As a recovering perfectionist, I’ve come to realize that galettes (aka rustic tarts) are good for me. They teach me to embrace the the imperfect, and they’re a reminder that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. A galette is just a fancy name for a simple pastry dough that wraps up a delicious filling - whether sweet or savory. At peak summer, I love whipping up a filling full of summer veggies and fresh herbs, wrapped up in golden, crispy pastry. For my most recent galette creation, I was inspired by this stellar recipe from Deb Perlman, of the blog Smitten Kitchen. Deb is my go-to girl for dishes that are crowd-friendly and turn out EVERY TIME, so make sure you check out her blog and cookbooks. Inside this humble galette, we've got ripe summer tomatoes, tender zucchini, juicy corn, and fresh basil + salty parmesan cheese. I highly encourage you to use this recipe as a jumping off point - feel free to mix up the filling with whatever produce and flavors you have on hand.

SUMMER TOMATO, ZUCCHINI, AND CORN GALETTE

Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

FOR THE PASTRY

1 1/4 cups (160 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces or 113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup (60 grams) plain yogurt or sour cream
2 teaspoons (10 ml) fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water

FOR THE FILLING

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes (or 1 can chopped tomatoes)
1 ear corn, cut from the cob (about 1 cup)
1 zucchini or summer squash, diced
Kosher salt and freskly ground pepper to taste
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Handful fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk + splash of water (for pastry glaze)

Instructions:

MAKE THE DOUGH: Whisk stir the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a fork or your fingertips, work it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

MAKE THE FILLING: In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil and add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Cover your saute pan with a lid and heat over high heat. Roll the tomatoes around to make sure they cook evenly. (If using canned tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes, cook tomatoes with the cover off to evaporate as much liquid as possible.) When most of the cherry tomatoes have burst, remove lid, turn heat down to medium and add the corn kernels and diced zucchini, sauteing until the corn and zucchini soften, 3-4 minutes. Stir in a splash of balsamic vinegar and the chopped fresh basil, just stirring them in, then turn off heat. Adjust seasonings if needed. Transfer mixture to a large plate and spread it out, so that it will cool faster. You want it cooled to at least lukewarm before assembling the galette.

ASSEMBLE GALETTE: Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured sheet of parchment, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round (it doesn’t need to be perfectly shaped - remember, we're embracing imperfection)! Gently transfer the parchment with the rolled-out dough onto a baking sheet. Scoop the tomato-zucchini-corn mixture with half of parmesan and spoon the mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Sprinkle with almost all of remaining parmesan, leaving a pinch or two behind for the crust. Fold the dough over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze (1 egg yoke beaten with slash of water) and sprinkle glaze with last pinches of parmesan.

BAKE THE GALETTE: For 35 to 40 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

I'll be honest. Growing up, I didn't have a great opinion of coleslaw. I used to associate coleslaw with heaping bowls limp, colorless shredded vegetables, smothered to death in way too much mayonnaise. And yet. I knew coleslaw had some redeeming qualities, and so I decided to modernize it by swapping out the mayonnaise for plain greek yogurt, a bit of tang thanks to apple cider vinegar and fresh apples, adding color and flavor heaps of herbs, and even more creaminess (and California-ness) with diced avocado. This recipe comes together super quickly and it's very loose - so please do make substitutions and additions as you see fit. The shredded cabbage and carrots hold up well, so you can keep enjoying the leftovers in your fridge for several days. So when your next potluck, picnic, or trip to the beach rolls around - give coleslaw another chance with this California-style remix.

CALIFORNIA COLESLAW

Serves: 8-10

Prep time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 red cabbage (small-medium size), shredded
1 green cabbage (small-medium size), shredded
3 cups shredded carrots
2 apples, small dice or thinly sliced
2 avocados, diced
Handful chopped chives (or green onions)
Handful chopped fresh parsley
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon or whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons honey
Kosher salt and freskly ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Combine shredded cabbage, carrots, apples, avocado, and fresh herbs in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard and honey until smooth and evenly incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the dressing into the salad bowl and toss thoroughly (I like to use my hands) to combine. Taste and adjusting seasoning to your liking.
Enjoy immediately, or store in your fridge where it will keep nicely for several days.

