As the New England harvest season begins to slowly ebb, the farm stands transition from a vibrant abundance and diversity of items to hardy and substantial crops such as winter squash, kale, and Brussels sprouts.  Those with CSA (community supported agriculture) shares are getting the last of their weekly loads. These final weeks will include additional hardy fall staples like greens, eggplant, potatoes, celeriac, leeks, peppers, turnips and rutabagas, and carrots, plus veggies that have been cured for storage like garlic and onions. If you missed the opportunity to join a CSA this past …

Honey, ah sugar, sugar.  Scrumptious liquid gold. Honey is produced from nectar by bees. Honey can vary widely in color and flavor. The flavor will depend upon the type of flower the bee extracted the nectar from. When you visit a farmers market, a local farm stand, or small store with local goodies, look for raw local honey. As you taste honey from different local producers, you can easily distinguish subtleties and unique flavors. The most ubiquitous — as well as notably smooth and rich — local honey producer is Boston Honey Company. Sold in local markets and farm stands, their honey comes …

The competition is fierce. The vibrant colors, shapes, and flavors of local produce make selecting the most appealing harvest item a lot like trying to choose your favorite child. It’s not so much that you need to pick a “best vegetable,” but sometimes, during certain seasons or maybe just certain weeks, one vegetable entices you like no other. Consider this: a nutritionally packed veggie with curly and crinkly leaves ranging from grass green to deep maroon, with stalks streaked with fiery reds, oranges, and yellows, standing tall and sturdy, and cooks up to be tender and bursting with flavor…

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, it is difficult not to ponder the consequences of our actions on global climate change. With that in mind, there is no better time to consider supporting our local farmers. With peak harvest season underway, there are local yummies aplenty.  This week, Buy Local/Eat Fresh provides a scenic bike tour of Concord, passing by a few farms — each with their own unique character and produce options.  Follow the map, grab a backpack or your bike panniers, a helmet and your bicycle, and you are good to go.  Start your ride at the North Bridge Visitor Center at 174 …

With the harvest in full swing, a trip around town to local farms will get you the makings for breakfast, lunch, dinner and more. Here's a look at the recent bounty, plus a recipe for a potato salad that will be a hit with adventurous eaters and those who like to stick to the basics. Variation on Jacques's Potato Salad, adapted from "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home," by Julia Child and Jacque Pepin: 2 pounds fresh small red potatoes 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup scallions, sliced thinly 1/2 cup chopped red onion 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 cup white wine 2 tablespoons Dijon …

The sultry days of July are giving way to the bountiful harvests of New England summer. The crops that are to come are not quite as short-lived as early season favorites like strawberries or peas. Corn and tomatoes — really only days away now — plus beets, summer squash, carrots, potatoes, beans, and the greens such as Swiss chard, kale, bok choy, and collards will be abundant well into September, even as the fall crops like winter squash and apples are emerging.  Savor the wonderful profusion of local produce and swing by one of the many local farms to stock up. Grill summer squash by …

By mid-July the weekly CSA share is getting bulkier, with larger quantities and a greater assortment of produce.  Whether you’ve joined a CSA for the first time this summer or you are an experienced CSA member, the explosion of gorgeous fruits and vegetables can confound even the most inventive and organized cook. How to cope with the abundance?  Here are suggestions for managing and enjoying the abundance, because you will surely be missing just-picked freshly grown foods once the season is over.  -  Separate and store your produce as soon as you arrive home.  Most will need to be stored in …

The summer growing season has arrived with the usual burst of activity.  Farm stands, CSAs and backyard gardens are yielding lots of greens such as spinach, bok choy, cabbages, mustard greens, and lettuce.  Some of the Virtuous Veggies have begun to emerge like broccoli, kohlrabi, and turnips.  The iconic summer luminaries – corn, tomatoes, blueberries, and beans – are still a few weeks from reaching ripeness.  For some crops like lettuce, Swiss chard, carrots, corn, and tomatoes farmers and home gardeners (with good planning skills) can carry out multiple plantings to produce a continuous …

Strawberry season can sneak up on you, but if you get on it right away, you can make the most of the entire season.  The complete seductiveness of a local strawberry is a stark contrast to the cross-country berries on your grocer’s shelf.   After going nearly a year without a fresh-picked local strawberry, you can be confident that your first and each subsequent encounter will delight your senses:  the sweet, intoxicating fragrance; irregular, yet fetching shapes (most strawberries resemble hearts); and the surprise of just how juicy a strawberry can be.  The flavor of a ripe strawberry is …

