Recently I was turned on to Rutiz Family Farms, a local Arroyo Grande sustainable ranch and market stand that I am practically giddy over. One of the coolest things about the Rutiz program is that you do not need to prepay a subscription. An email is sent out each Tuesday listing what will be in the box that week (plus cooking suggestions, announcements, and prices of other stand produce). You simply need to decide by Thursday evening whether or not your fridge needs stocking, email in the affirmative, and pick up on Friday.

Local family farming

Although I am itching for tomatoes, cool season crops have been treating me well. Sugar snap peas are lucky if they make it into a pan before they are all consumed raw, fresh spearmint made lovely tea, spinach always goes to good use, baby artichokes may be a new house favorite, “Italian sprouting” baby broccoli is fine fare, and my forced variety: radishes.

Each Tuesday evening you will find me with an ear aimed at my smart phone, waiting to hear the notification that says, “yes, the Rutiz weekly e-newsletter has arrived!” I look forward to more Tuesdays, pick up Fridays, and seasonal produce all year long.

This week I was feeling the fall air so I threw together a meal for the season: Chicken Breasts with Mushroom-Artichoke Ragout, Mashed Potatoes, and Apple Calfouti “Pie”. And the best part? I had it the leftovers lunch the next day!

Chicken Breasts with Mushroom-Artichoke Ragout
3  cups baby bella mushrooms, halved (quartered if large)
2 Tbsp. olive oil divided
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. flour
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
Salt and pepper

Saute mushrooms in 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Cook until browned, 5-7 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add leeks and cook until wilted, 3 minutes. Remove mixture and wipe out skillet.

Sear chicken in remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil in thepan until brown on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken over and sear it 3 minutes. Deglaze pan with wine and broth; cover and simmer 8-10 minutes.

Blend butter and flour. Transfer chicken to cutting board, cover, and keep warm. Bring wine mixture to a simmer over high heat; whisk in about 2 tsp. of the butter-flour mixture. Use more is needed. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Add reserved mushroom mixture, artichoke hearts, tarragon, salt and pepper to sauce.

Serve with chicken and mashed potatoes (We should all have a recipe for mashed potatoes under our hats. I like sour cream in mine!)

Tasty local white wine for deglazing and, of course, sipping

In the begining there was a knife, leeks and mushrooms.

Saute away!

Scrumptious

Dessert. This is what I really care about. The Apple Calfouti (pronounced kal-foo-TEE) was a breeze to make and so tasty it is officially gone in less than 24 hours.

Apple Calfouti “Pie”

The Filling
1/2 dried cherries
1/2 cup brandy
5 small Fuji apples, cored and sliced
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

For the Batter
4 Tbsp. butter, melted (plus one for brushing the pie plate)
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
Ground cinnamon and sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine cherries and liquor in a small bowl; set aside to plump, 15-30 minutes. Strain cherries, reserving liquid; set both aside.

Cook apples, brown sugar, 3 Tbsp. butter, lemon juice, vanilla seeds, and reserved liquor in a skillet over medium heat, until apples soften, 7-10 minutes.

Grease pie plate with 1 Tbsp. butter and heat in oven.

Blend first 7 ingredients for batter until smooth and frothy; set aside.

Pour half the batter into heated pie plate. Layer the apples (reserving juices) and cherries on top of the batter. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar; bake until golden and set in the center, 25-30 minutes.

Simmer reserved juices in a skillet until reduced by a third. Serve calfouti drizzled with warm juices. (I would double this next go around!)

If only my photography was as good as this dish!

A great finish.

Then there are the adopted summer squash plants.  My former neighbor had a small veggie garden of his own with a nice Zucchini and Crookneck.  Last month he moved out and abandoned the garden.  I contemplated taking on the weighty responsibilities of another garden:  It will have to be watered (it does not have the nice drip irrigation system that my garden does).  It will have to be weeded (sprinklers water more weeds hence the nice drip irrigation system in my garden).  Do I really need more squash?  YES! (What a glutton).

Needless to say I am inundated with Black Beauty Zucchini, Yellow Crooknecks, Cocozelle, Round (these really spread out so you find green round squash, in with the potatoes, spread out five feet from their own plant ) and Caserta.  Now, in addition to my double duty gardening tasks, I need to spend time perusing cookbooks and the internet for squash recipes (there is such a thing as Mexican Ratatouille), freezing (this involves partially cooking, moving squash to an ice bath, drying, and then you get to the freezing part) and of course sharing with friends!

Squash is really a very rewarding plant to grow.  It requires very few inputs and produces copiously.  Mine have even managed to evade the gophers, which have been into just about everything else.  So, next year I look forward to doing it all over again.  Maybe I will up the stakes and grow nine.  Send me your squash recipes!

Armed with a couple of totes shoved deep within the dark recesses of my cupboard, some cash, and a list, we headed off to the local farmer’s market (knowing that there’s a great, local grocery within a block should I hit a snag).

Fresh Corn & Basil Salad (serves 4-6)

• 5 ears  corn – cook briefly in boiling water, just till starch is gone, about 3 min. cool & cut from cobs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped organic red onion  (already in the fridge from my Cal Poly CSA)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil (again, in my fridge from the CSA)

Dressing

• 3 TBS cider vinegar
• 8 TBS good quality olive oil (Michelle likes the Kishiyama’s Oleo Nuevo - He’s very cool BTW and supports our Earth Day Food and Wine Festival – my sis had some in her cupboard)
• Salt & pepper to taste (I actually had that on hand)

Whisk dressing, toss with corn, onion, basil. Best flavor served at room temperature.

Chicken, Grape & Walnut Salad with Tarragon

• 1 bunch local red grapes, halved (bought at Nature’s Touch, a local grocery)
• 3 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped (not enough time to get into the morbid details here)
• 1/4 cup organic walnuts, toast if desired (bought at the farmer’s market)
• 1/4 cup organic celery, diced (same as above)
• 1 shallot, minced (couldn’t find it…. all the farmers said they were hard to grow, so I used a red onion instead

Dressing

• 1/4 or so creme fraiche (Cowgirl creamery brand at Nature’s Touch is SO good – I didn’t know what this is – someone said it’s sort of like sour cream)
• 2-3 TBS mayo (woo hoo – in the fridge!)
• Fresh tarragon (or dried) salt & pepper to taste

Blend dressing ingredients, toss with chicken, grapes, walnuts, celery & shallots

Serve on spring mix or in a pita sandwich.

Results?

The shopping was easy and fun (thanks to Coop and Kyle). I only spent about $30 (we ate the stuff all weekend), I did all the chopping and sauteeing by myself (with moral support from my sis) and it only took about 30 minutes. I didn’t cut myself and I didn’t cry (which is definitely a plus), and the food was FABULOUS!

OK – it’s embarassing – but aside from eating corn on the cob, I’ve always eaten corn from a can. But can I tell you, that this was FABULOUS! It was so tasty, I could hardly stand it. I was actually a bit suprised at how different the flavor was mixing just a few fresh ingredients. And the chicken salad on pita? My son asked for seconds….

This may not be a big deal for about 90% of the world, but for me, it was a huge victory. I’ll keep you posted as I continue to resist take out and pizza.

Working for the Central Coast Vineyard Team, Kris O’Connor scours the region for members’ wines and stories, trying to taper off her technology addiction. She’s always looking for a fun excuse to break away to enjoy experiences with friends and family that don’t require an internet connection.