What’s one way to eat more like a farmer? Never underestimate the power of a simple green salad. In my humble opinion, pretty much any meal can be improved with a heaping bowl of greens dressed with a bright vinaigrette. A fresh green salad serves as a breath of fresh air on the plate and palate, especially if you’re eating a rich, decadent meal. The recipe below is more of a guide - use whatever greens and herbs you have available for the salad, and follow my tips for making a show stopping vinaigrette... the key to a killer dressing is to use good quality oil (this is my go-to brand) and to find a balance between acidic/sour, sweet, and salty. When you put your vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar and give them a good shake, make sure to TASTE and make adjustments as needed. Too sweet? Add a bit more acid or oil. Too salty? Try to dilute the dressing with a bit more oil. You get the idea. Keep scrolling for the full recipe below - and remember it's just a guide, so get creative with whatever produce is available in the moment.

SIMPLE GREEN SALAD WITH A MASON JAR LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Serves: 4-6 people

Prep time: 15 minutes

Salad Ingredients:

1-2 heads fresh lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces with your hands
Handful chopped fresh herbs - mint, basil, parsley, chives, etc
Handful assorted greens - spinach, swiss chard, radish tops, fennel fronds, etc
Edible flowers to garnish (optional, but encouraged... we eat first with our eyes!)

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

Juice of 2 lemons
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
Dijon and/or Whole Grain Mustard
Honey
Minced clove of garlic
Freshly chopped herbs
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

In a wide salad bowl, combine your lettuces, chopped herbs, and assorted greens (if using).
To make the dressing, put the juice of your lemons in a mason jar. Add twice as much olive oil as lemon juice to the jar. Add a good squeeze (at least a teaspoon) each of mustard and honey. If you'd like, add minced garlic, fresh herbs, and/or lemon zest for added flavor. Add salt and pepper to taste and shake, shake shake! Taste the dressing and adjust seasoning as necessary - you're looking for a good balance between sour, sweet, and salty.
Just before serving, toss the salad with some of your vinaigrette, using your hands to gently coat the greens. Start with less dressing than you think - you can always add more, but you can't take it back once you've overdressed. Garnish with flakey sea salt and edible flowers.

Just in case the picture-perfect instagram feeds and fancy restaurants have you fooled, let me assure ya'll that eating like a farmer is not exactly glamorous. Eating like a farmer starts with taking stock of the ingredients you have at hand - perhaps some funky potatoes, a few misshapen carrots, a rogue beet or two, half a bunch of fresh herbs, and hopefully a nice juicy lemon. Eating like a farmer means gaining an understanding of how certain vegetables, fruits, and proteins like to be prepared, and using your imagination + hard-earned kitchen instincts to whip up vibrant, nourishing dishes.

Case in point. This "no-recipe" recipe is one of my favorites to teach in cooking classes, because it's more of a basic technique, and it makes succulent, crispy-skinned chicken and irresistible glazed vegetables all in one baking tray. The secret is filling a large baking tray with whatever vegetables you have on hand and roasting the whole chicken on top, which means the veggies catch all those fabulous juices and take on a whole new depth of flavor.

WHOLE ROAST CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE MEDLEY

Serves: 6-8 people

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 75-90 minutes

Ingredients:

2 lbs sweet potatoes, chopped in 1/2" dice
1 lb carrots, chopped in 1/2" dice
1 red onion, chopped in 1/2" dice
3-4 beet roots, chopped in 1/2" dice
Olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
One 3.5-4 lb whole chicken
Optional spices: cumin, coriander, paprika, garam masala, etc
1 lemon, cut into quarters