Fred and Ginger, Ben and Jerry, peanut butter and jelly- the list of famous pairs goes on and on. This week is about the latter half of the dynamic duo strawberry-rhubarb.   In New England rhubarb first appears about a month before the local strawberries ripen.  Most people probably know the basics about rhubarb:  It is a vegetable that is given fruit status and fruit treatment.  It has a broad stalk that is edible, but its leaves contain toxic oxalic acid.  Garrison Keillor croons about bebop-a-rebop Rhubarb Pie. Verrill Farm (11 Wheeler Road) is harvesting their own rhubarb, and that …

Farmers are busy in their fields and greenhouses right now – readying their land, planting, and hardening off plants (which means gradually transitioning them from greenhouse to the outdoors) and even harvesting.  If you visit some of the local farms, you won’t yet find the heaping baskets and crates of fresh produce.  However, this is still an exciting time when some of the earliest arrivals area available on the front porches of a few local farm stands.    While native crops and products conjure images of apples, maple syrup and corn, Concord once claimed to be the “Asparagus Capital of the…

For those who wait until February to eat a supermarket tomato, once memories of the taste, texture, and smell of a local, farm fresh tomato, picked hours (or minutes!) ago have nearly faded, the anticipation of the local growing season is building.  The locavore movement continues to gain momentum and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) have grown increasingly popular and numerous. For good reason – CSAs are a great way to get the freshest, locally grown produce. CSA is an arrangement where members (or shareholders) purchase a share from a local farm in advance the growing season. In …

It is about this time of year, after gray November becomes dark December, as white January, with her narrowed, slushy streets just leaves a chill that’s hard to shake, when everyone could use some perking up.  If you don’t have a trip to a warm climate planned, you’ll need to find another way brighten your days.  One word:  Green. This is not about lowering your thermostat and wearing a sweater (though it is a good idea); it’s about houseplants.   This time of year, outdoor gardening is mostly done indoors - planning your garden layout, ordering seeds, and getting seeds started in a sunny …

The cold weather has arrived, the daylight hours are very brief, and in a few short days it will officially be winter.  This all means one thing:  soup.  Soup is the official comfort food for the next few months.  It is useful to have a quick go to recipe, or two that you can make practically from memory.  You can adjust volume based on number of people dining or just make a big pot – some for now and some for later.  Serve soup for dinner tonight, have a bowl for lunch tomorrow, and put the rest in airtight containers or jars in the freezer for another day. (When freezing, remember to leave …

Here is the challenge:  Add more whole grains to your diet.  Think of this as a fun experiment to introduce some new foods and food combinations into your diet, with a decidedly healthy bent.  For the health-minded eaters who have made whole grains part of their everyday diet, you might bring some novel ideas and techniques into your repertoire.  For others this could be a magnificent awakening to an unfamiliar world of wonderful and interesting flavors and textures. First, the basics:  what is a "whole grain"?  Whole grains contain the entire grain seed (also known as kernel), which includes…

Start with the facts.  Over Thanksgiving, the temptation to overdo it and eat too much will prevail.  Aside from possessing a unique gift of extraordinary willpower and restraint, there is a way to rationalize enthusiastic participation in the Thanksgiving feast.  Even though it seems like the day is about getting ready to eat, eating, and cleaning up after eating, find time to be active and get some fresh air with family and friends.  For those who follow a regular fitness regimen, one great way to burn some calories and get outside is to take part in a local Turkey Trot.  The tradition of …

Let the festivities begin!  Whether you have your routine down pat or end up frazzled, it is helpful to have a few tricks up your sleeve to navigate through the coming weeks.  The assorted feasts that are just around the corner can be a combination of reliable standards and family treasures that your family and friends look forward to year after year.  It's also fun to slip a fresh idea or two into the mix.  There a zillion sources to tap for great ideas.  Of course you can check in with friends, and there is no shortage of excellent blogs and websites.  It is a very personal endeavor to find…

Granola traces its healthy roots back to the dawn of dry cereal, mid 19th century in western New York State, where James Caleb Jackson developed "granula" as part of a healthful diet that emphasized whole fruits and vegetables, and unprocessed grains.  Something has changed in the granola world in the last 150 years -  so many granola cereals and granola bars have strangely transformed into the equivalent of candy.  In any supermarket there are literally dozens of choices for granola.  The names and combinations of ingredients can be mundane, exotic or sometimes just weird (waffle pizza …