Kasha - TheFarmGirlCooks

Author: Kasha

Grilled Corn with Parsley-Garlic Butter and Parmesan

Posted on September 12, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

Parsley garlic butter with fresh parsley, to put on anything you can dream up. I was washing up bunches of parsley for our 3 markets last week and the smell caught me right there. You know the place. That place in your nose where the aroma hits you so deeply that it triggers your brain and makes you think you just have to have it - kinda like movie theater popcorn. I brought a bunch home and whipped it up in the food processor with a few cloves of garlic, a stick of unsalted butter, a few tablespoons of olive...Read More

If the baking bug bites you, scratch that itch!

Posted on August 15, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

[caption id="attachment_3327" align="aligncenter" width="612"] Thomas loves car racing so his dad took him to a Ferrari race in CT and he got to meet this driver. Look familiar? He's on ABC's Shark Tank![/caption] I'm helping a customer at the Ringwood Farmers Market one Saturday when I politely hold up a finger and excuse myself for just a second. "Thomas, can you go in my cooler bag and get my drink? The pink one, please." I return my attention to the customer at my scale. "Lately I've noticed that people, adults and children alike, don't use please and thank you...Read More

I’m Seeing RED!

Posted on August 9, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

And yellow and pink and green zebra-striped and black-ish and purple and golden-pink and.... that brings me to tomatoes and pasta Caprese. It's about damn time. General consensus is lots of green tomatoes around in people's gardens, but none are turning red. Well, this week, they started turning. I picked up a block of fresh mozzarella at the market the other day and, like a good FarmGirl, I have basil growing in a planter on my deck. This bounty, along with the colorful and perfectly ripe tomatoes I picked, made the most amazing dinner. Pasta Caprese is the easiest thing...Read More

Blue Potatoes with Garlic and Chevre

Posted on July 26, 2012March 16, 2018 by Kasha

We started growing Adirondack Blue potatoes several years ago, back when the Peruvian Blues were all the rage. We're into that whole 'eat local' thing, so why not choose a NY state potato over one of South American origin, no? The Adirondack Blue is a hybrid developed by Cornell University in 2003. It's on the sweet side and dry-fleshed, similar to a russet baking potato. The skin is thick enough to hold up to oven baking and this is a fantastic candidate for 'twice baked' potatoes. TJ and Alex are big fans of this delectable little do-ahead side dish. We had...Read More

Inspiration Strikes: Zucchini and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Posted on July 22, 2012May 5, 2018 by Kasha

Zucchini inspiration begins somewhere and for me it began with garlic. I would imagine that seeing, touching, and smelling garlic would inspire culinary greatness in most people. I looked at the garlic sitting in my father's work-worn hand and immediately thought garlic bread! I'm not saying it hasn't been... but in theory, garlic bread probably should not be the sole component of one's evening meal. I also had a beautiful loaf of Janet's ciabatta bread and creamy fresh chevre. How could I NOT create something simple and delectable from those superior ingredients? So I donned my flip flops and baseball cap, grabbed...Read More

Better-Than-Devil Dogs or Los Perros del Diablo

Posted on July 11, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

I almost died this weekend. Maybe I shouldn't say it like that, but it's true. Every Saturday morning I drive to the Ringwood Farmers Market on a stretch of road we like to call "Old 17". Old 17 runs from Harriman, NY to the NJ border and until the NYS Thruway was opened in 1953, was the main route to 'upstate' from NYC. Remember the movie "Dirty Dancing" and the Catskill resort/bungalow colony culture? Old 17 is how city folks got to Sullivan County. Red Apple Rest, a cafeteria-rest area, was built in 1931 and was approximately halfway between NYC...Read More

I see no point in reinventing the wheel

Posted on July 3, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

I'm too busy for that. The last two weeks of second grade are a blur. We had third grade orientation, Moving Up Day (The Boy will be going to a new school for grade 3), Spring Concert (he had a solo with his friend who happens to be a girl but is ABSOLUTELY NOT his girlfriend), and Field Day. Then we had his class play (The Foolish Little Hare) complete with classroom 'reception' following performance. I made Whoopie Pies. They were incredible. I said something to Mom the other day and she replied, "You'd rather be too busy than bored......Read More

Summer Comfort Food

Posted on June 27, 2012July 2, 2018 by Kasha

We had a CSA pick-up yesterday. Shell peas were a major component of the share box this week and each time I greeted a customer I stood there snacking on a few raw ones, encouraging them to do the same. Most were polite and ate one or two... I, on the other hand, had nearly a pound's worth of empty pea pods by the time we were done with our distribution. And yet I still wanted peas for dinner. I had no child's whims to contend with last night, so Pasta with Peas and Ricotta it was. This was...Read More

I Fell Off the Meat Wagon

Posted on June 19, 2012February 25, 2018 by Kasha

The need for Chicken salad with curry mayonnaise, apples and chive blossoms. A few weeks back, as he does most every week, Thomas 'worked' the Ringwood Farmers Market with me. It's a good thing, too, because I needed his smiling face and skinny-armed hugs. By the time I arrived I was NOT in any mood to display exemplary customer service. I got a flat tire on the way to market. It was that sudden, "hey, is that a rock on the roadway...?" that got me. KLUNK! I saw the damn thing at the last minute and, sure enough, it...Read More

Tuscan Kale Chips

Posted on June 7, 2012March 16, 2018 by Kasha

Tuscan Kale Chips, An Excellent Snack! Can I just say that Tuscan kale (Toscano, Dinosaur, Lacinato, Cavolo Nero) is delicious? I must. You must try it. Tuscan variety with Potatoes and Pasta is one of Thomas' favorite dinners, and the chips are turning into his very favorite snack. In fact, the plateful of them that I left on the coffee table one afternoon disappeared while The Boy was deeply engrossed in Legos. I'm pretty sure the cats didn't eat them. Please don't use the curly kale to make chips. I know, it's tempting, and it IS simply kale after all. But...Read More