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Chop the vegetables (use whatever you have on hand - this recipe is just a suggestion) into a roughly 1/2" dice, and spread the veggies in a single layer on a large rimmed baking tray.
Toss vegetables with a few good glugs of olive oil, and a hefty pinch of kosher salt and pepper.
For the ultimate crispy skin, pat the chicken with a paper towel until the skin is very dry. Season the chicken inside and out liberally with salt, pepper, and (optional) spices. I personally love chicken spiced with cumin, paprika, and a pinch of cinnamon.
Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, breast side up, in the baking tray. Take a few of the lemon quarters and squeeze them over the chicken and veggies. Take the remaining lemon quarters and stuff them inside the chicken cavity.
Grab your olive oil and pour a few glugs of oil all over the chicken. At this point I usually season the outside of the chicken with a bit more salt and pepper.
Put the tray in the hot oven and roast until the vegetables are tender, the chicken is golden brown, and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a fork, 75 to 90 minutes. Halfway through baking, turn the tray and stir the vegetables to ensure even roasting. If you use an instant-read thermometer, it should register 165°F when inserted in the thickest part of the thigh. Remove the chicken from the tray and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Give the vegetables a good stir in those lovely juices, taste and adjust seasoning/add salt as needed, then transfer to a serving tray and keep warm while the chicken cools.

Stone fruit season is upon us in Santa Barbara, which means I'm finding every which way to use up bumper crops of peaches from the farmers' market. I love slicing peaches into salads (especially alongside fresh basil, cucumbers, and salty feta cheese), or simply roasting the halves slathered with honey and butter, with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Here is my recipe for another fabulous peach-inspired dessert, a Cardamom Peach Crisp.

CARDAMOM PEACH CRISP

Serves: 8-10 people

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:

PEACH FILLING

3 pounds peaches, peeled and diced (6-7 peaches)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch or tapioca powder
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
Pinch of kosher salt

CRISP TOPPING

1.5 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour

1/3 cup sliced or roughly chopped almonds

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, diced into small cubes

2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.
PREPARE PEACH FILLING: In a 12” cast-iron skillet (or pyrex dish), mix together the sliced peaches, honey, brown sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom and a pinch of salt.
PREPARE CRISP TOPPING: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Mix in the cubes of cold butter and use your hands to blend the butter into the other topping ingredients, until only pea-sized pieces of butter remain. Stir in 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt, until the mixture is moistened throughout.
BAKE THE CRISP: Dollop spoonfuls of the oat mixture over the filling and use your fingers to break up the mixture until it is evenly distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is lightly golden. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or plain yogurt.

Let's be real here. Focaccia bread is always a crowd pleaser. A good focaccia is salty, with a crunchy exterior and pillowy soft interior - perfect for dipping in olive oil, sopping up the last drops of a succulent pan sauce, or for slicing into slabs to make a seriously luxurious sandwich.

I make this focaccia recipe a minimum of once, and sometimes three, times a week. Though the dough does need a good 12-24 hours to rise in the fridge, it comes together in just a few minutes and requires no kneading whatsoever. The recipe is from a beloved (and sadly, now closed) Brooklyn based sandwich shop, Saltie, and I learned about it thanks to food writer Luisa Weiss, aka The Wednesday Chef. There aren't many ingredients in this recipe, so use the best quality you can... for me, that means olive oil from California Olive Ranch, flour from King Arthur, and a (generous) dusting of flaky Maldon Sea Salt.

FOCACCIA BREAD

Serves: makes 1 sheet pan of bread (feeds a crowd)

Prep time: 12-24 hours (for dough to rise)

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 1/4 cups flour (750 grams)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon *instant* yeast
3 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling
Flaky sea salt

Instructions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the warm water to the flour mixture and stir briskly with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated and a wet, sticky dough forms (it should be the consistency of a wet porridge). Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into a very large bowl (like one from a standing mixer) or 6-quart plastic food container. Transfer the focaccia dough to the container, scoop a little oil from the sides over the top, and cover tightly. (If you're using a bowl, wrap tightly and thoroughly in plastic wrap, making sure there's plenty of room in the bowl for the dough to rise). Place in the refrigerator to rise for at least 8 hours or for up to 2 days.
When you're ready to bake, heat the oven to 450° F.
Line a 18 x 13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Remove the focaccia dough from the refrigerator and pour onto the prepared pan, and use your hands to spread the dough out on the prepared pan as much as possible (this will take a few minutes).
Place the dough in a warm place and let it rise until it about doubles in bulk. The rising time will vary considerably depending on the season. In the summer, it might take just 20 minutes, and in winter it can take an hour or more. When the dough is ready, it should be room temperature, spread out on the sheet, and fluffy feeling.
Using your fingertips, make a bunch of indentations in the dough (you'll feel like you're playing the piano). Dimple the entire dough and then drizzle everything again with olive oil. Sprinkle the entire surface of the focaccia evenly with flaky sea salt.
Bake, rotating once front to back, until the top is uniformly golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, then slide out of the pan. Use the same day or slice crosswise, cut into squares, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.

