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News From North Pond June 2009
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CURRENT/UPCOMING (NP) EVENTS
· Come Wednesday, the 3rd of June, we'll be open again for our annual lunch service. Check out the planned menu offerings online now or better still, come join us Tuesdays through Fridays beginning at 11:30 a.m. to taste for yourself. The juicy burger's back, too...
· Sunday June 21st, consider bringing Dad, Pops or Grandpappy in to celebrate Father's Day at our  weekly Sunday brunch. Show your love by treating him to our creative three-course meal and help him understand how nice a Sunday meal can be without the distraction of the blaring sports event in the background.
· New this month: Follow my Tweets on the Twitter thing. I'm @northpondbruce and hope to keep things interesting when I get the medium figured out!
· And pick up an Edible Chicago when you find one; check out the flattering hands on the cover! Oh: You might read the fascinating content, too...surprise, surprise.
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Tips from the Green Market
Strawberries
This month, it's time to celebrate all that's wonderful about the humble strawberry. Appreciated and collected by the French aristocracy as far back as the fourteenth century, wild varieties - predominantly from the Virginia and Chilean species - crossed and began to be widely cultivated some four hundred years later. Today, the majority of most modern varieties trace their roots to this "royal" marriage, as the offspring produce prodigiously large, flavorful berries superior to their ancestors.
Although berries are now available all year - and what's not? - the most flavorful varieties seem to come available (here) at traditional peak season: June to July. The industrial varieties available at most supermarkets are bred to be hearty, durable and uniform, characteristic adjectives not as impressive to me as delicate, fragile and nuanced, or delicious might be. The early season varieties, like Windy or Earlyglow, give way to the real  superstars of the show, mid-season standouts Sparkle and Jewel (sound a little like pet Chihuahuas, no?). Try the different varieties on for size and ask the farmers what it is you're buying to get an idea of what it is you're eating.
For those of you really looking for a thrill, seek out truly wild fraises des bois, or "strawberries of the woods". These treasures are not typically cultivated but grow naturally in alpine, woody, or generally undeveloped spaces. Their intense flavor can't easily be matched and their petite size is by no means any indication of their big wallop.
Finally, look for bright, shiny fruit at the market and try not to refrigerate strawberries just as we shouldn't refrigerate tomatoes. But more on that in August...
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Seasonal Cocktail
Strawberry Balm
 2 oz strawberry juice
½ tsp lemon juice
1 T simple syrup
1½ oz 10 Cane Rum
splash of egg white
Lemon Balm leaves
Fill a martini shaker with ice, strawberry and lemon juices, simple syrup, rum and egg white and shake vigorously. Pour into a tumbler rimmed with lemon balm and garnish with lemon balm leaves and strawberry slices. Cheers! |
Charity of the Month
The Resource Center
773.821.1351
We showcased TRC back in September 2006, but feel they are worthy of another shout-out. The Resource Center
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Tips from the Fish and Meat Market
Goat
June's a great time to consider the virtues of goat. As delicious and well known as the milk (and it's versatility) is, few realize the wonder of the animal's meat. Perhaps I should say "few Americans", for goat is the most widely consumed meat in the world, a staple of many cultures. In this country, many of us tend to only picture trash-foraging ruminants when thinking of the bearded ones, yet goats tend to prefer grasses and herbs and don't do so well on the tin can diet preferred in some fairy tale stories. They are actually relatively intelligent and personable animals whose lifestyle and habits can create a wonderful center-of-the-plate protein for the carnivores among us.
The mild meat is quite lean, containing but half of the fat typically contained in (the American staple) chicken, yet a higher percentage of protein than beef. Some might even consider the goat option as a "healthier" alternative??? Indians far prefer goat to lamb while Koreans believe it increases virility. All in all, goat can be quite tender when raised well and treated properly in the kitchen.
When preparing goat, the meat tends to do better when cooked lower and slower in a moist environment, much like other leaner meats or fish. Braising, slow-roasting, or long-term marinating (12 - 24 hours) are all good strategies. Ask one of the local ranchers  at your neighborhood greenmarket about what type of goat they raise - Boer and Spanish goats are two of the more popular varieties - and how they prefer to cook them. If you're wary, you are always encouraged to join us at the restaurant where our current menu offers goat loin and braised shoulder with herbed spaetzle and wild morel mushrooms...
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Recipe of the Month
Goat Cheesecake
makes four - six small ramekins
Speaking of the versatility of goat, here's a simple - and simply
delicious - goat cheese cheesecake recipe you should be able to confect at home to accompany the delicious strawberries and rhubarb available this month.
4 oz fresh chevre/goat's milk cheese
1 gelatin sheet
¼ c heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
2 T sugar
½ vanilla bean, scraped
lemon zest
· Line 2" ramekins with plastic wrap and reserve. "Bloom" gelatin sheet in cold water.
· Warm a small portion of goat cheese and melt gelatin in it.
· Mix back into balance of cheese, adding sugar, lemon and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream.
· Pipe/portion into ramekins and freeze three - four hours to set.
· Unmold and thaw one - two hours or overnight in fridge.
· Serve with strawberries or rhubarb jam.
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Farm of the Month
Capriole Farms (812.923.9408)
In 1976, Judy Schad and her husband moved from the (conventional) suburbs to a farm on the southern Indiana-Kentucky border. They moved for the hopes of a more sustainable lifestyle, a milking cow, and a garden. Now more than 30 years later, Judy's known for her remarkable award-winning goat cheeses, made from the milk of her flock of animals, each born and raised on her family farm. The notions of "humane animal management", "artisanal" and "sustainable" or "natural" were ideas Capriole farms has been practicing since the original company was formed and Judy began making this magnificent cheese.
Check them out at the market or online: Capriole Farm
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Yet Another Pithy Article / Think Piece
Here's a video clip of a recent "conversation" that took place this past month. Some food for thought, for sure...Bourdain and Waters square off!
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