is always happening, and interns are sure to get experience in a variety of tasks. The farm is also a project in coordination with the American Friends Service Committee, the community service organization of the Quaker movement. We talked to Don about his farm and the grant he received to create solar powered radiant heat for his winter greenhouses, allowing him to grow and sell his tender greens throughout the harsh New Mexican winter.

Farm Name: Santa Cruz Farm and Greenhouses
Address: PO Box 5045, Espanola, NM, 87533
Phone: Office (505) 514-1662
FAX (505) 310-2292
E-mail: santacruzfar@cybermesa.com
Contact(s): Don Bustos

Thanks so much to Antonin Bastian at the Podsafe Music Network for todays music. Check him out on MySpace.