Game On

My new camera came yesterday!

It is so weird ~

 until I started writing this blog I was the one

who would take a camera on a trip with me and not take one single picture

Now, for the last two weeks without my little Cannon Power Shot

I have felt a little shut off - but here I am - WIDE OPEN again

and I find myself wishing I could share this glorious September day with you all

A bit blustery, perfect laundry weather, the play of shadow and light

is just breathtaking

I am super excited too because we picked up Tonye Belinda Phillips

last night from the airport and nestled her into our little

cottage on Green Head.

She is teaching a quilting workshop at Lily's next weekend

and has never been to Maine.

It was pitch dark when we arrived on the island and I can

only imagine what it was like to wake up this morning

to such a beautiful day and a view of the harbor

Tonye has a huge following out west, teaching sold out classes

of 40 or more, and working with quilting greats like

 Jean Wells and Gwen Marston.

  I feel so fortunate that she is here to share

her knowledge and creativity and can't wait for the class.

In the meantime, Barley and I are making Rose Hip Tea

I just couldn't resist picking these plump, gorgeous hips from

wild rugosa rose bushes this morning

and then I couldn't resist taking pictures of them with my new camera :0)

I threw them into a pot with 6 cups of cold water

Let them boil gently for 10 minutes, then I mashed them,

threw in some fresh mint from the pot out front

and steeped it all for 20 minutes.

I just strained it into a pitcher, added a tiny bit of Swan's raw honey

and here it is!

I am going to pop it into the fridge to chill and

have some with lunch

(and watch the Patriots game this afternoon)

I so hope you are enjoying your Sunday

Be well,

Kyra

                                             

Farm Lunch and Blueberry Pie

Magical is the word I will use to describe

last Sunday at Carding Brook Farm

Jon and Jen allowed me to show up early

in the morning to prep for lunch

While they readied the farm for our 100+ guests

due to arrive at 2pm

My goal this year with the food was to keep it as

simple and pure as possible and to make as much 

of it as I could right there at the farm

Always, as a chef, my inspiration has come from the 

essence and spirit that emanates around fresh, local foods

Surrounded by abundance, I tucked myself into this blissful,

 corner of the barn overlooking the fields and animals

and spent all morning chopping, seasoning and tossing

immersed in the soft rhythms of a hard working

farm and it's family

The menu,

Texas Style Beef Brisket on grilled flat bread

Mesclun and Calendula blossoms tossed

in a grapefruit jam vinaigrette with fresh herbs

Sliced Heirloom Tomatoes, sea salt and borage blossoms,

drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with herbs

Rainbow Bean Salad

New Potatoes with a creamy Roasted Tomatillo and Garlic Sauce

Blueberry Pie with Organic Blue Hill Berries and Pasture Butter

Anise Hysop "tea"

Let the party begin!

The beef was from Buddy the Bull -two huge briskets that

took over 8 hours to cook!

Live music from Isle of Jazz, that's Renee on the right playing the bass

Ed was happy as a clam at high tide, chomping beef bones all day

 

 The anise hyssop tea was a curious success

 David's coffee took the nip out of the air,

or did the red wine do that?

I was told the blueberry pie was "blue ribbon" good

After lunch, people strolled the farm

and hopefully left with the same feeling of peace and good fortune

that still fills me today.

MY BLUEBERRY PIE

Crust: 

2 sticks cold organic pasture butter

(pasture butter is available from May - September and is the

butter made from the cow's milk while they feed on the

fresh grasses and pasture of the season - you can find this here locally

from farms that raise grass fed dairy cows, but Organic Valley

sells a quality product available country wide)

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 T sugar

1 tsp salt

4 T cold water

Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor,

whir to stir, then cut the butter up into pieces and add to the flour

Process the butter into the flour until it looks like coarse meal

With the motor running, add the water 1 T at a time and

process until a soft dough forms

Gather together, divide into two balls, flatten into disks, wrap in

wax paper or plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes

Meanwhile make your filling and pre heat your oven to 350 degrees

Filling:

6 cups fresh or frozen organic wild Maine blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of ground clove

pinch of kosher salt

3 T flour

zest of half a lemon - no white parts!

juice of half a lemon

Toss well to combine

Roll out 1 chilled crust to cover pie pan with about an half inch overhang,

fill crust with berry filling, dot with a tablespoon of butter

Roll out remaining crust and cut into strips for simple basket weave top

Crimp as desired

Bake in 350 degree oven until golden and fruit is bubbling thick juices

approximately 45 minutes to an hour

Let pie stand until set before cutting

Enjoy!

Kyra

Peace

'Giving less attention to that gnawing doubt that creeps into our minds

and more attention to the goodness and abundance everywhere is a wonderful

way to create each day with love and sunshine.'

Enjoy your day

Kyra

Eggpant "Meatballs" and Roasted Tomato Sauce

I have been cooking like CRAZY

There is so much coming out of my garden, I can't keep up

But, I am loving it!

See those carrots to the right on my messy counter?

Well, I had just finished whining to a farmer at market on Wednesday

that I had planted carrots three times and not had any luck

Upon returning I decided to check one more time in the

lower garden - HA!  Where did they come from?

Very exciting

 The nights are getting cooler here and I feel a sense of

urgency to use the heat loving veggies out there before

they suddenly disappear, like my eggplant, and of course

I have been roasting and freezing tomatoes like there is no tomorrow

The big tomatoes I quarter, lay on a sheet tray, drizzle with 

olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and toss a few garlic cloves around

Then I pop them into a 350-375 degree oven and roast them

until they are soft, caramelized and deliciously aromatic

Take them out, put them through a food mill,

leaving the seeds and skin behind and freeze the

sweet acidic sauce in containers for the long winter

All those sun gold cherry tomatoes on the counter - they go in

by themselves with just oil and a little salt

Last night I heated a few tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan,

added a T of chopped garlic, let it sizzle and then poured 

in the sauce from the sun golds with a pinch of salt

I simmered it about 15 minutes while I cooked

a batch of soba noodles and then tossed the cooked noodles into the sauce

I topped the whole thing with these delicious eggplant "meatballs"

and we ate like pigs!!

