A trip to the market

Finally got up to the Green Barns market this weekend to pick up a few groceries. In my bag: a dozen chicken eggs, half a dozen duck eggs, some local pasta, a hot cross bun and – most important – the first cheese bought with my Monforte vouchers! I picked up some soft goat cheese and a cheddar. If you haven’t signed up for a cheese CSA share yet, there’s still time – click the link to find out more, or ask at the market.

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Homemade Caramel Corn with Peanuts

I was in the mood to make some dessert, but low on flour and didn’t want to get groceries. Then I found this recipe for spicy caramel popcorn with peanuts on Smitten Kitchen, my old standby.

This was my first time making caramel corn, and I’m not sure what I was waiting for. I have a hot-air popper, which made it even easier. I had the caramel cooking first, then made the popcorn, then mixed it all together. Local popcorn and local peanuts, by the way. I do wish I had put more cayenne in – but maybe mine isn’t very spicy.

Yum. I have a snack to go eat now.

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Rye Berry Soup with Cabbage and Dill Sour Cream

I recently resurrected a favourite soup from last winter’s cabbage-cooking mission. (I haven’t been getting the CSA for the past few months – not enough time to keep up with it – so haven’t had the piles of cabbage I used to have.)

It’s from a wonderful cookbook, Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass, that I recommend for anyone who wants to learn about whole grains. It’s not just a collection of recipes; the author goes into the history of grains and writes a profile on each one she includes. And it’s not just the basics like wheat and barley, either: less-common grains like teff, amaranth and even job’s tears are included. Better yet, when she says “whole grains”, she really means it. For instance, the rye in the soup is whole rye berries, unprocessed, that still have the odd bit of grass mixed in when you buy them. Definitely nutritious, and delicious – they’re chewy and stay that way, a texture I like in soup (as opposed to mushy pasta or rice).

This soup isn’t a ton of work – just chopping onions and cabbage, and presoaking the rye – and it makes 6 servings that heat up well as leftovers for lunch. A hard-boiled egg makes a good side, and my favourite addition so far is rye crostini (that I got from Longo’s).

Truth? I didn’t make the dill sour cream; I just served at home with plain yogurt and at work with no dairy. It’s just as good. And, um, I didn’t chop my caraway seeds. But don’t dare leave out the lemon juice.

I also added extra broth, can’t recall how much, but this soup is pretty forgiving of changes like that.

A note on the whole rye: it seems more complicated than it is. Don’t forget that you’re using them for soup so it doesn’t matter if there’s a bit of extra water or if they’re not entirely evenly cooked. Soak overnight then cook the grains in the morning. You can leave them for the day before making the soup in the evening if you like.

Rye Berry Soup with Cabbage and Dill Sour Cream

2 tbsp butter
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp caraway seeds, chopped
8 cups (tightly packed) shredded cabbage (1 3/4 pounds – about 1/2 a head of cabbage)
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp sugar
2 to 3 cups cooked Basic Whole Rye Berries (see below)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 to 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the dill sour cream:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Serves 6

Heat the butter in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they soften, about 4 mins. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, paprika and caraway and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Lower the heat if the mixture threatens to burn.

Stir in 2 cups of water and the cabbage. [Note: I had to add some of the stock here too.] Bring to a boil, cover, and lower the heat to medium. Cook until the cabbage wilts, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 mins. Add the broth, sugar, rye berries and salt and pepper. Cook the soup until the cabbage is tender and the flavours have mingled, 15 to 20 additional mins.

Meanwhile, prepare the dill sour cream. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream, dill and vinegar.

When the soup is done, stir in lemon juice to taste, and adjust the seasonings.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each portion with a dollop of dill sour cream.

Basic Whole Rye Berries

1 cup dry rye berries (makes about 2 1/2 cups cooked)
2 1/2 cups water
Salt to taste (add at end of cooking)

Soak the grains overnight in a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan. Alternatively, do a quick-soak: Bring the water to a rapid boil. Stir in the grains. Turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.

Bring the grains to a boil in the soaking liquid. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender, 25 to 40 mins. Add salt toward the end of cooking, if you wish.

Once a few of the grains have burst open or you detect the whitish starchy endosperm peeking through one end of some grains, start checking for doneness: Cut a few grains in half and see if they are one colour throughout. If so, taste a few grains and see if they are juicy and the bran and starchy centre are soft. Remove from the heat. Rye gets plumper if left to soak in the cooking liquid for an extra 10 to 15 minutes.

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