This recipe is the epitome of what it means to #eatlikeafarmer. The entire vegetable is used, from the beet root to those gorgeous leaves, and the natural earthy sweetness of the beets taste even better when paired with balsamic vinegar, red onion, and tarragon. This recipe is adapted from the Food 52 Genius Recipes Cookbook.

BALSAMIC BEETS AND GREENS

I love this recipe because it is truly root-to-leaf, and makes wonderful use of (typically forgotten) beet greens.

Serves: 4-6 people

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion, cut into thin crescents
4 to 5 fresh beets with tops, roots scrubbed, trimmed, and cut into bite-sized wedges and greens chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves finely chopped
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Prep the beet roots and put into a large bowl along with the chopped onion, balsamic vinegar, butter (or olive oil), tarragon, and salt. Prep the beet roots and put into a large bowl along with the chopped onion, balsamic vinegar, butter (or olive oil), tarragon, and salt.
Pour the beet root mixture into a heavy pan wide enough to hold the vegetables in a snug single layer. Pour in enough water (about 1.5 cups) to barely cover the vegetables and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, or until the beets are nearly tender.
Raise the heat and boil, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced to a syrup and the beets are fork-tender (10-15 more minutes). Add the beet greens, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.
Uncover and turn the greens over so they mix with the roots and onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for a few more minutes more until the roots and greens are beautifully glazed. Serve warm and enjoy!

Romesco sauce recipe from Farmbelly.

Recently I spied a lonely bag of blood oranges languishing in the $0.99 "ugly" bin at the grocery store. Holding the bag up and inspecting it from all sides, I saw a few bumps and bruises... but nothing that a little love and creativity couldn't fix. So I juiced those puppies and whipped up a blood orange + chia seed pudding with pistachios and honey - and HOT DAMN it was good. See below for the (very simple) recipe... I recommend filling up a few mason jars so you'll have a few healthy + hearty breakfasts or snacks ready when hunger hits. Regular oranges would work beautifully if you don't have access to blood oranges.

It starts with little things like giving a second life to bargain bin oranges... but I hope to be better about embracing + celebrating the imperfections in the world, in others, and in myself. Embrace the bumps ya'll (because perfection is boring anyway).

BLOOD ORANGE AND CHIA SEED PUDDING

Fresh citrus, yogurt, and chia seeds make a healthy + hearty breakfasts or snack ready when hunger hits. Regular oranges would work beautifully if you don't have access to blood oranges.

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 5 minutes + 8 hours to set

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yogurt, divided
1/2 cup fresh blood orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
1/4 cup chia seeds
2 blood oranges
Chopped pistachios, for serving

Instructions:

Whisk 1/2 cup of the yogurt, 1/2 cup blood orange juice, vanilla extract, salt, and honey in a medium bowl. Whisk in chia seeds, cover, and chill at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
Cut peel and white pith from the two blood oranges. Cut along sides of membranes to release segments into a medium bowl.
Give pudding a good stir and divide between two bowls, creating layers with the remaining yogurt and orange segments. Top with pistachios and remaining orange segments, drizzle with honey, and enjoy!

Well folks, we're officially three weeks into the new year... how are ya'll doing on those goals for 2018?! My personal mission this year is to be a STUDENT every. single. day. To hold myself accountable, every night in my journal I write down just ONE thing that I learned that day. It can be as simple as mastering a new recipe, listening to an engaging podcast, or discovering something new about a stranger, a loved one, or even about myself. It's never too late to set goals for yourself, so if you're feeling inspired - I hope you'll join me in seeing each day as an opportunity to learn something new (and I'd LOVE to hear what you all are learning each day... let's hold each other accountable)!

Every day I'm learning from farmers, chefs, line cooks, mothers, fathers, educators, and activists who work tirelessly to make the world a more healthy, resilient, and delicious place. In the new year, I'm excited to share more stories, lessons, and recipes from some of these rockstar men and women who are forging their own path - and they have the muddied boots to prove it.

