Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook
Organic food is synonymous with premium quality, the deepest, richest taste, conscientious farming, and optimum health. It’s what we need to feed our kids, what we deserve to feed ourselves. And no one is doing more to popularize organic food that Myra Goodman, a mother, a creative cook, and most significantly, co-owner of Earthbound Farm, the world’s largest grower and purveyor of organic produce.\ In Food to Live By, a dazzling full-color cookbook, Myra Goodman offers an utterly appealing,...
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From Earthbound Farm's Myra Goodman and her Farm Stand's Organic Kitchen comes an appealing, casual style of cooking. Easy to prepare, the more than 260 recipes make a deliciously persuasive case for using flavorful, fresh, organic foods as often as possible. Take the Sweet Corn Chowder, which uses not only corn kernels for the soup, but also the stripped cobs to make a rich, herb-scented broth. Or Ginger Carrot Soup, which proves how even familiar vegetables take on a whole new intensity and character when raised organically. From Golden Tomato Gazpacho, Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad, Foggy Day Chili, and Merlot-Braised Short Ribs with Cipollini Onions to Farm Stand Carrot Cake and Cherry Panna Cotta, these are deep down delicious dishes for everyone who cares about what they eat.
\ It All Began with Raspberries I have a soft spot in my heart for raspberries. The ruby berries were the first crop my husband, Drew, and I ever grew, and they will always be one of my favorite fruits. When perfectly ripe, raspberries have a unique sweet-tart taste and delicate texture that seem to melt in your mouth. I’m so devoted to raspberries, we’ve given them a chapter of their own. \ During our first few years, Drew and I spent June through October harvesting raspberries from dawn until dusk. For our fledgling roadside stand to be successful, we had to find every ripe berry, carefully lifting each thorny branch to discover any that were hiding underneath the leaves. It takes patient, gentle hands to pick the soft berries without crushing them. Even a half-pint basket fills slowly when the berries are so small. I was also teaching myself how to cook during these early years. Raspberries were often my main ingredient as I looked for creative ways to avoid wasting a single one. Although a few of my cooking experiments were disasters, some turned out to be fabulous, and I continue to make them to this day.\ Corn muffins made with raspberries were one of my biggest successes. Customers stopping at our stand for a basket of berries would buy my freshly baked muffins to enjoy on the way home. Decades later, some of those early customers still reminisce about the muffins’ moist, natural sweetness. Raspberry jam was another best-seller that I continue to make every year for my family. Raspberries have so much natural pectin that all they need is sugar and low, slow cooking to turn the fruit into a jam we enjoy all year long.\ Of course, raspberries are equally at home on a dessert plate. For a special event, our friend Sarah’s Chocolate Soufflés with Raspberry Sauce is our all-time favorite. Or for an easy, healthy treat, my mom’s recipe for frozen raspberry yogurt churns out rosy pink with lovely berry bits.\ Our original raspberry stand is long gone, but three rows of raspberry bushes still grow behind our house. Now berry picking is a way to relax with my family after work. Even our dog, Jack, joins us. He seems to be able to smell which berries are ripe and has taught himself to pull the berries off the low-hanging branches with his tongue and eat them.\ Some of our bushes were transplanted to the Carmel Valley fields beside our Farm Stand, where they continue to thrive. After all these years, our loyal customers still buy baskets of our organic raspberries and a muffin from the Farm Stand’s Organic Kitchen to nibble on the road. I hope you’ll enjoy our raspberry muffins as much as they do and discover other fresh ideas for bringing this succulent berry into your own life.\ Raspberry Corn Muffins\ Drew and I grew and sold organic raspberries during our early farming years, and I often baked raspberry muffins using any berries we had left over. Through my kitchen window, I could see customers driving up to our raspberry stand, and I’d quickly wash the flour from my hands before going outside to greet them. If their timing was right, in addition to baskets of fresh raspberries, they could buy a still-warm, invitingly moist corn muffin, loaded with fresh raspberries, to eat on the way home.