On the Farm
Pierogi with Potato, Kefir Cheese & Caramelized Onions
When I lived in Russia, one of my favorite stops was Kroshka Kartoshka (Little Potato), a food cart that offered hot baked potatoes with a variety of toppings. It was there I first tried bryndza, a uniquely flavored sheep’s milk cheese–Delish! I never could find it here, and we don’t have sheep, but when I first tasted kefir cheese, it took me right back. Inspired by that Moscow food cart, I pulled some basic ingredients from the pantry and folded that memory into my ultimate comfort food… pierogi.
Not pictured: the tablespoon of melted butter at the bottom of the bowl.Step 1: The FIlling
1.5 lbs potatoes, peeled and boiled in well salted water
1 medium onion, diced small and caramelized in butter
1/2 cup kefir cheese (kefir grains available here)
Salt and pepper to taste. (Don’t be shy!)
Step 2: Pierogi Dough.
I use this recipe and roll it out to #2 or #3 with the pasta roller on the KitchenAid for a nice thin sheet. The recipe page also has excellent tips for shaping and storing the pierogi for those who are new to filled pastas.
When they’re filled and ready, carefully drop them (not too many at at a time, you don’t want them to stick to one another) into salted, boiling water for about 3 minutes. Lift them out and serve them in a pool of melted butter with a dollop of sour cream. They’re also delicious with mushroom gravy.
Crabapple Liqueur
One of the holiday gifts I’m prepping this year is a crabapple liqueur. I found these gems on last week on a tree I’d nearly forgotten I’d planted, and they just seemed too pretty to overlook. So I chopped ’em up and covered them in sugar and vodka and… done! Liqueurs are an easy hand made gift. You just have to get them started early. There’s still just enough time to make some though. The process is similar no matter what you’re making, be it crabapple liqueur, Kahlua, or peach liqueur. Na zdarovie!
Rod’s House Menu
This week we served up Nona’s homemade dinner rolls with butter and cranberry sauce, turkey pot pie soup with our potatoes, onions, peas and herbs, and apple cake with browned butter glaze and whipped cream, using our own crab apples, apple pie spice and the sweet and juicy watercored apples that are still hanging on the trees. These late season treats are a baker’s delight and one of the perks of an approaching winter, offering an extra burst of sweetness before the long hibernation.
Local
Looking for a unique local dining experience or a budget friendly way to feed a crew? Look no further than Thursday Take Out at Wapato Filipino Hall, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. This weekly affair features some of the tastiest food around, prepared and served up by our fabulous neighbors. $6-15 per plate. You can indeed take the food to go, (including lumpia by the dozen) but enjoying a meal in the hall is an unforgettable experience, and strongly recommended.
WA State
Washington works hand-in-hand with nonprofits to acquire and protect Washington’s natural resources and manage land
(Source: Inlander)
“Since 2018, the state agency has worked with biologists in British Columbia to relocate grouse to Washington. Despite efforts to increase the population, habitat loss from agriculture conversion and wildfires continues to present challenges.
‘This landscape in Washington has decreased by over 60% over time, and therefore has an impact on all the species that need it and use it,’ Inwood says of the sagebrush-steppe.”
National & Beyond
Honolulu Could Become The First US City Where Food Is A Human Right
(Source: Honolulu Civil Beat)
“On Oʻahu, momentum appears to be building as the county works on its own dedicated food systems plan. Mayor Rick Blangiardi is spearheading a public food project — which includes planting fruit and food trees in public — and the county has staff dedicated to developing the food system.”
What’s Beetcoin? It’s an emerging alternative finance program from Woody Tasch, creator of the Slow Money Movement:
“There are currently seven nonprofit local groups that make 0% loans. The first started in 2015 in Carbondale, CO. Over the next few years, three other groups formed in Colorado, one in Massachusetts and one in Virginia. In 2024, our newest group started in Israel.
To date, this first cohort of pioneering groups has provided $6+ million to more than 300 farms and food enterprises.
Exploratory discussions regarding new groups are underway in Rhode Island, the Netherlands, Uruguay, and China. […]
0% is a clear, simple and unequivocal stand as an alternative to finance as usual. We are prioritizing people and place over the arithmetic of extraction.” (Learn more.)
Feed us with trees. Elspeth Hay and Morag Gamble.
(Source: Sense-Making in a Changing World)
“Elspeth invites us to see ourselves as ‘radical regenerators’ who are not just analysing the old story of agriculture, but actively weaving new ones in our own communities.”
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That’s all for this week! And remember: December is Universal Human Rights Month and December 10 is Human Rights Day. Plan accordingly.
And if you’re in the market for little holiday gifts, check out our salted apple cider caramels and passionfruit caramels. They’ll be available until the end of the year.
Maria