Case in point: Vera Fabian and Gordon Jenkins, owners of Ten Mothers Farm, based in Hillsborough, NC. Their operation is small (1/3 acre) but mighty, and they use no-till methods to grow insanely beautiful (exhibit A) organic, nutrient-dense vegetables for their CSA members and local restaurants. The now husband and wife team first met in 2007, when Vera was a gardening teacher with The Edible Schoolyard, and Gordon was working for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse. Five years later, they packed their bags and trained as apprentices with some of the most respected farmers in the country: from Bob Cannard of Green String Farm in California, to Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch of Four Season Farm in Maine, as well as Ken Dawson and Libby Outlaw of Maple Spring Garden in North Carolina.

Needless to say, Vera and Gordon are a wealth of knowledge (and a breath of fresh air) in the world of food + farming, and I'm thrilled to share their Eat Like a Farmer interview with you all... keep scrolling to read all about Ten Mothers Farm, the kitchen tools + ingredients these farmers can't live without, and their secrets for cooking seasonal food with bold flavors.

PS - Wondering where the name Ten Mothers Farm comes from? Vera and Gordon share the story on their website: "There’s an old saying from India that “garlic is as good as ten mothers,” which to us means that food is medicine, as nourishing and powerful as ten whole mothers. There’s also a fantastic film by Les Blank called Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers. And really, we just love garlic."

Gordon with Golden Beets in Spring field jpg.jpg

Where is your farm located and what do you grow? Hillsborough, NC. We grow vegetables year-round on ⅓ of an acre. We don’t have a tractor so we do everything by hand, no-till. Most of what we grow is for our 54 CSA members and for a a few local restaurants. And then we grow plenty for ourselves too.

Walk us through a typical day on your farm and in your kitchen (ie what do you eat on a typical day)? Our days are constantly changing, depending on the season. This time of year, we get up by 4:45, have a good breakfast and head out to the farm before it gets crazy hot. Breakfast is usually soaked porridge with some hearty combination of yogurt, nuts, jam, sardines (this is Gordon’s secret to everything), and kraut or another ferment. Tuesdays and Thursdays are harvest and delivery days, Saturdays we do our farm walk, make the fresh list, and write the CSA newsletter, and other days we do everything else. I also work at a nearby farm for refugees from Burma and teach cooking classes for children and grown-ups, so I’m a little all over the place half the time while Gordon holds down the fort. No matter what, we always make time to cook, even if it’s just tomato sandwiches (that’s what’s for dinner tonight). We got into farming for the food, so it’s always top of mind. Plus, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, as (generally) happily as we do it, without eating really well, so it’s a sensible obsession. Dinner is usually an armful of vegetables made into something delicious (roasted eggplant with fish sauce vinaigrette, pumpkin coconut curry with greens, sauteed okra with tomatoes) with a grain of some kind (rice, tortillas, grits, buttermilk cornbread). We’ll often put an egg on it or make a frittataand once or twice a week we’ll splurge and have some meat too. We always make enough food to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Farming without a tractor makes for very physical work which means we’re constantly hungry and thinking about food. We spend a ton of time in our kitchen and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

What is your favorite fruit or vegetable grow, and what's your go-to method to cook it? Garlic because it’s both flavor and medicine and we named our farm after it. Sweet peppers, not bells, because they’re like candy. Lettuce---I never thought I’d say this, but our lettuce has been so good this year. I’ve never eaten so much salad and now I can’t stop. Also, fresh herbs. We grow a lot of parsley, cilantro, basil, and dill and we put them in and on everything. We make parsley salad with lemon and anchovies and pestos out of any combination of herbs. They make everything better.

What kitchen tools could you not live without? A very sharp knife, our big, wooden cutting board, and our Thai mortar and pestle. It’s deep and pounds garlic into a paste in seconds.

Name the top three ingredients used most in your kitchen that don't come from your farm. Vinegars/lemons, olive oil and other fats, and salt.

Favorite cookbook? Right now I’m deep into “Salt Fat Acid Heat” by Samin Nosrat. She’s an incredible teacher and she’s funny. “The Taste of Country Cooking” by Edna Lewis and “The Art of Simple Food” by Alice Waters---these two women are my heroes. And for cooking as a way of life, “An Everlasting Meal” by our friend Tamar Adler.