\ MAKES 12 STANDARD-SIZE MUFFINS\ Butter for greasing the muffin cups (unless using cupcake liners)\ 1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour\ 1 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal\ 1 tablespoon baking powder\ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda\ 1/2 teaspoon salt\ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon\ 2 large eggs 1/2 cup honey\ 1/4 cup sugar\ 1 cup buttermilk\ 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted\ 1 half-pint (about 11/4 cups) fresh raspberries or frozen (unthawed) unsweetened raspberries\ 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with cupcake liners.\ 2. Place the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl and whisk to combine well.\ 3. Place the eggs, honey, sugar, buttermilk, and melted butter in a small bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Gently fold in the raspberries. Do not overmix the batter or the muffins will be tough. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost to the brim.\ 4. Bake the muffins until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. 5. Place the muffin pan on a wire rack and let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and serve warm. The muffins taste best the day they are made but, if necessary, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat them in a microwave for about 10 seconds or in a preheated 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Introductions: The Time Is Ripe for Organic! . . ix The Carmel Valley Farm Stand and Organic Kitchen. . xix Why We’re Committed to Organic Foods and Farming .. xxiii Chapter 1: It All Began with Raspberries . . . . 3 A delicious recipe tribute to the crop that got Earthbound Farm started. Begin the day with warm Raspberry Corn Muffins spread with fresh Apricot Raspberry Jam, and end it with creamy Raspberry-Lemon Crèmes Brûlées or Red Raspberry Ice Cream. What could be better? Chapter 2: Soups . . . 25 Enjoy a full array of tempting, innovative soups any time of the year. Choices include Summer Harvest Soup, Sweet Corn Chowder, Golden Tomato Gazpacho, Tuscan White Bean Stew, Roasted Winter Squash Soup, Hearty Cauliflower Bisque, and Simply Chicken Soup. Chapter 3: Leafy Green Salads . . . 63 There’s nothing like a selection of fresh leafy greens to enhance a meal. And they shine in Spring Mâche Salad with Kohlrabi, Radishes, and Peas; Baby Greens Salad with Grilled Figs and Walnuts; Grilled Caesar Salad; Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad; Farm Stand Greek Salad, and more. Chapter 4: Meat and Poultry Main Dishes. . 111 Sizzling Steak and the Goodman Family Olive Sauce, Merlot-Braised Short Ribs with Cipollini Onions, Maple- Brined Pork Chops, Lamb Curry with Saffron Couscous, Kathy’s Rosemary- Roasted Chicken, and Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps are just a small sampling of the surefire winners in this chapter. Chapter 5: Fish and Shellfish . . . 159 Although there are no USDA standards for organic seafood, there are still plenty of reasons to enjoy the health benefits of flavorful fish dishes like Ginger Lime Salmon, Roasted Halibut in Mediterranean Green Sauce, and Seared Tuna with a Fennel-Coriander Crust. And for shellfish lovers, there’s Grilled Shrimp with Tropical Salsa, a savory Monterey Cioppino, and more. Chapter 6: Pasta and Vegetarian Main Dishes. . . 183 Inviting pasta dishes to add to your repertoire include Grilled Vegetable Lasagna, Ziti with Ratatouille, and Creamy Macaroni and Three Cheeses. Plus prepare a luscious “Wild” Mushroom Ragout with Polenta, Stir-Fried Tofu with Green Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms, and a Fresh Tomato Pizza. Chapter 7: Side Dishes . . 221 Roasted Balsamic Artichokes, Sautéed Ginger Baby Bok Choy, Summer Corn Pudding, Blue Cheese Smashed Potatoes, Garlicky String Beans, Creamed Parmesan Spinach, and Provençal Tomato, Eggplant, and Zucchini Tian— are a few of the sides that are so good, you may just want to make a meal of them. Chapter 8: Breakfast and Brunch . 277 Great dishes to start the day include Earthbound Farm’s Famous Maple Almond Granola, Apple Nut Pancakes, Spanish Egg “Soufflé Cake,” a Classic Omelet, and Mama Fries. And when you have the urge to bake, enjoy a Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake. Chapter 9: Desserts . 319 Nothing ends a meal better than something sweet—and there’s something here for everyone: Chocolate Lover’s Brownies, Farm Stand Carrot Cake, Cranberry-Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble, Fresh Peach Pie, and a Cherry Panna Cotta. And, the recipe for the bestselling Earthbound Farm Ginger Snaps! Chapter 10: Basics. . 371 A selection of homemade stocks, sauces, vinegars, and other staples to keep on hand in the pantry and refrigerator. Conversion Tables 390 Index . 391 Photo Credits . 402