EGGPLANT "MEATBALLS"

4-5 cups cubed raw eggplant, skin on or off, your call

1 cup +/- diced onion

(I used red cipolline from Carding Brook Farm - so good Jen!)

1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, finely ground

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

1 cup bread crumbs*

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Kosher salt to taste

2 eggs

Sauté the eggplant, onions and a pinch of salt in a bit of oil until tender and golden

Place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients except the eggs

Toss and taste for salt

Add eggs and combine well

Form mixture into golf ball sized balls and place on a baking tray

drizzle with oil and bake in a 375 degree oven until deep golden brown

this takes approximately 20-25 minutes and I turn the tray once in my oven

Serve warm with whatever else your heart desires.

At the cafe we made vegetarian meatball subs with these

for a special sandwich and they were a favorite

*to make these gluten free without any gluten free bread around 

I used 1/2 cup almond meal from my nut milk

with 1 T arrowroot powder)

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

I am headed to Nebo on North Haven for dinner tonight

with friends and then serving lunch at Carding Brook Farm on Sunday

Maybe I will see you there - and you can take some pictures for me

because my new camera isn't due here until next week :)

Kyra

A Long Weekend

I catered a farm to table wedding on Sunday at Edgewood Farm for two

lovely women and their close, extended families

The day started out rainy, but the sun came out just in time

for them to proceed as planned, they were even graced with

a  field of mist meeting the setting sun after dinner

I had planned on sharing a host of photos with you, the tables

were lovely, set by their friend Stephen, (a designer for Anthropologie) with

burlap table runners with big numbers stenciled in black, moss and

wood from the surrounding forest, big candles, pretty silverware

Samantha wore vintage ivory with a veiled hat and Lesha wore a

fitted jacket with a lovely lavender gingham bow tie.

Samantha's mom had a dress on that was her great grandmother's

dating back to the 1800's.  The fabric was stunning

I made oven fried chicken with Old Ackley Farm chickens, I bought this amazing

melon from Four Season Farm and garnished big bowls of Carding Brook Farm mesclun

with flowers from my yard at Lily's

Lots of cheeses on the appetizer table with that

 killer avocado crabmeat dip I gave you the recipe for earlier ~

Unfortunately, my purse was stolen yesterday while Renee and I were

in Camden, Maine, being tourists for a day.

My camera was in it, and I hadn't downloaded the pictures yet, so you will have to

use your vivid imaginations

Anyway, I have been busy today, canceling things and reapplying for them

and learning to let go

Funny, two things come to mind over and over

The thing I am most bummed about is that the purse

they took was that wonderful cosmo bag I made back in the spring with that

Amy Butler fabric and the wallet I just made with the little bird inside.....

I hate to think of those two things at the bottom of a dumpster somewhere.

But - I have been working on letting go of attachments, I'm thinking

this is a big nudge from the universe.

Certainly much worse things happen and I am so grateful that the event is really

a soft bump in the road of a very blessed existence

However, there is the second thing;

it relates totally to my post "Don't Postpone Joy" from a while back

We had been shopping earlier and I had hesitated briefly before buying a few

things for winter wear at Reny's.  I decided to get all of it and paid cash - 

noting to myself that I didn't have much left....

that part makes me very happy.

Here is a picture I DID download the other day and I just love it - 

no manipulation or anything, just how it looked as I was leaving Lily's 

in the early evening light

I hope my new camera takes good pictures.

You all enjoy your day and count your blessings!

Kyra

Wild Maine Blueberry Sorbet

I am doing another farm to table wedding on Sunday

A friend of the couple is making an armadillo cake

and I am to make the blueberry sorbet

Blueberry season is just winding down in Maine and I was able to buy

this beautiful box of organic blueberries from Blue Hill Berry Farm

last week at the farmer's market in Deer Isle

My recipe is pretty pure, pureed blueberries, strained through a sieve,

mixed with a simple syrup to sweeten, chilled and frozen in an ice cream maker

Here is where you can get crazy creative:

I steep tea bags in the simple syrup, for this batch I used a black tea called 

Paris from Harney that is fruity, but deep.

I heat equal parts water (2 cups) and honey ( 2 cups) to a boil,

add the tea bags (2 is plenty) turn off the heat and let it steep for

5 minutes, remove the tea bags and allow your syrup to cool completely

Meanwhile, puree your berries (5 cups) with 1/3 cup water in 

a food processor or blender

Pour them into a fairly fine mesh strainer and press out all the juice

into a bowl

leaving the skins, seeds and stems pretty much behind.

Mix your berry puree (you should have 2 cups) with 1 cup

simple syrup and add whatever whatnots you so desire,

I put freshly grated ginger and lemon zest in the batch 

for the wedding.  Ruthie, from the berry farm made her own

batch with mint and lemon.....the possibilities are endless

Place in the fridge until completely chilled and then

freeze in your favorite ice cream maker, or if you don't have one,

  simply put it in a bowl in the freezer, and stir occasionally until the consistency of

soft sorbet.  I then freeze it over night to make it firm.

Enjoy!

and have a wonderful wonderful weekend

Kyra

Farm to Table Lunch

We did this last year for the first time and it was wonderful.

The farm and what it produces is just beautiful.

May I do it justice.

Tomorrow is mowing day at Lily's and then I am making

blueberry sorbet....a recipe here for Friday.

Enjoy!

Kyra