Do you have go-to methods for preserving your harvests through the year (ie jamming, pickling, freezing)? We ferment everything: radish kimchi, kraut, chow-chow, dill pickles, carrot pickles, hot sauce, salsa. We make beet kvass regularly. Otherwise, we make vinegar pickles and we freeze a ton of tomatoes and sauce. Jam if we get to it.

What advice do you give folks for cooking with your produce, especially when using ingredients they may not be familiar with? Make a plan (that involves a lot of vegetables) and then proceed, boldly.

Really, though, we’d be lost without our weekly meal planning. Every weekend, we make a list of what vegetables we want to eat, what other ingredients we have on hand, and from there, decide on what to cook each night of the week and what ingredients we need to acquire. This way we don’t have to make decisions while famished only to realize we don’t have that one key ingredient. It also helps us do things ahead, like soaking beans or salting a chicken or roasting a big batch of vegetables on Sunday to eat throughout the week.
Make sure your plan includes tons of vegetables. I’m always shocked to hear how few vegetables most people eat when we all know we should be eating more of them. If we were CSA members, the two of us would probably have to buy 5 shares. I’m not kidding.
When it comes to cooking, be bold. From teaching cooking, it seems that most folks are afraid of the very things that give our food flavor: salt, fat, acid and heat (thank you Samin! Read her book). Vegetables need a lot of healthy fat and salt to taste good and be nutritious. Otherwise, taste as you cook. Have an idea of where you want to end up. Remember the best meal you ever had. What did it taste like? Now try to get there. Trust your instincts. If you know what good food tastes like, then you’re halfway there. And if you use good ingredients, then you’re almost all the way there. My students are always surprised when something turns out tasting really good and I tell them: you’ve got good ingredients and a vision and your senses to tell you where to go. What could go wrong? Plenty actually, but wecan’t learn anything in life without messing up. So just start cooking, don’t be afraid to mess up, don’t give up, and always pay attention.

How has running a farm influenced your relationships with family, friends, and your local community? More than ever we feel how much we need strong relationships. There’s no way this farm would exist without the direct support of so many people. And more than ever, food is how we connect with each other and with our community. Farming is hard and farming organically in the Southeast is extra hard. At times, it can be discouraging so it’s important to be able to remind ourselves why we’re doing this. Most of the time we’re tired and hungry and all it takes is sitting down to eat together. Our social life is pretty much cooking for and with friends and going to potlucks. This is the life we want: we farm, we cook, we spend all day surrounded by vegetables, we share food with loved ones.

Share a favorite recipe for a simple, straight from the farm dish that you are craving this season:

Lettuce Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

INGREDIENTS

a head or two of lettuce. Little Gems are our favorite but anything with some body and crispness, like Romaine or Summercrisp, is great.
a few handfuls of fresh herbs, finely chopped: any combination of cilantro, basil, dill (though be careful to only use a little dill--it’s strong), parsley, chervil, chives
1 ripe avocado
1 small garlic clove
Juice from 1 big lemon
½ cup mayo (from a jar is just fine though homemade makes this dressing even more divine)
At least 4 teaspoons vinegar (red or white wine vinegar)
OPTIONAL: 3-5 anchovy filets
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash the lettuce and spin it several times in a salad spinner. Dry greens are the secret to a good salad. If the leaves are wet, even a little, the dressing will run off them and make a watery mess.

While the lettuce dries fully, make the dressing. In a mortar & pestle, pound the garlic (and anchovy, if using) into a paste. Transfer this paste into a blender and add the lemon juice, vinegar, chopped herbs, a big pinch of salt, and mayo. Blend until creamy. Taste & adjust for salt and vinegar. If too thick, add a little water (not too much). This will probably make more dressing than you need for one salad. Keep the rest in the fridge and enjoy all week (see below for ideas). Toss your salad gently with your hands to make sure all the leaves are coated.

VARIATIONS: Also delicious over fresh tomatoes, roasted beets and cucumbers, on chicken, or used as a dip for whatever crunchy vegetable you’ve got.